Anytime people discuss "why Chicago" too much time is spent on race. This is not a "black problem".
Here is a list of the top 15 global cities (the top cities in the world according to their importance to global commerce) and their murder rates.
Singapore 0.4
Tokyo 0.5
Hong Kong 0.6
Berlin 1.0
Sydney 1.0
London 1.4
Toronto 1.7
Amsterdam 1.8
Paris 4.4
New York 6.0
Los Angeles 7.5
Mexico City 8.0
Moscow 9.6
Sao Paulo 15.6
Chicago 19.4
Paris, Amsterdam, Moscow are all pretty pale. Still have murders. So let's move beyond race and talk about the real common factor with every city that has a crime problem.
CONCENTRATED URBAN POVERTY.
Any solution to the problem has to start with the elimination of poverty zones. Almost nobody rises up in this world all on their own. Every success story includes a friend, family member, neighbor, mentor, local business, school, etc that plays an important part. If everyone around you is in the same economic situation, there's very little chance of finding opportunity around you.
This is a network problem. These kids need better opportunities and unfortunately those opportunities have to come from outside their immediate surroundings.
How do we set up these opportunities and how we motivate them to seek out opportunities to make connections that can take them beyond the only life they know? Magnet schools, open enrollment, etc are a good start. But those are typically only for the top achievers. There has to be more done for the kids that need to grow into ambition.
Personally, I think programs that include kids/teens and adults in sports, arts, and common interests where they can pick something they're interested in and interact with adults from different areas and different economic backgrounds has the best chance of succeeding. Basketball should probably be the first.
Too many people quit playing sports after high school. Only a small amount play in college and even smaller after. That should change. Mixed age group sports teams/clubs are common for other sports around the world. Extend AAU beyond kids. Create a national amateur league. Use corporate sponsors to fund it. In the very least, kids will be interacting with adults from different situations than the ones they're currently in. It will show them there are other lives they could lead. At best, maybe they get a line on a job.