City Sets Aside Cash To Fight School Violence, Preps For SCOTUS Ruling

Mayor Daley announced today that the city will be setting aside $25 million in federal stimulus cash for programs that will be used to help fight violence amongst Chicago Public Schools students. This school year, 27 CPS students were killed, down from last year's tally of 32 students. The cash will break down like so:

• $10 million - mentoring of 1,500 at-risk students at 13 CPS high schools
• $10 million - creating a a “culture of calm” at 38 high-risk high schools
• $4.7 million - a community watch program at 13 schools the CPD has identified as having high gang activity. Community "watchers" will also work in neighborhoods around the school.

On a related note, after this weekend's violence, MayDay and the City Council seem to be gearing up for the Supreme Court's decision on the city's handgun ban, expected Thursday or next Monday. Last week, Daley said, "If the ban is overturned, we will see a lot of common-sense approaches in the city aimed at protecting first responders. We have to have some type of registry. If a first responder goes to an apartment, they need to know if that individual has a gun." Speculation, based on previous rulings and the SCOTUS' political make-up, is that the handgun ban will be over-turned.