Looking for Peace.....over the years.

Today the police superintendent of Chicago said that he did not want to blame the warm weather for all the shootings that took place last weekend.  He said that the gang problem in Chicago has taken years to become what it is today and that the solution was not an overnight event.  I think this is the first superintendent to ever say that in public because usually they would just blame the warm weather.  What makes this superintendent different from others?  He seems to speak his mind without crossing the line but I get a sense that he wants to do what is right. I may be completely wrong but I have to follow what I preach and that is to believe everyone is good.  I do not hide my dislike of authority but I know it needs to be in place and I respect that.  I’ve met good and bad cops but like any other solider in a war they have to follow commands and that is not always in the best interest of the community.

It is true that it has taken years for the gang problem to be where it is at and if we compare what else has gone bad at the same time it should be clear as day what’s wrong in our communities.  The public school system has gone down, whole communities have gone down, employment, industries that used to be in Chicago are no more, etc… All of those things are controllable through local government so what is obvious to me is that local government was not doing its job so well!  I was at a funeral home last week at 5708 W. Madison Chicago, IL and the last time I was there across the street was an empty lot and an abandoned building or so it looked.  But today there’s a new police station there where the empty lot was at and in the middle of the street there is a planter of sorts it almost looks like a smaller version of Lake Shore Drive.  Why did the city think that the area needed a planter in the middle of the street?  Millions are spent on these planters every year and no one says anything because we all agree that the city looks nice!  REALLY!?  So when someone gets shot do we still think money is well spent in a planter?  The area did need some improvement but it was YEARS of denial from the city that help create the potholes and broken sidewalks in that community.

The superintendent is right it has taken years for things to become the way they are and I wonder, how many more years will it take for the people of Chicago to confront the corruption in our city?  Maybe if we plant more flowers and trees in the middle of every street things might get better, right? 

Peace/AMOR

Gerardo