Speaking about this week’s mass shooting in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, Quinn says he’s open to talking with Mayor Emanuel or Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy about supplementing Chicago law enforcement with state police or the Illinois National Guard.
He said he’s had no specific conversations but noted state police are helping patrol in East St. Louis, another city that has its challenges with violent crime.
“I think anyone who saw what happened in Cornell Park the other night was horrified by the violence. I live on the West Side of Chicago. It is an area that has been inflicted with violence, and we’ve got to protect the people,” Quinn told reporters Saturday.
Talk about using state firepower in Chicago isn’t unprecedented. In 2008, then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich suggested using the state police and National Guard to help Chicago police with “out of control” violence.
The comment was widely interpreted as an insult to then-Mayor Richard Daley, with whom Blagojevich was feuding.
Quinn said potential solutions to crime include community efforts to minimize the impact of gangs and early education.
He says he also remains committed to doing something about assault rifles – one is suspected of being used in Thursday’s shooting – and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
The governor spoke in the Little Village neighborhood Saturday morning at the reopening of a credit union.
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