‘We should all be mourning’: Vigil honors victims of gun violence in Chicago and across the country in 2022
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Politicians and anti-violence advocates issued calls to action Sunday evening at the 10th annual vigil for victims of gun violence in Chicago and across the country.
At Augustana Lutheran Church of Hyde Park, more than 10 speakers from different offices and religious faiths called for a ban on assault weapons and an increase in mental health services, many echoing a sentiment from the Rev. Veronica Johnson, a local pastor and anti-violence advocate: “We should not be here today.”
“We should all be mourning because loss such as this hurts the entire community, city, our country,” Johnson said.
Each speaker provided testimony for those they know who have been affected by gun violence in a “lament,” a cry of pain, that aims to prevent normalizing this violence, Johnson said.
In 2022, Chicago has seen more than 630 homicides, speakers said. On the same day as the vigil, three people were shot and killed in a bar fight in Portage Park and a fourth person was critically injured, police said.
At the end, an orchestra played “Hallelujah” as attendees passed a flame to light each candle. The Rev. Nancy Goede of Augustana Lutheran Church opened and closed the vigil in prayer. The church community was directly affected by violence last year when member Keith Cooper was killed near a strip mall a few blocks from the church, Goede said.
“We still find that we miss him,” Goede said. “He has left big shoes to fill.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. And Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering were among the elected officials who spoke at the event. Chris Patterson, the state assistant secretary of firearm violence prevention, spoke in place of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who did not attend because of an illness.
This vigil has been hosted by Chicago Survivors, an organization that provides services to families affected by gun violence, since 26 people, including 20 children, were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012.
The vigil was last held in Chicago in 2019. In the church were memorials for the victims of homicide in 2019, 2020 and 2021, one of the deadliest years in Chicago with at least 800 homicides.
This year’s vigil also marks the first under the leadership of Chicago Survivors’ executive director, Oji Eggleston. The goal of Chicago Survivors is for crisis responders to be at the scenes of a homicide within two to four hours after it occurs to provide immediate resources and meet families and loved ones where they are at, Eggleston said. The Chicago Police Department notifies the organization when a homicide occurs, he said.
“When you have someone show up and talk to you about what resources are available to you, and how there are networks in place for you, it allows you to start that road to recovery,” he said.
Vigils allow gun violence survivors to convene in shared grief while focusing attention on the families seeking action, Eggleston said.
“A lot of people, when they’re dealing with loss, they tend to isolate,” he said. “But vigils allow these family members to come together.”
Durbin recalled being in Michigan this year celebrating July 4 when he heard about the shooting in Highland Park, where a gunman opened fire at a parade and killed seven people. Both Durbin and Lightfoot called for an immediate end to access to assault weapons.
Lightfoot called the country’s inability to solve the problem of gun violence an “absurdity” and “infuriating.” She emphasized that it requires both holding individuals responsible while addressing root causes, such as poverty.
After 13-year-old Adam Toledo was killed by a police officer last year, Lightfoot said she was confronted by a member of one of her commissions, who asked what she would do in “concrete, tangible ways” to make the city safe.
“I’ll never forget him or that challenge,” she said.
Lightfoot cited the work of the Community Safety Coordination Center, which aims to work directly with and in the areas most affected by violence in Chicago.
She also said a city pilot program will be announced in the coming weeks that aims to “fill the gaps” in care for survivors of gun violence. In closing, she reminded the audience that the state of Illinois currently has a Democratic supermajority.
“You can’t tell me that we can’t get an assault weapon ban through,” she said, to resounding applause.
