Per the Chicago Tribune, Chicago police are sending extra officers to patrol dismissal at the most troubled public schools, according to a lengthy list of actions the mayor promised Thursday in the wake of the fatal beating of 16-year-old Derrion Albert.

Mayor Richard Daley emphasized that families and parents need to take responsibility, but he also said the city would seek jobs for youths and expand current intervention programs in an attempt to address youth violence in Chicago.

Daley also pledged $1 million from the city’s parking meter lease to pay for at least 500 jobs and other after-school programs for youths who are enrolled in school or a GED program.

In announcing the programs, Daley also spoke in detail about the widely publicized video-recorded beating of Albert, who was killed Sept. 24 in a brawl outside Fenger High School in Roseland.

Its airing has caused national outrage. This week U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Attorney General Eric Holder visited Chicago to address the beating.

To read the full article, click here.

The tragic death of Derrion Albert still leaves a bad feeling in my stomach, but I am relieved that the event has triggered the mayor to push forward changes that will hopefully prevent or deter situations, as the Albert beating, in the future.  Not only will the new programs provide a safe and positive environment for young kids in troubled neighborhoods, but the programs will further open new job opportunities for Chicagoans.  Growing up around violence is definitely challenging and most kids and adults dealing with the violence feel as if there’s no real solution in ridding the poison.  I really hope that the new programs that Daley proposed will hold strong and consistent in the troubled areas of our great city of Chicago.  I will definitely keep you guys posted on the progress of Daley’s plan to stop the violence.