Public Safety for All

Decades of research show that disinvestment in Chicago’s neighborhoods has led to a devastating cycle of gun violence and trauma in our communities. Ensuring public safety for all will require local government to invest resources in people, especially in communities at the highest risk of violence. By creating good-paying jobs, providing mental health services, and ensuring quality public schools and affordable housing, we can prevent crime and interrupt the cycle of disinvestment and violence in our neighborhoods.

As Commissioner, I will work to:

• ‍Make evidence-based public safety investments.
  
  
• Work with municipalities within Cook County to invest in civilian first responder programs for people experiencing behavioral health crises and redesign 911 systems so that nonviolent, behavioral health calls receive a public health response.
  
  
• Coordinate with local and statewide elected officials to provide more resources for young people, like community programs, after-school activities, job training in good-paying unions, and mental health services.
  
  
• Defend the Pretrial Fairness Act.
  
  
• Champion restorative justice.
  
  
  ‍Furthermore, the county has successfully reduced the prison population over successive years, desperately addressing the harmful cycle of mass incarceration in our society. I will continue to support these decarceration efforts and expand community support services to help keep people out of prison.