The number of Chicago homicides in July 2012 was 49 or six less than the number of homicides in July 2011, the Chicago Police Department reported yesterday. This relatively good news did not grab the front-page headlines like previous monthly reports have that indicated murders were on the rise.

CPD recorded 308 homicides through July, up 27 percent compared to the first seven months of 2011. But the larger trend is that the city's murder rate has gone down dramatically over the last 20 years.