Chicago is one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S.

Question

The increasing divergence between neighborhoods creates a dissonant backdrop for the ideological debate that's raging around Chicago's crime problem. Overall, Chicago’s per-capita murder rate is higher than in New York City or Los Angeles, but is lower than in Midwestern cities such as Detroit, Milwaukee and St. Louis.

Comments

According to an article published by Property Club, Chicago is the last on the list of the top 13 most dangerous cities in the US as of 2024. However, according to data published by The Hill, Chicago did not appear as one of the top cities with the highest crime cost per capita. According to the World Population Review, "a city with a high violent crime rate does not indicate that the entire city is unsafe." So, in a sense, it is true that Chicago is ONE of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. but certainly not the worst.

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Based on what you hear or see it could be true but you never know what could happen in other cities. But if we are going based on the past then I'd say it could be Chicago but there definitely other cities we should take into consideration based on based and news.

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The evidence in the article linked does provide some compelling data that shows Chicago is a dangerous city. Looking at other sources the stats do seem to be correct and backed up by the official CPD statistical reports. However, just because certain areas of the city are dangerous does not dictate that the city as a whole is dangerous. It all depends on where you are in the city and I feel that's true with all large cities. So while there is data showing parts of Chicago are dangerous the claim states that Chicago as a whole is dangerous which I think is up for interpretation. Below I linked the Chicago Police departments statistical reports.
https://www.chicagopolice.org/statistics-data/statistical-reports/

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Good job sourcing your information as well as adding quotes. I believe you added a good length of evidence to support your claim.

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“Chicago is one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S”
When it comes to fact-checking this claim, it is important to understand the context of this claim. They state that “Chicago is one of the most”, they are not saying that it is the most dangerous, or even in the top 5 or 10, they are simply stating that Chicago is one of the most. Overall- Chicago has a per capita murder rate that is higher than larger cities, such as New York, considering the population. But Chicago has a lower murder rate than cities such as St. Luois and Detriot, with that being said, it is not entirely false that Chicago is “one of the most” dangerous cities in the U.S, as it out places such as Los Angeles and New York, but it also is not ranked nearly as high as places like Detriot, like this claim could lead you to believe. But I do think that this claim is not false, and Chicago can be listed as one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S.
Ori, R. (2023, July 10). Chicago’s violence problem: A debate on safety and inequality. Crain's Chicago Business. https://www.chicagobusiness.com/crains-forum-safer-chicago/chicago-violence-problem-debate-safety-inequality

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I really like your fact-check to this claim. I thought you did an amazing job with specific data that is in the article, giving the reader a quick understanding of the article, while also proving it's legitimacy. I also like that you do not entirely say how its true or false, because with this claim it is a little tricky. Mentioning that it is "up for interpretation" is wording that I like and I agree with, because it's true, the data states that it is a dangerous city, however, most cities are, but the data also states how it is not nearly a dangerous as other cities and as dangerous that people make it out to be.

Answer 1

The article in question mentions the city as among the most violent, but also the fact that some neighborhoods are much safer than others, and particulary the west side as very dangerous. This claim is true. The neighborhood of near west side gets a crime grade of D from crimegrade.org and the neighborhood of Englewood gets a crime grade of F. The claim that the city as a whole is among the most dangerous is also true. It ranks as the 20th city in the U.S. in terms of violent crime.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-city-rankings/most-violent-cities-in-america

https://crimegrade.org/safest-places-in-near-west-side-chicago-il/

Answer 2

While researching this topic, I stumbled across an article published by USA Facts that highlights the number of homicides in each major city across the US and listing some of the most dangerous cities. The article also mentions that most major cities are within a larger county that spans outside of city lines. For example, Chicago is within Cook County, Illinois, which is one of the most populous counties in the United States. While the number of homicides recorded by this article were 929 in 2022, this number accounts for the entirety of Cook County; per capita, the percentage of homicides to the size of the county is much lower than claimed. So, this claim isn't necessarily false, since Chicago comprises a large majority of Cook County, though it isn't entirely truthful either.

Sources: https://usafacts.org/articles/which-cities-have-the-highest-murder-rates/