Reports of major crime declined in Chicago and across most of the north and west Cook County suburbs in 2000, according to figures released by the Illinois State Police.
For the sixth straight year, Chicago recorded a decline in homicides, to 627 from 641 in 1999.
In the south Cook County suburbs, however, at least half the communities showed an increase in major crimes reported, according to the Crime in Illinois 2000 report.
Local police officials said there is no single reason for the apparent difference between the south suburbs and the rest of the county. In fact, south suburban Harvey bucked the negative trend and saw crime fall 37 percent, with decreases in nearly every category.
“It’s been steadily going down since 1995,” said Harvey Police Chief Phillip Hardiman, who couldn’t explain why his community fared so much better than its neighbors. “We try to be as aggressive as possible.”
Generally, the state’s report reflects a trend experienced throughout much of the last decade, as the number of major crimes reported in Chicago and other big cities declined from the high rates of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Recent reports from the FBI suggest crime may be leveling off nationwide, calling into question whether Chicago and other large metropolitan areas that have seen declines can sustain the trend. Still, Cook County crime was down in every major category–murder, rape, assault, burglary, robbery, theft, auto theft and arson–due mostly to drops in Chicago that dragged down totals for the rest of the county.
“I do believe police are making an impact on crime,” said police Lt. Dale Gustafson in south suburban Homewood. “But as far as the crime stats, there are many things that impact that. I don’t believe as a police official you should take total credit if you drop the crime rate–or total blame if you don’t.”
Homewood experienced a 16 percent increase last year in the number of reported crimes compared with 1999.
Most declines tied to city
Of Cook County’s roughly 313,900 reported crimes included in the state’s report, Chicago accounted for about 219,800. And the city accounted for most of the declines.
In suburban Cook County, however, violent crime was up more than 8 percent, the first increase in three years. That included 79 murders, up from 67 in 1999, and 4,995 assaults, up from 4,430.
Suburban property crimes were down 2.4 percent, which was a smaller decrease than in recent years.
There were 94,118 major crimes reported in suburban Cook County last year, or 17 percent of all crimes statewide.
Chicago accounted for nearly 90 percent of the county’s total homicides and 70 percent of the state’s total, the report said.
Violent crime and property crime were down in all categories in the city, but the drop in some crimes between 1999 and 2000 was not as substantial as it has been. Other large cities have seen a similar leveling-off of reported crime.
Reports of crime increased in five of the city’s 25 police districts last year: the Calumet, Gresham and Deering Districts on the South Side, and the Shakespeare and Jefferson Park Districts on the Northwest Side, according to Chicago police statistics.
The Shakespeare District had the biggest increase, with overall reported crime spiking 5.5 percent, though district saw violent crime drop slightly.
The largest drop in reported crime–19 percent–came in the South Side’s Wentworth District, which includes parts of Bronzeville but also the historically high-crime stretch of public housing along State Street.
Amplified figures
In smaller suburbs with far fewer reports of crime, any change in the number of reported crimes is amplified in year-to-year comparisons.
In Crestwood, for example, the state report shows a 50 percent drop in crime between 1999 and 2000. But a closer look shows the drop was tied almost exclusively to a halving of the number of thefts reported. The small community just south of Chicago has had no murders or rapes and just one robbery in the last two years.
Similarly, Flossmoor’s 45 percent increase in reported crime last year is explained by a jump in the number of thefts.
In Chicago Ridge, the number of reported assaults showed a 100 percent increase last year, but that amounts to doubling 1999’s total of seven.
“If you look at the numbers compared to some of the other communities, even those our size, it’s not too high,” said Chicago Ridge Deputy Police Chief Timothy Baldermann.
Elsewhere, affluent and blue collar suburbs north and west of Chicago saw reported crimes decline or remain flat.
There were a few exceptions where the numbers increased, including Winnetka and Glencoe, which can mostly be attributed to property crimes such as garage burglaries and thefts.
In Evanston, the number of crimes reported in 2000 stayed about the same as in 1999 as slight increases in property crime offset small drops in violent crime. The city has seen reported crime drop 32 percent since 1997, according to Police Chief Frank Kaminski.
The department recently opened a new “outpost” on Howard Street, where community meetings will be organized. And officials have invited Chicago police working near the Evanston city limits to visit and help make the police presence known.
Reported crime in the six-county area
The number of serious crimes reported from 1999 to 2000, according to the Illinois State Police:
%%
CITY OF SUBURBAN DUPAGE
CHICAGO COOK COUNTY
2000 population 2,896,016 2,480,72 904,161
Crime rate per 1,000 75.9 37.9 23.3
Reported crimes (1999) 231,265 95,640 21,287
Reported crimes (2000) 219,778 94,118 21,057
Change in number of crimes, 1999-2000 -5.2% -1.6% -1.1%
KANE LAKE MCHENRY WILL
COUNTY COUNTY COUNTY COUNTY
2000 population 404,119 644,356 260,077 502,266
Crime rate per 1,000 39.1 25 21.4 26.7
Reported crimes (1999) 15,031 15,987 5,514 14,068
Reported crimes (2000) 15,814 16,097 5,571 13,386
Change in number of crimes, 1999-2000 5.2% 0.7% 1.0% -4.8%
CITY OF CHICAGO SUBURBAN COOK
1999 2000 1999 2000
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Murder 641 627 67 79
Criminal sexual assault 2,469 2,237 643 645
Robbery 20,210 19,449 2,200 2,242
Aggr. assault/battery 28,027 26,660 4,430 4,995
Burglary 30,122 28,401 13,546 13,063
Theft 112,454 105,728 65,070 63,162
Motor vehicle theft 36,075 35,570 9,238 9,513
Arson 1,267 1,106 446 419
A. Murder
B. Criminal sexual assault
C. Robbery
D. Aggr. assault/battery
E. Burglary
F. Theft
G.Motor vehicle theft
H. Arson
DUPAGE COUNTY KANE COUNTY LAKE COUNTY MCHENRY COUNTY WILL COUNTY
1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000
A. 13 0 23 19 7 7 2 1 14 19
B. 95 137 148 125 198 179 70 78 163 153
C. 188 179 324 403 278 231 23 34 322 323
D. 743 824 1,049 1,057 857 870 289 262 1,176 1,165
E. 2,657 2,758 2,190 2,492 1,989 2,110 729 605 2,395 2,202
F. 16,444 16,034 10,390 10,746 11,775 11,868 4,196 4,385 8,825 8,467
G. 1,011 1,002 808 865 793 732 170 173 1,004 900
H. 136 123 99 107 90 100 35 33 169 157
Areas with highest crime rates in the state
Illinois cities with the highest reported violent crime rates and highest
reported property crime rates in 2000, according to Illinois State Police:
Rates per 1,000 people (based on populations of 5,000 or more)
VIOLENT CRIMES
COMMUNITY (COUNTY) RATE
1. Markham (Cook) 88
2. East St. Louis (St. Clair) 70
3. Washington Park (St. Clair) 41
4. Centreville (St. Clair) 31
5. Broadview (Cook) 20
6. University Park (Will) 19
7. CHICAGO (Cook) 17
Stone Park (Cook) 17
9. Mt. Vernon (Jefferson) 15
10. Chicago Heights (Cook) 14
11. Maywood (Cook) 13
Harvey (Cook) 13
Danville (Vermilion) 13
14. Calumet Park (Cook) 12
Kankakee (Kankakee) 12
Creve Coeur (Tazewell) 12
17. Springfield (Sangamon) 11
Bartonville (Peoria) 11
19. Carbondale (Jackson) 10
Champaign (Champaign) 10
Mendota (LaSalle) 10
Streamwood (Cook) 10
Robbins (Cook) 10
PROPERTY CRIMES
COMMUNITY (COUNTY) RATE
1. North Riverside (Cook) 114
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2. Matteson (Cook) 107
3. West Dundee (Kane) 91
4. Broadview (Cook) 90
5. Danville (Vermilion) 89
6. Markham (Cook) 86
7. Washington Park (St. Clair) 85
8. Peoria (Peoria) 83
9. East St. Louis (St. Clair) 82
10. Fairview Heights (St. Clair) 80
11. Oak Brook (DuPage) 78
Bradley (Kankakee) 78
13. Mt. Vernon (Jefferson) 77
14. Rockford (Winnebago) 75
Norridge (Cook) 71
16. Montgomery (Kane) 68
17. Cahokia (St. Clair) 67
Dolton (Cook) 67
19. Springfield (Sangamon) 66
20. Evanston (Cook) 65
Violent crimes include murder, criminal sexual assault, robbery
and aggravated assault/battery. Property crimes include burglary,
theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.
Source: Illinois State Police
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Check out Chicago-area crime statistics at chicagotribune.com/crime.