The most corrupt city in America isn’t where you might think.
According to a new report from the University of Illinois at Chicago, the most corrupt city in the United States is Chicago.
According to the report, Chicago and Los Angeles topped the list of cities with the most public corruption convictions in America. Looking at conviction numbers between 1976 and 2017, Chicago had the most at 1,731. The Central District of California was a relatively close second, with 1,534 convictions. Manhattan had 1,327, and Miami 1,165.
For those who might have thought that Washington, D.C., would have taken top honors, the D.C. area actually trailed a bit behind. It only had 1,159 convictions during the same time period, although one could argue that the keyword there is “convictions.” The report only looked at those who were convicted of crimes, not all who were accused.
Chicago accounts for 82% of the corruption convictions in Illinois as a whole. The latest culprit was Ald. Edward Burke, who was charged with one count of attempted extortion in January for trying to use his power on City Council to drum up business for his private law firm. He served on the City Council for 50 years.