Tracking Killers

Evidently, these were some hard-core bad people:

• Two men caught and one killed by police fleeing the scene of a double-homicide are suspected in more than a dozen murders involving fake drug deals that turned into robberies, police sources said.

  Police killed Arturo Ibarra, 37, of 4521 S. Troy, Saturday night after two people were found killed and a third seriously injured in an Edgewater apartment in the 5800 block of N. Winthrop. Ibarra and two suspects fled the scene and, in a shootout, an officer was shot in the leg and Ibarra was killed, police said.

  The suspect, Ibarra and the two men had been under surveillance for months, suspected of being part of a crew that had set up fake cocaine deals of $100,000 or more, according to a source. When the buyer or buyers showed up, they would be robbed and killed, sources said.

  The three, who worked for a home remodeling business, are suspected in at least 13 murders, including a quadruple slaying Sept. 2 in the 6100 block of South Kildare, said sources. Noel Casares, Alonso Villarreal, Roberto Rivera and Luis Santillian were found bound and shot in the head in a garage there. One source said they are suspected in the deaths of three men found inside a car last spring in the 2300 block of W. 36th Street.

An exceptional job all around.

Remember When.....

J-Fled promised it was all going to be legit? That regular cops would have a shot at the choice unit spots via an open and transparent interview process? Anyone see the latest transfer and phone dumps last week:

• So none of Jfleds staff had to fill out an application and undergo an interview with the commander of the unit they were sent to?
  
  Jfled always said specialized units must announce their openings to give everyone in the department a fair chance to get into the unit.
  
  Jfled - You have been consistent at one thing during your tour with us - LYING.

Yup. All legit. Chicago certainly ain't ready for reform.

Spiewak Raffle Winner

Back on 08 October 2010, we ran a post about a raffle the Spiewak company was having in conjunction with the introduction of their "Performance Fleece." The results are in:

• OFFICER WINS TRIP TO NEW YORK!
  
  It’s official, the Spiewak Fleece Jacket/New York City Raffle has a winner. Congratulations to Officer Jeff Barber of the 006^th District! Ofc. Barber (a 16 year veteran of the force) and a friend will spend a weekend in the Big Apple. Congrats to Jeff and thanks to everyone who participated!Andrew Schwab
  Midwest Spiewak Representative

Enjoy your trip Officer Barber. Send us a postcard.

Maybe I'll Stay In Town

This guy wants to stick around?

• Two days before his contract was set to expire, Chicago police Superintendent Jody Weis remained noncommittal today about his future as the city's top cop.
  
  He said he has not spoken with Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel, who pledged during the campaign to replace Weis.
  
  "We'll see what happens," Weis said during a news conference at police headquarters that announced the selection of a city officer to serve as part of a federal intelligence-gathering effort along the U.S.-Mexico border.
  
  Weis said he would like to remain in Chicago after his three-year, $310,000-a-year position as police superintendent ends. His contract is set to expire Tuesday.

If we had scammed nearly a million dollars from Chicago taxpayers, we certainly wouldn't want to stick around. In fact, we can think of 49 other states we'd rather spend our ill-gotten gains than in Quinn's and Daley's workers' paradise. It's not like he ever made a connection with anyone here. And as far as we can tell, the ones greasing the skids for him to move out the door are the people he surrounded himself since the beginning.

Mandatory Meeting

Anyone have the AdMin Fax?

Word is that all exempts and tactical lieutenants are being ordered to 35th Street for a mandatory meeting Monday. No concrete word on what it may entail, but the whispered rumor is that they're having cake and coffee for J-Fled's final day. Could it be true?

No one is saying anything about this next part though - the smaller media room just off to the side of the Multi-Purpose Room has been draped in plastic and numerous booths have been set up with ceremonial knives so that those falling out of favor can do the honorable thing and pave the way for the new regime.

Believe It Or Not - Part II

Hmmm. Now we have word from an "in the know" source that J-Fled was observed packing boxes late last week. Whether this is in anticipation of his rumored 17 May departure or, hopefully, the 01 March contract expiration date remains to be seen.

Supposedly, Rahm is letting all sorts of people know that their services will no longer be required well before his actual inauguration in May.

We can only hope.

Officer Shot Story More Involved

Damn. An excellent job all around:

• Two people were found dead in a North Side apartment shortly before suspects in the slayings shot a Chicago police officer and crashed during a chase a short distance away Saturday evening, officials said. Police fatally shot one suspect after the chase.
  
  Chicago police were on the 5800 block of North Winthrop Avenue at about 5:30 p.m. where two people were found stabbed to death, officials said, citing preliminary information. A third person who was believed to be stabbed there was taken in critical condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.
  
  After the attackers left the apartment building, a Chicago police officer attempted to stop a vehicle suspected in the crime. Gunfire erupted from the vehicle, which contained at least three people, and the officer was wounded in the leg, officials said. The shooting happened near the intersection of Broadway and Thorndale Avenue, officials said.

Sound like some pretty good police work any way it plays out. The entire story is worth the read so click here. There's going to be more than a few medals passed out on this one.

Another Gang Meeting?

First up, we're outnumbered - someone alert the media. Oh wait, they already did:

• In this Intelligence Report: "Outmanned." Street gang membership in Chicago and the suburbs is at least twice as big as city and outlying police departments.
  
  It's due in part to a surge in the Chicago region's gang population related to Mexican cartels taking hold of illegal drug sales.
  
  There are more gangbangers in metro Chicago than there are residents in Orland Park and Glenview combined, at least 100,000 gang members, according to the latest intelligence from a top federal enforcement agency in Chicago.

The definition of gang "membership" is applied pretty liberally as you might imagine. But as the manpower decreases, the impact by more of the hard-core members becomes more pronounced.

But here's the amusing part of the whole article - evidently, J-fled had another gang summit meeting because the first was such a rousing success:

• [parolee Emoney] Green was among 60 parolees and current and former gang members who were frisked and searched Thursday night before attending a summit with Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis and top Chicago police officials.

  Although police didn't talk, saying the summit was not public, some in attendance said it was to cool tempers and tension and prevent street violence. But some said those in attendance hold little sway over gangbangers.

  "The people I see is the people that's no longer affiliated," said Lamont Burr, an ex-gang member. "We can't tell these young guys what to do. We might go down there every week and tell them to put the guns up. They put 'em up, but then it's right back, more violence."

As has been pointed out here, J-Fled's initial gang "summit" was actually a long-term investigation of a west side street gang that had been going on for almost two years. The groundwork had been already laid down by a number of wiretaps and informants. There's just no way that J-Fled's "summit" could have resulted in the number of arrests that occurred. It was just a typical Feeb move, taking a result and making it fit into a handy narrative for some bullshit crime reduction meeting.

This one appears to be along the same lines. Let's see what long term investigation gets its numbers appropriated for J-Fled's final gasp.

Cop Shot

Leg wound:

• At least two people have been shot ,including a Chicago police officer, on the Far North Side this evening, officials said.

  The officer was shot near the intersection of Thorndale Avenue and Broadway, and the officer was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston in good condition with a leg wound, officials said.

  At least one other crime scene was being investigated near Devon and Greenview Avenues where other people may have been injured, officials said.

Speedy recovery Officer.

Be Careful Out There

Media trolls are at it again:

• Those of you in south side districts, most especially in 022, should be wary of crews from Channel 2 following squad cars around this weekend. They are digging for something. I dont know if they will be in marked news vans or unmarked, but dont screw around AT ALL!!
  I dont put stuff out unless I confirmed it myself or it is a source that has NEVER let me down. I'm not sure yet exactly what they are after, but dont step into anything.

Keep an ear out and your eyes open.

Believe It Or Not

This has popped up a few places. Someone is trying to start something:

• J-FLED and Masters X 3 offices cleared. Drivers told to 'pick a 'District'. Is this the light at the end of the tunnel?
  

Perhaps some of our 35th Street people can check this out. We don't imagine there will be any movement for the next 10 weeks, but we've been wrong before.

Police Shooting

Another one, but this one stayed under the radar for almost 24 hours:

• An investigation is underway into a shooting involving a Chicago police officer that left a man wounded in the Hermosa neighborhood Thursday night, officials said tonight.

  At about 8:30 p.m. Thursday, police responded to a call of shots fired in an alley on the 2200 block of North Keystone Avenue, police said. When they arrived officers noticed a car running with the motor running and with shell casings on the ground, police said.

  They noticed a door to a nearby garage was open and saw a man crouching inside, police said.

  When an officer entered the garage and announced that he was police, a man lunged at the officer while holding a shiny metallic object in his hand, police said. The officer fired his weapon and struck the man, police said.

Cops are all OK.

Englewood Flyover Project

Once we heard "Englewood Flyover" we assumed this was a way to avoid the entire 007 District and it had our full support:

• Funding is in jeopardy for construction of a major rail-bridge system to ease at least some of the freight and passenger train congestion in the Chicago region, officials warned Thursday.

  The argument against building the Englewood flyover bridges on Chicago's South Side at one of the nation's busiest railroad junctions has nothing to do with the merits of the project.

  Instead, the long-planned bridge is among billions of dollars worth of infrastructure improvements that are being threatened by the battle playing out in Congress over the soaring national debt.

Now we find out it encompasses this:

• Chicago’s Englewood Flyover project, which is pegged to receive $133 million in High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program stimulus funds, will create nearly 1,500 jobs in Illinois, according to Gov. Pat Quinn.
  
  [...] The project will help establish high-speed rail service between Chicago and Detroit.

Do we really need a faster way for all of Detroit's problems to work their way over here to Chicago? We seem to be headed that direction just fast enough on our own.

Rahm Makes Nice With Firefighters

So, how long until he comes to our roll calls?

• Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel is making nice-nice to his former firemen foes.

  Translation: Sneed is told Rahm, who is carrying an olive branch in his iron fist, paid a surprise visit to several North Side firehouses Thursday morning to assure firefighters (whose union voted not to endorse him) he wanted to save their pensions.

  Pension check: “Rahm said he hated gambling, but he is in favor of a Chicago casino because it could be one way to shore up our pensions,” said a Chicago firefighter.

  Backcheck: “He showed up unexpectedly at 9 a.m., drank a cup of coffee, and spent about 30 minutes assuring us of his intention because he saw firsthand what happened to the autoworkers’ pensions and he didn’t want that to happen to us.”

Well, let's get this done then Rahm. How about all revenues attached to a casino go to shoring up the city pensions until such time as the funds are at sustainable levels. In fact, how about the pensions get funded at some fixed rate of 120% percent or whatever it takes so it pays for itself - the actuaries can figure it out. No payouts to connected investors until the pensions reach that mark. That means no front companies connected to crooked politicians, no Roger Ebert, no Connie Payton, no Outfit nieces or nephews. In fact, if anyone in your "family" has appeared on any Chicago Crime Commission publication within the last four generations, you're out. Every dime goes to the funds.

Someone can tell us if this is possible - officers can then take their pension contribution (currently 9% and going to 12%) in their paychecks. We believe some well-funded pensions in non-bankrupt states did this a few years back.

Burke Threatened

Wow. Who would have thunk it? And right after the election, too. What a coincidence!!!

• Sneed hears a 62-year-old South Side man has been arrested for threatening to kill Ald. Ed Burke (14th).
  Timothy J. Hercog was charged with felony intimidation of a public official and is scheduled to appear in bond court today.

  According to a police report, Hercog left three messages at Burke’s South Side office between Feb. 20 and Feb. 23. In one message, Hercog reportedly said he wanted to kill Burke; in another one he allegedly told the alderman he “better keep his bodyguards” and that he hopes Rahm Emanuel takes them away. (Before he was elected, Emanuel said as mayor he would strip Burke of his controversial police bodyguards.) Authorities traced Hercog’s phone number to his home and he was taken into custody at the 2nd District police station.

So, did this person have access to a gun? A knife? Did he know where Burke's office was? Had he been stalking Burke? Was there any sort of act of furtherance on the part of this individual? Is there a history of mental illness or violent acts in his past?

All questions that need to be asked before authorizing any continuation of Burke's coat hangers, coffee fetchers and door holders. So how come we're getting the impression that there will just be a continuation of the detail for the foreseeable future? Doesn't every citizen deserve the exact same type of protection when threatened? What makes Burke so special? And isn't he authorized to carry a gun?

Wait a minute - this sounds like a perfect example of something that could be alleviated by Concealed Carry. Or by Burke tapping into his campaign millions to pay for his own security.

Retirees Safe?

This was e-mailed to us, purportedly from Greg Bella's Facebook page:

• [Emanuel] met with F.O.P. PAC. Stated he will not change benefits that retired city employees are receiving. He does believe he can change the pension benefits for active employees. Pensions cannot be diminished or impaired because of constitutional protections and prior court rulings. Emmanuel has since backed off and now states that he will sit down with the unions to discuss pension issues.

We aren't sure of the mechanisms in place, but if you're vested in the pension or hired under certain rules, then those promises are pretty solid from a legal standpoint. Someone versed in the legalese might be able to explain it better?

In any event, the various unions are girding for battle:

• Leaders of several unions representing city workers weren't ready to take on Rahm Emanuel a day after he was elected mayor, despite his campaign promise to press for benefit reductions because of the city's looming budget crisis.
  
  "I don't think anybody really knows what to expect right now," said Chicago firefighters union president Tom Ryan, who left his congratulations to Emanuel in a voice mail Wednesday. "It's definitely going to be an adjustment period."
  
  Both the firefighters and police unions backed the candidacy of second-place finisher Gery Chico. Ryan said he plans to "proceed with caution" as Emanuel prepares to take office in May, while police union president Mark Donahue promised to work with the new mayor "as diligently as possible."

"work with" better mean "fight tooth and nail" in these circumstances.

Moron

Once again, someone who has no clue attempting to get officers killed:

• anyone hear about the idiot LT on midnights in 017???? domestic with a mad man wielding a knife, threatening officers; LT shows up yells at officers for overreacting for having their guns pointed at the guy... LT in front of guns to try and taze the guy... next day he goes around lecturing people in roll call and around the district for over reacting... POINTING YOUR GUN AT AN ARMED OFFENDER IN A CLOSED SPACE is over reacting??? where do they find these people?

We are reminded of the former commander in 014 who arrived on the scene of a man wielding a shotgun in an alley. She ordered officers to put away their pistols, telling them that she could tell the gun was fake and they were needlessly antagonizing the mentally distraught man. Of course, when someone finally convinced the subject to drop the gun, it turned out to be a fully loaded 12 gauge shotgun.

As stated here many times, there is a reason that no General Order exists dictating the circumstances when or where an officer is permitted to have their gun available for immediate use. Only the officer can make that determination based on what he or she sees, hears or senses. And anyone attempting to interfere with that process should shut the hell up.

Bye Rickey - Prison Awaits?

A former aldercreature going to prison? Who'd believe that?

• State Sen. Rickey Hendon, a flamboyant former West Side alderman known for his nickname "Hollywood" and his controversial mouth, abruptly quit Thursday.
  
  [...] The surprise announcement by the veteran lawmaker comes months after revelations that a federal grand jury issued subpoenas for records on dozens of state grants, some of which he sponsored. On Thursday, Hendon repeatedly said he was hanging up as a reporter tried to ask whether his decision to resign was related to the federal subpoenas.
  
  The subpoenas sought state agency records about dealings with more than 50 individuals and nearly 40 entities, according to copies of the August subpoenas served state agencies and obtained by the Tribune. Included are groups that won grants for after-school programs, job training and health programs, including several that were part of a 2008 Tribune investigation into Hendon's sponsorship of after-school grants.

Will he be the latest in a long line of "public servants" headed to the federal pokey? Got to keep up that 50% conviction rate somehow.

The Election That Wouldn't End

Lots of runoffs:

• In 14 wards around the city, the top two finishers in close aldermanic races will face off April 5 for a run-off election.

  Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday he’d be willing to help some of those candidates, not just with money but with advice. The unions will get involved — and most likely some will be on the other side from Emanuel.

  Some finalists are long-time aldermen, such as Bernie Stone (50th) facing a spirited challenge from Debra Silverstein, wife of State Sen. Ira Silverstein. Some are brand-new appointed aldermen, such as Tim Cullerton (38th), who will square off against property manager Tom Caravette. Others are vying for open seats in which the top two vote getters failed to get a majority of the vote.

  Seven races are on the North Side, five are on the South Side, and two are on the West Side.

Hopefully, these changes will blunt the "rubber stamp" image of the current City Council and permit us to effectively fight untoward actions against our pension promises. Enough of the aldercreatures may be amenable to seeing things our way if they're brand new.

Aw Crap

This isn't good:

• A handcuffed pandhandler [sic] being transported by police pulled a concealed weapon and began shooting from the backseat of an unmarked squad car on Wednesday, causing the car to collide with another driver as the officers tried to protect themselves and gain control of the situation, authorities said.
  
  The exchange of gunfire ended with one man dead and two officers injured.
  
  "He found a good way to hide it [the gun]," a law enforcement source told NBC Chicago, noting that pandhandlers [sic] often "wear multiple layers of clothing."

Definitely one of those "Oh Shit!" moments we all pray to avoid. Thank god no one was seriously injured aside from the dead panhandler.

Vest Saves Cop

018 District:

• A person was killed and two Chicago police officers injured in a shooting in the River North neighborhood this afternoon, officials said.

  At least one of the officers was shot and his injuries did not appear to be life-threatening. The other officer suffered cuts to his hand, fire officials said. The third person was dead on arrival at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

  Chicago police, citing preliminary reports, said the officer was arresting a panhandler when the officer was shot in the back. No other details were immediately available.

Best wishes to the wounded officers.

Sucking Up Already

Anyone else see a certain policy group lieutenant all over Rahm at the victory party?

We're betting we just saw the newest member of the command staff of the CPD securing his spot.

Does this impact on Rahm's public statements to replace J-Fled, seeing how tight Ray Ray seems to be with J-Fled, Masters (Masters Masters) and Rahm himself?

Lost Star

Remember, if it was never put to paper, it didn't happen:

• While not officially documented because some of her minions located it within a few hours, can anyone in 011 confirm that Henny Penny "lost" her star in her unmarked when she took it to the carwash last week??
  
  Seems a search of the carwash and it's employees, as well as a review of the surveillance tapes, proved fruitless. All looked bleak until an anonymous citizen found the tin in a nearby alley and called a number found with the "proceeds".
  
  She won't wear a vest or star to an HBT incident, but will have it peeled when she leaves it in the car while it's getting washed.
  
  Now all you Henny Penny supporters chime-in and say it never happened because there wasn't paper generated. Anyone in 011 want to give their 2 cents worth??

Amazing. Who knows what tomorrow's tale will be?

35.6%?

Seriously? Thirty-five-point-six percent voter turnout?

• 1.4 million registered voters;
• 35.6% means 498,400 people voted;
• at last count, Rahm had 305,000 votes

That means that just around 22% of Chicago voters handed Rahm victory. And who funded it? These people had a hand in it:

• Here is a quick list of Rahm donors:
  
  Shahid Khan : Pakistani from Champaign, Il, owner of Flex-n-Gate products and bidder on the St. Louis Rams --- $100,000.00 (WTF!)
  
  Blue Media LLC -- $100,000.00(huh?)
  
  James Clark(Palm Beach,FL) $100,000
  
  Donald Edwards(Chicago) $100,000
  
  Fred Eychaner(Chicago, News Web CEO) $100,000 Hmmmmm?
  
  David Geffen, record and film producer: $100,000
  
  Donald Trump : $50,000
  
  Steven Spielberg: $75,000
  
  Diane and David Heller (Chicago) $200,000
  
  Haim Saban, made Inspector Gadget and other cartoons: $300,000
  
  The list goes on and on... I didn't know the mayor of Chicago was so important to the country.
  
  Hmmmmmm? These people didn't get rich by giving money away. What are they really buying here?? That is the REAL MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION!!

That certainly raises a lot of questions.

Rahm in the Lead - Chico Concedes

Early returns show a pathetic turnout and Rahm garnering 54%.

We'll update here and there - these new i-Phones are amazing.

UPDATE 08:40 PM: It's over:

• Runner-up Gery Chico tonight called Rahm Emauel to acknowledge Emanuel's lead is insurmountable and he will be Chicago's next mayor.

  "We've elected a mayor tonight," Chico told supporters. "I want with all of my heart for Rahm Emanuel to be successful as mayor. We need that, ladies and gentlemen.”

  While Emanuel has yet to declare victory, he was well above the 50 percent benchmark he needed to avoid a runoff election.

Strap in - rough weather ahead.

Woman Blasts Burglar

Justice served:

• A woman today shot and killed a man who Chicago police said was breaking into her South Chicago neighborhood home on the city's Southeast Side.

  Police said the victim heard glass breaking in her basement on the 8200 block of South Kingston Avenue at about 10 a.m.

  After grabbing her handgun, the woman confronted two intruders, but struck only one when she opened fire, police spokeswoman Officer Anne Dwyer said. The second man fled.

  The wounded intruder, identified by the Cook County medical examiner's office as Vincent Fleming, 20, of the 300 block of West 42nd Street, was pronounced dead a short time later at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

  An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

Nice shooting ma'am. We certainly hope the new mayor gives her a key to the city. As of this posting, neither newspaper has the story upon the main page. We wonder why that is.

New Bulding, Old Building

The joys of connected contracting:

• Last night there was a power outage which affected the 008th District. As it should, the emergency generator kicked on....but only for 5 minutes, then it shut down. For the next hour, the building had no power at all. Building maintenance showed up (after the power was restored) and declared the generator broken.
  
  An almost new building built with a faulty generator.

Anyone want to bet it was a "like new" generator, maybe a floor model, repackaged to look like new in a taped up box they found on the loading dock? Charged the city full price though.

And what's the story in 014? Word is they've had to shut the water off in the building twice in the past few weeks, not for hours, but days at a time. The district is shipping prisoners to Area 4 or Area 5 because it's some sort of civil rights violation to keep the evil-doers where there isn't running water - but the district itself is still open and running for the cops to work where there isn't any running water?

Too Big to Fail

An amusing video for this Election Day:



Amazing how so much money and so many favors are coming in from everywhere but Chicago to get this guy elected.

Two Good Rumors

The first one, we aren't sure about. The second we've heard a bunch from a bunch of places:

• #1. The officers that were illegally placed in the Behavioral program are supposed to be getting a check from a p.o.'s class action suit. The amount is supposed to be about 25,000.00 per affected officer. I wish they would have placed me in that program.
  
• #2. There are plans to restructure the entire summer festivities along the lakefront. From what we are hearing these are major changes that deal with unheard of things. These plans will be submitted to the NEW mayor. These plans were getting rave reviews and are supposed to make Chicago a brand new city with vision.

We don't see the city coming up with $15 million plus lawyers' fees just out of the blue. We'd like to see it happen, but in reality?

We can see some brainiac proposing a restructuring of the Grant Park festival stuff though. After all, when in doubt, announce a "reorganization" and pass it off as progress while some other connected company makes a bundle in the confusion.

UPDATE: To all those attempting to blast us in the comments, are you not reading the entire post? We have HUGE doubts about the veracity of the first rumor. We even say so right after the actual rumor. Try reading the entire post before going off half-cocked.

Rahm Under 50%?

We can hope, can't we?

Vote.

A runoff would prove to be the best entertainment we've had around here in twenty years or more.

An Epidemic?

Anyone know if Henny Penny is giving lessons in supervisory insanity?

• We heard that the commander in 9, Jarmush-head, finally lost it and started going off on anyone in his path. In lees than 5 minutes, he turned the whole 2nd watch against him. Way to go! Great management style! Maybe when J-Fled goes back to hell, he can take The Mush with him.

So 009 joins the ranks of 011 and 014 with commanders who think yelling at subordinates conveys some sense of being in control and inspiring officers to want to perform their best possible work for the Department.

Where do they find these people? And more importantly, where do they find other people willing to actually nominate these people as having any sort of "leadership" qualities? Isn't anyone screening these applicants?

Haymaker Memorial

One year ago Tuesday:

• Tuesday, 22 Feb 2011 marks the 1 year anniversary of the death of Sgt. Haymaker, killed while traversing the perilous conditions along Lake Shore Drive in route to an in progress call on 22 February 2010.
  A brief memorial will be held near the site at the app. time of death, to wit, 0500 hrs.
  Interested members need to be at 4100 N. Marine Drive (Irving Park) no later than 0445 hrs.

Further info can be found at this link here.

RIP Tony Ceriale

Sad news today.

Tony Ceriale, father of slain Officer Michael Ceriale, passed away. A small service will be held at Simkins Funeral Home, 6251 Dempster Street, Morton Grove on Tuesday 22 February from 1500 to 2000 hours.

RIP Mr. Ceriale. We're sure Michael was awaiting your arrival at the Pearly Gates.

Holiday Schedule

Taking it easy today. Enjoying the hours with the kids off school.

Election coverage tomorrow.

Open post in the meantime.

Instant Justice

If only this were a regular occurrence:

• A sexual assault suspect was killed Saturday night when he reportedly jumped in front of a CTA train on the South Side.

  A southbound CTA Red Line train struck the man about 9:30 p.m. Saturday near the 87th Street station, CTA spokeswoman Wanda Taylor said.

• Police identified the man as 32-year-old Theus Beal, who fled from the 8900 block of South Eberhart Avenue about 9 p.m. when officers responded to take a report from a teenage girl who accused him of sexual assaulting her earlier that evening at Beal’s home in the 0-100 block of East 121st Place, according to a police report.

  After the alleged attack, Beal and the girl went to the Eberhart address, where he grabbed a butcher knife and threatened to harm himself with it after allegedly admitting to the assault, according to the police report. He told the people there that he was going to commit suicide and fled when officers began arriving the report said.

No arrest, no botched prosecution, no years-long delay in processing evidence, Sunday night so minimal traffic disruption. A winning effort all around.

Repeat Offender

Humorous story out of Pittsburgh:

• A Pittsburgh man has been arrested for breaking into the same liquor store five times in the past three weeks, authorities said on Friday.
  
  Stephen Lamm, 40, who is homeless, was arrested after breaking into Pa Wine and Spirits Store in downtown Pittsburgh and stealing two bottles of vodka early Thursday, according to a criminal complaint filed by police.
  
  Lamm allegedly smashed a window at the same store and stole about 12 bottles of alcohol on January 28. The following day, he broke through wood covering the broken window, although it was unclear whether anything was taken.
  
  Police say that the next day Lamm smashed a display window at the store and stole seven bottles of alcohol. Two days later, he smashed a window, stealing about four bottles, according to the complaint.
  
  After Thursday's break-in, police identified Lamm from a surveillance video and arrested him on a charge of burglary. During the arrest, two bottles of alcohol fell out of his coat, the complaint said.

After the second or third time, you'd think someone would wait in the parking lot for this guy.

Eating in Chicago

The author of "The Beat Cop's Guide to Chicago Eats" is the featured guest on tonight's Sunday Night Radio Special. The show is on WGN at 9 PM and will be discussing the book for the entire hour.

At the very least, perhaps it could help settle the most important decision many of us make on a nightly basis.

Under the Bus....and Aftermath

Daley had fun tossing J-Fled under the bus today - seriously though, did anyone NOT see this one coming?

• A group of black ministers demanded Friday that Mayor Daley and Police Supt. Jody Weis deliver on their joint promise to reallocate police resources from lower-crime neighborhoods to others with higher crime.
  
  Weis promised the reallocation during City Council budget hearings and said it would be delivered by Dec. 31.
  
  On Friday, the ministers released an open letter to Daley and held a news conference outside his office at which they called on the lame-duck mayor to take advantage of the freedom his new status provides and deliver on a promise he made in 2003. They argued that Weis also has nothing to lose, since all four of the major mayoral candidates have vowed to dump him.
  
  
• Mayoral press secretary Jacquelyn Heard denied that Daley killed Weis’ plan to shift hundreds of officers. He’s never even seen it, she said.
  
  “On no level has this plan been shared with City Hall,” Heard said. “It exists only in the form of rumors and leaks to the media, presumably meant to exude the appearance of good intentions.
  
  “We can all agree that a change of this significance requires much better handling than that.”
  
  Sources said Weis has had “any number of chances” to share his reallocation plan with the mayor — but never has done so.

So pretty much, Shortshanks has his people (Jackie Heard) throw Weis under the bus, placing all the blame for the lack of a plan on J-Fled's shoulders. The comments in this first linked article are just amazing. J-Fled and the mayor and the ministers are torched at every turn. The citizens are completely against moving their beat officers from their neighborhoods and into the less civilized portions of the city. Priceless.

So what does J-Fled do? He's not taking this lying down - he miraculously has a plan ready mere hours later! And it's very disappointing to say the least:

• Police Supt. Jody Weis on Saturday unveiled his much-anticipated plan to move beat officers to districts that need more cops — but ministers from high-crime areas said they were disappointed by how few he planned to shift.

  Weis would not give the number, saying only that “it’s not hundreds. Nobody’s that far down.”

  He also would not identify the districts that need more cops.

This sounds exactly like the recent Crystal Ball Unit press conference - we've got a miraculous 40% drop in homicides in a very small localized area, but we aren't going to provide you with any charts or statistical-type numbers that might show exactly how we stretched the numbers to make them fit a preordained outcome. The comments in this second linked article are headed the way of the first - lambasting the revs, J-Fled and at least one wondering why no one listened to the officers months and years ago when we were marching around City Hall and HQ pointing out the leadership void.

Where Did Everyone Go?

An expanded look at the Chicago spiral downward:

• Chicago's central core grew increasingly vibrant during the past decade, as young professionals filled new condominiums in the Loop and surrounding neighborhoods, taking advantage of trendy restaurants and nightspots.
  
  But vast swaths of the city didn't fare as well. Fifty-seven of Chicago's 77 community areas lost population during the decade, according to 2010 U.S. census data released last week.
  
  Hardest hit were the South and West sides, where thousands of African-Americans abandoned neighborhoods beset by crime, foreclosures, bad schools and economic squalor.
  
  
• Chicago's overall loss of 200,000 people in a decade is "a very, very alarming sign," said Frank H. Beal, executive director of Metropolis 2020, a business-oriented regional planning group.
  
  Struggling neighborhoods pocked by empty homes and vacant blocks affect the entire region's economic fabric, he said, pointing to cities such as Detroit and Cleveland that have had difficulty attracting reinvestment because of neighborhood blight.
  
  "It affects whether businesses decide whether they're going to move to this area," Beal said.

Well let's see:

• highest sales tax in the nation
• once vibrant neighborhoods gutted by foreclosures
• top ten finishes in the misery index, commute times, perceived crime, etc
• $85 billion in Illinois debt, an almost doubling in the income tax, another bond issue/borrowing spree on the horizon and the promise of even more tax hikes to pay for unsustainable social programs

We'd say there aren't many businesses willing to relocate to Chicago, let alone Illinois. And that goes for people as well.

In fact, here's a cool website attached to Forbes.com that shows where people are moving to and from. Be sure you check out the "Chicago," "Los Angeles," and "Detroit" buttons on the lower left side of the map - the red lines mean "Leaving Town." Ouch.

Coach Q Out of Hospital

We wouldn't be surprised if we had a bleeding ulcer, too, following this season:

• Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was released from the hospital Saturday, the team announced.

  Quenneville had been hospitalized since Wednesday morning with a bleeding ulcer caused by aspirin use.

  "Joel was released from the hospital (Saturday) and is resting comfortably at home," Hawks team physician Michael Terry said. "We will continue to monitor him and still anticipate a full recovery. We are working to determine when it is best for him to return to his coaching duties."

The Blackhawks have been hovering just outside of the post-season cutoff all year, never being able to string together a set of games that would solidify a berth in the playoffs. Time is running out on the defending Stanley Cup Champions. We, along with many others, had hopes of a repeat dashed early in the off-season with 8 or 9 key personnel losses. The salary cap realities and contract expectations of championship caliber players conflicted too heavily to expect anything else.

Editorial On Pensions

But will it stand up?

• For decades, the people of Illinois have benefitted from the services delivered by their public employees. Further, Illinois citizens have benefitted financially from the terms of employment with these workers. Schoolteachers, state troopers, social workers and corrections officers all opted for public service under a series of tradeoffs proffered by the State of Illinois: State employees would be paid a lower salary than that of their private-sector counterparts, but in exchange they would receive specific guarantees. Critical among these benefits was a pension — a provision so critical that the state’s commitment to retirement benefits was enumerated in the 1970 State Constitution.

  This arrangement — lower salaries for state employees in exchange for a constitutionally guaranteed pension — allowed the state to balance its budget, allocate resources to other state needs and provide critical public services. Just like a private-sector employee who chose to take a lower salary in exchange for an extra week of vacation, state employees willingly accepted less money in every paycheck in exchange for an alternative, deferred benefit.

The entire article is here. It sounds good. But good enough to stand up in the courts? Because we're afraid that's where a lot of this is going to end up at some point. And good enough to stand up in the face of financial impossibilities? That's the road we're headed down.

Quinn Expanding Government?

Exactly what voters want - government growing in the face of a double-dip recession:

• While many states are trying to cut public employees and their benefits, Gov. Quinn’s budget proposal would add nearly 950 people to the state payroll in departments ranging from Corrections to Public Health.

  The additions described in a budget analysis from House Democrats would increase the number of state workers 1.7 percent, but they come as the state is trying to claw its way out of a deep budget hole. Republican legislators and some Democrats say Quinn’s spending plan won’t do enough to cut expenses.

  The administration said adding some jobs would save money because some state agencies, particularly the Corrections Department, are spending huge amounts on overtime as guards work long hours to make up for a staff shortage.

  In other cases, the Democratic governor’s staff said, new laws require new hiring.

New laws require new hiring? Maybe the budget needs to be rewritten. Again. And how can the Department of Corrections be shorthanded? Quinn paroled almost 2,000 inmates. Cook County Jail mothballed a couple divisions plus the judges and juries aren't convicting anyone at the rates they used to.

Everyone else in government is laying people off - but not Quinn.

Early Voting Ends

Three days until the election:

• Early voting in the election for mayor of Chicago is over, and the Chicago Elections Board says an unofficial total of 73,251 Chicagoans cast early ballots.
  
  The board says that's three times the number of early votes cast ahead of the 2007 mayoral election, but roughly 10,000 fewer than for the 2008 Presidential Primary or the Nov. 2010 General Election.
  
  The early voting was closed Thursday, but there still will be in-person absentee voting at the board's headquarters in downtown Chicago. That runs through Monday.
  

And the FOP election - have you sent in your ballots yet?

Mysterious Mailing

Where did the letters come from?

• A tag team of mayoral candidates blasted Rahm Emanuel on Thursday for sending to Chicago households a letter tailor-made to reassure city employees that he will not seek to reduce their pensions.

  City workers have questioned how Emanuel got their home addresses. But Emanuel spokesman Ben LaBolt said the letter — in a blank white envelope with no return address and a postage stamp — was sent to “households across the city.”

• The mayor told reporters, “I don’t know anything about it.” But Braun stood her ground, calling it a “throwback to the bad old days” in Chicago.

  “This is voter intimidation and intimidation of city workers,” she said.

  “A personal letter … was sent to the homes of city employees, essentially telling them that ‘We know who you are, and we know how to reach out to you and we want to talk to you about your benefits.’ Well, the point is that’s illegal.”

  She offered no proof of the illegality.

We don't know about illegal, but sending stuff that isn't clearly marked as political in nature certainly reeks of underhandedness, and one has to wonder where did the Rahm's people get the lists they're using.

HBT Situation South

Shots fired at and by the police:

• Gunfire was exchanged between police and would-be robbers before a barricade situation developed late Thursday in a Hegewisch neighborhood discount store.

  There are no reported injuries at this time, police said.

  Patrol officers and detectives were on scene of the barricade incident at a Family Dollar store in the 13300 block of South Brainard Avenue as of 10:45 p.m., according to Calumet Area detectives.

No word on any resolution at this time. No casualties either.

TRAHM - Legacy

Someone spent some serious time on this:



They get quite a few insider reference to the Ballerino dead on. Some other things are a little too inside baseball for people who don't follow Chicago politics closely to get. But it's pretty amusing.

Butcher English Much?

Daley just hangs his ignorant ass out there for everyone to see:

• Mayor Daley on Thursday denounced as an anti-Semitic “disgrace” a union leader’s reference to Rahm Emanuel as a “Wall Street Judas” with “bags of silver” who sold out union workers when he helped muscle NAFTA through Congress.

  The remarks were made by a union leader who has endorsed Gery Chico, Daley’s former chief of staff and one-time president of the school, park district and City Colleges board.

The term "Judas" has entered the common lexicon as anyone who betrays. Slaughterhouses used to have a "Judas goat" that would lead the nervous animals coming to market down the slaughter chute, emerging safely at the other end while its compatriots were shunted to the killing floor. So now goats are anti-Semitic?

The term more than adequately defines Rahm as one who has taken money from organized labor institutions and has now promised to gut pensions and contractual promises made to the very people he expects to blindly support him.

All Shortshanks does is expose his complete ignorance of history and his willingness to lower the tenor of the debate by any means possible. Of course, Daley comes by it honestly as attendees of the 1968 Democratic National Convention will recall Daley the Elder screaming at Senator Abe Ribicoff from the floor of the event.

Hey, Look What I Found!

Millions of dollars just lying around doing nothing:

• A planned “flyover” aimed at unblocking a bottleneck on the lakefront path for cyclists, joggers and in-line skaters near Navy Pier was approved Thursday by the city’s plan commission.

  Construction for the $40 to $45 million project could begin in spring 2012, said Brian Steele, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Transportation. The city has already secured $34 million of that pricetag in federal funds.

  The idea is to separate lakefront recreational traffic from daily pedestrian traffic, which is currently all funneled along a narrow sidewalk on the lower level of the Lake Shore Drive Bridge across the Chicago River.

$34 million in federal money leaves around $6 - 11 million in city tax money located. Add in the regular 10% cost overruns for anything built in Chicago and there's $15 million Shortshanks just pulled out of his ass.

More Penny Craziness

Some people just aren't fit to lead. We got an e-mail yesterday:

• Hey SCC,
  
  Just letting you know, Henny Penny is flipping her shit again in 011. She thinks she can cover for her own incompetence and shortcomings by screaming at subordinates and attempting to publicly embarrass them for her own staff's laziness.
  
  Seems her office staff decided they wanted to bitch about some paper arrest reports that got sent up front the same as it always has. So they concocted a story full of lies about the desk crew so Henny Penny went running out into the lobby, berating the desk personnel in front of other officers and members of the public about non-existent general orders and Department policy that has been in place longer than any of them have been on the job.
  
  This from a woman who's lucky to have a job after the little "domestic" incident along with numerous other unreported incidents of property damage, stalking and telephone harassment. A "leader" of men and women who shows up at HBT incidents of rifle fire without a bulletproof vest or star. A "supervisor" who came to the scene of the armored car heist without a gun. A malcontent who's been handed everything in her career and wouldn't know good police work if it bit her on the ass.
  
  She's going to cost the 011 District a bunch of good officers and the city a bunch of money with her creation of a hostile workplace environment. "Earned, not Given" applies to respect as well as the star.

This is going to be J-Fled's legacy - incompetent, deranged leaders. Although we would be remiss if we didn't thank him for a near endless supply of material.

Pension Mess

We're sure this plays right into the hands of the politicians, pitting government worker against government worker, but facts are facts.

Here's the top 100 Chicago Police pensions as of 2010. Phil Cline tops the list with a pension of almost $147,000. The rest reads like a "Who's Who" of clout.

And here's a list of the top 100 government pensions in Illinois. Almost every single one is from one of the educators funds, Teachers or University. The top name gets a pension of over $390,000. The name at number 100 receives over $178,000 - $30,000 more than Phil Cline.

That tells us that while police gold braid pensions might seem a bit high, those aren't the ones bankrupting the system.

Quinn's Amazing Budget

You think this jackass just won an election and doesn't really care about the next four years?

• Gov. Pat Quinn today stressed the need for spending restraint during his annual budget speech today, but largely glossed over the details, instead focusing on voter-friendly ways to boost the economy and create jobs.
  
  
• The speech comes just weeks after Quinn won an income-tax increase to help stabilize the state's troubled finances, and includes $1.7 billion more in spending than last year, a point that drew sharp criticism from Republicans.

What the fuck??? Illinois' debt isn't going to come under control when Quinn is increasing spending by $1.7 billion over last year. It's basic economics. All the smoke is blowing away and the mirrors are cracked. The tax increases are going to remain permanent, businesses are going to flee the state and Illinois will join the rest of the rust belt as shadows of their former selves. This is what passes for leadership in Illinois.

Camera Scandal?

We still might see some of Stroger's people headed to jail:

• The FBI, along with the Inspector General's office from the Department of Homeland Security, are looking at how tens of millions of dollars have been spent by Cook County officials, NBC Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times have learned.
  
  The federal funds were earmarked for a controversial program called Project Shield.
  
  Between $45 and $50 million in federal Homeland Security money has been spent to outfit suburban police cars with cameras.
  
  Those cameras are supposed to stream live video back to a central command center in cases of emergency, including a terrorist attack.
  
  But Project Shield, which was first implemented by IBM back in 2004, has had serious technical problems, calling into question how the money was spent and the safety provided.

Any other government entities get Federal Homeland Security money for camera systems of questionable value? Oh yeah - Chicago. Hmmmm.

$50 Grand per Speech?

Seriously?

• For a politician who was once viewed as inarticulate — and even took public speaking lessons to overcome that reputation — Mayor Daley sure has come a long way.

  The retiring mayor has signed on with a New York speakers bureau and lecture agency to make a living delivering speeches — in exchange for a fee in the $50,000-an-engagement range.

  The Harry Walker Agency has a blue-chip roster of clients that includes former President Bill Clinton, former Vice-Presidents Dick Cheney and Al Gore, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and rock star/philanthropist Bono.

Has anyone from the Harry Walker Agency actually seen Shortshanks deliver a speech? It's painful. Choppy monotone, little-to-no-audience connection, constant mangling of the King's English.

And then there's the question of what he's going to speak about?

Urban planning? Anyone seen the laundry list of scandals this goof presided over? Shoddy construction, crooked contracts, friends and relatives with no job experience running departments into the ground while the politically and Outfit connected businesses get rich. Then there's the flower boxes, parking meter contracts, pension disaster, No-lympic glory, the list is near endless.

Leadership? All his speeches about how he "don't know nuthin," yet has a reputation as a micro-manager without peer, every cog in the Machine reporting to his political organization, yet no obvious successor or heir-apparent which most successful leaders attempt to groom. Do we really need to rehash the mess he made of the police department command structure. And exactly how many chiefs-of-staff did he go through in his 20-plus years?

The article was written by, you guessed it, Fran Spielman, who never met a Daley press release that couldn't be spun into some fawning profile, even to the very end of Shortshanks' career. We really have no idea how she's going to make a living once the Daley gravy train ends. We imagine her emaciated remains will be located, starved to death on lower Michigan Avenue, her clothes stuffed with all the clippings of Daley-praise she's written over the years in an attempt to stave off the freezing temperatures.

It's the kind of thought that keeps us warm at night as we dream about eating cat food in our own cardboard box after the Ballerino finishes Daley's dirty work draining our pensions.

Chicago Tonight

Carol Marin played up the J-Fled angle on the Valentine's Day broadcast of WTTW's Chicago Tonight. The fun begins around the 30 minute mark. She claims J-Fled was brought in as Superintendent to "clean up" a Department wracked with scandal.

The reality is J-Fled was brought in to remedy a problem that didn't exist. A few high profile incidents played up endlessly in the media and suddenly, we're the punching bag of the decade. Ask yourself a few questions:

• How many times did you see the Abbate tape? Scientists from National Geographic just located a heretofore unknown tribe of Indonesian pygmies living on a remote Pacific island, and even they saw the Abbate video a dozen times. This was a drunken idiot who never should have been the police in the first place and was eased through the cracks in a corrupt hiring process. We all paid a price for it, but no one ever outed the clout that got him there.
  
• High profile DUI's. A number of cops went to jail, are about to go to jail or got fired for drunken behavior. The total? Probably under twelve, a mere tenth-of-one-percent. We aren't going to defend the behavior of alcoholics, but is was (and remains) a very small minority of officers. Media overkill again.
• The SOS Scandal. Rogue teams of officers doing home invasions, stealing from dope dealers and making life hell on everyone, right? How many people went to jail? Six? Less than six? Each for under 6 months if we recall correctly. The alleged "ringleader" still sits in the MCC with no trial date in sight. The other big name made a bunch of media appearances in an attempt to save his own worthless ass. Charges were actually dropped against two others. So we're looking at 6 to 8 resignations, a few small fish doing county time and a larger case that seems to be stalled and falling apart.
  

We don't call that a Department "out-of-control" by any stretch of the imagination.

So J-Fled turned inward, destroyed the established order (not necessarily a bad thing), forced decades of experience that may have assisted him out the door (unforgivable), jackpotted a cop who had served his punishment (really unforgivable), then attempted to win the hearts and minds of the Department by taking old ideas and passing them off as his own while trying to tell us that Tahoes and cameras would save the day. All of this while abetting the reduction in manpower numbers to historic lows, creating units of clout babies while pretending ability and results meant something, promoting more incompetent hacks, criminals and psychopaths and going through four or five "restructurings" that solved nothing. Then there was the whole "gotta run" debacle.

Getting the candidates on record for launching J-Fled is a good thing. He was a mistake.

Chicago Shrinking

No, we don't mean Shortshanks and the Ballerino. We mean losing people that they can potentially get tax money from:

• Chicago’s population plunged by more than 200,000 people -- a 6.9 percent decline from 2000, according to the official Census count released Tuesday.

  The drop was significantly more than indicated by previously released census estimates and over the next decade it could cost the city hundreds of millions in federal funds, which are partly distributed on the basis of population counts.

  Chicago’s black population fell the most, nearly 17 percent. Today, blacks make up only 33 percent of the city’s population, down from 36 percent 10 years ago.

• Hispanic population grew 3.3 percent in the city. But since this is less than the birth rate it is likely that Hispanics also are leaving the city for the suburbs.

  Non-white Hispanics now comprise 32 percent of the population, while Hispanics of all races make up 29 percent

  Population also fell in Cook County -- an 182,000 drop. However, the population of suburban Cook grew slightly by 18,000, indicating Chicago’s drop was the major factor in the county’s loss of population.

We'll bet that 200,000 population decline doubles in the next decade. Chicago reached a tipping point a few years back and the view looks all downhill from what we can see. Anyone who can afford to move out, will move out. Anyone who can't afford to move out, will move out anyway to live with friends or relatives. Chicago and Cook County are too expensive to live in for the average family. And as Illinois continues to become a more and more business un-friendly environment, the jobs that make it possible to scrape by will dry up.

Hey? Maybe someone ought to look into reducing the number of aldercreatures again. With less population, there isn't any need for 50 of these leeches sucking up tax money. If only there was someone who could circulate a petition or draft an ordinance to shrink the size of the City Council.

Pothole Season

They're out there. Tire flatteners, rim benders, axle crackers:

• The snow is melting and the potholes are appearing. Chicago-area drivers are challenged every year by an obstacle course in the city and suburbs.

  Potholes are caused by the freezing and thawing of pavement; the more cycles area roadways go through, the greater the chance of potholes. The condition of the streets also plays a part.

  "Since Saturday we have received 500 calls about potholes throughout the city of Chicago. Of those 500, 400 came yesterday," said CDOT's Bobby Ware.

Word is there are no pool cars citywide (again), so drive carefully. Those unfortunate enough to suffer damage to personal cars can file claims with the city to recoup some of your costs at this link here.

Still Hiring Trucks

Weren't there supposed to be some "lifetime bans" instituted after all this scandal broke? Or was that only with firms doing business with the state?

• The blizzard of costs to clean up Chicago’s third-largest snowstorm is starting to pile up — with $8 million in emergency contracts awarded in just one day, three of them to former Hired Truck companies.

  On Feb. 3, the day after it stopped snowing, the Daley administration awarded 32 emergency contracts of $250,000 apiece, all of them tied to snow removal, storm cleanup or rescue.

• The list also includes three companies that rode the Hired Truck gravy train before the Sun-Times blew the whistle on a program that paid clout-heavy companies — some with ties to organized crime — to do little or no work.

Nice to see the Outfit is still getting its piece of the pie. We supposed Shortshanks was overjoyed to be able to pay back some favors to the mob after the entire "No-lympic" fiasco shorted the mafia-connected construction firms of billions in skim.

Rahm Targets Burke

The Ballerino's "enemies list" begins to take shape:

• Mayoral contender Rahm Emanuel suggested powerful Ald. Ed Burke will have to give up his police detail and might also lose his chairmanship of the City Council Finance Committee to move Chicago forward in the coming years.
  
  Emanuel's comments about Burke, who is supporting Gery Chico for mayor, came during a sometimes feisty debate Monday. Miguel del Valle and Carol Moseley Braun joined the two in discussing pension reform, their abilities to lead and what mistakes longtime Mayor Richard Daley has made.
  
  But it was the topic of Burke, the longtime 14th Ward alderman, and his security detail that broke new ground a week before the election.

This sounds kind of like some outsider coming into the police department and completely gutting the command staff, losing decades, even hundreds of years of police experience. On one hand, it's kind of short sighted. On the other, it's entertaining as hell.

In this case, the entertainment value wins out.

Watch Yourselves Again

Another silly idea from the brain trust:

• In districts beat officers are being given a humper like sheet of paper called the "watch commanders action report" This piece of paper consists of 3 sections where a specific problem on the beat is pointed out and officers are expected to check the location. this is all well and good but when checking on individuals we are asked to knock on doors of Trap (repeat offenders>) offenders with extensive criminal backgrounds, as well as subjects on parole, and a large assortment of others.
  
  This idea thought up by downtown ernie Brown ( 22 total arrests in his career) sole purpose is to let offenders know that we the police are watching them. most offenders are not wanted and we have no probable cause to door knock, ernie just wants us to harass these individuals. not only will the city not back us when a beef comes down but the issue of officer safety is huge.
  
  If possible please pass this info on to your readers and let them know when they are given one of these sheets and it asks to check for a previously arrested individuals make sure they do their homework. Run a name check and cqh inquiry (criminal history) check. Know what type of individual you are dealing with. And if there is no warrant and no investigative alert with probable cause to arrest do not harass these subjects as we are not in the scare tactic business. simply circle the no contact made box.
  
  As working coppers we have no problem dealing with the shitbags but all within reason. this report which is being force fed down lieutenants, and captains at the district level serves no purpose other to make Down town ernie Brown look good. In turn the bosses are feeding them to us.

Institutional harassment? Yeah, that's going to go over really well with Corp Counsel and the Courts. And didn't those "humpers" die when Maurer left? Nope - they're still here - just like CAPS - the zombie paperwork.

Funny Things

Rahm's new nickname. So it is written, so let it be done.

He is now "The Ballerino."

We'll see if this one sticks.

More Crystal Ball Failures

Shooting near a school:

• Two teens were shot at 75th Street and South Constance Avenue near South Shore High School this afternoon, authorities say.
  
  One teen was taken in serious-to-critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, while the other was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, also in serious-to-critical condition, according to Fire Department spokesman

And in the land of 40% homicide reductions:

• A 20-year-old West Side man was shot and killed this morning following a minor traffic accident blocks from his home, authorities said.
  
  Killed was Brandon Williams, of the 700 block of South California Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

One day, they might predict something we can use. Might. We aren't holding our breath.

Residency Again?

Someone at City Hall must be worried because this is still on the front burner. The Sun Times (a wholly owned subsidiary of Shortshanks Inc.) is once again devoting numerous columns to the effects and the possible end of residency:

• Rethinking the Residency Rule
• Neighbors Feel Safer in "Copland"
• Residency Ignored Until Elder Daley Cracked Down
• The Current Candidates Weigh In

We can only assume it's going to keep coming up. Someone somewhere is worried so they're laying the groundwork of public perception early.

Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics - Again

Once again, if you can't point to success, create a successful scenario:

• Chicago police credit a controversial summer meeting with gang leaders and a gang crackdown guided by what they call "social network analysis" with a dramatic drop in gun violence this past fall in a West Side police district, including a 40 percent drop in homicides.

  After the Aug. 17 meeting with gang leaders at the Garfield Park Conservatory and a subsequent crackdown on gangs, homicides for the rest of the year in the Harrison District dropped 40 percent from 2009, Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis said today. That translates into a drop from 25 to 15 through Dec. 31, Weis said in a news conference this morning at police headquarters.

In 2010, the 011th District led the city in homicides - 49 killings. In 2009, the 011th District also led the city in homicides - 54. So the entire drop was actually 5. But J-Fled is pointing to his "secret gang summit" as the focal point of a 10 less homicides for a four month period?

And this tidbit buried in the report?

• Police showed computer slides of graphics they said proved reductions in other crimes but did not provide copies to reporters.

They won't provide copies of the statistics or sourcing of the data, but claim a near miraculous 40% drop in killings over a random four-month spread?

Anyone in the media smell what J-Fled and the boys at HQ are shoveling? Because it really stinks at this end.

Apologize?

This is fucking ridiculous:

• [Colorado] The attorney for the family of a man who shot and killed a Weld County Sheriff’s deputy demanded an apology from Sheriff John Cooke for the killing of the gunman and said the family’s threat of a lawsuit is “not about the money.”
  Asked Thursday if he would write a letter of apology, Cooke simply stated: “No.”
  Denver attorney Michael Evans sent a notice early this week to Cooke and to the Greeley and Evans police departments warning that Rueben Reyes’ family could file a civil lawsuit for $250,000 plus punitive damages unless they could reach a settlement.
• On Nov. 23, at the end of a long police chase, police and Reyes scuffled where the cars had stopped in Evans. Reyes was able to get Deputy Sam Brownlee’s service weapon and shot him three times, killing the sheriff’s deputy. An Evans police officer immediately shot Reyes in the back three times, and he died later at North Colorado Medical Center.
  In the notice this week, attorney Evans said the nature of the chase and the way it was handled, “aggravated the circumstances” leading to the death of Reyes. He also accused the officers at the scene of not offering help to Reyes in the form of CPR or first aid.

Seriously? Offer a cop killer CPR or first aid? We're sure this bottom-feeding scumbag lawyer (but we repeat ourselves) wouldn't then be suing the police for aggravating the wound channels already inflicted by the bullets. We can only hope there's a special hell reserved for creatures such as this and the lifeforms they represent.

Quinn Says "More More More!!!"

As predicted, here and elsewhere:

• Taxpayers might have expected that state government was back on solid financial footing after lawmakers approved a major income tax increase that's already being docked from their paychecks.

  But Gov. Pat Quinn says Illinois' books were so neglected for so long that the money isn't coming in fast enough to repay billions owed to schools, doctors, mental health centers and other providers.

  So during his budget speech Wednesday, Quinn is expected to push a plan to borrow $8.75 billion to help alleviate the pressure.

But don't worry taxpayers!

• The idea is to use the cash infusion to whittle down the bill backlog from a mountain to a molehill and rush payments to the 36,000 vendors owed an estimated $7 billion. The loan would be paid back over 14 years using money generated by a portion of the income tax hike.

Of course, he's trusting that no one will remember any of this in 4 years. And in 14 years, that's like a political eternity.

Bloody Weekend Commences

Temperatures rise - and so does all that stored up anger:

• A 19-year-old man died today after being shot while in the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side, officials said.
  
  
• A gunman fired multiple shots at a 20-year-old man standing on a South Side street this evening, wounding the victim in the leg, police said.
  
  
• A man and a woman were shot early this morning after leaving a party in the West Side Humboldt Park neighborhood, police said.
  
  
• A 23-year-old man is dead and two others were wounded following a shooting on the South Side early this morning, police said.
  
  
• A man was shot in the foot Friday in an early morning gang confrontation on Chicago’s Southwest Side, Cook County prosecutors said this morning.

And once again, the Crystal Ball Unit predicted none of these. Let's see what Sunday brings.

And Speaking of Guns.....

This is great:

• Security is newly tightened at the Texas Capitol, but plenty of gun-toting visitors can breeze right through.

  Concealed handgun license holders walk through a special lane marked "CHL Access" around, and not through, the metal detectors put in place last year after a man fired shots outside the statehouse.

  Schoolchildren and tourists, meanwhile, have to walk through metal detectors and put their bags and keys through scanners. One of the busiest times is now, when the legislature, which meets biennially, is convened.

Golly. Armed people, walking the halls of power in Texas, rubbing elbows with their elected representatives, amid school children touring government offices. No "wild west" scenarios. No bloody shoot-outs in the streets.

It sounds exactly like being a citizen of a free country and not the subject of a despotic dictator.

"Gun Free" Liability

A gun law we could actually think of supporting - too bad it was withdrawn:

• In January, [Illinois State Senator] Cultra filed a bill concerning gun-free zones, but already has changed his mind and determined not to move that forward due to “backlash” from the business community and concern for schools.
  
  Senate Bill 48, which came to Cultra from Illinois Rifle Association, would make any organization, business, agency of government or other entity that creates a gun-free zone financially liable in cases when “a reasonable person would believe that possession of a firearm could have helped” someone defend themselves from criminal conduct in that zone.
  
  That would mean that anybody, including a school district or a university, would have to pay all costs and attorney’s fees in those situations, and it would mean higher insurance costs for those entities.

Touchy-feely "gun-free" zones seem to attract people with guns, probably because those bent on mayhem realize that they'll be the only one there with a gun, making for a target rich environment with minimal exposure to resistance.

The Push for 50% + 1

Homestretch time:

• Gery Chico is pushing a class warfare message, and Carol Moseley Braun is trying to win back African-American voters as they try to finish second and force a runoff in the Chicago mayor's campaign.
  
  While the two candidates are launching new stretch-run strategies, Rahm Emanuel is following the same path that has kept him the front-runner throughout. He mostly is ignoring the barbs from opponents and airing a non-stop ad blitz of his near-endorsement by hometown President Barack Obama.
  
  Emanuel, the former White House chief of staff, was at 49 percent in last week's Tribune/WGN poll, on the cusp of the majority he needs to clinch victory Feb. 22. Chico, the former Chicago Board of Education president, was at 19 percent, and former U.S. Sen. Braun had fallen to 10 percent.

The problem seems to be the people abandoning Moseley Braun aren't breaking for Chico as much as he needs them to. It's almost 50/50 and Chico needs them to come to his side something like 75% or more to keep Rahm from the magic "50% plus 1" number.

Del Valle continues to play spoiler for Chico. It'll be interesting to see if he lands a big spot in the new administration.

As usual, turnout will be the key. Encourage your friends and neighbors to get out and vote.

Swiping is Here?

Admin Fax message out today... or at least brought to our attention today.

007, 009 and HQ start swiping on Valentine's Day.

Remember, 7.5 minutes = the full quarter hour. This is going to bury the overtime budget in short order.

UPDATE: We may have gotten an old version of the directive? Someone says it's for civilians citywide on 14 Feb and 007, 009, and HQ were pilot district? How did that all work out for everyone then?

Balance the Budget

Here's a way to make up revenue:

• Memo to property owners who have still not shoveled their sidewalks: Not only does a Chicago ordinance require it, the law also protects those who might not do a perfect job from being sued.

  From the Municipal Code Section 10-8-190: “Any person who removes snow or ice from the public sidewalk or street, shall not, as a result of his acts or omissions in such removal, be liable for civil damages. This section does not apply to acts or omissions amounting to wilful or wanton misconduct in such snow or ice removal.”

We're assuming it's an ANOV? There are swaths of the city that haven't shoveled, and probably haven't paid taxes in years. Perhaps if everyone signed out a ticket book and generated some revenue....

Aw, who are we kidding?

Snow Bonus?

We want a snow bonus:

• Dateline — The Money Line: The county may be in dire financial straits, but Sneed hears union employees of the Cook County Health and Hospital System are being awarded $250 bonuses for showing up to work during last week’s blizzard.

No wonder Preckwinkle needs those budget cuts if she's still paying these "bonuses."