From the Chicago Tribune: VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (LETTER)
Chicago homicides
Richard Jones
Published February 8, 2004
Chicago -- I am a relative newcomer to downtown Chicago.
Last week I read the first in your series on Chicago's homicide rate (Page 1, Feb. 1).
As terrible as it is, and as much as civilized people will decry the hopelessness and erosion of moral values among these segments of Chicago's population, the harsh truth is that until the influential politicos and city residents take up this cause, nothing is really going to change.
Sophisticated computer software may show us nice graphical representations of historical crime data, but an entire cultural revolution is the only way to change this pattern.
The police aren't up to it, and the rest of us aren't personally affected enough to make the investment, especially in the face of very long odds against success.
The reason is simple:
Until it directly touches us, we really don't care that much about the lives and deaths of a segment of Chicago society we don't understand and with which we're not involved.
Although I applaud your effort to bring this tragic circumstance to the public's attention, regrettably I fear the outlook for any improvement is very bleak.
