Justice Dept. cuts grants as Chicago tries to tamp down violence

(NewsNation) — The U.S. Justice Department has chopped astir $1 cardinal successful grants that enactment everything from centers for home unit victims to weapon unit prevention to constabulary training. Some interest that this slashing comes with a price, particularly successful large cities similar Chicago.

For 13 years successful a row, Chicago has worn the grim badge arsenic the nation's person successful the fig of yearly homicides. In 2024, that fig stood astatine 573.  

There’s crushed for hope. This year, the Chicago Police Department says murders are astatine the lowest level successful six years. Officials recognition changes successful the mode homicide investigators run arsenic good arsenic grassroots efforts supported by national funding.

Metropolitan Peace Initiatives is among section organizations that trust connected national grants to assistance tamp down violence.

“We look astatine the places wherever there's concentrated shootings, and past we antheral those blocks with folks who are from those neighborhoods,” Executive Director Vaughn Bryant said.

This week, the Department of Justice announced it was terminating much than $800 cardinal successful grants to enactment constabulary and victims of crime. Vaughn said that would person a section impact.

Other cities, including New York, Washington D.C., Miami, San Francisco, Baltimore and Seattle, besides are bracing for cuts. The Trump medication says wealth would beryllium reallocated to enactment its priorities, which includes protecting intersexual battle and trafficking victims and children.

Still, Gregory Jackson, a erstwhile White House authoritative connected weapon unit prevention, says taking wealth distant from community-based organizations could beryllium “devastating.”

“Last year, we saw, connected average, a 40% simplification successful homicides successful cities with implicit a cardinal residents,” helium said. "But if you look astatine wherefore that happened, the aggravated drops successful homicides are wherever these community-based organizations were strongest."

The Justice Department has already restored immoderate assistance cuts this week, and Attorney General Pam Bondi said they volition proceed to guarantee that services for victims are not affected.