Assaults were up 6.7% for the 12 months ending in April as confrontations became more violent. Black Chicagoans were more than 5 times more likely to be assault victims than their white counterparts.
Whether college protest encampments or political convention agitators, Chicago needs a way to penalize the few who disrupt life for the rest of us. A nuisance ordinance would do that.
Chicagoans reported 2,619 fewer vehicle thefts during the first four months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, but cases remain more than double what they were just a few years ago as arrests remain low. One carjacking took a police officer’s life.
This episode of The Policy Shop is by staff writer Patrick Andriesen Ninety Illinois communities have decided they could use some extra revenue, so they let red-light camera companies install devices that from 2008 through last year issued $1.56 billion in tickets. At least 527 red-light cameras were in operation by 2022 after the state...
Mayor Brandon Johnson hits the one-year mark May 15, showing voters he is exactly who he said he was. That’s turning out to be bad for Chicago. Here’s how.
Local governments generated $500 million from red-light camera tickets since 2019, with Chicago alone collecting $223.8 million. Total since 2008: $1.56 billion.
“I’m old enough to remember when they implemented the Tollway system in Illinois. That was supposed to be a temporary measure to pay for the interstate and it was supposed to end in 40 years. We know how that turned out.”
Chicago Public Schools saw violent crime increase 26% in 2023 and arrests hit a record low of 8%. Now thanks to pressure from the Chicago Teachers Union and Mayor Brandon Johnson, police are being removed from schools.
This episode of The Policy Shop is by writer Patrick Andriesen Two Chicago mayors have decried their city’s near-predatory use of traffic tickets. Yet those two Chicago mayors have effectively worked to increase ticket revenue. Beware the next politician promising “relief,” because it likely means even more cash taken from drivers who can ill-afford Chicago’s...
Chicago speed cameras hit motorists with over $102 million in fines during 2023, and $879 million total since they started flashing a decade ago. The mayor promised to eliminate the automated traffic cams, which issued a ticket every 20 seconds last year.
In Chicago and Cook County, law enforcement leadership and the court systems are failing women, especially domestic violence victims. Black women are disproportionately impacted. Leadership is desperately needed where incompetence now rules.
Assaults were up 7% for the year ended in March. Black Chicagoans were 5 times more likely to be assaulted, with Black women assaulted nearly as often as Black men – a much higher rate than women of other races. There’s a disturbing trend of targeted violence.
This episode of The Policy Shop is by writer Patrick Andriesen Two recent reports show Chicago leaders are ignoring or downplaying an issue that can cost them money, residents and reputation: violent crime. Violent crime in Chicago increased by 11.5% in 2023, but the city’s arrest rate dropped compared with 2022. Standing out in a...
Chicago saw more robbery victims in 2023 than in any year of the past decade, reporting 1 victim for every 250 residents. While crimes surged, robbery arrests hit a record low. Fewer cops is not helping.