CHICAGO — Reported hate crimes skyrocketed in Chicago in 2022, nearly doubling from the year before, police data shows.
And as hate crimes rise sharply, several authorities are warning of a heightened threat this weekend because of a neo-Nazi-planned “National Day of Hate.”
The Illinois State Police are urging heightened vigilance as antisemitic groups share extremist messaging online encouraging hate actions this weekend.
The antisemites have pushed plans to “drop banners, place stickers and flyers, and vandalize” on Saturday, according to a community alert from the Chicago Police Department’s 24th District, which includes large Jewish communities on the North Side.
CPD said Friday there was “no actionable intelligence” on specific hate threats in a statement to the Tribune. The department is working closely with leaders in the Jewish community and faith-based communities, according to the statement.
The Cook County state’s attorney’s office said in a Friday statement it is working with law enforcement and would aggressively prosecute any acts of hate.
The weekend threat comes as hate crimes are on the rise across the country in recent years.
In Chicago, 202 reported hate crimes were reported in 2022, up from 109 in 2021, according to CPD data.
The attacks included a man smashing windows and spray-painting swastikas on synagogues and at a Jewish girls’ school and the defacement of a rainbow “Love Wins” mural on a Jefferson Park garage.
In early January, a Black-owned Bridgeport cafe was vandalized with messages saying “Black Lives Don’t Matter.”
Over the last decade, the number of hate crimes reported annually hovered around 60 per year before steadily rising and finally reaching 100 in 2021. Hate crimes last surpassed Chicago’s 2022 total in 2001, according to CPD data.
Last year’s hate crimes were most commonly motivated by bias against Black people, Jewish people and…
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