Chicago

I get your point about the politics at play, but this is going to have to go beyond politics, if possible.  One of the problems, as I stated, in the current anti-police protest climate, is that Police Officers are MUCH less likely to put themselves in a position where they may have to use deadly force.  And like it or not, putting a stop to this carnage, in the short term, will require deadly force to be used in order to not become one of the murder #'s.  It's the nature of dealing with violence.

So if your police force doesn't feel it has the support of the City's politicians, and is basically at the mercy of protestors, who do you call?  The men and women of a police department in that situation will NOT do the type of proactive policing needed to curb the violence.  Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a quick fix for that either. 

I think we are left with either the Guard or a heavily militarized police force.

FWIW in this discussion, Trump can't "send in the feds" legally unless Chicago requests federal assistance.

It's interesting, because there is a large faction of people who say that more Police is not the answer.  That's not necessarily true.  We visited Chicago last year and I had no problem letting my daughters shop up and down Michigan Ave. alone....they were 15 at the time.  Of course, there are 2-4 Police Officers on every corner and crime is pretty much non-existent there.  Go figure.

That same philosophy works in neighborhoods too.  Put 2-4 Police Officers on EVERY corner and watch crime disappear.  It will.  Of course we don't do that because there is no pay-off.  We do it for Michigan Ave. because we need to protect the tax revenue.  We won't do it for inner city neighborhoods because those people are not as important as revenue coming in.  That's the truth of it.  And, of course, there are the vocal few who claim that all that police presence in those inner city neighborhoods is living proof of govt/institutional racism. 

And Dave.....President trump can "send in the feds" if he wants....depending on what he meant by that phrase.  He can easily increase manpower at the FBI, ATF, and DEA field offices there.  Hell, he can put 10,000 agents there if he wants to.  Yes, they could only enforce federal laws......but the use of task forces blurs that line to oblivion.  Federal resources for local officers enforcing state and local laws.  It's in use all over the country.

This is a fixable problem.......it just depends on who we, as a nation, are willing to give voice to.  Those who have no voice and live in terror and fear, or the louder ones who protest and make money on the backs of the fearful.  It's a decision that will have to be made, or the killing will continue and increase.

Another important factor is being able to recognize the root causes.  Trying to fix stupid things that have no effect is a waste of time and resources.
I'm specifically referring to Rahm blaming guns for everything.  If we just make tighter gun laws with neighboring states then all our violence will stop... blah blah 

I don't either, but I think we can all agree it's a very complex problem with multiple contributing things.

I do a lot of work with the inner city and poor in North Omaha and they have very high unemployment there.  However, it's not a matter of companies hiring people or moving there because that's not it at all.  What the issue is there's an employability problem more than an unemployment problem.  Even if 100 companies moved in and tried to hire the people they can barely read and speak let alone show up to a job on time and be respectful to coworkers.
One charity I do work with focuses on the basics of human interaction with things like looking people in the eyes and shaking hands.  Then we progress to helping them figure out how to make a schedule and stick to it.  It's really sad how badly these communities have been allowed to crumble.  

In googling it, unemployment in the inner city of Chicago among African-Americans and Hispanics looks pretty bleak.  It's important to look at that demographic since statistics show they are the victims of ~93% of the shootings/murders in Chicago. I bet their schools absolutely suck too.   As a nation we will need to address that, but it took generations to tear it down to the level it is, and it will take a generation or two to fix it.  Tony alluded to some of the problems.  You are talking about a couple of generations who were never taught the value of a job or education (and yes, that overly simplifies it, but as the schools go, so goes the neighborhood....we all know that).

As I said in my OP.....these are the factors that got us where we are in Chicago....but how do you quell the violence NOW?

I think you have to make it so they are not afraid to.  They do have reason to be afraid to come forward. Criminals run many of those inner city neighborhoods....they make the most money, carry the most influence, and are the most violent.  You have to find a force to replace them......and yes, that's a short term solution.  But, as I said in an earlier post, you have to find a short term solution to stop the violence before you can even think of bringing about long term social changes.

I think the solution does start at home......but now we have at least 2 generations that don't even know what that means.  There are a number of people who just have no idea how to raise productive kids....they had no model, so how could they?

I spent a great deal of my younger years as a cop policing a public housing neighborhood.....this one happened to be about 98% black, and incredibly dangerous.  We had 3 officers killed in a 4 years time period......it was only about 5 square blocks in area.  It just sounds stupid to say that the kids there were just like kids everywhere, because OF COURSE they are, but it has to be said because it's not a racial problem or even a cultural problem from my POV......it's an educational problem, and I don't mean just schooling.  If we want people to model good behavior and good values we have to find a way to teach them how, and teach the importance of it.  So many have missed that so there is nothing to pass on to their children.  Every human being wants peace and happiness....many don't have any idea how to accomplish that, much less pass it on.

I have no answers......the problem is massive. 

I think we can do MUCH better with policing in this country as well.  If I were King of the Police, an officer would earn something just above the poverty level.  They would work for 10 years and then have a tremendous retirement package.  The overall cost would be about the same.  The benefit is that our Police force would more mirror the people they most often come into contact with.....poor people.  One of the major problems with Police Officers is that they lose empathy for the people they are most often called upon to police.  It's not hard when you're making nearly a 6 figure income and working neighborhoods racked with poverty.  You'd keep corruption out of policing by being absolutely firm on losing that retirement package if you become THAT officer.  10 years in a high crime area is about all your brain can handle anyway.