Chicago is in trouble, and one Pastor Corey Brooks, is ringing the alarm. Nicknamed the “Rooftop Pastor” for his high-profile efforts to stem urban violence, Brooks appeared on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle with a dire warning: the city is spiraling out of control with violence, and the citizens are begging for solutions.

 

“The polls show that Chicagoans overwhelmingly support calling in the National Guard,” Brooks said. “We must calm the violence so that groups like ours can do the work that actually transforms communities.”

New Beginnings Church and Project H.O.O.D. (Helping Others Obtain Destiny) founder Brooks has labored on the front lines of Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods for decades. The city logged 617 murders and more than 2,000 shootings in 2023, many of which were concentrated in areas such as Englewood and Woodlawn.

 

“I’ve stood over the bodies of gunshot victims. I’ve comforted mothers burying their children,” Brooks said during a separate appearance on Fox & Friends. “Anyone claiming things are getting better is lying to themselves and to this city.”

 

A Divided Response

 

Brooks’ call to deploy the feds has been turned down with biting dismissive words from local and state authorities. Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor J.B. Pritzker both refused, labeling it “unconstitutional” and “uncalled for.” Brooks, however, insists that such short-term deployment of the National Guard could stabilize the city, giving grass-roots solutions time to begin sorting out underlying issues of poverty, joblessness, and broken family patterns.

 

In his TV appearances, he refers to Washington, D.C., where a newly federalized police force coincided with 12 consecutive days of no murders. It’s the reverse of Chicago’s daily body count. “We don’t need permanent occupation,” Brooks said.

 

“We need room to breathe—breathing space to rebuild our communities from the ground up.”

A City Divided by Ideology

 

The government of Chicago has resisted federal intervention, with Mayor Johnson issuing an executive order prohibiting police cooperation with the National Guard.

 

Meanwhile, Governor Pritzker has gone even further to liken calls for federal intervention to an “invasion.”

 

“The number-one job of government is to provide for the safety of its people,” Brooks emphasized. “That ought to be the first concern of the governor and the mayor, but apparently isn’t.”

 

A Voice in the Wilderness

 

Being a conservative voice in the Democratic city hasn’t come cheap. Following his support of a Republican candidate and delivering prayer at the GOP national convention, he received death threats and had to go underground. And yet, he is unbending.

 

“I’m triumphant in Christ,” he told The Washington Times. “I’m an overcomer. Too much, our community is being taught that we’re victims. That message cripples us.”

 

His message of empowerment not victimization, has resonated with many Chicagoans who feel frustrated with what they perceive as failed leadership and broken promises.

 

Building Real Solutions

 

Pastor Brooks’ Project H.O.O.D. is delivering more than words. With vocational training in the trades of masonry and construction, the organization is presenting promising alternatives to gang activity. Its new $28.5 million community center is set to open in 2025 and is looking to be a source of hope in one of Chicago’s most challenging neighborhoods.

 

Brooks’ latest venture, a national walk-through fundraising drive with the goal of raising $25 million, demonstrates his unshakeable resolve, but he also appreciates the limitations of community efforts in a city plagued by violence.

 

“Summoning the National Guard is like getting a heroin addict into rehab,” he said. “It’s a first step but healing really does take time and long-term effort.”

 

The Bottom Line

 

While Chicago’s policymakers maintain their radical policies like no-cash-bail and continue to shut the door on outside help, the violence persists, and so does City Hall’s inaction.

 

Contrast that with Brooks’ realistic vision and faith. His plan to send in the National Guard is not a defeat but a plea for a chance; a window of opportunity to get the work done to bring about lasting change.

 

“People are dying,” he explained. “We can’t wait any longer.”

 

While Washington, D.C. forges ahead through action, Chicago stagnates in philosophical gridlock. The question now is simple, but urgent: How many more must die before the city hears its citizens’ call for help?

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