President Donald Trump has signaled that Chicago may be the next city targeted for a federal crime crackdown, following recent actions in Washington, D.C.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump sharply criticized Chicago’s leadership. “Chicago’s a mess, you have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent. And we’ll straighten that one out probably next. That’ll be our next one after this [Washington DC],” he said. He added that it “wouldn’t even be tough” and claimed residents were asking for federal intervention, with Vice President JD Vance backing his remarks.
While Trump highlighted what he described as a safer D.C., official statistics show that crime rates there were already trending downward. The question now is what Chicago’s crime numbers reveal.
Chicago crime statistics
In 2024, Chicago recorded a 5 percent decrease in total reported crimes compared to 2023, according to data from the Chicago Police Department. Reported crimes dropped from 124,241 to 118,578. Violent crime also fell by 6 percent, declining from 29,499 to 27,694 incidents.
In 2023, however, violent crime rose 11 percent from the previous year. The city saw a sharp rise in robberies in 2022—up 13 percent—which pushed overall violent crime numbers higher, leading to a 1 percent increase compared to 2021. In 2021, violent crime rose 5.5 percent over 2020, while 2020 showed a small increase of 0.09 percent compared to 2019.
Viewed over the past several years, Chicago has only recently begun to see a sustained decline in violent crime.
Will Trump deploy the National Guard?
Although Trump has not formally announced National Guard deployment in Chicago, he has praised similar actions in Washington, D.C., suggesting it remains a possibility. Federal officials could be dispatched if the administration decides to expand the crackdown.
For now, no official statement has been issued by the Trump administration regarding National Guard deployment in Chicago.
