Chicago area congressman wants CDC to get involved in fight against gun violence
Charges were filed Wednesday against a 13-year-old boy accused of shooting another teen in Matteson, Illinois, and a shooting involving two young teens also left a 13-year-old boy dead in Joliet this week.
Meanwhile, there was word Wednesday that a Chicago area congressman wants gun violence at the center of discussion on Capitol Hill. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would get involved under this push.
In Joliet on Monday, 13-year-old Manuel Mejia Perez was shot and killed in an alley behind the 300 block of South Desplaines Street. The Will County State's Attorney's office charged a 15-year-old boy with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon.
In Matteson on Tuesday, a 13-year-old boy is accused of shooting and wounding a 15-year-old boy outside the Matteson Community Center.
Video taken Wednesday morning shows Matteson police recovering a gun and placing it into a brown evidence bag. Police found the weapon at a nearby retention pond.
Hours earlier, the 15-year-old victim stumbled into the recreation center after being shot — allegedly by a boy two years his junior.
"And that's why I want to fix the problem," said U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Illinois). "A 13-year-old cannot go into a gun shop."
Jackson is pushing for new legislation he says would allocate resources of the CDC to curb gun violence.
"It's us also expanding the definition of gun violence — just not as a policing issue, but as a community health factor," Jackson said. "This way, we can ask the Center for Disease Control to become involved. We can gather more data."
Jackson said it is time to call the country's gun violence what it is — a health epidemic.
"Let's use the resources of the Center for Disease Control. They can move with alacrity and speed like they've done with COVID, the bird flu, and other things," he said. "I'd like to heighten this to being that level of urgency for public safety."
Jackson pointed out that Chicago and his congressional district, which also encompasses suburban communities, are feeling the impact of ongoing gun violence.
"On average, it costs almost $1 million to help recover someone's life after they've been shot, taking into account long-term factors and trauma and recovery and ongoing physical issues that they have," said Jackson. "That can save the Chicago region almost $2 billion a year."
Jackson pointed out that when gun violence goes unaddressed, people are forced to abandon communities seeking safer areas.
Jackson plans to address Congress Thursday about the push to get gun violence on the minds of all lawmakers.
