After a couple of months of reflection and dialogue with friends and colleagues who encouraged me to think about running for mayor of Chicago, I decided not to run. The decision was not an easy one.
Chicago is in a state of emergency, suffering unbearably from gun violence. Whole communities are traumatized. Neighborhoods are emptying out. The city’s reputation is damaged — both nationally and internationally.
Too many young men and women in Chicago are being raised by the streets. Things most of us take for granted — a hot meal, a warm bed and a loving hug at night — are simply not a part their lives.
I know hundreds of young people who have lived like this. They are smart, sensitive, thoughtful, gifted leaders, but they are also scared, angry, traumatized and living in a state of hypervigilance. They know they are not winning in the illegal economy, but they have no path out.
After five years of doing this work, I am more convinced than ever that these young people are a critical part of the solution. They are leading us to a safer place. The greatest joy in my work is seeing every day what can happen when we give these young people the love, trust, opportunities and support they need to thrive. And I just couldn’t walk away from it — or spend the next year of my life talking about the work instead of actually doing it.
So, rather than entering politics, I am going even deeper into the work of reducing gun violence and I will partner with anybody who is serious about helping Chicago heal and address this state of emergency. Among other things, that requires us to continue to voice the truths as we see them.
We need to tell the truth about the crisis in our police force — where morale is down, and retirements are up. We need to tell the truth about the sorry state of police reform. We need to tell the truth about how police spend their time — which is mostly on nonviolent and noncriminal activity. When our arrest rates for shootings and homicides are so low, we need to rethink the best use of our police, because the most important thing they can do is hold shooters accountable.
We need to tell the truth about our work in violence prevention. While we are not yet having a measurable impact on the overall level of violence in the city, we know we are saving lives. We have intervened in thousands of disputes, any of which could have led to gun violence. We have negotiated dozens of peace agreements among rival street factions, some of which have stood for years.
The work is mentally taxing and physically dangerous. My organization, Chicago CRED (Create Real Economic Destiny), recently experienced a fatal shooting at one of our partner sites where we gather every day to create peace. A security guard and father of eight was also shot. One of our outreach workers was killed last year on duty. Our staff members are literally putting themselves at risk to save others.
We are also nowhere near at scale. For every dollar we spend in the criminal justice system, cracking down on people after they commit crimes, we spend less than a penny on violence prevention, trying to help people before they commit crimes. Last year, in fact, Chicago spent more than twice as much money on police misconduct settlements than on violence prevention efforts. Our priorities are not only wrong — they perpetuate violence.
And even as we deal with the crisis of violence, we also have to address the root causes of violence — disinvestment, inadequate education and lack of opportunity for young people in our neighborhoods. Fifty-six years ago, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. came to Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood to demand fair housing and a better quality of life for people of color. Those demands have yet to be met.
So let’s have an open, honest debate driven by truth and hope, rather than fear and lies. And instead of an election about personalities, let’s have one about ideas. I recently offered the following strategies for making us safer, and I welcome others:
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Disband ineffective citywide units and get as many police as possible back on patrol in neighborhoods, building relationships and creating a visible deterrent. Turn as many positions as possible into civilian positions to free up some officers for patrol and accelerate reform.
Rethink the role of police and shift some nonviolent and noncriminal activities to civilians so police can focus more on violent crime and hold shooters accountable.
Take violence prevention programs to scale.
Launch a massive public-private hiring initiative to give teens and young people at risk, as well as the formerly incarcerated, a place in the legal economy.
Chicago has had two horrific years of violence. We can’t afford another one. All of us must work harder and do more.
Our work continues every day in the city we all know and love.
Arne Duncan is a managing partner of Emerson Collective and the founder of violence prevention organization Chicago CRED.
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