Weren't These Illegal?

This is what happens when you stop effective traffic enforcement:

• A 42-year-old man was killed Friday afternoon when his ATV struck a Nissan Rogue in a collision in Ashburn, Chicago police said.

  The crash took place along the 8400 block of South Pulaski Road at about 2:08 p.m, police said.

  The unidentified man had been taken to Christ Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to police.

  The Major Accidents Investigation Unit is investigating.

Should be a quick investigation, seeing as how the ATV was likely 100% being operated illegally and unsafely.

A while back, a reader sent us a social media video of someone driving an ATV down the street, speeding and popping wheelies....while driving directly beside a CPD squad car. It appeared to be a female and there was zero enforcement. She wiped out at an intersection, so we don't know if anything happened after that. Maybe someone has the clip?

But CPD hasn't been allowed to chase motorcycles or similar vehicles for decades now, because it's "too dangerous" to the asshole riding the bike. After all, they might crash, kill themselves or someone else, and then the City gets sued, so it's easier to just forbid the Police from enforcing the Law. That expanded greatly over the years to where any fleeing person isn't pursued lest the ghetto-lottery pays out millions. That expanded to foot chases, too, as we were getting ready to retire. 

Does anyone know if the Stop Stick Unit has ever deployed a single tire deflation device? 

NFL Weighs In

They obviously want the Bears to stay in Illinois:

• NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has weighed in once more on the Chicago Bears stadium saga, letting the world know Illinois isn’t out of the race just yet.

  Goodell spoke to NFL media members at the league’s quarterly meetings in Atlanta on Thursday, where he confirmed that he met with Illinois lawmakers and said the Bears’ Arlington Heights stadium site has not yet been completely ruled out.

  “There’s no specific timetable from my standpoint, other than we know that they are looking at the alternate groups — Indiana or Arlington Heights,” Goodell told assembled media after meeting with NFL team owners at a hotel. “We want to make sure that Arlington Heights and Illinois have an opportunity, as well as Indiana, to put their best foot forward.”

So the backroom negotiations continue.

Just out of curiosity - would the Indianapolis Colts have any say in the matter, like a regional restriction or something? 

The Grappler Deployed

Suburban Oak Brook is trying out a new tool:

• It took multiple police departments and multiple efforts, but law enforcement in the suburbs finally stopped a moving van that fled from officers this week.

  Oak Brook police successfully deployed their "grappler" device to stop the van.

  The device uses a bumper mounted net and tether to stop a vehicle.

  The chase happened on the southbound Tri-State Tollway on Monday night, police said.

There are some videos out there where the physics involved end up tearing the entire rear axle assembly off of the fleeing vehicle, which is hilarious....and effective.

It also means you'll never see anything like this in Chicago. 

Gun Collector Arrested

This guy must have a heck of a well-paying job to afford not one, but TWO "machine guns":

• Deral Willis made a splash on CWBChicago in 2023 when he tried to elude Chicago police by tossing a machine gun into the Chicago River from the State Street Bridge. Unfortunately for him, a Chicago Police Marine Unit diver recovered the weapon. Willis was ultimately sentenced to four years in prison in October, but he was paroled in May.

  Now, in a case of déjà vu, the 33-year-old is back in custody on a parole violation after prosecutors say he ran from police with a machine gun and tried to get rid of it by tossing it into a dumpster, just two blocks from the State Street Bridge. At least the cops didn’t need dive gear this time.

Imagine being that rich you can afford a "machine gun.".

And being able to get a second "machine gun" after being a convicted felon. 

This guy must be the ghetto Elon Musk or something. 

Officer Injured

A traffic crash:

• A Chicago police officer was among two people injured in a crash Thursday afternoon on the city's Southwest Side, a fire department spokesperson said.

  The crash happened around 4:39 p.m. at Archer Avenue and Nagle Avenue in Garfield Ridge.

  Chicago Police Department officials said a CPD squad car driven by an officer was traveling on Archer Avenue and was attempting to turn into a parking lot when it was hit by a sedan. The officer had a neck injury and was taken to a hospital in fair condition.

As has been cited here and elsewhere, traffic crashes are the leading cause of injuries to Officers nowadays. Be careful out there - many Officers are behind the wheel a majority of the hours worked. 

Remember This Thing?

There was absolutely no reason for this to be here, and there was ZERO reason to give away lakefront land to build it on:

• The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will open Sept. 22 in Los Angeles after more than a decade of planning. Co-founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the museum will feature much more than Star Wars memorabilia.

  The five-story building covers 300,000 square feet in Exposition Park. Its 35 galleries occupy approximately 100,000 square feet and will draw from a permanent collection containing more than 40,000 works.

  Opening exhibitions will place more than 1,200 objects across over 30 galleries. The displays will range from ancient sculptures and Renaissance paintings to comics, photography, murals, children's book illustrations and cinematic artifacts.

Of course, it's curious how the Friends of the Parks managed to kill the Lucas Museum, but was strangely ineffective for the Sparklefart Monstrosity.

Google-Me Scandal

About time this turd got caught up in something major:

• Three officials within the U.S. Secret Service’s communications office – including the agency’s top spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi – have been removed from their posts and stripped of their security clearances as investigators examine how classified or sensitive information reached the press, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

  The three were escorted from Secret Service headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Monday and formally designated “do not admit,” meaning they are barred from entering agency facilities, two sources told RealClearPolitics, which first reported on the suspensions. One of those sources said both the FBI and CIA are participating in the inquiry, pointing to a probe with more weight than a routine internal personnel matter.

Remember when he was the spokes-weasel here? He was a notorious liar from Day One and continued that habit of extensively lying regarding USSS coverage during the Drooling Vegetable years. Now he's suspected of being a partisan media leaker to undermine the current administration.

Good riddance.  

Shut Up Mike

Does this asshole even listen to the words coming out of his mouth? This is the sub-headline:

• The Chicago Archdiocese “sends a message that an accusation can punish somebody, whether you’re guilty or innocent,” said the Rev. Michael Pfleger, who was removed as senior pastor at St. Sabina during the abuse investigation.

Really moron? And what have you been demanding for years when the accused was a Chicago Police Officer?

• “This accusation and others will follow me to the end of my life; in my obituary, they’ll be talking about these accusations,” Pfleger said. “But what I do know is this: The God that holds me and the faith community of St. Sabina, who’s known me for 51 years, they know Mike Pfleger.”

And Pfather Pfuckface holds the entire archdiocese hostage to his cult of personality. There isn't a priest in existence who has stayed at one assignment for fifty-one years. Zero. 

• Pfleger blasted the archdiocese’s investigation process, calling it “unjust.”

  “The policy of the archdiocese sends a message that an accusation can punish somebody, whether you’re guilty or innocent,” Pfleger said. “The policy makes no room for the accused to be taken seriously or receive justice.”

  “I, nor any priest, should be thrown under the bus by the very archdiocese I have given 51 years of my life serving,” Pfleger added.

The tone deafness of this prick is amazing. We could write tons of posts about his two-faced bullshit....and have written more than a few. But being a lib-tarded left wing multiply accused chomo means never having to actually be accountable or apologize for having double and triple standards when it suits your message.

Another EM Failure

Anyone not see this coming? Again?

• A man accused of trying to ignite a Molotov cocktail at a CTA bus stop has been missing for weeks after a Cook County judge denied prosecutors’ request to keep him in jail, court records show. Three other judges have now signed arrest warrants for 27-year-old Marshun Kimber, who remains at large.

  Judge Kelly McCarthy released Kimber on an ankle monitor on July 30 despite a warning from an assistant state’s attorney that he posed a danger to the public and could be a flight risk, according to a transcript of the detention hearing. Within days, on August 4, prosecutors filed a motion alleging a violation of his electronic monitoring conditions, records show, but Kimber never showed in court for a judge to consider the matter.

But don't worry - there are THREE separate warrants out for his arrest:

• On August 4, prosecutors filed a motion alleging that Kimber had, in fact, violated the terms of his electronic monitoring. McCarthy entered their motion and scheduled it for consideration on August 7. Judge Pablo DeCastro heard it that day and signed an arrest warrant, according to court records. Judge Martin Moltz signed another warrant on August 10. And Judge Barbara Dawkins issued another warrant on Monday, according to court records.

Someone tell Bailey no one want to hear about abortion, they want to hear what politicians are doing about repeat criminals being released into the communities to continue robbing, pillaging and terrorizing victims.

Because democrats ain't doing shit. 

And Speaking of Airports....

We gotta ask....how much is getting through that isn't found?

• Two men accused of smuggling over 750 pounds of the illegal stimulant “khat” into the United States by packing the stimulant into a dozen checked suitcases and bringing them on a flight from Africa to O’Hare International Airport, according to a state criminal complaint. Prosecutors said the substance cathinone, commonly known as khat, has “no acceptable medical use” and presents “a high degree of addiction.”

Golly, sounds dangerous. They're in custody, right?

• Mustapha Fisuru, 24, and Tiekoro Diawara, 25, are each charged with manufacture-delivery of a controlled substance and controlled substance trafficking. Judge James Costello denied the state’s request to detain both men.

So passports confiscated? Restrictions placed upon the drug runners? Or are the Courts just making them "pinky promise" to show up for their next appearance and not flying back to Asia?

What's Going On?

This seems to be a regular occurrence all of the sudden:

• An American Airlines flight bound for Charlotte was delayed Wednesday after the aircraft experienced a tire issue while taxiing for departure at O'Hare International Airport, according to the airline and federal aviation officials.

  American Airlines said Flight 3280 had pushed back from the gate when the problem was discovered. The Federal Aviation Administration said the crew reported two blown tires while taxiing for departure at about 2:30 p.m. There were no reports of injuries.

Normally, we'd brush this off as happenstance - but....:

• The incident was the fifth involving blown aircraft tires in Chicago this month and the fourth at O'Hare. None of the incidents resulted in reported injuries. The occurrences have involved United, American and Southwest aircraft that were landing, taking off or preparing for departure.

We've been doing a bit of traveling in our retirement time along with a lot of other cops we know, so this is playing a part in plans. Plus, we needed to fill some space tonight.

Are these tires made in China or something?

Follow That Car!

Remember this Training Bulletin?

 

Seems like Houston PD has found a way around it:

• A Houston Uber driver was caught "off guard" but kept his cool when two police officers jumped into his vehicle and directed him to chase a suspect fleeing on foot, wild dashcam video shows.

  Anthony Baines said he was driving for Uber at about 12:20 a.m. Aug. 8 in a Houston Heights neighborhood, when a shirtless man ran across the street in front of his vehicle with two Houston Police Department officers close behind, according to Storyful.

  The video shows Baines getting waved down by an officer and stopping as she approaches and hops into the front passenger seat.

The attached four-second video from the link is amusing, with one cop jumping in the front seat, picking up her partner and then directing the Uber driver to follow a running subject.

If it all goes south, just blame the Uber guy. 

Moldy School?

They closed down a school for mold?

• A rocky start to the school year after suspected mold was found inside one Southwest Side elementary school.

  Tests were completed at John H. Kinzie Elementary School in the 5600 block of South Mobile Avenue, but the results aren't being shared, as signs point to the first full week of classes being interrupted. 

  Lights are off and no students to be found inside the Garfield Ridge school. What could be found are industrial cleaning crews with oversized equipment as they try to get the school year back on track.   

  For 600 students, the year started with outside classes and classwork in unconventional spots inside the adjacent Kennedy High School. Last Thursday, parents were sent notices by school leaders about the suspected mold in some classrooms. 

Good thing they have all those empty high schools to stuff the kids into.

But how come they never shut down and police stations for problems far worse than mold? Not only were there a dozen or more moldy police districts, the asbestos issues were real, too.

The "cancer clusters"? Those were a real thing, too, and they're still on-going. We can name at least three separate Districts and/or Areas where ten or more cops were diagnosed with cancers, mostly related to environmental issues prevalent in that particular city construction.

Though we suppose after the ILLEGAL ALIEN invasion of the 2020s, we shouldn't wonder at the City's lack of caring. 

Dodged Another One

Once again, the "victim" was likely offered enough to go away and sign some sort of NDA:

• The Rev. Michael Pfleger was reinstated in his position as priest at St. Sabina Catholic Church in Auburn Gresham following an investigation into a child sex abuse claim against him from decades ago, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced Monday.

  In July, Pfleger was accused of sexually abusing a girl who was a student at St. Sabina between 1993 and 1995. It was the fifth similar accusation against Pfleger within five years. He staunchly denied the most recent accusation as the archdiocese’s Independent Review Board investigated.

  The archdiocese said the investigation concluded, “There is no reason to believe Father Pfleger is guilty of this allegation.”

Five allegations in five years - what would pfather pfleger say if that was a copper being accused of something?

Scratch that - what HAS Mikey said about coppers accused many times of completely unproven allegations filed time and time again?

• After the accusation surfaced in July, some parish leaders called for an overhaul of its abuse investigation process, pushing for a more balanced approach that provides due process for the accused while protecting survivors of abuse.

  Some of the demands from St. Sabina leaders included:
  

• More transparency about investigation timelines and procedures
• Quicker resolutions to cases
• Independent review of allegations
• A tiered suspension policy that would consider factors such as the age of an allegation and whether there is an ongoing risk to children.

Well....those demands certainly seem to echo similar demands by the Police unions regarding allegations against the membership, don't they?

It's funny how once you're subject to an unfair process, you start demanding the Rule of Law and proper procedures be followed to ensure your Rights aren't violated. 

Brandon Body and Conehead Corpse

A two-fer!

• Two gunshot victims experienced delayed emergency responses on Sunday because people who heard the gunfire could give police only general locations, making it harder for officers to quickly find them. One victim, whose 911 call disconnected, appears to have waited 17 minutes for help to arrive.

  Both shootings occurred in areas that were previously covered by the city’s ShotSpotter gunfire detection network, which Mayor Brandon Johnson disconnected in September 2024. Despite Johnson’s assurances that a new and better system would be identified and deployed, the city has not announced a replacement, much less installed one.

First, the dead one:

• The first shooting occurred around 3:37 a.m. Sunday in the Altgeld Gardens housing complex. Chicago police officers stationed in the area reported hearing gunfire and began searching for its source. No other calls reporting gunfire came in, and nobody called 911 to report a person who had been shot. About five minutes after hearing the shots, the officers found a man lying in the 13100 block of South Lankley Avenue and immediately called for an ambulance.

  Devon Jones, 25, who lived on the same block, was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Hospital, according to CPD and Cook County Medical Examiner records.

Then the wounded one:

• At about 5:16 a.m., a woman called 911 and reported hearing gunshots in the 8400 block of South Vincennes Avenue. She told dispatchers she believed the gunfire came from a nearby lot.

  About seven minutes later, a man called 911 and said he had been shot near 82nd Street and South Emerald Avenue, almost directly across a relatively open area from where the woman had heard the gunfire. The man’s call disconnected before he could provide an exact address.

  Ten minutes after his call, and 17 minutes after the woman’s initial call, CPD officers found the man on a porch in the 8200 block of South Emerald Avenue. They immediately summoned an ambulance and began lifesaving measures. CPD said the man was taken to Christ Hospital in serious condition.

At this point, Conehead might as well take a page from the BabylonBee (see post down a few spots from this one) and legalize shootings.

Interesting Take

This certainly hints at something federal going on over on Washington Street:

• It’s important to take a long look at the scandals now emerging at one of the county’s largest police unions, the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 7.

  Right now, the most pro–law enforcement president in the modern history of the nation is in office, proving time and again his willingness to back the police. At the same time, Chicago is ground zero for the radical Democrats seeking to expand their power throughout the country. The key strategy of this Democratic faction is a war on the criminal justice system.

  One would think that an alliance of the Trump administration, particularly the Department of Justice, and the Chicago FOP would be a match made in heaven. Imagine the things they could get done. One would think that public appearances between Trump and the leader of the FOP, John Catanzara, would be frequent and friendly.

But as Marty Preib points out, there is a distinct lack of any sort of contact with the national administration and the current FOP leadership. In fact, "the FOP president was reportedly turned away at the capital for a conference of big city police union leaders."

That's a big hint that someone somewhere doesn't want any photographs floating around of someone under investigation to appear with the sitting President....you know, the way the media subtly neglects to show Porkulous consorting with murderers and drug dealers.

Go read it all. 

Another Crooked Judge

Another incident that would make a series of campaign commercials that write themselves....but no one in the Bailey organization seems to bother making:

• A Cook County judge released a woman on electronic monitoring Saturday despite allegations that she rear-ended a motorcyclist on Lake Shore Drive while drunk, then dumped what appeared to be a liquor bottle in Lake Michigan, leaving the rider fatally injured on the pavement.

  Judge D’Anthony Thedford denied a request from prosecutors to detain Miracle Hall, 25, ahead of trial on charges of aggravated DUI causing a fatal accident, instead sending her home on an ankle monitor. It marks the second time this month that Thedford declined to detain a defendant accused of drunk driving in a fatal crash. On August 11, he released a man accused of fleeing the scene of a fatal crash in Lakeview while the victim’s body remained inside his vehicle.

Read that part again:

• ...[Thedford] released a man accused of fleeing the scene of a fatal crash in Lakeview while the victim’s body remained inside his vehicle.

And that still wasn't enough for this piece of shit judge to hold the offender in custody.

Does anyone know if CWB has a running list of crap judges and the cases they're involved in that are inflicting repeat criminals upon the public? We would gladly post that list on a near daily basis to encourage voters to finally take some control of their government again. 

One Way to Solve Crime

Legalize it:

• In what officials have hailed as a historic first, California has become the first state to achieve a crime rate of zero after passing legislation to make all crimes completely legal.

  "This is a great moment for our state," Governor Gavin Newsom said. "No other state in the nation's history has successfully brought the crime rate down to nothing. California is once again leading the way! Now, please, for the safety of your loved ones, don't venture out of your homes at night. Or at least carry an air horn. Whatever. I don't care."

  Analysts point to the state's legalization of all criminal acts as the catalyst for reaching a zero crime rate. "It was a bold but revolutionary move," said Professor Kyle Ray of the California Crime Institute. "California has effectively eliminated all crime from existence simply by making every unlawful or despicable act completely acceptable. Murder, assault, robbery — these are yesterday's terms. Californians are now truly free to express themselves however they choose. Zero crime!"

Yes, it's the BabylonBee. But essentially, this was what New York, California, Washington, Oregon, Minnesota and Illinois (via Crimesha) had been doing for years.

Gun Runner?

Hiring standards have fallen so far....there's another scandal brewing:

• Did a Chicago cop hand over two guns to a now-convicted extortionist and then lie to the police department about what happened to them?

  That explosive question arose in federal court filings in the case of Jawad Fakroune, a politically connected Chicago businessman who was convicted in June and is now serving a six-year prison sentence for threatening a restaurant owner over a $1.5 million debt.

  But the officer’s identity still remains a mystery.

The known offender has a cozy relationship with some Pritzker people that (obviously) the media wants to keep quiet, and Internal Affairs claimed to know nothing about the reportedly stolen guns recently, but has since opened an "investigation." 

But seeing the names the media has selectively decided to reveal and not others, it certainly smells like this "investigation" may go the way of the testing scandals of recent years where dozens of exempt Subject Matter Expert members had their spouses, pin cushions and other relatives "passing" with extraordinarily high scores.

Interesting Curriculum Vitae

For those who don't know the Latin, C.V. is a fancy term for an extensive résumé:

• In English, a curriculum vitae, commonly known as CV, is a short written summary of a person's career, qualifications, and education. This is the most common usage in British English. In North America, the term résumé is used, referring to a short career summary, whereas CVs are much longer than resumes. The term curriculum vitae and its abbreviation, CV, are also used especially in academia to refer to extensive or even complete summaries of a person's career, qualifications, and education, including publications and other information

For the truly curious, here's a quick summary of the lawyer that the FOP is paying $450 an hour to, right from his publicly accessible website:

• Terry Campbell focuses his practice on white-collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement, complex commercial litigation, and criminal and civil appeals.  He has more than 20 years of trial experience, and has tried numerous cases in federal and state courts, both in Chicago and around the country.  Mr. Campbell provides a combination of impeccable judgement, strategic vision, and dedication to his clients and their cases.  His exceptional abilities have earned Terry his reputation as one of the top white-collar defense lawyers in the community, and he has been consistently recognized in publications such as Chambers & Partners and Illinois Super Lawyers based on peer reviews of his professional skills.

  Mr. Campbell has represented individuals in any number of high-profile cases during the past 20 years, including investigations and prosecutions relating to alleged fraud against the City of Chicago’s MBE/WBE program; the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill; the prosecution of former executives at Sacred Heart Hospital for violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute; the collapse of Sentinel Management Group (which was described by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago as the largest financial fraud case ever prosecuted in this district); securities and accounting fraud cases against a former member of the Board and Audit Committee of Safety-Kleen Corp.; a securities and bank fraud case against a former officer of First Merchants Acceptance Corp.; and many others.

That is quite the impressive history....

....but not whom we'd expect to be representing someone who has been insisting that there's nothing untoward about the books, accounts and credit card receipts that he's been hiding from membership inspection for how many years now?

Curious and curiouser to say the least, especially after admitting at the last meeting that there were "policy issue[s]" regarding the FOP expenditures

Time to Demand Answers

And the only place to get answers is at an FOP Meeting:

• Members need to show up and demand answers about the “personal expenses” charged to the FOP credit card:

• What personal expenses did our dues pay for?
• How many personal purchases were made?
• Who made them?
• How much was spent?
• Where are the credit card statements and financial records documenting every personal charge?

• For years, John denied that there were any personal expenses on the FOP credit card. Now that attorney Terence Campbell—whose $450-an-hour bill is paid with our dues—has acknowledged that personal charges were made, John now wants members to believe those purchases were somehow acceptable simply because he claims he repaid the money.

The next General Meeting is at noon on 16 September and there really needs to be a decent amount of people showing up, if not to ask questions, then to see how the questions are being avoided at the very least behind a smokescreen of procedural BS.

This is YOUR money. You pay dues every single check, not so the Board can enjoy steak dinners and buy $10K paintings, but so that the Lodge can provide legal assistance when needed, address safety issues when the City tries to get around spending money properly, and negotiating a Contract that protects your legal rights from being trampled on when something goes sideways. 

It's time to show up boys and girls. Mark your calendars. 

Trying to Fill Some Big Shoes

This time, it's SeeBS:

• At least four people were killed, and 16 more were injured, in weekend shootings across Chicago as of Sunday, according to police.

  The ages of the victims range from 15 to 62.

Their hearts aren't in it it seems, seeing as how HeyJackass.com set the bar so high.

How accurate or inaccurate are these stats? 

Technical Difficulties

We had a computer issue earlier today, but were able to make a temporary fix.

So we have some throw-away posts going up tonight - it's Sunday, which usually produces our lowest readership numbers as everyone is busy with other stuff.

Open post for now and hopefully, everything is resolved by Monday. 

These Aren't My Pants

Or my suitcase?

• A 25-year-old Salem, Oregon, man is facing cannabis trafficking charges after federal agents allegedly found nearly 32 pounds of raw cannabis inside a suitcase he was carrying onto a London-bound flight at O’Hare International Airport. And the accused man says it’s all a big misunderstanding stemming from a job he found on Instagram.

  According to a detention filing, Samuel Stahl’s legal adventures began last Friday evening, August 14, when a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent inspecting an outbound American Airlines flight zeroed in on a black SWISSGEAR suitcase. The bag allegedly belonged to Stahl, who was promptly stopped by agents as he stepped onto the jet bridge. They seized his iPhone and walkie-talkie and escorted him to a secure area for a border search, officials said.

And then it got humorous

• Inside the suitcase, agents allegedly discovered 29 packets of vacuum-sealed raw cannabis. Stahl, however, had an explanation ready. He told agents he was merely “the courier” and that he had no idea what was inside the bag because he had signed a non-disclosure agreement. When agents asked whether he took ownership of the bag given that it was in his possession, Stahl allegedly replied that he had been instructed to state that he did not understand. Presented with a luggage tag bearing his own name, Stahl allegedly claimed he could not read.

  About an hour into his encounter with Uncle Sam, Stahl’s story expanded when he allegedly confided that earlier this summer he had answered a job listing on Instagram advertising work as an international luggage courier. A week later, he allegedly claimed, he was offered $1,000 cash plus all expenses paid to deliver a suitcase to Thailand. Stahl told agents that he signed a non-disclosure agreement promising never to look inside the bag, though he later admitted to violating that agreement and peeking in to find files and clothing, the detention filing said. Once in Thailand, an unknown person collected the suitcase and took him to his hotel.

This guy is lucky he wasn't headed to Singapore. Nice pinch though.

Scandal That Shouldn't Be

Was there no screening in place that might have been a clue that this person was probably unfit to be hired?

• Over his first six years as a Chicago cop, Joseph Vecchio ran with a troubled tactical unit and accrued more disciplinary complaints than any other cop.

  On Thursday night, his tumultuous career was placed in serious jeopardy: The Chicago Police Board announced he faces firing in two separate disciplinary cases.

  By Friday afternoon, Vecchio was in police custody, accused of brutally attacking a woman earlier this week and holding her against her will, according to a police report.

  The woman was only able to escape by scaling down a third-floor balcony when Vecchio left her unattended to grab a food delivery, the report says. She told police that Vecchio had once warned her that he wouldn’t need a gun to kill her — “he could just crack her head open.”

And now the department is painted with the same brush as this guy. You know it, we know it, everyone knows it. If the Department and City wouldn't mindlessly defend and cover for connected people who never should have been on the job or kept around after their first scandal, the CPD would be a in far better position in so many ways.

Anyone know why the media is running with the picture of him and Barz together? 

CTA Shooting Video Released

This is someone's phone video. We don't have all the specifics (and don't worry, you don't need a social media account to see it), but someone literally pulled a gun out of his pants and shot two people while running directly past a couple officers....and got away.

• video link here

We can get it to play sometimes, and sometimes it freezes up.

Who has the specifics? 

UPDATE: it appears to be video from a few months ago that social media sites aren't censoring? 

Time to Break the CTU

Didn't this country fight a civil war about owning other human beings?

• Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) president Stacy Davis Gates said on Monday that “all children belong to” the union.

  At the City Club Chicago event, Gates bashed President Donald Trump for lessening the power of teachers’ unions, calling his education agenda a “relitigation” of the Civil War while complaining about the failing state of Chicago schools.

  Quoting civil rights activist James Baldwin, Gates tells the crowd, “The children are always ours. Every single one of them, all over the globe.” Gates then mocks parents who would respond by saying “CTU thinks your children are its children.”

  “Yes, we do,” Gates said. “We do.”

How many fewer kids are there in the schools, year over year? How many near-empty schools are sucking up millions in tax money? How many criminal acts are covered up annually by the CTU?

Time to show the teachers that parents - who pay their salaries - should be the people calling the shots.

Mendoza is already staking out that territory in the mayoral race. Pay attention for more. 

We Don't Miss This

From the comments:

• 25 days straight of cancelled days off with 12 hour tours, twice, June and August.

We don't think it was actually 25 days straight, but rather two incidences that added up to 25 days total.

But we thought there were OT restrictions?  That manpower shortages were a figment of our imaginations? 

The pay was nice....but you seldom had time to spend it properly before the next set of cancellations.

New Award?

The rumor mill started up again:

• What in the fuck is this new participation ribbon this silly department created? Another bull shit ribbon for some DEI boss to walk around with on his or her chest thinking he or she has done legitimate police work. The name of this ribbon you ask? Drum roll please. It’s called the “Resiliency Award”. I’m not making this up. If you were an active duty member from January 1,2020 through November 29, 2020 during Covid and Sir George Floyd of Fentanyl riots you get this ribbon. Just when you think this job can’t get more ridiculous the department creates an award for this nonsense. Hey , thanks for showing up and here’s your ribbon for coming to work. Nothing more just showing up.

First of all - completely believable. 

Second - do they send it to retirees?

Asking for a friend. 

Cuck FOPA

COPA had issues with this one, seeing as it was pretty much all lies:

• A Chicago Police sergeant who was accused of using excessive force against protesters at a children’s storytime event featuring comedian Tiffany Haddish in 2024 has been cleared of nearly all misconduct allegations, including the central claim that he unjustifiably tackled a demonstrator. Investigators instead found that the officer was the victim in the confrontation, having hot coffee thrown on him and being battered by multiple people at the scene. The woman who filed the complaint, officials said, wasn’t even present at the protest.

And THIS is why the Sworn Affidavit was the best thing to happen to the Department in decades, even if prosecutions were almost non-existent. The complainant WASN'T EVEN THERE, yet made a complaint to events she didn't witness.

But COPA had to get their licks in 

• Of the six allegations against [the sergeant], one was sustained, three were not sustained, one was unfounded, and he was exonerated of the sixth. The only sustained violation stemmed from [the sergeant] calling a civilian an expletive during the height of the confrontation. COPA recommended a reprimand and retraining.

AFTER the sergeant had been attacked with hot coffee, physically battered and the offender was attempting to flee from a lawful and justified arrest, COPA tags the sergeant for using a bad word and recommends retraining.

Fuck. These. Assholes.

Oh, and the "protest" was manufactured outrage over the arrest of two "palestinian" yutes - the yutes being aged 25 and 36.

Criminal Geniuses

We're surprised this hasn't happened here:

• A massive street takeover in California led to a family-run business being overrun by looters over the weekend. During the alleged takeover, A-Z Market convenience store in Bellflower was broken into. The city is in southeast Los Angeles.

  A fundraiser for the family said, "A group of individuals used power tools to break through our front window and security gate." Surveillance video showed three suspects using tools to break the window's glass and cut a security gate lock, allowing up to 40 additional suspects to enter and ransack the business for two minutes before blending back into the takeover crowd, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said.  

So they didn't just block the streets - they blocked them strategically, knowing police couldn't (or wouldn't) enforce anything without plenty of warnings and public announcements via loudspeakers. Then they used power tools and the absence of any law enforcement to systematically loot the business, all while dozens of getaway cars were just doing their street takeover crap before fading away into the crowd.

Of course, if the business doesn't re-open in short order, they'll complain about a "food desert" or something similar.

But knowing that CPD isn't permitted to take enforcement action AND isn't allowed to chase, and after years of non-prosecution and a SAFE-T Act that frees criminals even before the Arresting Officers' shift is over, this ought to be a regular occurrence the way that driving stolen cars into storefronts was a thing just a few years ago. 

One Case Down, One Remains

This would barely be a mention if it wasn't for his last name:

• The son of former Chicago Police Supt. Terry Hillard avoided discipline for his role in a chaotic arrest at a South Side police station after ex-top cop Larry Snelling pushed back on the findings of the city’s police oversight agency.

Well, Larritorious should know the Use of Force rules since he was touted as THE leading authority on them years ago. But that darn PPP scandal keeps popping up:

• Officer Dana Hillard, however, remains stripped of his policing powers in another disciplinary case in which he’s accused of bilking the federal Paycheck Protection Program, a pandemic relief program that was overrun with fraud, records show.

  As the younger Hillard faces potential dismissal in that case, he caught a break last month in the other investigation centering around an on-duty imbroglio.

Those Federal charges are difficult to have former bosses step in on it would seem...especially as so many bosses are among the unnamed offenders.

An Economic Upturn?

This sounds like a very lib-tarded fantasy at best:

• Chicago’s downtown district, the Loop, is poised to enjoy a busy fall going into the holiday season, as new retail businesses open, office vacancies stabilize, and midweek foot traffic increases, according to a Q2 report from the Chicago Loop Alliance (CLA). 

  Like many downtown commercial districts in the post-pandemic period, the Loop has been riddled with vacant storefronts and a lack of foot traffic. But now, the report says, investment in new construction, combined with refurbishment of existing properties, has reached $673 million. More than 20 new businesses opened in the Loop during Q2 (see the full list below), and more grand openings are set to follow in the coming weeks. These neighborhood additions range from crowd-pleasing chains to local businesses opening their first or second locations. Meanwhile, office vacancies, which have been increasing since 2020, have finally “leveled off,” the report asserts. 

Um...."leveled off" doesn't mean repopulated. It merely means Chicago may have hit bottom.

And just for shits-and-giggles, let's see what that partial list of new businesses looks like:

• Chains expanding in the Loop
• Amorino Gelato, 209 S. LaSalle
• Dos Toros, 1 N. Dearborn
• Kilwin’s, 60 E. Randolph
• Panda Express, 85 E. Wacker
• Seoul Spice, Willis Tower Lower Level
• Kanpai Hot Pot & BBQ, 174 N. Michigan
• Local businesses opening in the Loop
• Espiritu, 1 E. Wacker
• Genki, 174 N. Michigan Ave
• Prasino, 33 S Wabash 
• Velvet Taco, 174 N. Michigan
• The Jibarito Stop, 174 N. Wabash
• The Carlyle Club, 316 N. Clark

Of these twelve businesses, eleven are restaurants and one appears to be a fitness-type center.

According to the statistics, something like 18% of restaurants fail within the first year, 50% within five years. Those numbers skyrocketed during the Plandemic and the entire industry continues to limp along amid the burgeoning plywood forests of downtown Chicago. Over 80% of restaurant income comes from repeat customers, and without corporate occupancy rates jumping from record lows, there isn't a customer base to actually serve.

Conehead needs to expand the corporate presence downtown to trigger a boom of service industry businesses, not hope that eleven restaurants somehow fill the empty city coffers.

By the way - no JJ Fish and nail salons? We're disappointed. 

This is a Problem

A rather LARGE and obvious problem:

• Tonight's FOP meeting produced an admission every Lodge 7 member should be paying attention to.
  
  
  President John Catanzara brought out the attorney — the same attorney our dues are paying $450 an hour — to discuss the forensic audit. Members were told that, so far, they “don't believe” misappropriation of funds has occurred.
  
  
  Then a member asked a simple question: Were personal purchases made on the FOP credit card?
  
  
  The attorney acknowledged that there were a number of personal expenses charged to the FOP credit card, but characterized it as more of a  “policy issue.”

Um....that's NOT a "policy issue," no matter what language a paid liar lawyer dresses it up as.

That is corruption, that is misappropriation, that is Theft by a strict interpretation of the ILCS. 

You don't get to use Union Funds for personal purchases. Period.

But hey, what do we know? We were only cops for nearly thirty years.

Tell you what - release the credit card statements that the membership has been demanding for years now and let's put all this scandal-talk to rest once and for all.

UPDATE: bunch of comments claiming "it was paid back, all is good!"

The FOP dues money and credit cards are NOT bridge loans or cash advance services. You don't get to use the money while you're waiting for Payday to arrive because (A) it ain't your money and (B) how the Hell do you get an interest-free loan from membership dues that no one else can get?

What the actual fuck? 

Was this "Pretextual"?

We'll be her lawyer argues it was:

• Police say Jacqueline Beard had a bit of an “oopsie” when she went digging for her ID after cops stopped her for smoking at the Roosevelt Red Line station Friday. As she fumbled through her bag, officers caught a glimpse of a loaded firearm, turning a routine citation into a felony charge for the 24-year-old.

  But facing a gun charge is nothing new for Beard. Court records show she received “first time weapon offender probation” for another gun possession case in 2023. Maybe her second time will be the charm.

  CPD said officers assigned to the department’s Public Transportation Section were patrolling the Loop station around 7:15 p.m. August 14 when they saw Beard smoking inside a train car. They stopped her, asked her to step onto the platform and requested her ID so they could issue her a citation, according to police.

  As Beard searched for her identification inside her purse, officers spotted a firearm, which riders are prohibited from possessing on the city’s transit system, according to CPD. Police took possession of the loaded weapon and arrested Beard after determining she did not have a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card or concealed carry license, police said.

Gee whiz

• no FOID card, 
• no Concealed Carry License, 
• a previous weapon conviction,
• AND she completely missed the "No Guns" signs all over the CTA property

At least she was punished severely for that charge, right?

• Beard’s previous gun case dates to August 2022, when prosecutors charged her with illegally possessing a firearm in a vehicle in Englewood. She ultimately received “first time weapon offender probation” and 50 hours of community service from Judge Tyria Walton, according to court records.

Walton? Again? Is anyone going to tell the voters?

Trees Are Tough

From the CFD crash we posted about yesterday:

They were responding to a call, lights and sirens, when struck by a pick-up truck.

We would have thought the bumper would have held up better than that, but we suppose it did what it was supposed to do.