A year after taking the reins of his hometown, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is grappling with a killing spree that has Chicago on pace for its bloodiest year since the 1990s. Fueled by gang warfare, Chicago’s murder rate has spiked 38% in 2012, sending Emanuel in search of a solution to a problem that bedeviled many of the city’s previous 54 mayors.

The homicides – at least 240 so far this year- are the result of a knot of factors, including some tougher law enforcement. Long infested by gangs … who have easy access to guns and drugs … in part because Mexican cartels use the windy city as a distribution hub.