"I needed a better surrounding for my kids," Swane said. "I have two sons I moved out of the area in a different school district."
The mounting violence and the recent murders of three men and a toddler have forced many people like Swane out of the community.
"I think what the mayor is doing is great. I hope it works," she added.
For Chester Mayor Wendell Butler, the murder of the toddler was the final straw. During the weekend he called for a state of emergency -- imposing a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. -- and stepped up police patrols in the hardest hit areas.
On Wednesday, Mayor Butler plans on asking the Chester City Council for a 30 day extension for the state of emergency. There is a strong likelihood he will get what he wants, but many expect there will be a few stipulations. Representative Thaddeus Kirkland of Chester says, "We applaud the effort, but I think a lot of the community is quite upset because we have been trying to get this to happen for quite some years."
Rep. Kirkland says there have been many murders -- of adults and children -- and he questions the timing for this call: "I think, more than anything, and a lot of residents feel the same, there's a soccer stadium coming and people need to feel safe coming into the city of Chester."
Kirkland says it's going to take a lot more than a curfew to bring safety back. He took Action News through his own backyard to show us some evidence: a bullet hole in his car.
"That's a huge bullet hole. What size? I don't know. When it was reported to the officers some years ago, they said it was a rather large caliber... It's a reminder. It's a reminder of where we are, and a reminder of my community and how much work there is to be done."
