Continuing a theme seen over the first four months of the year, crime in the city is still trending down, according to Chicago Police, but murders are still up over last year. With an overall six percent drop in crime in the first five months of 2010 over the same time period of 2009, there has also been an increase in murders: 164 so far this year compared to 158 last year. Despite the increase of overall murders over last year, the trend for the month of May remained steady compared to last year. According to Tracy Swartz, who's been doing a valiant job tracking the city's homicides for the Tribune via Red Eye (yes, that Red Eye), there were 47 murders in May 2010 which is the same as May 2009. So far in June, there have been seven reported murders; June 2009 had 46 homicides. more ›

This week, we're counting down the top 9 stories of 2009 according to the Chicagoist staff. more ›

Now a quick note on the tragic end of the holiday: it was a deadly holiday weekend as nine homicides were reported in Cook County, including a pair of murder-suicides. The Sun-Times has a breakdown of what went down. The S-T also reports six traffic deaths across the metro area over the extended weekend. more ›

The Chicago Police Department is touting figures that show an 11 percent decrease in homicides through the first nine months of 2009 over the same period of 2008, 348 total compared to last year's nine-month total of 393. Homicides of "youth" - categorized as being between the ages of 6 and 18 years old - were down by a total of 14.5 percent. The announcement comes at a time when the city is receiving particular close scrutiny due to the highly-publicized murder of 16-year-old Derrion Albert, a visceral crime caught on tape and replayed on news programs around the world. more ›

A year ago, the City was reeling from two jarring violent acts: the death of Chicago Police officer Richard Francis, killed in the line of duty, and a shoot-out in the Loop following the Taste of Chicago. And while there have certainly been outbreaks of violence this year, City officials are touting new numbers that show crime is down in 2009. The first six months of the year have seen a 10.4 percent decrease in crime and a 12.7 decrease in homicides (199 versus 229 last year). Embattled police superintendent Jody Weis said, "While our ultimate goal is to see the number zero for murders in Chicago, the 12.7 percent drop in homicides through June is a positive sign that our efforts to curb violence are having an impact." more ›