Blagojevich offers to help Chicago fight crime
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
07/17/2008
He'd like Daley to help get construction deal passed, governor says.
CHICAGO — Gov. Rod Blagojevich raised the possibility on Wednesday of bringing in state troopers or even the Illinois National Guard to help Chicago combat a recent increase in violent crime — an offer that Mayor Richard Daley didn't know was coming.
Appearing at a signing ceremony for a bill that toughens the penalty for adults who provide guns to minors, Blagojevich said, "Violent crime in the city of Chicago is out of control."
"I'm offering resources of the state to the city to work in a constructive way with Mayor Daley to do everything we can possibly do to help ... stop this violence," the governor said.
Blagojevich said that Daley had not asked for help and that he had not talked to the mayor about offering it, adding that he would call Daley after meeting later in the day with the state police, National Guard and others.
Daley's office said the mayor had not known anything about Blagojevich's comments, nor had he known the governor was going to make them.
"The mayor welcomes partnerships, not just on this issue but on a variety of issues," spokeswoman Jody Kawada said. "Beyond that, it is difficult to comment because we don't have any facts."
And police department spokeswoman Monique Bond said they learned of the comments after Blagojevich made them as well, and said it was too soon to comment.
But Bond took issue with the governor's contention that crime was "out of control" in Chicago.
In fact, she said, if the current murder rate holds in the city, 2008 may end with fewer than 500 homicides and be one of the city's least deadly years in the past four decades.
The governor's comments come at a time when violent crime has spiked in Chicago. This spring, for example, nine people were killed in 36 shootings in one weekend, and Chicago Public Schools officials say more than two dozen students have been killed by gunfire since last September.
On Wednesday, Superintendent Jody Weis was grilled by members of a city council committee, who complained both about rising crime and about statistics that suggested to them that the police department wasn't doing enough to stop it.
Blagojevich's comments also come as the governor tries to find support for a massive statewide construction program that would be funded by expanded casino gambling. So far, Daley has refused to go along because he objects to the amount Blagojevich wants to charge Chicago to run a downtown casino.
Blagojevich raised that issue as he discussed the possibility of state aid with Chicago's crime problem.
"We need help in that legislative process, and the mayor could be a big help in this in getting the House Democratic leadership to pass that big capital program or versions of it," the governor said.
Blagojevich's offer also puts him in the position of trying to help on an issue dominating the news in Chicago.
Blagojevich said it was far more likely that state troopers would be used than Guardsmen. In fact, his office moved quickly after the governor's comments to stress in a news release that Blagojevich was not considering bringing in National Guard troops to the city.
"The only way the National Guard would be involved, if they are involved, is with the use of tactical helicopters that are currently used in narcotics operations," spokesman Lucio Guerrero stated.
Blagojevich had few details but suggested that one possibility would be to assign state troopers to areas of the city with lower crime rates, freeing Chicago police officers for areas where there is more crime.
"Maybe we can play a role in providing more manpower so that the mayor doesn't have to make that choice between taking a police from, let's say the North Side, and putting that police officer on the street on the South Side," he said.
He also suggested that retired Chicago police officers and state troopers could be hired on a temporary basis to help out in the summer months, when the violent crime rate typically climbs.