Barack Obama on Wednesday said he and Michelle Obama will donate $2 million to support summer jobs for young people in Chicago this year. Former President Obama detailed the upcoming donation while presenting plans for his presidential library.
“One of the things that we will be starting this year is Michelle and I personally are going to donate $2 million to our summer jobs programs here in the community, so that right away, young people can get to work and we can start providing opportunities to all of them.”
Crime by Chicago youths has been the topic of media for years, increasingly during Obama’s presidency. “As somebody who has not been right here in Chicago over the last couple years, whenever I visit, I tell people, Chicago’s never looked more beautiful. It has, it has never sparkled more,” Obama said. “And yet, if you ask a lot of people outside of Chicago about Chicago, what’s the first thing they talk about? They talk about the violence.”
Earlier this year President Trump threatened to send federal agents to Chicago to stop the “horrible carnage” but Obama sees jobs as a solution. “We’ll be working with the city, we’ll be working with the county, we’ll be working with businesses because part of what we want to do is reach young people who might be at risk if they don’t have something to do during the summers.”