Reports of violent crime increased in the suburbs of Cook County last year, even as Illinois and Chicago recorded fewer major crimes for an unprecedented seventh straight year, according to state crime statistics released Sunday.
More murders were committed in the city and in Cook County’s suburbs in 2001 than in 2000. But though Chicago recorded decreases in other types of violent crime, the suburbs posted increases.
Researchers and law-enforcement experts said there is no single explanation.
“I’m finding it difficult to draw a broad brush stroke, because the suburbs are so varied,” said Northwestern University criminologist Wesley Skogan. “The suburbs cover everything from Cicero and Maywood to Winnetka and Orland Park. It’s hard to know what they have in common, except that they’re suburbs.”
The number of violent crimes reported in the Cook suburbs increased by 2.4 percent, according to Crime in Illinois, an annual Illinois State Police report. That was offset by decreases in property crimes, resulting in an overall 1 percent drop in crimes reported to police.
The state report tracks eight major crimes: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and battery, burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The number of such crimes reported by police in suburban Cook County declined to 92,169 in 2001, from 93,134 the previous year.
The number of murders in those suburbs grew to 92 in 2001, from 80 the previous year and 67 in 1999.
The only violent crime not up in the Cook County suburbs was rape. There were 0.8 percent fewer rapes reported in suburban Cook County, according to the state police figures.
It was the second straight year of increases in violent crime in the Cook County suburbs, following an 8.4 percent hike in 2000, according to the state.
Increases in 58 suburbs
Yet reports of violent crime increased in only 58 of the 129 towns that make up suburban Cook County. The other 71 communities either recorded fewer violent crimes, or their numbers stayed level.
Two Cook suburbs, Palos Park and Golf, reported no violent crime in 2001.
But Markham recorded an average of 90.4 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, and in Phoenix, the rate was 52.4, according to the state report.
The number of reported crimes increased in 56 of the suburbs, and decreased or remained level in the other 73.
Among the 24 suburbs with populations of at least 30,000, six reported more crime: Elk Grove Village, Skokie, Hoffman Estates, Oak Park, Park Ridge and Schaumburg.
Despite the increase in reports of violent crime, the average crime rate in suburban Cook County was lower than in Chicago. In the suburbs, the rate was 37.2 crimes reported per 1,000 residents; in Chicago, it was 68.6.
One common thread runs through all the Cook County suburbs, Skogan said.
“They all hiccup when the Chicago economy catches a cold,” Skogan said. “When things go bad in the city, it shows in the suburbs.”
Despite a recent budget crunch and plans to lay off up to 500 city employees, Skogan said the city’s economy has been strong for a long stretch. That has paid off for the Chicago area, as crime rates still remain far below their levels in the early 1990s.
Among Cook suburbs that struggled last year was Maywood, which recorded a large increase in robberies, burglaries and thefts.
“The main thing we want to do is work with the community,” said Maywood’s community policing officer, Brian Black. The Police Department is giving officers training that stresses closer relationships between cops on the beats and residents in the neighborhoods.
The community policing model has taken hold in recent years in many area communities, including Chicago, and across the country.
Burglaries lead Oak Park spike
In Oak Park, a city of 52,500 where crime had dropped every year since 1991, there was a 7.5 percent increase in reported crime last year, despite slight reductions in rape, assault and auto theft. The biggest jump came in burglaries, which shot up 41 percent, to 580 last year, from 411 in 2000.
Deputy Chief Richard Toll said the burglaries were spread throughout the city and included many burglaries to garages instead of people’s homes.
In Evanston, with nearly 75,000 residents, reports of crime decreased sharply in most categories.
There were two murders last year in Evanston, compared with one in 2000, and reports of arson and rape also increased somewhat, but robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts and auto thefts were all down. The city logged 14.5 percent fewer crimes in 2001 than in 2000.
Next door, in Skokie, reports of crime increased 8 percent. Much of the gain was in thefts, something not unusual in a town with a shopping mall as large as Old Orchard, officials said.
“We’re not seeing any numbers that cause us alarm or concern at this point,” said Skokie Police Deputy Chief Barry Silverberg. “Our trend for the last two years [prior to 2001] is crime has been going down.”
Skokie also saw a slight jump in auto thefts, something Silverberg said can be attributed, ironically, to an increased sense of safety in the town.
“People feel very safe in this community, and they leave their cars unlocked,” he said. “It goes in spurts.”
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Reported crime in the six-county area
The number of serious crimes reported in 2000 and 2001, according to the Illinois State Police.
%% CITY OF CHICAGO
2001 population (est.) 2,896,016
Crime rate per 1,000 68.6
Reported crimes (2000) 213,765
(2001) 198,694
Change in number
of crimes, 2000-2001 -7.1%
2000 2001
Murder 631 666
Criminal sexual assault 2,001 1,902
Robbery 19,345 18,433
Aggr. assault/battery 26,545 25,533
Burglary 28,327 25,966
Theft 106,127 97,496
Motor vehicle theft 29,727 27,694
Arson 1,062 1,004
SUBURBAN COOK
2001 population (est.) 2,480,727
Crime rate per 1,000 37.2
Reported crimes (2000) 93,134
(2001) 92,169
Change in number
of crimes, 2000-2001 -1.0%
2000 2001
Murder 80 92
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Criminal sexual assault 645 640
Robbery 2,251 2,262
Aggr. assault/battery 4,968 5,141
Burglary 12,978 12,667
Theft 62,317 61,872
Motor vehicle theft 9,484 9,058
Arson 411 437
DUPAGE COUNTY
2001 population (est.) 904,161
Crime rate per 1,000 25.6
Reported crimes (2000) 22,957
(2001) 23,101
Change in number
of crimes, 2000-2001 +0.6%
2000 2001
Murder 0 10
Criminal sexual assault 145 118
Robbery 200 265
Aggr. assault/battery 914 831
Burglary 2,900 2,418
Theft 17,587 18,266
Motor vehicle theft 1,072 1,027
Arson 139 166
KANE COUNTY
2001 population (est.) 404,119
Crime rate per 1,000 32.9
Reported crimes (2000) 13,597
(2001) 13,283
Change in number
of crimes, 2000-2001 -2.3%
2000 2001
Murder 19 19
Criminal sexual assault 111 162
Robbery 360 409
Aggr. assault/battery 963 992
Burglary 2,222 2,198
Theft 9,064 8,698
Motor vehicle theft 763 720
Arson 95 85
LAKE COUNTY
2001 population (est.) 644,356
Crime rate per 1,000 24.5
Reported crimes (2000) 16,569
(2001) 15,796
Change in number
of crimes, 2000-2001 -4.7%
2000 2001
Murder 7 18
Criminal sexual assault 178 172
Robbery 235 225
Aggr. assault/battery 861 836
Burglary 2,152 1,852
Theft 12,302 11,971
Motor vehicle theft 736 648
Arson 98 74
MCHENRY COUNTY
2001 population (est.) 260,077
Crime rate per 1,000 22.9
Reported crimes (2000) 5,541
(2001) 5,962
Change in number
of crimes, 2000-2001 +7.6%
2000 2001
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Murder 1 3
Criminal sexual assault 80 78
Robbery 34 24
Aggr. assault/battery 275 324
Burglary 602 671
Theft 4,336 4,677
Motor vehicle theft 176 156
Arson 37 29
WILL COUNTY
2001 population (est.) 502,266
Crime rate per 1,000 28.0
Reported crimes (2000) 14,106
(2001) 14,086
Change in number
of crimes, 2000-2001 -0.1%
2000 2001
Murder 19 9
Criminal sexual assault 156 162
Robbery 328 354
Aggr. assault/battery 1,999 1,245
Burglary 2,346 2,164
Theft 8,969 9,125
Motor vehicle theft 929 907
Arson 160 120
Note: Numbers are subject to change.
Source: Illinois State Police.
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