Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy can get testy when he's asked about Chicago's crime rate.
The city's murder rate is down by 85 fewer murders this year compared to the same time a year ago. Still, this past holiday weekend saw eight dead and 23 wounded.
One especially troubled neighborhood is Uptown. It has seen 17 shootings since June, the lastest, a 14-year-old boy shot on Saturday night.
Ald. James Cappleman has sent an email to his 46th Ward constituents telling them he's "insisting on a commitment of more police officers on the street before we vote on the city's 2014 budget."
However, police sources tell NBC 5 the mayor is asking the police department to cut its budget by 10 percent for next year.
On Tuesday, McCarthy said the department is "looking at different methods that we can still save money."
"We've been looking at ways of creating efficiencies, whether it's getting cops out on the street, hiring civilians, or consolidating districts which we did successfully in three separate neighborhoods," McCarthy said.
McCarthy clarified that those efforts to save money will not come at the expense of police performance.
