- Aug 4, 2009
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Chicago's murder rate isn't nearly as bad as you think - The Week
However, for all the tragic stories and headlines casting Chicago as the Deadliest City in America, the homicide rate in the Windy City is actually on pace to end the year at its lowest level since the the early 1960s.
Chicago has retained its stigma as a city with an out-of-control murder problem in part because of the shocking nature of the crimes. Many of the city's murders are gang-related, leading to a high number of youth casualties. In the most high-profile case of recent months, Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old girl who had performed at President Obama's second inauguration, was shot and killed by a stray bullet in January.
Through the first four months of the year alone, there were 93 homicides in Chicago. But while that would seem to be a depressingly high tally, it was a 42 percent drop from the previous year. It also marked the first time since 1963 that there were fewer than 100 homicides over the same period.
Since then, the downward trend has continued. May saw an 8 percent decrease in homicides from the previous year, and a 31 percent reduction in total shootings. And through Sunday, there had been 76 fewer murders in Chicago this year than over the same stretch in 2012, a 34 percent decline.
However, for all the tragic stories and headlines casting Chicago as the Deadliest City in America, the homicide rate in the Windy City is actually on pace to end the year at its lowest level since the the early 1960s.
Chicago has retained its stigma as a city with an out-of-control murder problem in part because of the shocking nature of the crimes. Many of the city's murders are gang-related, leading to a high number of youth casualties. In the most high-profile case of recent months, Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old girl who had performed at President Obama's second inauguration, was shot and killed by a stray bullet in January.
Through the first four months of the year alone, there were 93 homicides in Chicago. But while that would seem to be a depressingly high tally, it was a 42 percent drop from the previous year. It also marked the first time since 1963 that there were fewer than 100 homicides over the same period.
Since then, the downward trend has continued. May saw an 8 percent decrease in homicides from the previous year, and a 31 percent reduction in total shootings. And through Sunday, there had been 76 fewer murders in Chicago this year than over the same stretch in 2012, a 34 percent decline.
