City hires 27,000 through 'One Summer Chicago' youth jobs program

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A program in Chicago designed to help keep kids away from crime and violence during the summer was touted as a big success on Thursday.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said "One Summer Chicago," a plan to get jobs for thousands of young people in the city, has worked even better than expected.

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Some young people who are in the program have been busy growing a variety of crops and plants outside Dyett High School, part of the Windy City Youth Farm. They are also growing their resumes.

Most of the employees are part of the "One Summer Chicago" program, which is providing employment opportunities to students like Jonathan Middleton.

"I used to get into fights because I had nothing," Middleton said. "You can't lose something if you don't have anything. Now I have something to do, so I stay out of trouble."

Middleton said the program has him on the right track. He's planning on going to college at Michigan State in the fall.

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Jobs help reduce violence in many under-resourced communities, according to research by the University of Chicago.

"They followed them 17 months. Violence dropped by nearly 50% just from that 7-week job," said Jack Wuest with Alternative Schools Network.

Mayor Johnson announced an expanded "One Summer Chicago" program in March with the ambitious goal of hiring about 25,000 students. He said Thursday the city has actually hired more than 27,000, which is a big increase over last summer. It's part of Johnson's strategy to combat violence.

"It is a matter of life and death," Johnson said. "The best way to achieve a better, stronger, safer Chicago is by investing in people. So that's what I'm doing."

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Ryan Gordon is headed to Harold Washington college, and he said the summer job will help him. He is working with the peace keepers group, earning money and working to prevent violence rather than the alternative.

"My summer would be just sitting around the house playing video games," Gordon said.

While many of the students will be involved in the program for a matter of weeks during the summer, organizers said they expect the experience to last a lifetime.

For more information, visit onesummerchicago.org.