“This is still very much a frustration I have,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “I’ve been in conversations with the superintendent, with our budget director to come up with better systems.”

The new numbers show murders from January to June dropped 23% compared with the same period in 2023, while violent crime fell 10% and reported rapes decreased by 18%. Aggravated assaults during that period decreased 8% year over year, according to the data, while robberies fell 14% and reported property crime was down 13%.

Deputy Mayor of Community Safety Garien Gatewood told WTTW News’ “Chicago Tonight” program on Monday that city officials are excited to see what kind of technology is available.

A new report from NYU offers alternative solutions to policing that researchers said would better serve the public and free up police to investigate more serious crimes.

Calling the measure illegal, Mayor Brandon Johnson said he would veto it.

Illinois has some of the nation’s strictest gun laws. However, firearm legislation in neighboring states has a significant impact on Illinois. Despite the restrictions and regulations in place, gun trafficking still poses a problem.

Whenever there’s talk about how to curb gun violence, two words often come up: assault weapons. Illinois is one of 10 states — plus Washington, D.C. — with a so-called assault weapons ban on the books. WTTW News Explains what that ban does. 

An estimated 3 million children and teens are exposed to shootings every year in America. More than 1,300 of them have occurred in schools in the past decade.

The Chicago Police Department has yet to launch a new study of whether officers are efficiently and effectively deployed across the city to stop crime and respond to calls for help. “I don’t understand what the hold up is,” Ald. Matt Martin (47th Ward) told WTTW News. “This is years, if not decades, overdue.”

At an event in Homan Square, panelists ranging from youth violence prevention organizers to people who work in banking shared how they’re trying to curb violence in the city.

The Chicago Board of Education unanimously approved a new whole school safety plan, which brings to an end the use of school resource officers (SROs) inside district buildings following a yearslong review of CPS safety protocols and procedures.