CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- As part of its latest bid to thwart gang violence across the city, the Lightfoot Administration is vowing to sue street gangs to freeze their money and assets.
This week, Mayor Lightfoot is expected to present the Chicago City Council with a plan to take street gangs to court, using lawsuits to try to cripple them financially. It’s a tactic that’s been tried in the suburbs, but not in Chicago before now.
"What we are proposing is a tool in civil courts that gives us the opportunity to go after those gangs that are wreaking havoc, and in particular, take away the profit motive by seizing assets that they have been able to purchase because of violent activity in our neighborhoods," Mayor Lightfoot said.
The success of such tactics has been hit or miss in the suburbs, depending on the judges and exactly what the authorities can prove about the gangs and their members.
But, the mayor added that this does not mean they will stop trying to reach gang members to offer an alternative to drugs and violence.
"We've got to continue supporting, for example, things like street outreach. We've got to continue supporting not-for-profit organizations that reach out to young people and their families; but we have to also deal with the realities, which is that there are some violent, awful street gangs that are terrorizing our neighborhoods," Lightfoot said.
Still, the Illinois ACLU insisted asset seizure is not the way to end the gun violence.
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