The Chicago Sports Alliancea collaboration between the Chicago Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs andWhite Sox that began in 2017announced it will move forward for a fourth year to combine the reach and resources of the franchises in support of impactful, evidence-based solutions to gun violence in the city.
As part of its ongoing efforts, the Chicago Sports Alliance and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation will provide $1.5 million in grants to support READI Chicago (Rapid Employment and Development Initiative) and the University of Chicago Crime Lab.
READI Chicago, which has been supported by the Alliance for three years, is a gun violence reduction initiative that engages those at the highest risk of being shot or shooting someone else and has given hundreds of men the opportunity to participate in 18-months of focused transitional job training and cognitive behavioral interventions. With sites serving Austin, Englewood, North Lawndale, Greater Englewood and West Garfield Park, READI Chicago is the first program of its scope, scale and participant population ever to be implemented.
Working collectively as the Chicago Sports Alliance, $4 million in grants have since been invested in innovative solutions informed by the research and analysis of the Crime Lab; an additional $1.5 million in matching grants from the McCormick Foundation has also been provided since 2019, for a total of $5.5 million in funding.