Nov 8, 2007 6:11 pm US/Central
Slain Student, Loss Of Ceasefire Mourned
Community Members Say Killing Could Have Been Prevented If Operation Ceasefire Were Funded
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
On the South Side, Monday's senseless killing of a college student is blamed on Springfield feuding. As CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery explains, some say Steven Lyons would be alive if Gov. Rod Blagojevich hadn't slashed funding to an anti-violence organization.
Residents of auburn Park Gresham mourned murder of 21-year-old Steven Lyons, a dean's list student at Daley College. He was killed while doing homework in his bedroom at about 11 p.m. Monday, when bullets came crashing through the window.
"He had his laptop sitting on the bed," said Betty Johnson, Lyons' grandmother. "The computer was still on. When I came in here the computer was still on, spilling blood."
"They stole my child's dreams," said the victim's mother, Sabrina Friend-Lyons. "That's not fair."
As Lyons' mother and grandmother grieve, they believe the killing could have been prevented if Operation Ceasefire were still functioning and it's so-called "violence interrupters" were still on the street.
"We need that or we will continue to lose people like this," Friend-Lyons said.
While no arrests have yet been made, neighbors suspect local gang members mistakenly killed the young honors student because they believed he found the gun they tossed into the gangway near his house on Halloween night.
Operation Ceasefire ceased functioning last summer after Blagojevich vetoed $6.2 million in state funding. He was motivated by his own feud with House Democrats who are key supporters of Operation Ceasefire.
"My belief is if they save one child it's been effective and they've saved many, many lives," said Mayor Richard M. Daley.
"I like to think the governor is bigger than politics," said Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th). "I'd like to think that he would change his mind."
As the memorial service was coming to an end State Sen. Jackie Collins and Ald. Latisha Thomas offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to the killers.
The neighborhood where Lyons was killed had been a Ceasefire zone before the funding was cut. Lawmakers are pleading with the governor to restore the money.
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