Chicago crime is getting out of control again!

 

38% jump in Chicago crime during Mayor Johnson’s first month – Wirepoints
June 14, 2023


By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner

Readers can decide if it’s too early to tie Mayor Brandon Johnson’s words and actions with the increase in crimes taking place under his watch, but the numbers during his first month weren’t good. The negative trend that’s been in place over the last three years has continued unabated since Johnson took office.

The latest police CompStat data shows almost all major crimes grew during the mayor’s first month (May 15, 2023 – June 11, 2023), with the total crime count growing 38% vs. the same month last year.

Aggravated batteries were up 17% and burglaries increased 12%. Criminal sexual assaults were up 5%. Car thefts continued their out-of-control spiral, up 153%. Even shootings were up 12%.

Only homicides fell over the period, declining 5%. That’s three less people murdered in that one month period, but unfortunately, still a rounding error in a city that has led the country in homicides for eleven straight years (see Wirepoints’ survey of America’s 75-largest cities for more).

 

Johnson set a tone of lawlessness even before he became mayor. He has a long record of defund-the-police and soft-on-crime statements that he continued to build on as Chicago’s mayor elect.

His “silly kids” comment in late April after a teen takeover of Chicago’s downtown only enabled even more youth crime.

“They’re young. Sometimes they make silly decisions,” Johnson said as he doubled down on his previous calls for the public to not “demonize” hundreds of teens who took over Chicago’s streets.

The problem is those “silly” kids are increasingly the victims of Chicago’s violence. During Johnson’s first month in office, nine youths aged 19 and younger were murdered. One year ago, during the same month, it was “just” four.

Johnson’s first major test as mayor was Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately, his investment in yellow-vest “Peacekeepers” and anti-violence programs failed to stem the bloodshed. Twelve Chicagoans ended up murdered and 53 shot that weekend. It was the bloodiest Memorial Day weekend in seven years.

Rather than take responsibility, Johnson continued to promote his belief that “violence” is “a symptom of disinvestment.” The very next weekend at least another nine Chicagoans were murdered and about 50 were shot. It was the bloodiest first weekend in June in five years.

Doubling down

What’s fascinating about all the international attention and press on Chicago’s crime is that it hasn’t had any positive impact on the city’s handling of criminal justice.

Instead, the numbers continue to jump spectacularly. Five full months have already passed this year and if crime stays at its current pace, Chicagoans in 2023 will experience another 40%-plus increase in crimes compared to 2022. That’s on top of last year’s 41% increase over 2021.

In a sane world, a mayor faced with such numbers would do everything in his or her power to tamp down on crime as a stopgap, even as longer-term strategies are implemented.

Not Brandon Johnson. The Mayor’s most-recent comments show he wants to shut down criticism. Especially if you’re an outsider.

“In fact,” he said, “if you don’t live in Chicago and you aren’t offering solutions, stop talking about us.”

With rhetoric like that, it will be no surprise if Chicago’s crime wave continues unabated.

Chicagoan's are starting to lose confidence in Mayor Johnson. Law and order has to be the top priority. It's even more important than the "silly kids".

With regards to the right of non-Chicago citizens to talk about Chicago; until the city stops accepting federal funds, every American citizen has an absolute right to discuss the crime in Chicago and the inept efforts to control it.