Chicago's murder problem may make headlines around the world, but back home in the Windy City, the good folks are worried about the skyrocketing carjacking rate.  The gang warfare that generates the huge body count is confined to a couple of ghetto communities, but drivers of nice cars, and therefore carjackers, are found all over the city.  It's such a political problem for Mayor Rahm Emanuel that he has established a task force to solve the thorny problem.  Or maybe it isn't so thorny at all, as CWB Chicago explains:

Chicago leaders including Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson think they've identified a major reason for the city's out-of-control carjacking problem.

In 2015, the year before the current rise in vehicular hijackings began to build, Illinois changed the way it handles some juveniles who are charged with the crime.

Under the new law, defendants age 15- through 17-years-old would no longer be tried in adult court for serious crimes such as committing armed robbery or carjacking with a firearm.

The usual suspects in Chicago, starting with the powerful president of the Cook County Board, Toni Preckwinkle (who led the disastrous push of a sugary soda tax that backfired and had to be repealed), went all out in support for a little compassion for the thugs:

From a 2015 Chicago Tribune story:

"Anyone who can remember their teenage years or knows a teenager knows teens are impulsive. They don't think of the consequences of their actions," Preckwinkle said. "Knowing about teenage behavior told us that it was the right thing to do, to create a separate system to keep juveniles focused on rehabilitation for everything except the most serious crimes."

So how's that compassion workin' out for ya? as Sarah Palin used to ask.  Here are the crime stats:

Compared to 2015, the year before all hell broke loose, last year's violent crime count last year was up nearly 14%.

Did you catch that?  Since penalties against juveniles were rolled back in 2015, more people are being shot than ever in Chicago.  Since penalties against juveniles for armed carjacking were rolled back in 2015, carjackings have skyrocketed.  It's enough to make you think that maybe, just maybe, carjackings aren't the only crime that is on the increase because penalties are on the decrease.

And how is Chicago doing now?  Frank Main writes in the Chicago Sun-Times:

Dozens of juveniles were charged last year in Chicago for allegedly pointing guns at motorists and stealing their cars, but most were not detained longer than 24 hours, according to court records obtained by the Sun-Times.

… [M]ore juveniles than adults were arrested for armed carjacking last year. Most charged were later released on electronic monitoring ordered by juvenile court judges. ...

About 700 juveniles were arrested in Chicago in connection with all types of gun-related crimes during the first seven months of 2017.  Those crimes ranged from murder to armed robbery to carjacking to unlawful possession of a firearm.

Of those 700 juveniles, 42 percent were arrested again.  Of those arrests, half were for offenses involving guns.

There are some grownups walking the streets:

"Crime has to have consequences," said Smith, a former federal prosecutor whose ward includes the Gold Coast, Old Town[,] and Lincoln Park. "We're not helping our community and we're not helping our kids.  We're not even giving them a 'time out' for carrying a gun."

Can liberals ever comprehend this?  Stay tuned.

Hat tip: Peter von Buol