O’Neill Burke says Chicago Police data show that domestic violence homicides surged by 15-percent over the last two years
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Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke recently confirmed that domestic violence homicides have increased roughly 15 percent over the past two years, serious enough that prosecutors are now creating a specialized unit to handle the cases.
What makes the numbers even harder to ignore is that officials already knew the situation was getting worse.
Domestic violence killings in Cook County claimed at least 63 lives last year, most of them women murdered by intimate partners.
The spike was serious enough that a city–county domestic violence task force was launched in January 2026, months before the latest public statements acknowledged the crisis.
Yet while those numbers were already known inside the system, the public message continued to focus on declining overall crime statistics while women across the city were still being beaten, terrorized, and murdered behind closed doors.
Cook County State’s Attorney creates domestic violence homicide unit
O’Neill Burke says sharp rise in domestic violence
Chicago Has Seen Sharp Increase in Domestic Violence
Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke Announces New Domestic Violence Homicide Unit
Photo credit Terry Keshner
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16 hours ago
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has announced a new Domestic Violence Homicide Unit.
During a news conference at her offices at 26th and California on Chicago’s Southwest Side on Thursday morning, Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said that while nearly every category of violent crime fell to historic lows last year, domestic violence moved in the opposite direction.
In fact, O’Neill Burke says Chicago Police data show that domestic violence homicides surged by 15-percent over the last two years.
And so, prosecutors are introducing the Domestic Violence Homicide Unit, with O’Neill Burke saying, “our victim witness unit stands with victims every step of the way through this court process. This new unit will have a dedicated victim witness person who will approach this work with a trauma-informed perspective that gives victims and families a shoulder to lean on during this incredibly difficult moment.”
Danielle Dixon, the Chief Operating Officer with Family Rescue on the South Side, is among those applauding the CCSAO’s new effort, saying, “last year at least 63 Chicagoans lost their lives to domestic violence. This is unacceptable. These 63 lives lost last year have an everlasting impact on our community. Those families and the community deserve the space to grieve their loved ones and to feel supported by the criminal legal process during this time.”
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence says ten million people in the United States are physically abused by an intimate partner every year, and the nation has seen at least 122 gun-related domestic violence fatalities so far in 2026.
https://audacy.com/wbbm780/news/local/new-unit-will-help-victims-families-amid-violence-surge…
