Illinois Senate Hopeful Blames Chicago Violence on Policy

U.S. Senate candidate Don Tracy said a recent surge of violent incidents across Chicago underscores persistent public safety concerns in neighborhoods, parks, and on public transit, making crime a central issue in his campaign.

Tracy pointed to a weekend marked by multiple shootings, a knife attack that injured a father and his 6-year-old son in Lincoln Park, and several stabbings involving Chicago Transit Authority riders. “This weekend’s bloodshed, including a young mother gunned down in her car, a father and his 6-year-old son stabbed in Lincoln Park, two more stabbings of CTA riders, shows that Chicago families are not safe in their neighborhoods, parks, or on public transit,” Tracy said. “As I’ve said repeatedly, the government’s first responsibility is public safety. Yet due to the extreme, pro-criminal and soft-on-crime policies of Democrat leaders, violence continues to plague Chicago. As United States Senator, I will work to bring all parties together and tie federal funding to real, measurable reductions in crime so working families, seniors, and children can live in peace with less fear of being shot, stabbed, or robbed.”

According to a statement from Tracy’s campaign, the weekend violence included the fatal shooting of a 31-year-old woman on the South Side, a critical shooting in Rogers Park, and a stabbing attack in Lincoln Park that left a child and his father injured. The release also referenced recent stabbings on CTA property and drug-related arrests at O’Hare International Airport, which Tracy linked to broader policy challenges facing the city and state.

Chicago police data show that 53 people have been shot, killed, or wounded so far this January. Recent weeks have also seen fatal stabbings and additional injuries near CTA trains and stations, along with a series of break-ins and robberies affecting at least seven North Side businesses over the past month.

Chicago’s struggles reflect a wider trend in major U.S. cities. Federal Bureau of Investigation data indicate that violent crime in many urban areas remains above pre-pandemic levels, with public transit systems and residential neighborhoods continuing to face safety concerns nationwide.

Tracy is senior counsel at Brown, Hay & Stephens, the oldest law firm in Illinois. He previously served as chairman of the Illinois Republican Party and the Illinois Gaming Board, as well as secretary of the Illinois Bar Foundation and president of the Abraham Lincoln Association. In his bid for the U.S. Senate, Tracy has made public safety and support for working families central themes of his platform.