Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot leads a city with some of the highest crime rates in the U.S. but over the weekend she meet with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg — as supply chain issues continue to plague American consumers — to discuss how to achieve “fair and equitable” transportation.
“We think that if we invest in the places that have been disinvested in for years or decades, we are creating the opportunities that lead to safety,” Buttigieg said to a group of Chicago politicians Saturday.
“As we build up our infrastructure, we must do so in a smart way,” Lightfoot said. “So that all residents can share in it…(and receive) all the opportunities that come with it.”
According to the Way data website, crime is rampant in Chicago:
Statistics say that the crime rate in Chicago in 2020 was 3,926 crimes per 100,000 people. That’s 67% more than the national average and a lot more than Illinois’s average rate of 1,985 crimes per 100,000 people. Part of the reason why Chicago’s crime rates are talked about so much is that violent crimes like murder, sexual assault, and robberies are a bigger part of the city’s high crime rate than property crimes like burglary, arson, or car theft.
In Chicago, there is a 1 in 103 chance that you will be hurt by a violent crime. That’s twice as likely as the average in Illinois, but it’s important to remember that just because you live in Chicago doesn’t mean you’re in more danger. Your risk of violence can be affected by things like your social class, your neighborhood, and the people you know.
NBC Chicago reported on Buttigieg’s appearance at the 56th annual International Convention of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition:
Buttigieg spoke to convention-goers about Chicago’s share of the federal government’s $1.2-trillion infrastructure bill, with $2.5 billion of that money going toward investments in the city’s transit system.
Lightfoot says that the funding will also go toward addressing so-called ‘transit deserts,’ highlighting neighborhoods like Altgeld Gardens and Roseland.
Lightfoot said that her administration’s vision is to turn the entire city into a ’15-Minute City,’ meaning that all residents would be within 15 minutes of urban amenities.
“Those communities desperately need the support that the Red Line will bring to them,” Lightfoot said.
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