What Are The “Facts” Regarding Chicago’s Criminality?

The answer to that question depends on whom you ask. The answer is quite different when it comes from Illinois Governor Pritzker or Chicago Mayor Johnson compared to the millions of Chicagoans who live in the highest-crime-rate major city in the United States.

I read the script of a speech by J.B. Pritzker that proved, without a doubt, he is laying the groundwork for a 2028 run for the White House. How do I know that? How else can one explain that, in his six years as Illinois governor, he never once made a significant speech explaining how, under his watch, Illinois’ crime rates and numbers have skyrocketed?

Here’s how Pritzker is handling the cries of Chicago’s citizenry: he’s NOT! What he’s done is politicized Democrats’ talking point they have unified around to blast Trump for one of his policies. Though the move to bring National Guard members to D.C. to assist the Metropolitan Police in policing criminal actions has resulted in the arrests of 1000 in just a few weeks, and a long stretch in which there were zero murders, Democrats refuse even to consider the needs of other cities with rampant criminal activity and instead demonize Trump for even mentioning it!

Here’s Pritzker’s response to Trump’s offer:

President Donald J. Trump’s historic effort to restore public safety in the nation’s capital has led to unprecedented drops in violent crime, including murders.

Now, as President Trump rightly calls attention to the crime and disrepair gripping other major U.S. cities — like Democrat-run Chicago — Democrat politicians seem far more upset about the offer of assistance than the crime epidemic in their own backyards.

Here are the facts on Chicago’s crime problem:

• For 13 consecutive years, Chicago has had the most murders of any U.S. city.
• For seven consecutive years, Chicago has had the highest murder rate among U.S. cities with more than one million people.
• In 2024, Chicago’s murder rate per capita was three times higher than Los Angeles and nearly five times higher than New York City. That’s more than double the murder rate in Islamabad and almost 15 times more than Delhi.
• Out of Chicago’s 147,899 reported crimes since January 1, arrests have been made in just 16.2% of them.
• More illegal guns are recovered in Chicago than in New York City and Los Angeles combined.
• The number of reported motor vehicle thefts last year was more than double the number in 2021.
• Chicago has also come under scrutiny over discrepancies in its homicide data reporting.

Chicago’s residents want action:

• “You have seniors who have been shot. Where’s the outcry? We need to have a police car out here and detail because we don’t know if this will happen again,” said one woman after a shooting near a senior living facility injured five people.
• “You hardly see a police car in the neighborhood. It just seems like crime is really out of control right now… Mayor Johnson is more concerned about his school board and pension matters that he’s currently working on. He should be worried more about the neighborhoods in Chicago,” said a pub owner and robbery victim.
• “We have a rule — on weekends, we don’t walk here. If we go to the West Loop or whatever, we’ll Uber, then we’ll Uber home,” said one downtown resident after a shooting involving a group of teenagers.
• “[Burglaries, robberies] were not happening a few years ago. It was very peaceful. Now it seems more dangerous to walk around the neighborhood,” said a small business owner after four armed robberies within an hour rocked his neighborhood.
• “We certainly have a crime problem in Chicago,” said one alderman.
• “I don’t think [Mayor Johnson] really listened to our concerns. He doesn’t understand. He needs to come and be in the midst of one of these ‘teen takeovers,’ and then maybe he’ll understand how dangerous it is for everyone,” said a resident of downtown Chicago after repeated teen brawls in the area.
• “I was taking my daughter to school, and I noticed that my window was busted. This is not okay,” said a woman whose vehicle had been vandalized seven times in one year.
• “I’m shocked and I’m disappointed at the same time because this neighborhood used to be a very good neighborhood,” said a resident after the third neighborhood store in one week was looted by criminals.
• “There’s no control. There’s no law and order,” said a Chicago resident.

Here are only a few recent headlines detailing crime in Chicago:

• Portage Park armed carjacking leads to charges against 19-year-old Chicago’s kid carjackers: Inside the SRT Boys’ yearslong crime spree (Chicago Sun-Times, 6/6/25)
• 5-year-old boy fatally shot in Kenwood found sister’s gun in purse (Chicago Sun-Times, 8/25/25)
• 2 shot, one fatally, on South Side, Chicago police say (WLS-TV, 8/25/25)
• 3 killed, another wounded in Garfield Park shootings (WFLD-TV, 8/22/25)
• 3rd Foot Locker store targeted by crash-and-grab thieves within 1 week, Chicago police say (WLS-TV, 8/24/25)
• Suspect in custody after armed carjacking on Chicago’s West Side, police say (WFLD-TV, 8/15/25)
• Truck downs store barricade in Wicker Park smash-and-grab (Chicago Sun-Times, 8/20/25)
• 1 killed in Rogers Park shooting, Chicago police say (WLS-TV, 8/13/25)
• Violent weekend across Chicago: dozens shot, four killed (WLS-TV, 8/11/25)
• 1 dead, five injured in Chicago mass shooting, police say (ABC News, 8/10/25)
• 16-year-old boy fatally shot Uber driver with ‘ghost gun’ during Chatham carjacking, prosecutors say (Chicago Sun-Times, 8/10/25)
• Chicago police officer hit by car, shots fired in NW Side smash-and-grab burglary, chase, CPD says (WLS-TV, 8/7/25)
• 16-year-old charged in carjacking, fatal shooting of man on South Side, Chicago police say (WLS-TV, 8/6/25)
• Portage Park armed carjacking leads to charges against 19-year-old (WMAQ-TV, 8/6/25)
• Man, 41, killed in shooting on Chicago’s South Side, police say (WFLD-TV, 8/4/25)
• Four carjacking suspects in custody after pursuit by state police ends in Chicago (WBBM-TV, 7/25/25)
• Boy, 17, charged with Chicago armed carjacking (WFLD-TV, 7/18/25)
• Chicago carjacking: 14-year-old charged in Edgewater attack (WFLD-TV, 7/8/25)
• More Than 40 Shot, 7 Killed by Gunfire Over Fourth of July Weekend Across Chicago: Police (WTTW-TV, 7/7/25)
• Chicago carjacking: Man, 38, took car with 7-month-old inside, police say (WFLD-TV, 7/5/25)
• Carjacking suspect hits victim with his own car before crashing, battering woman in the Loop: CPD (WLS-TV, 7/5/25)
• 4 killed, 14 hurt in Chicago mass shooting: ‘Absolute chaos’ (ABC News, 7/4/25)
• River North mass shooting sees four killed, 14 more wounded after rapper’s party (WBEZ Radio, 7/3/25)
• 12-year-old, 13-year-old charged in North Austin carjacking: Chicago police (WLS-TV, 7/1/25)
• Trio charged after armed carjacking in Englewood, police say (WFLD-TV, 6/27/25)
• 3 teens charged with stealing 72-year-old man’s car at gunpoint (WFLD-TV, 6/13/25)
• Teen carjacked 66-year-old woman at gunpoint, police say (WFLD-TV, 6/9/25)

Is Chicago’s Leadership Effective?

Give me a break! Chicago, once a beautiful city and a shining light for the upper Midwest, has sunk to its lowest level in numerous categories since Pritzker became governor. Chicago’s mayor has never taken responsibility for any of the crime, economic disease, fear, and desolation that have consumed numerous once-shining neighborhoods across the city.

Here’s part of a story from one Chicago news outlet:

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Approval Sinks to 6% as Crime, High Taxes Dominate, Remain Top Issues with Voters

“A new poll commissioned by M3 Strategies shows embattled Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson with an unprecedented 6 percent approval rating – the lowest of any mayor in history. The latest polling represents an 8-point drop since November.

The mayor has struggled with governing since his surprise election, and has faced numerous issues, including a migrant crisis, crime, high taxes, and a public school system that’s in chaos.
The poll, conducted from February 20 to 21, had several key takeaways. 80 percent disapproved of Johnson’s record as mayor, while 71 percent of respondents said they supported Vice President Kamala Harris. Eighteen percent said they voted for President Donald Trump.

When asked what the top issues were, 67 percent said crime; 54 percent said high taxes; 41 percent said inflation, and 24 percent said immigration and border security. Only 11 percent listed racism as a major issue in the city.

After President Donald Trump was elected by an overwhelming majority in November, Johnson called his victory a “threat” to Black families despite Trump earning more support from Black voters than any Republican in nearly 50 years.

In January, Illinois Democratic State Representative La Shawn Ford filed legislation that creates an official mechanism to recall a Chicago Mayor – a measure that he has supported in previous legislative sessions dating back to Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

But the introduction of this legislation has a greater significance this year as Johnson’s approval rating continues to drop. The city’s crime problems, lack of police resources available to protect the community and the migrant crisis is turning residents and his own city council members against him.

Since his surprise election in the Spring of 2023, his administration has been mired in controversy, highlighting his inexperience and inability to manage a big city like Chicago.”

Conclusion

Here’s the only question that should be being asked and answered by the people from Illinois and the City of Chicago about their leadership: Can we do no better in our state and city than what we see today? Should we continue to accept a mayor and governor who are okay with Chicago being the Number One “Killing Field” among every city in the United States?

And there’s one more question that needs to be asked of Pritzker and Johnson: “Has Chicago verified via audit annually that the crime states being reported are true numbers?”

By the way, it is essential to note that Trump did not send the National Guard to Los Angeles to fight crime there. He sent the National Guard to Los Angeles because LA’s Mayor Bass encouraged Angelenos to reject ICE officers who were doing their jobs to remove illegal aliens from our country, and Los Angeles leaders told citizens to resist ICE officers and not allow them to do their Constitutional work to enforce immigration laws. In fact, multiple ICE officers were attacked over and over by protestors carrying out the Mayor’s “ideological” but illegal actions against federal agents!

Also, no National Guard office has arrested anyone in Washington, D.C. They are working “with” Metro Police and not acting as police officers. Initially, none of them carried firearms. That became necessary when the rabble-rousers started pushing demonstrators to “confront” those National Guard officers.

I have no say in what happens in Illinois or Chicago regarding politics. If I were a citizen, I would demand that the Rule of Law be honored by every public servant. Under the circumstances that have kept Chicago the nation’s most violent city for murders, I’d want leaders to “fix it” or I’d carry my tale to somewhere in the South!