The Bad Idea Factory in Springfield, known as the IL General Assembly, has all manner of special interest groups lobbying for more state money from our very bankrupt state. Among those are organizations that hire criminal thugs to act as “peacekeepers” and “violence interrupters” on the streets of Chicago. At least when they’re not robbing, carjacking or otherwise victimizing others. Or shooting themselves in the ass (like “violence interrupter” Greg Sherman in the photo at his court arraignment).
One group is lobbying for ANOTHER $140M in state funding for these ineffective programs on top of the $200-$300M a year the state already spends on these misguided programs.
What’s more, they make some pretty astounding used cow food claims about their “success” thus far. From TCS:
(The Center Square) – The Reimagine Public Safety Act calls for a comprehensive approach to reducing violent crime through targeted community investments. Advocates and violence prevention groups gathered in Springfield recently to push for $140 million.
Target Area Development Director of Research and Re-entry Edward McBride said the reduction of crime in Chicago can be attributed to the Reimagine Public Safety Act and peacekeepers, who receive about $200 a day in taxpayer dollars.
“But essentially this has a known factor to bring down crime in the city and around the state, and we are looking at a 40% drop in the city of Chicago in gun violence. There have been numerous programs that have been implemented with this funding and we want to permanently fund it so that it doesn’t go away,” said McBride.
40% drop in gun violence? I don’t know what Ed McBride is smoking, but it’s some good stuff. If he’s got some figures that show a 40% drop in gun violence, he must be doing some Olympic-level gymnastics to cherry-pick a particular subset of data.
Here’s what the real world looks like. Courtesy of HeyJackass.com (specifically their instagram account).
Illinois already spends at least $200M-$300M per year on “violence prevention.” And paying thugs $200 a day to stay out of trouble comes up to $52,000 per year assuming 5-day “work weeks.”
TCS continues:
Despite instances where so-called peacekeepers in Chicago have been charged with beating and robbing people, advocates and state Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, pushed for more funding to be given to violence prevention programs that work with the peacekeepers.
Peacekeepers can be ex-convicts like Oscar Montes who was on tape in his yellow peacekeeper vest last year, with about six other men, and was beating and robbing a victim they had pulled from a car stopped at a red light in Chicago. Montes, prior to becoming a peacekeeper, served over 10 years for aggravated discharge of a firearm into an occupied vehicle.
Hundreds of violence prevention advocates in orange shirts and yellow peacekeeper vest were at the Capitol last week. McBride said his organization works with peacekeepers.
Sounds as though they had more “peacekeepers” and “violence interrupters” in Springfield with their hands out from more lucre from the state than we had at the Illinois State Rifle Association’s IGOLD event.
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