Research shows a correlation between youth unemployment and crime. Mayor Brandon Johnson has made teen employment a public safety priority. He’s pledged to double the number of jobs in the city’s youth employment program.

Gun deaths among U.S. youth rose 50% in just two years. Black children and teens were roughly five times as likely as their White counterparts to die from gunfire in 2021, according to the Pew Research Center.

The City Council’s Finance Committee voted 10-9 to endorse the settlement, which now heads to a final vote at the full City Council meeting. In all, the City Council will consider paying $8.5 million to resolve four lawsuits that allege a wide range of police misconduct.

Public safety isn’t just about addressing the root causes of crime or stopping people from picking up a gun. Sometimes, making a neighborhood safer is as simple as a water balloon or a bounce house.

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx on Monday released her office’s “Do Not Call List” — which she said includes a collection of “disreputable” law enforcement officers who have “propelled Cook County’s reputation as the wrongful conviction capital of the country.”

A federal judge in Chicago has dismissed a bribery charge levied against Commonwealth Edison, months after four former ComEd officials were convicted of attempting to corruptly influence former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

According to Chicago Police Department figures, 40 people were shot in 32 separate shooting incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday. That included Ashley Griggs, 41, who was killed in West Garfield Park.

The crash near St. Louis killed three of the 22 bus passengers and left 14 other people, including the driver, injured. The National Transportation Safety Board is trying to determine what caused the bus to strike three parked rigs.

Renault Robinson, co-founder of the Afro-American Patrolmen’s League who served in various roles under Mayor Jane Byrne and Mayor Harold Washington, died on July 8 at age 80.

“At the Capitol, he freely and happily walked into a riot and ultimately followed the rioters into the building itself and the personal office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum.

Judge George Strickland set a Nov. 6 trial date for Robert Crimo Jr. during a hearing Friday. Crimo Jr. faces seven counts of reckless conduct for allegedly helping his son, Robert Crimo III, obtain a firearm owner’s identification card (FOID) card.

From Jan. 1 to June 30, the nation endured 28 mass killings, all but one of which involved guns. The death toll rose just about every week, a constant cycle of violence and grief. Six months. 181 days. 28 mass killings. 140 victims.

The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability recommended two veterans of the beleaguered Chicago Police Department and one outsider.

The proposed settlement is set to be considered next week by the City Council’s Finance Committee on Monday. A final vote of the City Council could come on Wednesday.

According to a police bulletin, 23 armed robberies occurred between July 8 and July 11 across several community areas, sometimes just minutes apart.

Derrick Claiborne was sentenced in Chicago’s federal court this month after prosecutors said he was arrested at his penthouse apartment on Michigan Avenue while in possession of narcotics and three illegal firearms.