Illinois is the 20th-most dangerous state in the Union, says a new report by Law Street Media. Its violent crime rate sits at 380 violent crimes per 100,000 people.
Law Street Media published its second annual rankings of America's "Safest & Most Dangerous States" for 2015 using the latest available violent crime data from the FBI. The report also ranks cities with populations of at least 25,000 from highest to lowest based on violent crime rates, which comprise of murder, forcible rape, aggravated assault and robbery, under the national Uniform Crime Report guidelines.
While Chicago's headline-grabbing violence and 414 reported murders in 2013 might make it seem like a candidate for most dangerous city in Illinois, it did not receive a ranking for a couple of reasons, according to Law Street Media:
The FBI determined that Chicago's data were underreported, thus the city cannot be ranked relative to any other city. The FBI also determined that Chicago's data collection methodology for the offense of rape (which is included in violent crime) does not comply with national Uniform Crime Report guidelines.
In a separate rating for cities with populations under 200,000, Rockford was ranked the second-most dangerous in the nation -- worsening from the No. 3 spot in 2012.
Most notably, Rockford's murder rate has more than doubled since last year, when the ratio was 5.91/100,000 people. Last year Rockford saw 9 murders, this year they reported 19. Unfortunately, Rockford's report of 19 this year was more on par with what the city has seen in recent years; last year's 9 murders was a notable abnormality.
Here are 10 of the most dangerous Illinois cities:
25. Evanston
Violent crime rate: 249.64
Population: 75,709
Murders: 1
24. Burbank
Violent crime rate: 267.28
Population: 29,183
Murders: 2
23. Moline
Violent crime rate: 280.27
Population: 43,172
Murders: 0
22. Aurora
Violent crime rate: 299.67
Population: 200,551
Murders: 4
21. Urbana
Violent crime rate: 338.96
Population: 41,598
Murders: 2
20. Pekin
Violent crime rate: 352.06
Population: 34,085
Murders: 4
19. Joliet
Violent crime rate: 375.18
Population: 148,462
Murders: 10
18. Lansing
Violent crime rate: 382.19
Population: 28,520
Murders: 0
17. Galesburg
Violent crime rate: 395.54
Population: 31,602
Murders: 2
16. Alton
Violent crime rate: 395.94
Population: 27,277
Murders: 0
15. Cicero
Violent crime rate: 410.91
Population: 84,204
Murders: 3
Check out Reboot Illinois to see which 15 Illinois cities are the most dangerous. The answer might surprise you.
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