Gangs of Chicago beware. The military's coming with grenades.

116 days into the new year and Chicago has been the grounds for 113 killings. Though this stat might be alarming to some, the fact is that even if this rate stayed on course throughout the entirety of this year, there would probably be less murders than in 2009. Not that I want to start this Monday out on a down note, but it struck a cord in me given the fact that some state representatives have stepped up and asked the Governor and Mayor Daley to allow the National Guard to patrol the streets of Chicago, in an attempt to quell the violence.

Now, maybe it's just me but this seems like a supremely bad idea. I know they're not talking about rolling tanks and heavy artillery down the streets in Garfield Park, but the thought of Military personnel with automatic weapons strategically taking out gang members is a bit much for me. I'm just not of the opinion that the military is the answer in this matter. In fact, I believe that it will only agitate a problem that's persisted long before I was around, and that will continue to be a problem when I'm gone. Seriously, isn't this the type of idea that starts a real inner city war?

Instead of reading the headline, "1 dead, 2 wounded after gang violence erupts in Chicago west side neighborhood", We'll be inundated with front page headlines that read, "Battle of Englewood, Day 3: Military takes out known drug dealer and 35 others with rocket propelled grenade". Of course that's a bit sensationalized, but it's not completely out of the realm of possibility that provoking the military could have similar repercussions.

What happens when those that are targeted by the city decide to target the National Guard? You can't say it wouldn't happen, and when it did, it could spark another kind of war that Chicago doesn't need to be fighting. I mean, it's not like the National Guard is going to take kindly to being shot at. I can only imagine that their training would kick in and all hell would break lose (which would be warranted in my opinion). We're talking about trained professional military men and women. No nonsense training. You shoot at me, you die. That's the reality. How about when they roll a grenade in a crack house before lighting it up from the outside with automatic machine gun rounds? That's some John Rambo-type stuff right there.

The last thing Chicago needs is for gangs to have a cause. No longer will it be about 'slingin' rocks and gettin' rich'. Rather the end goal will be for them to rid 'their' streets of National Guardsmen. I suspect that the number of killings would jump dramatically. And it won't just be gang members. The term collateral damage keeps ringing in my head.

The reality of the situation is that the number of murders have decreased dramatically since the early 90's. Back then, a person could lobby for some sort of military action and people would've listened. Today, I don't see Daley or Quinn allowing the National Guard in to the city. I can understand that people want something done about the violence in the city and maybe this was a good way to bring some heavy attention to the problem, but starting an urban war isn't the best route to take.