Alderman Replies?

Does this mean we aren't "insignificant" any more?

• Alderman Hopkins said...
  
  In numerous media interviews (including the Tribune story that is the subject of this post) over the previous four days, at no time did I describe the events downtown on 5 May as "normal". SCC falsely and inaccurately attributed "It's Normal" as a quote from me in the post's headline, when I said no such thing.
  
  My quote in the Tribune draws a contrast between unruly teen behavior on the beaches and schoolyards, etc, and the type of mass criminal activity that was planned on social media and executed by a large group with leaders and as it appears, some semblance of organization. Nothing about that is normal.
  
  I was wrong about one thing, however. I said there were no serious injuries associated with the mayhem downtown on 5 May. I learned earlier today that a 21 yr old victim, visiting downtown from the suburbs with his girlfriend, was attacked without provocation by 4 unknown offenders. He remains in ICU, critical condition with a fractured skull.
  
  His distraught parents contacted my office today, because their repeated 911 calls failed to generate an investigatory response of any kind. For the record, SCC, I don't think that's normal, either.
  
  5/10/2018 12:14:00 AM

First of all, what's an alderman doing up at 12:14 AM? Second, You Like Us! You Really Really Like Us!

Ok, back to seriousness. This amused us enough to break our semi-tradition of only posting overnight and it deserves front page play as soon as possible so everyone can enjoy it. For the record, we'll apologize for the "quotation marks" around the headline "It's Normal." The Alderman never actually said it was normal, and we are correcting it as we speak. This is an opinion blog and we are of the opinion that Alderman Hopkins, for whatever reason, seems to have implied that it was normal behavior. It certainly sounds like an excuse and that people in Chicago should just expect this sort of behavior during the summer from teens who (once again) are without description.

Here's the actual quote once again, sourced from the Tribune:

• “Teenagers do have a tendency to get unruly and get uncontrolled; that happens every summer on the beaches ... it happens in the school yards across the city,” 

Anyone disagree that that quote can pretty much be construed as an excuse for the misbehavior? Because we don't recall doing any of this growing up in Chicago. Our unruliness may have involved a few games of "ding dong ditch," but nothing on the scale of property damages, assault, battery, etc.

Most disturbing however, and unaddressed by the Alderman, is the complete non-coverage by the mainstream media that a visitor - a tourist - to Chicago lies in a hospital bed, IN CRITICAL CONDITION, with a fractured skull, due to this incident. And we have read not a single word about it in the papers, seen not a single story on the television or radio, or even heard a whisper of a rumor that perhaps the superintendent or the mayor himself, has expressed sympathy for the victim and his girlfriend and family for what happened under their watch.

The reduced manpower and gutting of the so-called "quiet areas" has directly led to the current situation and we've been warning of the approaching storm for over a decade now. While we're flattered that an actual Alderman took the time to correct our misquotation, we'd be a bit happier if he (and others) corrected the far greater crimes taking place under past and current administrations at City Hall.