Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle issued the following statement Thursday, April 24, after she received notice that the Trump Administration intends to cut funding Cook County is using for violence prevention programs.
“I strongly oppose the Trump Administration’s recent decision to cancel Department of Justice funding that supports life-saving violence prevention programming, as well as support for crime victims and justice involved youth. This decision is reckless and will disproportionately impact the communities that have been most harmed by the gun violence crisis.
“These investments were authorized by Congress with broad bipartisan support. Researchers, experts and people from the communities most impacted by gun violence agree that violence prevention and community violence intervention programs are effective at reducing crime and violence in our communities.
“Thanks in part to increased levels of support for this work over the past three years, we have seen rates of gun violence decline nationally, and in Cook County. Now is not the time to turn our back on this critical and impactful work.
“In Cook County, we will continue to press forward with a public health approach to gun violence that centers on prevention and healing. We will continue to work with our partners at the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois to ensure continued progress toward lasting community safety. We will continue to support survivors – and we will continue to put our residents first.”