Press Secretary Cites Soaring Murder Rates, Low Arrests, and Data Discrepancies in Scathing Rebuke
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday ripped Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, accusing him of downplaying the crime crisis in Chicago and failing to address what she called an “unacceptable” public safety situation.
During a press briefing, Leavitt responded to a question about the administration’s efforts to combat crime, pivoting to a strong rebuke of the governor.
“We’ve been seeing the governor of Illinois parading out there saying that there’s nothing wrong with Chicago. It’s a great place to live. There’s no crime there,” Leavitt said. “Well, I think the residents of Chicago beg to differ, and the statistics beg to differ.”
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Leavitt then presented a series of figures to support her claims, calling the crime problem “J.B. Pritzker’s legacy.”
Among the statistics she cited:
- Chicago has led all U.S. cities in murders for seven consecutive years.
- In 2024, Chicago’s murder rate per capita was three times higher than Los Angeles and nearly five times higher than New York City.
- Leavitt also claimed that the city’s murder rate was “more than double the murder rate in Islamabad and nearly 15 times more than Delhi.”
- Of the crimes reported in Chicago this year, only 16% have resulted in arrests, a figure Leavitt called “unacceptable.”
- She noted that Chicago has recovered more illegal guns than New York City and Los Angeles combined.
- Motor vehicle thefts more than doubled from 2021 to 2024.
- Leavitt also raised concerns about potential discrepancies in Chicago’s homicide data reporting, suggesting the problem may be even worse than the public numbers indicate.
The Press Secretary’s comments were a direct challenge to Pritzker, who has previously stated that he does not need federal assistance from a Trump administration to address crime.
Leavitt urged the governor to “put politics aside” and “pick up the phone and call this President,” promising that the administration “would be more than happy to do right by law-abiding American residents in the city of Chicago.”
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The exchange underscores the growing political tension between the White House and state leaders over public safety, with the administration framing the crime problem as a crisis that requires direct federal intervention and collaboration.
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