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Durbin, Obama Say Chicago Should be Part of Anti-Gang Initiative

Monday, April 28, 2008

Chicago Tribune

Citing the recent spike in shootings in the Chicago area, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Barack Obama have requested a meeting with Justice Department officials to discuss the inclusion of the Chicago area in the department's Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative--a program created to enhance gang prevention across the country.

"Chicago is home to some of the largest and most violent gangs in the country, but has been left out of one of the most highly touted federal anti-gang initiatives," Durbin said in a news release Monday.

Since April 18, at least 54 shootings have taken place in the Chicago area, resulting in at least 15 deaths. Law enforcement officials have expressed concern that as the weather warms, gang violence will worsen.

The latest National Youth Gang Center survey indicated that more than half of all homicides in Chicago were considered to be gang-related, the release said. Los Angeles was the only other city in which gang activity was a contributing factor to such a high percentage of the city's homicides, according to the release.

"Chicago has experienced some of the highest rates of gang violence in the country, and combating it must be a top priority for the Department of Justice's anti-gang initiative and for the federal government," Obama said in the release.