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United States News Title: The Obama Regime Has Lost Chicago -- It's Time For the Us to Pull Out and Stop Wasting Taxpayer Money on This Futile Effort Those living in violence-plagued neighborhoods say their streets have turned into a war zone. Now two Chicago lawmakers say it's time to treat those areas as if a battle was really being waged there, especially when it comes to giving the police the help they need: the National Guard. Twenty-month-old Cynia Cole was shot to death in the back seat of a car, the victim of a bullet intended for her father. "This is a child! How can you live with yourself after you've done this?" asked her grandmother Cynthia Lyons, a day after the killing. Cynia is among the 113 Chicagoans killed by violence so far this year, in a city where police officers are admittedly stretched to their limits. It's the same number of deaths registered by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for the same time period. Some state lawmakers say the violence at home now requires similar military back-up. "Just because something is unprecedented doesn't mean it's unwarranted," state Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, said. Along with Rep. LaShawn Ford, Fritchey is calling on Gov. Pat Quin and Mayor Richard Daley to deploy the National Guard, to help the city's police department combat the shootings, killings and crime sprees plaguing some Chicago neighborhoods. "When you have a police department that is offered help, I'd be hard pressed to understand why they wouldn't accept that help," Fritchey said. But the city's top cop, Police Superintendent Jody Weis, reacted cautiously to the idea. "As much as I'd like to have as much help as possible, I am not sure mixing the National Guard with local law enforcement is the solution," he said. Weis says the missions of the National Guard and the Police Department differ in principle. Police officers are trained in how to legally execute search warrants, and preserve evidence for prosecution. The guard's mission statement in the theater of war doesn't necessarily take that into account. "The military doesn't work under the same U.S. Constitutional amendments that law enforcement does," Weis said. But for those floating the idea, drastic violent times require drastic measures. "When kids from the South Side and West Side have to worry about getting to and from school alive, there is something wrong with that," Fritchey said. Weis says support in Springfield for stricter gun laws would go farther in helping police fight crimes. For now, Quinn isn't commenting on the proposal. The Second City Cop Chicago Police officers' blog also expressed doubt about idea. "Again with the guard," a blog entry on the subject was headed. "Why not just hire more police instead of trying to do things on the cheap?" Second City Cop said. Residents of Englewood – the scene of recent gun violence - were also skeptical about idea of having troops come into troubled neighborhoods. "Bring in troops for what? What are they going to do? What, are they going to have martial law or something? Come on now, we're not over in Iraq," Jacqueline Hamilton said. Programs, not soldiers, are the answer, she said. "What they need is to bring in more programs for people to learn how to do things to get jobs," she said. "Open up more jobs for ex-felons. It's hard for ex-felons to get a job out there."
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