Chicago Sun-Times
CHICAGO — We knew people shoot other people every day in Chicago. We did not fully appreciate how often they get away with it -- almost always.
This is the discouraging message of “59 Hours,” a three-part Chicago Sun-Times series by reporters Mark Konkol and Frank Main that ends today (see Page 16). Not only are the numbers for shootings consistently high in Chicago, even by comparison with other big cities, but hardly anybody responsible is brought to justice, at least not in a court of law.
Until that changes, nobody should be surprised that shootings will continue, as persistent and bloody as ever.
On a single weekend in 2008 -- 59 hours -- 40 people were shot in Chicago, seven of them fatally. In each case, the police swooped in and interviewed neighbors and witnesses, took statements and collected evidence. They even made arrests.
But two years later, reporters Konkol and Main found, not one shooter has been charged and convicted, and just one suspected shooter is awaiting trial.
So much for the long arm of the law.
If that one weekend were an exception to the rule, the news might not be so bad, but it is not. Fewer than one in 10 of all non-fatal shootings last year resulted in criminal charges.
A crooked alderman stands a better chance of getting caught.
The second important lesson of “59 Hours” is that an effective solution can come only from the bottom up. A top-down solution --more neighborhood beat cops, more violent crimes detectives, more prosecutors -- is no solution at all unless ordinary people, tired of washing blood stains off sidewalks with bleach, refuse to tolerate the violence any longer.
But witnesses don’t come forward. Or, unbelievably, they recant their testimony right on the witness stand. They are fearful, and they don’t trust the police.
Or the victims themselves refuse to cooperate with the police, stupidly plotting their own form of revenge, as if they live in the lawless land of a Mad Max movie.
The cops can’t make arrests without witnesses. The Cook County state’s attorney’s office can’t win cases without witnesses. Nobody can sweep gun-toting gangbangers off the street without witnesses.
Meanwhile, gang-bangers shoot gangbangers. Sure. But they also shoot small children. And honor students. And nice guys who keep their noses clean.
Hey, everybody, how’s that code of silence working out for ya?
Everybody at the top has a solution, or makes a nod at a solution, which is better than nothing -- we sincerely cheer them on.
Gov. Quinn has formed an anti-violence commission to gather testimony on the problem. The Chicago Police are using computers to deploy officers to the biggest hot spots. The Illinois General Assembly passed a law this year that mandates prison time for any gang member caught with a loaded weapon in a public area. The state’s attorney’s office has opened a third community center to develop closer ties to potential witnesses.
But you’ll have to excuse us if we can’t whip up a lot of enthusiasm today for commissions and programs.
Because just the other day, on Sunday afternoon, a 15-year-old Springfield boy who was visiting relatives in Roseland was shot while riding a bike.
And nobody could identify the shooter.
Could not or would not?
Commissions and programs are all very nice.
But nothing works like a little courage.
Copyright 2010 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.