The county’s Restorative Justice Community Courts reroute young people with nonviolent charges from criminal courts to an alternative program. Upon completion, the charge is dismissed.

This development marks a dramatic reversal from 2021, when the number of expressway shootings spiked at 310. Since then, incidents have dropped 80% to 61 shootings last year. Of the 89 shootings in 2024, 12 were fatal. In 2025, the number of shootings decreased by 31%, with no fatalities, police said.

With only a handful of days left before the calendar turns to 2026, Chicago is on pace to see its lowest homicide total since at least 2014.

Supporters of the gunshot detection system said it helped officers save lives when shootings were not reported to emergency services. ShotSpotter was never used to dispatch paramedics.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2026 budget proposal includes a controversial head tax he hopes will generate $100 million to fund violence prevention and youth employment programs in the city.

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%.

Members of the African American Mayors Association are determined to stop President Donald Trump from burying accomplishments that they already felt were overlooked. And they’re using the administration’s unprecedented takeover in the nation’s capital as an opportunity to disprove his narrative.

Police beats that had ShotSpotter sensors saw an approximately 17.8% decrease in violent crime and a 37.5% decrease in homicides during the first six months of 2025, as compared with the first six months of 2024, according to the analysis of Chicago crime data by Rob Vargas, a sociology professor at the University of Chicago.

“We need our government officials,” said JaShawn Hill, executive director of Chicago Survivors. “We need philanthropic communities and people who believe in our mission to step in and to help leverage us, because if they don’t, we will not be able to provide the quality of care that we have been able to do.”

According to data from the city and Chicago Police Department, total violent crime is down at least 22% thus far in 2025, while there have been 90 fewer homicides and more than 400 fewer shootings compared to last year.

“This is an abomination. This is sinful. It’s unholy,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “This bill is a fundamental attack on our democracy and our way of life.”

According to the Chicago Police Department, 56% of homicide cases were cleared last year, but only 23% resulted in an arrest. Gun violence advocates say discrepancies in reporting and poor communication with victims is leaving survivors without badly needed answers.

Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling promised to use the power to expand the city's curfew only preemptively, to prevent large teen gatherings from taking place. That goal is shared by Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has repeatedly questioned the constitutionality of the proposal.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois on Wednesday announced the expansion of its Project Safe Neighborhoods program, which combines the efforts of federal, state and local authorities to help stem violent crime.

According to Chicago Police Department data, there were 36 homicides recorded throughout May 2025, a total that’s down 38% compared to the same month last year and down nearly 50% compared to May 2023.

For decades, conservatives and liberals have fiercely debated what drives the nation’s gun violence epidemic. But a new book called “Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence” says neither side has it right — and suggests a new pathway to stop these acts of violence before they start.