The 10 Most Dangerous Cities in Chicago

Every city has their issues with crime, but some cities just always seem to be in the news for their crime and one of those is Chicago. Illinois has battled crime for years and has been rated as the top rated major city in the US for crime rate. It also has a long history of organized crime, and was home to the notorious mafia hitman, Al Capone. Government figures have long, tried to get the crime under control, but as of today, crime rates are still high in many of the major cities surrounding the Chicago area. If you are looking to visit or move to the area, you may be interested to know which cities are the most dangerous and have the highest crime rates. Here is a list of the 10 most dangerous cities in Chicago.

10. Bloomington

Bloomington has a population of just over 70,000 and is the tenth most dangerous city in the Chicago area. It was listed as one of the most dangerous cities while under Mayor Tari Renner’s term as Mayor. It was reported as having 238 aggravated assaults and 399 violent crimes in 2014. There are 5 violent crimes per 1,000 people in the city.

9. Rock Island

Located on the Mississippi River, Rock Island has a population of just over 40,000 and is known as one of the higher crime ridden cities in the Chicago area. It is known as “Arsenal Island” due to being the home of Rock Island Arsenal, the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal here in the United States. The crime rates for Rock Island are based on a, per 1,000 person capita. It was only rated as safer than 22% of other US states with 1,076 crimes being reported, of which 170 were violent and 906 were property related.

8. Granite City

Officially founded in 1896, Granite City was designated as a steel making manufacturer city. There are currently about 30,000 people living in the city and it is still one of the biggest steel manufacturing cities in the US. Granite City is one of the largest crime riddled cities in Illinois with the crime rate based on 100,000 people, there were an estimated 3,572 crimes in Granite City in recent research. This is a figure that is much higher than the reported 2,860 estimated crimes reported for the state.

7. Peoria

Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and has a population of close to 120,000 people. It is one of the oldest cities in Illinois, with settlers beginning to filter into the area in the late 1600’s. The city is home to one of the largest construction equipment companies, Caterpillar, Inc. Despite its beautiful skyline and riverfront, it has a high crime rate compared to other cities in the Chicago area. Rated using 1,000 people per capita, in recent studies, there were 772 violent crimes reported, and 4,448 property crimes with a total of 5,220.

6. Kankakee

There is a 27,500 (plus) population in Kankakee, IL and it was founded in 1853. This is mostly a blue collared city, and is the 77th, overall, largest community in the state of Illinois. The city has a low number of residents that hold at least a bachelor’s degree, with the percentage being 12.20%, a low average compared to other cities. This is also a high poverty city, which raises the crime rate for the city. There were 176 violent crimes reported in recent statistics, and 831 property crimes, with a total of 1,007 crimes, making this a high crime rate city.

5. Champaign

With a population of nearly 86,000 people, Champaign is on the larger end of a medium-sized city that is predominantly white-collared with a lot of people in administration and education. The city is extremely diverse in its ethnicity, however, despite the higher earning income status of the city, there is a higher amount of crime in areas of the city where poverty levels tend to be high. According to recent statistics, the number of violent crime rates reported 585 and property crimes were 2,437 with a total of 3,022, making this one of the most dangerous cities in the Chicago area.

4. Carbondale

Carbondale has a population of close to 26,000 people and is casually known as “Little Egypt.” The city was founded and developed in 1853 due to railroad construction that was happening in the area. The population is predominantly white, with the second highest ethnicity being African American. The city is a beautiful, water front city but also is considered as one off the most dangerous cities in the Chicago area. The crime rate statistics reported a high number of violent crimes and property crimes in recent studies, stating that the crimes have risen over recent years.

3. Springfield

Springfield is the capital of Illinois and has a population of approximately 116,250 people. The most famous resident of the city is Abraham Lincoln and the claim to fame for Springfield, is the birth of the corndog, the well-known, deep fried hotdog dipped in batter and eaten off a stick. Being one of the largest cities in the area, there are areas where poverty is high, which raises the crime rate. Crime rate statistics reported a total of 6,660 combined crimes between property and violent crimes.

2. Rockford

Rockford has a population of nearly 150,000 people and is neither predominantly white collared or blue. It’s a large, waterfront city that has a lower income median, which potentiates a higher crime rate in many areas of the city. Recent studies of the city’s crime rate have shown a high number of both violent and property crimes and has been rated as the second most dangerous city to live in, in the Chicago area. Violent crimes reported were 2,349 and property crimes were 8,205.

1. Harvey

Harvey has been rated as the number one, most dangerous city in the Chicago, Illinois area. With close to 26,000 people living in the city, it is only the 89th largest community. This is a very low, educated, and low income city, with a high crime rate. The city is predominantly African American, with a good number of Hispanics as well as other ethnicities. The number of violent crimes reported in recent statistics, combined with property crimes were some of the highest in all of the state. Crimes have always been an issue for the city and have increased over recent years.

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