Carjacking crackdown: Dart, Durbin ask for federal help in curbing Chicago crime
CHICAGO - Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and Sen. Dick Durbin are looking for federal help to crack down on carjackings.
The movement comes as Chicago police have just issued a new alert about a string of attacks on the Northwest Side. At least four people have been carjacked at gunpoint in the past two weeks.
Durbin and Dart testified at a Senate judiciary hearing Tuesday.
"This is a crime that has real economic impact," Dart said. :Central business districts in major cities across the nation are having slower than expected post-pandemic rebound. In part because diners and shoppers are afraid of being carjacked. This is certainly the case in Chicago …. Make no mistake this is a violent crime done primarily to obtain an anonymous car to commit more acts of violence, frequently shootings. Carjackings are reasonably easy to commit and difficult for us to prosecute."
Last month, Durbin called on the FBI to start using its databases to specifically track and report carjackings across the country.
Dart has called for car companies to install tracking devices and set up hotlines for victims to report and recover their stolen cars.
It's not just a Chicago problem.
In 2021, carjackings were up more than 50 percent in New York City and 65 percent in Minneapolis.