'Thoughts And Prayers Are Not Enough' Chicago Mayor Lighfoot On Weekend Violence

CHICAGO (CBS) -- After the city saw another violent holiday weekend, Mayor Lori Lighfoot commented on the weekend violence in Chicago. Nearly 80 people have been shot since Friday night this July 4th holiday weekend and 15 of them have been killed.

Twelve of the weekend shooting victims were under age 18. Two of the 12 were killed.

Among the incidents were a shooting that left a 7-year-old girl dead while she was visiting her grandmother for a 4th of July party in South Austin Saturday night, and two mass shootings – one of which left four people dead and four more wounded.

"Thoughts and prayers are simply not enough. At this point, sorrow itself is not enough and what it says is we need to do better as a city. This day, this year and really every day," Lightfoot said.

The mayor added that resourced need to be funneled into targeting the flow of illegal guns coming into the city. But also programs to help people in crisis.

"We simply must fundamentally recommit ourselves to focusing on the root causes of the violence is every bit a public health crisis as COVID-19. And we can never lose sight of that fact," Lightfoot said.

She said while more community partnerships between grassroots organizations and law enforcement help, more needs to be done about illegal guns.

"We need more effort and resources devoted to the illegal gun trade. We cannot simply accept that illegal guns flooding our streets is normal. Because it's not. And we should not accept this as a given. It may not be. And it must not be," Lightfoot said. "I want to disrupt the pipeline that sees too many of our young boys become men raised by the streets. For Black and Brown young men, their career path cannot just be a corner. Instead of college or careers."

She admitted despite an all hands on deck approach, the number of people who were shot at shows a continued problem.

"What we're seeing is these large gatherings are tracked and for people who think it's okay to indiscriminately shoot into crowds. Eighty-seven people shot is never acceptable. Eighty-seven people shot in a week or a month is never acceptable. So we've got to go back and look at what we need to do better."

The mayor made her comments during a news conference announcing the Utility Billing Relief Program.

It's for Chicago homeowners of single-family homes and two-flats. They must be income eligible for LIHEAP to qualify for the UBR program. Participants must be the property owner, reside at the address with their name on the bill as the customer.

For low income residents, it provides:

• A reduced rate on water, sewer, and water-sewer tax.
• No late payment penalties or debt collection activity.
• Debt forgiveness after successfully completing one year with no past due balance.

"It represents our latest step in bringing long overdue financial support to residents who have struggled with their bills, forcing them to choose between paying for their water and other essentials, and in many cases succumb to debilitating debt," said Lightfoot. "Thanks to this program, Chicago's families and communities will now have a path forward towards compliance on payments, as well as the opportunity for total debt forgiveness, helping us build a Chicago that is more equitable, more inclusive, and more hopeful for generations to come."

Residents can visit the UBR website for more informtion for more information about UBR or to sign up can visit Chicago.gov/ubr.