WHERE’S MONROE?
I attended a peace march and rally this afternoon at 38th and Illinois. Local community activists and residents were protesting the string of killings in the area. Three people have been murdered in the area over the past couple weeks. One person conspicuously absent from the march was Council President Monroe Gray.
The killings all took place in Gray’s district so you think he would have shown up. Gray had promised he would be there, but he was a no show.
Had he been there he would have seen the residents march from 35th to 38th and Illinois singing and declaring peace in the streets.
Had he been there he would have also seen the dozen or so abandoned homes and buildings the residents passed as they walked those three blocks.
Had he been there he would have prayed with the citizens in the McDonald’s parking lot at 38th and Illinois where a young man was gunned down in the parking lot.
Had he been there he would have been able to look down Illinois street and see a vibrant downtown skyline, while less than 10 minutes away are people who live in fear of violence everyday.
It would have been nice had he been there, but maybe he had something else better to do. What’s ironic is that most of Gray’s support in District 8 is south of 38th street. I hope his constituents remember that on November 6th.
