The Rev. Jesse Jackson criticized President Obama for putting unaccompanied alien children before Chicago, and argued that the federal government should award the Windy City $2 billion to help combat violence.
“If we can find $4 billion for those children — and we should — we can find $2 billion for Chicago,” Mr. Jackson said, a CBS-affiliated radio station reported Wednesday.
“There are more children involved, and more have been killed, and more have been shot,” he said.
The reverend’s comments come after the White House asked Congress Tuesday for $3.7 billion to help fund programs to deal with the influx of thousands of illegal immigrants crossing the United States’ southern border.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel agreed that curbing violence is the city’s top priority, but that Congress, not the president, is to blame for forgetting about Chicago’s children.
“I slightly disagree with the reverend,” Mr. Emanuel told the station. “I wouldn’t put this at the president’s door. I put this at the door of Washington, D.C. This has been a long time that they have stopped investing in our children, and they need to invest in our kids.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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