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.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Chicago Mayor Johnson’s latest ‘yes, he really said that’ comments on crime
- Chicago, New Orleans were the nation’s murder capitals in 2022 – A Wirepoints survey of America’s 75 largest cities
- DeSantis’ claims on Chicago kid shootings: hyperbole or fact?
- Another 52 shot, 10 murdered in Chicago this weekend. How long will Mayor Johnson avoid deterrence?
- Wirepoints Chicago Weekly Crime Tracker
- Walmart’s flight from Chicago: ‘Corporate racism?’ Or crime, taxes and dysfunction?
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
The police budget increased yet we are not safer?
Are the eggs purchased recently at more than $4 per dozen more tasty than those purchased not even a year ago for roughly half that price? No. The price paid for a product or service often has no straight line mathematical correlation to our satisfaction with it.
Pretty sure Pritzker and Democrats solution will be to tax IL citizens more and hand it over to Chicago. That’s been the Democrat M.O. for decades now – make the state pay for Chicago’s problems, but w/o any accountability.
Fallacy of Chicago Mayor logic is that Chicago receives lion’s share of Illinois State tax collection (money collected from all Illinois). State tax revenues are distributed as a function of municipal population relative to other Illinois municipalities. (And this does not begin to address the relatively unequal distribution of State funding to Chicago school system). Therefore, anyone living in Illinois should have quite a bit to say about Chicago economic politicies. “What share do local governments receive? Beginning August 1, 2017, and through July 31, 2022, local governments receive 6.06 percent of the net collections of all income tax received… Read more »
I suspect disinvestment is a symptom of the crime, not the other way around.
First of all, no one should expect to work or have employment in their neighborhood. This isn’t the 19th century anymore. People live and travel all over the metro area. Secondly, even if there was ‘investment’ in these neighborhoods, in the form of retail or services, the residents don’t have enough money to support these businesses. You can build all the retail you want but welfare, food stamps and social security payments don’t go very far. What exactly do these community residents expect, corporations or businesses to open high paying industrial or commercial plants and then ONLY HIRE PEOPLE within… Read more »
The real crime is from public employee pay. They should get less than minimum wage. Illinois public employee unions are the filthy cancer that is killing Illinois
Bitch please
So, if you don’t live in Chicago and you’re mugged on the CTA going to work, carjacked in Lakeview, or caught up in one of the weekend riots downtown, you’re not allowed to talk about Chicago crime?
I’m seeing alot of the old tough on crime racists in the comments that just enable others to look down on a mayor that just took office hell I bet people in these comments don’t even live in chicago or the a holes that wrote this crappy article just like what Brandon said if you don’t live in chiacgo don’t judge it. Seriouslygive the man a break and let him do his job if you don’t like it vote him out later but for I believe he has the right idea to address the root causes of crime which with… Read more »
Well, we’ve been lax on crime for the last few years and crime has become worse. Telling everyone they can steal $999 worth of stuff and not be arrested doesn’t work. Telling car jackers that it’s not their fault and they were just board doesn’t work.
At least you were honest. No matter what facts are presented you “won’t believe them”.
I mean, really? Just, really? The nuts are definitely out of the asylum.
You are free to have your belief system and we are free to have ours. In our world we believe in enforcing the law and we believe that the police, the states attorney, and the courts are part of maintaining that balance. When a society no longer maintains this balance it will eventually fail and crumble into chaos. The first role of government is to protect it’s citizens. There is nothing racist about having 2 parent families, going to church, knowing right from wrong, and believing in holding everyone accountable for their actions. Racism is a tired worn out excuse… Read more »
Broken Windows Policing works. Period.
Brandon needs to rehabilitate those kids. The Peacekeepers need to take some advice from Barney Fife and enact a rehab program:
(172) I’ll take the Mr. Potato Set! – YouTube
Brandon Johnson doesn’t care about crime. He’ll give lip service to crime, as politician he must do so, but he doesn’t care and neither do his voters. Crime is just a part of life. In fact, they like crime just the way it is, they only want to reduce punishments. They want healing houses instead of prisons, restorative justice instead of hard time, waiver of costs instead of fines and penalties, social services instead of jails sentences and the easy life instead of hard time. They want fewer criminals arrested and lighter sentences. Their communities’ vote totals for progressive politicians… Read more »
Or, perhaps their voting pattern is really very simple: He looks like me. He gets my vote. If a white liberal, he espouses my ideological ideas. He gets my vote. If Hispanic however, that’s harder to explain. They don’t want crime, they want to work, they want an education for their children. I don’t have an explanation for their votes in favor of Johnson.
Simple but true. Reality is we are dealing with a mindset ultimately in some of the neighborhoods which relies on government entitlements for such a long time that it’s become a way of life and engrained in the culture. Entitlements were never meant to be a way of life. But from experience working around many folks and flavors the system is gamed to take advantage of. This becomes very difficult to break away from this mentality and it perpetuates until you finally wake up leave, and make a better life for yourself and family.
There were several black candidates in the race for mayor but Brandon Johnson had the plurality in the election and the majority in the runoff. Why didn’t Willie Wilson win? Or Lori for a second term? I’m of the Richard Hannania punditry school of thought that the community has incoherent and irrational views on crime and policing that cannot be reconciled, and result in chaos. Polling shows they kind of want less crime, but at the same time, they really, REALLY the hate police, and they value criminal justice reform (aka less punishment) more than they value reducing crime. They… Read more »
Well put. And yet they scream a little in South Shore when thousands of illegals are put in their own backyard. Irrational and incoherent might be a reality that many of us don’t even understand. I know many CPD (now retired of course) who originally cared about the job and these neighborhoods. As the years went by, they naturally were dealing with the same ignorant people over and over again. They would tell me that during investigations & interrogations they started to just tune these folks out because it was mostly ridiculous, nonsense, and straight out lies 100%>. It would… Read more »
Very true, but very cynical. however, you cannot allow them to kill each other. They spray bullets into playgrounds and maim children. That’s unacceptable for any society.
I realize that but it sure seems to be getting more violent with each passing day. If we had a neighborhood who supported law and order and told CPD where the bad guys live we might get in front of the problem. Famous quotes “I didn’t see nuffin and I don’t know nuffin”. We find it unacceptable and yet maybe they find it to be normal. There is nothing normal about killing a 7 year old. Really sad situation that has to be fixed from within the culture itself. I just don’t see that happening. Over 55 years of cynicism… Read more »
South Shore last year had 39 murders in a community of 53,791 people, which by calculations is 72.26 per 100,000. By comparison, El Salvador’s murder rate was 85 per 100,000, the highest in the world. My own town had one really, really rando murder by a mentally ill person, giving us a crime rate of roughly 2.0 per 100,000. Most years the homicide rate is 0. So yes, I’d much rather see south Shore as a little Oaxaca, instead of the crime ridden hell hole it is now. I fail to see what these residents are protecting in south shore.… Read more »
My fellow Elgin HS alumnus is a joke pretending to be Chicago’s Mayor! Only way to stop crime is rapid firm punishment not passing out sport equipment and bicycles. Not sure what is dad’s church teaches but there’s enough written in The Scriptures on how to deal with criminals. This guy just bought into the systematic racism hoax, he should be pointing to the lack of fathers and the results are reported on the news every day. Just this week, 5 under age 15 kids, crashing stolen car, with weapon found at 3am! Where’s dad and mom? That’s the question… Read more »
Typo: what “HIS” dad’s church
Brandon Johnson said, “In fact, if you don’t live in Chicago and you aren’t offering solutions, stop talking about us.” I don’t live in Chicago, but I would like to know why mayor Brandon Johnson is not offering solutions now. I thought he told us these “silly, young kids” just needed jobs and recreational centers. Okay, then he should stop talking about it, allowing crime numbers to rise, and DO DOMETHING ABOUT IT! It’s a symptom of disinvestment because there is no honest partner to invest with. Who’s fault is that? Johnson has to accept and change it or there… Read more »
Marie, look at the bright side. Since you don’t live in Chicago, you should be benefitting. Your home should be appreciating faster, assuming you live in the subs.
If the people being victimized voted for Johnson, then that is justice. If the people that didn’t vote for Johnson are free to leave Chicago, that is justice. What’s the problem?
I was wondering… What kind of firearms are the new peacekeepers carrying? Surely they are not expected to be defenseless, are they?
They carry the latest hugs and smiles.
In my mind I always pictured they carried textbooks so they could look up the problem and see what they needed to do about it and if things got really bad they could hit the bad guy with the book.
Lol… Marie, I like your “style”…
They are packing heat because they are “former” gangbangers. (I also don’t believe in the term former) The Peacekeepers are the Traffic Management Authority and the Second Chance Program at CTA. All the same crowd courtesy of the mostly aldermanic patronage system which is actually becoming fairly strong at populating the various agencies with neighborhood hacks just like whites did for almost 100 years. Take a look into the crystal ball, think of Coleman Young, Mayor of Detroit from 1974-1994. Think what happened during his tenure and that will be the template for Chicago. They will destroy Chicago to “level… Read more »
BJ, Fox and Evans’ dysfunctional Cook County courts.
I think the only way these people get less crime is to call fewer things criminal.
I think they figured that out and it’s working for them. Murder is no big deal now.
I think everyone should stop complaining and start voting…Voter turnout was much worse than pathetic. If people actually got off their asses there is no way this guy is mayor.
I’m trying my best to get this going. We need to improve morale first. Contrary to what you often hear, see or read in comment sections, we do have the resources to change the system, we can all get along and unite against despotism, you can make a difference, and the radicals are heavily outnumbered.
You keep saying this, but you have no evidence back this up. In 2020, when turnout WAS pretty high – upwards of 70 to 80% in some areas, Republicans lost EVERY SINGLE WARD in the city. Republicans won a handful of precincts, but lost EVERY WARD. The wards with lower turnout – in the 50’s or 60’s were mostly black and they were the most lopsided for Biden with some precincts having 99% votes for Biden and 1% for Trump. Biden won 82:18 which is a 4.5 to 1 ratio. There is zero evidence whatsoever this can be changed. 100%… Read more »
Here’s your evidence.
Hi downvoters. Facing reality and having an honest discussion is the only way to begin the healing process. Denial is the first stage of grief according to Kübler-Ross. Grief is an overwhelming emotion. It’s not unusual to respond to the strong and often sudden feelings by pretending the loss or change isn’t happening. Denying it gives you time to more gradually absorb the news and begin to process it. This is a common defense mechanism and helps numb you to the intensity of the situation. As you move out of the denial stage, however, the emotions you’ve been hiding will… Read more »
I think you’re the one in denial of the situation. I’m facing reality head on with charts, maps, graphs and vote totals. I’m well past the first D in DABDA. I’m at the second A – Acceptance. There is a solution. The situation is not hopeless. Well, Illinois is hopeless, but fortunately we are surrounded by red and purple states. Move there. Turn red states redder. Fortify red states with your red votes. Get involved and kick the commies off the local school boards in places where red voters actually have a decent shot at winning. This is the answer;… Read more »
Johnson = Lori on steroids
as if someone expected anything else.
You have the freedom to leave Chiraq.
It’s not going to be better anywhere else for long if everyone runs away and expects problems to solve themselves.
I agree. These crime problems are like covid problems they creep in everywhere, and you can’t get away from them. Maybe they’ll eventually give us a vaccine shot against a gunshot. Wouldn’t surprise me.
Johnson carrying on the “ tough talk “ tradition of Lori, I see. Soon to ban all non- poc from his press conferences, refusing interviews from the same and blame all his failures on racism.
Chicago, the more things change the more they stay the same.
There is a reason Chicago has the nickname Chiraq…amd under Johnson it will keep that nickname.
Lawlessness is sin. 1John 3:4 Bottom line: As a nation, we are thinking less and less about God. We are God-less. –Jeff Kinley Men cannot govern themselves. We need God’s laws and we need to study and understand the Bible and actually do what it says. Mayor Johnson would never admit that because there is no room for God in Marxism. No impulse control and a lack of empathy are part of the crime equation. I don’t know if there’s a cure for that. My neighbor (who was a Chicago policeman) told me the root of crime is absent fathers… Read more »
Spot on Penny. When Old Joe was a kid the whole system worked together. Two parent families with a stay at home mom, parochial schools reinforced the Golden Rule and criminals were held accountable for their actions regardless of their color.
or the height of their political office?
You’re right, two parent households and parochial schools worked in the past. But that was a solution four generations ago when my great-grandparents where living and running Chicago.
But what about today? What can you do right now other than incarcerate criminals, mostly men, that will lead to more fatherlessness?
Maybe there is no answer to this.
Well Debtsor, when the Chicoms took over China circa 1949 they had a way of changing ingrained bad behavior.
There’s a reason we have a fenatyl problem here for example and there’s not one in China even though all those precursor pharmaceuticals come from China.
Yes, it can be done but won’t be by the progs we have in charge.
True, but the famines and cultural revolution killed millions. Looking for something far less insidious, like “raise your dang kids” and “stop committing crimes”
Blame it on the silly voters. Bet the silly school teachers won’t want to abide by the residency requirements.
Brandon has the throttle wide open hurtling down the elevated tracks, the 90 degree turn is simply the starting point for bankruptcy and failed major city. The complete collapse of commercial real estate will be a bump in the road. When the spread around money is gone the end will become clear. And then there’s FJB; when’s he’s thoroughly cornered he’ll attack China. All for the good of the party.
Someone explain how Johnson has addressed crime differently. He’s engaged the same community groups all previous mayors engaged in the past. He stood by the police chief promising new or increased safety measures just like his predecessors. He’s made the same speeches after a deadly weekend like his predecessors. Unsurprisingly, there has been no signs of innovation from his team because the union hive-mind doesn’t innovate.
While I would expect no improvement in that Root Causes Johnson seems to be doubling down on the same failed policies. Any increase in crime though might be related to Not Prosecutor Foxx stepping down next election cycle. Criminals want to get as much lawlessness in before presumably a functioning DA is elected.
Brandon Johnson is a former history teacher, not math teacher, so math isn’t his forte, and 38% increase in crime probably not noteworthy to him. Nope, he’s laser-focused on boosting CTU benefits, which neither inhibits folks engaging in prevalent street-crimes, nor benefits “silly children”, nor addresses any concerns of general population of Chicago. Most non-CTU taxpayers already believe CTU teachers are most cosseted interest-group in Chicago. Bonus challenge: can anyone identify a single new policy change or mayoral action that truly benefits ALL Chicago residents? So far, I’ve only heard implementations of policies and union benefit increases that COST Chicago… Read more »
They’re not criminals. They’re BLM Brandon’s primary voting block.
Summer is just getting started…..
Swirling, swirling, swirling down the drain. Johnson should join the plumbers union.
His comments shovel plenty of manure, so he would be right at home with the plumbers.
If you do not police and prosecute there is chaos, and the situation continues to spiral down (ie Walmart pulling out four stores on the south side) and there are less good jobs. Too bad there is no money, cause the Chicago and Illinois politicians have recklessly taken us into a ditch. Eventually the pendulum will swing back…may take a decade and ie a doubling of property taxes (offset by 50% decline in home prices?)….and of course “help from springfield” paid for, of course, by suburbanites.