For immediate release April 7, 2015

Contact
Kelley Talbot
ACT Now Coalition
847.372.8582
Ktalbot@voices4kids.org

Contact
Chief Tom Weitzel
Riverside PD
708-447-2127
tweitzel@riverside.il.us

On heels of cuts to afterschool, Moroccan Police chiefs

and local law enforcement say afterschool programs
help keep youth safe from violence

Caption: Police chiefs from Morocco visited with Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel (4th from left),
and Tim Carpenter of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Illinois (2nd from right) discuss ways afterschool
programs keep youth safe

Chicago On the heels of Gov. Rauner springing drastic cuts to afterschool programs on
families, police chiefs from Morocco visited with local law enforcement and afterschool representatives to
discuss ways afterschool programs keep youth safe.
The evidence is clear: Afterschool programs help keep kids safe from violence during those very
dangerous afterschool hours, which are known as prime time for juvenile crime, said Tim Carpenter, State
Director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Illinois. Far too many of our young people in Illinois have no safe
place to go after school; which is tragically reflected when see juvenile crime rates double and sometimes
triple when the school bell rings in communities all across Illinois.
My everyday experience bears this out, said Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel. Im far less likely to
see a student who is in an afterschool program start down a dangerous path. And for those who were on
the edge or started to get involved in crime or drugs, the kids who participated in afterschool were able to

get back on track. These kids need a safe place with structured guidance from responsible adults, and
afterschool is where they get it.
On Friday, Gov. Rauner ordered an immediate suspension of funding for Teen REACH afterschool
programs in Illinois, which serve 14,000 youth. Hundreds of youth and families have already lost services
and have nowhere else to turn, jeopardizing youths safety and learning, and their parents ability to keep
working.
The comprehensive benefits are clear, but too many youth still dont have access to quality, affordable
afterschool programs, said Kelley Talbot of the ACT Now Coalition. Making sure more youth have
programs available to them is a critical next step. Legislators and policymakers need to be increasing
investments in programs, not eliminating them.
The ACT Now Coalition is a statewide coalition working to ensure more youth have access to quality
afterschool programs.
The Federation for Community Schools amplifies the voice and abilities of community schools in
Illinois.
Chief Weitzel is one of 300 members of FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS ILLINOIS, the state office of a national,
non-profit, bipartisan, anti-crime organization of more than 5,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors,
leaders of law enforcement organizations, and victims of crime. FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS members are
dedicated to helping kids get the right start and stay on the right track.
DELEGATES:
Mr. Abdelhadi Chourafi
Police Commissioner, General Intelligence (RG), Foreign Aid Office, Prefecture of the Police, Casablanca
Mr. Said Ettouil
Police Commissioner, Chief of Special District of the Oujda-Angag Airport, Oujda
Mr. Mohamed Karzazi
Chief of Police, District of Mohamed V Airport, General Directorate for National Security, Casablanca
Mr. Hicham Laati
Judicial Police Officer, Criminal Investigation Department, Prefecture of the Police, Casablanca
Mr. Mohamed Ridallah
Police Commissioner of Judicial Police, Prefecture of the Police, Casablanca