Chicago 'mayhem' prompts politician to call for National Guard
A teenage boy grieves next to a makeshift memorial at the site where Ashley Hardmon was shot and killed on July 4 in Chicago. At least nine people were murdered over the holiday weekend.
By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News
The onslaught of gun crime in Chicago has spurred members of Congress to convene a summit on urban violence and prompted a state lawmaker to demand the National Guard be called in to stop the “mayhem.”
“Every single day we wake up in the city of Chicago, some child, some young adult, some African-American male has been murdered,” state Rep. Monique Davis said Thursday. “This is not acceptable.
“I’m hearing from mothers that they are afraid to go outside,” she said. “Hospitals are overburdened with 70 gunshot wounds in one day. Ambulances are so busy people are driving victims in their own cars.”
Davis held a press conference this week to ask Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to call in National Guard “to protect our children so they can go to the park and swim and play and have a childhood.” She said the governor has not responded.
Meanwhile, Congressman Bobby Rush and two other Illinois Democrats announced plans Thursday for an “emergency” summit July 25 at Chicago State University.
...
Chicago ended last year as the city with the highest number of murders in the nation. Three weeks later, its reputation as a crime capital was cemented when Hadiya Pendleton, 15, was shot dead days after performing in Washington for President Obama’s inauguration festivities.
Police say anti-gang and crime-fighting strategies launched after Pendleton’s slaying are working. Official statistics show murders were down 28 percent, from 260 to 188, and shooting incidents fell 24 percent, from 1,117 to 849, in the first half of the year.
...
“It’s mayhem,” said Davis. “And nobody seems able to stop it.
Chicago 'mayhem' prompts politician to call for National Guard - U.S. News
========================================
Can the governor of a State deploy the National Guard for regular policing functions without declaring martial law?
Posse Comitatus does not apply to the Guard while it is under State control, right?
Pat Quinn is gaining an interesting reputation in Illinois, with some rather radical ideas for problem solving, such as cutting-off paychecks for legislators, until they solve their Pension Reform problems.
I would not put it past him, to concede the request, and deploy a couple of Military Police and/or Infantry units, in cooperation with the Chicago Police Department, but that seems really, really radical.
Perhaps he'll deploy some of the State Police in this rat-hole neighborhoods, as an interim measure.
Then again, perhaps he'll do absolutely nothing, other than talk.
Damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't.
A teenage boy grieves next to a makeshift memorial at the site where Ashley Hardmon was shot and killed on July 4 in Chicago. At least nine people were murdered over the holiday weekend.
By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News
The onslaught of gun crime in Chicago has spurred members of Congress to convene a summit on urban violence and prompted a state lawmaker to demand the National Guard be called in to stop the “mayhem.”
“Every single day we wake up in the city of Chicago, some child, some young adult, some African-American male has been murdered,” state Rep. Monique Davis said Thursday. “This is not acceptable.
“I’m hearing from mothers that they are afraid to go outside,” she said. “Hospitals are overburdened with 70 gunshot wounds in one day. Ambulances are so busy people are driving victims in their own cars.”
Davis held a press conference this week to ask Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to call in National Guard “to protect our children so they can go to the park and swim and play and have a childhood.” She said the governor has not responded.
Meanwhile, Congressman Bobby Rush and two other Illinois Democrats announced plans Thursday for an “emergency” summit July 25 at Chicago State University.
...
Chicago ended last year as the city with the highest number of murders in the nation. Three weeks later, its reputation as a crime capital was cemented when Hadiya Pendleton, 15, was shot dead days after performing in Washington for President Obama’s inauguration festivities.
Police say anti-gang and crime-fighting strategies launched after Pendleton’s slaying are working. Official statistics show murders were down 28 percent, from 260 to 188, and shooting incidents fell 24 percent, from 1,117 to 849, in the first half of the year.
...
“It’s mayhem,” said Davis. “And nobody seems able to stop it.
Chicago 'mayhem' prompts politician to call for National Guard - U.S. News
========================================
Can the governor of a State deploy the National Guard for regular policing functions without declaring martial law?
Posse Comitatus does not apply to the Guard while it is under State control, right?
Pat Quinn is gaining an interesting reputation in Illinois, with some rather radical ideas for problem solving, such as cutting-off paychecks for legislators, until they solve their Pension Reform problems.
I would not put it past him, to concede the request, and deploy a couple of Military Police and/or Infantry units, in cooperation with the Chicago Police Department, but that seems really, really radical.
Perhaps he'll deploy some of the State Police in this rat-hole neighborhoods, as an interim measure.
Then again, perhaps he'll do absolutely nothing, other than talk.
Damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't.
Last edited: