Even as Chicago struggles through mounting crime, public safety advocates expect that worse times are ahead as the state of Illinois is about to severely curtail pretrial detention—a policy that they worry will put more criminals on the streets statewide.
Already enduring high rates of violent crime for decades, Chicago saw murders skyrocket in 2020 by 55 percent and rise further into 2021 (pdf). So far this year, murders have eased by 16 percent, but other crime has shot up—car theft is up by 71 percent, other theft by 61 percent, robbery by 17 percent, and burglary by 25 percent compared to the same period last year (pdf).
