Last weekend, many Chicagoans spent Halloween weekend glued to their televisions, as the Cubs out-played the Cleveland Indians in game five of the World Series. But in the streets of the Windy City, things were more than just spooky. Outside, there were 18 murders, increasing the year’s count to 633. It was Chicago’s deadliest weekend of the year.
How egregious is Chicago? In the month of October there were 78 homicides. As the Washington Post reports, most major cities in the United States had not had 78 homicides in the first six months of this year.
And it’s getting worse. If the city’s homicide rate continues at this pace, 2016 will have been its deadliest year in nearly two decades (1998 was the last year to see 700 homicides). It will also be bucking a salutary trend. It’s been 13 years since Chicago last saw more than 600 homicides.