Chicago’s efforts to encourage more people to report hate crimes appear to be yielding an unexpected result.
Despite creating new ways for residents to report bias incidents and increasing efforts to identify potential hate crimes, the number of hate crimes reported to Chicago police has fallen sharply. CPD data shows Reports of hate crime have fallen by 30% compared to the first half of last year and by 54% compared to the same period in 2024, with declines across all major protected classes.
That may be a surprising revelation given the extensive reporting of recent incidents, including a cross burning in Grant Park that an Asian student claims was intended as a message to “MAGA Christian nationalists” who support President Donald Trump, and not blacks.
Reports of hate crimes rose dramatically in June 2020 as protests and riots followed the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. The number of cases continued to rise for years, reaching a record number of 303 reports in 2023.
That year’s wave was largely driven by religion-based hate crimes, as the war between Israel and Hamas led to pro-Palestinian demonstrations that some people used as cover to attack Jewish residents and institutions.
Against that backdrop, in December 2023, the Chicago City Council unanimously approved the “CHI vs. Hate’ ordinance good. The measure created a system for residents to report “hate incidents” through 311, even if the behavior did not meet the legal definition of a hate crime.
Supporters said the ordinance would make it easier for victims to come forward while giving the city a better understanding of bias-related incidents that might otherwise go unreported. Even with these expanded reporting efforts, reports of hate crimes have declined within every major protected class.
According to the CPD, race-based hate crimes have dropped from 170 cases in 2023 and 123 last year to 33 in the first half of this year. Hate crimes based on sexual orientation have fallen from a high of 64 cases in 2024 to June 24 to 30. Hate crimes based on religion have also fallen: from 89 reports last year to 16 in the first six months of this year.
Hate crimes based on gender identity have also decreased. After an average of around nine cases per year since 2019 and a peak of eleven incidents in 2024, the city recorded three cases in the first half of this year.
Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th), the only Jewish member of the city council and the main sponsor of the CHI vs. Hate Ordinance, said the decline in hate crime reports citywide is good news.
“I am encouraged that hate crime rates have decreased, and I am deeply grateful to Supt. Larry Snelling and the dedicated Chicago police officers who work every day to keep all of our diverse communities safe,” Silverstein said Wednesday. “This reduction underscores the critical role our police play in protecting residents and improving public safety.”
Still, Silverstein said the numbers show more work remains.
“We cannot ignore the fact that anti-Jewish hate crimes remain disproportionately high against a community that makes up just 3% of Chicago’s population,” said Silverstein, whose Far North Side neighborhood includes a sizable Jewish population.
She also urged Mayor Brandon Johnson to “treat this issue with the seriousness it deserves.”
Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd), a member of the City Council’s LGBTQ+ caucus, also welcomed the trend, saying he was “encouraged to hear that hate crimes, particularly anti-Semitic incidents, are on the decline.”
Knudsen, who represents much of Lincoln Park, sponsored the city’s Stop Hate Littering Ordinance, which was passed in 2024 after anti-Semitic flyers were distributed in addition to rat poison. His office said the measure strengthened the city’s response capabilities by expanding enforcement tools and increasing accountability for people who spread hateful propaganda.
“While legislation alone cannot solve hate, it sends a clear message that, with strong enforcement actions and tools, these types of acts have no place in Chicago,” Knudsen’s office said.
Several government officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this article, including Mayor Brandon Johnson; Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th), gay and representing Boystown; Ald. Maria Hadden (49th), who bills herself as the “first Black, queer woman elected to the Chicago City Council”; Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), whose district includes part of Andersonville; and Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), member of the council’s LGBTQ+ caucus.
In a statement, CPD said, “The Chicago Police Department is committed to addressing hate crimes by creating a comfortable environment that encourages victims to report these crimes, and by thoroughly investigating all reported hate crimes. We understand the trauma and fear inflicted on both victims and our communities when a hate crime is committed, and we continually work to advocate and support those affected through victim services and ongoing outreach.”
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