Mayor Johnson addresses call for Chicago Department of Gun Violence Prevention

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson weighed in Tuesday on a proposal to create a Department of Gun Violence Prevention for the city. 

"A particular advocacy group has been calling for such an office to exist through multiple administrations, and we're going to continue to hear how the work that we're doing to drive violence down can work in coordination with the visit that this organization and organizing apparatus has," Mayor Johnson said.

A proposed ordinance to create the Department of Gun Violence Prevention would bring together existing violence reduction programs under one umbrella, with more than $100 million allocated in the city's budget.

The organizing apparatus calling for the ordinance includes organizers from Live Free Illinois.  

The mayor also acknowledged Tuesday that similar programs are already in place in cities and states across the country.

He said he will talk more about the proposal later this week.