Chicago Gun Violence Returns To The National Spotlight: Is Enough Being Done?

As gun violence in Chicago continues to surge, HuffPost Live assembled a group of community activists and journalists to dig into the question of why the crisis-level crime statistics have only received limited attention from national mainstream media.

Father Michael Pfleger, Chicago Tribune reporter Pete Nickeas, the Chicago Defender's Kathy Chaney and activists Rosa Clemente and Eric Wilkins joined host Marc Lamont Hill to discuss the Windy City's violent summer. (Watch the conversation above.)

"We're seeing fractured gangs, we're seeing a real spirit of hopelessness," Pfleger said of the South Side neighborhood where he lives and leads the congregation at St. Sabina Church. "I think you have folks becoming immune, like this is something we've got to live with."

Gun violence has plagued Chicago for years, but in recent months the number of incidents has grown compared to the previous year. As of the end of July, homicides in the city were up about 27 percent. Through the first quarter of the year, murders had spiked as high as 60 percent over 2011.