40% of Americans are afraid to walk alone at night — most in decades, poll says

Concerns about certain crimes are at their highest levels in decades, causing Americans to isolate themselves from their communities, according to new polling.

The spike in fear comes as violent crime has decreased nationwide, while property crime has ticked up, according to the FBI. A recent Gallup poll found that 28% of Americans worry frequently or occasionally that they will be murdered, according to a Nov. 16 news release.

That’s a near-record high. The Gallup poll surveyed 1,009 adults between Oct. 2 and Oct. 23, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Meanwhile, half of U.S. adults said they worry their car will be stolen or broken into, 37% worry they’ll be mugged and 32% are concerned about getting attacked while driving — near-record highs. Additionally, the vast majority of Americans, 72%, worry they will fall victim to identity theft, according to the poll.

—The Charlotte Observer

Chicago Mayor Johnson’s budget relies on tens of millions in additional fines

When Mayor Brandon Johnson introduced his 2024 budget, he noted the city had for too long balanced such spending plans on the backs of working people and vowed to end the practice.

A “$95 city sticker or a $100 parking ticket weighs more heavily on the family that earns $30,000 a year versus a family that earns $150,000 a year,” he said, and the city had “relied too long on a tax structure that heavily burdens our lowest income residents, and is too reliant on property taxes, fees and fines and rates.”

And yet, Johnson’s 2024 financial package counts on $46 million more in fines and fees than this year, a 15% increase.

...continued