A Safer City
Report Shows 110% Rise in Illinois Domestic Violence Deaths as Advocates Call for Action
Advocacy groups are sounding the alarm on a spike in domestic violence cases.
A new report from the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence says domestic violence deaths in Illinois rose by 110% last year, with 94 incidents of domestic violence leading to 120 deaths in 2023. That includes 107 homicides and 13 suicides in which the perpetrators took their own lives. That’s up from the previous year, when there were 45 incidents that led to 57 deaths.
Last year’s statistics were so disturbing that the coalition published its Annual Illinois Domestic Violence Homicide Report this summer, rather than wait for its typical fall release in October.
“It was really important for us to get this information out as soon as we could because there has been such a dramatic spike in the number of deaths across the state this year compared to last year and previous years,” said Vickie Smith, former executive director of the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “So we really feel like we need to spend some time this summer going into October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, to make sure that the public is aware of how dangerous domestic violence can be, and that we have resources and solutions to help people who are experiencing domestic violence.”
According to the report, 68% of the deaths were caused by firearms — including the fatal shooting of 48-year-old Karina Gonzalez and her 15-year-old daughter, Daniela Alvarez, last July in Little Village. The new report has advocates once again pushing for the passage of a bill in Springfield called “Karina’s Bill,” which would allow law enforcement to remove guns from accused abusers while serving orders of protection.
“Karina lived right around the corner from her office, and when it happened, we ran down to the house and we saw the red tape. And we questioned, ‘Where did we fail?’” Little Village Community Council director Baltazar Enriquez said. “We’ve been asking the state for femicide charges. We’re the only country in the world that doesn’t have femicide charges. … If you murder a woman, you will have an attachment of femicide, right?”
The report also indicates an increase in the number of counties where domestic violence deaths were reported, with incidents reported in 27 out of 102 counties in Illinois in 2023, versus 20 counties in 2022. One statistic that hasn’t changed is that Cook County still leads the list with 37 deaths in 2023, compared to 18 in 2022.
To help people in Cook County navigate the court system and to provide a safe space to file for an order of protection, the clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County opened the Domestic Violence Survivor Center last October inside the Markham Courthouse.
“From October until present, we’ve helped over 1,500 people file orders of protection,” said Carmen Navarro Gercone, executive clerk of court operations, administration and external affairs for the clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County. “Even if the court hearing is not at the Markham Courthouse — it’s in Skokie or Rolling Meadows — we have a Zoom room set up in that space, which is very helpful. We have our staff there, provide them the forms, help them complete the forms. … There’s always help.”
A Safer City is supported, in part, by the Sue Ling Gin Foundation Initiative for Reducing Violence in Chicago.
