response would be from these gentlemen that complain about the equity issue you described. >> that's our show for today. i'm ali velshi. thank you for joining us. the news continues here on al jazeera america. s america. s >> on "america tonight," the place they called chicago-rssmentsaqraq, chicago's toughettes streets and a mother's hope she doesn't lose another son. >> can we? really? >> the growing fear in the fight for chicago. we'll refocus on the violence in chicago later. first up though a look at high times and high rewards. in tuesday's voting ohio could

become the new ground breaker in marijuana law if a controversial initiative is approved ohio would be the first to approve pot for personal use without first make medical marijuana legal. but that is a big if because in this case many of the opponents of legalization, are pro-pot, even pro-pot business themselves. "america tonight's" lemple tracks the story from the ohio capital to the state's corn fields to find out if voters are aware of the fine print. >> marijuana on the ballot. >> what's your first name. >> reporter: in the heart of ohio the famous swing state and political barometer of the nation. >> legalize it. >> the movement to legalize marijuana is growing like a weed. >> you have a nice day. >> thank you you too. >> reporter: if these blue-shirted workers succeed, ohio could be the fifth state to

legalize recreational use of the drug. they have already gathered more than 550,000 signatures across the state more than double the amount to qualified on the ballot. >> if done properly regulated tested and taxed if you do it the right way this will become a multibillion dollar industry. >> ian james is the executive director of responsible ohio. an operation he's been running out of his columbus mansion for the past year. >> we've got petitions that will come in from all parts of the state. >> this is not your grandfather's ballot initiative. far from it. responsible ohio has a whopping $20 million budget. >> we are going to have television, direct mail. you know, the data analytics of this is very responsive. >> the matter is being

bankrolled from many of the fast and famous. from nick lachey to allen moony. if responsible ohio ballot initiative succeeds, moony's cornfield will be one of only a few in columbus to grow cannabis. >> i've had people offer me ten times what i've already invested to buy out my interest. >> if i say i will offer you $100 million you would walk away? >> already have. >> they are not taking attention to the process in ohio. we propose to have this conversation in the light of day with full clover who our investment groups are and also the plans for what they

envision. >> just because you're being transparent about who the investors are though doesn't justify to a lot of people the fact that this very small elite wealthy group is essentially monopolizing grow for at least four years. >> it is not a monopoly. they all have to compete against each other. >> didn't they all contribute to your pac? >> they did. >> it is incredibly rare for ballot measure to write into a state's constitution specific locations or areas where only a business can operate. and then those locations can be owned and operated by the funders of the initiative. >> liz esley white is a reporter for center for public integrity in washington, d.c. which has been investigating this issue along with "america tonight." in a new report the center found that more than $400 million was spent on 85 ballot initiatives nationwide that were up for avote in 2014. >> some people are being

deceived in this petition. >> shriek avuru also wants to get investors interested, but back rolling his initiative to the tune of $500,000. >> they are bankrolling people out, to the level that it's at now. who frankly just don't have millions of dollars to write their own initiative like this. >> kavuru says there's no precedent to restrict marijuana growth. >> it's about do we want to fundamentally change the foundational document of our state, to allow corporate takeovers of whole industries, what's next water, corn, soybeans? where does it stop? >> it's also the voters, they have eyes and they will read the ballot initiative and decide. >> i agree. and in november they will vote no on responsible ohio. >> next "america tonight's" focus on the fight for chicago,

a mother's pain and what she did with it. later, a spirited future, a young woman's choice, and what it means to the future of the church. and hot on "america tonight's" website now, big play. concussions in the major league. at aljazeera.com/americatonight.

>> on "america tonight" we focus much attention on the violence that plagues our cities.

tonight, chicago is once again ground zero. this halloween weekend, another bloody one. 29 people shot at least one has died. in the wake of that violence the city announces its first recruiting drive for more police officers since 2013. because it is clear they are needed. it is so bad, residents of the city south and west side neighbors have coined a 9 nick nickname, chiraq as in iraq. "america tonight's" sarah hoye has the story. >> it's already 8:00 and pam boswell is already running behind. the chicago mother of three is rushing to get her 17-year-old son trey to school not just on time but alive. it was nine years ago that pam and oldest son terrell was shot and killed right before band practice.

he was outside a church helping his friend unload the instruments from his car when shots rang out, terrell was 18 years old. things got so bad for pam she tried taking her life not only once, but twice. >> me and terrell were so close. no mother should ever have to bury their child. >> then pam had a realization. she wanted to live and she wanted to make a difference. she left a 20 year career in banking to start purpose over pain, a support group for parents who lost children to gun violence. pam now works at st. sebinas catholic church, a fixture on chicago's south side on a part of the city locals call chiraq. pam is the violence prevention manager at the arc, a community youth center run by the church. before each workday pam stops at

the church's memorial wall dedicated to victims of gun violence. >> to make sure he was safe i protect him as best i could, me and my husband. and because of guns, in our neighborhood, my baby not here. so just like it happened to me, i found it could happen to anybody, no matter how hard you try protect your child. >> reporter: chicago has had nearly 400 homicides this year, with mostly the young paying the ultimate price. before terrell's death played the base in multiple church bands. he was pursuing a music degree at a nearby college. >> he was in gospel music, in college, doing all the right stuff and it just taught me that nobody's exempt from this violence. >> reporter: a shared love of music created a strong bond

between mother and son. >> when te terrell died, people were like you don't sing anymore you're not going to be in the choir? i said you don't get this. when i hear the baseline in the music it hurts. the song is dead now for me, the music is dead. >> terrell's death has also paralyzed her with fear for the safety of her other two sons. especially trey who is still in high school. >> so just walking through different neighborhoods to get to his school, he's crossing a lot of territories. so i'm afraid of him even walk to school so i drive him. i'm fearful, i'll leave work and take my lunch and go get trey if i need to. if he gets out of school early, i'll go and get him or bring him to work with me. i should not have to live in an atmosphere of fear but i do. >> we got to set the model in

chicago so it will be carried to other places since this is your home. >> father mike flager has been the pastor at at th taint saints since the 1980s. going by father mike. >> i feel like society has decided to lose a generation. we're not just seeing people thrown to the side of the road. we're throwing them there. we're putting them there. we're saying you're disposable. i think you're only now starting to see young people across this country rise up and say enough. >> reporter: dispied despiteds shootings, in roseburg, oregon or charleston, south carolina that trigger the discussion on

gun violence. >> resulting on it being too easy in neighborhoods for a person to purchase a gun than a book. >> people don't value us because when there's a mass shooting people get outraged and talk about it and then police brutality, people get outraged, and talk about it. but when a black person shoot another black person nobody says anything, that's okay. >> all the while, violence crimes daily, cities across america, including chicago which saw its deadliest month in 13 years. >> for 30 years ago i'm saying the same thing. we have poor skills, we have lack of jobs, we have lack of housing. we have lack of options. up to 30 years when you keep saying the same things,

nothing's changing well doh why don't you wake up, people don't care. >> also fighting for the city of chicago is lamar johnson. >> there are a lot of people here work hard every day that take pride in their city and neighborhoods. but unfortunately it is not being portrayed as such. and they're not enemies. they're misguided, most of these people who have guns in their hands they're hurting too. they're misguided. they need someone to show them the right way. >> reporter: the chicago native was born and raised in the notorious inglewood neighborhood. >> in the city of chicago is there a tale of two cities? >> yes. chicago is separated. if we take, quote unquote, the hood, bring it downtown, we see how quickly the police will react then. you cannot tell me there's no

funding, there's no resources, we see it, that's why we're upset about it, we know where it's going. the problem is not capability. we believe the problem is priority, they just don't care. >> lamar oversees the brave new word arc dedicated to peace. >> chicago is a violent city right? always been a violent city. what can we do about it then? >> there's so many things, but we ain't got enough money. there's only so much we could do. we could raise awareness. >> okay. raise awareness. >> reporter: if i was an average kid living in chicago what would my life be like? >> up in the things in the community but in their homes. a lot of them live in situations where they're forced to grow up fast. walking down the street, walk to the store, there's not guarantee they'll come back home. just that simple. most kids live with their

grandparents, so most kids deal with abandonment issues, their self esteem is low. suicide, depression, there's kids around here that's done for allot of stuff. if it wasn't for the arc or st. sabina, there would be a lot more. >> can we fix this? >> can we? yes, will we? we put them in a situation where they can't survive and then criticize them for not making it. it's like how you expect them to make it when you're not giving them the tools and resources to make it. >> reporter: pam is back once again at st. sabinas with her husband and friends. joined forces to join the hoops for peace basketball tournament. the tournament is part of safe

saturdays at st. sabinas, dedicated to give the community a safe place to be even for just a few hours. >> this year or the years prior, the numbers aren't getting any smaller. do you sometimes feel defeated? >> i never want to stop but i get frustrated with the constant crimes. people are outraged, they don't care. >> after all of this, why do you stay in chicago and do what you do? >> because i'm the voice of terrell, i'm all he has left so i do this on behalf of terrell. i'll be doing this until i die. i believe change is going to come. we have to teach our kids to have dreams again, they have to have dreams in order to live. >> sarah hoye, al jazeera, chicago. >> a matter of faith. next: a prayer for another future, the new sisterhood and

why a young woman would choose it today. >> we always portray it as okay, no sex, no money, you got to do what the superior says. i mean, it sounds horrible. who would do that? >> lori jane gliha with a spirited choice. choice.

>> and now an act of faith. when the pope came to visit just a few weeks ago he sparked a conversation about inspiring new enthusiasm for catholic church especially among young people. history says that two years into his papacy is too early to discover whether there is in fact a francis effect. bringing more into church life. but lori jane gliha has

discovered that in one community there's been a surge in sisterhood. >> society portrays religious life a lot as giving up things. we also portray it as okay, no sex no money you got to do what the superior says. that sounds horrible, like who would do that? you know. that is kind of the idea i had going into it which added to my terror. >> reporter: as a teenager in catholic school tracy kemme never imagined that she might one day become a nun or a sister in the church. >> i'm like nobody does that anymore, right? young people don't do that anymore. so it wasn't even something that i had considered. ♪ >> reporter: in her early 20s she had a serious boyfriend and plans to eventually walk down the aisle but when she pictured herself going old with him, something wasn't quite right. >> i was so in love with him. but when i thought about

marrying him it felt like a door closing. and when i thought about religious life even every ounce of me did not want to feel this way, it felt like a big blue sky opening up. >> kemme had been volunteering in ecuador and teaching english to underprivileged children. it was different than where she grew up in a middle class cincinnati neighborhood. >> to make the world a better place, that's when the seed started to grow. about. >> reporter: at 22 she says she had her first call from god. >> what does god's call sound like? >> ha! i wish it was a phone call on the cell phone. that would make it a lot easier. i was sitting on a beach in ecuador and praying and thinking about the boyfriend i had just broken up with and missing my family, and i was asking god, what is this all about? from somewhere it wasn't like a

voice i just heard, but it was like you should be a nun. who said that? you know, in the next couple of days there were other prayer experiences that became very clear that god was inviting me to something. >> kemme made her first vows to religious life over summer. she is one of six women over the past years to join the sisters of charity foundation in cincinnati, that is six more than the group has had in the last decade. though she doesn't wear a traditional habit she has taken a vow of celibacy poverty, in her life in community with others. and now, part of her poverty vow sharing her possessions with her roommates. two of hig whom are more than te her age. >> how was your day? >> it was good. >> what is it like living in a house together four weeks in?

>> it's discovery. >> reporter: who havwhat haveu discovered so far? >> i've discovered people's interests, people's idieos. >> who would believe this would be a group of roommates? who would think this is a group of roommates? what would you say to that? >> there's a difference, we're in this for life. >> it is a gift in a lot of ways and a struggle in a lot of ways. we're going to use the gospel this morning. the beauty of it is living together with women who have all different experiences. different kinds of wisdom from the age that they are. and being able to share that together in prayer in the morning. >> what has been the most difficult part of this process for you? >> just being a younger sister in a world of older sisters. there are very few 28-year-olds

who are surrounded all the time by peoples in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. people kind coming to the end of their life where i'm just coming into mine full steam ahead. >> i wonder how they do it but they do it well. they seem to fit in easily. i think because there's something deeper than just the companionship. >> 91-year-old sister john miriam jones sees the influx in her sisterhood as such a surprise. things are different from when she became a sister at age 19. >> now the young people are actually much older than that. >> that's right. >> what do you think of that? >> well, i think it's a sign that -- of the change and the evolution that has come about in religious life. you know, that you're not ready,

as young as we were. >> why do you think you were ready so young? >> you ask hard questions. [ laughter ] >> what has changed? what have you seen change for the way that women are? >> well, involvement in ministry i think would be a huge one. time was when we were assigned, school hospital whatever and you did as you were asked to do. now we choose the ministry that appeals to us. >> kemme spends her time now doing outreach in cincinnati's latino community. she sees her new role as a gift. >> at the end of the day, there is such a deep sense of joy, not happiness like i just ate ice

cream i'm happy but a sense of abiding joy that lasts. >> you can still have the things you have to give up without having to become a sister. >> yeah, i have a lot of people ask me that. that was a question i discerned for myself. i think i would compare it to someone who feels very, very incredibly called to be a mother and someone who could say to them well you don't have to have your own kids you could just like become a babysitter and have people over at your house tall time you could have that as a part of your life. so having this as number one is only way it felt like enough. my number 1 relationship and commitment in my life is with god and my congregation. >> for kemme's parents, who once watched their daughter play maria, in sound of music, growing accustomed to her real-life decision has been a learning experience but one they

have come to welcome. >> are you happy she made the decision she did? and honestly. >> i'm happy that she's doing what she wants to do. i think you were talking to patty, she's gotten used to it. i've gotten used to it. i'm happy for her. >> do you have any regrets? >> i don't have any regrets. i feel like i had a really good discernment process. i have a lot of people who helped me along the way and i think i've found the life that i'm meant to live. >> lori jane gliha, al jazeera, cincinnati. >> that's "america tonight." please tell us what you think. at aljazeera.com/americatonight. talk to us on twitter or facebook and come back. we'll have more of "america tonight" tomorrow. tonight" tomorrow. >> you're the first one on

the scene. suicides, homicides, the roof is crushing into somebody's chest. >> what is the number one cause of death for police officers? >> suicide. >> breaking his silence. >> we have to know what happened and to react in the appropriate way. >> russian president vladimir putin makes is first public comments on his country's worst-ever plane disaster as new evidence comes to light. caged hostages. opponents of the syrian regime uses members of bashar alad