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2022 Chicago population 2.6 million, homicides 630. Compared to my city, population 1.6 million, homicides 26. Yeah Chicago sounds awesome.
Yeah, Chicago has a problem in that area but we aren't the worst in the nation. Yet political figures and media outlets love to make it seem like Chicago is a Mad Max style apocalyptic wasteland.
Most of the murders are related to gang activity which is not an easy problem to solve.
St. Louis, Baltimore, New Orleans, Cleveland, Atlanta, Memphis, Kansas City, and a number of other cities are all doing worse than Chicago right now. Some far worse.
But I can't remember a politician threatening to send in the National Guard to clean up Baltimore. Washington DC isn't doing so hot either for that matter, yet I don't hear our congress people squawking about that - the city that they are directly responsible for.
Chicagoans are tired of it. We've got out problems but the entire country thinks that those problems are far worse than they are thanks to irresponsible journalism and politicians with an agenda.
"All of Chicago is dangerous because parts of Chicago as the dangerous"
As a Chicago native who left for college, I can't count the number of "where you from" "ohhhhh don't you mean...Chi-raq?!?!?" 🤔
I'm like, "no... I mean the place with awesome public transportation, where I walked to school and back daily because it was easy to not get lost when your 'blocks' are actually block shaped, and where I wasn't afraid to walk around at night because even in poor neighborhoods there's so many lights it can feel brighter than the day. You know? The place where I've literally never heard a gun go off outside of New years eve?
I'm sure they've gone off, but I ain't personally heard any. No I didn't grow up in fucking chi-raq. I'm from Chicago."
"BUT are you ACTUALLY from chicago?!?"
"Yes? If you mailed me a letter, that's the city you'd write on the envelope"
Homicides in Chicago are a problem in particular neighborhoods and communities. Many of these neighborhoods and communities are disadvantaged socially and economically and have been for decades. It could probably be considered intergenerational trauma.
Basically, the rate is higher than other large cities, but it's generally contained in specific communities.