New CORNERS Report Highlights Impact of Illinois’ Peacekeeper Program

A new report from Northwestern University’s Center for Neighborhood Engaged Research and Science (CORNERS) is highlighting the impact of Illinois’ Peacekeepers Program, which originally launched in Chicago in 2018. 

Starting out as the Flatlining Violence Inspires Peace (FLIP) strategy, the program began as a summer-based community violence intervention (CVI) program, and eventually expanded to service 16 Chicago areas dealing with high levels of gun violence. The Peacekeepers Program aims to address the economic barriers to opportunity and to reduce group-related conflicts among those at highest risk for gun violence involvement.

This initiative is currently a partnership between Metropolitan Peace Initiatives, Communities Partnering 4 Peace, Chicago CRED, Acclivus, and several other CVI organizations committed to keeping our communities safe.

The analysis from CORNERS took place from July 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024. Program highlights include:

Violence Reduction in Program Areas May Be Influencing Broader Citywide Trends

Hotspots experienced a 41% overall reduction in victimizations in 2023-2024 compared to the previous two-year period. Peacekeeper community areas saw a 31% decrease in shooting victimizations in 2023-2024 compared to the previous two-year period.

Peacekeeper Communities Experienced Less Frequent Shootings

Thirteen out of 14 Peacekeeper community areas saw an increase in their hotspots’ average peace intervals—the time between violent incidents. Collectively, hotspots experienced a net increase of 136 days without shooting incidents, indicating longer periods of stability in intervention areas.

Expansion Community Areas Showed Promising Initial Results

Eight out of 13 expansion communities saw a year-over-year decrease in hotspot shooting victimizations.

More Peacekeepers Have Reached More Communities

By the end of FY24, the Peacekeepers Program was operational in 27 Chicago Community Areas (CCAs) and eight Cook County suburbs, covering a total of 201 hotspots. This growth represents a doubling of implementing communities.

Peacekeepers Effectively Intervened in Conflicts

Peacekeepers conducted 2,172 conflict mediations, of which 68% (n= 1480) were successfully resolved. These mediations represent conflicts that, absent intervention, may have resulted in violence.

Pathways to Careers in CVI

Seventy-five Peacekeepers transitioned into full-time CVI careers between January 2023 and December 2024 (171 total Peacekeeper CVI transitions reported from 2018-2024).

Read the full report here.