By: Matt Rosenberg
Coming home from a long night of driving Uber, John Gurney got carjacked near 24th and Western. Just about to park his car, he was blockaded by another vehicle and found a .357 Magnum pointed right at his face. Weekdays, the master’s grad of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business works in finance. But Gurney hustles for extra cash as a ride-share driver because of ongoing family medical expenses not fully covered by health insurance.
His jarring experience as a carjacking victim helps to put a face on a vexing violent crime problem that has worsened dramatically in recent years and continues at a near-record pace well into 2022. Until local politicians decide they’re willing to spend their political capital on a hard line against crime, carjackings and other violent felonies in Chicago will continue almost at will.
We recently talked to Gurney about Chicago’s epidemic of street “takeovers” for stunt driving, or “drifting,” gatherings which too often turn violent. He stresses that Chicago’s streets are crucial infrastructure that must remain usable 24-7 so that commerce and emergency vehicles can flow unimpeded. He says Chicago’s political leaders need to step up with serious and specific deterrent measures to keep the streets for their intended use.
Growing street takeovers are a bad sign, says Gurney; but getting carjacked while on the job driving Uber was another defining – and deeply dismaying – Chicago moment.
Here’s how it happened. On 24th Street, “at the very first alley there was a car with four young guys with hoodies and masks, blocking the street. No way around them. I saw one of the guys starting to come at me with a big .357 aiming right at my face, saying, ‘Get out of the car! Get out of the car!’ And then the other three got out and flanked me on the side. There was nothing I could do, it was over so fast.”
Gurney adds, “Of course they went in my pockets. Took my phone, took my cards, they took everything. They also for good measure mugged a day laborer who happened to be on the sidewalk, at gunpoint. Took his wallet, his phone.”
That revolving door, again.
Talking to detectives about his case, and tracking news reports, Gurney says he learned two striking things. First, the juvenile who pointed a gun at him to initiate the armed hijacking of his vehicle had cycled through Cook County Courts several times already on carjacking charges. And was not detained before trial due to his juvenile status. Second, Chicago carjacking sprees are often a way of harvesting vehicles to use in other crimes like drive-by shootings, and armed robberies. In other instances carjacked vehicles may be stripped for parts including valuable catalytic converters. Or they’re taken by force for joyriding and social media bragging rights.
It turned out that according to what police later told Gurney, his carjacking was part of a spree of 17 violent crimes – mostly armed robberies – by the same crew. Gurney says Chicago Police detectives told him that one of the crew, the one who reached into Gurney’s pockets, would be dead an hour later after crashing another carjacked vehicle into a light pole at 90 miles per hour.
The crime news site CWB Chicago reported on this same crew’s one-night spree of 15 armed robberies and a carjacking on the North Side and downtown, before they came south to carjack Gurney and rob the adjacent day laborer on the sidewalk.
Growth in carjackings are part of Chicago’s “Great Unravelling”
Chicago’s ongoing carjacking wave doesn’t come from out of the blue. It’s part of a broader breakdown in public safety here. City data paint a stark backdrop because carjacking and a series of related crimes have rocketed compared to 2019, before Covid and George Floyd. Chicago’s Great Unraveling continued even after Covid and related restrictions eased markedly in mid-2021. As a result, the lawless atmosphere on the city’s streets is now felt widely and reflected in a recent Harris Poll.
Gurney’s carjacking happened last year, when Chicago set a new 21-year record with 1,848 carjackings. This year – at the current run rate based on public CPD data through October 26 – is set to end with 1,807 carjackings. That would be the second highest Chicago total since 2001 and once again, roughly triple 2019’s total.
So far this year 75 percent of Chicago carjackings have been “aggravated.” That means either involving a weapon, or an elderly or young victim. If that rate holds by year’s end it would be the highest since 2001.
A Chicago carjacking arrest rate of less than 7 percent.
This year’s carjacking arrest rate in Chicago through October 26 is 6.7 percent. That’s lower than any year in the city’s database extending back to 2001 except 2000’s 5.3 percent. And it tracks with the overall arrest rate for major crimes Chicago reports to the FBI, which last year was a shockingly low 6 percent.
The city’s 12th Police District on the near Southwest Side, including the Pilsen community, is a mix of working class and gentrifier Chicagoans. It is also one of the city’s current carjacking hot spots. Only the 11th District on Chicago’s high-crime West Side exceeded the 12th in reported carjackings last year and again this year-to-date.
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Meanwhile, the crimes now often tied to carjacking are also rising in Chicago. Through Week 44 of this year robberies have climbed 10 percent versus the same span in 2019. Similarly, motor vehicle thefts are up 110 percent from 2019; shooting incidents 34 percent greater; and murders up 33 percent.
Who can flip this rotten script?
Chicago needs leaders who will limit the exodus of police and reverse their plummeting morale. Chicago needs a county court system that doesn’t favor criminals and dangerous pretrial defendants over the law-abiding.
The question is: what city leaders can actually build an alliance with Cook County’s courts and prosecutors, and with the city’s voters, to flip this rotten script?
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Drifting, drag racing and carjacking: Motorized mayhem overwhelms Chicago streets
- Cook County’s dismal crime situation offers a glimpse of Illinois under the SAFE-T Act
- SAFE-T Act targets cops for online transparency, but not criminals
- Five more things wrong with Illinois’ SAFE-T Act
Appendix
A set of state lawmakers want to extend CPS’ current school closing moratorium to February 1, 2027 – the same year CPS is set to transition to a fully-elected school board. That means schools like Manley High School, with capacity for more than 1,000 students but enrollment of just 78, can’t be closed for anther three years. The school spends $45,000 per student, but just 2.4% of students read at grade level.
Hopefully, all media will get the message, in Illinois, too.
Ted joined Tom Miller of WJPF to talk about Illinois’ highest-in-the-nation property taxes, why lawmakers don’t want to touch the tax’s cost drivers, just how much Illinoisans’ tax burden has grown over the decades, why Gov. Pritzker failed to meet his promise to reform property taxes, and more.
In a state with a sane set of citizens, the Democrats would have been voted out a long time ago. Obviously, the state is dominated by those under the ether of evil, and those who are stupid as hell. The voters I mean. When Kim Foxx was re-elected, I knew Chicago was caput. For her to get even 10% of the vote was astonishing. What decent person would vote for her? None.
Matt – thank you for yet another very informative article. We appreciate the level of detail that you provide in order to keep the public informed of the pervasive problems that our City is experiencing year after year. You facilitate an open platform for candid discussion and problem solving. We look forward to your future articles on this and other topics impacting those of us who reside in Chicago. Thank you.
I would like to say that this carjacking crime wave will slow down with the arrival of cold weather, however in the last few years I have not seen the winter decline. What I am seeing is more layers for offenders to mask in which makes a positive identification by the victim even more difficult.
With no consequences and no accountability in the court system, this trend will only be on the rise.
Crime is rampant in Illinois and in Chicago in particular, mostly due to the fact that the Democrats in charge choose to NOT PROSECUTE CRIME.
And the Dominion voting machines are probably programmed to elect Democrats no matter which party the public actually votes for on Election Day.
We need real leadership at State, County and local levels. Unfortunately there is none and none on the horizon.
We must take the time and write a formal letter to out Democrat or Republican leaders and tell them, we are tired of crime. We want to feel safe I our communities and if they don’t? We have no choice, but to actually buy a gun or weapon to protect ourselves, our family, and/or our friends and neighbors. Due to their failing policies and equipt the voter with the rights for safety. Which ought to be the 1st job of our Government. A concern citizen. Scott
The issue is young people do not care. Ask them. They will tell you it’s just part of living in the city. Suburbanites don’t care. I ride the Els an subway and you’ll see the suburban mom’s playing three card monte on the trains, buying stolen items (cigarettes, Tide, etc) stolen and resold, not only on the trains but the buses too.
If you’re part of the problem you can’t be part of the solution. And the solution is to simply move out.
At some point the citizenry of Chicago and Cook County will either capitulate that this is the new new, or rally around a set of law and order candidates. The tsunami of crime (it’s well past a mere wave) will only get worse before it has any chance of getting better. This current situation is the result of decades of neglect, corruption, and cowardice. And the noble fight to correct all of this will be decades as well. In economics, there is a branch of studies called, “Behavioral Finance”. One of the tenets of the field is that people will… Read more »
The Democrat Part is on the wrong path.
Insanity is doing that which society does not desire over and over again.
Insanity will continue until our political leaders back the police professionals, who are very willing to put a stop to this, “yes, as described” insanity.
Until then, “goodbye businesses,” and “goodbye Chicago residents” who can leave.
And then, soon! Goodbye suburban residents if no cash bail is not stopped on 1/1/23.
There are easier and safer ways to live elsewhere.
Each city seems to count crime using different categories. NYC has very detailed reports, but uses different categories than Chicago. This year murders and shootings are down. But every other crime category is up… some in frightening ways: Rape — +11% Robbery — +32% Felonious Assault — +14% Grand Larceny — +38% Grand Larceny Auto — +35% It is pretty clear that in NYC, the catch and release policies that have been in place the last year or two have resulted in the police largely standing down. Why arrest someone when they will be out on the street in a… Read more »
Important fact to note. Dallas police recently ran a hiring event in Chicago.
https://mobile.twitter.com/dpdrecruiting
This is a strong indicator of where police morale is at in the city of Chicago.
True dat: Nobody aspires to be the Chicago Police anymore.
It is said we get the government we deserve. Law abiding citizens do not deserve this! If we cannot criminally go after the government officials in charge of this stupefying incompetence, we need to vote them out! How can it be that if you are victimized by the the system that is formed to protect you, you have no civil recourse??! It is an absolute civil rights violation according to our Constitution. What has hat to our basic tenets of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!
Wow, frightening! When will more prisons be built? Answer: Never.
Not until city budget begins to be responsible and frees up sufficient $, which is never. And that’s frightening too.
Excellently researched
Seriously, isn’t this exactly what George Soros had planned when he bought Kim Fox? The beautiful city of Chicago, the city my parents grew up in. the memories of good times spent there is gone. Can it come back, sure but not in my lifetime. It will take generations and I honestly think so goes Chicago, so goes our country.
I can tell you from living in Detroit there is no coming back
It only calling attention to serious problems was the first step toward finding solutions, instead of just resulting in being labeled a “racist” or “——phobe” of some sort. The communities engaging in these anti-social behaviors have been glorifying the lack of being adequately educated and the committing of crimes for so long, anyone outside this cultural rot doing anything to try to stop the evil is now considered…evil. It used to be that those who refused to control themselves were taken control of by those who were charged with enforcing the law and incarcerating the lawless. Now, it’s the lawless… Read more »
Living in Chicago is a CHOICE and like everything in life there are consequences for making that choice to live in Chicago.
I know John Gurney personally and couldn’t believe that he was carjcked twice in a month! Luckily he got away the second time. The Democrat system in Chicago ENCOURAGES criminals and thoroughly punishes good people who defend themselves. We need a whole lot more Kyle Rittenhouse types out there to disincentivize these scumbag criminals.
It’s evident that that the Democrats need the criminal vote along with the vote of many people in this state who love the crime and the criminals and fear the ghosts of Democrats past will haunt them if they don’t vote for the “Jack Ass” Pary. Wake up Illinois!
Even if Chicago voters woke up and started paying attention, they might not vote for change. Drive through the neighborhoods, where daily mass shootings and GSW walkiins are a norm. JB signs on each corner.
They residents will vote not just for status quote but for worse.
All by design to destroy anything good about Chicago….hopefully people realize now that Soros funded candidates are not who we should be voting for!
Great article, Matt! When the police are defunded and disrespected, and crime is not prosecuted, it will proliferate. These statistics are stark and scary. People should not have to live like this, and their are so many innocent children trapped. Flipping the IL Supreme Court with Burke and Curran victories is very important.
Matt, so knowledgeable, fails to state the obvious. Chicago is a lost cause. Attempts to save it are wasted effort. Instead, he holds out hope that someone will come along and fix it, as do many others. I’m sorry, but that’s not a realistic solution. Realistic is leaving Chicago (and Illinois) asap. Wirepoints would serve its readers better by more aggressively encouraging them to leave.
So true. It’s a total lost cause. All the BS means it’s working. Cut ties with Illinois and never look back. You can pay for a home in another state for the cost of Illinois real estate taxes.
24th & Western? That’s close to ‘home’, if home means the Chicago PR-named ‘Heart Of Italy’. I’ve been frequenting the area for 45 years, a lot less recently for obvious reasons. That neighborhood, a microcosm of dozens of other formerly-safe areas now blighted by thug crime, was different in the ’70’s/’80’s when it was Outfit-monitored. It just wouldn’t have happened at that intersection, period. In those days gangs had not only the CPD but the connected guys to deal with, and their brand of justice did not involve courts but was more protecting their investment, right here & right now.… Read more »
I remember Febo’s, Marconi’s, Il Vicianato fondly. I vaguely recall a XXX store somewhere in the vicinity as well.
Toscano was a favorite childhood memory.
Il Vicinato still has the best ravioli.
Agreed. Always ordered the ravioli. My grandparents were friends with the Marconi’s owners. When Febo’s closed and Marconi’s moved to LaGrange, Il Vicinato was out go-to joint. The original owner sold maybe 15 years ago.
I’ve said it at least five times in these forums that Superintendent Brown (who’s officers have no confidence in him, morale is down, the attrition rate for officers is very higher), Kim Foxx, Mayor Lightfoot and Judge Evans all need to be replaced. Paul Vallas could be the only candidate for mayor who could help the city with crime while everyone else above is looking to help the criminals.
Matt, thanks for another spot on piece exposing Chicago’s increasingly intractable crime problem. It’s time for our elected officials to take common sense measures to fix this problem.
Some 90+ years ago, Eliot Ness, and the “Untouchables” came to the rescue of Chicago to stop crime as it existed at that time. However; today, the protection of the public and the enforcement of the rule of law have been compromised so much that sadly, Chicago can be characterized as uncivilized. The “Untouchables” of yesteryear are not available from the Federal ATF, FBI, or Justice Department to protect the public from crimes e.g., murders, assaults, carjackings, robbery, rapes, and theft. They could be. But no; their resources are directed at school moms wanting a decent education for their children,… Read more »
Thank you Matt Rosenberg for not ignoring the crime that plagues this great city like the Democrats would like us to do especially at this time. People wake up, it’s coming for all of us!
The people of Chicago need to take dramatic actions to wake up the politicians. They need to take over city hall, block the streets, do something to let the mayor and others know that they are sick and tired of being victims.
It needs to be emphasized that the degradation of the city, best seen through the horrible crime situation, is the result of INTENTIONAL actions by city leaders.
There are some really scary things happening in Chicago. My heart goes out to independent contractors like Uber drivers, who are just trying to make a living. I heard that Chicago ranks #1 in carjackings. It’s time to rethink who runs our city and state. Why not throw the Democrats out of office at this point? They are responsible for the lawlessness.
Liberalism is a mental disorder…for sure.
It’s very interesting that neither Lightfoot, Preckwinkle, Brown, Chief Judge Evans or Foxx fail to address any of this. I fear things are going to become worse when the atrocious Safe-T Act becomes active on 1/01/2023.
Seems like the powers-thst-be are on the side of criminals. Progressive polices that are placing us all at risk, endangering the public are a concern.
I can’t imagine how the Uber driver must have felt when the perp shoved a .367 Magnum revolver in his face. I’ll bet the perp didn’t have a FOID card either. That’s a story for another day.
Ellen…good call. You know that a .357 round is used exclusively in revolvers.
Yes, a 357 Magnum Revolver. My mobile keyboard likes to act up at times. Thx.
Util the EVIL Cerberus of Evans, Foxx and Preckwinkle are voted out of office for their criminal first polices nothing will change.
Certainly Preckwinkle and Brown also need to be replaced as well.
All of us, from the very poor of the south and west sides of Chicago, to the very wealthy in the Gold Coast, are aware of the carjackings and violence. All of us are impacted by it, and because of that, all ethic and economic classes are united supporting the same cause. But, not all the classes are united in our cause. The political class certainly isn’t. Pritzker isn’t. Our Attorney General, Kwame Raoul isn’t. Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx isn’t, the mostly quiet Chicago City Council and it’s fifty $100,000 + earning aldermen, except with a few exceptions,… Read more »
Something is not adding up in your argument Keith. If all ethnic and economic classes were united in supporting the same cause (focusing on reducing crime), that is roughly 2 million of you that have a voice. All you could vote out this political class. However that is not happening. The majority of the ethnic and economic classes (your neighbors) are voting for the people sponsoring this mess. Not sure why. Selling there vote for a handout, like to be not held accountable, like to signal support for cops, but don’t really, etc? However you cannot argue that roughly 200… Read more »
Unfortunately this is correct. Where we have a general lack of knowledge, ignorance, and education, you will have people who are easily led by cash, and either having their vote paid for or subverting the election ballot process all together such as these midnight well coordinated ballot harvesting schemes. As long as this process isn’t monitored for the integrity of the individual ballot, an election can be rigged for any candidate. We have reached a point in this country where there is no genuine pride and respect for the country. Unpatriotic Americans combined with mass immigration left completely unchecked will… Read more »
One probem as I see it, is that 50% of Illinoisans are apparently unable to understand the connections between crime and lax policies that favor criminals. We used to marvel at how a once great city like Detroit could fall to pieces so quickly, but its happening here~! And now we have criminals often out on cashless bail, repeat offenders who simply dont care. No consequences. Our abysmal education system in Chicago Public schools aids and abets these criminals by providing reading proficiency at 3rd grade level at 28% and math proficiency even less. When will people wake up?? I… Read more »
I’m honestly surprised the police can’t fry the ECU’s of the cars involved remotely.My car is newer and I know it phones home constantly.
I think you are on to something.
I’m retired from the CFD after 30 years. Just talking about this with a retired CPD detective. His daughter is married to a CPD Lieutenant assigned downtown who told him it’s much worse than anyone thinks because so much is being swept under the rug. Rudy Giuliani was able to turn NYC around through aggressive law enforcement with his “broken windows’ policy. We can’t do that here because the woke’s war on law enfocment has resulted in a completely demoralized CPD who’s sole priority is just getting through their shifts with as little interaction with the public as possible.
“The question is: who has the capability to build an alliance with Cook County’s courts and prosecutors, and with the city’s voters, to flip this rotten script. “ The answer is no one. The problem is unfixable. Voters fail to see, or don’t care, that there’s a connection between woke policies, even as minor as ‘inclusion’ at your local school or equity in some local government committee, that all tie together to introduce a complete unraveling of society that our forebears spent generations building. They see all of that as ‘racist’ and now are shocked to discover that what has… Read more »
John Kass gets demoted from the Chicago Tribune and eventually quits because of the disgust over a so-called controversial comment on State’s Attorney Kim Fox, about her being a text civil rights leader here in the city. Maybe it was an omen from God about Fox letting criminals out on the street to eventually commit murder. There is something wrong.
The Chicago politicos prescribe the Pollyanna approach to self-protection for us, while they have their own security teams.
Less than 10% of Carjacking perpetrators are arrested…Unbelievable incompetence…Where’s Gov. Pritzker???
Key passage:
This year’s carjacking arrest rate in Chicago through October 26 is 6.7 percent. That’s lower than any year in the city’s database extending back to 2001 except 2000’s 5.3 percent. And it tracks with the overall arrest rate for violent crimes in Chicago, which last year was a shockingly low 6 percent.
I am angry and wary. I seldom venture into Chicago. I have a CCP. This is little consolation because of the tactics used by these street thugs. These thugs steal, threaten and murder because there are no practical consequences. Companies and people are leaving the city in droves. The trend cannot be reversed until the citizens of Chicago can finally understand that their votes have consequences. Note to the citizens of Chicago: Screw what the politicians are saying to you about “things are not so bad” and use what your eyes and ears are telling you and then ask yourself… Read more »
I was in Chicago today briefly to visit a friend in my former neighborhood. There were bums everywhere. One bum stood in the middle of the street with a wheelchair and refused to let anyone drive throughout giving him money. I-90 had what looked like a big fire in the median overnight and no one had bothered to clean it up. Drivers in jalopies, driving like they had no liability insurance, were passing me at 90 mph, weaving in and out of traffic. There were numerous vacant store fronts in strip mall on the corner. Chicago really is unraveling.
What terrifying times we live in and this article paints the picture. I once lived in Chicago and in the area mentioned which was safe to live in then. Chicago’s only hope is Darren Bailey as governor and Raymond Lopez or Chuy Garia as mayor even though they’re Democrats. I believe they aren’t afraid and will clamp down on the lawlessness unless a better candidate throws their hat in the ring.
If, doubtfully, Garcia can relieve us of social terrorism in the streets, he’ll lead us to financial terrorism. He’s a communist. He’s a terrible alternative.
Beat me to it. Chuy is a communist.
Victims of crime in Chicago are the least cared about group in the City. All one has to do is look at that STUPIDLY NAME SAFE-T ACT- TO SEE THAT. It’s all about protecting those Violent Thugs and not the thousands of innocent victims in Cook and Chicago. It’s safe for them and. screw their victims. Chicago has sunk into an abyss led by Political idiots.
Maybe when Biden and Harris are here with chuckles the clown O’Bama and the great bloviator Pritzker some novice can ask them what they are doing to lower crime. Sure. Crickets. In the meantime they will attempt to scare people about ‘democracy’ in an election.
Aha!!
From the article: “ The question is: who has the capability to build an alliance with Cook County’s courts and prosecutors, and with the city’s voters, to flip this rotten script. ”
Truly, the million dollar question. I couldn’t have asked a better question.
How many more must die? Do the politicians in Chicago even care?
The Chicago politicos prescribe the Pollyanna approach to self-protection for us, while they have their own security teams.
Well, Pritzker is busy appearing in drag shows at the Baton Show Lounge – “priorities, ya know…
I carry. BUT… what if they get the “drop” on me? I’d like to wear kevlar. And why is THAT illegal now in Chicago? Because politicos think the criminals won’t wear it now that it’s illegal? We do the best we can to protect ourselves but how do we send any sort of message to the thugs? They got the “message” from Kim Foxx; that being “it’s open season on civilians with little chance of prosecution.” Sometimes these thugs shoot you no matter what you do, even if you comply. But WBBM on Facebook put out an article suggesting that… Read more »
If the powers that be wanted to create a climate of unraveling, what would they do differently? This is well past the realm of misguided policy or wokeism or even incompetence. It’s intent. It has to be. Nothing else makes sense. When ideas whose outcomes are known to be lousy are undertaken anyway, then the logical conclusion is that lousy outcome are the goal.
As I have been saying for years since Pritzker Obama’s puppet got voted in that now the goal is for the Black man to bring the White man down to his knees by any means. It’s by design Black Caucus ruling Springfield, Tim Evans, KWAME, Foxx, Lightfoot driving the destruction. This is the Obama playbook for the entire country.
This is a plausible theory but it’s too complicated. The real reason, as I’ve repeated here, is quite simple. Our society, and IL/Chicago, arrests and jails a lot of black and brown people. Because these demographic commit most of the crime. This is not controversial statement and it supported by facts and data. The woke policies of Equity demand that fewer black and brown people go to jail. The community is angry that the system arrests their fathers, brothers, uncles, baby daddies and sons for crimes and locks so many of them up. It doesn’t matter that these people are… Read more »