Happy Birthday & Three Million Visits

Three Years!

Three years of mayhem, sarcasm, bitching, moaning, cheering, lambasting, silliness, goofiness, insanity, bad photo-shopping, jib-jab-ing, and a thousand other descriptions.

3,700 posts, tens of thousands of comments, and just an hour ago, visitor number THREE MILLION! That's more than the entire population of the Chicago. And almost EIGHT million page views.

You, the visitors, who continue to visit, who continue to read and to comment and provide us with material and e-mail ideas...Thank you. Thank you all. Without you, we wouldn't even have kept this going a year.

Visitor number 3,000,000? The Keesing Bandit, so Kees us you fool!

Delusional

Someone adjust this guy's meds:

• One of Chicago's Special Operations cops caught in a scandal reportedly admitted in a 60 Minutes interview that he stole money from suspects and was taught how to lie on reports by supervisors.
• "I don't have my star or my gun, but I'm still a cop," [Herrera] said, according to exerpts [sic].

Exactly what this bozo is has yet to be determined by a court, but "still a cop"? Not bloody likely, not even when he had a star and gun.

Phleger Pflagellated

The video:



What an ass.

The fallout:

• Cardinal Francis George said today he deeply regrets the Rev. Michael Pfleger’s videotaped “personal attack” on Hillary Clinton — and has received assurances from the firebrand priest that he won’t campaign for or publicly mention any candidate by name.

Wow. "Assurances." How about the Cardinal deny him a pulpit? How about transferring his dumbass to another parish in accordance with Archdiocesan rules that everyone else has to follow? Rules that were put into place to prevent exactly the sort of "personality cult" from developing that this jackass seems to revel in.

Who gives a crap if he leaves the church? The Chicago Archdiocese still owns the church, the school, the land. Either it supports itself or it gets shut down, same as dozens of other parishes city wide.

UPDATE: And it truly wouldn't be a SCC Event without a Jib Jab offering:

• CLICK HERE for the video.

Rumors of St. Jude

From the Lieutenants Association website:

• Dear Superintendent Weis,

  I was reading the Lieutenants Association Newsletter and was very happy to see Lieutenant Robert Stasch's article about the Saint Jude March. He is absolutely right in wanting the Saint Jude March back on Michigan Avenue.

  Last year I sent an E-Mail to Superintendant Cline expressing the opinion of myself and several other officers that the Saint Jude March should be on Michigan Avenue. I received a polite respond and that was the end of it.

  The decision to move the Saint Jude March to the Memorial was made by a small group of people. I think that the entire department should have been polled on this matter.

  The bottom line is that we get so much negative press and I feel that when the Chicago Police Department is doing something so wonderful as honoring their fallen members that they should be in their full glory on Michigan Avenue for the whole world to see.

  Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you in advance for any consideration given to this matter.

  Lieutenant Maureen E. Ziegenhorn
  18th District

  The letter from Lt. Ziegenhorn was sent to the Superintendent on 21 May 2008. The Superintendent has responded since then to her that he is working to ensure that the St. Judes March will be held next year back on Michigan Ave. where it belongs.

We can only hope this comes true. Perhaps the vigil and recitation of the names ought to be part of a weekend worth of events with the march and Mass at Holy Name being the finale. No reason to hide the March behind Soldier Field.

Mass. Court Stupidity

Someplace else it sucks to be the police:

• Saying public confidence in law enforcement must be protected, the state's high court ruled yesterday that police officers can be forced to take lie detector tests during internal investigations into possible criminal activity.

• Patrick Bryant, a lawyer who represented the Massachusetts Coalition of Police union, said the SJC has banned the use of lie detectors in the courts and then singles out police officers to be targeted.

  "So why would you subject police officers and only police officers, to a technology that is essentially bogus?" he asked.

Unfortunately, this case involves accusations of child molestation. And even though the parents who initially accused the officer of improper conduct admitted that the charges were unfounded, everyone has very strong opinions where children are involved and it colors their thinking (we are sometimes guilty of it ourselves. The officer returned to work in 2000 and as far as the article relates, no other problems have ever arisen, leading us to believe nothing ever did in the first place.)

Essentially, what the Massachusetts Supreme Court has done, is opened up their police officers to discipline based on a discredited technology that isn't even allowed to be used against any other citizen in the Commonwealth. Less rights for them just because they're the police.

Granted, Massachusetts is about the most liberal state in the nation. Until Obama made it to the Senate, John Kerry was ranked the most liberal senator with Ted "the swimmer" Kennedy being distant second. But we have a hard time imagining signing away due process rights simply because you want to serve and protect.

We wonder what their hiring numbers have been lately.

Officer Shot - 012

Accidental discharge?

Sketchy reports on WBBM.

UPDATE: Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Scandal Goes Big Time - UPDATED

From the CBS 60 Minutes website:

• OFFICER HERRERA GOES PUBLIC - Indicted Chicago Police Officer Keith Herrera speaks for the first time publicly about his former unit, the Special Operations Section, members of which are accused of crimes including armed robbery and kidnapping, in one of the largest police scandals in Chicago history. Katie Couric reports.

Get ready for the biggest national shit-storm to hit this Department in the past few years, maybe even a decade. And the truly sad thing is that it will cover a rogue team of allegedly unsupervised officers and tar the entire Department with it while studiously ignoring the 15 people arrested for bribes last week, the semi-annual jailing of the aldercreatures, the crooked contracting scandals, crooked land deals involving Rezko, Obama, the mayor's nephew and anyone else connected with the chosen few.

Batten down the hatches.

UPDATE: It's worse than first thought.

WBBM is playing some preview clips. They aren't up and linked yet but the one we just heard is bad. We're summarizing here:

• Herrera is talking about how it was dope dealers and lawbreakers the crew was sticking up. It's not like they were honest citizens. And sometimes you have to "cross the line" to get these people. Couric asks if there are any "boy scout" cops in Chicago. Herrera replies he doesn't know, there might be, but this is Chicago, not Podunk, Iowa

This is the type of desperation interview that is going to cause a load of collateral damage. It also reeks of a plea deal that fell through. Someone else made a deal on something?

A Light Goes On

Over in the post titled "The Final Meeting," a helpful reader typed up his handwritten summary of the last scheduled meeting between J-Fed and the troops. It's one of the longest posts we've allowed to go up and it can be located a little more than a third of the way down at 5/28/2008 10:33:00 PM.

We were struck by a number of items in his posting. Granted, these are one person's perception of the event, but it tracks with things we've heard over the past few weeks.

• Concerning the "Powers Leadership Award" - J-fed punted to BC who mumbled something...no answer.
• Sending Tact teams out of District - [J-Fed] punted to BC who said they have more crime...she mumbled something and passed back to J-fed
• Why shotguns are locked in the stations - [J-Fed] punted to BC who mumbled something, again no answer.
• Wallet badges and shirt badges (a useless question in our opinion - SCC) - he punted to BC who had no answer.

The person who runs the largest arm of the Chicago Police Department, over 60% of it's manpower, doesn't even have the ability to take notes, defer question or have ready answers to easily foreseeable questions. That statement about having "5 older brothers" preparing her to run the second largest police department in the nation sure is paying dividends.

J-Fed, are you paying attention to the choice for your number three? Do you think anyone believes that you had any input whatsoever into choosing this "leader"? Do you begin to see what politics means in Chicago? Do you begin to see why morale is dropping faster than a bowling ball from the Sears Tower? Is the light going on for you?

Here's where another light went on for us:

• An FTO asked why a bunch of FTOs were transferred from 014 to 009 to train recruits. He wondered why the PPOs weren't sent to 014. B[ea]C[uello] mumbles again but then she said, their patch says CHICAGO, they'll go where sent,, they are getting paid extra; well the place started to boo and hiss her, J-Fed stepped it to bail her out, but she really showed the true EXEMPT attitude toward we patrolmen. Gee, and they wonder why morale is in the sewer?

Do you know why so many exempts treat contract protections like so much used toilet paper? Because they've been handed everything since they got on this job. Promotions, cushy spots, easy inside jobs.

We used to assume they were just arrogant. Now we see they're arrogant, yes, but ignorant, too. They've NEVER had to bid for a spot, NEVER had to grieve a bad decision, NEVER had to work in a position where there were contract protections in place. And Aunt Bea's attitude comes shining through in blazing Technicolor. The disconnect is amazing!

You tend bar for the old crew and in a few years, you control 6,000-plus officers. That's equivalent to an entire Roman Legion, but we don't see J-Fed-Caesar getting past the Gauls with generals of this caliber.

There's Our Pension Money!

Just last Friday, we asked the following:

• Remember months ago when the mayor's nephew, cousin or whatever the hell he was got a pile of our pension money to invest in some real estate venture? And holy hell was raised here and elsewhere that a number of the elected trustees went along with the scheme?
  
  With the real estate market in the crapper, we were just wondering, what is the status of those investments? We're sure Daley's relative secured his money up front in the form of transaction fees or similar payments, along with a handsome payout if the investment did well.

And just six days later, we get part of an answer:

• Jeffrey Duerwachter isn't a player in Chicago real estate. He doesn't even own a home. Duerwachter, 39, lives with his parents in Wilmette.

  He did OK last year at work, making $1,756 a week working on the set of the new Batman movie filmed in Chicago.

  But he did even better investing, making a $413,000 profit by buying and immediately reselling a historic South Loop building that once housed the Chicago Defender, the city's biggest African-American newspaper. And he did it all in one day -- June 8.

  First, Duerwachter paid $3.72 million for the building and a nearby vacant lot, both owned by the estate of Lev Stratievsky, a Russian immigrant who died in federal custody while he and his son, Boris, were awaiting trial on charges that they tried to launder money for Ukrainian drug dealers.

  Then, Duerwachter resold the building and lot for $4.1 million to a company owned by Matthew A. O'Malley, a politically connected Chicago restaurant owner who had been negotiating to buy the property from Stratievsky.

  O'Malley bought the property with three loans -- including $1 million in city pension funds managed by DV Urban Realty Partners, a company co-owned by Mayor Daley's nephew, Robert Vanecko, and one of Daley's key African-American allies, Allison S. Davis. This was one of the investments Davis and Vanecko made after their newly created company was hired to manage $68 million for five pension funds for city workers, police officers, Chicago teachers and CTA workers.

Gee, a guy with no known collateral, living with mommy and daddy, buys a building for $3.7 million and flips it in under a day for $4.1 million. Not only is Daley's nephew connected, but a key political player, the Illinois Treasurer, and the Ukrainian mob.

Two questions:

1. Hey J-Fed? Did you blow a call into your FBI and DOJ buddies on this one?
2. How much did the pension fund make with this very wise investment?
   

The Beatings Will Continue...

Daley's and J-Fed's latest policing initiative:

• Philippine police officers were instructed Wednesday to smile in public or face suspension in an attempt to spruce up their image as rough and rude.
  
  The new guidelines were announced after one of the country's bloodiest weeks in crime. Ten people were lined up and shot dead in a bank robbery last week, and on Monday, a man went on a killing spree in a farming town that left eight residents dead.
  
  "We are encouraging policemen to be community friendly," police Director Leopoldo Bataoil said. "There is no place for rough and brusque officers in this organization."

Hey, it could work.

Is This a Quota?

From the comments:

• 26may08 - 008 3rd watch - Lt. Carson E. does a stand-up roll call/inspection on Memorial Day against G.O. Lt. C.E. then asks one P.O. "where is your hat?" and the P.O responds, "in my car." Lt. C.E. they tells P.O. to go get it. The entire watch stands at attention while P.O. makes the trip across 63rd st to get his hat. While P.O. is gone Lt. C.E. relates to the watch that the reason for the holiday inspection is punishment because on the previous day 25may, bt. 822 turned in their humper (daily activity log) with no activity. He then carries on to say that he personally gave Bt 822 a command to pick up activity because aldermen were beefing to which Bt. 822 did nothing.
  
  27may08 - 008 3rd watch - Lt. Carson E. passes out new updated humpers (daily activity logs) to all beat and rapid cars and relates that officers must complete them every single day or suffer serious consequences. He then tells the entire watch that they must increase their activity in order to stay on their cars. He says that he will personally check to see that nobody puts bullshit numbers on the humpers. He concludes by saying that activity is way down on 3rd watch and that it is not going to be tolerated.

An acting watch commander demanding "activity" in front of an entire roll call worth of witnesses? Could you define the "activity" desired lieutenant?

• Tickets? We don't have a ticket quota - or at least that's what the City, Union and everyone seem to agree on publicly. Is that curtain finally falling?
• Arrests? Is the watch being ordered to violate civil rights of persons engaged in their constitutionally protect rights to assemble, gather and flash gang signs on street corners? J-Fed has already proven that he'll refer anything he feels isn't punished enough to his buddies over at the US Attorneys Office. The loss of a start time or a car doesn't seem like a big deal compared to a few years in the Federal joint.
• Contact Cards? That would involve contact with the public and having contact with citizens leads to accusations of verbal abuse, physical restraint and questions about professionalism. And a contact card (which Monique says is exactly like a warning ticket, despite the fact Chicago has never had "warning tickets") just proves that you actually met your accuser. Since IPRA and J-Fed are looking to hang coppers, it's like cutting your own throat.
  
• Event numbers? Oh, we got plenty of those. We drive by all sorts of spots and get those. We get to use the radio! If we close our eyes and hold our noses, we can almost imagine we're driving a car with under 147,000 miles, no smell of dead ass, windows that keep the rain out and a slightly used rifle in the trunk - you know, like a professional department.

This is what passes for leadership nowadays - blanket punishment of an entire watch, demands to violate Department policy, threats to remove people from assignments. Way to motivate the troops!

UPDATE: Some of our more "brilliant" readers are missing the point. The point isn't lack of activity - it was a complete lack of ability to motivate activity out of the watch officers and resorting to that time honored tradition of bullies everywhere - threats - which time and time again never ever works. Especially on cops.

Curfew Violations

Not that we're keeping track or anything, but the last two shootings involving minor children happened after the kids were out after curfew.

In the case of the 15-year-old that moved out to Gary (but returned to Chicago to be killed), she was shot on a weeknight at nearly 11 pm, a bit past the 1030 weeknight curfew.

The 4-year-old was out around midnight with family members who had more than a passing familiarity with the dope trade. You can't blame the kid for the bad choices of his adult minders, but a child that young really ought to be in his own bed at that hour, not being shuttled around dope spots.

And Daley just backed the curfew another 30 minutes or so. But until parents take a hand in controlling their kids, it's just so much hot air.

UPDATE: As pointed out by a commentator, the curfew law did pass so it's 10 pm on weekdays now. Someone else suggests it's political cover for Daley being able to dismiss some homicides out of hand because they took place "after curfew." An interesting take on the situation - and very plausible.

The Final Meeting

Yesterday was the last scheduled meeting between J-Fed and Officers. We can't imagine they'll be doing that again any time soon.

A little birdie who attended more than one of the events said attendance dropped off at each successive meeting as the stories of what transpired made the rounds - smoke, more smoke, a whole lot of mirrors, a bunch more smoke and very little substance.

Evaluate - will anything change? Or are we doomed to be bitching here and elsewhere, poking fun at the ridiculous federal man and his Daley-picked staff?

Darwin Again

Ben Franklin?

• A man electrocuted on the West Side Monday afternoon, possibly while attempting to steal copper wire, remains unidentified early Tuesday.

  A Harrison District captain said the man, who was found near 4400 West Fillmore Street, was possibly collecting scrap metal.

Evidently, he also fell 20 feet from the pole he was climbing. Pardon us while we laugh.

Alert the Bosses

An announcement from Kraft:

• Kraft Foods Inc. has reformulated several of its Kool-Aid drinks and launched a new Kool-Aid water beverage to revitalize the brand and bring it more in line with Kraft's nutritional guidelines.

  The company said it added antioxidant vitamin E to its sugar-sweetened Kool-Aid formula and changed its formula for its Kool-Aid Singles so that one packet can be used to flavor 17 ounces of water. Previously, two packets were needed.

  Northfield-based Kraft also said its sugar-free Kool-Aid products have been reformulated to taste closer to regular unsweetened Kool-Aid.

Along with the slightly altered taste, bosses may notice mild disturbances to the digestive process as their bodies adapt to the new formula. Increased flatulence, along with previously observed testicular shrinkage, has been observed in lab rats consuming the Kool-Aid. Spontaneous increases in the tissue surrounding the pectoral musculature has been eliminated.

Didn't We Cover This?

Once again, Fran plays catch up:

• The Fraternal Order of Police is fuming about the city’s decision to grant a permit that paved the way for a Memorial Day weekend march honoring the birthday of David “King David” Barksdale, founder of the Black Disciples street gang.

  The parade along Ashland Avenue was held on Saturday, apparently without incident. Chicago Police officers assigned to the event were forewarned to expect trouble because the Black Disciples have “strong ties” to the Black Gangster Disciples.

And who does Monique work for again?

• “It’s an anti-violence group very similar to groups like Cease Fire. They use their life experiences to deter youth from going down the wrong path. We also have information from police on the scene that group participants were holding signs that said, `Put down the drugs. Put down the guns,’ “ she said.

  Bond insisted that there was “nothing in the permit that indicated criminal activity or a threat.” Why, then was an advisory issued to police officers three days before the event?

So Monique is categorizing that the group is "similar" to Cease Fire? A front group for organized street gangs? Would she then classify "21st Century VOTE" as another political arm of the street gangs?

Ryan Pardon?

Not if John Kass has his way:

• When I think of Ryan, I think of the Jolly Beefeater who ruined the Republican Party in Illinois, the fellow who made the road-builders and the asphalt kings happy, the man who withdrew only $70 in cash for a year, while gambling and steak-housing his way across the state.
  
  I think of Ryan as guilty of all those corruption counts against him, and, most important, as the Illinois politician who squashed the investigation into the deaths of the six Willis kids, who were killed in a fiery crash by a bribe-paying, unqualified truck driver when Ryan was Illinois secretary of state.
  
  And though I may have missed it, I don't think I ever heard Daley cry out in sympathy for those children or their parents, nor Thompson, nor Big Bill Cellini's road builders, nor Tony Pucillo's bridge repair guys, nor any of the lads who showed up at Tavern on Rush or Gibsons or Luxbar to raise a glass and bemoan the fate of poor old George.

And not if we have anything to say about it either. The letters are already in the mail to the White House as we type. Rot in hell George Ryan - you earned it.

Ryan U.S. Supreme Court Appeal Rejected

Without comment.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Time Magazine Covers J-Fed

Not by his name, but by the size of the job he's undertaken. And how he's, well, a bit overwhelmed:

• At a news conference not yet 100-days into Jody Weis' new job, the questions were enough to catch even a veteran police chief flat-footed. On the afternoon of April 20, Weis, the city's new police superintendent, stood before a bank of television cameras in a conference room at his department's headquarters. With a stellar 22-year FBI career behind him, the head of America's second-largest and very troubled police force faced a key test. In the previous 72 hours, nearly 40 people had been shot, five fatally. Weis wanted to clarify the record — and soothe a city on edge.

It goes downhill from there and J-Fed comes off as looking a bit harried.

ISRA Looking for Assistance

Members of the Illinois State Rifle Association have contacted us looking some help:

• I'm a member of the ISRA and also one of the people involved in the planning of a Pro 2A rally in Chicago in July.
• The process is far enough along that we're contacting groups and individuals that might be interested in speaking at the rally. The fact retired CPD officers are denied the right to carry a weapon came up in the last conference call we had and it was suggested that I contact you regarding the possibility of having some retired officers speak at the rally if they were interested. If you know of anybody who might be interested I'd appreciate it if you would let them know and pass along my email so they can get in touch with me.
• Any consideration or assistance you could give to this idea would be greatly appreciated. While the ISRA can't give you a fair contract, hopefully we can give you a louder voice in what's happening to your retired members in the city and state.

CLICK HERE for the ISRA website.

Interested parties can contact Phil at "ishmo101@att.net"

We'll post more details as we get them.

Homicide Totals for Weekend

Post em. Seems like a little over average for the weekend.

• Iowa man stabbed to death in Pullman
• Another stabbing in Washington Park
• Pregnant woman shot to death in Calumet Heights
• Another suburbanite killed in 012
• Shooting death in Woodlawn

Seems like a busy weekend, but maybe that's just the holiday. Tommy Skilling and Jerry Taft save the week with a big cold front moving through.

Look at These Morons

Illinois is finished:

• Reginald "Akkeem" Berry said he wasted away during eight years in Tamms Correctional Center at the southern tip of Illinois.

  Berry, a former Four Corner Hustler imprisoned for killing a gang rival over turf, said he lost 75 pounds from his muscular frame while in the state's only "supermax" facility, where he was sent after a series of disciplinary problems in other prisons.

  He was paroled in 2006.

  "Tamms starved me," Berry, 45, said during a news conference Sunday to promote state legislation to make the 10-year-old prison more humane.

  Representatives Julie Hamos (D-Evanston), Karen Yarbrough (D-Broadview), Eddie Washington (D-Waukegan) and others have introduced a bill that would limit inmates' stays in Tamms to one year with narrow exceptions, bar the state from transferring seriously mentally ill prisoners there, and require a review every three months to see whether a prisoner should remain in Tamms.

What a bunch of dumb fucks. "Oh, poor prisoners. You couldn't behave in society; you couldn't behave in other prisons; now we're going to make Tamms a happy happy place with feather pillows, fuzzy blankets, and Barney on TV."

Prison is supposed to be miserable. Tamms is supposed to be super-fucking-miserable. We're talking about the worst of the worst in this joint. It has to be properly regulated. The routine must be overly regimented. These jagoffs don't behave despite repeated attempts to punish, cajole, or correct.

Please note the "D" next to each of the representatives names. And their districts. Illinois is doomed. The whole state.

Gee, Corruption?

Sneed plays catch up:

• Crook county? Former Ald. Dick Simpson did some shocking arithmetic recently:

  • • The shocker: Since 1971, a total of 27 Chicago aldermen have been convicted in federal court for corruption!

  • • Quoth Simpson: "[In addition to the 27] One died before he could be convicted, and two are currently under indictment and awaiting trial [Ed Vrdolyak and Arenda Troutman]," said Simpson, who now heads up the University of Illinois at Chicago's political science department.

And this is shocking to whom? Royko covered this for years. The rate of aldermanic conviction has always been an amazing stat to outsiders, federal task forces especially. And last week only scraped the surface:

• A mole wore a wire for a year while acting as a bagman carrying bribes from developers and contractors to Chicago building inspectors, exposing systemic corruption in the Zoning and Buildings Departments, authorities said Thursday.
  
  Even for a town that has turned payoffs into an art form, the operative uncovered brazen misconduct, investigators alleged.

Until they cut off the head, expect the games to continue.

All About the Convictions

Felony Review looks out for citizens? Hardly. Via e-mail:

• Back on Super Bowl Sunday, in 2007, we in the 006th district responded to a missing person call, suspicious in nature because blood was found in the house. To make a very long story short, the sometimes live-in boyfriend of a woman, possibly raped (it was inconclusive but very probable) and stabbed the woman's mentally challenged sister seventeen times. She was stabbed in the head, neck, and chest. He then dragged her into the backyard, in just a T-shirt, on this very frigid day and threw her down into the catch basin.
  
• Thanks to the rapid response of officers the boyfriend was apprehended in the neighborhood and he informed them where he had stashed his victim. Upon opening the cover of the catch basin the officers found this poor soul still alive, yet barely conscious or breathing. She was in a seated position, naked except a t-shirt, sitting in filth and human waste up to her stomach, all the while bleeding from her seventeen stab wounds. The only way to extricate her from this hole was to take a very tall, thin officer, grab him by his feet and lower him into the basin to grab hold of the victim so then the officer's up top could pull them both out. She was then rushed to Christ hospital by the waiting paramedics.
• Unfortunately, the elation we felt, believing we saved this woman's life, was dashed four hours later when we received the call to head to the Area (that's the detective's office for you non-police) because this poor soul died during surgery.
• Amazingly, this went to trial this year (a record in Cook County) and the offender was found guilty of Murder and is awaiting hearings on the death sentence. Point of this story is this, during preparation for trail the Assistant State's Attorney, a woman no less, asked where were the photos of the victim in the catch basin. We informed her that the victim was alive when we found her so she was rescued and rushed to the hospital. This ASA then says, "It would have been better for the case had she died in the hole." I almost fell over, what a cold hearted thing to say and absolute evidence that these people, these defenders of justice, these officers of the court, these highly educated and evolved, these who stand against the corrupt police, this is how they feel.
  
• As every copper knows, and is reminded every time Felony is denied because of the State's Attorney's Win/Lose record, it's all about winning. To hell with the victim's of crime, to hell with their Due Process, to their day in court, to their healing process, what about Dick Devine's record...That's what it is about and will continue to be about when the next State's Attorney takes over.
  
• So I say this SCC and I hope all coppers join in. From now on, when felony charges are denied, we give the crime victims the phone number to Felony Review, we give them the name of the ASA who denied charges, and we tell them to call, ask for a supervisor and demand an explanation as to why their case is not worthy of felony charges. You know these lawyers are having a good ole time placing all the blame on the police, the likely successor to Devine plans on prosecuting more police, so let's see how they like the scrutiny...And to you non-police readers, Devine was Daley's hand picked person for the job. Your Mayor, your State's Attorney, all looking out for you, NOT!!!!!!!!

No More Driving

It's hitting the small towns hardest:

• With gasoline climbing toward $4 a gallon, police officers around the country are losing the right to take their patrol cars home and are being forced to double up in cruisers and walk the beat more.

  The gas crunch could also put an end to the time-honored way cops leave their engines running when they get out to investigate something.

  Some police chiefs think the moneysaving measures are not all bad, and might actually help them do a better job. But they worry about the loss of take-home cars, saying the sight of a cruiser parked in a driveway or out in front of a home deters neighborhood crime.

Any chance that J-Fed could be engineering the entire gasoline crunch in an effort to get Chicago cops more fit? The man is an evil genius we tell you. Evil. Genius.

FTO's Dumped?

Got a letter or two about FTO's being dumped out of Districts of assignment. An example:

• On the last transfer order, there were several fto's that were transferred out of the 014 district against their will. All were willing to give up their fto position in order to stay in 014, but were told they would have to leave regardless. You would think if they were that short of fto's, they would start the new class and place them accordingly. Please warn those that passed the recent test that they may have to leave their current district/watch if they accept the fto position.

We've seen dozens of people surrender the FTO position to avoid being moved off their watches, so we aren't sure how the Department could move them from their Districts. We know that a few years back when the FTO's were in class, the Department out-and-out lied to them about being assigned to where they came from and over 50 resigned in protest. Is this another such instance but now they are refusing to allow resignations? Or is the letter writer mistaken?

Gang Parade?

Was this for real?

• The city has granted the Disciples a parade permit for tomorrow. It will go down Ashland in the 009th District and end in Ogden park where they have another permit for a picnic. This is right from Cmdr. Roy today at the DOC meeting. What a slap in the face to the us. we have to have St. Jude hidden behind Soldier Field and these murdering pieces of s**t get a parade down Ashland on a Sat.
• Were you aware the Gangster Disciples were allowed to hold a parade and public party to honor the birthday of David (king david) Barksdale? Is this a slap in the face of the police, evidence of just how whimpy this city and department has become? Does anyone know if they were actually given a permit or were we just so afraid we let them do this without one? What's next, Larry Hoover Day??????

We'll guess the justification was something along the lines of "George Washington was a terrorist to the British loyalists," or something similar. The subtleties seem to escape the bureaucrats granting the permits. We don't know which is worse, not believing that this crap actually took place or believing that it's completely possible in this city.

Ethics Tests Not Working

We distinctly remember a number of these exact situations coming up on the on line Ethics Test:

• Even for a town that has turned payoffs into an art form, the operative uncovered brazen misconduct, investigators alleged.
  
  City inspectors ignored problems, fabricated reports and sped up paperwork in exchange for envelopes of cash, work on their homes and tickets to skyboxes for Bulls games, the federal charges alleged. One inspector took $10,000 to approve two illegal basement units in a building, while another allegedly took $7,000 to "inspect" plumbing that was already covered by concrete, investigators said.
  
  Local and federal authorities said the charges marked a new phase in an investigation dubbed Operation Crooked Code.

We thought that the Ethics Test was supposed to prevent this behavior. We didn't realize it was a "Bribes for Dummies" instruction manual. Someone needs to do a better job explaining all this stuff to us.

Mette Update

Still in the hospital:

• Mike's address for right now is:
  University of Iowa Hospital
  200 Hawkins Dr.
  Iowa City, Ia 52242-1009
  I do not know if his inmate number is needed or not.
  He will be here for at least another 7 to 10 days. We are going to see him this weekend.
  
  His mom-Patti

Despite Iowa's best efforts to deny him adequate medical care, Mike continues to persevere. Drop him a line.

Count Us In

Want to see the mayor blow a gasket?

• KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - A Missouri car dealer said on Thursday sales have soared at his auto and truck business since launching a promotion this week that promises buyers a free handgun or a $250 gas card with every purchase.
  
  Max Motors, a small Butler, Missouri dealership that has as its logo a grimacing cowboy wielding a pistol, has sold more than 30 cars and trucks in the last three days, far more than its normal volume. And owner Mark Muller credits his decision to start offering buyers their choice of a $250 gas card or a $250 credit at a gun shop.
  
  "This thing has taken off. Sales have quadrupled," said Muller. The store sells both used and new vehicles including General Motors and Ford products.

We like his thinking. Open post for weekend stuff. It might hit 80 over the holiday. Will the monster rear its ugly head?

Not on the Radar

Remember months ago when the mayor's nephew, cousin or whatever the hell he was got a pile of our pension money to invest in some real estate venture? And holy hell was raised here and elsewhere that a number of the elected trustees went along with the scheme?

With the real estate market in the crapper, we were just wondering, what is the status of those investments? We're sure Daley's relative secured his money up front in the form of transaction fees or similar payments, along with a handsome payout if the investment did well.

But what if the investment tanked? He got his fees and we got an empty hole in the ground? We're just curious.

Drew Charged?

But not with murder:

• ...it was the size of a short-barreled rifle police seized from Drew Peterson in November that prompted authorities Wednesday to file a felony weapons charge against him.

Maybe we are misremembering the time line. Can someone correct it if we're wrong?

• Stacy disappears, Drew is named a suspect
• Authorities seize Drew's guns during the course of a number of search warrants, including the "short barrel rifle"
  
• Drew retires under a cloud of suspicion
• Drew asks for his guns back, is refused, appeals, loses his FOID card, has his guns turned over to his son for safekeeping

The sticking point in our minds is the time frame of the seizure (if we remember it correctly). If the allegedly short barreled gun is his SWAT weapon, and that's the gun he trained with and qualified with, what's the problem? It wasn't sawed off - it was a barrel manufactured for the gun. Bolingbrook qualified him with the weapon for years, so they didn't have a problem with it. SWAT persons are allowed to modify guns for their missions, including much shorter rifles for clearing buildings and such. If the gun was legal when he was a cop, and he hadn't quite retired when they seized it (including contractually allowed time off), then the state is liable to give Drew a bunch of money for malicious prosecution.

For the tiny brains, we'll repeat, we think Drew is guilty of a number of things. But this is getting stupid, and you and we as taxpayers, are on the hook for State Police missteps in this case.

Dilemma

There's court law backing it up:

• You're on vacation, out running and you fall and break your ankle. You're out of work as a consequence of the injury.

  Would you think of applying for Worker's Compensation Benefits? David Tomlin did, and won. Let me explain.

You can read the whole story here. It's not a lengthy explanation, but we don't publish entire articles here or in the comments because (A) it takes up too much space and (B) it's a copyright violation.

The short version is Beverly Hills, California SWAT Officer Tomlin is required as a condition of his employment to take a physical every year. Since he was training for work, he's entitled to Workman's Comp, despite of the fact he was in Wyoming on vacation when he broke his ankle. Are we to assume that all training accidents in Chicago will be covered as IOD's once J-Fed gets his physical fitness standards passed?

It opens up a can of worms that Daley will not want to deal with - and can't afford to deal with.

Clearance Rate to Fall

Look for bank robbery clearances to tank shortly:

• Chicago Police detectives -- other than those assigned to the FBI's violent crimes task force -- will no longer respond to bank robberies in Chicago, under a policy change unveiled this week that rankled the police union.

  Fraternal Order of Police President Mark Donahue said morale among rank-and-file officers is already at "a very low point," and it won't get any better if career-FBI agent-turned Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis hands off police duties to his former FBI colleagues.

Well, as "rank-and-file" persons, we never really got to investigate bank robberies. We guess we won't miss it much. But what's with Mark all over the news lately? Is he realizing the entire negotiating process is being indirectly derailed by Daley's people talking to the press, leaking to the press and making J-Fed subvert the negotiating process?

Budget Gap Filled

How about this idea?

• CANTON (Ohio) For residents tired of that overgrown lot that resembles a minijungle next door, the city wants to help by trying to put high-grass violators behind bars.
  
  City Council wants to beef up its existing high-grass and weeds law by making a second offense a fourth-degree misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine of up to $250 and up to 30 days in jail.

With so many foreclosures, there are properties across the city with no one maintaining the lawns. Who holds the paper on the property? Banks. And banks have lots of money. Daley ought to start up a "Overgrown Grass and Weed" unit to hunt down banks who aren't keeping lawns trimmed nicely. And while he's at it, a "Dandelion Enforcement" squad.

It's better than Eddie Burke's proposed unit that goes looking for dogs' nuts.

Aggressive? HAHAHAHA

Wednesday was what? The third in a series of meetings to discuss Department issues with J-Fed? And already, we don't care. It's a dog and pony show, we can smell the BS from our 3rd floor apartment, and nothing is going to get addressed until Daley addresses it or Daley goes to jail.

Then we get this from the Tribune:

• Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis told officers gathered for a meeting this week that arrests in the city were down and implored them to be more aggressive on the street.
  
  Department officials confirmed the account.

Wow. Call us names, paint us with the same brush, throw officers under the bus, give us horseshit equipment, tease us with crap about upgraded arsenals, new cars, working computers, working radios, cave to the "reverends," dump workers, promote morons and the connected, the list can go on and on and on.

But be more aggressive?

Why? Why bother? We aren't seeing any leadership. And only a fool follows someone who walks into walls. We aren't fools, and neither are 99% of this Department.

R. Kelly Trial

We haven't been covering this crap because it seems to be old news. Six years from arrest to trial? Ridiculous. And it's a Michael Jackson type circus.

But we heard Johnnie Cochran himself has risen from the dead to run R. Kelly's defense and it's based on the contention that (A) the victim says it isn't her on the tape and (B) the defendant says it isn't him on the tape, and this is all just some big mistake. R. Kelly will testify as follows:

• Who is this chick?
  That ain't my dick

And Cochran's closing argument will concentrate on the allegedly "fake" video that doesn't show certain prominent birthmarks:

• If you don't see a mole
  That ain't his pole

We figure an acquittal on all counts shortly. Anyone else feel the spirit of Johnnie upon them? Use the comments. And make it entertaining without being crude or stupid.

Daley Says What Now?

Earlier today, Daley came out in support of Mell's Law, but not for the obvious reason of re-registering Mell's "arsenal":

• Mayor Daley said today he's all for the idea of temporarily re-opening gun registration in Chicago -- not as a favor to Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), but to get a realistic handle on the number of guns in Chicago.

Aha! Daley sees a chance at more tax money. All those missed registration fees must add up. Daley is already attempting to sue e-Bay and other online ticket resellers who don't pay city taxes on Chicago event tickets. The funny thing is, Daley's been turning down this "extra" money for a while now as pointed out by the FOP President:

• "We have retired police officers who have a right to carry concealed weapons across the country, and they're being barred from registering their weapons in Chicago. We've taken one of these cases to Circuit Court. Dick Mell has taken his case to the City Council," the union president said.

  "Whether he knows it or not, the mayor, by this agreement [to endorse a temporary gun amnesty] is establishing a double standard. One for members of the City Council, the other for everybody else."

Tens upon tens, maybe hundreds, (maybe thousands?) of retired CPD unable to register their former duty guns because they aren't aldercreatures who can pass a law to cover their lapses. All at how much per year?

We are of the opinion that registration is a pretext to confiscation at some point. Daley has no business in our homes, our papers or our possessions.

Evidently Not

In the post below this one, we ask if everyone is tired of scandal yet.

The cursed Indian burial grounds seem to have spawned yet another scandal that will spread beyond the borders of 025.

No joy in Mudville.

Tired of Scandal Yet?

Another one. Shoplifting.

We won't even bother to link to it. Find it at some of the local media links on the right hand side.

Open post to wonder what the hell the future holds.

Dispatchers

Over at the "Let's Talk Chi Town" blog, they do a bit of coverage on the firing of the OEMC police dispatch supervisor. Seems like politics as usual:

• The $118,104-a-year director of police communications at Chicago's 911 center has been fired amid allegations that he falsified performance evaluations to give a handful of insiders a leg up over outside applicants for supervisory jobs.

  Sources said the firing of Russell Simmons -- and the apparent reassignment of an underling accused of assisting him -- is part of a broader investigation of alleged hiring and contract irregularities at the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.

  The wide-ranging investigation by Inspector General David Hoffman helps to explain why Tony Ruiz, the $162,912-a-year executive director of OEMC, was kicked upstairs on March 28 after only nine months on the job.

  Simmons is a political protege of Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th), chairman of the City Council's Police and Fire Committee.

It'd be humorous if it wasn't promotions for unqualified people who are pretty much our lifelines at the other end of the radio. But then, what does one expect from Daley's Chicago?

SCC Times

Would Conrad Black like to just sign over controlling interest of the Sun Times to us?

Stella Foster, who spent years and years writing for Irv, lifts liberally from our posts about the J-Fed meetings.

Fran get beaten to the punch so often, she looks like Liston after meeting Cassius Clay.

"Crime reporter" Frank Main "borrows" so often it's a wonder he isn't arrested for theft.

Sneed "hears rumblings" while reading our comments section. Her latest?

• Sneed hears rumbles Chicago Police Officer Gerald Callahan, who was just charged with attacking a couple at a Niles lounge, has a history of department desk duty (Alternative Response Unit) because of off-duty incidents stemming from a drinking problem over the last 10 years. Has the Chicago Police Board turned a blind eye in the past?

Gee Sneed, ya think? Politics in a Board appointed by the mayor? Wow. J-school really worked out for you.

Tonight's Meeting

Open post for issued addressed.

Mell is Better than You

From Fran - a disappointing second place:

• Mell forgot to re-register the weapons as required every year by the ordinance that he helped to pass as one of the City Council's most senior members.

  So, what does an alderman do when he finds himself in violation of the law? He writes a new law. Mell has quietly introduced an ordinance that would reopen gun registration in Chicago and create a one-month amnesty for himself and other gun owners in the same predicament.

  During the monthlong window, gun owners who attempted to re-register their guns between May 1, 2007, and April 1, 2008, only to be rejected on grounds the registrations had lapsed would be allowed to re-register without penalty.

Wow! We can see the line of GD's and vicelords is going to be way long at Gun Registration next month. They might have to put on double shifts!

How about we just call this what it is - casual disregard for the law, rank hypocrisy and once more, the ruling class giving us little people the finger.

Next Meeting

We can't find the schedule someone posted in the comments, but if we recall it correctly, there's another "J-Fed Song and Dance Get Together" coming up Tuesday at the Academy and Wednesday at Lane? Who's got the list? In the meantime, we need to make sure those in attendance ask a few important follow up questions:

• What is the status of the TASERs Aunt Bea promised to check on? Please provide the UPS Tracking Number so officers can check on the status of the shipment as it moves toward town. By the way, if Aunt Bea doesn't show or doesn't have an answer, rest assured no one cared enough to find out.
  
• Monique says that every squad car will be outfitted with a rifle. We've received a number of communications that a vendor is being looked at to install rifle racks in every squad car. Have you backed off the attempt to lower the health care costs to the City by purposefully underarming the first responders under your command? And why is the range training people with M-16s instead of M-4s? Oh yeah, the Mayor hasn't even allowed the Department to purchase these weapons yet - our bad.
  
• As the Mayor's Office ordered Fleet to cancel an order for 187 new squad cars from Ford, would you care to comment on how we can't do our job if we can't get to our jobs safely.
• And as previously stated, thanks for releasing the "merit" list - now would you please define "merit"? We'd really like to know what to shoot for since we aren't related to anyone, we aren't owed anything from anyone, and we refuse to debase ourselves by sleeping with anyone.

And let's not worry about nonsense like traveling to promotional sites and J-Fed giving us a ride home and the contract. If you want to be promoted, you'll make sacrifices; if you want to get home, take a cab; if you want a contract, call the mayor, because J-Fed isn't authorized to negotiate diddley squat.

A Favor for the Rabbi

From a frequent reader and commentator:

• Hope all is well,
  A quick question. I am looking for a small beater car for my son.
  He is attending trade school in Itasca and is looking for a small beater as means of transportation (30 miles each way from home). Body condition and mileage no problem, as long as it safe and reliable. he is looking to spend $1,500 - $2,000.
  If you know of anything or maybe some older folk trying to sell a car please let me know.
  THANKS SO MUCH!!!
  Moshe cell. 773-xxx-xxxx

We removed the Rabbi's cell number since this site is seen world wide. All Chicago cops know three different places to get his number. Let's help out someone who has helped a whole bunch of cops.

Who's To Blame? (3 Guesses)

Wait a minute. This isn't the officer's first run-in with pending time? This isn't the officer's second run-in with being on the wrong end of a bottle? This isn't even his third major rule violation?

Why, there ought to be a system in place to catch these potential problem officers, so as to save them from themselves and save the Department embarrassment. Something to address the Concerns of Personnel.

What? There is such a system?

Well, then there ought to be a disciplinary process that punishes these transgressions and makes sure they never happen again, especially under the guise of being a cop the third or fourth time around. Some sort of Board for the Police.

What? There is such a process?

But then how did this officer fall through the cracks? How did he time and time again game the system?

Anyone from the Lame-Stream Media want to take a guess? The real police already know the answer - its been eroding the Department morale for their entire careers. Real cops aren't the problem and it isn't cops who are backing the subversion of the Rules.

Alert the Area 2 Gun Team!

Interesting tidbit that might be fodder for a Search Warrant:

• A peculiar ordinance (attached) was introduced by Dick Mell at the last City Council meeting. It reads:
  
  Notwithstanding any provision in the Municipal Code to the contrary, if both of the following conditions are met:
  
  1. An application for renewal of a firearm registration certificate pursuant to Article II of Chapter 8-20 of the Municipal Code has been submitted to the Superintendent of Police ("Superintendent") between May 1, 2007 and April 1, 2008, inclusive; and
  
  2. Such renewal application was rejected by the Superintendent solely on the grounds that it was untimely; then such renewal application may be resubmitted to the Superintendent within 30 days after the passage of this ordinance, and the Superintendent shall accept such resubmission if received by him within said 30-day period, and shall process it as if it had been timely submitted.
  
  Why would Dick Mell introduce an ordinance that requires the Police Department to accept late gun registration renewals? Because Dick Mell has an arsenal of guns that he forgot to register and has possessed illegally in the City for several years.
  
  About a year ago, Mell submitted an application to register a gun. Gun Registration rejected it because Mell had bought the gun several years before and this was the first time he was applying to register it. He then realized that he (or someone on his staff) had forgotten to re-register his other 12 guns - shotguns, rifles, and pistols, including a Walther PPK, the favorite of James Bond. So he submitted renewals for those guns, which Gun Registration also rejected. Because he failed to renew the registration of all these guns, he's possessed them illegally for several years. And because he failed to renew the registration, under the gun ordinance, he can't ever register these guns in Chicago again.
  
  Phone calls were made at the highest levels to find a way around this pesky ordinance. The cops in Gun Registration stood their ground. So Mell filed an appeal at the Dept of Ka-Ching - I mean, Administrative Hearings. The case has been continued a couple of times for phone calls to be made to the Corporation Counsel, but alas, he's had no luck there either. His lawyer tried the argument that an alderman is a peace officer who can carry a gun, but nobody's buying that one. At the next hearing - this Tuesday, May 20, at 1:30 pm - it's expected that Mell's lawyer will ask to continue the case until after the June 11 City Council meeting, at which this ordinance will get passed, and Mell can register his arsenal again.
  
  So having failed to comply with the law, and being unable to find a way around the law, Mell is just going to change the law.

Interesting that Dick Mell creates a loophole for himself when everyone else is whining about tightening up loopholes. Bet you'll never see the papers cover this story.

ASA's Disregard the Law

From the comments:

• Last night on 1st watch we made a traffic stop. 2 m/1's. Got a 9mm under the driver seat full clip and one in the chamber. 2 more full clips next to the gun. Driver says he thought FOID card gave him permission to carry gun. Felony review said, no felony charge cause guy had valid FOID. So according to ASA's if you have a valid FOID you can now carry a gun.

If the citizenry knew what passed for lawyering these days, they'd puke. At least we hope they'd puke. Who knows? It's been years since we met a competent lawyer that wasn't working in the criminal defense field. Felony Review is about the most useless cog of the Court process and exists only for incompetent connected lawyers to get jobs.

60 Minutes?

In the comments a few weeks ago, someone mentioned Katie Couric was outside Homan Square doing some set pieces or exterior shots. We didn't address it at the time as there was no real corroboration.

Has anyone heard anything further? After the 20/20 bullshit ran, anything is possible during sweeps month.

Oh Shit - Mette Update

From Mike's people:

• BULLETIN
  May 17; Iowa City, IA
  
  On Friday, May 9th, Mike went to the prison infirmary at North Central Correctional Facility complaining of sickness and a pain in his lower right abdomen. The nurse merely gave Mike a laxative and told him that nothing was wrong with him.
  
  On May 13th, Mike's appendix burst and another prison nurse had him transported to the local hospital. He was subsequently transferred to the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City. Antibiotics failed to cure the infection.
  
  Today, the Mette Family was notified that Mike will undergo an appendectomy. The surgical procedure may include a partial removal of his COLON due to infection.
  
  MMDF:jn

Prayers and well wishes for Mike only. And referrals for a good Personal Injury lawyer. After Mike gets better, he should end up owning fucking Iowa.

UPDATE: From Mike's Dad and Mom

• Everyone,
  Just received a call from the hospital in Iowa City and the doctor stated the operation went well. They were able to get the appendix out without removing any part of Mike's bowels which would have left him with a colostomy bag on him for awhile. They cleaned out the infection and he'll probably be there for another 7 to 10 days. better food and company for Mike but we can't call or visit while he's at the hospital.
  Bob & Patti

Small miracles. We need a few more now.

Another Black Eye

WTF people? It's all over the 10:00 PM news.

Sun Times has a link up.

Why can't certain people just stop making life miserable for the rest of us?

What's That Noise?

It must be J-Fed's head spinning:

• Civil rights groups are concerned about a plan by Chicago police to bring out the big guns to keep the city safe. [...], they fear it will only escalate violence.
  
  Rev. Jesse Jackson says the Chicago Police Department's plans to curb violence by arming officers with M4 assault weapons may backfire.
  
  "I think that for them to get these weapons is to escalate the kind of violence and set the stage for a shootout," Jackson said in a press conference Saturday.
  
  His attack on the police department came one day after Supt. Jody Weis announced new initiatives to target an increase in gang activity. Murders in Chicago were up nine percent in the first four months of 2008. Weis' strategy includes heavily arming officers and deploying SWAT teams in areas prone to gang violence. But Jackson says if that happens, "the gang settlement will become more armed as well and make police and people less secure."

So within a single news cycle, Jesse has come out completely against arming officers and actually advocates scaling down the police response to gangs being armed with rifles. He even revives the idea of an "assault weapons" ban, ignoring the fact that the gangs never disarmed in the first place.

Here's a flash for J-Fed - cops dislike Daley. Rather than vote for him, they'll stay home. Daley doesn't have to keep cops happy. Why do we go years between contracts?

"Reverends" however, control lots of votes. Daley has worked long and hard to keep his stable of tame "reverends" around to counter any uprising. That's how he got Dorothy Brown to hop into the last race to derail the potential Gutierrez and Jesse Jr. mayoral runs. Is J-Fed's head ready to explode yet?

God Bless Tom Skilling

Daley is cutting him a no-bid city contract of some sort. It's raining as we type and more rain is predicted for Sunday:

• Shootings throughout the city have hospitalized at least 10 people late Friday through early Saturday. None of the victims, as of early Saturday, appeared to have been seriously wounded.

The Sun Times covers the same phenomenon. Channel 2 appears to have taken down it's interactive shooting map and the other links haven't updated since 11 May. Political pressure to downplay the shootings?

Reap What You Sow

Goodbye Olympic dreams?

• Homicides in Chicago rose by almost 9 percent, while violent crime was up more than 6 percent in the first four months of 2008, compared with the same period last year, Police Supt. Jody Weis said Friday.
  
  Weis blamed the uptick in violence on "unique" sets of multiple homicides, including two triple murders and a quintuple homicide, all in April. In April, there were 47 murders, compared with 34 the year before. A total of 134 homicides were tallied over the first four months of the year, compared with 123 in 2007.

Now you know EXACTLY why J-Fed and his one trick pony show are coming to theaters near you. "Unique" set of circumstances our asses. Apathy is taking hold and the City is about to reap the whirlwind. This was the coolest April in eleven years, the coldest winter in almost as long and killings are up 9%.

TRU lost 90 officers - we're sure they'll all feel like working extra hard, especially those guys who live north and suddenly find themselves in Area 1 and 2, far from home, looking at increased gas costs to get to work with no contract for a year and no contract on the horizon. Yup, they'll be all over that homicide rate. Five-to-one odds that much of the next transfer order is ex-TRU guys bidding out of those Areas.

And the 40 guys trained on M-4s? Too bad the City hasn't even ordered those rifles yet and they're training on M-16s that will never leave the station. Get a load of Monique's quote:

• Over the next three years, the goal is to have a carbine weapon in every patrol vehicle and officers trained to use them, said spokeswoman Monique Bond.

But what about that POWER test? Is that out the window? Is Monique backtracking all over that "grasping for breath" makes the barrel move up and down? Hmmm? We'll see a camera in every patrol car before we see a carbine.

Schools are out in three weeks, gangs aren't feeling the pressure and Daley is praying that global warming is a myth. Remember Rule #1 - every officer goes home safe. Every goddamned one of us.

Big Time!

Front page of the Sun Times website:

• Only fit cops will get big gun

Cops who want to shoot an M4 assault weapon will have to flex more than a trigger finger. The Chicago Police Department recently launched physical fitness tests for cops who have applied to carry the semiautomatic rifle. Members of gang, gun and tactical teams are the first ones being asked if they want to take the state-approved exam for officers, called the P.O.W.E.R. test.

And right below that?

• Spring violence coverage
  
  What others are saying: Second City Cop

Amazing. Front page coverage. And we couldn't do one damn bit of it without you, the readers and contributors. For that, we thank you and salute you. You humble us and we will continue to strive to keep you informed, entertained and even a bit irritated on occasion.

J-Fed Admits Smoke and Mirrors?

It's amazing. You can't even see the strings or wires or however Daley is controlling his mouth:

• One answer to curbing Chicago's gun violence, according to police, is putting officers on the streets dressed in full battle gear and traveling in vehicles normally used in hostage and barricade situations.
  
  "I think it acts as deterrent," Chicago Police Dept. Supt. Jody Weis said. "The first thought is that it's SWAT and they've backed off. I think the deterrent factor is important."

Excuse us for a moment - bwahahahahahaha! They think it's SWAT? But doesn't SWAT wear green now? And what's the deterrent factor if you're telling Channel 2 and they're broadcasting it as the lead story?

Pardon our sarcasm, but isn't this just like a fed? Or a J-Fed? Put on a big show and everyone is amazed at the bells and whistles, but behind the facade, an empty suit.

And J-Fed has got to be wondering how the hell Pat Hill is getting all this coverage. First, she's all over his ass at the Channel 2 "Violence Summit" that we didn't cover because it was just a bunch of media heads and racist preachers ripping the police and demanding more of our tax money. Now she's on the Channel 2 News claiming the following:

• Pat Hill, a former police officer and the president of the African American Police League, questions the message police are sending to the black and Hispanic communities where the battle-ready officers are expected to be deployed.
  
  "This is the stuff you use in war," Hill said. "This is what you use in Iraq and Afghanistan. So are they telling the community now that they've declared us as the enemy?"

No mention by professional grievance-monger Hill (who by the way is about the biggest racist piece of shit we've ever had the misfortune of running across) that it's the police who've been on the losing side of those weapons for years now. But she actually gets J-Fed to respond to her wild accusations!

• "We're not viewing black and brown communities as war zone," Weis said.

A nice failure to mention why Hill is an ex police officer. Point to Pat Hill for getting the Superintendent of Police to actually treat her like she means anything. J-Fed is in so far over his head, it's almost sad. Almost.

Drew Moves On

Animal magnetism. That's the only way to explain it:

• The 22-year-old woman whom Drew Peterson was seeking to help when he got stopped for speeding by police has been questioned extensively by investigators probing the disappearance of his fourth wife.

  Speaking publicly for the first time, the Darien woman said Thursday that State Police investigators questioned her for two hours earlier this week about Peterson and her involvement with him.

• She met him at the suburban tanning salon where she works, has spent time with him, even stayed overnight at his Bolingbrook house, but insisted the two aren't romantically involved.

He met Stacy when she was what...17? And he was 49? Now he's 54 and a bit lonely, so he's picking up 22 year olds.

Word on the streets is he learned all his moves from Seiser.

Sergeants List Out

Post it if you got it.

UPDATE: Big thanks to the greatest readers in the world.

Merit Selections
Unit Name

189 Banuelos, Ulysses A.
211 Bielecki, Lee C.
606 Cepeda Jr., Thomas
640 Christoforakis, Jenny C.
008 Dineen, Michael E.
141 Gibbs. Ronald W.
177 Grant, David C.
189 Hallihan. Joseph F.
193 Hawkins, Brian R.
021 Hunter, Michael A.
006 Jackson, Eric
189 Kimble, Ronald N.
606 Lewis, John A.
019 Mendoza, David T.
216 Papaioannou, Chris
196 Parker, Michael K.
606 Pellegrini, John F.
141 Rhein, Charles W.
193 Roberts, John E.
014 Roman Jr., Wilfredo
141 Tiado, Jose M.
189 Walker, Traci L.

Rank Order Selections

610 Alderden, Jacob M.
023 Bartz, Michael E.
620 Beltran, Eduardo L.
022 Bird, Joseph J.
006 Clark, Llowyn R.
022 Cooney, Michael P.
008 Costello, Michael N.
650 Delafont. James K.
019 Dombrowski, Anthony M.
610 Dougherty, Phillip J.
019 Fitzgerald, Michael A.
012 Flisk, Margaret J.
141 Gade Jr., Lawrence R.
640 Garcia, Jose J.
015 Gilfillan, Gregory D,
013 Gopez. Frederich G.
196 Guerra, Cindy I.
650 Hajdu,.Karoly R.
016 Hernandez, Julio A.
620 Hindman, David J.
022 Hoover, Terry
606 Inzerra, Maurizio P.
640 Isakson, Roy A.
640 Kane III, Robert E.
650 Keane, Thomas P.
025 Kearns, Mark -E.
650 Lamperis, Dimitrios J.
253 Losik. Richard F.
141 Magno, Michael S.
610 Mahaffey Jr., Louis D.
011 Mc Kee. Luke J.
023 McHugh, Shane F.
620 Mishler, Elizabeth C.
004 Mitchum, Patrina L.
620 Piechocki, John M.
384 Pierri, Frank
189 Polan. Melinda M.
192 Ouinn, Patrick T.
010 Ramaglia, Frank V.
008 Ryan, Thomas W.
017 Salgado, Agustin
017 Schniar, Brian T.
011 Silich, Steven A.
016 Stadnik, Richard
196 Stevens, Jill M.
017 Tirado. Marco A.
141 Torres, Arturo
640 Tsoukalas, Christ
124 Washington, Monique J.
377 Wieczorek, Laura A.
610 Winstrom, Eric W.
193 Wolf, Timothy A.
141 Wurm, Gabriella N.

Look, Rifles!

And here's the strings attached:

• Cops who want to shoot an M4 assault weapon will have to flex more than a trigger finger.

  The Chicago Police Department recently launched physical fitness tests for cops who have applied to carry the semiautomatic rifle.

• Mark Donahue, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, questioned why cops need to pass a fitness test to carry M4s.

  "I don't believe it's likely that situations would arise where you'd be running great distances with this weapon," Donahue said. "As long as you're proficient, you should be able to carry it."

  Police spokeswoman Monique Bond disagreed.

  "If you are grasping for breath, the weapon could waver up and down," she said.

We'll save everyone the trouble of commenting on "gasping for breath" making things "waver up and down." Unless it's really really funny, let's stick to issue at hand. Donahue's right - proficiency is the issue. We don't think a criminal is going to wait for some Greek Adonis to come in shirtless with a rifle to stop his killing spree...well, unless it's a certain head of a metropolitan mass transit agency...but we digress.

No anyone else will really care how the rifle gets there. And as a lieutenant point out in the article, a shotgun would be a better option 9 times out of 10.

Evaluating the Meeting

Well, it's been a day since the meeting. We've been reading the comments very closely to get a feel for what people thought, what people liked (and disliked), and what needed to be addressed. We're going to comment on some of the issues we saw come up.

States Attorneys: they seems to have decided not to play ball with the Police Department anymore. They're operating under a lame duck and no one is going to stick their necks out for anything and jeopardize support from the "reverends" and the Machine prior to a new regime. All they care about is their conviction rate so they can run for mayor on it in three years. This doesn't strike us as something J-Fed can control.

"Merit" promotions: Hooray if they're going to release the "merit" picks - it's a step in the right direction. We know the FOP has a list so they can make sure the City is following rank order, we just never believed in their bullshit excuse that they couldn't reveal the "merit" because the City wouldn't let them see the list ever again if they did. That's so much horse shit. A government agency giving a test with taxpayer money and they won't release the list? We're sure an FOIA request and a couple of Federal lawsuits would open up that list pretty quick. We understand New York publishes the list in every precinct by rank order so everyone can keep an eye on it. What would really make the difference is seeing what constitutes "merit" and who the person is who recommended the individual.

Callback POW's: Settle these cases and get the people involved either fired or back on the street, plain and simple. Criminal defendants get a trial in 180 days or less unless continued by agreement - coppers deserve the same thing. If the Department has a case, make it. Otherwise, get off the pot. If the City wants to have some provision to reinstate charges later, negotiate it into the process.

Rule 15 violations: J-Fed says he isn't looking for drinkers unless they break the law. We interpret this to mean if you get caught, your ass is grass and J-Fed is the lawnmower. Everyone is over 21 here so everyone knows what's what. We still wonder why J-Fed is taking input on Rule 15 enforcement from his staff when a certain member was pretty much in charge of making sure over half the Command Staff from years ago never had an empty glass.

Miscellaneous:

• work schedule - subject of negotiation;
• hiring to fix shortages - City Hall, not J-Fed;
• testing locations - J-Fed had nothing to do with where the City schedules exams;
• demanding J-Fed's phone number for a ride - silly to the point of inanity.

These questions were a waste of time.

And what was the bit about J-Fed having to get home to his family since he was up since 0530? You think there weren't guys and gals who gave up time with their families to be there? After midnight shifts, court, side jobs? And J-Fed has to go home to his cats? Does the FBI even have a night shift or are they pretty much a 9-to-5 operation?

So it was the dog and pony show everyone though it would be except for one thing. We address that in the post below.

Why Morale is Down

A bunch of people decided to go off on the FOP reps who showed up. Fine, this is still America, and although there is no Right to Free Speech on this blog, we let all those comments go because we figured we'd address them later.

First of all, Donahue, Bella and J-Fed aren't going to negotiate the contract in a room with 200-plus coppers standing around. It just isn't going to happen. And although the City has been dragging their feet for a year now and claiming they couldn't discuss a contract until a new Superintendent was in place because he was their "lead negotiator," the fact of the matter is J-Fed has never operated under a contract, doesn't know what a contract entails, and has no power to bargain for anything. That's why the City has lawyers and a mayor to tell them what the Police will be granted.

Donahue being silent seems to be some sort of misguided allegiance to a promise not to negotiate in the media. We don't know if the President missed it, but the City has been "negotiating" in the media ever since J-Fed got here - fitness standards, work schedules, new equipment, etc. Each of these is a pretty blatant attempt by the City to sway voters, aldercreatures and anyone else with a dog in the fight. And FOP is looking like a little poodle.

Bella concentrated on the Cozzi incident for a reason, and the reason is that J-Fed circumvented the system. By doing an end around, he has potentially set a precedent that negates the entire disciplinary system. Cozzi admitted wrong doing, was found guilty and liable for his behavior, was punished severely, apologized in open court, served his punishment and went through the process of rehabilitation. Then suddenly it doesn't mean anything anymore? Is rehabilitation only for the rapists, child molesters and murderers now? Cops can't make mistakes? Lose their cool? Be rehabilitated?

Here's the thing - J-Fed admits he called the FBI Civil Rights people or US Attorney or whoever on Cozzi. He brought in outsiders to circumvent and bypass an established disciplinary process and an agreed upon penalty levied against Cozzi. J-Fed betrayed the Rank and File of the Chicago Police Department to such an extent that he can never be trusted. Ever. Trust is a two way street and unfortunately, we cannot trust J-Fed to have our backs in the face of an established procedure.

As collateral damage, he calls into question the loyalty of each and every member of his staff. Most of those people (the non-feds) came from somewhere. Most of them made deals, asked for (or granted) favors, got a hand up. And now all those rules went out the window. We're supposed to trust these people when we pull over a car load of gang bangers? When we disperse a corner? When we have to put hands on a subject and wrestle them? When "reverends" and their ilk can allege all sorts of malfeasance takes place as a matter of policy?

It's easier to pretend no one saw a thing.

Ah Yes, the "Planted" Gun

No wonder the fleet we have sucks so bad - coppers carrying around all those drop guns, drop dope and no doubt, a few drop bodies for those really sticky situations really screws with the vehicle suspensions:

• Relatives, witnesses and friends of a 19-year-old man shot and wounded by police on Mother's Day allege that a gun was planted on him after he was shot, according to a Channel 5 news report.

  But prosecutors said Javara Gardner, charged with assaulting a police officer, was shot after he dropped a gun and tried to pick it up.

• Witness Diana Banks said a policewoman took a gun she found in a nearby yard and "put it by the boy's head."

  An unidentified friend claimed the gun was his and that he hid it in the yard when he saw police approaching.

Aha! A new twist on the old story - a "witness" who placed the gun in a yard and another witness who claims police put it right by the offender they had just shot. It makes sense. Put a gun right by a guy you just shot so he can have another go at it and you can really let him have a few at even closer range.

Does anyone in the media even bother to read these fantasy pieces they write up? And if it's even remotely true, shouldn't the jackass who claims to have hidden the gun in the yard be under arrest and charged as an accessory?

More Corruption

Thank goodness the feebs added those extra corruption task forces here:

• Federal authorities are asking questions about a controversial contract awarded last year to manage harbors for the Chicago Park District, one of the losing bidders and the state attorney general's office disclosed Wednesday.
  
  The questions involve the Park District's deal with California-based Westrec Marina Inc., which has operated the harbors for more than a decade after the district privatized management. After Westrec won a new five-year contract in December, one of the firms vying for the contract wrote a letter to the U.S. attorney in Chicago and the Illinois attorney general contending the contract process was skewed in favor of Westrec.

Yet another round of the "Chicago Way." But don't worry - Parks Board president Gery Chico says everything is above reproach and just because he's a Daley appointee has nothing to do with his stand. What we wouldn't give for a few of Daley's hand picked henchmen to be waterboarded for a day or so. The tales they could tell.

Meeting Updates

Anyone who is there, knows someone there or gets home after being there and can get to a computer, type it up and fire it over here. We'll update as possible.

THIS THREAD IS FOR THE MEETING ONLY.

ALL OTHER SUBMISSIONS WILL BE DELETED.

The are over 100 other threads for whatever else you might want to comment on. Use those please. Thanks for your cooperation.

UPDATE: At 12:05 AM or so, this post will be moved up from its current location (1900 hours Wednesday) to stay at the top of the page for Thursday.

So far, the biggest news is J-Fed saying 75 Sergeants and all "merit" picks will be identified? That's a big change - it'd be bigger if they'd release how these people achieved "merit" status. Perhaps a family tree for some of the less obvious picks?

UPDATE: Rue St. Michel covers the whole thing on his blog. Go Visit - NOW!