What Really Works to Fight Carjacking in Chicago

Crime remains a major problem in Chicago and in Illinois.  

But as President Donald Trump looks to embark on his latest thoughtless and worthless political stunt, this time dispatching National Guard troops and federal agents to Chicago’s downtown, it’s critical that elected officials and policymakers focus on what is working to help bring crime down in our cities. 

Even commonsense Republicans will admit that Trump’s logic-defying spectacle will undermine the law, while being stubbornly devoid of any coherent strategy aimed at truly addressing public safety.

If Trump were really serious or even had a plan to help our cities deal with crime, he’d invest in measures that actually reduce crime and take a page from Illinois’ playbook, which is producing results.

The reality is that crime here has dropped, in part due to community violence intervention programs, a more assertive Cook County state’s attorney, a robust police presence in our communities and innovative initiatives employed by Illinois law enforcement agencies, including crime-fighting grants that our office oversees.

For the past three years, the wonky-sounding Illinois Vehicle Hijacking and Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention and Insurance Verification Council has distributed grants through the secretary of state’s office, aimed at preventing carjackings and auto thefts while holding criminals accountable.

The council consists of law enforcement officers, states attorneys and even private-sector insurance industry representatives from around the state committed to employing novel approaches and tactics to fight these specific vehicle-related crimes.

Distribution of the grants has coincided with a gradual drop in vehicle thefts throughout Illinois and a dramatic plummet in the number of carjackings in Chicago from 1,852 in 2021 to just 339 so far this year.

They also made it possible for the Illinois Statewide Auto Theft Task Force (ISATT), one of the six task forces receiving funds, to conduct more than 1,550 investigations and recover 1,100 vehicles worth more than $31 million last fiscal year. ISATT also assisted area agencies with an additional 250 vehicle recoveries at an estimated value of $4.5 million and produced 535 auto theft-related criminal charges, 400 of which were felonies. Meanwhile, it conducted 200 audits of businesses in the auto industry, including scrap processors and body shops, resulting in 1,800 violations cited.

In addition, the Chicago major auto theft investigations unit conducted 925 investigations, resulting in more than 400 arrests and the recovery of 1,000 vehicles worth approximately $20 million, and the Illinois State Police’s expressway safety enforcement group used its air operations or assisted other agencies more than 275 times.

These grants are proving to be very effective tools, focused on recruitment and training of local police to instill new crime-fighting ideas and the utilization of new technology within the limits of the law — and the Constitution. This provides law enforcement with the opportunity to find solutions that attack the root causes of crime by identifying and attacking the underlying conditions of despair and dysfunction. 

It also allows for sustained and organized law enforcement efforts, during a time when many agencies aren’t staffed with enough resources to allow for multijurisdictional efforts or equipped with the technology for longer-term investigations into vehicle theft cases, which have been compounded in recent years with a nationwide shortage of police officers.

Moreover, data indicates that for every $1 spent from these grant funds through our office, there’s a $4 return on investment in stolen vehicle recovery, which makes the grants a worthy investment for insurance companies.

These efforts work because they represent cooperative, sustainable, long-term solutions that make a real difference. Or — put simply — everything that Trump’s blustery stunt is not.

Using soldiers to roam our streets doesn’t create safety, it creates chaos, panic and is a colossal waste of resources. 

If Trump were truly serious about fighting crime, he’d support these data-driven efforts that produce real results.  

Alexi Giannoulias is the secretary of state for Illinois.