Chicago murders count

In 2008, there were 501 murders at Dec 24, 2008.

Compared to the same period last year, violent crimes -- including murder, robbery and aggravated assault -- increased by 2.6 percent overall.
Other violent crimes, such as criminal sexual assault and aggravated battery decreased.

The biggest violent crime increase was in murders, up 16.8 percent from November 2007.
Guns were used in more than 80 percent of November's murders and almost 50 percent had gang-related motives.

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/murder.rate.Chicago.2.893791.html