List of homicides in Illinois
This is a list of homicides in Illinois. This list includes notable homicides committed in the U.S. state of Illinois that have a Wikipedia article on the killing, the killer, or the victim. It is divided into five subject areas as follows:
- Multiple homicides – homicides having multiple victims. It includes incidents such as the 1886 Haymarket affair, the 1966 murder of six student nurses by Richard Speck, and the 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders
- Serial killers – persons who murder three or more persons, with the incidents taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. This includes John Wayne Gacy, the most prolific serial killer in Illinois history.
- Organized crime – notable homicides involving the Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago. These include the 1929 Saint Valentine's Day Massacre and the 1975 murder of Sam Giancana.
- Lynchings and race riots – homicides associated with lynching and race riots. These include the 1844 Killing of Joseph Smith and the Chicago race riot of 1919.
- Single homicides – notable homicides involving a single fatality which do not fall within the scope of one of the above categories. These incidents include the 1924 murder of Bobby Franks by Leopold and Loeb.
This article also does not include people who have been executed in Illinois. Such persons are listed separately at List of people executed in Illinois.
Multiple homicides
Listed in chronological order| Incident | Location | Date | Deaths | Description | Sources |
| Lively massacre | Washington County | 1813 | 3 | Native Americans killed John Lively, his wife and their children | |
| Indian Creek massacre | LaSalle County | 1832-05-21 | 15 | Attack by Native Americans on white settlers after settlers built a dam that prevented fish from reaching Potawatomi village | |
| St. Vrain massacre | Pearl City | 1832-05-24 | 4 | White Indian agent and three companions killed in an attack by Native Americans | |
| Charleston riot | Charleston | 1864-03-28 | 9 | Clash between Union soldiers and Republicans, on one side, and Democrats known as Copperheads, on other side | |
| Haymarket affair | Chicago | 1886-05-04 | 11 | Rally in support of eight-hour work day, including protester throwing dynamite bomb at police and police opening fire on protesters | |
| Battle of Virden | Virden | 1898-10-12 | 13 | Labor union and racial conflict during a strike by the United Mine Workers | |
| Pana riot | Pana | 1899-04-10 | 7 | Coal mining labor dispute and racial conflict, part of the Illinois coal wars | |
| Marrazzo massacre | Chicago | 1918-10-21 | 5 | Peter Marrazzo killed his wife and 4 children during the height of the Spanish flu pandemic. He was committed to a mental hospital but released after only 2 years. | |
| Herrin massacre | Herrin | 1922-06-21/22 | 23 | Labor violence during coal strike | |
| 1937 Memorial Day massacre | Chicago | 1937-05-30 | 10 | Chicago police shot and killed 10 unarmed demonstrators during Little Steel strike | |
| James Morelli | Chicago | 1947-12-12 | 3 | Mad Dog killings | |
| Murder of the Grimes sisters | Chicago | 1956-12-28 | 2 | Sisters ages 12 and 15 disappeared returning home from movie theater, bodies discovered three weeks later | |
| Chester Weger | Starved Rock State Park | 1960-03 | 3 | Murdered three middle-aged women, wives of prominent Chicago businessmen | |
| Richard Speck | Chicago | 1966-07-13 | 8 | Murdered eight student nurses in their Chicago residence | |
| Simon Nelson | Rockford | 1978-01-07 | 6 | Rockford man killed his six children and the family dog | |
| Latin Kings murders | Chicago | 1979-02-25 | 3 | Three teenagers were found with their throats slashed in a car in Chicago. They were murdered after asking Latin Kings members where they could buy marijuana. | |
| Kenneth Allen | Chicago | 1979-03-03 | 2 | Convicted of killing two Chicago police officers | |
| Chicago Tylenol murders | Chicago | 1982 | 7 | Poisoning deaths resulting from placing potassium cyanide in Tylenol capsules in Chicago metropolitan area | |
| Charles Walker | St. Clair County | 1983-06-18 | 2 | Murdered a young couple after robbing them, later executed | |
| Dardeen family homicides | Ina | 1987-11-17 | 4 | Family murdered in mobile home | |
| Murder of Nick Corwin | Winnetka | 1988-05-20 | 2 | Mentally ill woman shot eight-year-old boy at elementary school and then committed suicide | |
| 1988 Chicago shootings | Chicago | 1988-09-22 | 5 | Spree shooting at an auto parts store and Moses Montefiore Academy | |
| Jeffrey and Jill Erickson | Chicago | 4 | Bank robber killed a marshall and a police detective, then committed suicide | ||
| Michael Alfonso | 1992, 2001 | 2 | Committed two murders, listed on FBI's Ten Most Wanted list | ||
| Brown's Chicken massacre | Palatine | 1993-01-08 | 7 | Two robbers killed seven employees at a fast-food restaurant | |
| Mark Winger | Springfield | 1995-08-29 | 2 | Former nuclear power plant technician murdered his wife and a van driver | |
| 1999 Independence Day weekend shootings | Illinois, Indiana | 1999-07-04 | 3 | White supremacist wounded nine Orthodox Jews | |
| 2003 Chicago warehouse shooting | Chicago | 2003-08-27 | 7 | Salvador Tapia attacks his former workplace with a pistol before getting slain by police | |
| Jorge Avila-Torrez | Zion | 2005-05 | 3 | Killed two girls, ages 8 and 9, on Mother's Day | |
| Lane Bryant shooting | Tinley Park | 2008-02-02 | 5 | Mass murder and armed robbery at clothing outlet | |
| Northern Illinois University shooting | DeKalb | 2008-02-14 | 6 | Mass shooting on a crowd of students | |
| Murder of Jason Hudson | Chicago | 2008-10-24 | 2 | Brother and mother of singer Jennifer Hudson shot at their home | |
| Gage Park murders | Chicago | 2016-02-02 | 6 | Six members of Martinez family murdered in house in Gage Park, Chicago | |
| Duck Walk Killer | Chicago | 2 | Unsolved spree killing in Rogers Park neighborhood | ||
| Mercy Hospital shooting | Chicago | 2018-11-19 | 4 | Mass shooting at hospital | |
| Aurora, Illinois shooting | Aurora | 2019-02-15 | 6 | Mass shooting at Henry Pratt Company | |
| 2019 Goodfield arson | Goodfield | 2019-04-06 | 5 | Arson fire in mobile home started by nine-year-old boy | - |
| Rockford | 2020-26-12 | 3 | An active duty soldier shot-up a bowling alley | - | |
| 2021 Chicago - Evanston shootings | Chicago and Evanston | 2021-01-09 | 6 | Random shooting spree | - |
| Magnificent Mile shooting | Chicago | 2022-05-19 | 2 | Mass shooting in shopping district | |
| Highland Park parade shooting | Highland Park | 2022-07-04 | 7 | Mass shooting at Independence Day parade, also 48 wounded | |
| Death of Sania Khan | Chicago | 2022-07-18 | 2 | Man shot estranged wife after she posted about divorce experience on TikTok, then committed suicide | |
| 2024 Joliet shootings | Preston Heights & Joliet | 2024-01-21 | 8 | Man opened fire at multiple locations, killing seven family members and an unrelated victim | |
| 2025 Chicago shooting | Chicago | 2025-07-02 | 4 | Mass drive by shooting outside of a nightclub in River North, 4 killed, 14 injured, perpetrator still at large |
Serial killers
Listed in chronological order by date of earliest homicide| Incident | Location | Date | Deaths | Description | Sources |
| Johann Otto Hoch | Chicago | 1890–1905 | 1–50+ | Also known as "The Bluebeard Murderer" | |
| H. H. Holmes | Multiple | 1891–1894 | Con artist and serial killer executed in 1896 | ||
| Robert Nixon | California, Illinois | 1937–1938 | 3–5 | Serial killer, basis for Bigger Thomas in Native Son | |
| John Agrue | Illinois, Colorado | 1966–1982 | 3+ | Serial killer whose first murder in 1966 was of his sister-in-law in Joliet, Illinois | |
| John Wayne Gacy | Norwood Park | 1972–1978 | 33–45 | Serial killer and rapist, also known as the "Killer Clown", who killed at least 33 young men and boys | |
| Robert Ben Rhoades | Texas, Illinois | 1975–1990 | 3–50+ | Serial killer and rapist known as "The Truck Stop Killer" | |
| Charles Albanese | McHenry | 1980–1981 | 3 | Serial killer who poisoned three relatives with arsenic | |
| Ripper Crew | Illinois | 1981–1982 | 18 | Satanic cult and organized crime group composed of serial killers, cannibals, rapists, and necrophiles Robin Gecht and three associates | |
| Larry Eyler | Multiple | 1982–1984 | 21–24 | Known as the "Interstate Killer", he murdered at least 21 teenage boys and young men throughout the Midwest | |
| Andrew Urdiales | Illinois, Indiana, California | 1986–1996 | 8 | Murdered three of his victims in Illinois | |
| Dorothy Williams | Illinois | 1987–1989 | 3 | Killed three elderly people during robberies | |
| Jeffrey Dahmer | Chicago, Milwaukee | 1991 | 17 | Dahmer met two of his victims in Chicago and paid them to go with him to Milwaukee where he murdered them | |
| Southside Strangler | Chicago | 1990s–2000s | ? | Suspected serial killer; responsibility later established to different offenders | |
| Andre Crawford | Chicago | 1993–1999 | 11 | Murdered 11 women, many of them drug addicts and sex workers, in Chicago | |
| Ronald Hinton | Chicago | 1996–1999 | 3 | Raped and strangled three women in Rogers Park neighborhood | |
| Kevin Taylor | Chicago | 2001 | 4 | Strangled four prostitutes | |
| Chicago Strangler | Chicago | 2001–2018 | ? | Unconfirmed serial killer, or serial killers, believed to be responsible for the deaths of a number of women in Chicago |