It might rank as the nation’s third-largest city, but it comes in first in one very undesirable stat. Chicago leads the way in the number of homicides and shooting victims this year—recording more than New York City and Los Angeles combined.
This isn’t news to anyone, especially if you’ve been following A1F Daily. All year, we’ve been reporting on Chicago’s downward spiral of violence. In August alone, more than 400 people have been shot, 78 fatally. There hasn’t been a deadlier month since October 1997, when the Windy City registered 79 homicides.
Fortunately, with summer on the way out, those numbers will likely start to decline. And we can only hope that when Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson’s plan to lock up repeat offenders—and keep them locked up—takes hold, there will be a similar effect. Let’s hope so, as far too many innocent people have lost their lives already.
