AND SO THE ERA OF HOPE AND CHANGE DRAWS TO A CLOSE: Homicides Rose in Most Big Cities This Year.

Homicides rose in most big American cities in 2016, continuing a worrisome trend for police and criminologists that began last year, even as murder rates in most cities are nowhere near the levels of two decades ago.

Sixteen of the 20 largest police departments reported a year-over-year rise in homicides as of mid-December, a Wall Street Journal survey found. Some notched minor increases, while Chicago has experienced one of the most dramatic jumps, with more than 720 murders—up 56% from 2015.

Chicago’s homicide count, greater than the considerably larger cities of Los Angeles and New York combined, marks a grim tally not seen since the violent drug wars of the 1990s. As the bodies in Chicago pile up—including that of Nykea Aldridge, cousin of basketball star Dwyane Wade, shot while walking with her baby in broad daylight—police are struggling to solve the killings, clearing only one in five homicides so far this year.

The biggest increases were seen in San Antonio, Chicago, Phoenix, Suffolk County, NY, and Memphis — all run by Democrats.