COOK COUNTY, Ill. — The number of homicides in Cook County — primarily Chicago — so far this year surpassed 1,000 during Thanksgiving weekend. The grim milestone has not been reached in the past 27 years.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Tuesday the 1,000th homicide in 2021 occurred over the holiday weekend, surpassing the 2020 figure of 986, Fox News reported.
Since the 1,000th victim was toe-tagged, the county has recorded nine more, bringing the tally to 1,009 to date. With another month left in the calendar year they are on a pace to reach approximately 1,100.
According to Fox, the last time Cook County saw more than 1,000 homicides was in 1994 when the dour figure was 1,141. In 1991, Cook County handled a record 1,229 homicides.
Of the 1,009 Cook County homicides to date this year, 777 have occurred in Chicago, which is roughly 77 percent.
The medical examiners office said 81 percent of the deaths involved Black victims and 15 percent were Hispanic, Fox reported.
We have not heard if BLM will be protesting the mass casualties. Based upon their history, we think not. However, you can be certain that if a police officer is involved in the fatal shooting of a non-complaint Black suspect, they will make a loud statement.
The 2021 homicides have increased by roughly 40 percent over 2019, when the county recorded a total of 675.
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There has been no official word from local politicians at the time of pubilcation. Last we heard, progressive leaders attributed the spike in homicide rates to COVID.
