CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Memorial Day weekend has been marked by violence in years past, and Mayor Lightfoot says the city needs to be "all in" to take ownership of our safety.
After police announced the arrests of 67 people on drug charges — some with prior gun arrests — Mayor Lightfoot, flanked by her staff and Superintendent Eddie Johnson in Austin, said the city has to work to reduce the number of people who are "picking up guns to resolve petty disputes."
"We want people to survive the weekend," Lightfoot said. "We want there to be a reduction in shots, because it's not just the people who are directly affected, it's the ripple effect across the communities."
Lightfoot focused not only on this weekend but on summer programs for underserved communities that she hopes will be widely used as the weather warms up.
"If people don't feel like they can go to the beach or come downtown or walk down their street or just in their house without safety, we are giving up everything to chaos," she said.
Mayor Lightfoot was asked if police were catching a break this weekend because rain is in the forecast.
"It's not about the weather," she said. "It's about what people do."
She was also asked about young people who have caused problems on past holiday weekends on the Near North Side, especially around North Michigan Avenue.
Her response was they are free to go wherever they want. But she wants to make sure they have activities in their communities.
We all have a role to play in keeping Chicago safe over Memorial Day. Learn more about how you can get involved at https://t.co/lQrkXDT1D7#ourcityoursafety #chicago #memorialday pic.twitter.com/dHM4RZLzD3
— CHA (@theCHAtweets) May 24, 2019"That's why we spent a significant amount of time leading up to this weekend coordinating with the park district, coordinating with CPS and other partners to advertise to our young people that there's programming there — all over the city," she said. "So they need not, if they don't want to, leave their neighborhoods to actually get good, productive activities."
She ended the press conference with a family memory relating to the issue of dangerous activities.
"But as my mother used to say, if people are out there 'acting the fool,' then there are going to be consequences."
