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Chicago Violence Troubles Bears

Longtime Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kelvin Hayden took a lot of heat from his childhood friends in Chicago when, during Super Bowl XLI, he picked off Bears quarterback Rex Grossman's pass for a touchdown in a 29-17 Colts victory.

Now a member of his hometown Chicago Bears, Hayden discussed with the Chicago Tribune a much more serious and worrisome theme in the city -- Chicago's crime rate.

"It definitely bothers you,'' Hayden said. "You hear about some adults and kids being shot, but I feel bad for the kids more than anything. You have kids showing gunshot wounds. It's like you can't really grow up and be a kid.''

While Chicago has gotten a bad reputation because of the crime, it's only gotten worse this past year. There were 366 homicides recorded from the beginning of the year to Sept. 2 compared to 282 over the same span last year, according to the Tribune.

Hayden, who grew up in Englewood, lost a friend to violence as an 11-year-old. His Bears open the season today against Indianapolis and first overall pick Andrew Luck.

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