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Chicago Tribune
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Tio Hardiman: Redirect migrant funds to empower Chicago's youths
The recent youth takeovers in Chicago, involving large groups of young people engaging in violent and destructive behavior, have highlighted the urgent need for practical solutions. In March, a 46-year-old woman was shot during a takeover near the AMC River East 21 movie theater in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood. At another takeover, a 15-year-old boy was grazed by a bullet near Columbus Drive and Illinois Street. These events, along with a large gathering in Millennium Park that led to injuries including a stabbing, underscore the severity of the issue. The city's response has included curfew enforcement, barricades, increased police presence and innovative technologies. While these actions may help mitigate immediate risks, they do not address the underlying problems and will not stop the takeovers. The city, county and state must do much more to invest in youth. City and state governments should direct the same financial support to youths that they have committed to migrants. Since July 2022, Chicago has spent more than $600 million on migrant assistance, with much of that funding going to private companies managing shelters and lease agreements. In contrast, the city expects to spend $40 million on migrant services this year. At the state level, the government has allocated $139 million for migrant welcome centers in its 2025 budget. This money should be earmarked immediately before the summer to invest in our youths. The statistics on Black youths in Chicago remain alarming, according to university and media reports. Nearly 25% of youths under the age of 18 live in poverty, with rates exceeding 90% in some neighborhoods, according to a report released this year by the venture philanthropy A Better Chicago. Two-thirds of youths have witnessed violence, and 25% report seeing violence weekly, the report revealed. Last year, 41% of Chicago Public Schools students were chronically absent, which research has shown affects academic success. Additionally, 94% of youths cite mental health as a significant issue for their age group, and youths have concerns about inadequate services. Beth Swanson: What is the state of Chicago's youths?Chicago's Black youth unemployment rate remains higher than the national average and continues to be a challenge compared with what other major cities experience. In 2022, 17.5% of Black Chicago teens 16 to 19 years old were out of school and unemployed, up from 9.4% in 2021. In comparison, for example, Houston had a Black youth unemployment rate of 11.5%, with strong vocational training programs improving employment rates. Chicago faces unique challenges, with South and West Side neighborhoods having the highest concentration of Black youths who are jobless, with some areas exceeding 90% unemployment. Post-pandemic recovery has been slower for Black youths, thanks to disrupted education and job pathways. There is limited access to high-paying industries compared with cities such as Los Angeles and Houston, where tech and energy sectors provide more opportunities. Mayor Brandon Johnson has expanded youth employment programs, particularly through One Summer Chicago, which aims to provide 29,000 summer jobs this year. This program has successfully reduced youth unemployment and offered valuable work experience. However, the funding for these programs is significantly less than what has been spent on migrants. In 2024, $41 million was paid in wages to youths through One Summer Chicago, a fraction of the $600 million spent on migrant aid since July 2022. This disparity is unacceptable. We must invest in our future by investing in our youths. A mind is terrible to waste, but we are not investing in our young people. The city, county and state must prioritize youth investment. By redirecting funds from migrant aid to youth programs, we can provide meaningful opportunities for young people, reduce unemployment and prevent future takeovers. The time to act is now before the summer kicks in.
Chicago Tribune
14-04-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Beth Swanson: What is the state of Chicago's youths?
Chicago is home to a rich cultural landscape consisting of 77 neighborhoods, each with its own identity, history and sense of community. Despite the city's tremendous promise, the reality is that for far too many youths — especially those from Black and Latino communities on the South and West sides — opportunities remain out of reach. The pandemic only exacerbated these disparities, and today, young Chicagoans are navigating a climate in which their education, safety and well-being are under threat. Recently, my organization A Better Chicago released our 2025 State of our Youth report, which provides a comprehensive snapshot of how the city's youths are faring. The report draws from the organization's Youth Opportunity Dashboard — which compiles data from publicly available sources to track youth outcomes — along with citywide surveys and focus groups. It examines the challenges and barriers young people face across the city and the interventions and investments driving positive change. Addressing youth poverty remains an urgent challenge. The report cites nearly 1 in 4 Chicago youths through age 18 live in poverty; for the city's residents under the age of 5, that figure is 43.5%. Alarmingly, the poverty rate is as high as 90% in some Chicago communities. This has a profound impact on a child's development, as there is a clear correlation between poverty and academic outcomes. Food insecurity and weakened health often create difficulty for children to focus and learn, and youths experiencing poverty are two to three times more likely to be chronically absent from school. Further, poverty and homelessness are inextricably linked, and in 2024, youth homelessness across Chicago surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Many Chicago youths are also facing the harsh reality of violence in their communities. Homicides are down across the city, but the Tribune reported 573 homicides in Chicago last year, with 93 of those deaths being people under the age of 20. Nearly two-thirds of youth respondents in A Better Chicago's survey said they have witnessed community violence in some form, and almost 1 in 4 said they witness violence weekly. Much like poverty, there is a correlation between exposure to violent crime and academic outcomes. The academic story is nuanced. Third grade reading, third grade math and eighth grade math proficiency all hover around 20%, marking a drastic decline since the pandemic. There have been some promising gains, including a nearly 50% increase in eighth grade reading proficiency since 2019, and record-high high school graduation and college enrollment rates recently reported by Chicago Public Schools. But chronic absenteeism remains a significant barrier to academic achievement. In the 2018-19 school year, roughly 15% of the student population nationwide was deemed chronically absent. By the 2022-23 school year, that percentage had grown to 28%. Here in Chicago, 41% of CPS students were chronically absent in 2024, meaning nearly half of students missed a month or more of school instruction last year. When students become disconnected from their learning environment, the impact is far-reaching. Frequent absenteeism, even in a child's early years, can have a negative effect on academic achievement, long-term success and future earnings. The consequences are disproportionately worse for families experiencing poverty that often lack the resources to help children catch up. So how can we support Chicago's youths in meaningful ways and improve outcomes? No one person or organization has all the answers, and city budget concerns and other constraints can make change difficult. But we do know where we can start. The answer lies in a combination of targeted interventions, increased investment and collaboration across sectors. First and foremost, we need to prioritize housing and food security. Stable housing and access to nutritious food are fundamental for young people to succeed in school and life. We cannot expect youths to thrive when basic needs are not being met. Second, we should expand access to mental health services. Initiatives that address trauma and prevent further harm are needed to keep youths engaged in their education and reduce the cycle of violence in our communities. Third, we must bolster academic support. It's essential for young people to be equipped with the skills to overcome academic setbacks, setting them up to thrive in school and the workforce. This includes aggressively targeting chronic absenteeism — which is a significant barrier to learning — and improving math and reading proficiency rates. Finally, we must increase access to community-based programs, especially in under-resourced areas of the city. Youths of all ages and backgrounds are calling for expanded access to these programs — after school, on weekends and during the summer — which offer additional safe spaces to learn and grow. The challenges facing Chicago's youths are significant but not insurmountable. Nearly all youth survey respondents (95%) reported feeling optimistic about their future, and the vast majority are planning to further their education. This speaks to their remarkable resilience and the need for us — adults, institutions, policymakers, community leaders — to invest more deeply in the potential of every young person in this city.
