All Access

All-Access Weekly Digest

Chicago

Chicago Members

Chicago Alerts

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Chicago. Written by Monica Eng and Justin Kauffman.

Axios Chicago Thought Bubble

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Chicago. Written by Monica Eng and Justin Kaufmann.

Axios Chicago

Reproduced from USAFacts; Chart: Axios Visuals

Chicago has seen a rise in car thefts, according to data from USAFacts.

Driving the news: Chicago and several other major cities — from Baltimore to Cleveland to Atlanta — saw a spike in car thefts from 2019 to 2022, per USAFacts. And many are pointing to a recent TikTok trend as a reason.

A number of these thefts were of Kia and Hyundai vehicles after a social media challenge encouraged thieves to target these vehicles.

The big picture: There were 468,821 total thefts reported in 2022 across all the cities reviewed by the USAFacts data.

That's much higher than in 2021 (411,935 reported thefts), as well as in 2020 (361,550) and 2019 (318,467).

Thefts in some areas jumped 400% from 2019 to 2022, while others rose by at least 100%, according to USAFacts.

Zoom in: Reported car thefts in Chicago doubled from December 2021 to December 2022, per USAFacts.

Thefts of Kias and Hyundais here are rising quickly. More than 550 Kias or Hyundais were reported stolen in the first half of 2022. That number jumped to 6,250 in the second half.

Kias and Hyundais made up 55% of the 2,200-plus car thefts in the city last December.

The latest: Just last week, police warned residents of an uptick in Hyundai and Kia thefts in Bronzeville.

Police reported six thefts in a week but wouldn't say whether they believe one crew is behind the thefts.

Between the lines: Thieves nationwide are targeting Hyundais and Kias due to design flaws in the cars, Axios' Annalise Frank writes.

Thieves will break windows and remove parts of the steering column cover, then start the vehicle with a screwdriver or a plugin from a USB device.

Knowledge of this tactic has spread from viral videos demonstrating how to steal the cars within seconds.

The intrigue: We reported last fall that police-reported carjackings are down from peaks during the pandemic.

What they're saying: When we spoke to CPD spokesperson Thomas Ahern back then, he told us that police "have seen a significant increase in auto theft since last June."

"Auto theft is less risky with the same reward. Criminals have shifted their focus to stealing a vehicle rather than violent carjacking."

What's next: Kia and Hyundai have released new "theft deterrent software" for more than 8 million vehicles in response to the trend.

TikTok said in a statement to the Washington Post that it "does not condone this behavior which violates our policies and will be removed if found on our platform."

Grand theft auto is spiking in Chicago

Kias and Hyundais made up 55% of the city's total car thefts last December.

Crime

Chicago has seen a rise in car thefts, according to data from <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="USAFacts" data-vars-click-url="https://usafacts.org/data-projects/car-thefts" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://usafacts.org/data-projects/car-thefts" target="_blank">USAFacts</a>.Driving the news: Chicago and several other major cities — from Baltimore to Cleveland to Atlanta — saw a spike in car thefts from 2019 to 2022, per USAFacts. And many are pointing to a recent <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="TikTok trend" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/14/hyundai-kia-car-thefts-software-update-tiktok" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/14/hyundai-kia-car-thefts-software-update-tiktok" target="_self">TikTok trend</a> as a reason.

News

This year, 14 aldermanic races will be decided by runoffs on April 4.

Why it matters: These races will reshape City Council under a new mayor.

By the numbers: Six incumbents failed to garner more than 50% of the vote in February.

Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) missed winning outright by roughly two dozen votes.

4th Ward: State Rep. Lamont Robinson was close to victory in the February election, but Prentice Butler squeaked into the runoff by just 100 votes. Butler is the chief of staff of departing Ald. Sophia King. The near South Side ward includes Bronzeville and Kenwood.

5th Ward: Desmon Yancy didn't get enough votes to avoid a runoff, but he did collect a majority of the vote totals in the ward that represents Hyde Park and South Shore. The community organizer for the Inner-City Muslim Action Network will be challenged by Tina Hone, who was a chief engagement officer in Mayor Lightfoot's administration.

6th Ward: It's the battle of two South Side pastors looking to represent the Chatham/Auburn Gresham ward. Richard Wooten (also a former police officer) and William Hall (also a field director for Rainbow Push) both secured about a quarter of the vote in the municipal election so expect another tight race.

10th Ward: The Southeast Side ward features two contrasting candidates. Peter Chico is a police officer and Ana Guajardo is a labor organizer. The ward has labor roots and environmental justice issues, but the residents voted on public safety over everything else, giving Chico 41% of the vote in the municipal election.

11th Ward: Incumbent Nicole Lee had the backing of former Mayor Richard M. Daley and the 11th Ward Democrats, but she pulled only 30% of the vote. She'll face police officer Anthony Ciaravino in the tight runoff race in the newly drawn ward that includes Chinatown and Bridgeport.

21st Ward: This South Side ward runoff is already getting testy. Cornell Dantzler is comparing Ronnie Mosley to George Santos after questions about Mosley's resume surfaced. Dantzler wants Mosley to withdraw, but Mosley (who got the higher vote total) is staying in.

24th Ward: It's Scott vs. Scott (no relation) in the race for the West Side ward. Incumbent Monique Scott is being challenged by barber and community activist Creative Scott.

29th Ward: Incumbent Chris Taliaferro just missed an outright win by 25 votes. Taliaferro was done in by the counting of the write-in ballots in the final days of the Feb. 28 vote count. He's being challenged by community organizer CB Johnson, who fell just under 1,000 votes shy of besting Taliaferro. This could be a close race.

30th Ward: Jessica Gutiérrez was hoping to avoid the runoff, but mail-in ballots didn't go her way. The daughter of famed former congressman Luis Gutiérrez had a comfortable lead, but she'll have to maintain that margin against challenger Ruth Cruz in the newly redrawn ward that still includes Belmont Cragin.

36th Ward: Incumbent Gilbert Villegas came close to winning outright, but was forced to a runoff against challenger Lori Torres Whitt in the "snake" or "noodle" ward that has been redistricted to include West Town, Ukrainian Village and West Humboldt Park.

43rd Ward: Incumbent Timmy Knudsen ran neck and neck with challenger Brian Comer, with neither candidate coming close to winning outright. This new battle for Lincoln Park is heating up, as Knudsen racks up endorsements while Comer pushes public safety and crime concerns.

45th Ward: Incumbent Jim Gardiner was within a handful of votes of winning outright on election night, but as the mail-in ballots trickled in he lost ground and was forced into a runoff. He's running against lawyer Megan Mathias, whose campaign focused on bouncing Gardiner and his baggage from the Jefferson Park/Portage Park ward.

46th Ward: This runoff battle features an established Democratic Party candidate, Kim Walz, versus an established progressive candidate, Angela Clay. Clay secured more of the Uptown/Lakeview vote in the municipal election, but Walz is bringing out Illinois Democrat endorsements while slinging attacks on Clay's stance on "defunding the police" and other progressive initiatives.

48th Ward: Outgoing Ald. Harry Osterman's pick Joe Dunne is running off against Brandon Johnson-backed progressive Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth. In the municipal election, they were separated by about 500 votes in the Edgewater ward.

Your guide to Chicago's aldermanic races in the April runoff

There are six incumbents that missed the threshold to get more than 50% of the vote in February.

Illustration of the Chicago skyline cut out of a ballot.

Elections

This year, 14 aldermanic races will be decided by runoffs on April 4.Why it matters: These races will reshape City Council under a new mayor.

Politics

In honor of March Madness, this month's tournament involves sports. But not just any sports, the best Chicago sports teams of all time!

You may think that's easy, especially with the 1985 Bears in the mix, but Chicago has other noteworthy championships — including the 1996 Bulls, the 2005 White Sox, the 2010 Blackhawks and, of course, the 2016 Cubs.

Methodology: This tournament features 16 extraordinary teams, but I'm sure we missed some standout squads from the past. These matchups aren't just about how they won, but what kind of cultural mark they made on the city.

Of note: For the sake of Smart Brevity, teams that won multiple championships are combined into one entry:

The '10, '13, '15 Blackhawks are the '10 Blackhawks.

The first matchups are set. Voting is open till 4:30pm.

Vote for Chicago's best sports team in history

Are the '85 Bears the greatest of all time? What about the '96 Bulls or the '16 Cubs?

Photo of a baseball player raising his hands in celebration. 

The final out of the 2016 World Series. Photo: Al Tielemans/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

Sports

In honor of March Madness, this month&#x27;s tournament involves sports. But not just any sports, the best Chicago sports teams of all time!<ul><li>You may think that&#x27;s easy, especially with the 1985 Bears in the mix, but Chicago has other noteworthy championships — including the 1996 Bulls, the 2005 White Sox, the 2010 Blackhawks and, of course, the 2016 Cubs.</li></ul>

Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson says his views on funding police have not changed, but his words have.

Why it matters: With almost two-thirds of Chicago voters saying public safety is the No. 1 issue this election, per WBEZ, both mayoral candidates are being pressed on past stances to reduce crime in the city.

Driving the news: Johnson — who pushed to divert funds from police to social services in 2020 — told Axios at our mayoral forum last month that he "hasn't changed" his position on police funding.

He also told Block Club this week that his vision for public safety doesn't include defunding the police.

"But what I am committed to doing is to make sure that we are actually investing in a smart way," he said, adding that "we are asking too much of law enforcement."

Flashback: In July 2020, Johnson introduced a nonbinding resolution on the Cook County Board promising to steer funds from police to social services.

What he said: "People are not feeling any safer, communities have not transformed by putting more money into the police," Johnson told Justin on WBEZ's "Reset" in 2020.

"I'm absolutely confident that we will be the generation that responds and reacts to the global movement that is calling for redirecting money away from policing and militarizing police forces and directing dollars into job opportunities, transportation, health care and housing for people."

The big picture: Johnson's resolution was proposed during the height of a movement to defund the police after the murder of George Floyd, when many politicians, including presidential candidates, were calling for similar ideas.

Of note: Several Illinois Democrats, including Gov. JB Pritzker, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Sen. Dick Durbin, would not commit to the movement.

What he's saying:  "I said it was a political goal," Johnson said about defunding the police at a public safety forum on Tuesday. "I never said it was mine."

Zoom in: Although Johnson has said he won't increase the police budget, he has promised to promote 200 rank-and-file officers to detectives to help with the department's recent dismal arrest record.

The other side: Paul Vallas, who's promised to hire more police officers, has seized on Johnson's distancing himself from his past remarks.

His campaign dropped a new attack ad and put out a statement saying: "Brandon Johnson can't rewrite history. He supported defunding the police then; he supports defunding the police now."

"Defund the police" dogs Chicago mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson

"I said it was a political goal," Johnson said about defunding the police at a public safety forum on Tuesday. "I never said it was mine."

Chicago mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson says his views on funding police have not changed, but his words have.Why it matters: With almost two-thirds of Chicago voters saying public safety is the No. 1 issue this election, per <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="WBEZ" data-vars-click-url="https://www.wbez.org/stories/poll-crime-tops-chicago-voters-issues-this-mayoral-election/d883f428-d268-4c39-9a9d-6aa13566c447" data-vars-content-id="b3dade8d-b91c-4d34-974a-c075e33cb31b" data-vars-headline="&quot;Defund the police&quot; dogs Chicago mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.wbez.org/stories/poll-crime-tops-chicago-voters-issues-this-mayoral-election/d883f428-d268-4c39-9a9d-6aa13566c447" target="_blank">WBEZ</a>, both mayoral candidates are being pressed on past stances to reduce crime in the city.

The first round of our tournament to crown the best Chicago sports team is complete.

The biggest win: The '85 Bears received 95% of the vote over the '94 Sox.

The closest: The '63 Bears squeaked by the '84 Cubs by just two votes!

Be smart: It's not just about who won the most games or who was world champion; it's about what that team did to live in our collective Chicago heart.

Fair warning: The next round is harder, especially if your allegiances live on the South Side.

1985 Bears vs. 1963 Bears: The only two championships for this storied franchise.

2005 Sox vs. 2010 Hawks: Two great downtown parades.

2016 Cubs vs. 1993 Bulls: Can the Cubs beat out the first three peat?

1996 Bulls vs. 2021 Sky: The Sky's dance party at Pritzker Pavilion vs. Bulls parties at Petrillo.

Best Chicago sports teams tournament: Elite 8

This round is hard, especially if your allegiances live on the South Side.

Photo of confetti thrown from a bus during a victory parade

Chicago White Sox fans cheer during the victory parade on Oct. 28, 2005. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

The first round of our tournament to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="crown the best Chicago sports team" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2023/03/20/chicago-best-sports-team-tournament" data-vars-content-id="b47caafe-24a0-4d36-b5df-51fa347f56df" data-vars-headline="Best Chicago sports teams tournament: Elite 8" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2023/03/20/chicago-best-sports-team-tournament" target="_self">crown the best Chicago sports team</a> is complete.No surprise: All the champs moved on.

Justin Kaufmann

Featured stories

Grand theft auto is spiking in Chicago

Best Chicago sports teams tournament: Elite 8

Your guide to Chicago's aldermanic races in the April runoff

Vote for Chicago's best sports team in history

"Defund the police" dogs Chicago mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson