More than 80% of religion-based hate crimes in Chicago have targeted Jews in the year-to-date figures, which attributes the finding to official city statistics.

The reported percentage concerns religiously motivated hate crimes, not all hate crimes in Chicago. It describes the concentration of anti-Jewish targeting, rather than an increase in the number of offenses. That distinction matters in a city where falling totals have not necessarily meant fewer violent incidents.

Chicago recorded 79 anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2024, up from 50 in 2023, a 58% increase even as overall hate crimes declined. Jewish residents, estimated by the city at approximately 3% of its population, were the targets of 37.6% of all reported hate crimes that year.

The annual anti-Jewish total subsequently fell to 47 in 2025. But incidents involving physical violence increased from eight to 10, according to Tel Aviv University’s annual antisemitism report, which cited police-recorded complaints. Fewer reports and more violence can occur at the same time.

The figures form the backdrop to a dispute over whether Chicago’s response adequately addresses antisemitism as a distinct threat.

In May, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced a strategy that included a Jewish Engagement Council to connect Jewish residents and community leaders with his administration, alongside a broader Interconnected Chicago Council. The administration described its approach as strengthening cooperation between communities and building a lasting response to hate.

Jewish leaders challenged the approach. Ald. Debra Silverstein said the plan “fails to address the unique nature of anti-Jewish hate,” arguing that it weakened the more targeted response recommended by the city’s own Commission on Human Relations.

The commission had recommended a dedicated antisemitism task force, training for city employees and Chicago Public Schools teachers and students, and a specialized police unit to combat hate crimes. The disagreement was not over whether other communities deserve protection, but whether a broad framework would deliver the specific measures Jewish residents needed.

Chicago’s concerns reflect a wider imbalance. Nationally, FBI figures cited by the American Jewish Committee recorded 1,528 anti-Jewish hate-crime incidents in 2025, accounting for 63.5% of religiously motivated incidents and 14% of all hate crimes. Jews represent approximately 2% of the U.S. population.

That national total was down 21% from 2024. Nevertheless, anti-Jewish incidents still outnumbered those targeting every other religious group combined. AJC also cautioned that hate crimes are widely underreported, meaning official figures cannot capture the full extent of the problem.

The challenge for Chicago is therefore larger than lowering a single annual total. It is ensuring that fewer recorded offenses also mean less violence, more effective protection and greater freedom to live openly as Jews.