Monica Davey of The New York Times examined homicides in some of America’s largest cities.  Chicago’s Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, ranked safer streets among his top three priorities when he first took office; however, homicides are up 38% from a year ago.  Killings have fallen in other cities like New York and Los Angeles, something Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg attributes in part to the city’s controversial stop-and-frisk program.  Philadelphia joins Chicago as a major city in which homicides have increased.  As of June 20, 173 homicides were reported in the City of Brotherly Love, up from 143 by the same time last year.  It is important to note that Chicago has experienced a drastic drop in killings since the early 1990s when more than 900 were killed annually.