Speaking from the steps of St. Sabina Catholic Church, newly elected Mayor Lori Lightfoot assured the hundreds gathered in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side that she would do everything in her power to curb the city’s violence.
“I will use every tool that we have to make sure that our young people grow up in a world where fear is not the norm,” she said. “Where we grow up in a world that children are actually able to go outside in the street and enjoy a beautiful day.”
Lightfoot was one of several speakers Friday evening for an annual antiviolence march organized by St. Sabina Catholic Church.
The rally was a fitting place for Lightfoot, who campaigned on a promise to reduce the violent crime.
During her speech, Lightfoot doubled down on her promise while also challenging those in attendance to help in the fight.
“Public safety cannot be a commodity that’s only available to the wealthy,” she said.
As of last Monday, 1,043 people had been shot this year in Chicago, and 217 killed, according to Tribune data. While these totals are a slight decrease from previous years, Chicago’s inordinate violence remains a black eye for the city.
Lightfoot has already met multiple times with top police officials since being sworn in as mayor less than a month ago.
At the rally, the streets and church grounds were thronged with people brandishing signs and calling for peace.
Some signs read, “Break the cycle of violence” and “Stop the flow of guns!”
The march came on the final week before Chicago Public School students begin summer break, the start of what community leaders say is the most perilous time for the city’s youth.
“This should be a time of fun, adventure, of playing, enjoying their friends on the block, in the park and on the porch,” said the church’s pastor, the Rev. Michael Pfleger. “Our children need to feel safe. And our children need to be safe.”
Friday’s rally wasn’t only a call for peace but a challenge to the community leaders to speak out against criminals and hold them accountable.
“If we really want our children to be safe, we’re the ones who’s got to do our part on the block, in the neighborhood and in the community,” Pfleger said. “We got to rise up, we got to stand up and we got to speak up.”
Lightfoot echoed Pleger’s sentiments, urging the crowd to take responsibility in keeping their neighborhoods safe.
“We cannot give shelter to those who want to destroy a life. We know who these folks are. They live in our community, and we have to wrap our arms around them, we have to love them, but when they do wrong … they must suffer the consequences.”
Pam Bosley, the co-founder of Purpose Over Pain, a group of mothers whose children were killed by violence, said the onus is on the people who live in the violent neighborhoods to work together to create change.
“If we continue with this denial, denial, denial, we won’t get anywhere,” she said.
jaanderson@chicagotribune.com
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