Community leaders push for a safe and peaceful Memorial Day weekend

CHICAGO (WGN) — Across Chicago, people are setting up for Memorial Day weekend with safety at the top of mind for elected officials and community leaders.

Community members are using the weekend to host events that promote unity and encourage young people to make better choices.

“Memorial Day weekend is an important weekend. It can be a violent weekend. It’s the start of summer,” Father Michael Pfleger said.

Pfleger says his church, St. Sabina, will be hosting a youth and family say on Saturday where the message to teens will be to stay away from teen takeovers.

“Young people, they have to make smart choices,” Pfleger said. “There’s nothing wrong with going downtown with a group of your friends, they should be able to do this. But if you see it turn into something else, walk away. Leave.”

On the South Side, Kweisi the Poet is hosting the first of several open mic poetry and comedy events for young people to have somewhere to go to express themselves this weekend.

“We’re all poets at the end of the day; We all have feelings,” Kweisi Gharreau said. “It’s about how we express that. How do we let it out?”

His events are about promoting peace and for people to put down their guns.

“My message is think before you react. That one to three seconds before a decision can turn into life in prison,” Gharreau said.

This week, city leaders shared there will be a collaborative approach to safety this summer. Chicago Police Department data shows a decrease in homicides, shootings, shooting victims and robberies.

“I think this is a really important weekend, and as a city, we want to get off on the right foot,” Ald. Marty Quinn (13^th Ward) said.

Ald. Quinn says while crime trends are heading in the right direction, there are neighborhoods that are still struggling.

He is among those in a coalition pushing for the opening of a new police district on the Southwest Side to better serve area residents.

A roll call for 8^th District officers took place at 6 p.m. Friday to show solidarity ahead of a busy weekend for Chicago police.

“It’s important for us as a community to recognize that and to say thank you,” Ald. Quinn said. “Thank you to the police officers that put their lives on the line for our safety day in and day out.”