Chicago police solve only 6% of non-fatal shootings, review finds, as mayor faces mounting criticism

Chicago authorities have made arrests of suspects in only 6% of the Windy City’s 19,000 non-fatal shootings in the past seven years, according to a deep dive conducted by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Only 1,200 people have been arrested in connection with shootings since 2018, the paper reported.

Neighborhoods on the South Side appeared to have the highest proportion of arrest-less cases, with Pullman and Burnside recording zero arrests for 64 and 38 shootings, respectively.

Ashburn, on the West Side, was barely better with five arrests made out of 93 reported incidents. A similar trend was recorded for Roseland, where only 35 of the 584 recorded shootings there saw an arrest made.

Only O’Hare – which is generally comprised of the namesake airport – and Edison Park far on the North Side recorded zero total shootings.

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The locales with the highest proportion of arrests were Norwood Park on the North Side at 29% and Beverly on the South Side with 33%. For context, the “Loop” – Chicago’s downtown – saw 16% of its 85 cases solved.

One man who was working as a rideshare driver when he was carjacked and shot in 2021 still has not seen police make any arrests, according to published reports. 

“I get that they’re understaffed, but at the same time, where’s my justice?” said Tom Wagner, who has a scar on his abdomen where he was shot in the gallbladder, liver and colon.

Wagner reportedly called police over a 10-month period and got no response, before he was told in February that they were dropping his investigation, according to the Sun-Times.

Crime experts told the paper that the lack of arrests may be worsening chronic violence, as criminals face little deterrent against lawless behavior.

The paper’s study found that CPD has a smaller proportion of officers working as detectives than in other major cities, with one exception being Philadelphia. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Mayor Brandon Johnson for comment but did not receive a response.

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Last year, Johnson publicly blamed his recent predecessors – Democrats Lori Lightfoot, Rahm Emanuel and Richard M. Daley, the son of famous Mayor Richard J. Daley. 

The last Republican to hold the mayor’s office was William Thompson from 1927-1931.

“The city was run into the ground and everybody knows that,” Johnson said at the time.

“They jacked up the finances, got bad deals, and so now we’re left with the chaos and the mess that was created by other people. But today is a testament that if we continue to work together at every single level of government, it’s going to take all of us and the community to continue to hold these individuals accountable but to make sure we’re making critical investments in the people of Chicago, the homicides and shootings will continue to fall.”

Johnson was recently lambasted by Congress over Chicago’s crime wave and allegations his administration doesn’t properly cooperate with ICE. Johnson appeared to deny some allegations from Republicans on the panel in regard to Chicago’s “sanctuary city status.” 

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Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., cited a reported 6% positive-approval rate for Johnson, saying it “speaks volumes” of how the city is deteriorating crime-wise.

Johnson responded that LaHood could help his state’s largest city by supporting “continue[d] invest[ment] in these programs that continue to drive violence down in the city of Chicago.”

The Chicago Police Department did not respond to an inquiry about the Sun-Times report.

Neither did rumored 2028 Democratic presidential contender Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Pritzker previously rejected some of the labels given to the Windy City over its crime epidemic, claiming at a 2024 rally that Republican-led states are statistically worse:

“Although there is a perception by some that violence in Chicago is the worst in any city anywhere, actually if you look at all the data, you’ll see that it’s red states that have the worst violent crimes and murder rates. Not blue states,” he said.