CHICAGO -- A group that is supposed to stop gun violence suffered a serious blow on Thursday as Gov. Rod Blagojevich cut off its funding.
NBC5 political reporter Mary Ann Ahern reported that Blagojevich's veto of the state budget means millions of dollars cut to Cease Fire, a gun violence prevention program. At a rally outside the Thompson Center in the Loop, community leaders urged the governor to restore the funding.
"Take it back!" said one speaker at the rally. "Take back control, take back the lead. Become the leader that we thought that you were. Governor, you are the leader of the state!"
"He has, with one stroke of his pen, he has the ability to put $6.5 million back into the budget," said the Rev. Leon Finney , a community activist. "With one stroke of his pen."
Francis Cardinal George joined the Cease Fire supporters, Ahern reported.
"There are lives saved, statistically that seems to be there," he said. "The causality of that can be disputed, but it's one of the better programs we have, and I think it's unfortunate it would be killed now."
In the last two years, the state has given Cease Fire $11 million, which is more than 90 percent of its funding.
Cease Fire officials said they hope to reverse Blagojevich's veto, because without the state funding, the program cannot operate. Convincing the governor, with so many eyes on his veto, will not be easy, Ahern reported.
The governor's office also released an audit the Illinois Auditor's Office conducted of Cease Fire, which criticized its recordkeeping. "Everyone now has to be thinking about how do we solve this," said Dr. Gary Slutkin, Cease Fire's founder. "So, we have to basically convince the governor and the staff and everyone else, that the findings are small findings."
Blagojevich defended his veto, Ahern reported.
"I'd rather invest it," Blagojevich said. "I think it's a bigger priority to keep kids healthy, and keep young adults in a place where they can keep getting their important life-saving health care."
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