West Chicago named the 74th Safest City in America
West Chicago, Illinois: March 1, 2013 – The City of West Chicago has received the honorable distinction of being named 74th Safest City in America by Location, Inc., creators of the neighborhood research site, NeighborhoodScout. The ranking is based on NeighborhoodScout's latest research, which uses the total number of Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) statistics and the population of each city. The UCR crime counts reflect calendar year 2011 crimes, which are the most recent and fully vetted data with complete national coverage classified by the FBI as "Final, Non-preliminary."
West Chicago Police Chief Laz Perez is proud, but not surprised, by the City's designation as one of the 2013 Safest Cities in America, referring to the trend reported in a 2011 press release issued by the City that touted West Chicago's overall crime rate which decreased almost 27% from 2007 to 2010. The City experienced a 17% decrease in violent crime and a 20% decrease in the rate of property crime since 2009. Chief Perez provided some insight saying, "Our City leadership has made public safety a number one priority. Since the 1990s we have had an addition of between 10 – 15 officers to the force. That, and a successful partnership with all of our community stakeholders, has proven to be a powerful force against crime."
Acting Mayor Ruben Pineda elaborated on the connection between West Chicago's collective efforts and the venerable national ranking, "The ranking honors not only the tremendous accomplishments of the City's Police Department, but also a citywide culture that prioritizes community relationship-building between residents, businesses and the Police Department. Community policing has proven to be extremely effective in West Chicago," he said. "It is very rewarding to be recognized as one of America's safest cities."
According to Location, Inc. President & CEO, Andrew Schiller, he and others at NeighborhoodScout are passionate about uncovering true and comprehensive characteristics of every neighborhood in America, including safety. The site guides prospective homebuyers in making location decisions, offering patented search capabilities and enterprise-grade real estate data on crime, school quality, home value trends, and more.
City of West Chicago officials believe the data provided on the safety of West Chicago is a compelling reason for prospective homebuyers and business investors to explore the many attributes of living and working in the community. For more information about the City of West Chicago, visit www.westchicago.org.