Chicago sees small violence reduction over past few summers

While preparing for and handling the global spotlight of the Democratic National Convention, the city saw an incremental decrease in homicides for the third consecutive summer, though killings and nonfatal shootings between June and August still outpaced pre-pandemic levels, according to a Tribune review of city violence data.

Chicago recorded 186 homicides between June 1 and Aug. 31, data show. Another 764 people suffered nonfatal gunshot wounds in that span. Summer 2023 saw 190 homicides while 747 others were shot and wounded.

A year earlier, in 2022, the city recorded 207 homicides with another 957 shot over the summer.

Warm-weather killings rose sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. The summers of 2020 and 2021 each saw more than 270 homicides and about 1,300 other nonfatal shooting victims.

Scores of CPD officers were temporarily reassigned from CPD’s 22 patrol districts to monitor crowds and demonstrations near the United Center during the four days of the DNC last month. The gatherings and marches were largely peaceful, though officers saw their days off canceled and shifts extended during the convention.

Ahead of the DNC, CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling repeatedly pledged that the city’s police would not be hamstrung by the mass influx of demonstrators, dignitaries and delegates.

“This is not just about the Democratic National Convention,” Snelling said in late July. “The Chicago Police Department has an obligation to the entire city of Chicago. Every single neighborhood we will be protecting. And we’re looking at our manpower, we’re looking at our allocations, and we want to make sure and we will make sure that the neighborhoods who need us the most, we will be there for those neighbors. We will be there for the entire city of Chicago.”

In a CPD news release Thursday, Snelling issued a statement again praising his officers for their response to the summer’s main event.

August — historically one of the most violent months in Chicago each year — saw 51 killings across the city in 2024, according to CPD. Fifty-eight homicides were recorded in August 2023.

Meanwhile, CPD says the department’s homicide clearance rate was at 53% through the end of August, the highest mark “since at least 2015.” The homicide clearance rate is calculated by dividing the number of homicide investigations initiated in a year by the number of homicide cases “cleared” in that same year. Cleared homicide cases do not necessarily mean a suspect was arrested and charged, though.

Beyond gun violence, CPD also touted a nearly 20% decrease in carjackings year-over-year. Meanwhile, CPD officers recovered nearly 8,500 guns — more than 1,000 in August alone — since the start of the year.