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According to the 2011 Chicago Murder Analysis issued by the Chicago Police Department, the number of murder victims has decreased significantly over the years from the year 1991. However, the number of murder crime complaints has increased year-to-date by 40 percent.

The Chicago Police Deparment issues a weekly report detailing the number and percentage of crime complaints for the week, month and year. As of July 2, 2012 to July 8, 2012, there has been a 50 percent increase for the same week period compared to 2011.

In the last month alone, there has beeen a 58 percent increase noted by the police from 2011 to 2012. Other crimes that seem to be on the rise in the past seven days are crimincal sexual assualt, 3 percent, and robbery, 1 percent.

Chicago Police Department

The unceasing crime in Chicago has begun social movements, from organizations such as Ceasefire to documentaries like “The Interrupters”. By spreading awareness of the issue, the hope is that more people will step up to help stop crime and injury to one another.

View the trailer for “The Interrupters” below:

To read more on the statistics on crime, visit:

For more events, check out this article by Stephanie Lu Jokich for CBS Chicago and this detailed list by Metromix Chicago. You can also submit new food events to Chicago Reader’s event calendar.

Photo by tpbrown

1. Taste of Chinatown:

Who: Chicago Food Planet

What: The Chinatown food tour visits five sit-down tasting locations in the historic Chinatown community: Triple Crown, Lao Sze Chuan, Ten Ren Tea & Ginseng Co., Saint Anna Bakery and Lao Beijing.

When: Mondays, April through November, 11 a.m.

Why:  To try Chinese food delicacies from the Canton, Mandarin and Szechuan regions.

How much: $60 adult | $35 adolescent & child. All food tastings are included in the ticket price.

Photo by bubzillion

2. Fork and the Road:

Who: Fork and the Road

What:  If you’re a cyclist, foodie or just want to see the city, this tour is for you. The shortest route is 13 miles and the longest tour is 22 miles, but each has three or four stops.  Everyone can find a tour to fit their taste buds: the Deli-cious, Ice-cycle, Latin Meat Lovers, Mediterranean Cruise, Tour of Asia or ‘Wich Way.

When: Weekends through Sept. 26

Why:  To work off all the delicious food you’re eating.

How much: Tours range in price from $50 to $60 a person.

Photo by gtrwndr87

3. Pizza Tour

Who: Second City Pizza Tours

What: Sample pizza from four of Chicago’s greatest pizza venues and decide which to pledge your allegiance to. The tour visits two deep dish and two thin crust restaurants including Gino’s East, Giordano’s, La Madia, Pizzeria via Stato and State Street Pizza.

When: Every weekend

Why:  Because everyone loves pizza.

How much: The tour is $48 for adults, $32 for college students and $24 for children 8-18 years old. Children 7 years or younger are free with the purchase of an adult ticket.

Photo by jumbledpile

4.  Bucktown and Wicker Park Food Tour
Who: Chicago Food Planet

What: Discover the unique artists’ colony that has slowly evolved into a hidden foodie paradise as you enjoy delectable food and drink samples from six authentic mom-and-pop restaurants and ethnic eateries in the Bucktown and Wicker Park neighborhoods including George’s Hot Dogs, Hot Chocolate, Goddess & Grocer, Sultan’s Market, Piece and iCream.

When: Tuesday through Saturday, April through November starting at 11:30 am.

Why:  To support  “mom and pop” specialty restaurants and one-of-a-kind local cafés.

How much: Ticket price of $45. All food tastings, enough for lunch included.

Photo by srqpix

5.  Near North Food Tour

Who: Chicago Food Planet

What: The Near North Food Tour visits seven of Chicagoan’s favorite eateries in the tasty Gold Coast, Old Town and Lincoln Park neighborhoods, including Bacino’s Pizzeria, The Spice House, Delightful Pastries, Ashkenaz Deli, Old Town Oil, Tea Gschwendner and The Fudge Pot.
When: Seven days a week, March through November starting at 11:30 a.m.

Why:  To see architectural gems, beautiful gardens, historic mansions, backdoor venues, hidden parks and of course, to eat.

How much: $45 adult | $30 adolescent | $15 child. Tasting included.

Photo by antwerpenR

6.  Coffee & Pastry Tour

Who: Chicago Savvy Tours

What: Chicago Savvy Tours offers an eye opening, sweet fest with our Coffee & Pastry Tour of Andersonville and Little Saigon including three coffee shops and three sweet venues for a delectable balance of sugar and caffeine.  Also includes a visit to the Andersonville Galleria for shopping.

When: Saturdays and Sundays at 9:30 a.m.

Why:  Because you’ll stop at Anne Sather‘s Swedish restaurant, where you’ll taste the  best cinnamon roll ever.

How much: $27

Photo by Kirti Poddar

7.  Chocolate Tour

Who: Chicago Chocolate Tours

What: Enjoy a guided walking and tasting tour to select chocolate shops, bakeries, and cafes, including secret chocolate treasures and famous favorites.

When: At least one tour a day. Times vary.

Why:   Because you’ll learn about the history of chocolate, while eating it.

How much: The tour is $40 per person.

You’ll find Italian gelato marked in green; custard in blue; and frozen yogurt in pink. Everything else is just plain, old ice cream. It’s National Ice Cream Month so have a lick–I mean, look!

Google map showing real time traffic on a Thursday morning. The red indicates near bumper to bumper traffic.

The traffic study that was released last week will be a surprise to no one who travels around the Chicago area in a vehicle. It confirms what many drivers had long thought was true—Chicagoland ranked at the top of the list as the area with the most congested roadways in the country.

The new 2010 Urban Mobility Report issued by the Texas Transportation Institute measures congestion in 439 urban areas in the U.S. in an attempt to identify the problems facing urban travelers.

The study found in Chicago commuters spent an extra 70 hours a year in their cars in 2009. The national average was 34 hours.

According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago commuters now have the longest delays, a distinction has Los Angeles long held.

But it’s more than just time being wasted in our cars. Money is too. Congestion costs each commuter and extra $1,738 on average in 2009, reports the Tribune.

All this may ring very true with Chicagoland drivers, but although the Urban Mobility Report receives a lot of media attention it is by no means a comprehensive study on overall mobility.

“The report is actually a very crude way of looking at congestion and is quite arbitrary. It just measures traffic and not public transit and mobility in the broad sense,” says Hani Mahmassani, director of the Northwestern University Transportation Center. “What I’m more concerned with is the ability to move trucks and freight and merchandise and the logistics of that.”

Chicago has long been a hub of freight transit, and congestion can be detrimental to the city’s status in this arena. That may not seem like a big concern to the average Chicagoan, but according to Mahmassani, when Chicago becomes too incompetent to move freight around efficiently it effects the city’s overall economy all the way down to consumers who have to pay more for goods.

Traffic, of course, effects freight mobility, but so does aging bridges, construction and a host of other complexities. The Federal Highway Administration has studied the freight transit issues in Chicago in hopes of combating them. There’s also an initiative called CREATE, a massive undertaking to improve and increase the efficiency of the region’s rail infrastructure and quality of life of Chicago-area residents. The overall goal is to reduce traffic congestion, deliver shorter commute times, better air quality and increased public safety. You can read more about the initiatives here.

Plans for the near future and beyond are also in the works. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning recently debuted “Go to 2040,” a regional plan with recommendations for officials and local businesses to improve quality of life in Chicagoland. You can learn about the comprehensive regional mobility plan here.

Keeping the trains and buses running is a year-long job for the Chicago Transit Authority. During the winter months, its difficulties are compounded by freezing temperatures and varied snowfall.

“Cold weather ages transportation infrastructure at a troublesome rate in a difficult way,” said Joseph Schwieterman, professor of DePaul University. “Especially the chilling and thawing process is extremely hard on roads and railroad tracks.”

The CTA prepares for the winter months in advance, said CTA Spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney. Many of these preparations include ensuring that the proper tools and equipment are available should the need arise. The CTA garages stocks are updated in case equipment or machinery needs to be replaced and conducts regular inspections, she said

In addition to preparations, the CTA constantly checks current conditions.

“There’s a lot we do in advance of winter that we just we’re going to need to have done,” said Gaffney. “But we also monitor the weather and if there is sleet or snow forecast, we respond accordingly with making sure the proper resources and staff are in place when snow does come.”

Trains are outfitted with sleet scrapers that remove ice from the rails as trains pass. Additionally, de-icing fluid is sprayed onto the rails when ice builds up. Snow plows are placed on the front cars to handle any snow banks that might pose a problem, Gaffney said.

Additionally, in case of difficulties that normal train operations can’t handle, CTA workers are on call to fix winter-related problems using special heavy equipment, she said.

“The other thing for trains when it gets really cold, switches freeze and that’s a huge problem for the CTA and Amtrak, especially when you have snow mixed in,” Schwieterman said.

Snow would become caught in the switches, preventing movement. Sometimes the electrical circuitry controlling the switches would freeze as well, but is not as common, Schwieterman said. To handle this particular problem, the CTA has heaters at switch locations which are activated by track workers allowing operations to continue and prevent derailment, Gaffney said.

The CTA doesn’t forget about the customers either. The station heaters are checked before the season and during times of snowfall, the CTA staff and outside firms are sent to shovel sand to prevent people from slipping, Gaffney said.

Ultimately, when it comes to cold weather, it depends on the conditions. How heavy or light the weather is and how long it lasts determines the CTA’s response, she said.