Illinois indoor vaping ban starts on New Year’s Day
Illinois indoor vaping ban starts on New Year’s Day
Illinois’ New Year’s resolution starts with banning vaping indoors, and $100 fines for anyone who violates the law.
Illinois has highest ‘Home Alone’ age in nation
Illinois has highest ‘Home Alone’ age in nation
Leaving a child under 14 home alone in Illinois is illegal. That’s the highest age of any state, with only three other states making that parental decision a matter of state law.
The Policy Shop: Brandon Johnson’s public safety shell game
The Policy Shop: Brandon Johnson’s public safety shell game
This edition of The Policy Shop is by writer Patrick Andriesen. Here’s a thought: Violent crimes are surging in Chicago and sending businesses packing, so let’s cut the number of cops on the street. That’s some brilliant, progressive thinking, right? Two Illinois Policy Institute reports this week highlighted Chicago’s crime problems, problems 66% of voters...
Chicago car thefts at 11-year high in 2023 before year’s over
Chicago car thefts at 11-year high in 2023 before year’s over
Chicago set an 11-year record for car thefts with months still to go in 2023. Nearly 25,000 drivers through October failed to find their vehicles where they’d left them.
Carjackings more than double in Chicago from 5 years ago
Carjackings more than double in Chicago from 5 years ago
In a single year, one Chicago neighborhood saw about 1 of every 250 residents carjacked. Carjackings citywide more than doubled in five years.
Vallas: Fewer cops is how mayor plans to make Chicago safer?
Vallas: Fewer cops is how mayor plans to make Chicago safer?
The Johnson administration is playing a shell game on public safety. They’re likely hiring civilians for administrative positions to free up officers at local police districts, yet they’re eliminating more than double the amount of police positions currently vacant.
Testimony begins in former Chicago Ald. Ed Burke corruption trial
Testimony begins in former Chicago Ald. Ed Burke corruption trial
After serving more than half a century as a “fixture” on the Chicago City Council, former Ald. Edward Burke now faces 14 counts of federal corruption charges for allegedly abusing his finance chair position and aldermanic powers for personal gain.
2 in 3 Chicagoans disapprove of Mayor Brandon Johnson on crime
2 in 3 Chicagoans disapprove of Mayor Brandon Johnson on crime
When it comes to crime, 66% of Chicago voters disapprove of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s job performance, according to the newest Lincoln Poll. Just 25% of Democrats approve.
Vallas: Chicago needs better protection for witnesses
Vallas: Chicago needs better protection for witnesses
Mass shootings are rampant in Chicago. Arrests for those shootings are almost nonexistent. Witness protection is the key to changing that.
Vallas: How to boost Chicago Police Department strength, morale
Vallas: How to boost Chicago Police Department strength, morale
Mayor Brandon Johnson deserves much credit for approving a new Chicago Police Department contract that is generous and fair. Now comes the big question.
Illinois city outlaws trick-or-treating beyond age 12
Illinois city outlaws trick-or-treating beyond age 12
Some Illinois communities see regulating any mischief on Halloween as a real treat. Belleville prohibits anyone older than 12 from trick-or-treating, with fines up to $1,000.
Chicago homicides in 2022 up 43% above pre-pandemic levels
Chicago homicides in 2022 up 43% above pre-pandemic levels
Chicagoans reported 43% more homicides in 2022 than in 2019, the last baseline year before COVID-19 pandemic tensions ushered in two of the city’s deadliest years in a quarter century. Few communities were exempt from the rise in violent crime.
Chicago sees total crime drop, but most-violent crimes up over decade
Chicago sees total crime drop, but most-violent crimes up over decade
2022 marked a decade-high number of assaults and motor vehicle thefts in Chicago while arrest rates plummeted to their lowest level in 10 years. The first eight months of 2023 has not been much better, with a 13% increase in overall crime.
Vallas: Chicago can use home rule powers to curb crime
Vallas: Chicago can use home rule powers to curb crime
The SAFE-T Act could make it too hard for Chicago to detain offenders. Residents can’t afford that when the city is already amid a violent crime surge. Chicago leaders should use home rule powers to create a city public safety act.