KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City Mayor Sly James highlighted the city’s successes and challenges over the past year at an unofficial State of the City speech on Sunday.
All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church on Walnut St. traditionally hosts the mayor to review the city's accomplishments and challenges over the past year.
Violent crime was a top issue in the mayor’s speech this year.
“In 2017 we had 149 people murdered in Kansas City. 149. That number makes me angry. It should make everyone angry,” said Mayor James, “2018, hopefully, can be the year that our neighborhoods see true relief from the violence but it’s going to require Kansas Citians to truly prioritize crime as an issue they want to see reduced.”
Less than an hour after the Mayor’s speech, police were called to the 2700 block of Denver on a homicide.
Nearby officers say they heard multiple gunshots, then found a woman and a man shot in a car.
The man died and the woman is in the hospital in critical condition. It was the 2nd homicide in 24 hours in the metro.
Mayor James says the city is doing what it can to stop these violent acts, but citizens need to step up as well.
"All of us in this community must accept the responsibility and stand up and speak out against violence. When you see something say something,” said James, "That's one of the reasons KCPD has increased its tips hotline reward to $5,000. We have some evidence that increasing that reward might stimulate more conversation.
Successes highlighted by the Mayor included ‘Turn the Page KC’ a literacy program helping increase the reading proficiency of students in Kansas City Public Schools.
The program has increased literacy for 3rd-grade readers from 33 percent in 2011 to 55 percent in 2017.
"You learn to read up to third grade and from third grade on you are reading to learn so if you haven't learned to read you're not going to be learning much,” said James.
Mayor James says programs like this will decrease crime in the long run,
"When you can't read and you can't learn and you are having problems in school then you are going to have problems with the law and a lot of it is because you lose hope and you lose options," Mayor James said. "A huge majority of our people in prison, most of whom are black and brown are 4th-grade level readers."
Programs like KC No Violence Alliance, or KC NOVA, which helps people get away from a life of crime.
The Mayor also pointed out struggles for the city like racial inequality.
“We are not just one of the top ten most violent, we are also one of the top ten most segregated. That’s a shame,” said James.
The Mayor explained that there’s a lot more that has to change if the city wants to better the outlook on violence.
“Crime is a symptom, the disease is poverty, hopelessness, lack of educational and economic opportunity," said Mayor James." Until we actually address those issues, we are going to continue to have crime,” said James.
The Mayor also addressed 2017 successes in terms of infrastructure, economic development, and public transportation, noting that he plans to keep plans for a new KCI airport terminal on track.
"My job is very simple. I need to keep the city council focused on getting an MOU done so we can move forward. We need to go ahead and break ground on this year,” he said.
Mayor James touched on the success of the streetcar, it’s millions of riders, and the fact that it spurred $2.2 billion in new development since 2011.
"Which has surpassed not only our expectations but is widely reputed to be one of the most successful streetcar operations in the country," he said.
Mayor James said despite those strides, the city has to work together to combat crime and racial issues or else we will continue to struggle.
"We have raised generation after generation after generation of people who are undereducated and underemployed and then we segregate them on the east side of Troost or the west side or in whatever area that they are segregated in while everyone else goes willy-nilly making money and having a grand old time. Those things need to change if we are going to change the crime outlook,” said James.
Mayor James' official State of the City will be held later in March.
