CHICAGO (WLS) -- On Thursday, Chicago declared racism a public health crisis in the city.
One reason for that: the life expectancy gap between Black Chicagoans and non-black Chicagoans is growing.
On average, black Chicagoans now live 9.2 years less than their non-black counterparts, according to a new report from the Chicago Department of Public Health called "The State of Health for Blacks in Chicago."
Yaa Simpson, one of the individuals that is part of the Chicago Department of Public Health Equity Index Committee, said a baseline has to be established in order to know what needs to be improved in terms of health equity.
"Unfortunately, racism isn't a factor we can actually measure, but we can see the outcomes on things like life expectancy," Simpson said.
Blair Aikens, another individual on the committee, said the report involves all Chicagoans to make improvements.
"Even if you're not black, it doesn't mean you don't have a role. You can make a change in your community, you can advocate for changes in black communities, you can advocate against racism and say something if you see something going on," Aikens said.