Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office Registers Over 1,000 Homicides in 2021

With more than a month left in the year, County homicide rates highest in decades

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the County’s 1,000^th homicide in 2021 over the holiday weekend. The total, with more than a month to go in the year, stands at 1,009. The last time Cook County saw more than 1,000 homicides was in 1994 when the County recorded 1,141. In 1991, the Office handled a record 1,229 homicides.

This year, African Americans were the victims of 81% of homicides and Latinos accounted for just under 15% of homicide deaths. Eighty-eight percent of homicide deaths were male. The Office confirmed 986 homicides in 2020. That was a more than 40 percent increase over 2019’s total of 675.

The Office has confirmed 777 homicides in Chicago this year. Just under 23% of homicides occurred in suburban Cook County. Municipalities with the most homicides this year are as follows.

The youngest person killed in Cook County was a 1-month-old boy, the oldest was an 84-year-old man.

To access additional data from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, please visit the case archive.