The rise in violent crime in Chicago has boiled over, drawing concern from business leaders and leading to political infighting among those charged with keeping the city safe.
“We were in the midst of a post-pandemic recovery downtown and starting to see shoppers return, and office vacancies were finally starting to go down and right at that moment we started to see crime,” said City Alderman Brian Hopkins. “If crime continues to increase, I think you’ll start to see the economic recovery stall.”
Though overall crime is down so far this year compared with the same time a year ago, there has been an increase in homicides, sexual assaults and theft, including of motor vehicles.
Several downtown developers are having difficulty marketing properties because violence has spread throughout the city, giving it a negative reputation, Hopkins said.
Crime in the city and its potential impact on business, especially downtown, was thrust…
