Two Cabinet Members Discuss Youth Violence

By Lindsey Miller in News on Oct 7, 2009 5:40PM

Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are in town today to meet privately with Mayor Daley and select Chicago Public School students and parents to discuss youth violence.

The New York Times reports that though the meeting will be closed, the officials will most likely discuss how the federal government can help curb the frequent violence among Chicago youth. In the month since school has started, three students already have been killed, and 70 have died since fall of 2007 in their neighborhoods on their way to or from school.

The impetus for the meetings is the beating death two weeks ago of 16-year-old honors student Derrion Albert. He was on his way home from Fenger High School on the Far South Side and got caught in a fight between Fenger students from different housing developments. Holder and Duncan, former Chicago schools chief, will meet with Albert’s family.

The new head of Chicago Public Schools Ron Huberman announced a plan last month that aims to help stop the violence. Based on statistics from 500 past shootings, he has identified 1,200 students who are most likely to be a victim or a perpetrator of violence. Using funding from $60 million in federal stimulus money, he plans to give the at-risk students full-time adult mentors and help them get jobs. Additional money will go to more security at the 38 high schools in Chicago where 80 percent of the killings take place.