What Happens When You Pay Ex–Gang Members to Stop Crime? Ask Chicago.
“They’re supposed to be out here stopping crime, but then they go and catch a case themselves.” (Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Illinois pays former gang members to prevent shootings in Chicago. Critics say the billion-dollar experiment has become a revolving door for crime.
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This fall, a Chicago headline caught my eye: A man who had posed with Governor J.B. Pritzker at a “Peacekeepers” anti-violence event had just been charged with murder.
The man was part of a state-funded program designed to prevent gang violence by paying locals—often former gang members—to mediate conflicts on the street. About a week after appearing wit…
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