Chicago City Wire

Chicago's 15th Ward Alderman Ray Lopez called attention to the city’s status as one of the nation’s murder capitals.

In 2022 Chicago had the most murders of any other city with 697, the 11th year in a row the city has held that distinction.

“These numbers do not lie. In 5 days, we could see change in the City of Chicago,” Lopez said in a press conference. “It’s important that voters understand the truth. That’s why this report will be available on Wirepoints, on their social media, and on mine so voters can read it and understand the truth. The challenge I have today is to the voters of Chicago: Take what we are presenting here and make the decision for yourself. Decide whether the politicians who say they care about you, they care about your family, they care about your community, they care about your safety, are willing to answer the tough questions. Or are they going to deflect to ‘root causes’ and ‘trauma’ and all the other catchphrases that do nothing to address the criminality in our midst.” 

Lopez’s comments came as Wirepoints released a survey of 75 of the nation’s cities. The survey found New Orleans and Chicago were the nation’s murder capitals. 

“We have a chance on February 28th to send a message to all politicians and all candidates that if they are not starting their conversations with a point of truth, we won’t vote for them," Lopez said. "We’ll vote for the individuals who take this seriously. This is about action. This is not about warm, fuzzy feelings. This is about doing what’s necessary to ensure that our police can arrest individuals who commit crimes, to ensure that we have people on hand to answer a 911 call when you're at your most vulnerable. This is about doing what’s right and having a truthful conversation in the City of Chicago.”  

Lopez previously told Tucker Carlson of Fox News that the Chicago he knows now is not the same Chicago that he grew up in.

“Chicago suffers from a trifecta of failure: Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, the county's Chief Judge Timothy Evans and Mayor Lori Lightfoot have crippled criminal justice and destroyed police morale,” Matt Rosenberg, Ted Dabrowski, and John Klingner wrote for Wirepoints. 

Wirepoints reported the murder rate in the city increased after BLM riots wracked the city. “Hopes for Chicago were high in 2019. The city’s 500 homicides were far lower compared to the murderous years that defined the city from the 1970s through the 1990s, and almost back in line with the relatively peaceful period of 2004 through 2015. (See Appendix B.) The city seemed ready to turn the corner. But then came a new wave of deadly violence in 2020 after George Floyd’s death. It hasn’t let up yet.” 

The group said the city’s lax attitude towards crime has led to higher crime rates. “Much of the deadly violence traces back to a broader decriminalization effort by officials that has increased tolerance for lower-level crimes,” Wirepoints wrote. “Foxx has effectively decriminalized retail theft under $1,000, while state legislation successfully pushed by her political mentor, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, has limited the practice of prosecuting armed juvenile carjackers as adults,” the study reads. Mayor Lori Lightfoot shouldered much of the blame for the city’s showing. Wirepoints added that they mayor's "leadership and executive temperament have faltered as crime has mounted." "When McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski rightly warned that outsized crime threatened the city’s economic future, Lightfoot wouldn’t hear of it and said he needed to 'educate himself.'" 

Lightfoot dubbed her critics on crime “haters” even as Chicago has recorded in 2022, a 41 percent increase in major crimes compared to. 2021, and a 33 percent increase since 2019. “Police morale has plunged under Lightfoot’s management. Many officers have fled regular patrols for assignments in special units. Retirements and resignations are common; more than 1,000 officers left in 2022. A string of suicides has rocked the department. Replacements are being hired but sworn officer staffing levels are down 12 percent between January of 2019 and January of 2023,” Wirepoints reported.

The survey comes as Lightfoot has been struggling in polls to maintain the city’s top job. The latest poll in the Chicago mayor’s race was conducted by M3 Strategies. “New Chicago Mayoral Poll (with leaners) Paul Vallas: 33% Brandon Johnson: 20% Lori Lightfoot: 18% Chuy Garcia: 13% Should no candidate receive at least 50%, the top two finishers will compete in an April 4th runoff election. By M3 | 416 LV | E: ±4.8%,” Political Election Projections said on Twitter.

The election will be on Feb. 28. A runoff will be held on April 4 if no candidate is able to gather more than 50 percent of the vote.