When I heard about last night's shooting, I was angry

Last night, as I was finishing up an arrest of a notorious drug dealer in Englewood, I heard about the shooting at the 3900 block of North Broadway. I was angry. I spent my entire day fighting crime in Chicago's toughest neighborhoods, only to come home to the same type of violent crime in my own backyard. Our law enforcement assets are deployed to other parts of the City and the residents of our Ward suffer.

This type of crime is unfortunately nothing new for our neighbors further north on Broadway. Night after night, there are shots fired, resulting in wounded residents, hospitalization, and death. What makes last night's shooting something of note, aside from the fact that it happened outside of the “traditional” crime area, is that it now brings a larger number of 46^th Ward residents into the fold. This type of crime has no place in our neighborhood, no matter what part of our Ward it may occur. Fortunately, the residents of the 46^th Ward have an opportunity to put an end to these types of crime in our community once and for all.

I visited and spoke with business owners on Broadway and Irving Park this afternoon for over four hours. Sutcliffe Pharmacy, The Currency Exchange, the Afro Barber Shop, EZ Clean Coin Laundry, Dunkin' Donuts, the GameStop, Taco Del Mar, and Quizno's – every owner, manager, and hourly worker received my promise that I can and will stop this type of crime in our Ward, preserving their business and the well being of our community. I am the right person to be our Ward's voice in City Hall because I am the only candidate with the knowledge and experience to put and end to the gangs, guns, and drugs that plague our neighborhood.