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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION CALLING ON PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO SEND RESOURCES TO FIGHT VIOLENCE IN COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, Cook County is the second largest county in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the city of Chicago is the largest municipality within Cook County with a population of nearly three million; and
WHEREAS, at least 762 people were murdered in Chicago in 2016, which is nearly 300 more people than were killed in all of 2015; and
WHEREAS, more than 4,300 people were shot in Chicago in 2016, which is about 1,400 more shooting victims than in all of 2015; and
WHEREAS, in the first month of 2017, at least 310 people were shot in the city of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, in the first month of 2017 66 people were killed by gun violence in Cook County and 56 of those were within the city of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, in the first month 2017, more than 80 percent of the homicide victims were African American; and
WHEREAS, there were 915 homicides in all of Cook County in 2016; and
WHEREAS, treatment for shooting victims treated by the Cook County Health and Hospitals System can cost County taxpayers as much as $50,000 for each shooting victim; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Medical Examiner has indicated that the surge in homicides has caused additional work for the staff in that office; and
WHEREAS, Chicago had more homicides in 2016 than New York and Los Angeles combined; and
WHEREAS, there are a number of communities in suburban Cook County struggling with growing rates of violence and gang activity; and
WHEREAS, minorities are most often the victims of the rising violence in Cook County; and
WHEREAS, the presidential administration has repeatedly indicated that it will send additional federal resources to combat violence if leaders here request them; and
WHEREAS, Cook County government must be proactive in its anti-violence efforts by initiating the dialogue with the presidential administration to develop strategies...
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