As President Donald Trump weighs a federal takeover of Chicago, the city’s residents have been begging for help with a crime crisis that is growing out of control.
Trump deployed federal law enforcement and National Guard troops throughout Washington, D.C., earlier in August, which has so far led to hundreds of arrests, many of whom were illegal aliens charged with crimes, including assault, rape, murder, DUIs, and drug smuggling. The administration is now eyeing a crackdown in Chicago, followed potentially by New York City. (RELATED Sh*tty Sidewalks, Broken Windows And Useless Cops: Three Stories That Sum Up DC‘s Gnarly Crime Problem)
“Chicago is a mess,” Trump told reporters Friday. “You have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent, and we’ll straighten that one out probably next, that will be our next one after this, and it won’t even be tough. And the people in Chicago, Mr. Vice President, are screaming for us to come.” (RELATED: Seven Cities That Appear To Be Begging For A Trump Takeover And Four That Are Doing Just Fine)
The Windy City is, indeed, in the midst of a crime spike, and for years, residents have been voicing their concerns to local politician and police officials, without much luck.
In 2024, Chicago faced 28,443 violent crimes, with the number of aggravated assaults soaring to a two-decade high, according to a study from the Illinois Policy Institute. Despite this, city residents reported a reduction of 1,614 violent crimes compared to 2023, attributed to decreases in homicides, robberies, and criminal sexual assaults. Over the past ten years, the general trend has shown an upward trajectory in violent crimes, the study found.
Meanwhile, the arrest rate remains low, with arrests made in only about 14% of violent crimes, a figure that has been steadily declining for the past 20 years, according to the institute.
As early as 2021, Chicago residents began to sound the alarm. A WGN-TV/Emerson College poll from that year found that a significant majority of residents believed there was an increase in crime levels since 2020, with 62% indicating that they believed crime had risen. However, 24% of respondents felt the crime rate had remained stable, and only 14% asserted that there was actually less crime compared to the year prior.
In November 2023, residents of the West Loop neighborhood held a town hall to address the recent spikes in armed robberies and carjackings. Despite assurances from several Chicago Police Department officials who attended the meeting, residents were still left frustrated by a lack of progress and initiative from law enforcement.
“I’m sitting here listening to a bunch of people that don’t want to talk about the problem. I’m a citizen, I’m a father of two and if I know what’s going on out there, I know damn sure you know,” local Victor Jones told Fox 32.
Suzette Webb, another community member, told the outlet, “It feels unbearable. There’s a lot of talking going on, I think we need some serious policy changes.”
During a similar meeting in August 2024 between cops and residents of Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood, locals were fed up after a string of carjackings, muggings, and home break-ins, and pervasiveness of loiters and vagrants on sidewalks and in parks.
“There has been a gentleman sleeping on the cooler in front of Dunkin’ Donuts for three months. Where is everybody?” one man said at the meeting. “There’s been gangs, or whatever you want to call them, teenagers, in front of Jewels. Where is everybody?”
Another resident said, “Over the last several years, I’ve seen more incidents of crime and loitering than I have when I first moved here.”
In April of this year, Residents of West Town, which encompasses the West Loop neighborhood, renewed their calls for another police station and more cops on the streets. A decade prior, former Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed down the police station for the 13th district, combining it with the 12th. Since then, residents have noticed a dramatic shift.
“Today, you hardly see a police car in the neighborhood,” Declan Morgan, who operated an Irish pub for over two decades, told CBS News Chicago. “It’s a big difference.”
Despite calls for help from his citizens, Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Sunday that he has no desire to cooperate with the Trump administration, and called a potential takeover a “flagrant violation” of the Constitution.
What the President is proposing would be the most flagrant violation of our Constitution in the 21st Century. The City of Chicago does not need a military occupation. https://t.co/nXi503owI9
— Mayor Brandon Johnson (@ChicagosMayor) August 24, 2025
🚨JUST IN: Mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson claims that if Trump sends troops into his city the “People will rise up and fight against tyranny.”
Is he calling for violence against our military? pic.twitter.com/5bgchbcNLY
— The Patriot Oasis™ (@ThePatriotOasis) August 24, 2025
“We’re going to remain firm and vigilant in our commitment to ensure that our democracy is protected, and our humanity is secured,” Johnson told MSNBC.
Johnson currently holds a 26% approval rating, according to a poll conducted in August. A separate poll in February found that Johnson had a 6.6% approval rating among those surveyed.
Since elected in April 2023, Johnson has faced significant criticism for several issues, including crime and the city’s illegal migrant housing crisis, which reportedly cost taxpayers over $400 million in the span of two years. Johnson called on police to kick out angry residents at a city council meeting in late 2024, as protesters were fed up with new budget changes that would allocate more funding for illegal immigrants.
“[Johnson] wants to pull a $40 million line of credit and put the city in even more debt,” one Chicagoan said during the chaotic meeting. “It’s your fault, because you gave half of the money to illegals.”