The fight against crime is not just a fight against crime, a Democratic lawmaker says it’s more than that.

To deal with crime, state Rep. La Shawn Ford said the state needs to deal with the issues that surround crime.

Ford is pushing a resolution at the State Capitol that would pledge to fight crime in the state like a disease.

He said residents cannot hope to stop crime just by focusing on crime.

“We know that hurt people tend to hurt others,” Ford said. “And healthy people, healthy in mind and spirit, don’t deliberately hurt people.”

Ford said poverty, drugs and alcohol, education, and jobs all play a role in violence.

“We need to make sure that people know it’s okay to seek help if you’re hurting,” Ford said. “So fighting violence as a disease, I think we’re going to help a lot of people in the state of Illinois. And lead the way across the country.”

Ford said Illinois needs to take a holistic approach to help people turn away from violence.