Cook County medical examiner: Gun-related homicides broke records in 2021

The Cook County medical examiner on Monday confirmed 1,087 homicides in 2021, the first time the county has topped 1,000 homicides in 27 years.

The medical examiner's officer said 836 were in Chicago.

In addition, the medical examiner's office reported a record-breaking number of gun-related homicides in Cook County. Preliminary data indicates the county recorded 1,002 gun-related homicides, breaking the previous record of 881 set in 2020.

Harvey led the suburbs with 31 gun-related homicides, followed by Calumet City with 16, Maywood with 15 and Dolton with 12, per the medical examiner's database.

Two gun-related homicides were recorded each in Elgin and Palatine, and one each in Aurora, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Mundelein, Naperville, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Round Lake and Schaumburg, according to preliminary data from the medical examiner's office.

Regarding suburbs listed in the data outside Cook County, medical examiner spokeswoman Natalia Derevyanny explained the office "investigates any death that occurs in Cook County which falls under its jurisdiction." A person who was sick or hurt outside Cook County may have been taken to a Cook County hospital and died, for instance.

Black people accounted for 80% of the homicide victims with Latinos accounting for more than 14%.

In terms of gender, males accounted for 88% of homicide deaths, the office reports.

The medical examiner's office handled 12,618 deaths in 2021, the second highest number of cases in the office's history behind 2020, when the county handled a record 16,047 cases. Pre-COVID-19 pandemic, the ME reported approximately 6,200 deaths annually.