SubX.News® Crime Report March 29, 2026
Chicago’s homicide numbers improved a lot in recent years — but that improvement started from an extremely high point.
The big drop we saw came from the very high COVID-era years, when homicides surged into the 700+ range and peaked around 800.
By 2025, Chicago dropped to 416 homicides — one of the lowest totals in decades.
But in 2026, after a strong January, that improvement has stalled. The gap with 2025 is closing, and recent weeks are running even or slightly worse than last year in murders and shootings.
As this HeyJackass chart shows, the 98 homicides through late March 2026 are still higher than the 89 recorded in 2019 at the same point.
The 22.2% fatality rate in 2026 means a higher percentage of shooting victims are dying compared to 16% in 2019 — making gun violence more lethal now.
Even though fewer people are being shot than during the peak COVID years, the shootings that do happen are more likely to end in death.
2026 Homicide Trend
Posted on March 23, 2026
@w_h_thompson
2026 Total Shot Trend
Posted on February 2, 2026
https://heyjackass.com/2026-total-shot-trend/
