Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson addresses reporters as President Trump weighs sending troops to Chicago. (Kamil Krazaczynski/Getty Image)
Chicago has long grappled with violent crime, marked in recent years by waves of shootings across the city — especially over holiday weekends — along with smash-and-grab robberies and illegal street racing that surged after 2020. The police department, which reached a recent peak in staffing in 2019, saw a drop in sworn officers as anti-police rhetoric from the "defund the police" movement gained traction nationwide, leaving the city with a lasting manpower challenge.
Crime overall in Chicago, however, has trended down since 2023, according to city data, including a 21.6% drop in overall crime as of Aug. 25 compared to the same time period last year. The homicide rate for the city in 2024 sat at about 17.4 homicides per 100,000 people, which is also lower than rates in more dangerous cities such as Memphis, Tennessee — which saw 40.6 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024.
Simultaneous to a bloody crime wave that kicked off in 2020, the Chicago Police Department was rocked by staffing issues beginning that same year. The force made strides building its staffing levels and reached a high of 13,353 sworn members in 2019, before that figure fell as "defund the police" protests and riots spread across the nation in response to the police-involved killing of George Floyd in May in 2020.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, center, speaks; flanked by Mayor Brandon Johnson, speaking to the media as President Trump floats sending the National Guard to the city. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
911 calls have gone unanswered, with cops unable to immediately respond to calls for assistance when other high-profile crimes broke out in the city.
An analysis of police calls in 2023 found that more than 50% of 911 calls deemed high-priority — such as confrontations that posed an imminent threat to a caller or required timely police action — did not yield an immediate response due to the staffing shortage, nonprofit Illinois Policy reported in 2023. In 2019, when police staffing was high, 19% of high-priority 911 calls could not be fielded immediately,
Calls for crimes such as domestic battery, mental health disturbances, a car accident and active fights went unanswered one evening in October 2024 after a shooting unfolded outside a concert that required heavy police presence, local outlet WGN 9 reported last year.
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The number of sworn police members dropped by roughly 13% between August 2017 and June 2022, a nonprofit called the Civic Federation found. Active officers were required to work additional overtime hours to bridge the gap, local outlet WTTW reported in 2022, which led to a $210.5 million price tag for overtime costs that year — which was a more than 50% increase from overtime costs in 2021.
Johnson's office and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment on Friday asking about the Chicago Police Department's staffing levels, why they have rejected asking the federal government for additional law and order assistance considering the force has not returned to pre-pandemic staffing levels, or if they believe current staffing levels are sufficient.
Johnson has vehemently hit back against Trump's calls to crackdown on crime in Chicago, including saying in August that the current incarceration rate of criminals in the nation is "racist."
President Donald Trump federalized the Washington, DC, police force in August and is eyeing similar crackdowns in other cities racked by crime. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
Trump has, meanwhile, said he has an "obligation" to protect the American people, and pointed to Chicago's notoriously bloody weekends as proof the city is in need of assistance.
"Do you know how many people were killed in Chicago last weekend? Eight. You know how many people were killed in Chicago the week before? Seven. You know how many people wounded? Seventy-four people were wounded. You think there's worse than that? I don't think so," Trump told reporters at the White House on Sunday when asked about Chicago, following the president sharing a meme captioned, "Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR."
Chicago Police Department vehicle on city street. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Trump federalized the Washington, D.C., police department in August as part of his campaign pledges to lower crime trends and promote law and order policies, and has turned his attention to similar efforts in other cities that have suffered crime woes. Trump has touted the federalization of D.C., which has led to more than 2,000 arrests, as a success and example for other cities to call on the federal government for assistance.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/chicago-cops-struggle-staff-streets-trump-presses-crime