You all very much. Thank you. [applause] thank you. Jay, thanks for the nice introduction. Ed, thank you for the many kindnesses youve shown to me and my family. Is my First City Club without paul green and i miss him. I know we all do. Person. C and a great resource. And always had a little jab for a tougheaker, with question. I looked forward to it. And im sure you, in his make sure i face the music afterwards too. [laughter] one of myenton is faves. And she and i went to i toember saying, would you go a cubs game with me . Because she wears cubs earrings. She said sure. Day a few opening years ago. And naturally, opening day at wrigley field, you never know expect. Well, it was a snowstorm. [laughter] ended up, up in a box. And we were there with billy williams. Taken. Got her picture and i was sitting there, watching the game. I looked around and darned if she wasnt waiting on everybody in the box. And i youre a guest. Youll have to work your today. A wonderful lady. Glad to have her as a friend. Shes my other girlfriend. [laughter] here. Ou are the topic of one to discuss this afternoon is serious. I hope each and every one of you will listen and share some thoughts, questions. It relates to the reality of the world we live in. You remember what you did last weekend . Some people do and many are trying to remember. 63 people will remember it because it was a weekend they went to the emergency room with a gunshot in chicago. So far this year, 2345 people have been shot in chicago. That is down from last year, chicagos deadliest year in 20 years. More than 3000 people were shot and killed that year. It is still horrifically high. No one is spared from violence, even children. More than 300 children in chicago were shot last year and 36 died. Year, 176 children have been shot and 27 have died. Was the deadliest month for children in chicago and more than 15 years. One child being killed on average every other day. Since 2000, gun violence in the city has taken the lives of more than 1000 children. Anger,frustration and lieutenant Eddie Johnson said this weekend of killing represents the culture of chicago. He added you cannot arrest our way out of this crisis when the criminal Justice System is not a deterrent. The causes of this carnage are complex. Many people working from every conceivable angle to end it could many faith leaders and representatives. Community leaders, business education, Public Health communities, Public Officials and lawenforcement. Many of you in this room. Must feel like you are pushing a folder of the hill but you are saving lives. Thank you for what you do. I want to talk about three approaches that i believe can help. The flow need to stop of illegal guns into our cities they were his. Neighborhoods. [applause] last year and the year before, chocolate the Chicago Police department recovered more illegal guns than their counterparts in new york and los angeles combined. About 65 of the crime guns , we cand in chicago debate about what exactly are Founding Fathers met with the Second Amendment of the constitution but we know when they wrote the words a well relate well regulated, they were not talking about nineyearold armed with a nine millimeters semi automatic handguns. Yet, those are the type of firearms that are fleet fueling the bloodshed in chicago. , thebert jackson once said constitution is not a suicide pact. I agree. We can respect of the constitution and do more to keep dangerous guns out of the hands of criminals and children. Your are a few of the things and i salute the state legislators here today. Gun dealers in illinois should obtain state licenses, follow commonsense Safety Measures to keep people who should not possess guns to require guns. And salutehe efforts those who are here to support them as well to require reasonable Safety Measures. No state, including illinois can stop illegal flow of guns alone. Toughen the week federal laws to stop straw gun purchases and illegal Drug Trafficking introduced a bipartisan bill with Susan Collins and senator pat leahy. Congress should also close, the glaring gaps in fbi background checks that make it easy for convicted felons, terrorists, people with mental instability and others to get handguns and other weapons. We cannot just police our way out of this epidemic of violence. If we are going to ask young men to put down their guns, we have the opportunity chance at a better life and that has to include a job. Im glad to see the father here. He has spoken to this group before and we know him by reputation. He is my friend. We know he is a pastor. That a year and a half ago, got a message. He wanted to tell me about a young man 26 years old, a former this young man and the father had an interesting history. Several years ago, the man put out a hit on the father for the trouble he was causing gangs in the neighborhood. It sounds like mike. One day, that young man came and asked will you help me . I want out. I would dont want to live this way. In in a ged course. , young man was driving down the street with his grandmother went to gang members walked up and shot him and his grandmother in the head. She survived but he didnt. It was packed with gang members for the young mans funeral. He asked the mourners this question how many of you Young Brothers would like to give up this life . How many want to go to school and get a job . 150 men came up. Father said i could find jobs for three or four them but what about the rest . Until we can ask her that question retaliation of killing in chicago. Look at the numbers that tell the story. 39 of youngeport, black and brown men in chicago, 39 between the ages of 20 and 24 are not working and not in school. Remember that number, 39 . Nationwide, 25 of young africanamerican and latino men out of work and that a year and, got a unders out of school. White men, 8 . The researchers looked at where the homicides occurred in chicago. They found five neighborhoods, austin, inglewood, west inglewood, grand causing. They account for about 8 of the citys population but 32 of the murderers. In those five neighborhoods, the jobless rates among young black and brown men range from 79 to 91 . Iss anyone doubt there connection . The one Summer Chicago Program brought together community groups, businesses and others to provide summer jobs to 31,000 young people. I have seen them. They are transformative. For many young people, it is the first time in their lives. Many other organizations are also working to bring jobs to the neighborhoods. If you are part of those efforts, thank you. A week after he took office, President Trump tweeted that he would send in the feds in chicago does not. I say if you want to use the powers of the federal government to help and violence in chicago, we welcome your help. Send us federal dollars to revive her economically abandoned neighborhoods, send us help for job training and apprenticeship programs. Helpless closeout ravages that outrageous tax loopholes that ship jobs overseas and instead lets have a tax code that rewards american countries, creating jobs for americans with decent paying benefits. [applause] senator sherry brown of ohio is introducing a bill to do just that. I also introduce a bill to expand tax credits to employers who hire at risk communities. To make its gas bill easier for Community Organizations to apply directly for federal funds to support summer and yearround Youth Employment programs. I am milling to meet willing to meet with this president anytime if you want to work to create jobs and a more positive environment in the city. [applause] the last proposal about to get in is critically important and often overlooked. If we are ever going to start the bloodshed, we must learn to recognize and heal the deep wounds that violence and dramatic loss inflicts on the minds of those exposed to it. Especially the developing brains of children. A year ago, i went to Cook County Juvenile Detention Center and spent the better part of a day meeting with teenagers waiting for trial for having shot people and talking to those who work with them. Those ready for trial, do not come and go. They are there for a long amount of time. I said to the counselors at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, what do you find when you sent sit down with his young lee\men . We find everything bipolar, depression, we find it all. Those awaiting trial coming through this Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, we find the same thing. They have either been victims of violence or exposed to violent trauma. That is not a coincidence, my friends. It is a reality. Many have lost parents to addictions, incarceration or death. They have grown up in poverty and chaos. They lost friends, classmates and family members to violence. Now when i visit classrooms in the city and other places, i say how many of you here have seen some on killed . Memberit or class murdered . How many of you have seen someone you know or love murdered . If you have, you will never forget it. How many of you worry every minute of every day a stray bullet could come out of nowhere and enter life or someone you love . Ask yourself what if you were eight euros old and just answered yes to both of those questions . Now i went over to the va hospital and was invited for a counseling session for returning veterans. These are former members of the military who are carefully screened before they were inducted. They were trained by professionals. They were sent into combat with careful supervision and support and yet they come home and desperate need for support and counseling to heal their wounds. How can we possibly believe that children who grew up surrounded by the daily threat of violence could cope on their own and just outgrow the germanic spirits is. Technology has given us definitive proof that exposure to violence and from a dramatically affects kids. Traumance and repeated leaves emotional scars that could last a lifetime but literally change a childs brain chemistry. Result in what could lead to emotional difficulties, the elemental delays and a variety of Chronic Health conditions it perpetuates the cycle of poverty. We know children who experience violence are likely to experience asthma, panic and flashback. They are likely to suffer from and zaidi anxiety. They also suffer from learning. Took a vocabulary test shortly after a murder in the neighborhood performed dramatically worse. As though as they lost several years of academic progress compared to the students tested before the murder. A single bullet could ripple through a family and a community , shattering the fragile sense of certainty and security that many of us take for granted and leaving in its place grief and unimaginable loss and heartbreak. We now know that adults that experienced trauma and violence as children are likely to suffer from heart disease, stroke, diabetes, depression, addiction, Liver Disease and many other chronic conditions. Die youngerkcker and and people do not grow up with surrounding by violence. Children exposed to trauma and violence will deliver these problems or have these mental and physical challenges. With proper care, many children who are harmed can be healed, but for too many children in violent still the neighborhoods, their biography becomes their biology. Here is the reason why. Its estimated only 25 of the children in america who need Mental Health care actually receive it. Black and brown children, those most likely to experience this violence, are even less likely to receive the help they need to prevent trauma related mental and physical difficulties. To put it another way, when it comes to gun violence in chicago, sign me up for 1000 cops and 1000 counselors. We need them both. [applause] heres the good news. The good news is there are many people in this room, many i have met who are showing a path forward. Is shessue here . Here . Atleen has an amazing staff larry childrens hospital. We spent many times to talk about the work. She came to washington recently to brief the staff on the effective violence and toxic stress. She has taken on the daunting task of educating senators. She has done pretty well. The center of childhood Resilience Works with School District all over the state educating and training not just School Professionals but humidity Community Health experts and parents to recognize and help. A few months ago, i went to a school with all hispanic kids. They had decided to pick out 1200 kids, four that they could help. Four out of 1200. Naturally they went to those that needed help the most. A mother told me the story. A hispanic lady told me the story that she had two little kids in the first and third grade and that six month before, her husband walked into the living room where they were all sitting, took out a gun and killed himself in front of them. As a result of that experience, these kids started going through flashbacks, night terrors. They had no interest in anything. Their mother called one of the teachers and suggested that both of them be part of this program. Those little children opened up and talked about their grief, fear and anger. Andt the kids afterwards they didnt know the circumstances of why i was there. Perfectly normal and happy kids who have been through that life shattering experience. The mother said to us when i look at what has happened to kids, i will get some counseling too. We understand folks are looking for help. Chicago has the knowledge and leadership and infrastructure to become a National Leader. We have an army of organizations that have made a difference. Ther mayor emmanuel and Public Health commissioner, chicago is working to become the largest trauma helping city in america. I introduced a bill in the senate to help make it happen. It is called the trauma and farm care for family and childrens act. My partners are Heidi Heitkamp of north dakota and al franken from minnesota and in the house, congressman danny davis. He knows the heartbreak of gun violence. Last year, his 15yearold grandson was killed by two teenagers arguing over shoes and clothes. I could not ask for a better partner in this effort. The need for Trauma Informed Care is staggering. A 2013 study conducted in chicago, found nearly nine out of 10 kids age 15 to 17 had been exposed to this kind of violence. One in three lost a close friend or family member. One in five witnessed a murder firsthand. Few received any Mental Health services at all. This bill will build on innovation here and other places, educate and train adults who can help these young people, front line people, expand medicaid coverage of trauma informed counseling and services to more schools. Enable more kids to benefit from these curriculum. Provide proven Mental Health perhaps to help young people. Young people are 21 times more likely to go to a School Clinic than another clinic for care. We want to make sure were there to help them. Our bill will enlist community leaders. Jay and joy luster, i met jay in the course of this project. Thousands of students in chicago are taking advantage of that now. Mentors from the ymca urban warriors programs. Coach wayne garden, he has been on front lines of battle 42 years, am i right, wayne on that . He moved into lawndale neighborhood, raised his family there and never left. Wayne, thank you for all you have done with mike and others in the community. [applause] one of my friends went to jerusalem and saw a program there dealing with trauma and violence decided to bring it back here. Let me give a shout out to pastor chris harris from Bright Star Church in brownsville. [applause] chris, thank you so much. We need to have the best practices that come out of these experiences and the ones we learned from around the country to make this better. Making these changes will not break the bank. It will make better use of money were currently spending on violence in this city. Well look at every federal program that reaches kids from head start to home visits to health care to make sure it includes strategies for identifying trauma. You know what costs more than treating trauma . Ignoring it. It has been two decades since the First Research showed us the link. Think how much money we could have saved in health costs if we followed that lead . Centers for Disease Control estimates that america spends 124 billion a year on health care for Adult Patients with a history of early trauma. How many lives, how many billions of dollars a year might we save by treating childhood trauma to avoid the problem before it becomes worse . It costs dramatic amount of money to incarcerate these young people. Wouldnt it be better to counsel them . Our bill is supported by 100 chicago organizations American Academy of pediatrics, National Education association, National Council of juvenile and family courts but the most powerful endorsements for Trauma Informed Care may come from two young men from inglewood. Deshawn hanna and dan blake are cousins. Deshawn is 20. Dantrel will turn 21 this month. Both men were shot in separate incidents months apart in 2015. Dantrel has a bullet in his leg. The cousins caught a break that changed their lives when he went back to the hospital for a followup. Let me thank you, tony, for the great work that you do every single day there. You deserve a lot of applause. [applause] so when he went back to stroger, he went into a woman named