Chicago mayor adds $500,000 to 'restoration and reparations' budget to address 'cycle of violence,' open mental health clinics

On Wednesday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson revealed that his new budget has allocated "half a million dollars for restoration and reparations" as a way to tackle the city's violent crime issues. 

In an interview with CNN, Johnson was asked about the violent crime rate being up 17 percent in the city. He responded that "the full force of government" is needed to make Chicago "better, stronger, and safer."

 He said the reparations will "address the cycle of violence. Which looks like school closings, closing of mental health facilities, of which I have invested in. He added, "We're going to open two mental health clinics, that were closed two previous administrations ago."

"And so, in order for us to build a better, stronger, safer Chicago, it requires investments. and that’s what this budget has done – a $16.77 billion budget without raising property taxes, and we’re just getting started in the city of Chicago," Johnson said. 

In addition to reparations, Johnson said they budgeted "A quarter of a billion dollars to address homelessness, $100 million for violence prevention. We added 80 million more dollars to our youth employment program of which we hired 25,000 young people just this summer." He noted that this is a 20 percent increase from the previous year.

According to the Chicago Police Department, there were 609 murders in the city this year, down 13 percent from 698 at this point last year. However, sexual assault is up 3 percent, robbery 23 percent, aggravated battery 6 percent, theft 3 percent, and motor vehicle theft 38 percent.  

In total, there have been 76,265 violent crime instances this year, compared to 65,421 at this point last year. 

The statement from Johnson comes days after New York joined California and Illinois in creating a "reparations commission" to right the wrongs of slavery in their state. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Tuesday, "Joined by leaders in the movement for racial justice, today New York took a bold step to right the wrongs of the past. Together, we will reckon with New York's legacy of slavery and discrimination, and work towards a more just, equitable future for all of our communities,"

Chicago has also seen an influx of illegal immigrants coming into the city as the crisis at the southern border gets worse. During the interview, Johnson echoed New York City Mayor Eric Adams's sentiments that without the federal government's help, the situation is unsustainable for the cities to handle on their own.