Chicago Public School Death Toll Reaches 26 27

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Mar 12, 2009 6:40PM

Earlier reports that the number of Chicago Public School students killed this year stood at 26 have been altered slightly. Earlier today, CPS spokesperson Monique Bond said one student, Devour Robinson, had been killed in November and had been left off previous lists, bringing the total to 27. With the addition of Robinson, this school year's total already tops last years with three months left to go. Tuesday night, Franco Avila was shot in Albany Park, making him the latest death. The shooting is believed to be gang-related.

The number has activists speaking out. According to the Sun-Times, Rev. Jesse Jackson said of this week's report that 508 CPS students had been shot since September 2007, "These are Baghdad numbers. These are war zone numbers." When he wasn't absolving the City Hall reporters of their "sins," South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, "I am a father and a grandfather. I am just imagining coming out of my house and seeing one of my grandchildren lying down there dead. ... Put the face of someone you love on those statistics. Imagine if it were your beloved child that we are talking about."

The Trib reported that Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman, who planned to meet with Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis about the problem today, said, "We're putting a lot of time and a lot of energy into thinking about this issue and thinking what we can do collectively. I can tell you right now this problem is much bigger than the Chicago Public School system. Clearly something else has to be done." [Chi Breaking News, Trib, S-T]