Nearly 200 new Chicago police recruits graduating as city works to curb violence

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago is about to get a brand new class of police officers as the city continues to work on curbing gun violence.

It's graduation day for almost 200 new Chicago police officers. The Chicago Police Department will also be promoting 98 members.

The celebration takes place Tuesday morning at Navy Pier. Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson will be joined by Mayor Lightfoot to mark the moment as the force continues to grow in size.

RELATED: 66 shot, 6 fatally, in 4th of July weekend gun violence across Chicago

The ceremony comes after they addressed the city's gun violence problem over the 4th of July weekend. The mayor said she's taking the long-view.

"We're looking at everything that we can do, not just as a police department, but as a city to bring the resources to bear, talking with our federal partners, who I think are really stepping up their efforts and then looking at an entire judicial system to make sure that people who are wreaking havoc in our streets are getting appropriate attention from the criminal justice system," Lightfoot said.

Between Wednesday evening and midnight Sunday, 66 people were shot, six fatally, despite stepping up patrols. Police officials said that's a "considerable increase" from the numbers last year, when July 4th fell in the middle of the week.

Meanwhile, community leaders plan to announce a new anti-crime initiative Tuesday morning. They will push the mayor to create a citywide witness protection program.