From AP: (via Chicago Tribune)

Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Wednesday raised the possibility of bringing in state troopers or even the Illinois National Guard to help Chicago combat a recent increase in violent crime -- an offer that Mayor Richard Daley didn't know was coming.

Appearing at signing ceremony for a bill that toughens the penalty for adults who provide guns to minors, Blagojevich said "violent crime in the city of Chicago is out of control."

"I'm offering resources of the state to the city to work in a constructive way with Mayor Daley to do everything we can possibly do to help ... stop this violence," said the governor.

As an example of the violence, 27 Chicago Public School students have been murdered in Chicago during the 2007-2008 school year; 33 students were killed during the previous school year.

As a comparison, the city of Austin, Texas, has had 13 murders so far in 2008, or half the number (in a six-month period) of those public school students killed in Chicago in a nine-month period.

Austin's population is about 750,000; the Chicago Public Schools have about 410,000 students.

Update: NBC's Chicago affiliate reports that "[Gov.] Blagojevich said there's been a child shot nearly every day since June 26."

Update II: Here's the Chicago Sun-Times' Fran Spielman's report on the story.