Allstate Gives $250,000 to Fight Violent Crime in Chicago

 Allstate Insurance Company is providing $250,000 to fund a new program to tackle violent crime in Chicago.

The program, called the Neighborhood Safety Initiative, was created by the Chicago branch of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the nation's largest community development support organization. The program will consult with the Mayor's Office, the Chicago Police Department (CPD), the University of Chicago's Crime Lab, and local community organizations to develop neighborhood-based solutions to violent crime across the city.

The Neighborhood Safety Initiative will target dangerous neighborhoods that have a history of organizing to combat crime and improve the neighborhood. Two pilot neighborhoods will be selected from the 28 that are already participating in LISC's New Communities Program.

Chicago has suffered an alarming spike in violence this year. The city has reported 409 murders this year, a 26% year-on-year increase. Chicago is on pace for over 530 murders by year's end, which would amount to the highest total since 2003. Currently, Chicago's murder rate is double that of Los Angeles and quadruple New York's rate. 

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Harry Stevens is a Media Consultant for 3BL Media / Justmeans. After earning his Bachelors of Arts in international relations from the University of Puget Sound, Harry moved to Guatemala to do business development for Mercado Global, a fair trade fashion organization. Harry has written on social enterprise, sustainable finance, and fair trade for a number of popular blogs, including Justmeans and The Fair Trade Times. A serial road-tripper, Harry has been to forty-seven of the forty-eight contiguous states, and is actively seeking an excuse to visit Oklahoma. You can follow Harry on Twitter: @Harry_Stevens