Urban violence is war zone

When will enough be enough?

There were 15 shootings on a recent night in Chicago. Here are a couple of other random examples: on a another day in April, 36 people were shot in 36 hours, and over one weekend last year in July, there were 72 shootings. Some days, there are more shootings in Chicago than there ever were on days in the Afghanistan or Iraq wars.

It's becoming a norm - and worse, accepted - to have multiple shootings in Chicago. Why in the world haven't the feds or the state declared Chicago a war zone and brought in the National Guard? Is Chicago too proud to admit it cannot handle the daily violence?

Post guards by the hundreds on the streets wherever they are needed, and put an end to this slaughter.

Much of the fighting of the wars of late is urban fighting anyway. Where could the military get better training in urban fighting than helping Chicago squelch this insane violence? There is a war going on there; treat it as such.

And in the meantime, stop our huge corporations from sending all our jobs overseas. America and especially Chicago need good-paying jobs, not just fast-food jobs. We need to create incentives for the large corporations to keep the jobs here and hit them with penalties for shipping the jobs overseas.

In the meantime, Mr. President and Mr. Governor, send in the Guard and keep them in Chicago until everyone understands that people with decent jobs and livable incomes don't get into trouble.

Leo A. Dietrich

Lake Villa