The Fruits of Hope and Change: Chicago Matches Last Year's Mark in Student Deaths...And It's Only March

An update from the land of hope and change:

Franco Avila made no secret he was in a gang, but he had told relatives he was trying to change his ways, his father said.

On Tuesday night Avila was shot in the abdomen in the 3600 block of West Ainslie Street shortly before 8 p.m. He was then found by police on the ground in the 4900 block of North Ridgeway Avenue, approximately three blocks away.

"He was trying to get out [of the gang] and get his life back up, said Dennis Kuhn, Avila's stepfather. "It's just messed up."

Avila was the 26th Chicago Public Schools student slain this school year, tying last year's mark.

Take a look at the chart at Wikipedia. Note that the closer you get to the Mexican border, the markedly higher crime rates. Are Texans just violent people, or is there an illegal immigration issue going on here? No, I don't need you to answer that.