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by Charles River (Author)
*Includes pictures
*Includes a bibliography for further reading
Today, as one of the biggest cities in the country, Chicago means a lot of different things to different people, but the Windy City, as culturally rich as it is, has long been known for controversial political corruption and its gangster past. While those kinds of crimes are less prominent today, one recent documentary, Chiraq, provided a new chilling, sobering, and wildly unfortunate sobriquet for the city, and for far too many of the city's youth, the places they call home are just a few steps removed from an actual war zone. According to a 2019 report by CBS News, roughly 1,099 of every 100,000 Chicagoans are likely to experience a violent crime. Records released by the FBI revealed that a staggering 653 people in Chicago were murdered in 2016, surpassing Los Angeles and New York City combined.
The obvious dissimilarities between Chicago and a traditional battlefield aside, many experts can relate to the sentiment. BBC correspondent Ian Pannell, for one, described what he saw as striking resemblances: "People live with a threat or elements of danger, and although the degree is completely different, that's similar for civilian populations in both environments...What always amazes me - you see this in Chicago and you see this in places like Syria - is people, they'll be out on the street, they'll be doing the shopping, but they know the rules. As soon as trouble starts to happen...suddenly, everybody disappears..." Pannell further added, "I've never seen so many weapons in civilian hands outside of a...war zone as I did in parts of Chicago...Kids have become desensitized to violence. Someone's been shot, and kids are playing up and down the streets on their bikes, because they're used to seeing it, and that's also what you see in a war zone."
More disturbing yet, veteran gangsters and juvenile street thugs may not be the only ones to blame for this senseless bloodshed. Not only is Chicago consistently nominated each year as one of the deadliest cities in America, the Windy City is infamous for its egregiously problematic police department, whose reputation has been marred by corruption, abuse, and systemic racism, among other kinds of misconduct. A 2019 Fortune report, citing a study conducted by the University of Illinois, found that Chicago's finest were responsible for 82% of the corruption convictions in the entire state.
The discriminatory tendencies entrenched in Chicago's police department have undoubtedly become one of the most contentious hot-button issues to divide the city in recent years. Chicagoans and allies from cities near and far demand answers and justice for the number of unarmed black men who have died, such as 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who, while carrying a folded 3-inch blade, was walking away from Officer Jason Van Dyke when he was shot at 16 times. It hasn't escaped people's notice that 67% of those booked in the Cook County Department of Corrections on a daily basis are black.
Of course, the city can be plenty dangerous for the cops as well. Dozens of Chicago police officers have falledn in the line of duty, such as Officers Eduardo Marmolejo and Conrad Gary, who were struck and killed by a train while in pursuit of a suspected gunman. Officers like those two knowingly risk their lives each and every day, both on and off the clock, willing to thrust themselves into danger without a second's hesitation. In late November 2018, Officer Samuel Jimenez was on what would have been an uneventful assignment - mail delivery - when he was apprised of an active shooter at Mercy Hospital. Jimenez hastened to the premises at once in a noble effort to assist the squad dispatched to the scene, and he was shot and killed in the process. On a lighter note, one would be remiss not to acknowledge the endeavors of Officer Jennifer Maddox, one of 10 crowned "Heroes of the Year" by CNN New York in 2017.
