Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark is a shrewd politician who offers plenty of reasons when you ask him why have there been 30 homicides so far this year in his community of about 20,000 people.
First he blames a lack of resources, as if throwing more money Harvey’s way would stop the gun violence.
“We need more resources to give us the ability to actually get on top of these issues,” Clark told me. “Honestly, you can’t expect people to produce if you don’t give them the tools they need to produce.”
Then Clark blamed the office of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, saying prosecutors failed to pursue murder charges against suspects.
“It’s the lack of charging on behalf of the state’s attorney’s office that creates the problem,” Clark said. “You can arrest them but you have to let them go within 48 hours if the state’s attorney doesn’t charge them.”
Clark said Harvey could better address violent crime if the city was allowed to join a mutual aid organization known as the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force.
“We’re not a part of that,” he said. “It’s not because we don’t want to be.”
I sought answers about why there have been so many homicides in Harvey. All 30 homicides were the result of shootings, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
I asked Clark if shootings were related to illegal drug dealing, gang activity or other reasons that might help explain why there have been so many homicides.
“The murders we have tend to be more domestic in nature,” he said. “If a guy has too much to drink, starts beating on his girlfriend, the girlfriend takes a gun and shoots him, how could Harvey have prevented that from happening? That’s a domestic issue.”
Some homicides may be crimes of passion, but others may be killings in cold blood. Two of Harvey’s homicides this year were the result of single gunshot wounds to the back of the head, according to analysis of information reported by the medical examiner.
“Fortunately we’re not in a situation where people are just riding up and down the streets in the city of Harvey just randomly shooting,” Clark said. “These are not things the city can control. We had two guys decide to meet at a gas station. They got mad at each other, shot each other and killed each other. How could the police have stopped that from happening?”
Police may not be able to prevent homicides, but it was the city’s responsibility to investigate killings and arrest suspects, I told Clark. I asked what resources had been diverted from investigations to patrol, and how many arrests had been made in connection with the 30 homicides this year.
Clark said he didn’t know.
Foxx’s office said it reviewed nine cases involving Harvey homicides since Jan. 1 and filed charges in seven cases. Three cases were tried this year, resulting in three convictions, the office said. The state’s attorney noted that some prosecutions may have been initiated before the start of the year.
“The Cook County state’s attorney’s office is committed to the work of justice and partners with police to bring charges when appropriate to do so based on all available evidence, facts, and the law,” the office said.
Clark expressed frustration about a lack of charges involving the death of Majestee Hale, a 2-year-old girl who was shot in the head Nov. 4 inside a home at 153rd Street and Lexington Avenue. The medical examiner has not yet determined whether the death was a homicide or accident.
“We’re not getting the charges,” Clark said. “You can’t really say the city of Harvey or the Harvey Police Department isn’t doing anything.”
I asked the Cook County sheriff’s office about the high number of homicides in Harvey.
“The increase in violence in Harvey is disturbing, tragic and something we are very aware of,” said press secretary Matt Walberg. “The sheriff’s office has a long history of working to protect the citizens of Harvey and has been routinely assisting the Harvey Police Department with not only backup in emergency situations but also by providing the primary policing upon request.”
The South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force told Harvey years ago the city needed to address deficiencies in its Police Department if it wanted to join the organization.
Perhaps Harvey would be better able to make progress toward joining the group if there was more stability in its Police Department leadership. Clark should be held accountable for turmoil in department leadership since he became mayor in 2019. Clark this week cited a “culture of corruption” in launching a search for a new police chief for the fourth time since becoming mayor in 2019.
Critics of the mayor accuse Clark of fostering a climate of corruption through high turnover in command.
“You have no stability in the police force,” said Keith Price, a former Harvey alderman. “The mayor took some of the best investigators and put them back into patrol cars, and he has put people without the proper experience and training in some of the head spots in the department.”
Price criticized Clark for maintaining a security detail at taxpayer expense and for working for Mayor Thaddeus Jones in neighboring Calumet City, where Clark’s duties include fulfilling Freedom of Information Act requests.
“The bottom line is, he has totally disrupted the Police Department,” Price said. “This is not a case where you can keep blaming the prior administration.”
Clark vehemently defended his shake-ups of the Police Department.
“I want better policing,” he said. “I hear the gunshots at night. My house has been shot up. I want good police. I still have the bullet holes.”
I asked Clark his reaction to allegations by former police administrators that their efforts to root out corruption were blocked for political reasons. Rank-and-file police officers have said they are demoralized by Clark’s actions. A union fought Clark when he reassigned police sergeants as patrol officers.
Former police Chief Eddie Winters and internal affairs supervisor Sgt. Eric Armstrong claimed in federal lawsuits that Clark retaliated against them for political reasons. Armstrong’s suit was dismissed, Clark said, though Winters’ suit remains pending.
Former internal affairs investigator Olivia Cobbins said in a Nov. 8 letter of resignation that she was blocked from investigating reports that a deputy chief allegedly punched a handcuffed Thornton High School student in the chest.
I asked Clark his response to the accusers’ allegations of political retaliation.
“They’re lying, period,” he said. “Evidence makes a difference. They can’t show you where someone blocked them. They did not do their jobs, which is the reason they’re no longer here.”
Ted Slowik is a columnist for the Daily Southtown.