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The aldermen living on the West Side and other neighborhoods plagued by violence aren’t protected by bubbles.
That the was the message several Chicago City Council members told Sun-Times reporter Mark Konkol in his Sept. 16 story that shared the stories of fear expressed by the leaders and their families who know they’re not immune to the violence outside their homes.
The report looked at citywide data over a span of 13 months starting June 2011 and found at least three occurrences of murders and shootings within two city blocks of where 10 Chicago aldermen live.
Ald. Emma Mitts (37th) and her mother Betty Russ shared their experiences with the Sun-Times.
“Oh, Lord, all my life, as old as I am. I ain’t never been anywhere you don’t rest so good,” said Russ, 86, who lives with Mitts.
“There’s so much shooting. The kids getting killed for no reason. It’s heartbreaking. Ain’t your child getting killed. But it feels like it,” she said.
The Sun-Times reported there were five shootings within a quarter mile of Mitts’ home since the beginning of last summer and 65 shootings and 19 murders across the entire 37th Ward.
To read the complete story by the Chicago Sun-Times, click here.