The Chicago Sports Alliance followed up on its earlier pledge to "fund training for crime lab analysts" on Friday when it "announced plans to donate another" $1M for more gun violence initiatives. Bulls and White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf, Bulls President Michael Reinsdorf, Blackhawks Chair Rocky Wirtz, Bears Chair George McCaskey and Cubs Owner Tom Ricketts "gathered to discuss their partnership to combat the city’s gun violence Friday at a luncheon at the MB Ice Arena." Ricketts: “I don’t think the sports teams have ever come together like this, here or anywhere else. ...It does speak to the scale of the problem but it also speaks to the commitment of (ownership)."
The 2-year-old Alliance "raised grant money to continue its support of the partnership of the Crime Lab and Choose to Change, which uses mentoring by Youth Advocate Programs and therapy by Children’s Home and Aid." The Alliance also is helping fund READI Chicago, an 18-month "job training and behavioral therapy program based on research that indicates the combination of therapy and jobs help participants make better decisions during high-stakes situations" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/17).
