Bloody Chicago is a national shame, known around the world for the violence that rules its streets.  And it should be renowned as a symbol of the failure of the policies of the Democratic Party, as it would be if the media were not principally propaganda organs for the Democratic Party – “Democrat operatives with bylines,” in the immortal words of Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit.

The depth and breadth of the failure of Democrat policies to protect the very people the party claims to champion are revealed in the latest FBI crime statistics, as researched by ABC 7, WLS TV in Chicago:

There are stunning new crime numbers from the FBI: in Chicago, it isn't just murders and shootings that are up - it is all violent crime.

Newly-obtained FBI data show that the crime surge in Chicago goes beyond the end of a gun. Overall violent crime - an umbrella figure that includes murder, rape, robbery and assault - jumped significantly here the first half of last year, an increase more than four times higher than the rest of the nation.

According to this FBI report, violent crime in the U.S. increased a little more than five percent the first half of last year. But in Chicago during the same period, overall violent crime heaved 24 percent.

While the numbers were driven by a surge in Chicago murders - 49 percent higher than the previous year - FBI data show the increase in all violent crime categories in Chicago is significantly outpacing the nation, with aggravated assault up 23 percent and robbery 28 percent higher.

The FBI report shows a drop nationally in property crimes but not in Chicago, where property crime numbers jumped 6 percent, according to the federal stats.

There were 762 murders in all of last year and more than 3,500 shootings - figures that got most of the attention were mostly gang-related crimes, according to police.

"If you're a leader or policy maker that has anything to do with Cook County or the CIty of Chicago you should find it reprehensible that we had over 700 homicides last year. That's just, it's unacceptable. And if you think that's OK, then I have a problem with you," Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said on January 1.

But the FBI report reveals other problems - crime numbers that are broader than just gangs and drugs - with sex crimes, assaults, robberies and property crimes all up in the first half of last year, and no reason to believe they abated in the second half.

The FBI records suggest there is no escaping the violent trend in at least two of Chicago's largest suburbs. According to the new report, violent crime in northwest suburban Elgin was reported up 28 percent and in southwest suburban Joliet, the spike was 31 percent.

A giant metropolis is sliding toward anarchy.

With a new U.S. attorney general in office, pending Senate confirmation, the federal sources of law enforcement chaos embodied in Justice Department lawsuits and regulations may soon ease.  But Rahm Emanuel continues to run Chicago, and Michael Madigan continues to run the state, lifelong devotees of the Democrat theology.

Hat tiup: Peter von Buol