“The fear runs deep through some of Chicago’s most prominent communities: Black, Asian, LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender), and Jewish,” said ABC7 in its report of the data from the city’s Commission on Human Relations.
During the pandemic, Asian Americans faced increased incidents of bias-related attacks, noted the report, adding that eight of the 125 total hate crimes being investigated by Chicago police this year were against Asians, a number city leaders fear is far under-reported.
“The number of hate crimes reported in Chicago increased by 44 percent compared to this time in 2021,” said the report.
The state of Illinois has reactivated a group similar to the Human Rights Commission in Chicago, that is looking at ways to increase reporting of potential hate crimes, and strengthen legislation against offenders, it added.