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NORC at the University Chicago

Chicago Public Safety DataHub

Aerial shot of the downtown skyline from Wicker Park, Chicago, Illinois on a clear day in Fall.
An integrated data dashboard supporting efforts to make Chicago the nation’s safest large city
  • Funder
    Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago & NORC at the University of Chicago
  • Dates
    February 2025 – Present

Problem

One of Chicago’s leading civic organizations wanted to track violent crime and their efforts to reduce it.

The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago—of which NORC is an active member—established the Public Safety Task Force in October 2022 to address crime in Chicago by leveraging the influence and resources of the city’s business community, in partnership with local government, community organizations, and nonprofits. The Civic Committee aims to make Chicago the safest big city in America by reducing annual shootings below 2,000 within five years and under 1,000 within 10 years and lowering annual homicides to below 400 in five years and under 200 within a decade.

To track the effectiveness of these efforts—including their impact on the perceptions of public safety—the Civic Committee envisioned an integrated data dashboard that gathered regularly updated metrics on violent crime, clearance rates, public opinion, and the Committee’s hiring and community partnership initiatives.

Solution

NORC and the Civic Committee developed a comprehensive data website to track and visualize key performance indicators.

The Chicago Public Safety DataHub is a comprehensive, nonpartisan platform designed to inform and empower Chicagoans with data-driven insights into public safety. The site consolidates public and proprietary data to provide a holistic view of violent crime trends, criminal justice system responses, and community safety indicators. Key content areas include interactive dashboards on gun violence and homicides, neighborhood-level safety data, public sentiment data gathered using NORC’s ChicagoSpeaks panel, and key performance indicators of public safety strategies.

The site also tracks the implementation of the Civic Committee’s four public safety strategies—focusing on community violence intervention, employment initiatives, law enforcement infrastructure, and economic development—with the overarching goal of making Chicago the safest big city in America.

Result

The Chicago Public Safety DataHub enhances transparency and accountability and supports data-driven decision-making to reduce gun violence in Chicago.

The Chicago Public Safety DataHub provides valuable insights into the state of public safety in Chicago and the progress of the Civic Committee’s public safety initiatives, helping to inform policy and practice. The interactive visualizations enable stakeholders to explore data in meaningful ways, driving informed discussions and actions. 

Project Leads

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Chicago Public Safety DataHub

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