Hate crime in Chicago plateaus in 2008 after sharp drop in last decade
By Angela Rozas Tribune reporter
January 20, 2009
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-crime-hate-columnjan20,0,5298366.storyOn the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Chicago police and the city's Commission on Human Relations released the latest data on hate crimes with 72 reported incidents in the city in 2008. That number was unchanged from 2007 but marks a dramatic decrease in reported hate crimes over the past decade or so. In the 1990s, hate crimes generally numbered in the 200s a year.
But hate crimes are still happening. Just last week, a man argued with a transgender man at a party, remarking about his sexual orientation before allegedly pushing him down stairs and causing serious head injuries. Chicago police arrested Fernando Pineda, 21, of Lyons and charged him with aggravated battery and hate crime.
