Chicago violence takes spotlight

More than 700 people were murdered in Chicago in 2016, more than in Los Angeles and New York combined.

The level of violence has put Chicago in the spotlight, with end of year reports from BuzzFeed News and a segment on “60 Minutes” Sunday.

There were 3,550 deaths and shooting incidents in Chicago and 762 homicides in 2016, according to the Associated Press.

On New Year’s Eve, hundreds of people walked down Michigan Avenue carrying crosses with the names each victim, according to The Chicago Tribune. 

During a news conference Sunday, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said “repeat gun offenders, emboldened by the national climate toward law enforcement and willing to test the limits of our criminal justice system” have exacerbated the violence, BuzzFeed reported.

Earlier Sunday, former Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy blamed the Black Lives Matter movement for causing a rise in violent crime around the country.

{mosads}During a radio interview with John Catsimatidis on AM 970 in New York, McCarthy blamed protests against police brutality in cities like Baltimore, Ferguson, Mo., and Charlotte, N.C., for creating a “political atmosphere of anti-police sentiment.”

He told also “60 Minutes” that the department is in crisis.

“Crisis is a good word. When people are dying, yes, there’s crisis. No two ways about it.”

Since 2004, the city has paid out more than half a billion dollars in settlements for police misconduct, “60 Minutes” reported. A mayoral task force found evidence of racial bias, reporting that nearly 90 percent of police shootings involved minorities.