Distorting the crime stats during Congressman Jordan’s Chicago visit – Wirepoints

By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner

Congressman Jim Jordan’s visit to Chicago did more than expose the depth of the city’s crime crisis and how badly police have been handcuffed in their job to protect Chicagoans.

It also exposed the willingness of city officials to distort the truth in the face of political pressure, and the ease with which some in the media will accept those distortions.

The NBC news article covering Jordan’s hearing contained this line: “The city of Chicago says overall crime is decreasing with shootings down 12% year-to-date. Murders are down 10% and carjackings are down 26%, according to officials.” [Emphasis added]

That’s wrong. Yes, murder and carjackings are down. But cherry picking a couple stats to assert that overall crime is down is a blatant distortion of the facts and an attempt to mislead Chicagoans. Overall crime is up in 2023. So are major crimes. So are violent crimes. Every single official source of crime data shows that. Here are the stats:

The NBC story went on to say: “But the former minority leader of the Illinois House said that does little to dispel the notion that Chicago is an unsafe city.”

That’s hardly accurate about what Jordan said. He ripped the growth in Chicago’s crime throughout the hearing, at one point saying: For 11 years, 11 years, Chicago has led the country in homicides, and has only gotten worse…crime in Chicago overall has increased during the last five years by nearly 20%. Chicago…saw an 114% increase in car thefts and the 32% increase in other [crimes] between 2018 and 2022.”

This year alone, robberies are up 25 percent. Car thefts, up 86 percent. Each crime represents an opportunity for violence. And that means more Chicagoans victimized and traumatized every day. Just ask the man walking and eating his pizza just before he was viciously beaten and robbed.

What city officials should have said in response to Jordan’s visit is that he’s right – Chicago can’t get crime under control. Chicago will hit a post-2019 high in major crimes this year, even as covid and the George Floyd riots get further and further in the rear view mirror.

But saying Jordan’s right is not going to happen.

It’s bad enough that Chicago officials are willing to lie in the name of politics. It’s worse that the media is willing to accept it without question.

Read more from Wirepoints:

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Hello, Indiana!
2 years ago

And cue Mayor Tupacs aides labeling the facts as racist and the local bum kissing media giving the story a quick nod and moving on to a promo for what’s on later that night or a cute story about puppies.

Clayton Bigsby
2 years ago

The democrats will never admit that their policies are failures, complete failures. A US representative, Presley, just stated in an interview that the southern border is secure and there is no problem. Despite places like NYC, Chicago, Denver, LA and other cities, especially border towns and the undeniable evidence Presley still insists there isn’t a problem. Same lies repeated by Chicago/Cook County politicians, there is no crime problem. The elected tyrants in Chicago and Cook County are absolutely the most disgusting examples of failure there can be.

Hello, Indiana!
2 years ago
Reply to  Clayton Bigsby

Presley is another loud mouthed foreigner that somehow weaseled her way into the American political system only to trash this country and everything it does. Omar, Talib and others like them need to go back to the tribalist s—holes they were so desperate to escape. Yesterday.

Midnight the Cat
2 years ago

The city and CPD have been lying about crime stats for decades. The reported numbers were distorted that the FBI refused to accept the city numbers to use in yearly reports. Kill the crime using the power of the pen was the biggest and most successful crime fighting tool Chicago had.

Hello, Indiana!
2 years ago

It was Rahm that originally came up with the idea that crimes committed on the expressways weren’t considered Chi/Cook Co. crimes because the highways are considered federal/ state property. Pretty slick, eh? Every mayor since him has taken that ball and ran like h—l with it.

Donna
2 years ago

Despicable excuse for journalism

Giddyap
2 years ago

The Fake News Media Fraud is the true enemy of the decent people that do the working and taxpaying in Chicago. They are complicit in the crime wave that Democrat mis-rule is creating.

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