Chicago Police Department officers pointed a gun at a person, on average, more than 11 times every day in 2024, according to an CPD annual report on officers’ use of force.

For the Chicago Police Department, the challenge is acute. The force must preserve public safety in a city already under strain while avoiding the appearance of working hand-in-hand with federal immigration authorities, a stance that could erode community trust and ignite new protests.

Chicago taxpayers paid $6.3 million to settle 54 lawsuits, according to a WTTW analysis of city records. An additional $4.5 million went to pay private lawyers to defend the conduct of CPD officers named in those lawsuits.

Chicago police officers have now shot 16 people, killing eight, less than nine months into 2025, more than in all of last year, records show.

Chicago police data shows overall violent crime in the city is down by about 22% in the first half of the year compared to 2024. There have also been 31% fewer homicides and 36% fewer shootings between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 this year.

According to Chicago Police Department data, 58 total people were shot in 37 separate shootings between Friday and Monday evenings.

Even as the financial toll of decades of police misconduct is likely to grow in the coming months, Chicago exhausted its annual budget of $82.2 million months ago and had spent nearly triple that amount by July 31, according to WTTW News’ analysis.

Anthony Driver, Jr. is one of at least seven candidates who are running to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, who has represented Illinois’ 7th Congressional District since 1997.

President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, New York, Seattle, Baltimore, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, to fight what he says is runaway crime. Yet data shows most violent crime in those places and around the country has declined in recent years.

If Trump federalizes the National Guard or sends additional ICE agents to Chicago, all Chicago Police officers will be required to wear their uniforms and will not be dispatched to immigration enforcement operations, Supt. Larry Snelling said Thursday.

Had the settlement been even one dollar more, it would have required Chicago City Council approval under city rules. Instead, it was authorized by Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson Lowry.

Chicago Police Department data shows that compared to last year, violent crime in the city is down 22% through the end of July. There have been 36% fewer shootings, and homicides are down 32%.

Gov. JB Pritzker vowed Monday to stop President Donald Trump from deploying the National Guard to Chicago, dismissing Trump’s latest pledge to combat crime as cover for an unconstitutional federal overreach.

A Defense Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly said some units on certain missions would be armed — some with handguns and others with rifles. The spokesperson said that all units with firearms have been trained and are operating under strict rules for use of force.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said he takes Trump’s statement seriously, but claimed the city has not received any word from federal authorities about the deployment of any additional law enforcement into Chicago.

The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability announced it has begun accepting applications for the role of chief administrator in the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.