A week ago, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley flew to Copenhagen, seemingly destined to land the 2016 Summer Olympics. Yesterday, a subdued Daley addressed questions about why Chicago is home to teenagers who kill other teenagers.

Chicago lost its Olympic bid last Friday in spectacular fashion, flaming out in the first round. Then, after about 24 hours of Olympic post-mortems, the city’s media abruptly changed their focus to the fatal beating two weeks ago of 16 year-old black high school student Derrion Albert. Albert was the third Chicago youth murdered in this academic year, and the 67^th murdered since the beginning of the 2007-08 school year. But Albert’s death was different – someone captured it on cell phone.

Filmed from just a few feet away, the disturbing and disorienting footage prompted condemnation from President Barack Obama.  The Chicago Tribune launched a special series on youth violence.  And Mayor Daley held a press conference yesterday at city hall, flanked by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Attorney General Eric Holder. Daley was defensive about the perception that his main reaction to Albert’s death was to hold a high-profile press conference. “This is not just a press conference,” Daley said. “This is not just show and tell.”

Regardless of whether Daley is sincere in his “outrage” about Albert’s death, the press event painfully revealed how difficult it is for politicians to even address youth violence, much less prevent future tragedies. Daley, Holder and Duncan all pushed for better federal and local government coordination – but they each had their own take on the Albert murder, and Washington’s is not the same as Chicago’s. If future tragedies are to be prevented, Daley must find ways to close the distance between the nation’s third-largest city and the nation’s capital, and Chicago itself must confront the distance between City Hall and the other Chicago — where Derrion Albert was killed.

Albert, a junior at Fenger High School,was killed Thursday, Sep. 24 in the Roseland neighborhood. Two days, later the Tribune made the unusual decision of putting the death on its front page. The footage was the main reason Albert’s death has received so much more political and media attention than most murders of black teenage males in Chicago. But it was not the only reason. Unlike 80 percent of Chicago youth homicides, Albert was not shot to death – he was mercilessly beaten with wooden planks in a chaotic street melee. Also, Albert was an honor roll student and this status is invariably cited in each account of his murder – apparently distinguishing him from other dead teens with less savory educational achievements.

Hot on the trail of Olympic glory, Daley did not, at first, pay public attention to Derrion Albert’s murder. But on returning from Copenhagen, the five-term mayor met Monday with Chicago Public Schools leader Ron Huberman, Police Superintendent Jody Weiss, and faith-based leaders in the black community. That was a prelude to a Wednesday morning meeting attended by Duncan, Holder, Daley, Fenger High principal Elizabeth Dozier, and a dozen or Fenger students. Then came the press event where Daley offered a claustrophobically cloistered throng of Chicago and national reporters solutions like after-school programs and peer mentorships to solve the problems of “gangbanging” and “dope dealing.” The mayor mentioned after-school programs three times in his opening remarks alone. It wasn’t eloquent,but it was a clear indication of where Daley wants to direct CPS resources. And Daley explained a key aspect of the continuing violence – it’s happening usually after school and usually because students congregate near schools and end up in confrontations.

While Daley honed in on a couple of specific policies Chicago could enact, Holder spoke vaguely about crime prevention. “We’re not interested in just scratching the surface or focusing on generalities,” the attorney general declared. “And as we delve into this problem we’re not going to protect any sacred cows.  We’re here to learn firsthand what’s happening on our streets so we can devise effective solutions.”  Of course, Daley had, just a minute earlier, described what was happening on the streets – teens like Albert and his assailant are in dangerous situations as soon as school is out, a dangerous block of time the mayor hopes to fill with activities for students.

Holder did announce a $25 million expansion of Justice Department grants and specifically spoke about replenishing the Bill Clinton-era Community Oriented Policing (or COPS) program. But the Attorney General’s criticism of past federal and local government efforts as “fragmented” rang hollow, since Holder did not address gangs, drugs, or specific aspects of youth violence. He also did not explain how the Justice Department and city of Chicago would work together on these issues, beyond Justice throwing grant money at the problem.

Duncan, though – fresh from seven years as head of Chicago Public Schools – argued emphatically that federal cash is not the answer.   “This is not about the money,” Duncan said. “Money alone will never solve this problem. It’s about our values. It’s about who we are as a society.” These are odd words coming from a Cabinet secretary who enjoys the largest budget in the history of the Department of Education. Duncan did say that his agency would give a $500,000 grant to Fenger High. But is this just a symbol, or even a throwaway, or is it a down payment for more federal funding directed at CPS and other urban school districts?

Duncan never explained, but he did hint at the crippling disadvantages many CPS students face, 89 percent of who grow up in poverty. “You can’t imagine what these students have to go through every day,” he said. The comment seemed not just directed at a national press corps but also at Chicagoans who have never experienced the crime and economic bleakness of neighborhoods like the ones Albert grew up in and attended school. To begin with, there is a striking physical distance between City Hall and where Albert was killed. Alberts was slain on 111^th St. – a full 113 city blocks from City Hall and Daley Plaza where Chicagoans waited last Friday to see if the city won the Olympics. And though not a Chicago saying, it’s true that “you can’t get there from here” — the Chicago subway system ends on South 95^th St.

Moreover, Albert was from a neighborhood even further south – Altgeld Gardens, which has a main hub at South 130^th St. As the Tribune documented, Albert was caught up in a scuffle between Altgeld and Roseland teenagers who have developed a rivalry at Fenger. Albert took two buses everyday to go the nearest public high school – a school where many of his neighbors continue to feel dangerously unwelcome.  Duncan and Holder batted away repeated questions of why they didn’t meet with Fenger High students at the school or in the Roseland neighborhood. “Where we met wasn’t important,” Duncan said.  What the secretary and his colleagues didn’t want to acknowledge is that where the crime happened explains why the crime happened.

Also, Albert and his alleged assailants were black. About 90 percent of youth homicides in Chicago are committed by and against black males. Yet race was only mentioned once at the press conference – when Duncan noted that Chicago is home to the country’s first black president. However, Duncan’s kind words about the character and resiliency of Chicago obscured the city’s stark divisions. There’s the Chicago where proud residents closely followed the failed Olympic bid, hoping the games would show the world how great their city is. And there’s the Chicago where Derrion Albert is from, different from downtown, different even than the neighborhood where he attended school.

In his 20 years as mayor, Daley has sometimes played an active role in confronting Chicago’s notorious inequality. In the 1990s, he took over the Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Housing Authority, taking responsibility for two hitherto scandalously inept bureaucracies. With his quest for Olympic gold dashed, Daley could wind down his tenure in pursuit of a more meaningful legacy – letting kids in Chicago live to see their 18^th birthday.

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