Baier Fact-Checks JB Pritzker Claim That Chicago Isn’t in Top 30 for Murders [WATCH]

Fox News anchor Bret Baier challenged Illinois Governor JB Pritzker during an interview Wednesday over the state’s handling of violent crime, confronting the Democrat with data showing that Chicago leads major U.S. cities in its murder rate.

The exchange occurred during an exclusive Fox News Channel segment where Baier questioned Pritzker’s claim that Chicago is “not even in the top 30” cities for murder rate.

“Well, here’s a map — most populous U.S. cities: 17.47 per 100,000 population. Chicago is number one over Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, Los Angeles, New York, and San Diego,” Baier told the governor.

Baier had begun the discussion by referencing a Fox News crime map comparing the murder rates among America’s largest cities. “Why does Chicago have the highest murder rate of all the big cities?” he asked.

Pritzker rejected that assessment. “Well, we are not in the top 30, in terms of our murder rate,” he said.

When Baier attempted to review the numbers, Pritzker interjected, stating, “Our murder rate has been cut in half over the last four years, and every year, it’s gone down by double digits. And if you look at all of the violent crime over the last four years, they’ve all gone down.”

Baier responded by reading from his data, showing that Chicago leads all major U.S. cities in murders per 100,000 residents. “No, no, no, these are murders,” Baier said.

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According to data from Illinois-based research nonprofit Wirepoints, Chicago recorded 573 murders in 2024 — the highest total among all major U.S. cities. New York City reported 377 that same year, followed by Houston with 322.

Wirepoints also found that Chicago’s murder rate stood at 21.5 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2024, placing it sixth nationally overall but first among the top 20 most populated cities.

St. Louis, Missouri — a smaller city — ranked first in the nation with 52.9 homicides per 100,000 people, though its total murders that year were far lower at 149.

When confronted with those numbers, Pritzker replied, “Look, you can pull statistics up, I can too.”

The governor continued, “I’m explaining to you, our murder rate has been cut in half and — very importantly Bret — you gotta hear this: very importantly, we’ve been doing the things that are necessary to bring crime down.”

Chicago Police Department preliminary data shows that murders in the city have dropped by roughly one-third between January and August 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.

While crime rates in certain categories have shown declines, Chicago continues to record the highest number of murders among the nation’s largest cities, making it a focal point in the debate over public safety and crime statistics in Democrat-led states.

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