"The solution does not just include policing — although we'll continue to look for ways to put more police where they're needed. We also have to give our young people alternatives to the street, and as a community we need to demand more of ourselves and our neighbors." — Mayor Rahm Emanuel, on Chicago's blood-soaked Fourth of July weekend As Sunday night crept (no doubt cautiously) to Monday morning, residents of the South Chicago neighborhood endured a firefight. They witnessed a tide of mayhem worthy of urban war zones worldwide. This is not how Chicago wants to build its reputation as a global city. Imagine the terror of children and adults in homes on those besieged streets: The Tribune's Peter Nickeas reported from the scene that police officers responding to frequent shootings kept interrupting one another on their radios to report still new bursts of gunfire. So-called weapons wagons — SUVs loaded with lockers of rifles — delivered fresh throw-weight to cops who at times ran down streets toward the percussion of flying bullets. SWAT teams dressed in green walked the streets with regular officers dressed in blue. Overhead, a law enforcement helicopter circled in a futile attempt to quiet the rampage.
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