Even as Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy lauds the reductions — including a 14 percent drop in overall crime through the first nine months — his message is often obscured by the drumbeat of the 24/7 news cycle with daily stories about the seemingly runaway violence mostly on the South and West sides. This year has seen the high-profile deaths of 11-year-old Shamiya Adams, who was killed by a stray bullet while on a sleepover inside a West Side home, and 9-year-old Antonio Smith, who was fatally shot on the South Side, allegedly by gang members looking to gun down rivals.