The city of Chicago could be in store for some of the deadliest months in recent memory following the unofficial start of summer over Memorial Day weekend, which saw dozens killed and wounded. Already, Chicago’s new mayor is coming under fire for progressive policies that his critics expect will do little to quell the violence.

This Memorial Day weekend was Chicago’s deadliest since 2015. In total, 11 people were murdered and 48 were wounded by gunshots. In recent years, the summer weekends in certain neighborhoods of Chicago have been drenched in blood, as balmy weather brings violence out in the open.

The city’s newly inaugurated mayor, Brandon Johnson, said he was disappointed by the violence. “It produced pain and trauma that devastated communities across Chicago, and my heart breaks for everyone affected,” Mr. Johnson said in a statement Tuesday. “That’s why as mayor, I am committed to leveraging every single resource at our disposal to protect every single life in our city.”

Before the weekend began, Mr. Johnson distributed $2.5 million to hundreds of community organizations that were meant to hold events that some had hoped would help curb the violence. Events included cookouts, community gatherings, and intramural games for young people.  

Author Adam Coleman took to the opinion section of the New York Post on Tuesday to say that “the methodology and money thrown at local organizations ultimately resulted in much of what we’ve already seen before.”

“Who pays for the consequences of another failed strategy?” Mr. Coleman asks. “The innocent do, not those in power.”

The victims in Chicago ranged in age, gender, class, and neighborhood. Two of the victims who survived the shootings were just 2 years old. One woman was stabbed on Mr. Johnson’s block, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. 

Despite the mayor’s sponsoring of cookouts and other events, many residents have been frustrated that little investment has been made in what they called underserved communities at the same time the city is spending tens of millions of dollars settling migrants. 

One man who ran against Mr. Johnson for mayor, Ja’Mal Green, called the violence “sickening” and lamented that $51 million is being used to help homeless migrants instead of the Black neighborhoods that were most affected by the violence. 

“We are in a state of emergency in the city and have been for many years,” Mr. Green said Tuesday. “And it is time for us to put the urgency on this public safety crisis just as we did with Covid. Just as we currently are doing with the migrant crisis.”

Mr. Green called on the city to invest in communities to stop violence like that seen this weekend. He proposed such reforms as building homes and block clubs, keeping schools open throughout the day and on weekends, turning vacant buildings into “community organizations,” providing “immediate grants” for those who hope to start small businesses, and establishing a “youth intervention department to track troubled youth.”

During the second round of the mayoral election in April, Mr. Green endorsed the more tough-on-crime, police union-endorsed candidate, Paul Vallas. 

Since 2020, Chicago has seen at least 700 murders every year — a number not reached since the early 1990s. Violent crime more generally is also up. 

According to the Chicago Police Department’s annual report, criminal sexual assault and aggravated assault both increased by more than 15 percent between 2020 and 2021. Between 2021 and 2022, burglary increased by 20 percent, theft by 54 percent, and motor vehicle theft by 114 percent — bringing the total number of crime complaints up by 43 percent in the last year. 

The city’s recently ousted mayor, Lori Lightfoot, often blamed others for the precipitous rise in violent crime. In 2021, the mayor accused the Chicago district attorney, Kim Foxx, of not prosecuting gangs in the city, and opted to ask the U.S. attorney to step in when Ms. Foxx would not. 

“They are handing out certificates of innocence like they’re candy,” Ms. Lightfoot said before the mayoral election this year, according to Semafor. 

Chicagoans feel more unsafe than ever before. According to a survey of voters over the age of 50, 88 percent have considered leaving the city due to concerns about their safety, and 89 percent say a candidate’s position on crime will be “very important” when choosing the next mayor.

In 2022, Cook County, the second largest county in the nation and home to Chicago, saw nearly 100,000 residents leave.