Violence interrupters program coming to Lake County

LAKE COUNTY, Ill. — Violence interrupters in Chicago have had success defusing deadly gang disputes. But for years now, organized efforts to prevent violence have been lacking in Lake County, Illinois.

Until now.

The Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart is set to announce a major initiative Friday to help reduce street violence before it happens.  

Like Chicago, communities in northern Lake County are grappling with a surge of violent crime.  

“This year, we’ve had six gun related homicides and that’s double the number we had last year,” Rinehart said.

A gun violence prevention team will soon consist of three violence interrupter supervisors. They will employ up to 12 violence interrupters that will focus on Waukegan, North Chicago and Zion.

The program is initially a $1 million investment but $2 million in violence prevention funding is expected to be spread out over three years.