This Fiscal Year Illinois Will Spend $30 Million on “Peacekeepers”
Chicago Police statistics show a 39% increase in total crime this year compared to the prior year. And the answer for the ‘defund the police’ crowd is to spend $30 million on the recently launched Illinois “Peacekeepers Program.”
The Gateway Pundit reported that failed Illinois Governor JB Pritzker heralded the program over Memorial Day Weekend.
This weekend, Chicagoans should expect to see yellow-vested Peacekeepers on the streets.
As part of the state’s anti-violence strategy with a community-focused approach, these outreach workers will help de-escalate and keep our neighborhoods safe. https://t.co/Qu1cquGaHB
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) May 25, 2023
On Friday night of the holiday weekend, a man wearing a neon “Peacekeeper” vest was arrested for brutally beating and robbing a motorist in a Chicago neighborhood. The beating, caught on police surveillance video, showed officers apprehending the suspect while he was fleeing the scene and trying to take the “Peacekeeper” vest off. The suspect, Oscar Montes, was recently released from a twelve-year sentence on a gang-related shooting charge that was pled down from attempted murder.
And now the state will dump millions more into the program.
The Illinois Department of Human Services is looking to spend $30 million in fiscal year 2024 that started July 1 on the Peacekeepers Program. The money comes from COVID-19 relief federal tax funds. The program summary is looking for community groups with a “comprehensive approach to reducing firearm violence through targeted, integrated behavioral health services and economic opportunities.”
The community group Violence Interrupters focuses on interrupting violence in select cities throughout the United States by establishing short and long-term goals that will reduce the number of violent crimes.
The group’s founder, Tio Hardiman, told The Center Square that his group in Chicago had made strides in addressing some of the root causes of crime but did suggest increased funding to expand their operation.
“My overall goal here in Chicago is to hire another 1,000 violence interrupters to hit the streets of Chicago and mediate conflicts in Chicago at an all-time high level,” Hardiman said. “So we can reduce gun violence by 50% in Chicago.”
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