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October 30, 2008

Where Would You Be Safer?

So far this year 276 US soldiers have died in Iraq...and 426 people have been murdered in Chicago.

CHICAGO (AP) - During the same weekend that county pathologists conducted autopsies on the bodies of actress-singer Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother, they also examined the bodies of six other people who'd been gunned down or beaten to death.

Five of them died in Chicago, as did the Oscar winner's mother, Darnell Donerson, her brother, Jason Hudson, and 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, whose body was found Monday. Like Hudson's relatives, three died on the city's South Side.

The deaths are yet another reminder of the bloodshed on Chicago's streets this year - when the city has seen more homicides than both New York and Los Angeles. And they go a long way toward explaining why residents of Hudson's childhood neighborhood say it's not surprising that people may have heard gunfire coming from her family home but didn't bother to call police.

"You hear gunshots day and night, that's nothing new," said Ken Rasheeda, 38, who grew up in the neighborhood, Englewood, where he and his wife are now raising three children. "There's been times I heard gunshots and I didn't think twice about it, it's so common."

More homicides than NY or LA.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that Chicago is outpacing New York and Los Angeles in 2008 murders, even though the population here is much lower. Chicago had 426 murders through last Tuesday, compared to 417 in New York and 302 in Los Angeles.

2007 populations:
New York: 8,274,527 people, 417 murders in 2008 so far
Los Angeles: 3,834,340 people, 302 murders in 2008 so far
Chicago: 2,836,658 people, 426 murders in 2008 so far

Chicago has twice the murder rate of LA and three times the rate of NY. One would think that an aspirant for national office from this area should have a clear list of impressive achievements from his time as a state legislator, let alone a "community organizer", fighting to protect his constituents' very lives, no? Something that shows the kind of Hope! and Change! he's been able to actually bring into peoples' lives, so we can get a glimpse of what he'll do for the rest of us as President.

Here are the crime statistics for the home cities of each of them:
Obama
McCain
Biden
Palin (the closest city)

Posted by Mr. Bingley at October 30, 2008 07:24 AM

Comments

Yay! We've only killed 126 people in Memphis this year (so far)!

I read somewhere that when most states report their homicide statistics to the DoJ, they include those that are ruled justifiable. I would like to see these figures broken down further into "crime" and "justifiable."

Posted by: Cullen at October 30, 2008 12:48 PM

What I find interesting is that Chicago doesn't report rapes. They just don't. Which leads to two possible conclusions.

One is that rape doesn't happen in Chicago.

The other is that the problem is so out of hand that they are covering up the horribly high rate.

Which do you think it is?

Posted by: Mr. Bingley at October 30, 2008 01:48 PM

The forcible rape rate in Memphis is 1.84 times the national average. I'm betting Chicago is northwards of that number.

Posted by: Cullen at October 30, 2008 02:33 PM

I think elections are probably more honest in Iraq, too.

Posted by: Paco at October 30, 2008 10:40 PM

That's what it's all about.We've become the
policemen of the world,while our own kids are dying of neglect.Or is it Blacks are the problem? Let's '
call (not here you don't).In the 1940's 80% of black
children were born in two parent families.Now
it's probably reversed,only 20%.But, let's spend
trillions to kill a few thousand Taliban,while
millions come in illegally into the US,INSANITY.
INSANITY.There are probably ten thousand illegals within a mile of me from India,Pakistan,Mexico
Laos and yet our sons die to kill a hand full
of Taliban ten thousand miles away.INSANITY

Posted by: greg newson at October 31, 2008 11:55 PM