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Joanna Alden
Writing Sample
The Murder Capitol of the U.S.: The State of Chicagos Economy

The city of Chicago once again grabbed the national spotlight during the July 4th

holiday weekend this past year as media outlets worldwide reported on the shocking 82
shootings that occurred throughout the city during that one single weekend. Many
publications shared intimate details about those fatally injured, 16 in total. One victim was
Amari Brown, a seven-year-old boy who was murdered while outside watching fireworks
with his father. Seventeen-year-old Vonzell Banks, another victim, was shot and killed
while walking home from a basketball game at the local park. Another casualty, twenty-six-
year-old John Stroger, was shot in the back of the head while sitting on his porch (NBC
Chicago). Photos, details of the victims lifetime accomplishments and videos of mourning
family members dominated media and social media platforms across the country following
this tragic and bloody weekend.

While the number of shootings during this three-day time span may seem

astonishing, tales of crime and terror in the streets of Chicago can hardly be classified as
breaking news. In 2012 following the release of the FBIs annual crime statistics report, The
New York Times dubbed Chicago the murder capital of the U.S., a brand that has plagued
the nations third-largest city during subsequent years. Perhaps even more commonly
known, Chicago has also been nicknamed Chiraq by dozens of news outlets, suggesting
that Chicago is comparable to one of the worlds most dangerous war-zones. During 2012,
there were 503 homicides in Chicago compared to 414 homicides in New York City, despite

the fact that New York has three-times the population of Chicago (Federal Bureau of
Investigation).

Aside from news reports detailing the number of deaths per weekend, famous

figures have used their celebrity to openly discuss with the public about the existing
dangers in Chicago. In 2013, President Obama called attention to the citys violence during
the State of the Union address when he paid tribute to Hadiya Pendleton, a Chicago honor
student gunned down only three days after performing at his second inauguration in
Washington (CNN). Of course, because the President of the United States took time during
the State of the Union Address the highest viewed television event of the year to detail
Chicagos alarming crime rates, citizens nationwide, and worldwide, strengthened their
perception that Chicago is extremely dangerous.

Other Chicago-native celebrities have also publicly spoken about the gun violence in

their hometown through their own platforms as well as with various news outlets. Kanye
West, as an example, has been known to rap about crime, police brutality and
discrimination against African Americans in Chicago. As one of the worlds most influential
celebrities, Kanyes music has also helped solidify Chicagos negative reputation. A known
crusader for African American rights, Kanye often raps about the discrimination, severe
poverty and hopelessness facing black residents in Chicago. In his 2011 smash-hit song,
Murder to Excellence, Kanye uses the following lyrics: I feel the pain in my city wherever
I go / 314 soldiers died in Iraq, 509 died in Chicago. (West, Kanye). While this jaw-
dropping statistic was also released and discussed by various news outlets, Kanyes lyrics
reach a different, extremely large demographic who have likely built their perception on
Chicago based off of Kanyes words.

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Also from this same song, Kanye raps: Its time for us to stop and redefine black

power / 41 souls murdered in 50 hours (West, Kanye). This lyric refers to the deadly
weekend of March 31 April 2 2010, when 41 people were shot within 50 hours. In his
2012 hit, Cruel Summer, Kanye further informs his listeners about the overwhelming
violence. He raps, Then they ran up and shot him right in front of his mom/ 40 killings in a
weekend, 40 killings in a week / Man the summer too hot, you can feel it in the street
(West, Kanye). While Kanyes powerful words resonate with this listener, these numbers
are actually inaccurate. In both of the above lyrics, those figure were the number of people
shot that weekend, not murdered. However, in spite of this discrepancy, those lyrics
become the truth to his millions of listeners, therefore defining their perception of violence
in Chicago. Publications such as Complex Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Rolling Stone
Magazine, the Chicago Sun Times and USA Today have also interviewed Kanye on his
opinions about Chicago gun violence, providing him with an additional, media-based
platform. When an opinion leader with such a massive following such as Kanye produces
music and speaks to media outlets about crime statistics in Chicago, inevitably public
opinion will be shaped to coordinate with his views: Chicago is a dangerous city to be in,
work in and live in.
While escalating crime rates have been grabbing headlines since 2011, the problems
and therefore media attention only seem to be getting worse. In early June, the Chicago
Tribune reported that by June 1, 2015, over 1,000 people had been shot in Chicago while
during that same time span fewer than 1,000 people had been shot in New York and Los
Angeles combined. By June 7 of 2014, there were 933 people shot, according to the Chicago
Tribune. The fact that crime rates are only escalating has not been lost on the media, either.

Gun control opponents lit up the conservative news circuit earlier this month as a
September data report revealed that September 2015 was the citys deadliest in over a
decade (Washington Post). Also, according to the Chicago Tribune, the number of people
shot in Chicago so far this year as of October 8 is at least 2,300 or about 84.5 per 100,000
residents. New York City has seen 1,041 so far in 2015 12.3 per 100,000 people.
Between the enormous media attention and celebrity discussion regarding the gross
amount of gun violence in the city, the questions remain: who would ever want to come live
in Chicago? Can the city attract a quality, educated workforce? Are major employers willing
to relocate their companies to this seemingly dangerous city?
These, terrifying uncertainties have provided disastrous consequences for Chicagos
economic health. A world-class city simply cannot be exposed by the media as a place of
homicide and treachery without any economic backlash. Evidence of this can be seen
through a research study conducted by sociologist Jens Ludwig at the University of Chicago.
According to Ludwigs research, every homicide in Chicago reduces the citys population by
70 people: people who may have occupied a now abandoned home, owned an auto repair
shop or grocery store or paid taxes that kept cops on the streets and kids in schools. One
thing that happens when violence is driving people and businesses out of the city is that it
obviously reduces the tax base, which denigrates the ability of the city government to
address the violence problem, which generates more violence, which drives out more tax
base, Ludwig said. So thats a very unfortunate cycle. What you wind up with in some of
these very disadvantaged neighborhoods is even bigger concentrations of poverty, and all
of that further fuels the risk of violence in the neighborhoods, (Market Place). Ludwig

estimates that the total social cost of violence in Chicago is $2.5 billion each year. This
breaks down to an average of $2,500 per Chicago household, per year (Huffington Post).
In 2013, Bloomberg Business released an analysis of the economic affect gun
violence has had on Chicago. Some of the data included report that $52,000 is the average
cost for acute trauma care of gunshot victims, 70% of whom are uninsured. $35,000 is the
average cost of care at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago where 1/20th of the patients
are gunshot victims. $800 is the average cost for a victims autopsy. Last year, the John H.
Stroger Jr. Hospital alone treated 847 shooting victims at a total cost of about $44 million
(Bloomberg Business). Evidently, these are all costs the public, or taxpayers, must pay for.
In an attempt to save money, in 2013 Mayor Rahm Emanuel reversed a money-saving
decision that let police ranks drop to the lowest in at least five years (Bloomberg Business).
So, despite the fact that violence continues to grow in the streets, the city cannot afford to
pay more officers to help alleviate the problems. Joseph Salemme, commander of detective
for the South Side, told Bloomberg even murder incurs overtime, with extreme cases
consuming 1,000 to 1,500 hours of premium pay. In the first three months of this year
alone, the department had already burnt through two-thirds of the overtime police budget.
Afraid of the danger on the streets, residents have left Chicago in masses during the
past decade, primarily from predominately black neighborhoods on the citys South Side.
The 2013 Census numbers revealed that while Chicagos population is on the upswing, its
growing at a slower rate than any other major U.S. city (Huffington Post). A 2012 study
from the Center for American Progress estimated that overall violence puts a $5.3 billion
annual dent in the collective wallet of Chicago. The same study postulates reducing
homicides by 25% would boost Chicagos home values by $5.5 billion (American Progress

Organization). In multiple neighborhoods throughout the South Side including South Shore
and Englewood, the chamber of commerce has mandated that businesses refrain from
staying open at night to prevent potential violence, which hurts local business and
potential profit (Bloomberg News). Evidently, gun violence in Chicago has proved
disastrous for its economy and currently shows no signs of improvement.
To combat the total destruction of the Chicago economy, it is essential that the
mayors office and Chicago Police Department (CPD) work together to help restore
confidence back in the minds of not only current Chicago residents but also potential
Chicago residents and corporations, meaning strategies must extend nationwide. The
media relations department for the mayors office, in particular, must improve its current
efforts of building confidence in the police force and overall safety of Chicago. Teyonda
Wertz, head of South Shores chamber of commerce, summarized this best in an interview
with Bloomberg Business. Violence hurts the economy, and sooner or later it permeates
everything, she said. Unless we change our crime situation, itll kill us (Bloomberg). The
data supports Wertz fears, and drastic measures clearly must be taken.
While reducing the actual crime rate is a long, slow process, the public relations
department at the mayors office must focus immediately on the following: stimulating the
Chicago economy; preventing Chicago residents from moving away; and rebuilding
confidence in the police force. Looking at economics alone, the most important goal right
now is to keep a steady flow of residents coming to Chicago, a goal that can only be
accomplished by drawing positive media attention to the city to attract employers and help
balance out the negative.

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In terms of public relations strategy, the mayors office and CPD, allies in the effort

to reduce gun violence, have heavily relied on releasing and focusing on positive data and
news to try and convince the public that shootings are decreasing not increasing. Mayor
Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Super Intendant Gary McCarthy both frequently attend
public speaking functions to share these positive statistics as well as to explain the different
strategies and mechanisms the two forces are currently adopting to help reduce violence.
While this concept of transparency and honesty has good basis, both offices have
recently received enormous scrutiny over claims that the data they release has been
altered to appear more positive. This speculation first began in 2013 when Chicago
Magazine ran an article suggesting that the CPD has strategically altered crime statistics to
appear more positive. Mayor Emanuel had recently delivered the good news that the
murder rate in 2013 was lower than it had been in decades at 415 murders, 88 fewer than
in 2012 (The Economist). In an Op-Ed written a few months later, however, Chicago
Magazine reported that it knew of ten people who were beaten, burned, suffocated or shot
to death in 2013 who were not included in the official count for unclear reasons, (The
Economist). The article raised similar concerns over the numbers reported for other
crimes, so the Chicago Office of the Inspector General created an audit of crime figures and
determined that the police failed to count crimes with multiple victims as separate
offences. This resulted in a 24% underestimation in sample of incidents in 2012, meaning
that the positive data the CPD and mayors office had been selling to the media had been
inaccurate (The Economist). Following a blame game between the two departments about
who encouraged the fudged data, their attempt to use statistics to build more citizen and

employer trust in the police and mayor actually resulted in further distrust for both
sources.
More recently, in 2015 Mayor Emanuel and the CPD once again came under media
fire due to their boasting in press conferences that the number of murders in 2014 has
gone down, while neglecting to mention that the numbers of shootings in 2014 actually
went up (Chicago Tribune). Obviously, this incomplete statistic was soon discovered by the
media, who roasted the mayor and CPD for trying to attribute the statistic to less violence
when in reality more people are being shot, just less people are being shot fatally.
Chicago has had a long, well-established history of political and police corruption.
This sentiment has certainly not changed in recent years due to the spin on crime statistics
and false positivity. Therefore, it would be much more effective if the mayor and CPD
focused on pitching the media the truth as opposed to half-truths or skewed data. While
instilling confidence back in the citizens of Chicago and major employers is the ultimate
goal, withholding truths will only further alienate current and potential businesses and
residents. If citizens dont trust the government, both residents and employers will not be
attracted to the city resulting in a decrease in consumer spending and property values,
further damaging the Chicago GDP. Clearly, the current public relations strategy to regain
confidence in the Chicago police force and overall safety of the city has been largely
unsuccessful.
Perhaps a more effective public relations strategy to convince the public of the citys
potential to rebuild and become less dangerous would be to focus not only on the efforts of
the police force but also on non-profit or educational programs designed to prevent
violence in troubled neighborhoods. In general, people tend to respond best to human-

interest type stories rather than hard fact-based stories, so the public relations department
at the mayors office should focus attention on sharing interesting stories with the media in
addition to just facts.
As an example, the mayors public relations department could aim to highlight the
work he has done with BUILD (Broader Urban Involvement & Leadership Development),
an organization that engages at-risk youth in the schools and on the streets, so they can
realize their educational and career potential and contribute to the stability, safety and well
being of our communities (BUILD). The organization has worked tirelessly with the mayor
in this goal and now proudly serves over 3,000 youths annually and has produced
outstanding results. At a BUILD event in 2013, Mayor Emanuel said, We must commit our
time, energy, and resources to ensure all of our young people have the opportunities and
support they need to reach their full potential. Thank you for committing to this
fundamental goal," (BUILD). The public relations practitioners for the mayor should
continue to encourage the office to partner with these anti-gang organizations and
emphasize these relationships to the media. By highlighting independent, small
organizations that are helping to reduce street violence, the public relations department is
indirectly helping to restore confidence back into Chicago citizens minds. Reading about
the hundreds of organizations making an impact on reducing gun violence could help
create a more positive outlook on the current state of the city.
In conclusion, the shocking gun violence and homicide cases in Chicago have
dominated media attention in the past few years and must come to an end to help restore
and improve Chicagos economy. Obviously, a city with a long, unfortunate history of
violence and class disparity cannot be fixed overnight. However, public relations

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practitioners for both the mayors office and the CPD can strive to improve public opinion
on the city by building a strong relationship with local media, who will in turn help boost
the citizens confidence in their government and police system. Complete transparency,
humility and focus on the citizens are the key tools to changing public opinion. If
implemented effectively, these strategies could help to gradually rebuild confidence in the
city of Chicago for both current and potential residents and employers, resulting in a
noticeably positive effect on the overall economic health of Chicago.

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Works Cited

9 Dead, 53 Wounded in Fourth of July Weekend Violence. NBC News, Chicago. 7 Jul. 2015.
Online.

Bump, Phillip. Gun Control Opponents Love to Cite Chicago. So How Does It Compare to
the Rest of America? Washington Post 5 October 2015. Web.

Christensen, Jen. Tackling Chicagos Crime Gap. CNN 14 March 2014. Web.


Cruel Summer. GOOD Music. CD. Def Jam Records. 2011.

Ford, Quinn and Gorner, Jeremy. Chicagos Gun Violence Up From A Year Ago, Topping
1,000 Victims Earlier. Chicago Tribune 8 June 2015. Web.

FBI Releases 2012 Crime Statistics. FBI. FBI, 23 September 2013. Web. 11 October 2015.

Gun Violence Cost: Chicago Killings Cost $2.5 Billion A Year - $2,500 Per Household
According to Analysis. Huffington Post Chicago 23, May 2013. Web.

Monroe, Sylvester. The Economic Cost of Violence in Chicago. Market Place 11, February
2013. Web.

Murder to Excellence. Watch the Throne. CD. Rock-A-Fella Records. 2011.

Siddiqui, Faiz. A Guide to Kanye References About Violence in Chicago. Complex 8 April
2013. Web.