Chicago Mayor Johnson signs executive order setting up youth peacekeeping initiative

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson this weekend signed an executive order creating the city's first year-round peacekeeping program to be led by young people.

The mayor's Peacebook Executive Order invests $900,000 toward youth antiviolence programs.

"This executive order is to send a signal to the young people in the city, and to all the residents in this city, that I am always going to be ten toes down when it comes to Black and brown children, and I'm going to invest in them," Mayor Johnson said Saturday.

The order will set up the Peacebook Working Group, in which 50 peacekeepers between the ages of 16 and 24 will be hired part-time to teach their peers how to resolve conflicts and de-escalate violence.

Youth safety advisors will be employed full-time as mentors.

Participants will also work with the city to develop a youth resource map that will be added to the "My Chi, My Future" app.

The program will be administered by the city's Department of Family and Support Services.

The "Peacebook" plan to reduce violence and support community-building was developed by the group GoodKids MadCity and endorsed by organizations and young people citywide.