Something like 34 school-age children in Chicago have been killed in the past year, and the deaths have created a lot of media coverage and political posturing along with serious concern. Here, Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn asks whether CPS officials and the media should be linking the deaths to the school system or not, given that many of the deaths were not on or near school grounds (Should we be counting the violent deaths of Chicago Public School students?). For some reason, the fact that these children all went to Chicago schools has helped galvanize attention. It’s a tough but good question, both from a media perspective and politically. Others may disagree, but I don’t think it takes away from the seriousness of the children’s deaths to think about it.
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