CHICAGO, Ill. (FOX News) — Chicago will begin a new chapter on Monday when Brandon Johnson is sworn in as the city’s 57th mayor – but the Windy City’s new leader will immediately be faced with the issue of rampant crime.
As Chicago voters flocked to ballot boxes earlier this year, they reported crime was at the top of their lists of concerns. Chicago was rocked in 2021 by more than 800 homicides, the most the city had recorded since 1996, while simultaneously dealing with other crimes such as smash-and-grab robberies, car jackings and illegal street racing.
Under outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s tenure, Chicago recorded 2,784 homicides and a total of 14,681 shooting incidents, according to police data from 2019 to this month. The number of homicides and shooting incidents during Lightfoot’s administration notched a 9% increase from the 2,546 homicides and 13,421 shootings that took place during her predecessor, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s, final term in office.
“Public safety is a prerequisite to the prosperity of Chicago and the voters have sent a clear message that they want to get smart, not just tough on crime,” Johnson pledged last month.
