Unsurprisingly, Chicago was the city leading the major midwest crime wave over the Labor Day weekend.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the city "saw its most violent holiday weekend of the summer," with at least nine people murdered and 52 others wounded in a violent wave of crime that surged through the city.
The paper also noted that the violence this year had escalated compared to 2024. "This weekend’s gun violence was a significant jump from last year’s late-summer holiday weekend, when eight people were killed and 22 wounded."
The latest violence comes after other bloody holiday weekends this summer. The city saw four people killed and 22 shot on Memorial Day weekend and another 40 shot with eight killed on the Fourth of July weekend.
The Sun-Times noted that the Labor Day weekend violence included three mass shootings. In one, a group of people were standing in a street when someone opened fire on them from a passing car, wounding seven. In the second mass shooting, the paper reported, "multiple shooters opened fire on a group" sending four more to the hospital. A third mass shooting on Labor Day itself resulted in 5 more victims sent to city hospitals.
Violent Scenes in Milwaukee
The crime wave, though, is not isolated to Chicago. Just north, Milwaukee, too, had a violent weekend. According to Fox 6 news, on Labor Day, the city saw three shootings that left one dead and two wounded.
The Labor Day shootings followed a violent start to the holiday weekend. WTMJ radio reported that a 4-year-old girl was struck by a car and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. "The driver, seen far too many times in the city, kept going; police don’t know anything about that vehicle, nor the suspect," WTMJ reported.
Later, two men shot each other, both eventually making their way to hospitals for treatment. Then, on Saturday morning, a woman riding as a passenger in a car was struck by gunfire on the city's north side. "Milwaukee Police continue to search for suspects," WTMJ said.
Milwaukee was also the scene of "street takeovers" over the Labor Day holiday that have left law-abiding citizens concerned for their safety.
According to local TV news station TMJ4, "Milwaukee police responded to more than a dozen street takeovers from Saturday night into Sunday morning, arrested three people, towed six cars and cited four individuals."
One witness described what he saw at one of the takeovers. "I went out there, they're out there throwing fireworks and a bunch of cars are starting to pile up and everything," the witness said, continuing: "they had a ring of fire going on, they're doing donuts around the ring of fire, more and more kids are just coming out, it was crazy."
Gail Gaillard, who lives near the scene of one of the takeovers, explained to Fox6 News that the out of control behavior was frightening and dangerous.
"That was really bad last night," she told the local news station. "I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. I don’t like it, because I’m very scared and I’m an older person."
She continued: "I just wish they would just stop doing what they’re doing, because they’re hurting other people, they’re tearing their properties up."
Liberal Politicians Resist Trump
Despite the out-of-control crime, at least in Chicago, liberal officials are resisting the Trump administration's desire to restore law and order and safety.
Even though Trump, who has been critical of what he has called the "killing field" of Chicago has suggested he won't take action without a request from the governor, left-wing state leadership from the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago have chosen political grandstanding over productive engagement with the President, gathering a group of politicians and activists together in a press conference to "resist" the president.
"Flanked by Illinois Democrats, community advocates, business leaders and clergy, [Illinois Governor] Pritzker and [Chicago Mayor] Johnson were unified in voicing that federal troops are not welcome or needed in Chicago," the Sun-Times reported on August 25.
