A full week after the March 19 election, the contest remains a long way from being settled, with 53,712 outstanding mail-in ballots from Chicago and approximately 35,000 outstanding ballots from suburban Cook County that will be counted as long as they were postmarked or dropped off on Election Day and arrive by April 2.
A Safer City
A WTTW News reporting initiative diving deep into neighborhood crime, violence and public safety as residents, policymakers and community groups work to address the growing issue.
“We see a lot with our clients, this cycle of domestic violence, and unfortunately, a cycle of systems failing victims,” said Ashley Olson, associate director of Ascend Justice.
Six days after the March 19 election, the contest remains a long way from being settled, with an unknown number of outstanding mail-in ballots that will be counted as long as they were postmarked or dropped off on Election Day and arrive by April 2.
For the first time in at least six months, Chicago recorded zero weekend homicides due to gun violence, according to police.
The latest update in vote totals from the Associated Press came just after 12:30 a.m., as O’Neill Burke continued holding a slight edge over Harris. As of the most recent tally, fewer than 10,000 votes separated the pair. More votes will be counted in the coming days.
Retired judge Eileen O’Neill Burke is facing off against lobbyist and former prosecutor Clayton Harris as they each vie to become state’s attorney for the nation’s second-largest prosecutor’s office.
According to Chicago Police Department figures, 16 people were shot in 14 separate incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
All four of the neighborhoods have suffered from decades of disinvestment, fueling a cycle of violence that has made them some of the most violent places in Chicago, officials said.
“This has been a situation that has gotten increasingly out of control,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said about the massive bills for police overtime. “The superintendent and I, we both agree on that.”
The Chicago Police Department spent $293 million on overtime last year, 40% more than in 2022 and nearly three times the $100 million earmarked for police overtime set by the Chicago City Council as part of the city’s 2023 budget, according to data obtained by WTTW News.
As homicide cases in Chicago remain open, the families of victims are left to cope with the trauma.
Local organizations are focusing on those areas in an effort to work directly with those most impacted in an effort to stop cycles of violence
A WTTW News Safer City special: Why Chicago sees more homicides than other major cities. And the local organizations working to prevent that crime in their communities.
Crime overall is falling nationwide. But when it comes to homicides, Chicago’s numbers are not declining as quickly as the two largest cities in the nation — New York and Los Angeles.
According to the Chicago Police Department, 13 people were shot in 13 separate incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
According to Chicago Police Department data, 29 people were shot in 24 separate incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Monday.
