A Look at the Homicide Rate in Obama’s Hometown of Chicago in 3 Charts
President Obama traveled back to Chicago, his hometown and a city on track to become the murder capital of the United States.
In addition to promoting his new economic initiatives that he outlined in his State of the Union address, the president is also expected to discuss the increasing homicide rate in the country’s third largest city. In 2012 alone, there were over 500 homicides in the Windy City, according to a count from Redeye Chicago. Chicago has a population that is only about a third the size of New York City, yet the number of homicides there is fast approaching that of the Big Apple.
(RELATED:The First Gun Control Battle is a Dem-on-Dem Fight in Chicago)
When seeking to make the case for stricter gun control laws, Obama has sometimes cited the gun violence in the Chicago, especially in the wake of the fatal shooting of 15-year-old honor student Hadiya Pendleton on the city’s South Side. Just weeks before her death, she performed in the president’s inauguration festivities with her high school marching band. First lady Michelle Obama attended her funeral, along with White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
Below is a look at the statistics on homicides in Chicago:
FBI
FBI
