Lies, Damn Lies, and Chicago Crime Statistics

Are we shocked that Mayor Lightfoot and Chicago PD Superintendent Brown would lie about crime? Or mislead a lot, anyway? Chicago crime statistics: Even worse than you think – Wirepoints

In a recent interview Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot sounded like she might have been acknowledging reality about Chicago crime, with a reported admission about growing trouble downtown. But she really wasn’t.

That’s because as always this year, she accented that murders and shootings so far were down somewhat compared to last year. Murders and shooting incidents are 16 and 18 percent less than in 2021, respectively, as of last week’s end. Yet that claim is still misleading because last year isn’t the right comparison. 2021 was the worst for Chicago murders in 25 years. The better measure for major crimes like murders and shooting incidents, and anything else, is versus the last pre-Covid, pre-George Floyd year of 2019.

So when Lightfoot & Company compare Chicago to the sh*tshow of the 21st Century, they are not doing too bad. When they compare Chicago to the reality of the past 30 years or so, the suck like a Hoover vacuum.

Citywide data from the Chicago Police Department show that versus 2019, YTD Week 32 murders in Chicago for 2022 are up 31 percent and shooting incidents are up 33 percent. This is a far cry from the 2022-2021 comparisons Lightfoot and her Police Superintendent David Brown have continued to accentuate: down 16 percent and down 18 percent at Week 32’s close, respectively.

There’s more bad news. Motor vehicle theft in Chicago is up 57 percent versus 2019 YTD, to 8,537 from 5,449. And theft is up 32 percent, to 11,115 from 8,410.

There is more data, including graphs of the stats, and more on the politics of lying.