>>> WITHIN HOURS OF TAKING OFFICE LAST MONTH, MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON CREATED A NEW POSITION, DEPUTY MAYOR OF COMMUNITY SAFETY.

THAT PERSON IS TASKED WITH EFFORTS THAT WAS AN ISSUE OF THE CAMPAIGN, ADDRESSING ROOT CAUSE OF CRIME AND VIOLENCE IN THE CITY.

THAT PERSON IS GARIEN GATEWOOD, THE CITY'S FIRST-EVER DEPUTY MAYOR OF COMMUNITY SAFETY.

HE JOINS US NOW.

PRIOR TO THIS ROLE HE SERVED AS DIRECTOR OF A NONPROFIT WORKING ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM.

DEPUTY MAYOR, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AND CONGRATS ON THE NEW POSITION.

SO, WHY THE CHANGE FROM DEPUTY MAYOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO -- OR THE CHANGE TO DEPUTY MAYOR OF COMMUNITY SAFETY UNDER MAYOR LIGHTFOOT?

>> WE HAVE TAKEN THIS APPROACH TO PUBLIC SAFETY AND WE WANTED TO TAKE A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO COMMUNITY SAFETY, MEANING WE WANTED MORE INPUT FROM COMMUNITY ON HOW WE BUILD OUR LONG-TERM SAFETY STRATEGIES AND PARTNERSHIP .

AS YOU HAVE SEEN THROUGH OTHER TIME FRAMES, PEOPLE IN THIS POSITION HAVE CYCLED THROUGHOUT .

WHAT ABOUT A MORE COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH AND DOING IT IN PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION WITH THE COMMUNITY?

>> HOW WILL YOU MANAGE YOUR SUCCESS IN THIS ROLE?

ARE THERE TANGIBLE NUMBERS OR ACTIONS TO SAY THIS IS WORKING FOR ME?

>> I WILL SAY THIS, HOW WE IMPACT THE PEOPLE IN CHICAGO.

WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE NUMBERS, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE .

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE IN THE CITIES AND WE WANT TO THINK ABOUT MAKING LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS IN CHICAGO.

HOW WE TALK WITH THE COMMUNITY AND ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND HOW WE START TO ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSES, TAKING A FULL FORM GOVERNMENTAL APPROACH .

>> WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE , AND HOW WILL YOU BE ADDRESSING PUBLIC SAFETY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE HAVE SEEN ?

>> AS WE CONTINUE TO BUILD OUR COMMUNITY SAFETY TEAM, WE WILL BE IN PLACES ALL OVER THE CITY NOT ONLY HAVING CONVERSATIONS AND BRINGING IN FOLKS FOR REAL DEEP DISCUSSIONS ON HOW THEY VIEW COMMUNITY SAFETY, WHAT THE RESOURCES ARE THAT ARE NEEDED, AND HOW WE TAKE THAT FULL GOVERNMENT APPROACH , MEANING IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS, BUT WHAT ARE WE DOING TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY AND LIVELIHOOD IN PARTICULAR?

HOW DO WE WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH SISTER AGENCIES, PARTNERS IN THE COMMUNITY, PARTNERS IN BUSINESS, PARTNERS IN PHILANTHROPY , HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER TO HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO THE CITY?

>> WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN THAT ACTUALLY WORKS TO REDUCE CRIME?

>> WE HAVE TO INVEST IN PEOPLE.

THERE IS A MULTILAYER APPROACH , RIGHT?

IT IS NOT A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL .

INVEST IN PEOPLE AND WORK ALONG WITH THE LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY OF YOUNG FOLKS , RIGHT?

HOW DO WE PULL ALL OF THESE RESOURCES TOGETHER TO START TARGETING AREAS THAT ARE IN THE MOST DIRE NEED IN THE CITY?

>> OF COURSE, WE ARE IN SUMMER AND THAT IS USUALLY WHEN WE SEE MORE VIOLENCE.

THE FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND IS THIS WEEKEND AND INTO NEXT WEEK.

WHAT SHOULD THE CITY BE DOING TO ADDRESS CRIME AND ESPECIALLY GUN VIOLENCE DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS ?

>> ONE, WORK TOGETHER COLLABORATIVELY.

TWO, LISTEN TO OUR YOUTH AND PROVIDE AND ACTIVATE SAFE SPACES.

WE ALSO NEED TO BE THOUGHTFUL AND HOW WE DEPLOY OUR RESOURCES AND I DON'T JUST MEAN HOW WE DEPLOY LAW ENFORCEMENT.

YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE DEPLOY OUR PEACEKEEPERS?

HOW DO WE AGAIN DEPLOY THE RESOURCES NEEDED IN YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS AROUND THE CITY, AND HOW DO WE DO THAT COLLABORATIVELY WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT ?

HOW DO WE DO ALL OF THIS TOGETHER UNDER THE SAME UMBRELLA?

>> YOU ARE RIGHT BEHIND MAYOR JOHNSON AT THE KICKOFF EVENT.

THERE WERE NEARLY TWO APPLICANTS FOR EVERY JOB IN THE PROGRAM.

HOW DOES THE CITY USE JOBS AS A VEHICLE TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE OR REDUCE VIOLENCE?

>> JOBS ARE ONE BIG MECHANISM TO ADDRESS THAT NEED .

WE ARE GROWING IN AREAS THAT WE CAN GIVE JOBS TO FOLKS .

NOT ONLY ARE WE GIVING JOBS THROUGHOUT OUR SISTER AGENCIES ACROSS THE CITY, BUT BACK TO THE POINT EARLIER ABOUT HOW WE COLLABORATE, YOU SAW THE CHAMBER.

HOW DO WE WORK WITH FOLKS NOT ONLY FOR SUMMER JOBS BUT THOSE LONG-TERM YEAR-ROUND JOBS AND THE JOBS THAT LEAD TO LONG-TERM CAREER TRAJECTORY?

WE NEED TO BE THOUGHTFUL AND CONTINUE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS, RIGHT?

WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER IN COLLABORATION.

>> THE SEARCH IS ON FOR THE NEXT SUPERINTENDENT .

HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR WORK WILL FIT INTO HOW THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT DOES AND HOW DO YOU PLAN ON WORKING WITH THEM?

>> WE PLAN ON BEING COLLABORATIVE AND SUPPORTIVE.

WE UNDERSTAND WE DIDN'T GET TO THIS PROBLEM WHERE WE ARE ALONE.

WE WON'T GET OUT OF THIS PROBLEM ALONE .

>> OF COURSE, AS YOU MENTIONED, YOU ARE LEADING CROSS GOVERNMENT TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE.

WHAT OTHER AGENCIES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR COMMUNITY SAFETY?

>> OH, GOSH.

ALL OF US.

IF YOU LIVE IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO, WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE .

WE TOOK A BIG JOB, RIGHT?

WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR COMMUNITY SAFETY IN EVERYTHING WE DO.

EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, ECONOMICS, EVERYTHING LEADS BACK TO FEELING SAFE IN CREATING THAT SAFETY.

IT IS NOT WHAT WE CAN DO IN CITY GOVERNMENT, BUT WHAT WE CAN DO ACROSS THE BOARD.

WE ARE TAKING A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH NOT ONLY WITH THE FULL FORCE OF THE GOVERNMENT BUT THE FULL FORCE OF THE COMMUNITY.

>> WHAT ARE THE MAJOR OBSTACLES YOU WILL SEE?

>> WE SEE A LOT OF CHALLENGES WITH THE LEVELS OF VIOLENCE IN THE CITY.

WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND WE CANNOT BASE SUCCESS ON THE VIOLENCE.

WE NEED TO ADDRESS THE SYSTEMIC DISINVESTMENT WE HAVE SEEN AS WELL.

WE HAVE TO DO BOTH OF THOSE .

>> OBVIOUSLY THERE WILL BE A FINANCIAL COMPONENT ALONG THE WAY, RIGHT?

WHAT KIND OF FINANCIAL INVESTMENT WILL BE NECESSARY TO MAKE AN IMPACT?

>> THESE ARE CONVERSATIONS WE WILL HAVE WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS SO WE CAN GET A BETTER SENSE OF THE INVESTMENTS THAT ARE NEEDED AND ADDRESS THAT RIGHT THERE ON THE LINE.

WE WANT OUR INVESTMENTS TO REFLECT THE NEEDS OF THOSE IN THE CITY.

>> GARIEN GATEWOOD, THREE WEEKS ON THE JOB AS THE FIRST DEPUTY MAYOR OF COMMUNITY SAFETY, THANK YOU.

PROGRAMMING NOTE, THROUGH JULY AND AUGUST WE WILL DEVOTE OUR ENTIRE PROGRAM EVERY MONDAY EVENING TO