As Chicago Violence Keeps Soaring, Citizens Are Short On Answers

Chicago is no longer my kind of town. Chicago violence keeps rising at an alarming rate, making it difficult to enjoy anything in the city. And with the reported deaths on Memorial Day weekend, it is providing further proof that the Chicago violence is going to ruin a once fine place to live.

Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel and the Chicago Police Department have vowed to beef up the police presence for the remainder of the weekend. The news comes after the Chicago Tribune reported 40 confirmed shootings which took place in the Chicago-area on Friday and Saturday. Four people were pronounced dead among the shootings.

One of the youngest victims of violence during Memorial Day weekend was 15-year-old Veronica Lopez. Lopez was shot and killed while riding in a Jeep on Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive. CPD First Deputy Superintendent John Escalante attempted to offer some assurance that Chicago is safe.

“We want to ensure people that Lake Shore Drive, it’s a beautiful route to drive and it’s a safe route to drive. I think people have to realize it’s a big city, but it’s a beautiful city, and it really is a safe city.”

Lake Shore Drive has become the center for a lot of the violence in Chicago as of late.

15-year-old girl killed in Lake Shore Drive shooting on Chicago's North Side identified: https://t.co/infLWW9p0q pic.twitter.com/UOQCakL0Dk

— NBC Chicago (@nbcchicago) May 28, 2016

A 32-year-old woman was struck and killed by a driver of a truck on Lake Shore Drive on Sunday morning. Pamela Johnson was escaping muggers who were trying to rob her and her boyfriend. That is an example of how Chicago violence has escalated to an alarming rate. It was very possible that Johnson and her boyfriend could have both been shot and killed. Johnson’s death would not have taken place if the streets were safer.

Robbers look for potential victims all the time on Lake Shore Drive, in the Chicago Loop and on public transportation. It is in certain areas of the city where the crimes go beyond the robberies, extending to shootings and murders. Chicagoans are increasingly finding it difficult to leave their homes without the fear of violence finding them.

WEEKEND VIOLENCE: 5 people were killed and 34 more wounded in Chicago shootings https://t.co/49Of4Dtmlt pic.twitter.com/ymkfYipdyu

— FOX 32 News (@fox32news) May 23, 2016

Chicago violence always seem to affect innocent civilians.

Yvonne Nelson, 49, was just getting off work as a city employee. Nelson had been working as a 311 dispatcher for 14 years. She was hoping to grab a cup of coffee at a Starbucks in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. As Yvonne Nelson was exiting the Starbucks, a vehicle drove by with gang members inside and random shots were fired. Nelson was struck by a bullet and died, according to DNA Info.

Nelson is not the only innocent victim of Chicago violence. Most of the victims of Chicago violence are innocent people, of all ages, who just want to enjoy a good quality of life. That is no longer the case. And a beautiful city is receiving a bad reputation.

Upon first glance, parts of Chicago are gorgeous. From the creative architecture, to the luxurious skyline, it is easy to fall in love with the positives, while ignoring the gun violence plaguing the city.

Memories are made when walking down Lake Shore Drive. And the sights during that walk have provided several inspirational times. Chicago violence is taking its toll on the residents. The citizens of Chicago are all out of answers these days.

Shequita Evans, a Chicago resident, told the Chicago Tribune that she fears for her son walking the streets. Her son is a senior at Hubbard High School.

“We live in the city. Every time you look up, it’s a shooting, it’s an innocent, it’s gangs shooting each other. Who’s to say someone wouldn’t come along and shoot him? I fear for my son.”

Every time a shooting is reported by the news, her fear escalates. That being said, Chicago violence will not chase her away from the city. She cites that she cannot afford to move elsewhere.

Chicago violence, Chicago politics, and Chicago taxes are the reasons for the decline. The spike in Chicago violence can be the result of the lack of programs for young people from the ages of 14-24. Summer jobs used to be plentiful in Chicago. That is no longer the case. The public school system in Chicago used to carry programs that were held after class. Now that funding is low, those programs which included art, music, and sports are barely functioning or nonexistent.

Chicago youth are thrust onto the streets where trouble lurks. Many of the offenders of Chicago violence fit the age demographic of 14-24 years old. There is a budgetary crisis underway in Chicago. Things may only get worse. The increase in crime is virtually guaranteed, with Memorial Day weekend serving as a microcosm of how rough Chicago violence have become.

There are two days to go, and at the rate things are going, the record for Memorial Day weekend shootings will be eclipsed by the evening.

The current record for Memorial Day weekend shootings is the 44 that took place last year.

With each murder, shooting, and robbery, the second city is quickly becoming the first city of crime. Chicago violence is increasingly getting worse by the minute. Chicago citizens are left with nothing but fears of dying in the city they love.

[Featured Photo by Scott Olsen/Getty Images]