Cook County keeps CVI plan as federal gun funds fade

Cook County says gun homicides remain too high while federal dollars tied to the American Rescue Plan Act phase out. Despite a reported 50% drop since 2021, officials say they will continue investing $30 million annually in community violence intervention and

For the first time this year, Cook County’s gun homicide count has slipped higher than it was at this point in the past. Through June, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office recorded 220 gun homicides—24 more than this time last year.

Officials say they won’t treat those numbers as a detour. They frame the moment as both urgent and solvable: a reminder of what families are living through, and a test of whether the systems built to reduce violence can hold up as federal funding winds down.

Since the peak of the gun violence crisis in 2021, Cook County officials say gun homicides have fallen by 50%. They acknowledge that multiple factors can influence that downward trend, but point to what they describe as coordinated, sustained investment in communities as a driving force.

The American Rescue Plan Act. they say. provided an influx of federal funds that let the county and its partners pour money into violence prevention at unprecedented levels. Across the state. county and city. more than $350 million was directed toward community-based violence intervention and prevention efforts. including $110 million from Cook County alone. Cook County says those dollars supported youth development programs, outreach workers, and survivor services.

A Northwestern University analysis in 2025 is also cited, finding that public investments in community violence intervention reached communities with the highest rates of violence—and that communities with the highest level of investment experienced the steepest public safety gains.

The approach, Cook County officials say, relies on relationships rather than incarceration. They describe it as leveraging the knowledge and credibility of people from the community to reach high-risk residents and connect them to services. “from counseling to job training.” They also cite a study of a CVI program that found participants who completed the program were 73% less likely to be arrested for a violent crime than peers not in the program.

One example offered comes from North Lawndale: Preston. whom Cook County officials say they met after he lost people close to him to gun violence and described himself as “very much lost out here.” He credited outreach workers from the Firehouse Community Arts Center with keeping him connected. saying. “If it wasn’t for the outreach team not giving up on me. ain’t no telling where I would be.”.

Cook County says Preston eventually found stability and opportunity through the program, standing out and getting hired and promoted to a supervisor position at Firehouse. In his telling, he said, “All I wanted to do was pass it on to the next person who might be in need.”

That personal thread is woven into the county’s larger argument about what happens next. As American Rescue Plan Act resources phase out, officials say Cook County faces a critical question: whether it will sustain what they view as working.

Their answer is direct. Cook County says it will continue investing $30 million annually for CVI and services for survivors of gun violence, even as federal support for these efforts has declined.

Officials also say they’re trying to keep the effort coordinated. Through the Government Alliance for Safe Communities. Cook County says the state. county and city actively coordinate—bringing cross-sector investment strategies and capacity-building opportunities to organizations and the people working “on the frontlines” to reduce violence. Cook County describes this community safety workforce as showing up every day to mediate conflicts. support young people. and prevent retaliation.

The county’s statement acknowledges what many communities have learned the hard way: results invite backlash. Despite what it calls overwhelming evidence supporting the approach. it says detractors question violence prevention efforts that aren’t rooted in incarceration and attempt to exploit missteps. Cook County warns that denying what the data and experience show—and spreading misinformation and fear—does not change what families are seeing on the ground.

When a community invests in prevention and services. Cook County says. violence declines and “makes room for hope to flourish.” The county’s leadership frames that hope as practical rather than sentimental: fuel for change that keeps communities pushing forward. particularly as Cook County says it navigates a challenging political climate and the loss of federal funding.

The statement places responsibility on leaders to make sure the people closest to the crisis—the mothers. the survivors. and the outreach workers—aren’t left without resources. Cook County says those workers are breaking cycles of violence and helping communities heal. and that officials’ job is to ensure the work can continue.

Toni Preckwinkle is president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

Cook County gun violence community violence intervention CVI American Rescue Plan Act Toni Preckwinkle Preston Firehouse Community Arts Center Government Alliance for Safe Communities survivor services North Lawndale