What’s the Matter With Chicago?
Chicago's horrifying gun violence last weekend isn't the result of a "spiritual deficit," as Mayor Rahm Emanuel argues. It's the result of decades of poverty and austerity.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks at a press conference on August 6, addressing Chicago’s weekend of gun violence Joshua Lott / Getty Images
Last weekend in Chicago was a gory one. The Sun-Times summarized the slaughter:
A barrage of weekend attacks . . . garnered international attention as 71 people were shot, 12 of them fatally. The violence reached a peak early Sunday, when 30 people were shot during a three-hour span, including eight in a single Auburn Gresham shooting. About a dozen more people were shot on Monday.
The shootings have shaken the city’s political establishment. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Chief Eddie Johnson have staked their reputations on the declining numbers of shootings and fatalities; they are now grasping at straws to explain the current crisis.
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