FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE15 Hours Ago

After 100 Shot in Chicago, Dem Rep Asks for Illinois National Guard

by Daniel Greenfield

Somehow I don't think the Illinois National Guard are going to be enough. Not when it comes to securing Chicago. We're talking about Iraq War II here.

State Representative Monique Davis (D-27) thinks it is time for dramatic action in the streets of Chicago. In view of the street gun violence since July 1, in which over 100 individuals have been shot and 14 dead, Rep. Monique Davis says it is time for dramatic action. Rep. Davis yesterday called on Governor Quinn and Mayor Rahm Emanuel to call out the National Guard to restore safety to the black community.

In a press conference at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, CBS St. Louis reported that Rep. Davis said, "I am requesting with this press conference that Gov. Patrick Quinn order the Illinois National Guard (and) the Illinois State Police (to) come to Chicago and work with our mayor Ron (sic) Emanuel to provide safety for the children, especially."

However, she said that if these state personnel are called in, a special commission must be set up to make sure they have clear orders on what to do each day.

"We don't want them to have us fearing them also," she said.

I don't think Davis is too clear on what bringing in any military into a city is going to look like. They're not the cops. They're not going to play games.

But the Illinois Guard only has 13,200 members. That's nearly the size of the Chicago police department. You could just expand the Chicago PD ranks. The Chicago Crime Commission report called for 300 more officers. Rahm Emanuel wants to hire 1,700 more. But considering Chicago's insane police overtime budget, it may just be easier to bite the bullet and hire a lot more cops.

But Chicago already maxes out the cops per citizens ratio. And Chicago's budget crisis makes hiring more cops nearly impossible. But trying to pass the buck up to Illinois is hardly an answer.

Deploying the Guard was proposed in earlier summers as well.

Gov. Pat Quinn said today that he will not deploy members of the National Guard to help patrol city streets unless requested to do so by Daley. Quinn said it could be counter productive to police efforts, as law enforcement officers and military personnel are trained differently.

The governor suggested the National Guard could be most helpful by providing intelligence assistance and the use of helicopters for aerial surveillance. But even that step would be extraordinary, and Quinn said it would not happen without a request from Daley — a possibility that seems remote.

Ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich was summarily dismissed by the mayor when he suggested sending in the National Guard two years ago.

About Daniel Greenfield

Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam. He is completing a book on the international challenges America faces in the 21st century.

After 100 Shot in Chicago, Dem Rep Asks for Illinois National Guard
http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/after-100-shot-in-chicago-dem-rep-asks-for-illinois-national-guard/

John Hames