Federal help is needed in Chicago, but it should be professional law enforcement and encompass the entire justice system. Sending just the National Guard is destined to create problems when Chicago’s embattled communities need solutions.
Over Labor Day weekend, 58 people were shot in Chicago and eight were killed, bringing Chicago’s total to 278 murders so far this year.
Still, violent crime has declined in Chicago, as it has nationwide, from the historic highs of the pandemic years. But let’s be clear: these numbers are still devastating.
Chicago is leading the nation in total murders and it is not sustainable for the people who live here. The city needs federal aid and intervention to help fight crime.
That doesn’t mean deploying the National Guard, however. Without local leaders and police collaboration, they could create an environment of civil unrest, administrative confusion and would turn an apolitical public safety issue – reducing crime – into a chaotic media frenzy. The National Guard couldn’t help make arrests or answer 911 calls, the real things Chicagoans need.
Worst of all, deployment would not address the 10 underlying problems that have created Chicago’s problems:
- A “sanctuary city” for violent criminals: More than 90% of those committing serious crimes in Chicago remain free on the streets. This means there are few real consequences for violent criminal activity, which only nurtures habitual offenders and fuels more violence.
- Unanswered calls for help: More than half of high-priority 911 calls today receive no immediate police response, compared to 19% in 2019 when the department was fully staffed. Increasingly, major crimes go unreported because residents no longer believe help will come.
- An investigative system in collapse: A shortage of detectives, combined with little protection for victims and witnesses, has driven clearance rates to historic lows. Only about 6% of major crimes result in arrests. Less than 20% of murders are solved. For non-fatal shootings, the number is closer to 5%.
- Pre-trial release failures: Over 70% of arrested and charged individuals are released back into the community before trial. More than 75% of orders of protection go unenforced.
- Violent crime while out on pre-trial release: According to CWB Chicago, from 2020 to 2024 nearly 400 individuals arrested for murder or attempted murder were out on bail for a prior felony at the time of arrest.
- Rising domestic violence: Despite the decline in violent crime, the lack of priority given to domestic violence cases and protecting victims resulted in a 110% increase in domestic violence deaths last year.
- Communities under siege: Chicago’s West, South, and Southeast sides are among the most violent areas in the nation. Black residents are 20 times more likely than white residents to die from gun violence. Black women account for more than 30% of all violent crime victims. Black girls are assaulted at 14 times the rate of white girls.
- Police under fire: While police shootings of civilians have significantly declined, gunfire against officers remains an issue. Between 2020 and 2024, officers were fired upon 330 times. According to Police Superintendent Larry Snelling, 38 officers were shot, injured or killed. Yet virtually no new measures have been implemented to protect them.
- A failed consent decree: The federal consent decree imposed on the Chicago Police Department focuses narrowly on officer conduct but not on effectiveness. It does not protect victims, witnesses or officers. Consultants and monitors have drained tens of millions in taxpayer dollars without accountability or measurable results.
- Lack of student safety: The Chicago Teachers Union’s actions have worsened public safety. By forcing schools to close for 78 consecutive weeks during the pandemic, they fueled the violent crime surge. They have blocked accountability for sexual abuse cases in schools, resisted cooperation with police to keep students safe and pushed to remove school resource officers from high schools.
Federal intervention is not optional; it’s essential. We need the federal government to be our partner for enforcing public safety, but not by sending in part-time, temporary National Guard units. They should expand the role of permanent federal law enforcement agencies and provide additional resources and support.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Justice must prioritize prosecuting the city’s most violent and habitual offenders under tougher federal statutes.
Equally important, the DOJ should be prepared to impose its own comprehensive public safety consent decree: one that encompasses the entire criminal justice system, not just the police. Cook County’s system is a multi-billion-dollar enterprise spanning city, county and state agencies. Yet only the police are subject to court oversight. A real consent decree should include the state’s attorney’s office, the sheriff’s department, the courts, the court clerk and the schools.
This is the only way to ensure a justice system that protects lives, families and neighborhoods. Anything less will allow the cycle of violence, neglect and impunity to continue. Chicagoans deserve better.
