Trump’s Troop Plan for Chicago Misses the Real Problem
President Trump says he will send troops to Chicago, but history shows military presence does little to reduce crime. Real solutions lie in addressing poverty, housing, jobs, and drug trafficking, not short-term shows of force.
President Trump says he’s sending troops to Chicago next. But the question is this: coming to do what?
We’ve seen this play before. In 1981, Mayor Jane Byrne moved into the Cabrini-Green housing projects to “understand” the crime affecting residents. She lasted three weeks, surrounded by heavy security. In the end, it was nothing more than a publicity stunt. Nothing meaningful changed for the people living there.
So, when the military occupies Chicago for three weeks and leaves, what then? Unless you target a problem at its core, all the military might in the world won’t change a thing. Residents will still be hungry, still in need of jobs, still searching for quality housing. Youth will still be left idle, with no Job Corps programs to occupy their time.
And why Chicago, D.C., and Los Angeles? According to crime statistics, they aren’t even the worst. Chicago ranks 48th in yearly crime per 100,000 residents. D.C. is 33rd. Los Angeles, often painted by Trump as a city overrun with violence, comes in at 137th. For context, Minneapolis ranks 6th. Salt Lake City, Utah, ranks 10th, higher than Chicago, D.C., and L.A. combined. But you don’t hear any talk of occupying Salt Lake City. Why not?
The military presence in Los Angeles and D.C. did nothing but inconvenience residents as ICE sought the undocumented. Trump is playing with a powder keg. Anarchy is bad for everyone.
The comforts of the well-to-do, their daily routines, would grind to a halt. And for the poor, whose existence is already strained, life would only get worse. When people who feel they have nothing to lose are pushed into a fight, the results are explosive. I don’t think this president understands the consequences of occupying these cities.
Chicago already has 11,700 police officers. If that’s not enough to keep crime at bay, then no amount of military presence will do better. The real solutions lie in addressing the root causes of crime: poverty, housing, joblessness, and the unchecked flow of cartel drugs into the city.
A long-term military occupation would be too costly, unsustainable and unwelcome. What this country needs is investment in communities, not intimidation from soldiers on the streets.