In a recent Fox News interview, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker faced tough questions regarding Chicago’s status as the murder capital of the United States. During his appearance on “Special Report” with Bret Baier, the billionaire Democratic governor, known for his connection to the Hyatt Hotels inheritance, was challenged on why Chicago tops the list for murder rates among major U.S. cities. Baier inquired directly, “Why does Chicago have the highest murder rate?” To which Pritzker responded, “We’re not in the top 30.”

Fox News then presented a map displaying official FBI murder statistics for the most populated U.S. cities, indicating approximately 17.5 murders per 100,000 residents in Chicago in 2024, the highest in the nation. In an attempt to highlight progress, Pritzker noted, “Our murder rate has been cut in half over the last four years, and every year it has gone down by double digits.” Baier, referencing the map, remarked, “Chicago is number one over Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, Los Angeles, New York, and San Diego.”

Pritzker responded, “You can pull statistics up, I can too. I am explaining to you that our murder rate has been cut in half. Very importantly, Bret, we’ve been doing the things necessary to bring crime down. We’ve invested in community violence interruption, we’ve invested in police.” The broadcast also highlighted that in 2024, Chicago experienced 539.8 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, alongside 3,472 property crimes, culminating in a total of 4,012 crimes per 100,000 residents, as per the report.

President Donald Trump used the figures when he referred to the Windy City as ‘the murder capital of the world’ earlier this year. There was some substance to Governor Pritzker’s insistence that Chicago is improving, with the 188 homicides recorded between January and June 33 percent fewer than the total for the same period in 2024. This year is the first since 2014 that fewer than 200 murders were recorded in Chicago during the first six months of the year. In a press release dated August 25, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also said shootings had dropped by 38 percent.

Those figures have done little to quell Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in the city. Around 200 troops from Texas touched down in the city earlier this month alongside 200 Illinois guardsmen federalized by the Pentagon. Trump even threatened to put Pritzker behind bars for ‘failing to protect ICE officers’ undertaking operations in the city. A defiant Pritzker told reporters: ‘There’s one thing I really want to say to Donald Trump: if you come for my people, you come through me. So come and get me.’

Trump has frequently referred to the city as ‘Chiraq’, saying that Antifa rioters have put ICE agents at risk as they rounded up illegal immigrants. For over a month, ICE officials have faced daily clashes with protesters at their detention facilities. The state and the city have both sued the administration to block them from sending more troops. While Chicago murders are trending down, the city continues to have a serious image problem. Designer stores along its ‘Magic Mile’ are frequently ransacked by smash-and-grab raiders, with dystopian illegal street takeovers also paralyzing intersections.