It’s an incredible turnabout: the US homicide rate for 2025 is projected to be the lowest since 1900. Around 4.0 per 100,000 people, the largest single-year decline on record. Chicago is one of the big cities driving the reduction in homicides and other violent crime. That’s after President Trump ran in part on a promise to crackdown on criminals and the chaos they create. But Scott Thuman reports not all agree on just who should take a bow.
The following is a transcript of a report from “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.”Watch the video by clicking the link at the end of the page.
Last November, on a local Chicago train, a 26-year-old woman is attacked by a man who doused her with gasoline and set her on fire. Bethany Magee survived but suffered life-threatening burns. Her alleged attacker, 50-year-old Lawrence Reed, now facing federal terrorism charges.
The unprovoked assault shocked the nation, and getting the attention of President Trump.
President Trump: They burned this beautiful woman, riding in a train.
Just weeks later, as crowds left a downtown Chicago Christmas tree lighting ceremony, a 14-year-old boy was killed, and eight other teenagers were wounded in two separate Friday night shootings.
But that headline-grabbing violence comes against a backdrop of a sharp reduction in crime reported in the city in 2025.
Homicides down 29% from the previous year, carjackings down 50%. Overall, violent crime down 21%
On the streets of Chicago, we found a mix of views but still concerns over crime.
Woman: I mean, I personally feel safe. I don’t walk home alone at night in the middle of the night. But I think that’s common for any area, right? I grew up in the suburbs. I’m not walking around alone in the suburbs. It gets really creepy.
Source: Sharyl Attkisson
