Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago leaders celebrate reductions in gun violence

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Gov. JB Pritzker, alongside the Chicago Mayor and lawmakers, celebrated four years of continuing reductions in gun violence.

In 2021, the Governor signed the Reimagine Public Safety Act, directing $250 million in state funds to gun violence prevention programs.

This includes Chicago peacekeeping programs such as Chicago CRED and FLIP. These programs have helped reduce gun violence by 41% in violent hotspots and resolved nearly 1500 conflicts before guns were drawn.

"Each of those interventions represents a life that could have been taken too soon, a potential that would have gone unfulfilled and a family that would have been left devastated," Pritzker said.

While these peacekeeping programs have been successful, they're quite dangerous jobs. Often, the workers will need to involve themselves in life threatening situations.

Keeping the peace, can cost lives.

"Our beloved peacekeeper, Anthony Robinson was shot and killed," Jalon Arthur of Chicago CRED said. "It was a painful and it was a dark period."

Lawmakers in Springfield have worked to try and reform the criminal justice system, loosening reliance on law enforcement for crime control.

State Rep. Justin Slaughter (D-Chicago) alongside his Chicago peers said these peacekeepers deserve the all the praise they get.

"It's because of your dedication, your commitment and your sacrifice that we've been able to achieve our goals," Slaughter said.

While gun violence has dropped, Chicago is considered six times more violent than New York City according to Arne Duncan founder of CVI. Advocates say the job is not finished.

"When you have violence, you have more heartbreak, you have more trauma, you have more retaliation you have more violence," Duncan said. "When we have less violence you have less heartbreak, less retaliation, less trauma, less violence."

The Governor has proposed to continue funding these programs with $40 million more in grants in his 2026 budget address.