'Fighting For Justice': Fund Set For Girl Shot In Chicago Heights

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — The lives of Sally Solis and the Rev. Cheryl Anderson are bound by the double-braided knot of a 3-year-old girl and random gun violence.

Both families have been caught in suburban crossfire or stray gunfire. Anderson took care of Solis’ little girl. So when Solis’ toddler was struck by a bullet, Anderson knew she’d had enough.

Anderson, who owns CMT Teach Me How Academy daycare, is opening a trust fund for the toddler and her mother and will be holding a benefit concert to support victims of gun violence.

“I don’t want this family to go what my family has gone through,” she said. “We’re still fighting for justice.”

Their stories echo events nationwide and shockingly close to home. In Chicago, where shootings are widely reported, at least 1,920 people have been shot so far this year. Nearby Dolton has been hit by four high-profile shootings in the past four weeks.

For Solis, Tuesday began like any other day. She strapped her toddler in the backseat of her friend’s car, got in and the trio rolled into their morning routine: daycare first, then work. It was just a little after 6 a.m.

As they headed through an alley near Washington-McKinley Elementary school, aiming to turn right at the BMO Harris Bank on the corner of 16th Place and Chicago Road, they heard it. Pop. Pop. Pop. Two bullets hit the car. One hit her baby’s head.

“We were just driving and then people just started shooting,” Solis, of Chicago Heights, said. “I’m so upset right now I can’t even think straight.” There was nothing to do but rush to the hospital just five miles — an eternity for the mother — away.

Anderson’s ordeal started out, too, as an ordinary day. Last year, her daughter, grandsons and godson went out in broad daylight for milkshakes and sundaes in Evergreen Park. On the way, someone started shooting, and 14 bullets hit their car. Anderson’s godson was hit and survived, but that was only the beginning, she said. The car still doesn’t run properly. It was returned to the family stained with dried blood. The insurance company also has fought Anderson’s claims.

Then there is the revictimization every time someone else is shot, something no one tells you to expect, Anderson said. She fears one of her grandsons will experience this, too. He is a classmate of Solis’ daughter, and has known the girl since she began attending the school at 8 or 9 weeks old, she added.

“Everybody there is devastated,” Anderson said. “The mom is a hard-working mom. She’s just like my daughters — no gang affiliations. They’re just innocent people trying to go about their daily routines. No one should have to experience random shootings. Drive-by shootings. Crossfire. Nobody should have to suffer that.”

Solis said she has not left her daughter’s bedside since she was admitted to the hospital. It’s just the two of them and always has been, Solis said. A single mom, Solis said she works every single day to give her daughter everything she needs.

Solis did not want her daughter’s name published and was cautious about releasing any personal details. The shooters — who have not been caught — don't need to know anything about her, Solis said, adding that she didn’t see anyone and didn’t know who would shoot a child.

She grew quiet.

“I don’t want a lot of information out there,” Solis said.

What Solis does want people to know is that her daughter is a fighter. The bullet did not enter the girl’s brain, and her healing is progressing so much that she can now move her fingers.

The little girl who loved to dance also loved her daycare so much that if Solis ran a little bit late in the morning, the toddler would chide her: “Come on, mommy, we’re going to be late.”

She had a play sister waiting there for her, after all.

She was also looking forward to their regular mother-daughter date, Solis said. Every two weeks she indulged them both with manicures. Sometimes the girl picked pink, sometimes purple. Occasionally both. In the unicorn-colored world of a 3-year-old, those 10 fingers give you plenty of canvas to display all of your favorites.

“My daughter is going to make it,” Solis said.

Anderson said she is finalizing details of the Solis trust fund and the benefit concert. Those interested in donating to the fund can call CMT Teach Me How Academy at 708-755-8110 for more details.