Hundreds Of Relatives Of Violence Victims Attend Memorial Hosted By Cook County State's Attorney
(CBS) -- Hundreds of people touched by violence attended a memorial service Saturday hosted by the Cook County State's Attorney's office, reports WBBM's Mike Krauser.
For the 26th year, the families and friends of victims of violence gathered for the memorial, many with photos of lost loved ones on their shirt.
"We hear stories about senseless shootings and other violent crimes that are taking the lives of innocent victims," said Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez. "We rarely hear about the survivors. We don't hear about your struggles."
They heard from Elizabeth Maldonado, talking about losing her 19-year-old son Jeff, an aspiring hip hop artist known as "J-Def."
"We wanted to end our lives," she said. "We couldn't imagine living without him, so we made a pact that we would just end it."
The Maldonados started the J-Def Peace Project, channeling their grief into something good.