Joliet Among 25 'Most Dangerous' Cities in Illinois: Report

The City of Joliet came in at No. 19 in an analysis of the top 25 most dangerous cities in Illinois.

The study from Law Street Media, which ranks cites and states from most to least dangerous, used data from the FBI’s most recent Uniform Crime Report.

Joliet Police Chief Brian Benton did not immediately return a call from Patch on Monday, but Mayor Tom Giarrante weighed in on the study.

“I looked at the survey,” said Giarrante, a former Joliet firefighter. He noted that in all but three of the 11 categories used in the FBI crime report, Joliet’s crime rate was down.

“Could it be better? Yes,” Giarrante said of the numbers, but said the improvements are encouraging.

The FBI data showed that 557 violent crimes were reported in Joliet in 2013, compared with 506 the year before. The number of reported rapes was also up, from 30 to 49, and robberies increased from 104 in 2012 to 158 in 2013, according to the data.

The number of murders reported by the city dropped from 11 to 10 in 2013. Also down was the number of reported aggravated assaults, property crime, burglaries,

With a violent crime rate of 375.18, Joliet ranked at No. 19 among the top 25 “most dangerous,” according to the Law Street Media study.

Evanston ranked at No. 25, with a violent crime rate of 249.64. Other towns on the list include Aurora (No. 22), DeKalb (No. 12), Rock Island (No. 9) and Harvey, which was rated the “most dangerous,” according to the study.

Law Street Media did not include the City of Chicago in its rankings, explaining, “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.”

The study comes on the heels of numerous incidents of gun violence, which has claimed four lives since Thanksgiving in Joliet.

• Man Charged in Fatal Joliet Shooting

Also read:

• Violent Crime Was Up in Joliet in 2013: FBI Report
• Crime at Evergreen More Than Three Times Joliet Average: Police
• Giarrante, O’Dekirk Spar Over Evergreen Terrace After Slaying

View Joliet’s 2013 Uniform Crime Report here. Click here for the 2012 report.