La Salle County has had years when the crime statistics were high, but there wasn’t much violence. In 2025, it was the other way around.

As the year draws to a close, the La Salle County State’s Attorney anticipates a year-over-year increase of just 3% in felonies. Numbers-wise, it was a wash.

But Jason Goode, first assistant La Salle County state’s attorney, isn’t concerned with the uptick in the numbers – it’s the bloodshed and gun violence that concerns him.

La Salle County has had seven people charged with murder in a 20-month span (three suspects were convicted at trials this year; four more await trial) and prosecutors have disclosed that drugs were a commonality among the pending cases.

“We’re worried about the combination of drugs and guns we’re seeing,” Goode said. “We’re worried about the number of felons carrying guns. There’s a real fear that almost anywhere you go there’s a felon with a gun.”

“There are no more fistfights,” he said.

Here were the statistical trends in 2025.

FELONIES CLIMBED 3%

La Salle County was on pace to finish the year with 592 felonies, the closest the county has come to the 600 threshold in a dozen years.

Nevertheless, the year-over-year change is a mere 3%. Data from the Ottawa Police Department suggest there is, in fact, little deviation from last year’s felonies – indeed, with crime of any sort.

Capt. Marc Hoster released figures showing year-to-date felonies are almost even with the 2024 totals, while this year’s misdemeanor total was headed for a 10% drop.

“Overall, total reported incidents show a modest decrease from 2024 to 2025,” Hoster said, “with felony reports remaining essentially unchanged and misdemeanor reports showing a slight decline.”

DUI CASES CLIMBED 14%

Does a 13% increase in drunk driving sound alarming? Take a deep breath. In 2025, La Salle County posted the third-fewest DUIs (352) in its history. The double-digit jump happened only because last year’s 311 was the lowest ever.

Goode pointed out a silver lining to the uptick: There are more young cops on patrol.

After years of low recruitment, police brutality cases steered graduates away from law enforcement careers – local police departments have welcomed a crop of new recruits who cut their teeth in late-night patrols and keep an eagle eye for impairment.

“We’re seeing a bit of turnover in law enforcement and a lot of young officers. DUI patrols provide a bit of a training ground,” Goode said. “They’re eager and an increase in DUIs is a byproduct of that.”

Even with the new cops and a double-digit increase in arrests, however, drunk driving remains historically low.

Police once nabbed between 700 and 800 drunk drivers a year. Police had a record 824 DUIs in 2006. Since then, hefty fines and public awareness have chipped away at impairment. Arrests plummeted after the Great Recession and after the pandemic.

MISDEMEANORS SLID 9%

Legalization of cannabis purged many drug offenses from the books and sent La Salle County’s misdemeanor total below 1,000 starting in 2017. It has stayed there.

This year is no exception. The 2025 total will be a projected 739, down 9% from last year. Police and prosecutors report no particular trend among misdemeanors and think this year’s decline is a statistical deviation.

Peru Police Chief Sarah Raymond said her in-house numbers reflect the county data, insofar as overall activity has remained “relatively flat.”

Behind the numbers, however, is one worrisome trend.

“Domestics are always a constant and it seems like there have been more as of late,” Raymond said. “During the holiday season, we don’t necessarily see more retail thefts, but definitely more high-dollar retail thefts.”

Domestic violence cases are indeed proving to be stubborn. La Salle County has averaged more than 250 annually over the past three years.