Fundraiser

Short notice:

• The Brotherhood for the Fallen is having a benefit for Officer Flisk Wednesday after the funeral. We will be at the FOP hall from 1800-2300. Officer Flisk leaves behind a wife and four children, we would like to raise whatever we can to help them in this time of need. Pizza and adult beverages will be served we just ask for donations at the door.

Cold Blooded

The fact that something resembling a human being can even think at this level shouldn't be shocking to police officers. But it is disturbing in any event:

• Free on parole, convicted armed robber Timothy Herring Jr. was determined not to go back to prison.

  So when the 19-year-old sneaked back Friday to the scene of a burglary he’d committed hours earlier and overheard veteran police officer and evidence technician Michael Flisk say “I’ve got a good fingerprint,” he acted in the coldest of blood, law enforcement sources said.

  Armed with a handgun and wearing an electronic tracking bracelet on his ankle, Herring crept up on Flisk and former CHA police officer Stephen Peters in the alley on the 8100 block of South Burnham and shot both men dead, it’s alleged.

Society needs to be just as cold blooded in this case and pursue the death penalty in no uncertain terms. Anything else is insult piled upon injury.

There are just some people who need to put in the ground. And this asshole is Exhibit #1. He has, never had, will never have any redeeming qualities whatsoever. Every second he lives is depriving deserving people, animals and amoebas of oxygen to breathe.

Peters Arrangements?

We've been looking around, but can't seem to find anything for Stephen Peters, the other victim in the Flisk murder. Anyone seen anything?

Parking Ban Tonight

As in 23 hours and 59 minutes from this point:

• Chicago motorists who park on some public streets may need to find new spots starting early Wednesday when the city's winter overnight parking ban begins.

  Vehicles parked on marked stretches of key streets spanning 107 miles will be ticketed and towed between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m., even in the absence of snow. The seasonal ban takes effect at 3 a.m. Dec. 1.

  Last year, 234 motorists ignored or missed the posted prohibitions on the first day of the ban and were hit with towing fees and tickets, according to the city's Streets and Sanitation Department. The city ticketed and towed an additional 164 motorists the second day the ban was in effect.

And with all the new parking restrictions, parking boxes and such, we'd expect the number of tows to meet or exceed the 234 from the first night last year. Warn your friends.

Arrest Made

Shithead charged. Press conference forthcoming. Updates as we have them.

• A man on parole for armed robbery has been charged with the fatal shootings of Chicago Police Officer Michael Flisk and former Chicago Housing Authority officer Stephen Peters in a Southeast Side alley last week.
  
  Timothy Herring Jr., 19, of the 8100 block of South Manistee Avenue, was charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors said Herring is eligible for the death penalty but they have not decided whether to seek it.
  
  Herring is also charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm stemming from an incident in June. No details were available on that case.
  
  The suspect lives across the alley from where Peters parked his prized Ford Mustang GT inside his mother's garage in the 8100 block of South Burnham Avenue, sources told the Tribune.
  

No More, "I'll Let You Know Squad"

We would rest so much easier if we never heard those words on the radio again.

The time has come to advocate for real change and to demonstrate how the political and Department administrations have compromised Officer Safety so badly over the past few years. We are running too many cars as 10-99 units on all three watches. What used to be a rarity when the sun went down is now standard practice, and even the days of having half-a-dozen 10-4 units on the street during daylight hours (jokingly called the "domestic cars") seem long gone.

If Dispatch offers you a back-up, it's time to swallow your pride and accept it. It doesn't matter who it is, be it hair gel, the watch dog-ass, grizzled vet, whomever. Having a second cop available might just tip the scale in your favor if someone decides to make a run at the police.

If Dispatch doesn't offer you back-up, there isn't an order in existence that says you can't ask for it, even on a dope job that's 45 minutes old. If Dispatch says no back-up is available, well that's just too fucking bad. Repeat your request, ask for a time check, and have a supervisor up on the air tell you to ride 99. Because we're willing to bet there isn't a white shirt out there that is going to send you solo on a job, knowing that you asked for back-up, and knowing that there is an official audio recording in existence. If they try to blackball you or SPAR you or lower your so-called "efficiency ratings" based on safety concerns, then you document it, you contact FOP and you raise a stink.

Fuck this Department's RAPs. We all go when it's safe to go. And we damn sure all go home at the end of the shift. The days of "I'll let you know squad" should be long gone. And when it takes an hour or more to get to serious crimes, maybe someone will point out that our responding to so much bullshit instead of actual crime is impacting public safety, maybe we'll start to see some leadership - something that has been sorely lacking for a long time.

Reward Climbs to $20,000

Still looking for information:

• The reward money offered in exchange for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the slayings of Chicago Police Officer Michael Flisk and a former Chicago Housing Authority officer on the Southeast Side last week was increased today to $20,000, police said.

  Meanwhile, investigators this afternoon continued to hold a parolee described as a "person of interest" for questioning in connection with the Friday afternoon shooting that claimed Flisk's life and that of former CHA officer Stephen Peters.

We're expecting arrangements to be released shortly and we'll have them as soon as we're able to get to them.

UPDATE: Brady and Gill Funeral Home
2929 W. 87th St.
Evergreen Park, IL
Tuesday, 30 NOV 2010
Public Visitation 1500-2100

Funeral Mass: St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel
7740 S. Western
Wednesday, 01 DEC 2010
1000 Hours

CemeteryHoly Sepulchre
6001 W. 111th Street
Alsip, IL

Blake Funeral

Final remembrances:

• David Blake was the ultimate partner, an aggressive Chicago police officer yet gentle friend who loved a good road trip and a solid hit on the football field, friends and colleagues said Sunday.
  
  "Dave was always the guy that's coming to the rescue," said Sean Davis, one of Blake's former partners.
  
  Hundreds of people attended a wake Sunday for Blake, a SWAT team member who was on the force for 15 years.

RIP Officer.

Can't Afford Shelter....

...but they have a portable DVD player to catch the latest flicks while using City of Chicago electricity in the 011th District lobby:


We are attempting to confirm the allegation that they have a NetFlix account set up for Harrison.

...and Don't Call Me Shirley

Leslie Nielsen, dead at 84:

• Leslie Nielsen, who traded in his dramatic persona for inspired bumbling as a hapless doctor in "Airplane!" and the accident-prone detective Frank Drebin in "The Naked Gun" comedies, died on Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 84.

• As the doctor aboard a plane in which the pilots, and some of the passengers, become violently ill, Mr. Nielsen says they must get to a hospital right away.

  "A hospital? What is it?" a flight attendant asks, inquiring about the illness.

  "It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now," Nielsen deadpans.

  When he asks a passenger if he can fly the plane, the man replies, "Surely you can't be serious."

  Mr. Nielsen responds: "I am serious, and don't call me Shirley."

We've owned "The Naked Gun" television series for years, and we've worn out sections of the videotape watching and re-watching some truly hilarious lines that could only have been delivered by Leslie Nielsen. Thanks for the laughter, Mr. Nielsen.

"Person of Interest" Questioned

A break?

• Chicago police Saturday night were questioning "a person of interest" in connection to the shooting that killed both veteran police Officer Michael Flisk and a former Chicago Housing Authority officer whose car had been burglarized, law enforcement sources told the Tribune.

  The person, a 19-year-old parolee, lives across the Southeast Side alley from where former CHA officer Stephen Peters parked his prized Ford Mustang GT inside his mother's garage, the sources said Saturday.

We quote this attached article in a few of the posts that follow, but hopefully, this is some good news.

UPDATE: A bunch of rumors popping up in the comments.

Stand by...

J-Fled, Please Resign.

Who gave J-Fled the advice that he ought to belittle the dead?

• Because there was no emergency attached to the burglary report, Flisk was dispatched alone to process the scene for evidence, Weis said.

  In light of Flisk's death, the superintendent said he will review the department policy of allowing evidence technicians to respond to crime scenes by themselves. But he pointed out there was no reason to think Flisk, a 20-year department veteran, was walking into a dangerous situation.

  "Keep in mind evidence technicians are not usually first responders. They don't go where an emergency exists," Weis said.

From everything we've heard and know about Mike Flisk, he responded regularly to "in progress" calls while making his rounds of assigned jobs. That's kind of the reason dispatchers say, "Units in (insert district here) , Units on Citywide, shots fired in the area of 1234 Main St." Someone might be nearby who isn't normally monitoring the regular zone.

Mike Flisk was a first responder. Mike Flisk went to where emergencies existed. Mike Flisk was ambushed and murdered by a piece of shit who doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as civilized people. And Mike Flisk certainly deserves better than J-Fled "Gotta Run" Weis making his death less than the horrific tragedy it is.

Squeeze?

J-Fled talking out his ass again:

• "The thought that someone can shoot and kill a police officer is simply unacceptable and we will find those responsible. We will squeeze that neighborhood and find who did this," said Supt. Weis.

Does this dummy have any idea what he's asking? Seriously, has he any idea what he's saying? We're going to bet the answer to that is "no."

"Squeezing" a neighborhood requires a number of preconditions on the ground before anything can happen. We're old enough to remember a few "squeezings" and may have even participated in few. First up, you need manpower. Manpower to literally shut down the intersections, dope corners, high traffic areas of any and all mayhem. That means multiple wagons, prisoner vans, teams working around the clock, etc. And you still have to answer all the regular bullshit that occurs during the course of a normal tour. We can't bring that sort of sustained pressure any more. We're short 2,000 cops, minimum.

Next you need teams of detectives pulled from all over the city to interview every single person who is the object of your "squeeze." You need wily detectives to dig into backgrounds, gain confidences, cajole, threaten, whatever, just to catch someone in a lie or someone dirty who will then make a deal for some tidbit of info that gives you a starting point. We haven't made a detective class in three years now. The veterans ranks are thin as it is.

Third, you have to have the support of the law abiding. We're not so cynical as to write off entire neighborhoods, but the "snitches get stitches" crowd is more of a presence in the 'hood than the police, which is directly attributable to the manpower shortage. Rare is the person who's going to cooperate if they know they're going to catch a beating. Or worse. They might cooperate if they're caught dirty, but otherwise?

Last, you have to have leaders. Let's be blunt here - we have none. We have a coward feeb who ran from the scene of a homicide in the leadership position. We say "leadership position" because he obviously doesn't run shit, seeing as how his original chief of staff was summarily dismissed by the mayor and replaced by an Ivy League dweeb who wants to play police and bought some horseshit qualification to "authorize" him to carry a pistol in violation of who knows how many laws. We have a serial sexual harasser who cannot hold a security clearance due to his history. A bartender whose claim to fame includes moving officers out of spots when she is challenged over her forgotten identification. A legion of deputy chiefs and assistant superintendents whose transgressions would fill books on how not to supervise and a dwindling corps of captains hanging onto a fading dream of gold star glory while committing all sorts of acts that would result in lesser clouted people being fired on a daily basis.

So you'll pardon our hesitation to "squeeze" anything at the behest of an individual who not only jack-potted an officer who already served a two-year suspension and court ordered supervision, who stood by silently while another officer who saved the lives of numerous federal agents was prosecuted via perjured testimony, and who seemingly works hand-in-hand with a police hating State's Attorney AND a supposedly "independent" police review authority that shows up at scenes to look for rule violations they are not authorized to investigate.

We'll actually need to see a definition of "squeeze" in writing and made public before risking our freedom and our families security.

UPDATE: This article was written prior to tonight's questioning of a "person of interest" in regard to the killings of Officer Flisk and Mr. Peters.

Lame Duck J-Fled

Sneed says so:

• Rumble is Chicago PoliceSupt. Jody Weis, whose improbable retention has become a mayoral election issue, is looking at his next career move.

  The upshot: Sneed hears he'll stay put until his contract is up, on March 1. Then, adios.

Without question, the worst superintendent in living memory. And that's saying something.

• Quit & Cut: Sneed hears approximately 65 police officers, fed up with the Weis regime -- and/or cashing in on free health benefits -- retired recently.

Only 65? Call it over 100 Sneed. You'd be closer. And the "free" benefits aren't free - they're earned. Did Jackie Heard write this one for you?

• Cut 'em: Sneed is also told approximately 37 civilian employees of the Police Department were laid off last week.

So figure that's 37 more spots that will be filled by sworn officers pulled off the streets. At double the pay. Brilliant.

Officer Blake Arrangements

Visitation and Funeral Information

Waked at: A.R. Leak Funeral Home
7838 S. Cottage Grove
Chicago, Il. 60619
Sunday, Nov 28, 2010
1400 to 1700 hours

Funeral: Private
Interment: Private

Informational post only - comments closed.

Bears Game

Even though football is one of the farthest things from our minds about now:

• With Michael Vick playing like a Pro Bowl quarterback and leading Philadelphia to three straight victories and into sole possession of first place in the NFC East, the Eagles are suddenly looking like a Super Bowl contender.

  The Chicago Bears have similarly won three games in a row and are also atop their division, but aren't widely considered an NFC power. A win over Philadelphia would go a long way in confirming their status as a top contender.

Eagles favored by 3.

RIP Officer Flisk

Media coverage of our latest loss:

• Tribune
• Sun Times
• Channel 2
• Channel 5
• Channel 7
• Channel 32

We're still a bit numb here at SCC. Don't expect much in the way of sarcasm or silliness for a bit here. It just isn't in us right now.

We'll have something to say in a while.

How Many Applicants?

Deadline was yesterday:

• Friday is the deadline for to apply to become a Chicago police officer.

  Applicants who meet the age and other requirements can take the written exam , which will be administered December 11 at McCormick Place.

  Applicants will then go through another selection and screening process.

Someone from Personnel want to spill the beans? Applications returned are going to be a bit different from actual test numbers, and in light of recent events, we're going to say a few hundred have second thoughts and don't show up.

Dead Ride for Free

Well, they already vote here. Why not ride a bus?

• A joint investigation by FOX Chicago News and the Better Government Association has uncovered widespread fraud and abuse in the "seniors ride free" program -- including numerous cases where free passes continue to be used on trains and buses long after the registered cardholder died.

  RTA spokesperson Diane Palmer says the agency recently completed a review of more than 400,000 seniors ride free cards. And found 3,000 of the cardholders had died.

Total money lost to public transit agencies since Blago sold seniors this bill-of-goods for votes? Just $40 million, and that's the low end of things. Time to cut taxpayers losses on this one.

Two Officers Shot

Two cops down at 81st and Manistee. No further info at this time. Lake Shore Drive is being shut down to transport at least one of the wounded to Northwestern Hospital.

We will update as possible.

UPDATE: Second ambulance headed to Christ. Both hospitals are Trauma Centers.

UPDATE: Breaking News has a story up:

• A Chicago police officer and another person were shot this afternoon in the South Chicago neighborhood on the South Side.

  The shooting happened about 1:30 p.m. in the 8100 block of South Manistee Avenue.

  A law enforcement source, citing preliminary reports, said the officer is an on-duty evidence technician who was processing a crime scene at that location when the shooting occurred. Investigators were en route to the scene.

  The officer was shot in the head, the source said. The officer was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and the other victim was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

The news isn't identifying the second victim as a police officer though an e-mailer says he was off duty. Very fluid situation. If you're the praying type, pray harder please.

UPDATE: Second victim might be a retired cop, possibly CHA.

UPDATE: ET from a police family.

UPDATE: Radio is confirming both as deceased. We are shell-shocked to say the least. Absolutely speechless. RIP brothers.

Do You Trust This Man?

Seriously. Would you buy a used car from Governor Quinn? A guy who headed a program that released just under 1,800 inmates with almost zero oversight and no sense that these violent felons would re-offender in days? No? Us either.

Then what's this?

• Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday approved 20 and denied 48 clemency petitions.

  The 68 clemency petitions acted upon by Gov. Quinn are from the October 2003, January 2004, April 2004 and July 2004 dockets, a release from the governor's office said.

  Each person granted clemency has recently undergone a criminal background check through the Illinois State Police's Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS).

  Since taking office, Gov. Quinn has acted on 810 clemency petitions. He has granted 317 pardons, authorized eight people who had already received pardons to seek expungement of their convictions, granted one commutation and denied 425 petitions, the release said.

Gee, at least they put in the barest minimum of background checks before wiping the slate clean of past misdeeds. We'd like to see a full list, maybe keep it around for a few years, see who might get locked up again for various misdeeds.

Here's all you really need to know about Quinn and his penchant for wanting to be "the good guy:"

• Gov. Quinn’s office Monday confirmed plans to rehire his one-time chief of staff, Jerry Stermer, who resigned in August over an ethics flap involving three political emails sent from his state computer.

  Stermer will rejoin Quinn’s inner circle next week at an annual salary of $125,000, though Stermer will not take pay for his first week as a senior adviser to the governor.

  “He’s going to take the first week without pay just to be completely above board, to make sure everything is put aside and all questions are put to rest,” Quinn spokeswoman Ashley Cross said.

If there was no "ethical lapse," no one should have been resigning. If there was, then why is he being hired back at a six-figure salary? And funny how it happens just three weeks after a hotly contested election. Are they hoping no one remembers in 4 years? They're probably right.

Officers Injured in Car Wreck

Serious, but stable, on the west side:

• Two Chicago Police officers were injured Thursday night in a hit-and-run accident in the West Side's Homan Square neighborhood.

  About 10 p.m. a police squad car was struck by a car near the intersection of West Roosevelt Road and South Lawndale Avenue, according to police News Affairs ....

  The car then fled the scene.

Best wishes to the injured.

Light Posting

We're doing the traditional post-turkey snore-fest and hitting the Black Friday sales extravaganzas. Posting will be light today unless something demands out attention. We hope everyone had a pleasant holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving

A Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Stay safe if you're working. Hopefully, the Districts put on a bit of dinner for everyone.

If you're fortunate enough to be off, enjoy the blessings of the day.

Offender Dead, Cops OK

Family to sue:

• Police say a man was shot and killed after he tried to disarm an officer during a traffic stop in the North Austin neighborhood on the West Side.

  A witness said the 23-year-old man was among a group of about a half-dozen people who tried to attack officers who had pulled over their van.

• Of her brother, she said: "He might have sold drugs, true enough. He was jailed a couple of times, but just for marijuana. But he would never carry a gun, never hassle with the police."
  
  She said witnesses told her that her brother got out the driver's side door of the van "and they just shot him -- twice. Why'd they have to shoot him twice?

Of course he would never carry a gun. Why carry a gun when you can try to take one from an officer? But she has no problem admitting he was a dope dealer.

Cops Rescue Citizens

A good story of quick thinking and quick actions:

• Two Chicago police officers kicked in doors to rescue South Shore apartment building residents from an early morning fire.
  
  The Grand Crossing District officers were responding to a call about a fight in the area about 1 a.m. when they saw smoke coming from the top of the building at 7241 S. Stony Island Ave.
  
  Officer Christopher Davis said he and partner Kristopher Krizka kicked in the main entrance door and began evacuating residents from the four-story building.
  
  
• The officers saved their lives, said Julius Riley, a second-floor resident.
  
  "If it wasn't for the Chicago Police Department, there's no telling where we would be right now," he said. "We have a woman in a wheelchair on the upper floor. They carried her down the stairs and got her out. If it weren't for them the whole building would have burned down as well."

A job very well done.

Guess Who's Out Again?

You'll never guess:

• The Chicago man who knocked out a woman’s teeth for a cigarette in 2008, then became synonymous with a botched early prison release program when he threatened another woman the day after being let out early, is a free man again.

  Derrick King, 49, beat Jennifer Hall outside a Jewel store in the South Loop in August 2008. She lost 20 teeth and suffered a brain injury, but King, charged with robbery, attempted murder and aggravated battery, took a deal and pleaded guilty to robbery in exchange for a three-year prison sentence.

  After a year in Cook County Jail, he was sent to prison on Oct. 6, 2009, but paroled just two weeks later under a policy change by the Quinn administration -- the MGT-Push (meritorious good time) program. The next day -- Oct. 21, 2009 -- King was arrested after threatening a woman he asked for a cigarette in the 500 block of West Roosevelt, then bragging to her about the first attack. Though charged with only a misdemeanor, he was sent back to prison for a parole violation.

This case had the ability to bring down Quinn and his bullshit "meritorious good time" program that managed to put 1,781 felons back on the street in just under 3 months, endangering countless lives and leading to an untold number of crimes being perpetrated on the citizens of Illinois.

This quote is priceless though:

• “Certainly you worry when someone with his history is out...,” Smith said. The big question is what will he do next. It’s just a big question mark whether they’ll be back in on a new case. Nobody has a crystal ball. Not the prosecutors, not the police not the Department of Corrections,’’ Smith said. “... you hope the sentence was a deterrent and they won’t want to go back there [prison].”

Actually, the Chicago Police Department does have a crystal ball - the Predictive Analysis Unit, and we just peeked into their super secret headquarters office. We'll bet a rather large sum of money that this particular piece of garbage is back on Roosevelt Road within three days, threatening people for money and begging for smokes. How about the tact team run a "reverse King" mission and finally make the PAU look like the fucking geniuses they've been telling everyone they are?

RIP Officer Blake

Officer identified:

• Chicago police are searching for the killer of one of their own. A veteran SWAT team officer was found murdered inside his SUV Monday night.

  The slain off-duty officer has been identified as 45-year-old David Blake, according to a release from the police department.

Officer Blake was a dedicated officer. Rest in Peace.

We will post arrangements when they become available.

UPDATE: Very bad rumors about this one. Leave them be for now.

UPDATE: Post altered slightly. Supposed to be a press conference shortly according to HQ. Stand by for stormy weather.

UPDATE: Visitation and Funeral Information

Waked at: A.R. Leak Funeral Home
7838 S. Cottage Grove
Chicago, Il. 60619
Sunday, Nov 28, 2010
1400 to 1700 hours

Funeral: Private
Interment: Private

Media Does It Again

Yesterday, we pointed out this article:

• A Chicago Police officer was a partner in crime with his informant -- a drug dealer who has allegedly killed at least two people and was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the city for information that led to arrests of his rivals, according to law-enforcement sources and an indictment unsealed Monday.

  Glenn Lewellen, who retired in 2002 after about 16 years on the force, participated in a major drug enterprise headed by Saul Rodriguez, prosecutors said.

The kidnapping incident and other crime occurred after his retirement date, but he's still described as a "Chicago Police officer" by good old Frank Main. Hey Frank? Why not investigate how a degenerate gambler and dishonorably discharged airman got through the screening process? Too close to Shortshanks and the criminal enterprise he runs?

Today, we have this one:

• A former Chicago Police officer was charged Monday with his estraged wife's murder, nearly 18 months after her body was discovered in the trunk of her car in Midlothian, Oak Forest Mayor Hank Kuspa said.

  The body of Irma Rodriguez, 45, an Oak Park mother of three, was found June 1, 2009, with multiple gunshot wounds in the trunk of her white 2002 Pontiac Grand Am at 148th Street and Kilpatrick Avenue, as she was days away from finalizing a divorce from her husband, Norberto Rodriguez.

  The two had a tumultuous and sometimes-violent 15-year marriage. In 1997, Norberto Rodriguez was charged with attempted first-degree murder after an argument in which he was accused of shooting Irma in the hand. He was acquitted of the charges but lost his police job in December 1998.

"former Chicago Police officer" right there in the opening line, even though he was fired from the job over 11 years ago. He hasn't been a cop for longer than he ever was.

Was he a complete non-entity for the past decade? Why not "former truck driver"? Or "former heroin mule"? Or "former unemployed drunk asshole"? Nope, got to go with the "cop" angle, even though the CPD did the right thing and fired his ass 11 years ago after he shot his wife the first time.

Little wonder cops hate the media.

Good Samaritan Slain

This is too bad:

• A man was shot to death as he tried to help a woman being robbed of her purse on the West Side Monday evening, police say.

  Bobby Butler, 55, was shot in the abdomen just before 6 p.m. Monday in the Lawndale neighborhood and was pronounced dead at 7:55 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

• The woman had walked from a nearby "L" stop to her car and was about to get in when she was confronted by a man about 25 to 30 years old who threatened her with a gun, according to a police report. Butler saw what was going on, came up to the robber, tried to stop him, and was shot, according to the report.

  The robber ran away. The woman was unharmed, according to police.

Killed trying to do the right thing, after years in prison.

Stop Whining George

What kind of dirt does George Ryan have on Thompson that he can get Big Jim to keep running to court, for free no less, to plead his case?

• Former Gov. Jim Thompson, a longtime friend and lawyer of George Ryan, said Monday "as a matter of humanity" the convicted governor's suffering in prison should be put to an end.

  "In my view, George Ryan has been punished enough. He has lost everything," Thompson said. "The only thing that George and Lura Lynn have left is their lives . . . their love for each other, their family and their friends. Everything else has been taken from them.

  "I think as a matter of humanity that sentence is long enough."

But as a matter in "truth in sentencing," Ryan has a few more years to go. Sorry Mrs. Ryan has to bear the fallout of George's bad choices, but that's the risk you take when you hang out with thieves.

Officer Killed

POST MOVED from 22 NOV 10, 2145 hours to remain at the top.

Officer killed off-duty in an apparent robbery.

No details yet. We will update as possible.

UPDATE: From BreakingNews.com:

• An off-duty Chicago police officer was shot to death in his personal car on the Southwest Side this evening, authorities said.

  Police responded to a call of shots fired on the 2900 block of West Seipp Street about 6:30 p.m. and found a man unresponsive in a car after apparently having been shot, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Daniel O'Brien.

  The man shot to death was an officer assigned to a Southwest Side district who was off-duty at the time and was shot in his personal car, sources said.

Further info as it becomes available.

UPDATES:

• Tribune/BreakingNews
• Sun Times
• Channel 2
• Channel 5
• Channel 7

We are censoring posts with the name, nickname and initials of the officer at this time until it is released by the Department.

Channel 32's "big" Scandal

Sweeps week? Just another story about how the Department can drag things out without a satisfactory resolution for months, years, maybe even longer:

• Every year in Chicago, hundreds of people sign sworn statements claiming they were victims of some kind of police officer misconduct.

  The city then investigates, and many times, the claims are verified and the cops are disciplined, even fired. But sometimes, an officer is falsely accused.

• And despite the not guilty verdict, instead of being returned to the streets, Officer Plewa was re-assigned to a CPD call center where he answers citizen questions.

  The reason, according to a police spokeswoman: "New information may surface...which must be further investigated."

Meaning that they can keep you forever it seems. We don't know what the internal investigation revealed, but it sounds like the Department is hanging its hat on a Rule 14 violation of some sort. Someone once told us that a Rule 14 stayed on your history for seven years and there was a certain exempt trying to fire everyone with a sustained Rule 14 before he was shown the door.

Either way, it doesn't seem like a very good system.

Camera Catches Thief

Of course, this is Chicago, so the thief was stealing the camera itself:

• A Little Village neighborhood man has reportedly received the dubious distinction of being the first person to ever steal a POD camera.

  Unfortunately for him, the crime was captured on the very item he allegedly took, Chicago Police said.

  Geo Martinez, 19, of the 2400 block of South Spaulding Avenue, was charged Sunday afternoon with felony theft and misdemeanor reckless conduct, police said. The camera is worth about $8,000.

Probably that flashing blue light was keeping him awake at night.

Bad News

This guy has been gone for 8 years, but he's still being used to cast a bad light on the Department:

• A now-retired Chicago Police officer gave false testimony in a 1999 narcotics trial of a man sentenced to more than 17 years in prison, federal prosecutors alleged Monday.

  Glenn Lewellen, 54, of Las Vegas, also was involved in a 2003 kidnapping in which 100 kilograms of cocaine was stolen — and he tipped off a major drug ring about federal investigations, according to a newly unsealed indictment.

He had already retired in 2002 when this last incident occurred. But he's still CPD according to the media reports and we'll get all the bad press to go with it.

"Reallocation"

Brace yourselves. It's coming:

• Police districts on Chicago's North Side would lose beat officers to South Side and West Side districts if the city were to reallocate cops based on the volume of 911 calls and backups for police service, a Chicago Sun-Times analysis has found.

  Police Supt. Jody Weis is expected to unveil a reallocation plan before the end of the year. One of the factors in his politically sensitive decision will be whether there's an abundance of officers in districts based on calls for service, he has said. Weis hasn't identified the districts that will lose beat officers, how may cops will be shifted or any other factors he will use in the reallocation.

  To measure calls for service and backups, the Sun-Times obtained a district-by-district comparison of 911 calls and of "radio assignments pending call events," which means the times there's no car available to respond to a call in a district.

Evidently, the Sun Times is pushing this line at the behest of someone. If they are using "calls for service" as the determining factor, they need to discount the following calls in any "study" to move resources:

• All "man with a gun calls" that result in a 19-Paul;
• All anonymous calls of dope sales with ZERO descriptions;
• All landlord tenant disputes;
• All calls regarding "social ills," including a child not going to school, a child disrespecting someone, putting out the boy/girl friend of the minute;
• All Domestic Disturbances where (1) police have already responded twice, (2) police have spent a documented total of 15 minutes or more at the location, (3) a referral to a social agency has been given and (4) NO arrest has been made in the previous incidents or a NON-appearance by the victim at Domestic Court is known;
  

We're sure we forgot one or two and the readers will add them in. But this is a ridiculous measure to allocate resources. Here's some truly stupid circular logic by an alder-asshole:

• The city's 911 data show certain areas of the city are "extremely quiet," Beale said. "We don't want to disturb that. However, if we can pull some of those resources to make some communities just as safe and secure as those other communities, we have a responsibility to do that. If you have officers sitting idle all day not responding to any calls and you have other sections where they can't even keep up with the calls, that's a disservice to the residents of this city."

So he wants to take away the very thing that makes these communities safe and quiet? Typical democrat thinking - "if you have more than us, let's take some away from you, give it to us (even though we didn't earn it) and let's all be poor and miserable together!" That's progressive thinking for you.

Newsflash for Beale - you're going to have to move more than police resources to make those neighborhoods safe and secure.

Newsflash for taxpayers - you're about to get fucked. Again. Billion dollar deficits at the local level. Tens of billions in state debt. 10% unemployment in Illinois and nowhere to go but down.

Get out if you can. Get a gun if you can't.

Gery Chico Running Hard

First he pisses off the mayor by questioning how the schools are being run into the ground. Then he shows up on the WBBM "At Issue" program (no link available yet) saying how he's going to let J-Fled go, promote someone from within the Department, and change things so cops want to come to work and do police work again.

Of course, he also said he wants to "revitalize" the CAPS program, which earns him a metaphorical kick in the 'nads for not letting that demon-spawned money wasting program die and ignominious death as soon as possible.

But he's definitely courting the disillusioned city workers. But it's still a win-win for Shortshanks if Chico wins or Rahm wins

Rumors Rumors Everywhere

Two with some real meat on them.

• From the buzz at 35th Street FOX has gotten their hands on list of Exempts that can not get a Top Security clearance due to their off duty personal behavior ie. E.B , etc. How can people lead the second biggest police department and not have a Top Security clearance for debriefings from the Feds.

How indeed? We all know the answer, though Daley has managed to keep the tame media types from publishing it for two decades now.

• Hey scc ,
  I'm bored and sitting in the pod watching room that is open to the public. I see that there is a sign in sheet, I'm bored so just for shits and giggles I put the peoples names in to clear that signed in to watch the pods. And [guess] what 7 out of 10 of them have an average of 17 arrests and 6 of them are on parole. What a joke this shit is, how can henny penny let this shit go on.

This one would be hilarious if true. People with criminal records being sent into the POD rooms to conduct surveillance? Seeing which PODS are down, seeing the field of vision provided by the cameras, finding new and better spots to hide from view rendering millions of dollars worth of equipment completely and utterly useless, because someone wants to play footsie with the "reverends?" Pardon our laughter.

Sound Familiar?

Hauntingly familiar actually:

He shoots, he scores, again.

Start Growing Your Hair

Last year, there were a few people who wanted to participate in the St. Baldrick's hair trimming, but they didn't know about it in time to actually grow their hair. That won't be a problem this year:

• It’s time to let your barber or beautician know that you’re getting your last haircut for awhile. Mark your calendar and start letting your hair grow, CPD will again be participating with St. Baldrick’s the organization that raises money for childhood cancer research by having volunteers shave their heads in solidarity with the kids who lose their hair to chemotherapy.
  
  Last year the combined CPD events had 301 participants that raised $129,985 dollars to be used to fund research for a cure for childhood cancer. There were also many CPD members who participated at events at other locations throughout the city and suburbs. To everyone who signed up, helped out, or made a contribution last year, thank you very much, especially Anne Zamzow and Bill Murphy who put together the north and south side events.. Also, a special thanks to the many brave women who shaved their heads, and never looked more beautiful!
  
  Chicago area hospitals are direct recipients of grants from St. Baldrick’s including Children’s Memorial, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, Rush, and Stroger. Just three days ago, The St. Baldrick’s Foundation announced its latest round of grants in the Chicago area with $160,700 going to fund research at the University of Illinois at Chicago/Rush/Stroger Hospitals.
  
  The CPD events will be held on Friday, March 11, 2011 and more details will follow as the plans are finalized. Keep watching here, in the daily bulletin and in your e-mail if you are a past participant for details as they become available. If you have any questions you can contact me at chromedome1269@sbcglobal.net.

We'll post a reminder closer to the date.

What Now?

FOX News is pumping some big story to break on Monday, we guess involving the Department. We haven't seen the commercial yet, but a bunch of comments are alluding to something.

Anyone care to enlighten the class?

Rahm = Asian Carp?

This is hilarious:

• Now that Rahm Emanuel’s residency is being challenged, we thought we’d compare to other unwelcome visitors to Chicago: specifically, the invasive species occupying Lake Michigan. Here’s a rundown of how Emanuel compares to the round goby, the Zebra mussel and the Asian carp.
  
  
• Round goby
  The round goby originated in the Black Sea and arrived in the Great Lakes by stowing away in the ballast water of oceangoing ships. The short, chubby fish is an irritant to anglers in Lake View, often ending up on the end of hooks baited for perch. If you catch a goby, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources recommends you stomp it to death.
• Rahm Emanuel
  Rahm Emanuel originated in Israel and arrived on the shores of the Great Lakes by stowing away in his mother’s womb. The short, slender congressman was an irritant to commuters in Lake View, approaching them at L stops and asking for their vote. If you see Rahm Emanuel, do not stomp him to death. The Illinois Department of Corrections would not recommend that.

There's more, so go read the whole link over at NBC.

That Time of Year

Snow Routes:

• Drivers be warned: the city’s winter overnight parking ban begins Dec. 1.

  The seasonal ban will be in effect from December 1st through April 1 from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. and imposes parking restrictions for about 107 miles of streets and is enforced whether it snows or not, according to a release from the city’s Streets and Sanitation department.

  Violating the winter overnight parking ban can result in a $150 minimum towing fee, a $50 ticket and a daily storage fee of $10 that increases over time, according to the release.

Just a friendly reminder to all our readers. There will be plenty of Streets and San people out there ticketing and towing. They usually snag between 80 and 110 cars. We'll set the over/under at 90 this year seeing as how the City is warning everyone early for some reason.

Gee, What Happened?

We'll give you three guesses. And the first two don't count:

• Nearly 1,400 city stickers are “missing” and unaccounted for — at a potential loss to Chicago taxpayers of $134,325 — because of lax internal controls and sloppy record-keeping at a satellite city clerk's office where residents paid $3.9 million last year to purchase city stickers, passports and residential parking permits and dog licenses, a new audit shows.

  City Clerk Miguel del Valle requested the audit in 2006 and insisted that the deficiencies identified by Inspector General Joe Ferguson have since been corrected by an electronic cashiering system that “virtually eliminates the chance for any error in the cashiering and selling of city stickers.” The audit covered a 2 1/2 year period that started before del Valle took office in late 2006. It continued through 2008.

Nice to see they may have fixed it. But what happened prior to the audit?

• As for the 1,380 stickers described as “missing” and unaccounted for during the year-long period ending on June 30, 2008, the clerk’s office believes there’s a perfectly legitimate explanation for it that has nothing to do with theft, skimming or black-market sales.

And we have some lovely swamp land in Florida to sell you, along with a bridge (slightly used) in Brooklyn.

Now This is Some Police Work

Amazing how technology has progressed:

• A North Side man has been charged with murder in the home-invasion killing Oct. 27 of jeweler Shai Miller at Miller's Sauganash home.

  Fingerprints left on duct tape that authorities say Leszek Pawelkowski and an unidentified second man used to bind Miller and Miller's 14-year-old son led police to Pawelkowski, Cook County state's attorney's office [...] said.

Lifting prints off duct tape? Have you ever thought about duct tape? The backing is a crosshatching of thread work and the sticky side a complete mess of glue. And someone at the lab was able to get a print off of that?

Very nicely done.

Officer Cleared

Rightfully so:

• Three years ago, Chicago police Officer Craig Swistowicz was working on a task force, targeting drug traffickers alongside federal colleagues.

  After he made an arrest, one suspect accused Swistowicz of beating him, and eventually a federal agent corroborated the report. The officer found himself charged with federal civil rights violations.

  On Friday, a federal jury acquitted the 14-year veteran of wrongdoing.

  Michael A. Ficaro, Swistowicz's attorney, credited the acquittal to testimony by a defense expert that challenged suspect Jose Parra's story that he was handcuffed when he was struck. Swistowicz took the stand in his defense, re-enacting the arrest for the jury during the eight-day trial.

  Ficaro said that Parra was resisting arrest and that Swistowicz was trying to get him under control when he struck him. Parra had a gun in his waistband, Ficaro said.

Funny how the media report doesn't say anything about how federal agents were less than truthful in their statements to investigators, to their superiors and while testifying under oath.

Threats Are Now OK

The definition of "assault" just got tossed out the window:

• Local TV reporter Jay Levine was found not guilty of misdemeanor assault Friday for a brief verbal tussle with conservative commentator William Kelly during an interview of Rahm Emanuel.

  During a short hearing in the Cook County court at Belmont and Western, Judge Geary Kull noted that Levine didn’t raise a fist in the incident, which was recorded and is available on YouTube.

  Though Levine said he was going to “deck” Kelly, Kelly’s behavior was “not indicative of an individual who reasonably feared Mr. Levine would strike him,” the judge said.

It doesn't really matter what Kelly "reasonably feared." Maybe he, like many others, figured he could take a punch from Jay Levine and sue for millions. We'd be willing to take that hit if it came down to it. What matters is that an assault took place, it was recorded and a judge said it didn't matter at all. That's called "precedent" and now becomes a legit defense for all sorts of people who threaten officers and citizens on a daily basis.

Thanks for nothing Judge Geary Kull.

Technicalities

Not really illegal you know:

• The Illinois Supreme Court says it's not necessarily a crime for a police dispatcher to warn drug dealers about law enforcement activity.

  The court has overturned the conviction of Carmecita Williams, a dispatcher in the Chicago suburb of Glenwood. She had been found guilty of official misconduct for alerting someone to police activity near his location.

  Williams appealed. She admits violating the police department's rules but says that's not the same thing as breaking the law.

  The Supreme Court agreed Thursday.

  In a unanimous opinion, the justices say there was no law requiring Williams to keep the information secret. Without a law covering her actions, they say she can't be guilty of official misconduct.

We mean, what could possibly happen when a dispatcher gives information to dope dealers? It isn't like these are armed people pushing poison in the hood.

Priorities

Naperville doesn't have enough money for raises and threatens to lay off 6 cops, but they have enough money for this?

• Naperville’s annual holiday card usually features a familiar location from the city — the Riverwalk, the Carillion or another easily recognizable staple of the western suburb.

  This year, the card that’s sent to the likes of President Obama, Mayor Daley and neighboring municipalities will showcase the citizens of Naperville — and everyone’s invited.

  Citizens who show up for the Nov. 26 photo op will quite literally spread the message of “peace” by forming the word for an aerial shot.

  [...] After a big response to a release posted on the city’s Web site, city officials are working on a new location to accommodate the crowd. As of Friday, the city planned on having the gathering take place at 2 p.m. in front of the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St.

Friday at 2 PM? Evidently, no one in Naperville has a job.

UPDATE: Yes, we're aware it's the Friday after Thanksgiving. It's a chance to throw a little jab at a suburb that negotiates in bad faith, lays off cops following poor fiscal discipline by the managers, then will probably wonder why traffic control is going to be f#$%ed up when tens of thousands show up for a picture that seems a waste of everyone's time. Why not mobilize those thousands to clean the highways or something worthwhile? A Christmas Card for World Peace? what is this, 1970? Give us a break.

100 Club of Chicago

One of the most, if not THE most, important charity organization for the survivors of first responders:

• Chicago's first responders, the police, firemen, sheriff's deputies and federal agents, are known for being those who "serve and protect." But who is there to serve and protect them? And their loved ones?
  
  For more than 40 years, that near-anonymous help has come from the 100 Club of Chicago, a volunteer organization which specializes in low-key assistance for the families of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty.
  
  "We've raised and given away over $8 million," said Joe Ahern, the agency's executive director. "We've served 240 families. We've got 18 kids in college right now."

We realize there are other organizations, some formed recently, that do right by our fallen. But the 100 Club is the old timer on the block, and it's nice to see them get the recognition they deserve occasionally.

Naperville Layoffs Delayed

The citizens are not happy. And unlike a large number of people here in Chicago, the citizens actually pay taxes:

• More than 450 supporters of the Naperville police officers ended their informational picket just before 7 p.m. Monday and filled the city's council chambers with an energy not seen for quite some time.

  Less than two hours later, the air was sucked out of the chamber as council member Grant Wehrli tabled, for three weeks, the city's decision to eliminate two vacant positions and lay off six officers as a cost-savings measure.

• Fourteen residents and shop owners, many who picketed across town with the union leadership, pleaded with the city to find other ways to close the projected $5 million deficit for next year. The city, they said, cannot afford to lose any more police officers without compromising safety.

  “The right thing to do is to bring these six people back,” resident Richard Miller said to a round of applause. “We need them. We need them more than we need you.”

Nice sentiment there. You'd think that would be more true here in the big bad city than in Naperville.

Deja Vu

A memory stirs:

• A massive blaze Wednesday ravaged the strip mall where the bridal store stood at 95th and Cicero in Oak Lawn.

  [...] About 80 to 100 firefighters battled the blaze, which burned for about an hour and spread to the Bedding Experts, Chiro-Med, Radio Shack and Miss Fantasia's Boutique. There were no injuries.

Isn't this like the third local bridal shop fire in the past 15 or 20 years? Is that sort of business run so close to the break-even point that it makes more sense to torch it when the bills pile up? Anyone from B&A have insight? It's just one of those things that sticks in your head after hearing about it a few times.

Canadian Fun

It's not all muskie fishing and moose hunting. They have crime there, too:

• A man is in critical condition in hospital after injuring himself with his own knife when he tripped and fell after allegedly robbing a store in Ottawa's south end Monday, police said.

  Police said they were notified about the robbery on Tapiola Crescent at 9:13 a.m. They got a second call about what was called a stabbing short time later.

  Paramedics found the injured man all the way over at Southgate Road near Bank Street, about 1.5 km away.

1.5 kilometers after gutting himself with his own knife. What's that in city blocks?

Miami Favored by Two

We're not going to be bandwagon jumpers. We've had our doubts about the Bears all year and nothing we've seen this year shakes that assertion yet.

But we've heard the Predictive Analysis Unit is disagreeing with the experts on this one and is betting the farm on the Bears.

They've got to be correct at some point, right?

No Pension for You!

It's worse than anyone has even hinted at:

• Chicago's public pension funds are teetering on the brink of insolvency in large part because city officials and union leaders repeatedly exploited the system, draining away billions of dollars in the last decade to serve short-term political needs, a Tribune investigation has found.
  
  Time and again, the funds have been used as a bargaining chip or a piggy bank. Politicians trimmed budgets by offering early retirement incentives and greased union contract deals with increases in benefits. "Pension holidays" allowed the city to avoid paying into workers' retirement funds.
  
  
• It hasn't always been this way. The pensions were run successfully for decades and, just 10 years ago, were relatively well-funded. The teachers pension was close to 100 percent funded in 2000. Municipal workers had funding levels above 90 percent. City laborers had enough assets to cover 133 percent of their liabilities. The city's police pension, traditionally underfunded, hovered around 70 percent.
  
  By the end of this year, however, not one of the pensions' funding levels will be above 70 percent. The police and fire funds are already below 40, and the municipal fund is below 50. Pension experts say funding levels below 80 percent place the long-term viability of pensions in jeopardy and are nearly impossible to overcome without massive borrowing, painful tax increases, cuts to benefits and increased contributions.

Go read the entire article at this link here.

Then go read this one that went up after 2130 last night:

• ....a Tribune analysis of nearly 130 private equity and real estate investments made by four pension funds since 2000 found that nearly half have lost value so far. Of the $1.3 billion invested to date, the pension funds have seen just $60 million in added value on their balance sheets.
  
  Had the funds used an equal amount to buy and hold a 30-year U.S. Treasury bond offered in 2000, they would have received $893 million in interest payments to date — and their principal investments would be secure.
  
  
• Investment firms entrusted with the money, meanwhile, collected millions in fees despite failing to meet expectations.
  

This could almost be classified as criminal in nature. It certainly stinks to the rafters and we imagine the "Who's Who" of connected "investment firms" reads like a laundry list of connect politicos, their nephews and all sorts of political contributors.

Now Start Squeezing

A break in a case that has haunted the Department for two years?

• A reputed gang member once charged with killing an off-duty Chicago police officer was slapped with federal charges today as part of a two-year investigation into a West Side drug operation.
  
  
• Sources said members of the gang were taken to FBI headquarters and other locations and likely would be questioned about the slayings of Soto and Kathryn Romberg, a supervisor for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Soto and Romberg were fatally shot as they sat in an SUV outside Romberg's West Side home.

Hopefully, we'll be able to chalk this one up as "solved" shortly.

Illegal Means Illegal

And what these "journalism students" were doing was patently illegal:

• Northwestern University journalism students probing whether a convicted murderer should be set free used secret recording devices to interview witnesses — possibly violating state law, Cook County prosecutors said Wednesday.

• The revelation is the latest development in the prosecution’s drawn-out fight to obtain notes and other materials from students at Northwestern’s Medill Innocence Project looking into the case of Anthony McKinney, who has served more than 30 years for the 1978 murder of Donald Lundahl in Harvey. The students believe another man, Tony Drake, is responsible for Lundahl’s slaying, but prosecutors don’t agree.

If the Innocence people want to participate in the system, they are obligated to play by the rules of the system, however much they may disagree with portions of it. The rules are in place for a reason.

New Stars? Again?

Report coming in from downtown that if you go to get your star repaired, you're told that you have the option of waiting for your "new star" that will be issued in the first quarter of next year.

We didn't realize the Department had so much money lying around that they can afford to buy an entire new run of stars. Of course, looking at the condition of many of the currently issued stars, you can see where someone pocketed saved a bunch of money using the cheapest stamped metal alloy known to mankind along with tempera paint for the detail work.

Are these supposed to be the same 2002 design?

Anita is Not Your Friend

Rumor? Or truth?

• Anita has ordered her Public Integrity Unit to review all police abuse settlements over $100k for the past five years. They will use the depositions of "victims" and witnesses to charge the involved officers.
  
  The first is this Park Ridge Lt. There are supposed to be around 50 Chicago cases being reviewed for criminal charges.

This would seem to be a bit far fetched - until you read the entire article from the Sun Times:

• Gleason is the aunt of one of the boys. Gleason said her sister, the boy's mother, has moved the family away from Park Ridge to another suburb "because of feeling very, very harassed by Park Ridge police."

  Gleason said her sister's family wants nothing to do with the criminal case.

  "They've washed their hands of it," Gleason said.

No cooperation from the so-called "victim," yet Alvarez's office is pressing ahead with a four-year-old case where the offender/victim already pleaded guilty and paid restitution to the original victims.

Remember, Anita Alvarez ran on a platform of putting police officers in jail. Not a word on thorough investigations of bogus allegations or prosecuting those who lie on sworn affidavits against police officers - she promised to jail police.

Stay Classy Big Hog Nuts

Your boy lost Billy. In fact, he lost in the primary, remember?

• The Cook County Board commissioner most loyal to outgoing board President Todd Stroger today took a shot at Toni Preckwinkle, who will replace Stroger next month, in the ongoing war of words over the transition between leaders.
  
  “Listen, shut up and get over here and try to do some work — that’s what she needs to do,” said Commissioner William Beavers, D-Chicago, during a discussion of the transition at today’s regular board meeting. Preckwinkle was not there.

Seeing as how Cook County government serves just about no purpose aside from giving ignorant and illiterate payrollers like Beavers inflated salaries they'd never see in the real world, voters could do worse than dissolve this outdated, redundant and useless branch of government.

Massive Retirements

Word from HQ is that almost 100 people retired today.

100. Just today. Among them, 10 captains, 10 lieutenants, and an assortment of sergeants, detectives and officers.

When is this big hiring wave supposed to get underway?

Ratings to go Public?

We're sure they would only be used for good, right? Not as fodder for lawsuits and to damage criminal cases based on entirely subjective determinations?

• In one corner stands the media and attorney general Lisa Madigan. In the other stands one of the most powerful unions in the state.

  The Illinois Press Association says its top priority for the Illinois General Assembly’s upcoming veto session is preventing an override of Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto of House Bill 5154, which would bar disclosure of government employee performance evaluations in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.

• ....Cara Smith, public access counselor for Madigan’s office, said the attorney general opposes the bill. Madigan’s office also opposed amendments made by Quinn, who exempted performance evaluations for law enforcement officials.

And who was the FOP-endorsed candidate just a few weeks ago? We'd look it up on the FOP website, but it appears to be down. Still.

Word of Warning

Evidently, Channel 7 is staking out the 023 District for some footage and trying to interview officers regarding a potential IOD scandal. They're probably trolling here, too. Watch yourselves.

Rumor Central

Might as well kill a few of these that keep popping up.

300 open death investigations? It doesn't seem plausible, but we've heard stranger ones:

• About a year ago at the area there was an announcement at roll calls for the det's to check their death investigation case's. Downtown called and related that there were over 300 death cases that were not investigated and to please check with the morgue to either close the case or reclassify it as homicide upon the finding. Never heard anything more. News people check it out.

For some reason the number "7" sticks in our head - seven cases reclassified as mysterious enough to warrant further investigation? Any detective want to comment? We imagine in the vast majority of instances, the cases were closed.

==============

Interesting rumor:

• Penny's ex has been spouting off that he got a $375,000.00 pay off after hiring Lovey & Lovey. Said the Department was in a hurry to get it out of the headlines.

We thought that the City Council had to approve any lawsuit payouts over a certain amount. We don't recall anything like this in the Council minutes, so it might be a bad rumor. But it wouldn't be surprising that someone costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars suffers no ill effects from their bad decision making.

Shots Fired by Police

No hits though:

• Two armed robbery suspects turned their guns at officers trying to arrest them, prompting police to open fire late Saturday in the West Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side, police said. No one was injured.

  At 11:50 p.m. near the intersection of North Hamlin Boulevard and West Monroe Street, someone spotted a vehicle in the wanted in connection with two armed robberies that occurred within an hour of each other on Saturday night and contacted authorities, according to police.

Good spotting the car, good pinch, no cops got hurt. Nicely done.

How Many Shot?

The next generation of journalists learns an important lesson:

• I bet you have no idea how many shootings there have been in Chicago this year.

  Me either.

  And it’s not because I haven’t tried to find out. About two months ago, I started reporting on crime and public safety. In light of the on-again, off-again handgun ban and Supt. Jody Weis’ insistence that there are too many guns out there, I was certain the Chicago Police Department would track shootings.

  And by shootings, I meant just that. Any time a loaded gun was fired. I thought that was clear enough.

Ah, how naive you are. The article relates how the aspiring journalist files numerous FOIA's and can't seem to get a straight answer from anyone in the Department, at the hospitals, anywhere she turns. She finds out that incidents are counted instead of actual victims, that robberies take precedence over actual people shot, that assaults include people threatening you with a gun as well as actually missing their intended targets and that old stand by - "no victim, no crime."

You think our readers might be on to something when they comment about the sharp pencils and even sharper erasers currently in use downtown by J-Fled and his merry men? Twenty-two consecutive months of crime reduction? Keep drinking the kool-aid kids.

Dumb Impersonators

Not just dumb actually - really f#$%ing dumb:

• William Woolridge, 33, and Johnny Johnson, 21, were both charged early Friday with felony false impersonation of a peace officer, according to police.

  Johnson, of the 5900 block of South May Street, was also charged with unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful use of body armor, having a firearm without a valid FOID card and he was cited with a city weapon violation, according to police.

  Woolridge was arrested early Friday at the Austin District police station at 5701 W. Madison St. after identifying himself as a U.S. Army Reservist military policeman, according to a police report. Police were already processing Johnson at the station when Woolridge walked in making his claims.

  Woolridge, of the 8200 block of South Houston Avenue, presented a shield with U.S. Army military police engraved on it, was wearing a bulletproof vest, a gun holster, a magazine holster and handcuffs, but did not have military identification because he said he “left it at home,” the report said.

  He then told police he lied, and allegedly said that he was never in the military but “wished he was,” the report said.

Once again, another argument for the immediate street executions of police impersonators.

Multiple Woundings

What could have been done to prevent this?

• Separate city-wide shootings Saturday and early today have left six male victims wounded, police said.

  On the West Side, about 4:15 p.m. Saturday, a male victim was walking on Parkside Avenue a block south of Madison Street when a gunman walked up and fired, striking the victim in the chest. Police could not immediately provide an age or identification for the victim.

  The person was in serious condition when taken to a local hospital, police said.
  

  On the Southeast Side, about 7:20 p.m. a 19-year-old man was walking on the 8600 block of South Marquette Avenue when a gunman stepped out from an alley and fired multiple rounds, striking the victim in the buttocks and thigh.

  The wounded man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, but a condition report was not available, police said.

The whole list of casualties is at the link, but wouldn't it be nice to be able to see into the future? To be able to assign police to the scene before crime occurred in order to prevent all this needless suffering? If only someone were out there to save all these poor innocent honor students and future doctors!

Favre Comes to Town

The Vikings are 0 and 4 on the road, but they're favored by a single point according to the ESPN website.

If the Bears get to Favre early, it's all Bears, all day. Otherwise, Favre has had the Bears number for years. Even with all his professional and personal problems, he's a Bear killer.

The "Anti J-Fled"

Hey J-Fled, get a load of this guy:

• Most people less than a week away from retirement after 37 years on the job might consider taking it easy on those last few days.

  But not Chicago Police Capt. Thomas McMahon.
  
  Police said the off-duty 37-year department veteran, set to retire on Monday from the Far South Side's Calumet District, chased down a gunman late Friday morning after seeing the suspect fleeing the scene of a shooting that killed 20-year-old Cordaro Nash.

  The gunman then fired on McMahon, who was not wounded although his car was struck.

An almost retired copper, a captain for pete's sake, near a fatal shooting, giving chase (not running away) by moving toward gunfire and actually being shot at for his troubles.

It's almost like he's J-Fled's complete opposite! If Capt. McMahon and J-Fled actually met and shook hands, would it be like matter and anti-matter coming into contact and exploding? We'd hope not - the captain deserves better.

Go Englewood!

The 007 District, trying it's best to keep keep things hopping, even as winter approaches:

• Two males were found dead in a car with multiple gunshot wounds Saturday evening on the South Side, police said.

  The males were found about 6:45 p.m. in the 2000 block of West 70th Street, said police News Affairs...

And as usual, no prediction from the Crystal Ball Unit.

Delayed Bid?

So is this proper?

• I Bid to 051 just missed bid,now it turns out 1 copper that barely beat me won bid all fair and square. Now my friend works on mayors (soon criminal will be gone daleys),detail,tells me that the guy who beat me decided to stay on 35th and normal to continue answering the phone at lol "command post," and will stay until mayor leaves. So I call the command post for shits and giggles the copper answers the phone,same copper who won the bid. OK let me understand this you can bid out of anywhere,then tell the bosses fuck you i don't want to go yet,get that spot saved as you take another spot that you like better until it is gone! I feel like Kramer in a Seinfeld episode "this shit just blew my mind again"!

We suppose if you bid, then got "re-detailed" back to Detached Services, that would be the proper way to go about it. But remember, these Airport openings were in response to Federal money being allocated for bodies at the airport that weren't actually at the airport. So holding back a slot would certainly seem counter productive, especially with Federal dollars needing to be accounted for.

Bueller?

UPDATE: We know for sure this isn't legal:

• Can someone look into how girl from city hall got spot at ohare but said that she had it changed to midway whoever missed out on midway should look into this and check over whole list

Who's got the list? It needs a little closer bit of going over it seems.

Property Tax Bills Arrive

The "delayed until after the election" property tax bills started arriving last last week, and someone has asked for an open post for tax bill horror stories. Our tax bill didn't go up as much as feared, but in a massive economic downturn and housing crunch, any rise isn't pleasant to see.

Post away. Neighborhood and total +/- total if you like.

Suspicious Timing

Seems to be coming to a head right before the city elections:

• Chicago's top cop plans to relocate officers to make sure that murder and other crime keeps dropping.

  Police Superintendent Jody Weis spoke to [...] ABC7's Newsviews.

  Earlier, Weis disclosed that murders are down 2.3 percent this year.

  [...] Weis addressed concerns that police relocated to high-crime areas will be taken from low-crime areas.

  "We're looking at balancing the workload, and that doesn't mean out of the slow areas we're gonna take officers, because the number of officers they have right now might be perfect," said Weis. "We're looking where there seems to be an abundance of officers, based upon calls for service and other factors, and right now we have our operational folks looking at this. We hope to roll something out in January."

  The entire interview will air Sunday morning during the ABC7 news at 8 a.m.

That sure sounds like they're taking officers from so-called "slower" districts where taxpayers pay a pretty penny for city services and are about to get shorted in the police protection category. This is going to be a giant campaign issue.