Response to urban violence can't wait

Chicago and other urban areas are in crisis. In Chicago, 113 people have been killed this year -- a higher death toll than the troops have suffered in Afghanistan. The emergency is so dire that state legislators support calling out the National Guard to patrol Chicago's streets. Guard members now in Afghanistan might return to a more dangerous assignment. As Mayor Daley noted, the suggestion is a "Band-Aid" at best. The troops are not trained as police. They might suppress the pain, but couldn't relieve it. More likely, their presence would increase violence and fear, not alleviate it. But the urgency behind the proposal is right. This is a crisis, not a condition. This year, 150 children have been shot -- 25 fatally. In the 16 months leading up to December 2008, Chicago averaged 32 shootings of children a year.