Erika Prince, Beloved Special Education Teacher Gunned Down on Chicago Street

The latest gun violence in Chicago has claimed the life of an educator, Erika Prince, 32, who was shot in the head at the wheel of her 2008 cranberry-colored Dodge Charger as she waited in the 8700 block of South Euclid for her 9-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old relative to hop inside and join her.

Erika Prince, 32, a special education teacher for Chicago Public Schools was shot and killed Sunday morning. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, police were investigating Monday whether the Charger was tied to Prince’s fatal shooting. They said it’s possible the shooting began as a car-jacking, or a robbery attempt. Detectives were checking reports that a man who lived in the 8700 block of Euclid and who had been shot a week earlier owned a similar-looking car.

What happened to this woman is a shame and a great tragedy. According to media reports, friends and colleagues described Prince, the daughter of a Kennedy-King College music professor, as a bright child and a big-hearted adult. She was on the honor roll at Dixon Elementary in Chatham as a child and returned there as an adult to teach special education students and mentor two after-school clubs. “She was not one of those teachers who just punched out at the end of the day,” said Dixon Principal Sharon Dale.

Relatives couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if the shooting had occurred a few minutes later, when both kids were due to join Prince in the Charger. Friends said that Prince was an active member at Salem Baptist Church, where she sang in the choir. At Dixon, Prince advised two after-school clubs — the Beta Club, or Junior Honor Society, and the hip-hop club. One eighth-grader in the hip-hop club was so devastated by Prince’s death he didn’t want to participate in his eighth-grade graduation, Principal Dale said.

Her passing will undoubtedly have a very traumatic effect on her children, who saw their mother slumped over the wheel of her car and the children whose lives she touched. Once again, gun violence in Chicago has claimed another innocent life. The life of someone who was obviously making a tremendous difference in the lives of many children. Police Chief Jody Weiss unveiled an ambitious plan to crack down on the violence, but not a day goes by when someone isn’t shot and wounded or killed on the streets of Chicago. That is a shame and a great travesty. Just my thoughts, you be the judge….

Filed under: Chicago Public School, Erika Prince, Jody Weiss

Rev. Jesse Jackson Against New Chicago Police Weapons Plan

Why am I not surprised? Rev. Jesse Jackson said that a plan to arm Chicago police with semi-automatic weapons will increase violence in the city. So, the gangbangers would walk around with high-powered weapons.Jackson was referring to a plan by police Supt. Jody Weis to equip all 1,700 patrol cars with M-4 carbines. Weis says the weapons will help protect officers and that they are often more accurate than standard-issue firearms.

Rainbow PUSH Coaliton’s Rev. Jackson, however, wants a ban on such weapons. He said he would like to meet with Weis and Mayor Daley to talk them out of going ahead with the plan. “For them to get these weapons is to escalate the climate of violence and set the stage for a shootout, in which case, people not even related to the crisis would be victims of flying bullets,” Jackson said.

Let’s look at what happened in Chicago over the past weekend when at least 10 people were shot around the city, according to the police:

• Just before 10 p.m. Friday, a 17-year-old man was wounded by two men in the 400 block of North Laramie, police said. The teen was taken to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, where he was in stable condition.
• Shortly afterward, an 18-year-old man and a 24-year-old man heard gunfire in the 8100 block of South Racine before finding they had been shot, police said. Both were taken in good condition to St. Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center.
• Minutes later, another 18-year-old was shot in the 8300 block of South Whipple, police said. He was taken in stable condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
• Just before 10:30 p.m. Friday, a 25-year-old man was shot by several people in the 1200 block of South Avers, police said. He was taken to Loretto Hospital in good condition.
• And about 11 p.m., a man was shot in the 1900 block of South Troy, police said. He was taken in stable condition to Mount Sinai Hospital.
• On Saturday, just after midnight, a 19-year-old man was shot near the 7000 block of South Damen Avenue. He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in stable condition.
• About 12:30 a.m. Saturday, a 31-year-old man was shot in the 7700 block of South Stewart, police said. He was taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital in stable condition.
• About 12:42 a.m., a 32-year-old man was shot in the 3700 block of West 18th Street. He was was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital.
• Also, a 19-year-old man was shot in the 800 block of North Lawler at about 1:45 a.m. He was taken in good condition to West Suburban Medical Center.

Reverend Jackson believes more summer programs and jobs for teens would help reduce violence. That’s all good and well, but when we have so many young people being fatally shot by gang members, then parents and relatives really don’t want to hear that. There is no reason for cops to be outgunned by thugs. What we need is zero-tolerance gun legislation, which I am sure the National Rifle Association won’t like, but something drastic has to be done. I can’t recall hearing about Rev. Jackson attending one march for victims of gun violence in Chicago or visiting with one family that lost a child to gun violence in the Chicago Public School system. So, to just pop up now to tell the cops what he thinks they should do is a little counterproductive to me. Where was Rev. Jackson when the first child in the CPS was shot in the school year? The cops need to do something drastic to send a message to the gangbangers out there that they mean business. Just my thoughts, you be the judge….

Filed under: Chicago Public School, Gangs, Jody Weiss, Rev. Jesse Jackson