CHICAGO⯗â¯Today, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the 2026 Summer Safety Strategy, a citywide initiative focused on preventing violence, strengthening neighborhoods, and expanding access to resources through coordinated community investment and engagement.
Ahead of Memorial Day weekend, the Johnson administration is reaffirming its commitment to a comprehensive approach to community safety rooted in accountability, long-term prevention, community investment, and collaboration with residents and organizations working on the ground in communities which historically have been most impacted by violence.
“Safety is built through presence, partnership, and investment in our neighborhoods.
Community safety is not just about responding to harm—it's about preventing it before it happens,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson.“This strategy reflects our commitment to working alongside residents and community organizations to expand opportunity, strengthen trust between law enforcement and our residents, and show up in our communities with the resources and care needed to keep Chicagoans safe this summer and beyond.”
The Summer Safety Strategy centers on root-cause investment and community-driven solutions. Key priorities include:
Providing intentional, direct access to City resources for residents and communities most impacted by violence;
Strengthening community agency by empowering residents, neighborhood leaders, and grassroots organizations to lead safety efforts on their blocks and in their own communities;
Advancing accountability by moving beyond incident-level data and focusing on the overall social health, stability, and connectedness of Chicago’s neighborhoods.
“True safety is built on the presence of belonging, and true accountability requires relationship,” said Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Andre. “This summer, we are building on last year's successes by combining rigorous, data-driven violence prevention with direct investments in community agency.
But government cannot do this alone.
We need our media, philanthropic, and corporate partners to put their resources on the line and answer this collective call with us.“
Building on last year’s efforts, the City is introducing a refreshed approach designed to deepen impact across key areas, including:
Coordination: Expanding cross-agency response and incident protocol alignment.
Youth Engagementâ:Increased teen trend coordination and responsive youth engagementâ.
Gender-Based Violenceâ: Integrating gender-based violence training and resources with Community Violence Intervention and reentry efforts.â
Neighborhood Activationâ: Visible activations, wellness programming, and community presenceâ: Supporting block clubs through the Community Activation Fund in priority neighborhoods.â¯ââ¯
Communicationsâ: Strengthening hyper-local messaging and improving coordination of public information and narrative strategy.
Today’s announcement is paired with a Health and Wellness Resource Fair hosted by the Mayor’s Office of Community Safety in partnership with Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation.
The activation will bring together residents, youth, service providers, and community organizations for wellness programming, resource connection, healing, and community engagement.
About Mayor’s Office of Community Safetyâ¯â¯
The Mayor’s Office of Community Safety is committed to investing intentionally in people and communities through the full force of government and a community-driven approach that aims to systemically promote community safety by addressing root causes.
For more information visit our website at https:www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/community-safety/home.html.â¯â¯