2025 Year In Review: Building The Safest, Most Affordable Big City In America

CHICAGO - Throughout 2025, the Johnson administration focused on making Chicago safer and more affordable, while protecting Chicagoans from federal overreach.

"2025 was a transformational year in our mission to build the safest and most affordable big city in America," said Mayor Brandon Johnson. "I want to thank all of the City workers who played a critical role in the progress we made this year, particularly our police and fire departments that helped make this one of the safest years in the modern history of our city. With their joy, culture, and sense of community, Chicagoans from every part of our city made this an unforgettable year. I look forward to building on the progress we made this year to make 2026 the best year yet."

MAKING CHICAGO SAFER: VIOLENT CRIME DECLINES TO HISTORIC LOWS

Due to the combined work of the Chicago Police Department (CPD), our Community Violence Intervention (CVI) partners, community-based organizations, and the Johnson administration's strategic investments targeted at addressing the root causes of crime, 2025 has been one of the safest years in Chicago since the mid-1960s.

"The men and women of the Chicago Police Department this year continued to drive down violent crime and worked to restore a sense of safety to Chicagoans throughout the city," said Superintendent Larry Snelling. "Every member of CPD worked to save lives, bring justice to those affected by crime and provide ongoing support to survivors of violence. We will remain steadfast in our efforts to enhance safety in every neighborhood as we head into 2026."

Through December 30, 2025, the City of Chicago tracked double-digit decreases in every major category of crime and violence, according to data provided by CPD:

• Overall Violent Crime: -21.3%
• Homicides: -29.0%
• Shootings:-34.5%
• Multi-Victim Shootings: -35.6%
• Robberies: -36.1%
• Vehicular Hijackings: -50.0%
• Human Trafficking: -31.3%

*The above figures compare the number of year-to-date victimizations in 2025 to 2024. Additional information is available here.

Through December 30th Chicago recorded the fewest homicides in 2025 than in any year this century, with totals far below previous spikes. To date, there were 416 homicides in 2025, the fewest since 2014, when there were 425. The previous low of 395 was recorded in 1965.

"These historic violence lows are not a coincidence, but, the direct result of a public health approach that leverages the lived experiences, influence and organic relationships of CVI workers, subgrantees and partners who serve as boots on the ground in Chicago's most violent communities," said LeVon Stone Sr., co-founder and CEO of Acclivus, Inc."As a 20-year CVI practitioner, I'm grateful to city, state and county leadership for their unprecedented investments that empower these communities to heal and thrive."

For the first time this century, in 2025 Chicago experienced less than 2,000 shootings, a significant break from long-running trends which have seen the city regularly exceed 2,500 annual incidents.

The surge in robberies which followed the pandemic came to an end in 2025, with incidents declining nearly 50% from the prior peak. Similar trends were also observed in incidents of vehicular hijackings, aggravated assaults, and battery assaults.

The 2025 decreases are even more substantial when compared to averages from the last five-years, underscoring a sustained downward trend in violence citywide:

• Violent crime: -20.6%
• Homicides: -41.3%
• Shootings: -48.1%
• Multi-Victim Shootings: -48.8%
• Robberies: -30.6%
• Vehicular Hijackings: -66.4%

*The above figures compare the number of victimizations in 2025 to the five-year average observed between 2020 and 2024. Additional information is available here.

These trends follow the Johnson administration's ongoing progress addressing the root causes of crime and violence in communities that have endured decades of disinvestment. Substantial decreases were concentrated in many of the same community areas that experienced the most shootings in 2024, including:

CPD successfully removed more than 11,000 illegal gunsfrom the streets of Chicago in 2025 while the City's fight against gun violence extended to the courtroom. Glock, Inc. announced it would discontinue productionof pistol models that are easily converted into illegal machine guns after the Johnson administration's lawsuit against the company proceeded to discovery.

The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) has also made significant progress in reducing overdose deaths through a variety of data-informed strategies. Since 2023, Chicago has experienced the highest reduction in overdose-related deaths of any peer city at 37%. This nation-leading progresshas been driven by CDPH's efforts to distribute Narcan door-to-door in the most impacted areas, making Narcan available in unique ways such as vending machines and newsstands, and offering harm reduction trainings.

PROTECTING CHICAGOANS FROM FEDERAL OVERREACH

Amid ramped up federal immigration enforcement and repeated threats by the President to deploy National Guard personnel to Chicago, Mayor Johnson created the "blueprint" for cities resisting the Trump administration, designating City property as 'ICE-Free Zones' and launching the Protecting Chicago Initiative.

Protecting Chicago-an ongoing citywide, multi-departmental effort-aims to protect the constitutional rights of every Chicagoan, push back against the federal administration's attempts to provoke fear in our communities, and challenge the withholding of funding allocated to Chicago for disaster recovery, public education, and public transportation.

The Mayor signed executive ordersensuring CPD officers do not assist with federal immigration enforcement, remain clearly identifiable, and refrain from wearing masks. In July, the Law Department successfully defendedthe Welcoming City Ordinance, repelling a federal lawsuit brought by the Trump administration.

Led by the Mayor's Office of Immigrant and Refugee Rights (IMRR), the City launched a Know Your Rights(KYR) and Family Preparedness Campaign, working with community partners to ensure Chicagoans are equipped with KYRresources and guidance to prepare in the event of family separation.

As part of the public information campaign led by IMRR, the Mayor's Office:

• Printed and distributed 29,000+ Know Your Rightsmaterials;
• Reached 7,000+ Chicagoans at in-person community events;
• Attended 120+ community, cultural, and educational events in 2025.

In response to uncertainty surrounding SNAP benefits resulting from the government shutdown, in November Mayor Johnson signed an executive orderdirecting resources to local community organizations, non-profits, food pantries, and faith institutions working to address hunger and food insecurity resulting from Trump's cuts to food aid.

Defending Chicago's values, the City's Law Department filed more than 40 legal actions against the Trump administration, including 10 lawsuits challengingthe Trump administration and more than 30 amicus briefs rebuking harmful federal action. These legal actions pushed back against the withholding of SNAP benefits, attempts to end birthright citizenship and DEI programs, restrictions on transgender rights, and more.

In December, the Supreme Court ruled in Chicago's favor, blockingthe Trump administration from deploying the National Guard in Chicago.

BUILDING A MORE AFFORDABLE CITY

Mayor Johnson has put the construction of affordable homes at the center of his strategy to make Chicago more affordable for working people. In 2025, the City invested $137 million in affordable housing construction while building upon efforts to Cut the Tapeby streamlining and expediting over 100 housing and commercial development processes.

Throughout the year the Mayor worked with City Council to increase affordable housing availability by passing the Green Social HousingOrdinance, doubling the number of parcels eligible for construction of additional dwelling units(ADUs), and eliminating minimum parking requirementsnear public transportation.

In 2025, the City celebrated 13 affordable housing groundbreakings and ribbon-cuttings, opening 699 newly built or rehabilitated units-561 of which are fully affordable.

The Johnson administration selected the inaugural Green Social Housing developments, with the first groundbreaking scheduled for late next year. Utilizing $135 million from Mayor Johnson's Housing and Economic Development (HED) Bond, the ordinance created a revolving loan fund which provides low-cost financing and equity investments for developing permanently affordable, mixed-income housing.

Chicago is the first major city in the country to implement this innovative model for developing permanent affordable housing.

In September, Mayor Johnson joined members of the Pilsen community to cut the ribbon on Casa Yucatán, a transformative eight-story development including 98 new affordable homes, which was the first of many affordable housing projects that moved ahead with support from the HED bond.

INVESTING IN COMMUNITIES

While the City tracked historic declines in crime and violence, Mayor Johnson redoubled his commitment to investing in historically underserved communities across Chicago.

The City blew past the goal the Mayor set to hire 29,000 young people for summer jobs through One Summer Chicago (OSC), the City's youth employment initiative. In total, 31,199 Chicagoans between the ages of 14 and 24 were hired through the program-a 55.6% increase since Mayor Johnson took office.

In collaboration with sister agencies, the City hired 15,088 young people for the summer while the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) funded an additional 19,086 positions with community organizations.

In August, Mayor Johnson announced 16 additional Chicago Public Schools would participate in the Sustainable Community Schools(SCS) model which transforms schools into vibrant community hubs that offer wraparound support, better meeting the academic and social-emotional needs of students and families.

The administration leveraged a $7 million investment to provide a salary increasefor over 3,000 early childhood professionals, bringing their pay closer in line with the broader K-12 education workforce.

Through a multi-departmental effort, the Johnson administration supported small businesses and community organizations throughout the City, making critical investments in key economic corridorsto build bustling community centers on every side of Chicago.

This year, the City awarded $26 million in small grants to support 200 community-driven investments ranging from local arts initiatives to neighborhood improvement programs. The City invested $46 million in medium and large grants funded the real estate buildout of 20 major projects, creating spaces that will host businesses, social services, and cultural programing.

On the Near North Side, Mayor Johnson cut the ribbon on After School Matters' Orleans Teen Center, which will provide approximately 2,100 paid out-of-school time opportunities annually for Chicago teens. In Grand Crossing, the Mayor helped open Xchange Chicago, a state-of-the-art IT services and innovation center projected to create up to 8,000 new jobs while generating $160 million in City-wide annual economic impact.

Marking the largest shelter investmentin Chicago's history, in July Mayor Johnson announced $40 million capital improvement funding to modernize homeless shelter facilities throughout the city.

On January 1, the City transitioned to 100% renewable energyfor all of its more than 400 municipal buildings and city-wide operations, becoming one of the largest U.S. cities to source power from renewable energy. Through this transition, the City has cut its carbon emissions by 290,000 metric tons annually, the equivalent of removing 62,000 cars from the road each year.

The City celebrated a milestone of 68,000new trees planted since the start of the Our Roots Chicago program in 2022. The community-driven initiative focuses on neighborhoods with low tree cover to grow a more equitable tree canopy across the city.

Following the completion of a major safety improvement project on Milwaukee Avenue, the City celebrated the 100th mile of new bikewaysinstalled since Mayor Johnson took office.

In 2025, Chicago delivered the highest percentage of new low-stress bikeway installations to date, with a record 15 miles of protected bike lanes and 22 miles of neighborhood greenways. Since 2021 Chicago has experienced a 30% decline in traffic fatalities.

ECONOMIC VITALITY

With seven cranesin the sky and 18 more on the way, a record-breaking summer for tourism and hospitality, and the busiest summer in O'Hare history, 2025 was a transformational year for economic development in Chicago.

Building on Cut the Tape, Mayor Johnson and the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) rolled out Cut the Tape for Small Business, a comprehensive effort make it faster and easier to open and operate a small business in Chicago.

The program is designed to uplift and empower small businesses across Chicago by streamlining regulatory processes, enhancing transparency and increasing access to small business education and resources

Chicago had a record-setting summer travel seasonin 2025, exceeding national trends with over 3.56 million hotel room bookings. The summer surpassed the previous record set in 2019 and saw a 4.3% gain in revenue from 2024

Chicago broke records over Memorial Day weekend when 46,450 hotel rooms were filled Saturday, May 17-an all-time single day Chicago record. The historic holiday weekend saw $84.7 million in hotel revenue and generated $14.7 million in hotel taxes.

The city once again attracted visitors from around the world for marquee events including Lollapalooza, the Premier League Summer Series, the NASCAR Chicago Street Race, Riot Fest, the Chicago Marathon, the 61st Chicago International Film Festival, and many more.

O'Hare International Airport recorded the busiest summer in its 70-year historyin 2025, with more than 24.3 million passengers traveling through the airport during June, July and August-surpassing the previous summer record set in 2019. The historic summer was cemented when O'Hare recorded its busiest month ever in July.

In 2025, Mayor Johnson and the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) officially launched ORDNext, the next phase of the O'Hare 21 Capital Improvement Program. At the center of the initiative is the New Concourse D, which broke ground in Augustand will add 19 flexible gates, expanded lounge and commercial space, and enhanced passenger amenities.

The $1.3 billion project aims to modernize the travel experience by improving capacity, connectivity, and operational efficiency for the millions of travelers who pass through O'Hare every year.

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