America’s Murder Capital, Chicago, has sadly retained its infamous title with a chilling 573 homicides reported in the year 2024. A study done by Wirepoints shows that the city’s homicide rate is a whopping five times higher than that of New York City and an alarming three times greater than that of Los Angeles.
This title comes even as the city government seems to be prioritizing other endeavors, such as taking care of migrants, over ensuring the safety and security of its residents. Alderman Anthony Napolitano has been quite outspoken regarding what he sees as an organized attempt by the city to erode the power of law enforcement.
Speaking with Fox News Digital, he blamed the Democratic leadership in Chicago for “demonizing” the police department while diverting money meant for crime prevention to other initiatives they support during their tenure.
Napolitano expressed his concerns, stating, “They want to take that police budget because it’s an extremely high budget and allocate it to other resources or projects that they want to accomplish in their tenure in office. It’s destroying our city.”
He has observed that this pattern of behavior has remained consistent across several administrations. In his view, moving funds away from policing has played a significant role in the persistent problem of violent crime plaguing Chicago.
One of the city’s big initiatives, called INVEST South/West, aimed to breathe new life into the South and West parts of Chicago by bringing in more businesses. But, Mr. Napolitano called it an “epic fail” because it cost taxpayers a whopping $250 million.
Former Chicago mayor Lori E. Lightfoot reflected on the impact of INVEST South/West, her signature economic development initiative, at a Harvard Graduate School of Design lecture on Tuesday.
Nishka N. Patel reports. https://t.co/rkL6rfe3tQ
— The Harvard Crimson (@thecrimson) March 26, 2025
“Instead of investing in just one neighborhood, in one area, why don’t we make the entire city safe by investing in our police force and the safety of our city?” he said. “They refuse to do that.”
Unfortunately, the project hasn’t made a big difference in making those areas any safer or more stable financially, which makes people worry that the resources were used in the wrong way.
Adding to the ongoing debate, the leaders of Chicago have been channelling significant funds toward looking after migrants. The Chicago City Council has given the green light to a $70 million plan for services specifically tailored to migrants. This go-ahead has sparked criticism from locals who argue that their security is being overlooked.
Napolitano implied that the city’s authorities were banking on more assistance from the federal government if the Democrats had won the 2024 election. He expressed his view, saying, “The federal government didn’t give us anything when [Democrats] were in office. Now, when the administration changed, we’re getting absolutely nothing at all because we’re remaining a sanctuary city.”
Whoa. This happened on Fox News. 🤯
Judge Napolitano is Fox’s judicial analyst.
Listen to him detail some of the ways that Trump committed obstruction of justice, an impeachable offense. pic.twitter.com/Zl9q5E8Llu
— Holly Figueroa O’Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) April 26, 2019
With crime rates being a concern and local resources stretched thin, a good number of Chicago’s residents are scratching their heads over the city’s fiscal choices.
Napolitano noted that the people he represents, especially in the 41st Ward, are upset about how crime and the way police do their jobs are being managed. Although his part of the city has less serious violent crimes than other areas, he says that the police are often sent to other places. This diversion makes it harder for folks there to get help when something small, like a break-in, happens.
He called it: “An evolution of just pure bull—- by these people.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office hasn’t responded to Fox News Digital as of now. With the homicide rate still being high in the city, more and more people are pushing the leaders to do something about making the city a safer place to live.
