Robert GrahamOn Wednesday’s broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson responded to a question on an uptick in most violent crime categories in the city in 2023 by stating that homicides and shootings have fallen and money “for restoration and reparations” will help address the “cycle of violence” in the city.
Co-host Poppy Harlow asked, “I do want to ask you about crime in Chicago, just poring through the latest data from the Chicago Police Department, the murder rate is down from 2022, but all other forms of violent crime, Mr. Mayor, are up from a year ago, up 17% overall. Are Chicagoans going to be safer in 2024?”
Johnson responded, “Well, what I’ve built within these last seven months — in order for us to have a better, stronger, and safer Chicago, it really requires the full force of government. And as you’ve indicated, homicides are down, shootings are down, but, yes, what we’ve experienced in the city of Chicago, cities all over the country are experiencing. And I’ve just released my full-out community safety plan that not only gets at the root causes of violence in the city of Chicago, but we’re making critical investments.