Stressing Chicago “desperately needs help” to tackle crime, President Donald Trump doubled down on plans to deploy the National Guard to quell violence in the city on Monday – but stopped short of announcing when such a crackdown would begin.
Both city and state leaders have balked at any suggestion of a federal deployment, insisting such an action would be unlawful — and that no federal intervention is needed.
“There is no emergency in the state of Illinois that requires the use of the National Guard,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said at a press conference on Monday alongside Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and others.
Pritzker and Johnson, who urged Trump not to deploy the National Guard during the news conference, insist violence in Chicago has dropped substantially; crimes such as vehicular hijacking have declined as much as 49%, according to data provided by the mayor’s office.
The White House, however, claims “crime and disrepair” are gripping major cities like Chicago.
Here’s what the numbers reveal about crime in the city:
Johnson has touted “significant reductions” in crime and violence over the past two years. According to the most recent year-to-date statistics, homicides dropped 31%, while shootings were down 37.4%. Total violent crime, meanwhile, declined 21.6% over the past year.
Disputing Trump’s claims about crime in the city, Pritzker detailed efforts aimed at reducing violence, including hiring additional police officers, banning assault weapons and investing “historic amounts” into community violence intervention programs.
“We listened to our local communities, to the people who live and work in the places that are most affected by crime and ask them what they need to help make their neighborhoods safer,” the governor said. “Those strategies have been working, crime is dropping in Chicago.”
In an article posted on the White House website entitled “Yes, Chicago Has a Crime Problem — Just Ask its Residents,” the authors referenced data that revealed Chicago ended 2024 with 573 murders, the highest of any U.S. city.
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While the number is accurate, there was no mention that Chicago saw its lowest number of homicides since 2019 – and the murder count doesn’t reflect the city’s homicide rate. A study called “2024 Homicide Statistics for 24 U.S. Cities” by the Rochester Institute of Technology showed Chicago had the eight highest homicide rate in the nation.
The study, which was also cited by the White House, revealed that out of the four U.S. cities with populations above 1,000,000, Chicago has consistently had the highest homicide rate for the past seven years.
City officials have cited data that showed Chicago is not among the top 25 most dangerous cities in the country.
“These facts are indisputable and widely acknowledged, yet there are those who want to twist our words to make it seem that we think our job is finished,” Johnson said.
However, the mayor acknowledged work still needs to be done.
“While we have made progress, that doesn’t mean that we will rest. In fact, we know that we have more work to do…. that is our focus every single day and will continue to be our top priority until Chicagoans feel safe in their neighborhoods regardless of their ZIP codes,” he stated.
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