CHICAGO | Pulling a page from former Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh's playbook, two Illinois legislators are calling for the Illinois National Guard to help Chicago fight the rising tide of gun violence in the city.
State Reps. John Fritchey and LaShawn Ford, both Chicago Democrats, made the proposal at a news conference Sunday, noting that 113 people have been killed in Chicago so far this year. Fritchey said U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan had suffered precisely the same number of deaths in the same time period.
"The unfortunate reality is that we have another war that is just as deadly taking place right in our backyard," Fritchey said. "Is this a drastic call to action? Of course it is. But is it warranted when we are losing residents to gun violence at such an alarming rate? Without question."
But Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis said he does not believe the National Guard is the answer to the problem of Chicago violence.
"I appreciate their frustration and their willingness to help," Weiss told The Associated Press. "But I am simply not sure the National Guard is the answer to our problems -- at least in terms of mass deployment. I'm frankly not sure what their mission would be."
The lawmakers' plea to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, who did return an Associated Press call seeking comment, is similar those that came out of Gary in 1995, while the Steel City had the nation's highest murder rate. That August, Republican mayoral candidate Diane Ross Boswell and activist George Rogge, of the Miller Citizens Corp., called on Bayh to send in the National Guard.
A month later, Bayh dispatched 50 Indiana State Police troopers to assist Gary's beleaguered police force.
"Those who are committing murders, selling drugs and committing other violent acts are served notice that the state is going to do its best to help Gary police stop the violence," Bayh said at the time.
The state police left at the end of the year, though the city got a $1.1 million grant to hire more police officers through the Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, program championed by President Bill Clinton.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
