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Illinois politicians once again believe they have magic to cure the crime plaguing the city of Chicago. I recently learned that Illinois Democrats plan to introduce Bill 4409, which would amend the Illinois Crime Reduction Act of 2009 and rename “criminals” to “justice affected individuals.” That’s right. Through the magic of rephrasing, there will be no “criminals” or “offenders.” Instead, there will be “justice affected individuals,” and the meaning of that couldn’t be clearer. They will be viewed as victims of the system, not criminals victimizing society.
I wish it were that easy.
If that were the case, I could quit being a pastor who has spent the last 20 years rehabilitating criminals in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side. I could quit building my megaproject, the HOOD Community Center, designed to take the neighborhood back from criminals. But you and I both know that this latest move by our state politicians is just another left-wing folly.
Illinois politicians plan to change the word “offender” to “justice-affected individuals”
I’m sick of it. I’ve watched liberals sprinkle this magic dust in my neighborhood so many times over the last 70 years. Long before I came to the South Side as a pastor, they instituted welfare policies that forced fathers out of their homes and traded them for government dependency.
With each passing year, we fail to provide enough schools and enough teachers. Today, our local elementary schools are producing kids who can barely read, write or do math. And just a few months ago, less than a year ago, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced he would magically achieve equality by closing some of the city’s best public high schools because it was unfair to black kids who attended low-performing schools.
Chicago mayor touts achievements in leading ‘greatest city in the world’
I wish I could laugh at this stupidity, but I can’t. I’m tired of politicians claiming to care about us, yet running away from the failures their policies have caused. Instead, they try to distract us with the magic dust of empty words. Sadly, it works all too often.
Every criminal I have met on the streets and in churches has broken the law. They knew what the law was, but they crossed the line anyway. They hurt people, even killed them. No amount of words can erase those consequences.
But what bothers me most about the left is their refusal to see the people in my neighborhood as full human beings, which is why calling the criminals in my neighborhood “affected by justice” is a failure to see them as full human beings.
In contrast, I see these corrupt men and women as criminals. We must focus on that reality. It may be unfair that many of them come from very poor families and are disadvantaged, but that is no excuse for them to turn to crime.
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Every criminal I have met on the streets and in churches has broken the law. They knew what the law was, but they crossed the line anyway. They hurt people, even killed them. No amount of words can erase those consequences.
But I truly believe that we can rehabilitate criminals into law-abiding citizens, and the first step is to find the individual hiding beneath the criminal’s armor, so that we can reconnect that individual with all that is good in life, and especially with who they are as a person.
Then I begin to show them the possibility of new paths in life, and I tell them over and over again that they can change their life for the better, that they can be a better employee, they can be a better parent, they can be a better citizen.
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This job is not easy and it’s not for the faint of heart. Not everyone will succeed, but I’ve seen many who have, and it’s beautiful to see them spread their wings.
No amount of liberal wizardry can replace the real human work that is so desperately needed in my community.
Fox News brings you a new interview with Pastor Corey Brooks. Revelation on the Roof.
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