Activists push for youth-led violence-prevention package

At 10 years old, Michael Granberry lost his first loved one to gun violence. When he was 13, it happened again.

Now 16, Michael said it's trauma and pain like this at such a young age that encourages young people to continue the cycle of violence.

“We are afraid to lose another loved one to violence, so we attempt to hurt people first before they hurt us,” he said at a news conference Tuesday.

But Michael worked to end the cycle this summer by being a peacekeeper in a Chicago pilot program. Now, he’s working with other activists to make that program permanent and expand its reach.

Activists of the youth group GoodKids MadCity and two City Council allies — Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) and Ald. Lamont Robinson (4h) — gathered Tuesday in City Hall to call for the passage of the Peace Book Ordinance in this year’s budget negotiations.

The ordinance, originally proposed in 2022, seeks to invest in youth-led violence prevention programs. It proposes employing youth peacekeepers, creating neighborhood-based and citywide peace commissions and creating a physical “Peace Book” guide with resources for de-escalation and violence prevention.

Fuentes reintroduced the ordinance in September 2023. Most of its proposals were not adopted, but Fuentes secured a pilot of the youth peacekeeper program through One Summer Chicago.

More than 900 people applied for the 100 youth peacekeeper positions available in the summer. The 60-hour, six-week program taught peacekeepers about conflict resolution, de-escalation tactics and relationship building.

Isaiah Williams, 16, along with the other young activists who participated in the pilot, said the program can be successful in pushing youth away from a violent path.

“Holding peace circles within my school, and pushing peace generally, that’s a good way to support these kids and help them become a better person," Isaiah said. "Passing this peace ordinance can help them change their mindset just like it changed mine.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson has previously expressed support for the ordinance, and Fuentes reiterated that in the news conference. But the Peace Book Ordinance still faces headwinds to getting passed.

The biggest hurdle is the budget deficit, Fuentes told the Sun-Times.

A $982.4 million budget shortfall that the City Council and Johnson are trying to erase complicates the push to fund this plan, Fuentes said. But she’s confident the Council will get something done.

“That’s why we’re getting very creative in how we reappropriate some programming and funds that already exist,” Fuentes said. That includes working to have more of One Summer Chicago’s available positions be youth peacekeepers, and turn some of the city’s Department of Family and Support Services year-round positions into these roles, too.

Fuentes also wants to establish a working group to explore how to implement other proposals like the commissions.

Reece Johnson, who participated in the peacekeeper program, said it is critical to make sure young people are getting help from people who understand them.

“We can’t expect people from other communities to come try to help us because they don’t understand the type of things that’s going on in our communities,” he said. “Sometimes it just takes the person right next to you, that’s in your community, to just help you.”

Reynia Torres has advocated for the ordinance since its inception, but sometimes felt she wasn't being heard.

But now, Torres said she's hopeful it may finally become reality since the pilot program has shown what it can do.

“I’ve seen what the peace book does, how it affects certain people,” she said. “Seeing all these people that are backing us up gives me more hope in passing the peace book.”