Chicago Pastor On Hunger Strike Says Violence Is A Public Health Issue

Pastor Anthony Williams has been on strike for more than a month. He’s calling for Gov. Pritzker to address violence as a public health crisis.

By Meha Ahmad
guns
In this July 22, 2010, file photo, various guns are displayed at the Chicago FBI office. The Trump administration plans to send about 150 federal agents to Chicago in response to recent gun violence. M. Spencer Green / Associated Press
guns
In this July 22, 2010, file photo, various guns are displayed at the Chicago FBI office. The Trump administration plans to send about 150 federal agents to Chicago in response to recent gun violence. M. Spencer Green / Associated Press

Chicago Pastor On Hunger Strike Says Violence Is A Public Health Issue

Pastor Anthony Williams has been on strike for more than a month. He’s calling for Gov. Pritzker to address violence as a public health crisis.

By Meha Ahmad
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Pastor Anthony Williams has been ringing the alarm on gun violence in Chicago for over a decade and pushing for it to be treated as a disease. In 2018, his son Nehemiah was shot and killed in the parking lot of a strip mall. Since then, he’s been working to get lawmakers in Illinois to address the city’s gun violence legislatively and says it’s no longer just a disease — it’s a pandemic.

Reset sits down with Pastor Williams about what he wants to see from lawmakers and what he’s willing to do to make it happen.

GUEST: Pastor Anthony Williams, Avalon Park Community Church