"Chilling, Mind-Boggling, Utterly Senseless"

We think the judge's description is apt - but not why you might think:

• While Chicago police detectives were zeroing in on two suspects in the fatal shooting of a woman who died protecting her baby, officers in downstate Champaign were already setting up surveillance at one of the suspect’s homes in an unrelated drug case.
  
  With two police departments closing in, it wasn’t long before Michael Washington, 39, and Eric Adams, 23, were both taken into custody just hours after the brazen, daylight attack that killed Brittany Hill, 24, as she held her 1-year-old daughter Ja-Miley.
  
  The child was unharmed as were three men who were with her in the 1200 block of North Mason Avenue in the North Austin neighborhood on the West Side.

We leave the description of mom "protecting" her baby aside - we've seen the video - she didn't.

But get a load of the records of one of the shooters:

• That shithead that just got charged with murder of that "innocent" 4ch mom "shielding" her baby, was on parole, sentenced 10yrs idoc in 2013, classx dope charge. And that's not even the best part. He was sentenced to 16yrs in 2004 for murder hahahaha. And 3yrs idoc for agg batt firearm b4 that. And another gun charge after that. Etc etc etc. Remember, cops are the problem folks.

Sixteen years for murder in 2004. So he be out in 2020. And ten more years in 2013 (which is impossible since he's inside until 2020) for Class X dope. He'll be out in 2023 for that one. There's your "mind-boggling" right there.

Lightgroot was right - this is looking more and more like a crime of poverty! Quick - make the police accountable!

Some More Reform Opportunities

(We've covered this before, but not with the pretty pictures someone sent us.)

After being in charge over at OPS, Lightgroot is probably vaguely familiar with how Districts are set up. It's supposed to look something like this:

Of course, this is overly simplified. How it really works is more like this:

Again, this is a simple representation and the "tree" expands as you go downward. The gray, green and blue boxes are filled 80-20 by seniority, the gold boxes by politics.

You see those two guys at the top there? One of them is completely unnecessary and exists only to create another gold braid pension for a connected tool. You could eliminate one or the other and suffer exactly zero repercussions in terms of end product.It's like yesterday's picture - one guy supervising one guy. Pointless.

In Los Angeles, captains run what we call districts and commanders run areas. Time to look west for inspiration.

All Sorts of Crime Thursday

We actually ran out of popcorn.

First, the "transparency" spotlight is on Jussie:

• Chicago police detectives who reviewed phone and financial records in the Jussie Smollett investigation found the "Empire" actor discussed drug deals with one of two brothers who later claimed to have helped him stage a hate crime.
  
  “N----- you got a molly connect,” Smollett said in a text exchange with one of the brothers in September 2018, referring to the popular club drug ecstasy.
  
  “Imma need a good fo pills Haha,” Smollett later said before one of the brothers minutes later replied, “Oh yeah? Got you?”

Oops. Crimesha got some more explaining to do, along with Mrs. Sparklefarts lawyer friend.

Then R. Kelly gets re-indicted, this time with Class X felonies:

• Cook County prosecutors on Thursday filed a new series of sex assault charges against R. Kelly, adding 11 felony counts against the singer, including charges that carry a potential sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
  
  The alleged offense happened in January 2010, according to the court records. The charging document does not contain many details and it was unclear whether the charges are tied to an unreported incident, but Kelly’s lawyer indicated that the new charges are related to an alleged victim and acts that were the basis of one of the four sex abuse cases filed against Kelly earlier this year.

His future meltdown should be epic.

And the noose tightens on aldercreature Burke:

• Ald. Edward M. Burke and his top political aide, Peter J. Andrews, were charged Thursday with racketeering in a wide-ranging 59-page indictment, which contains the most details yet of the alleged trail of corruption left by once one of the most powerful politicians in the city.
  
  Among the new charges in the indictment, Burke is accused of shaking down the developer of the Old Post Office development for legal work and attempting to derail a proposed fee increase by the Field Museum, because it was not responding to his inquiry regarding a job for the child of a Burke acquaintance, former Ald. Terry Gabinski.
  
  The charge itself, racketeering, is stunning, given that it was created to combat mobsters and organized crime, and the racketeering criminal enterprise named in the indictment is the government of the City of Chicago itself.

The reporter obviously doesn't know their history. Chicago has been a "criminal enterprise" since du Sable was trading with the Native Americans. And aldercreature Danny Solis makes an appearance as the guy wearing the wire - the first of many appearances it would seem.

Lori Reviews VIP Limo

Just an amusing aside. Seems back in 2017, the mayor-to-be had a less than stellar experience with VIP Limousine and wrote to yelp! about it.

More amusingly, the owner/operator wrote a pretty scathing reply, pointing out the limo driver was professional, on camera, and the company provided upgrades free of charge.

Wonder if Lightgroot is going to sic the license and business inspectors on him?

You Want Some Reform Lori?

How about instead of throwing further roadblocks and walls to effective police work at the street level, the mayor starts at the top and work on some structural reforms in the Department? If this weekend wasn't a wake-up call for Lightgroot, she's sleepwalking. How many hundreds of thousands were spent? And how many bodies hit the floor? The "same old, same old" isn't working and isn't likely to work. You need a "top down" housecleaning and Special Ed ain't Lori's guy - he's Rahm's guy. A guy who didn't even apply for the job.

Here's a good starting point - numerous units are set up this way at Homan Square:

One guy (with staff) reporting to one guy (with staff) reporting to another guy (with staff) to what purpose? Besides creating another gold braid pension spot and hiding place for connected people we mean.

It's time for a wholesales restructuring and that means eliminating duplicate and triplicate over-supervision at numerous levels. When big companies want to cut costs and streamline operations, they cut middle management. In 15 years, we went from six deputy chiefs to eighteen. That's not a sign of a healthy organization.

This was a Crime of Poverty?

It must have been - Lightgroot blamed shootings on economic "disinvestment" after all:

• Friends say Brittany Hill lived for her children, and it doesn't surprise them that the 24-year-old died shielding her baby daughter from gunfire outside her North Austin home Tuesday morning.
  
  [...]
  
  Hill had just gotten out of a black car and was holding her 1-year-old girl when someone started firing from a silver Chevrolet Impala around 8:50 a.m. in the 1200 block of North Mason Avenue, police said.
  
  Hill was hit on the right side but was able to take cover behind a car and place her body over the baby, according to Chicago police spokeswoman Michelle Tannehill. “She shielded the baby from the gunfire," she said.

If only there was a Mariano's or Whole Foods or some massive industrial development over there, then this young mother might still be alive!

Oh, and Make the Police Accountable!

A commentator had a very acerbic take:

• Crimes of poverty?? Show her the video of that Mom getting blasted holding her 1 year old baby at 0850hrs earlier this morning. Watch that Lori and explain to everyone exactly how that’s a crime of poverty, along with all the other savage killings that happen everyday in the same geographical areas of the city.
  
  It’s not poverty, it’s the lack of morals and discipline that the “parents” fail to instill in their children when they are young. It starts at home Lori, start preaching about that.
  
  [...] What has not been put out in the media and refutes Lori’s “crime of poverty “ statement is the fact that after mama is down and the shooting stops, her baby daddy comes running out with an uzi-style gun, jumps in a MERCEDES and makes a feeble attempt to avenge her killing, never catching up with the killers. All caught on pod video.

Anyone know if Lightgroot is feeling the tiniest bit of shame over this bullshit excuse making?

Hey Graham?

You might want to think about filing for arbitration.

Immediately.

We're just saying, after watching the City Council meeting and reviewing Lightgroot's statements this past weekend, we'd all be better off.

And Another CCL Shooting?

Hey Special Ed? Hey Lightgroot? You better start handing out Deputy Chicago Police Officer badges - these guys are getting it done!

• A man was shot while trying to rob a 67-year-old man in Avondale Tuesday.
  
  About 3:30 p.m., the 67-year-old man was unloading a vehicle in the back of a business in the 2800 block of West Belmont Avenue when an unknown man between the ages of 20 and 30 years old approached him, police said. The younger man began hitting the man in the head and face before taking his property.
  
  The 67-year-old took out a handgun and fired shots at him, striking him in the lower back, police said.

Anyone want to start an "ammo replacement fund" for all of these fine citizens? Kind of a "Thank You" from the men and women of the CPD?

Hold Whom Accountable?

Not the "community," that's for sure:

• Mayor Lori Lightfoot spoke to the City Club on Tuesday. On the eve of her first City Council meeting, Lightfoot discussed priorities for her first 100 days and how the dozens of shootings that happened over Memorial Day weekend highlight the city's need to get a handle on violence.
  
  While dealing with violence remains a top concern, Lightfoot also announced a new push for accountability for police officers and aldermen alike.

How many layers of accountability are there already? Department supervision, Internal Affairs, COPA, the Police Board, hostile courts (edit - and the Inspector General). Better add another layer!

• "It's long overdue that the City Council act swiftly in the first 100 days to pass the ordinance proposed by the Grass Roots Alliance for Police Accountability, or GAPA, to create civilian oversight of the Chicago Police Department."

And that should be the death knell for any form of proactive police work. You are a paid observer and recorder of criminal acts. Nothing more.

Notice, not a single word about broken families, dysfunctional neighborhoods, generational failure.

Nope. The police have to be held accountable.

More Misconduct?

Who is running the Academy? This is permitted by members of your command now?

• [the officer] who works at the academy who last week refused to stop for the police in 007 then led them onto the expressway where he continued then eventually stopped. He refused to show his police ID. Refused to show a DL and insurance and bordered on a threat to the officer as the stop ended. A CR number was generated but the high up bosses are already saying that it should just go away and more than likely just a misunderstanding.. after all, he is connected I hear from the rumor folks. This is the kind of guy we want in the academy having contact with and potentially training our recruits?? I hear, but not sure that the entire thing is caught on body camera. If we are seeking transparency then this one needs to stay alive and not be swept under the rug if it’s a true incident.

Oh, it's the un-indicted Johnson twin in charge. So he's no stranger to corruption, "merit" and covering up connected misbehavior. We wonder what would happen if the mayor found out. Is she really a "reformer"?

Is There a Doctor in the House?

Feeling run down?

Are you cynical about your job?

Have you been having problems accomplishing anything police related?

Congratulations! You might be burned out:

• Is work stressing you out? You might have an actual medical condition.
  
  The World Health Organization now recognizes "burnout" in its guide as a legitimate medical diagnosis.
  
  The International Classification of Diseases Handbook places it in the section "employment" or "unemployment related problems."
  
  According to ICD-11, doctors can diagnose someone with burnout if they have three symptoms: the patient must be exhausted, experiencing mental distance or cynicism about their work and have problems getting the job done successfully.
  
  Doctors can only diagnose burnout when it comes to work. WHO says it does not apply to other life situations.

Interesting.

Another CCL Success Story

The citizenry are shooting more suspects than the CPD this year:

• A concealed carry holder shot and critically wounded someone who approached him with a gun Monday in Little Village on the Southwest Side.
  
  He was walking into an apartment alley about 4:15 p.m. when a man approached him in the 2500 block of South California Avenue and took out a handgun, Chicago police said.
  
  The man, 25, took out his own gun and shot the 20-year-old in his head, police said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition.

Well done Citizen.

Littering?

Coming soon to a county near you:

• A 17-year-old man was charged with littering after two Houston Police officers said he and his 18-year-old girlfriend allegedly tossed a loaded gun out of a car. The incident happened on Sunday afternoon in the 7200 block of Tobruk Lane.
  
  According to police, Anthony Gutierrez was driving with his girlfriend Rosemary Flores, when Guiterrez allegedly committed a minor traffic violation. Police said they were trying to pull the car over, but when Guiterrez saw the police car he allegedly told Flores to toss the weapon out the window. Police pulled over Gutierrez who allegedly admitted to officers that he told Flores to throw the weapon out.
  
  According to the Texas Penal Code, it’s a Class A Misdemeanor if anyone under the age of 18-years old is found carrying a weapon, which is punishable with up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. The officers retrieved the weapon and arrested both Gutierrez and Flores, and took them in to be processed into the jail. Police contacted the Harris County District Attorney’s Office intake division, and were told a crime hadn't been committed and that Gutierrez was abandoning the gun

Throwing a gun out the window = littering.

In Texas.

If there isn't a proposal in Crimesha's office right this second, we would be surprised.

Shooting

Gee, it's almost like the entire family is a bunch of assholes:

• Chicago police fatally shot an armed man Tuesday while mistakenly executing an arrest warrant on the wrong person in South Chicago.
  
  The man, a brother of a man wanted in a May 14 murder in Roseland, allegedly pulled out a gun during the arrest, police said.
  
  Officers with the department’s fugitive apprehension unit attempted to arrest the man about 1:45 p.m. in a driveway in the 8100 block of South Chappel Avenue, Sgt. Rocco Alioto said during a news conference Tuesday.
  
  The man pulled out a handgun while officers went to take him into custody while he sat in a vehicle, Alioto said. An officer then shot him.

This could all work out. Just wait for the funeral and then arrest the brother when he shows up!

Good job to the involved officers.

1,200 Cops and .....

Five dead, thirty-one wounded - so far: (totals may change prior to publication - remember, for all your truthful statistical counts, HeyJackass.com is the ONLY source trusted by SCC)

• At least 37 people were shot, five fatally, throughout Chicago on Memorial Day weekend as severe storms kept people indoors for the holiday and 1,200 officers were added to patrol the streets.
  
  Nearly a quarter of the victims were shot within five hours on Sunday at a Near West Side housing community, police said.

We had posted under nine dead and under thirty wounded so we were close. Anyone have the total amount of money spent this weekend and what it works out to in terms of dollars-to-bodies?

UPDATE: Six dead and thirty-two wounded via HeyJackass.com (1700 hours Friday to 2359 hours Monday - the 606 Trail shooting missed by a mere ten minutes)

We Have Questions

This article was up the other day, all about how Lori and the Department were preparing to "flood the zone" and other nonsense. And we missed this on the first read through:

• Lightfoot also said she’s pushing police to more aggressively use gathered intelligence for solving crimes, and said she’s dissatisfied with the detectives division because its rate for solving homicides in recent years needs to improve.

So....just wondering two things here:

1. "...aggressively use gathered intelligence for solving crimes...." You mean like...just speculating here... a gang database? Maybe?
2. "...dissatisfied with the detectives division..." Is Staples in trouble? Maybe she isn't replacing Special Ed?

Things to wonder about.

Um...What? Who? Misconduct?

Is this person awaiting Departmental charges?

• OT but interesting...How about an on-duty female officer barging into a detective interview of her nephew in regard to a double homicide shooting. Had to be told to leave. Wouldnt and caused a scene. Tried to drag nephew out. Sgt. had to threaten arrest.

Threaten? We remember having Street Deputies. Was one summoned to strip her on the spot?

Special Ed, have you lost control of the Department? This weekend sort of proves that you've lost the streets - how about the confidence of your boss?

Only 50?

We would have guessed far more:

• Not relevant to the article, but I did not know how else to send this.
  
  Just heard the interview of Tom Dart on WBBM At Issue -- now available at https://www.radio.com/media/podcast/issue-wbbm-newsradio
  
  where Dart explains that the judges are going too far in letting people out of pre-trial custody. Dart said that there are currently 50 people charged with murder or attempted murder that the judges have let out!

Has Tommy sensed public outrage? Or is he playing up the recent Crimesha missteps throughout her office as a typical politician might do? He was instrumental in emptying the jail, playing along with Prickwrinkle and Evans. Is he slipping his leash or is Toni pulling his strings again?

007 Story Comes Out

This is what we were looking for:

• Long story short midnights was always down 5-10 cars a night with the in house OT cars etc so 5-10 3rd watch cars went in early to turn over keys as needed. Lemmer found out and now no time due without slip and work the whole way while mids sits a few hours waiting for keys every night. In addition some cars got to go home early if it was their Friday over the course of the week, furlo Fridays etc. Lemmer didn't like that either so now we get inspectors at check off all summer. Days also got written up 5times for cars going in to turn over keys during that 1 hr at the end by GPS.

We suspected/knew Lemmer and GPS was involved somehow. Lemmer has been bringing up GPS at every single CompStat meeting since he took over and he's been waiting to hammer certain districts, especially busy districts.

He (and the Department) have refused to see reality for years since we went to the 8.5 hour (plus .5 unpaid lunch) 4-and-2 schedule. Nine hours has never divided into three shifts (we're pretty sure we pointed this out years ago). The solution was always to overlap the third watch and first watch by two hours, supposedly putting maximum manpower on the street at the busiest time....but without supplying the Districts with cars to actually put these officers on the streets. Either third watch has to come in early or midnights has to sit around waiting for cars. The Department has tried to fill this time with training or e-learning, but there's only so many times you can repeat the same material over and over.

We also suspected/knew that entire watches weren't getting ducks or working less than full shifts. That's an invitation to real trouble.

Memorial Day

As usual, comments may be delayed and/or sporadically moderated this holiday.

Be careful. Be safe. Remember those who have given all in the service of our nation.

Numbers Running Up

We might have underestimated the weekend carnage slightly, thanks to 012 bringing up the totals:

• By Sunday evening of Memorial Day weekend, Chicago police had responded to the shootings of 34 people, five of whom died of their injuries, officials said.
  
  The grim tally grew as a shooting Sunday about 6 a.m. in the 1300 block of West Hastings Street left two dead and three injured. The shooting was possibly in retaliation for an earlier one in the same University Village neighborhood where large crowds had gathered, and which also left a man dead, investigators said.

Isn't CPIC supposed to predict the chances of retaliation? And wouldn't four or five hours of constant calls of large crowds and disorderly conduct have been a tip-off to the second shooting that killed two of the three fatalities at that corner?

Where was SOS? Where was TRU? Oh wait - those don't exist.

Where was Summer Mobile? Where were all the overtime cars?

So as of 1700 hours Sunday, per HeyJackass.com, the totals stand at five dead, twenty-seven maimed. Tommy Skilling and Mother Nature fell down on the job last night. We'll see what tonight brings.

007 Fun and Games

So 007 has been the subject of some special attention as of late. We don't know the entire background stories, what policy was or wasn't followed, and what corrective measures were or were not taken by supervisory staff. But it seems that a member of the Inspection Division has been directly assigned to ensure that policy, procedures and Special Ed's directives are followed to the letter.

Action. Reaction:

• Hey SCC! Might want to check whats going on in the 7th district. Rumors are flying around that a inspector is now hovering/assigned over the 3rd and 2nd watch. apparently the both watches have stopped with all activity. as in ZERO everything. no one is bringing any activity. in retaliation to the inspector micromanaging the watches and making them stay full tours. no early ducks. no leave 1 hr before "actual" check off. LT CM stated that he has noticed the changes and might be worried. hopefully 7 keeps it up. it looks like they are the only district that will stand up to these sackless merit hacks.

Who has the actual facts?

Delayed Good News

It took eighteen months for justice to run its course:

• A south suburban quadriplegic who died at a suburban hospital over the weekend succumbed to injuries he suffered in 2017, when he was shot and paralyzed by a concealed carry permit holder in the city’s Calumet Heights neighborhood on the South Side, authorities said.
  
  Brian Ford, 20, was pronounced dead Saturday at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy performed Wednesday showed that Ford died from a gunshot wound to the neck, along with complications of quadriplegia, according to the agency.
  
  Ford’s injury stemmed from a Dec. 12, 2017, shooting that began with the then-18-year-old pulling his own gun on a 27-year-old man driving his vehicle into a rear yard in the 9100 block of South Harper Avenue, according to Chicago police.

And as the ZeroHedge website points out, the Tribune's bleeding heart liberal anti-gun reporter commits journalistic malpractice once again:

• The Chicago Tribune has published what can only be described as yellow journalism - calling a dead, gun-toting thug who was shot in the neck by a concealed-carry holder, a "victim" after the armed robber succumbed to his wounds nearly 18 months later.

We've been fighting this battle for years, especially where police shootings are concerned. The attacked party (in this case, the car jacking victim - in other cases, the police officer) is the VICTIM. The person shot is the OFFENDER. But good luck trying to convince the libtarded of this simple fact.

In any event, good riddance to bad rubbish.

Shooting.....and More

Police shooting in 011:

• Chicago police shot a man suspected of shooting at them after he was confronted for drinking alcohol Saturday night at a Lawndale parking lot.
  
  The man was in critical condition after suffering a gunshot wound, according to a statement from Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.
  
  In a press conference after the shooting, deputy chief Al Nagode told reporters the man was believed to be about 40 years old and was expected to survive his gunshot wound.

And a Deputy Chief told reporters exactly what needs to be said, over and over again:

• “The officers are doing what we’re asking them to do — make sure if there are any parties or large crowds they get out and investigate,” Nagode said.

If you want crime to consistently go down, then you need to support police when they are doing what needs to be done....and that means stopping people breaking the law. How hard is it to go drink in your own back yard? The police don't stop you then.

Meanwhile, in Englewood:

• Four people were hospitalized, including one Chicago police officer, after a man was shot while driving and went the wrong way down a street Sunday morning in Englewood.
  
  Around 3:20 a.m., the 23-year-old man was driving a Hyundai Santa Fe in the 1200 block of West 73rd Street when a bullet struck him in the foot, according to Chicago police. He fled the shooting by going south on Ada Street, which was the wrong way.
  
  The Hyundai crashed into a Chicago police squad car driving east on 74th Street, police said. An officer from the vehicle was taken to a hospital, and his condition was stabilized.

Cops should be okay.

Not to be outdone, the west side steps up:

• A dozen people were injured, including ten Chicago police officers, in a multi-vehicle crash Saturday night in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side.
  
  Around 10 p.m., two Chicago police vehicles — a van and an unmarked SUV — were involved in a crash with several other vehicles on Division Street and Laramie Avenue, according to Chicago police.
  
  Ten officers were taken to a hospital nearby, and a man and a woman, both civilians, were transported to Norwegian American Hospital, police said. All 12 were expected to survive.

Best wishes to all of the injured. Hopefully, not all from a single unit, otherwise there are going to be shortages.

The "Secret Elections"

We can't recall this being actually covered in years past, but this is EXACTLY why we vote "NO" on every single Cook County judge:

• A secret vote is underway to determine which of 138 Cook County judges should keep their jobs.
  
  If you didn’t know about it, that’s no surprise. The only eligible voters for this insiders-only balloting are Cook County circuit judges. It’s up to them to decide who among the current associate judges should stay on the bench, getting new, four-year terms.
  
  Votes are being cast until the end of May.
  
  Supporters of the system say it results in merit selection to a greater degree than the public elections in which circuit judges are chosen.

Merit? Don't make us laugh.

This is where favors are cashed in and judges the voters rejected are once again inflicted on the electorate, this time without their input and behind closed doors.

The parallels to the "merit" process of the CPD are astounding - incompetent connected morons picking more incompetent connected morons and telling each other how "qualified" everyone is while the institution circles the drain.

At least if you vote "NO" on every single judge, the odds are pretty good that there will be too many favors owed to others that the few who couldn't even win a rigged retention vote go to the back of the line.

No One Dead Yet

At least none before we headed out to our fixed post:

• The double shooting was the city’s first instance of gun violence reported this Memorial Day weekend. At least 11 people were shot overnight from Friday into Saturday.
  
  Shootings spanned as far south as the Gresham neighborhood on 76th Street, as far west as Cicero Avenue in Austin and as far north as the Cragin neighborhood on the Northwest Side, where a 25-year-old man was in critical condition after being shot at a gas station.

It's also supposed to rain for a good portion of Saturday night into Sunday morning. It's amusing that the Tribune is devoting a lot of coverage to the weekend. Is it to make the new mayor look good or to blame the police if she doesn't?

Insurance Tickets?

This is what the media is reduced to writing about?

• A 67-year-old man was given a citation for not having insurance after he struck two children Friday night on the Northwest Side, Chicago police said.
  
  Shortly before 8:30 p.m., a 9-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy walked onto the street in the 3200 block of North Narragansett Avenue, where they were stuck by a 2001 Honda Civic, said police.
  
  The children were taken with non-life-threatening injuries to Lutheran General Hospital.

We guess everything has been written about Rahm leaving Lori a billion dollar tab and there weren't a dozen people shot to start the weekend.

Gun Stops Crime

Again.....but not nearly often enough to make an impression on the dumber segments of society:

• A man was charged in a home invasion that led to the homeowner shooting him early Friday in the Uptown neighborhood, authorities said.
  
  Shortly after midnight, 41-year-old Christopher L. Johnson forced his way through a rear sliding door of the home in the 800 block of West Lakeside Place, according to Chicago police.
  
  The homeowner, a 39-year-old man, confronted Johnson and shot him in the buttocks, police said. Johnson was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was stabilized.
  
  Johnson, who lives in Rogers Park, faces one felony count of home invasion with a dangerous weapon, police said Friday night. He was scheduled to appear in bond court on Saturday.

A few hundred more of these stories and we might start to see an impact on crime.

One Way to Keep Crime Down

Get the trouble makers off the street....but....:

• Authorities arrested dozens of people overnight in a series of drug raids ahead of Memorial Day weekend.
  
  Chicago police Organized Crime officers arrested 32 people in the South Side raids, 21 of whom have previous felony convictions, according to a tweet from CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. Seven of them have prior convictions for gun-related offenses.
  
  Police did not immediately provide further details about the raids or arrests.

Being a previously convicted felon isn't against the law.

Neither is having a gun-related conviction.

Google-me promises further information, and we'd certain hope so, seeing as how what's available in this article is merely bullshit. Is the CPD just sweeping the streets for previously known problem children? Are these parole violations? Named offenders from a sting? Warrants?

Are they all being held at the Homan Square "black site" until the holiday is over?

Whoops!

If we had a dollar for every time we heard this story...:

• A man died after falling on a knife during an argument Thursday in Englewood on the South Side, police said.
  
  The 36-year-old was involved in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend in the 1900 block of West Marquette Road when she grabbed a knife, Chicago police said.
  
  Harold W. Smith and the 30-year-old woman struggled over the knife at 1 a.m., when Smith fell on top of it and was punctured in the chest, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
  
  Smith was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead within the hour, authorities said.

...we'd have about six dollars.

Weather to Save Lori's 1st Weekend

Don't believe the hype about 1,200 officers and various social services, "revrunds" and a city services "blitz" tamping down the violence. This weekend's MVPs are going to be Tommy Skilling and Mother Nature:

• Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday she’s “flooding the zone” — with 1,200 additional police officers, dozens of religious leaders and more than 100 youth programs — to prevent Memorial Day weekend from turning violent.
  
  “I want our kids to be safe in every community. That’s what success looks like. I know that we’ve got a way to go on that journey. But, I want to make sure we start the building blocks aggressively this weekend,” Lightfoot said.
  
  “We’re flooding the zone. We know the areas in the city where we believe there are challenges. And we’re gonna make sure that we are physically present. That we are engaging with people in those neighborhoods. And that we’re bringing resources into those areas in particular where we have concerns about any kind of conflict.”

We haven't done an over/under in quite a while, but if we were degenerate gamblers, we'd say under thirty wounded this weekend and no more than nine fatalities. That covers from 1700 hours Friday until 2359 hours Monday.

Guilty!

Nine years later - finally:

• A jury on Thursday found Anton Carter guilty of the murder of Chicago police Officer Michael Bailey, who was shot and killed while off-duty in a botched carjacking in July 2010.
  
  Earlier in the trial, the son and the widow of the slain officer each took the witness stand to recall in quiet and deliberate tones the chaos that erupted nine years ago in their own front yard.
  
  Jurors also heard two men — one an inmate at the time — testify to overhearing Carter brag about the slaying.

RIP Officer Bailey. We are truly sorry you were denied the opportunity to enjoy retirement.

And Speaking of OT

BIG contract violation this weekend:

• Section 23.6 — Overtime for Pre-Planned Events
  
  The following procedures will apply in case of events which will require the cancellation of days off and for which the Department has received a minimum of 21 days' prior notice. In those units which have been designated to provide personnel, seniority will be the dominant factor in the selection of Officers required to work their regular days off, provided that the Officer to be selected possesses the necessary skill or special qualifications to perform the duties required. The Employer shall seek volunteers on the basis of seniority from among those qualified Officers in said unit. If there are insufficient qualified volunteers, the Employer shall select Officers on the basis of reverse seniority, provided that the Employer may assign probationary officers without regard to seniority

And who got screwed?

• Detectives are in uniform and 3rd watch had RDO’s canceled to be sent downtown. Thanks for the last minute heads up Eddie and Lori. Fucking assholes.

So when is the FOP going to address this? The Department does this every fucking year, throwing wrenches into family plans with far less than 21 days - Memorial Day happens every single year. It is possible to plan ahead for it, years in advance in fact.

The FOP really needs to get double time or double-time-and-one-half like the trades do. Try to get a city electrician on a Sunday or a holiday weekend - you're looking at triple time in some cases. Make the City plan in advance instead of screwing over people who get the holiday off maybe once every three-to-five years depending on the day off rotation.

Fooled You!

Way to instill trust from the troops Special Ed:

• They forget to mention how they lied to all the 3rd watch Po's in 008.... Sign up for overtime to work your regular start time on your regular car they said....nope as of yesterday 1700 start in the violence boxes.... Good job lying to everyone to get them to sign up then screwing then, Special Ed really knows how to boost morale!

You would have gotten plenty of volunteers just telling the truth. They might have been younger, more impressionable and more trusting of your motives Ed, but they would have volunteered.

LA Juvie Hall Out of Control

Anyone hearing similar stories in Cook County?

• The detention officer’s email described “chaos” inside one of Los Angeles County’s juvenile halls.
  
  Her words were desperate, describing unruly, violent youth and fed up detention officers — enough to prompt a surprise visit by Joe Gardner, president of the county’s volunteer advisory panel, the Probation Commission.
  
  Inside the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar, he found shattered windows, smashed walls and tiles ripped from the ceilings. Phones in common areas were busted and debris lay scattered on the floors. Gang graffiti had been scrawled on the walls. The staff were overwhelmed.
  
  “I was stunned,” Gardner said of the facility, where about 200 youths are housed behind a sturdy, red-brick wall topped with circular barbed wire. “Some of the damage appears to have taken time to do. It appeared there really wasn’t the oversight that there needed to be.”
  
  The “chaos” in Sylmar is far from an anomaly. Officers have long argued that their workplaces are becoming more violent — and data backs that up. But internal reports and photographs obtained by The Times show just how dangerous and dysfunctional Los Angeles County’s youth detention operation has become.

Or is Cook County too empty to have these problems?

Suburban Fundraiser

For our suburban readers (and interested CPD):

• I’m a former Chicago Police Officer now working in the suburbs and I was trying to see if you can help another officer out by posting some fundraiser information.
  
  Ross Urso, a 19 year veteran here at Schaumburg Police Department, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer that has spread to his liver. Come support Officer Ross Urso and his fight with cancer. This is will be a fun event for all ages, family, and friends. Joe's Live (Rosemont) is hosting us on Sunday, June 2nd starting at 2pm-8pm. Bub City is providing amazing food (included in $30 ticket price), we'll have entertainment from a live band and Live Band Karaoke, tons of great raffle prizes throughout the night, and most importantly a chance to support Ross and his family.
  
  All proceeds from this event are going to Ross and his family as he will be undergoing some clinical trials which will not be covered by insurance. These will undoubtedly have massive out of pocket expenses.

Tickets available here.

GoFundMe page here.

Comments closed here - informational post only.

Suicide by SWAT

Near the University of Chicago:

• Chicago police officers shot and killed an armed man Wednesday after he barricaded himself at home near the University of Chicago and fired shots outside. A man called police about 10:15 a.m. to report that his son, who had bipolar disorder, was armed and distraught at a home in the 1300 block of East 61st Street in Woodlawn, Chicago Police Lt. [...] said at a news conference. He asked for police to help.
  
  Officers arrived and negotiated with 22-year-old Myles Frazier, who was barricaded inside, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. During negotiations, he fired at least five gunshots from inside the home, Valdez said. Some of those shots went outside.
  
  A SWAT team was called to the scene and entered the home after Frazier refused to come out after at least 45 minutes of negotiating, Valdez said. Two officers shot him during an “armed confrontation” inside the residence, Valdez said.

And predictably, guess who knows better than the police?

• Someone who lives a few houses down from the shooting said he didn’t known Frazier, but questioned if police could have waited longer to enter the home, or used less lethal means.
  
  He said that sending people into the home is what escalated the standoff and made it fatal. “They could’ve thrown a robot into the home or something,” he said. “Who cares if a robot gets hurt?”

Well thank goodness the unnamed citizen was there to tell everyone how a mentally ill offender throwing lead around the neighborhood, with a previous charges for UUW, VOOP and THREE different Domestic Battery charges should be handled.

We'd say he made his own bad decisions then and now.

Good job SWAT.

Memorial Day Push

Units and Tact teams have days off cancelled - are Detectives in uniform?

• Chicago police plan to beef up patrols of CTA trains and buses beginning Memorial Day weekend to handle the expected large groups of youths traveling to the downtown area this summer.
  
  Eddie Johnson, retained as police superintendent by new Mayor Lori Lightfoot, confirmed Wednesday that more than 40 additional officers will patrol elevated train and subway and bus lines beginning Friday.

40? Versus 500 - which was the total given last warm wilding weekend.

And get a load of this bullshit:

• The new initiative comes amid concerns over dozens of arrests on recent weekends among groups of youths causing disturbances in the Loop, Gold Coast and other downtown spots.

They're "concern[ed]" about dozens of arrests.

Here's an idea - don't break the law and you won't attract the attention of the police you dumb-ass bleeding-heart lib-tards.

Not that Crimesha is allowing them to be charged or held in Dart's empty jail.

I Didn't Do It! (UPDATE)

Well then - not guilty we suppose!

• In an unusual turn, a man on trial in Cook County for one of Chicago’s grisliest killings in recent history took the witness stand Wednesday and declared his innocence. Leaning forward with his hands clasped in front of him, Kamel Harris spoke in quiet, calm tones as he described 2-year-old Kyrian Knox as well-behaved and small for his age.
  
  Kyrian’s young mother had left him in Harris’ care in a two-bedroom apartment in Rockford in mid-August 2015 as she and Harris’ daughter left for Iowa for a couple of weeks to set up new jobs. Harris, 44, told jurors in Judge Timothy Joyce’s courtroom that three people later showed up at his residence, saying they were there to pick up Kyrian.
  
  Harris said he was suspicious at first but let the boy go with them after a woman he believed to be Kyrian’s mother gave him the approval to do so by phone. Just days later, the boy’s dismembered body was discovered in the Garfield Park Lagoon on Chicago’s West Side.

The jury has the case now.

UPDATE: Not guilty - Crimesha blows another one.

What Changed?

014 is downing four cars per shift to sit on the new mayor's house which is a substantial percentage of the watch. Crime is still down though:

Funny - they barely noticed when people (or folks) were getting shot by Rahm's "residence," and almost never if it was within shouting distance of Case de Sparklefart.

Is There a Cook in the House?

The First Responder Chefs Recipe Challenge:

• The First In Foundation (FIF) and Old Style Beer have teamed up to host the
  First Responder Chefs Recipe Challenge on Sunday, June 30, 2019 at Joe’s Bar, 940 W. Weed in Chicago.
  
  Illinois police officers, firefighters and EMTs are asked to submit recipes using Old Style Beer by May 30 to be considered for the final competition. Recipes should be sent to: FirstResponderChefsChallenge@gmail.com.
  
  This event will launch the fundraising efforts for the First In Foundation’s new music program for first responders called “First Verse.” The program will assist first responders who struggle with anxiety, depression and PTSD due to their overwhelming stress experienced as a firefighter, police officer or EMT. “First Verse” was formed to help combat this issue. Findings suggest that music is effective in reducing depression symptoms and improving health-related quality of life. Partnering with professional musicians, instrument companies and retailers, music studios and concert venues, FIF will provide instruments, lessons and rehearsal time for all first responders looking to finding peace through music.

Flyer below:

Comments closed here - informational post only.

Lori's Security Connected? (UPDATE)

Hey investigative reporters - tips and clues:

• I can't find an active PERC registration for James M. Smith in Illinois. If correct, he best be not providing security or "protection" for hire. Didn't check for blue card, tan card, private detective. Somebody smarter than me best look into this matter.

No idea if this is true, but easily fixable in this crooked city, county and state.

This, not so much:

• It's the same old song and dance.....it's all clout.....Smith's wife is a Houlihan....Do some digging......her Dad was big time politician in the 70's and 80's. He was the Cook county assessor for years and a state rep.....he was also tied to old man Daley and the 19th ward. And his security company was incorporated less than a year ago with 0 employees or contracts. This was all planned.

Looking more and more like the Old Daley (Sr) Machine is alive and well.

Still better than Prickwrinkle though.

UPDATE: some sort of outage occurred between 0530 and 0630 hours this morning. If you posted a comment earlier, it might not have survived. Apologies - we're looking into it.

Stop Play! Stop Play!

This neighborhood sounds familiar:

• A teacher was carjacked at gunpoint Tuesday in the parking lot of Whitney M. Young Magnet High School on the Near West Side.
  
  The woman was getting out of her car in the staff lot in the 100 block of South Laflin at 8:10 a.m. when a teenage boy entered the passenger side of the car, Chicago police and the school said in a statement.
  
  He claimed he was being chased and needed help, the school said. The teen then showed a gun and demanded her phone and purse, the school said. He told her to get out the car and he drove off. The teacher, who is in her 30s, was uninjured.

At 8:10 AM, there should have been early morning gym classes or scenario training going on, right? Anyone know if the instructors are still carrying as they did in the old days?

In Their Own Words

Why are Seattle cops quitting or transferring at such a high rate?

• "Hyper-aggressive oversight." "Non-supportive city government." "No backing from city, OPA and community." "An increasingly spineless legal system." These are the parting shots of Seattle police officers explaining why they left in the past year.
  
  In dozens of unredacted exit interviews over the past year, departing Seattle police officers provided their agency with their blunt take on the political climate in Seattle, including the statement, “City Council sucks.” Another officer observed of the Police Department, “everybody seems unhappy.”
  
  But many officers praised their leadership and the training, opportunities and relationships they formed within the department. Some said they’d gladly return to SPD “if the city can right itself.”

There's more. Lots more at the link up top.

And it all sounds very very familiar.

Answering the Call

A proper sendoff for a veteran:

• John Hubbard spent his life carrying the burdens of his generation, and now a group of volunteers is stepping up to carry the WWII veteran to his final resting place. After a life of service including both World War II and 30 years in the Chicago Police Department, Hubbard suffered a stroke last month, and passed away in hospice Wednesday at the age of 91.
  
  Neighbor Beverly Falls’ family lived next door to the Hubbards for 48 years, and were close family friends. "He was known as... a friendly patrolman," Falls said. "He served his country."
  
  With few of Hubbards' friends left, and only a few family members living out of state, Falls asked WGN to see if military or CPD veterans would volunteer to carry Hubbard’s coffin to his final resting place. The Chicago Police Department organizes such services for line of duty deaths, and commanding officers can send members to assist at funerals of active members who die outside of the line of duty. Organizations like the Saint Jude Police League provide services to retired members when resources are available.
  
  “I think veterans and police will volunteer, and America is a great country and when it all boils down, we come together and do the right thing,” Falls said. It turns out Falls was correct, as within minutes of WGN airing the story about her call for volunteers, at least six CPD and military veterans contacted her to say they would heed the call.

No doubt there are many CPD officers (and veterans) still living locally. And they are lacking contemporaries who are physically capable of seeing them to their final resting place. It would be nice if the Department or the FOP or any of the ethnic police groups had a listing of retirees who might be in need.

Festivals Fading?

Market saturation? Thin talent pools?

• Summer festivals are struggling to stay relevant, yet there are more of them than ever. That apparent contradiction plays out across North America every year, never more so than in Chicago, in many ways the unofficial capital of the summer-festival season.
  
  [...] But the slowing sales should prompt a reconsideration of how Lollapalooza is structured. When the festival expanded to four days three years ago for its 25th anniversary, the lineups started to stretch even thinner than in the past and the watered-down talent has taken a toll.

Or maybe concert-goers are tired of being mugged and relieved of their property when leaving the festivals and word has finally trickled out from the Rahm-bargoed news media?

Very Interesting

So the Sun Times has an article up about Lori's new head of security:

• In a break with tradition, Mayor Lori Lightfoot will hire a retired deputy U.S. marshal to run her security detail, with one mayoral aide noting that “it’s a dangerous time in our country.” Police Supt. Eddie Johnson on Monday told the Chicago Sun-Times, “We don’t really comment on executive protection, but at the end of the day the mayor has to be comfortable with her detail.”
  
  Johnson said he believes Lightfoot has confidence in the police. “This is her police department now,” he said.
  
  The retired deputy marshal is James M. Smith, a managing member of a private security company called Silver Star Protection. Smith declined comment Monday.

And buried at the end of the Sun Times article where no one would think to read that far, this little tidbit:

• In 2016, Smith was mentioned in a Sun-Times story about former law-enforcement officials with ties to the medical-marijuana industry.

Wait, what now? There's a link to that story, too:

• As cops, part of their jobs was to put away drug sellers and users. Now, former law enforcement officials are doing private security work for Illinois’ now-legal medical marijuana industry.
  
  [...] James Smith, a former U.S. Marshals Service inspector who spent nearly 30 years with the federal agency who is a managing member of Silver Star Protection Group.

So, Lori's head of security is 

• in a city that pretty much decriminalized weed, making it a ticket
• in a County that refuses to prosecute weed offenses
• in a State that is making huge strides toward complete legalization of weed
• running a security company that makes money protecting weed operations

Seems like the connected are still making money by being connected.

Calling All Potential Officers

Seriously - volunteers to call to remind them of a test they signed up for:

An e-mailer tells us that 2,800 people signed up for the test - and nearly 800 submitted incomplete applications, so they won't be taking the test at all.

Meanwhile, the Department held an FTO test this past weekend, and the reports were less than stellar:

• That said, whoever is responsible for drafting the FTO test this morning should never be given said responsibility again. To say I was embarrassed by what was presented to me is an understatement. Frankly, I found the lack of proper English offensive. Sentence structure, grammar, subject/verb agreement, even spelling, were obviously beyond the grasp of the author.
  
  I'll assume there was no proofreading involved, unless it involved the author's children (assuming they are in grade school). I won't even bother getting into the content of the questions, other than a possible suggestion, such as having an officer who's worked the street sometime in the last 10 years point out which issues are no longer relevant.
  Absolute farce, and disgrace.

No doubt, drafted, put together and approved by some "merit" picks.

A Reminder

After this incident:

• A man died two days after a car he was in crashed while trying to evade police in Austin on the West Side.
  
  About 8:50 p.m. Thursday in the 5100 block of West Chicago Avenue, police tried to stop a Chevrolet Monte Carlo for a traffic violation when it took off westbound on Chicago Avenue, Chicago police said. The car crashed into a Chevrolet Equinox and later into a pole before coming to a stop, police said. The driver of the Equinox, a 58-year-old woman, and the passenger, a 56-year-old woman, were taken to the West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park where their conditions were stabilized, police said.
  
  The driver of the Monte Carlo was able to get out of the car and run from police, but the passenger, Geremiah Staples, 19, was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, police said. Staples was pronounced dead at 9:34 p.m. Saturday at Stroger Hospital, the medical examiner’s office said.

Just stop.

Don't give the new progressive social justice warrior administration ammunition.

So What Other Rumors Are True?

Seeing as how the blog readers scooped the media with the bodyguard changes, what other rumors are going to turn out to be true? Here are some with a good chance of being correct (rumors will be underlined):

• Word is the court OT games are over. The court section is being re-vamped with new people and the all day everyday is gonna get you fired/indicted. The warning has been given and those who do not heed it will regret it. 

This has been all over the place. Something is up and business as usual isn't it. Swiping is going to jam up a few think-headed people who aren't getting the message, too. Watch for the D Unit to pay a price in suspensions or worse.

• Rumors floating around 35th street narcotics to be disbanded. More manpower for patrol.

Not as likely, but a wholesale dumping of unproductive or shady teams is in the works. Narcotics is still necessary, just not with so many people.Weed is about to be legal, so the remaining teams are going to concentrate on the harder stuff.

• Police out of schools

Not a rumor any more, but which schools is the newest question:

• Pointing to a recent confrontation between police officers and a student at Marshall High School, Lightfoot also disclosed that the days of having Chicago police officers stationed inside Chicago Public Schools were likely to end on her watch. The mayor-elect said she has asked Police Supt. Eddie Johnson and Schools CEO Janice Jackson to find another way to guarantee student safety.
  
  “It brought home to me whether it made sense for us to have police officers as effective first-responders in our schools,” Lightfoot said.

Answer: It doesn't make sense to have police as social workers. Never has. Getting the cops out of schools is a good first step if your schools aren't going to actually punish anyone.

• VRI to be cancelled.

Again, this rumor has popped up the last few summers. One summer, the Department tried to cut way back on VRI and lost control of downtown within two weekends. This is the single largest overtime budget line item so it's the biggest target. Expect a revamp soon, maybe directing it more at the Districts similar to what they tried last month - you can work OT in your District, third watch only, and you are on radio alert for immediate redeployment downtown should the un-describable rambunctious youth appear from the Red Line.

• Cost cutting is allegedly going to start with clearing out Call Back by firing those who have been stripped. The new Mayor wants to show she will be tough on Police discipline and this is an easy way to start. COPA is alleged to be on board as it will push up their stats.

This wouldn't surprise us at all - you're fired, sue us for your job back. Closes a lot of books on cases the City would rather not litigate until forced to.

Let's see where it all goes.

Inauguration Day

Fasten up tight - the fun is about to begin.

Jabba Lies Some More

He gets fact checked, an amazing process the media has only just discovered, that can be applied to Illinois democrats:

• Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is mounting a full-court press to overhaul the state income tax, and critics are equally aggressive in trying to stop him. That’s led to a lot of questionable claims on both sides about the financial upside of Pritzker’s plan to switch Illinois to a graduated tax from a flat tax.
  
  Pritzker fired yet another volley recently during an address before two big business lobbying groups that oppose his plan. The case he made for a graduated tax, which the governor calls a “fair tax,” was one we hadn’t heard before.
  
  “States with a fair tax create jobs and grow their economies faster than we do,” Pritzker said.
  
  It’s not our role to weigh in on the merits of the graduated vs. flat-tax debate. But in the past we have fact-checked sweeping assertions from both sides that failed to measure up on closer inspection. Pritzker’s recent claim, we found, doesn’t hold up much better.

Illinois Policy is attempting to throw up roadblocks and they need people to get involved:

• You can fill out a Witness Slip at this link here.

It has to be filed before 1600 hours today. Every name counts.

Bodyguard Story Gets Legs

Took the media, specifically Channel 5, most of the day to catch up:

• NBC 5 has learned of a move by Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot to reverse decades of tradition by revamping the mayor’s Chicago Police bodyguard unit, adding representatives from federal agencies and other law enforcement agencies.
  
  At issue, the mayor-elect’s intention to build a new protective detail, reportedly headed by former U.S. Marshal Jim Smith. The unit would include former federal marshals and members of other departments outside Chicago.

FOP is expressing reluctance:

• “I am not in favor of taking away our jobs and replacing them with someone,” FOP President Kevin Graham told NBC 5. “For as long as we have had a bodyguard detail for the mayor, Chicago police officers have been committed to making sure the mayor and those around him or her are safe.”
  
  A police source told NBC 5 that the mayor-elect has been told by present and former high-ranking department members that the proposal creates a myriad of issues, not the least of which are the fact that outside officers might not be fully indemnified by the city of Chicago, and that such a unit raises question about state certification.

Not to mention who's going to pay for it all.

And what does this mean to the fixed detail in 014? Rahm had six or eight officers from 019 with a sergeant in four or more cars around his house 24/7....and Rahm was hardly ever there. He was either in DC (most weekends) or at his secret hideout/condo in 012 near Van Buren and Green which the media never seemed to catch onto.

Ten-Year-Old TVB's

If you can catch them that is:

• Omar Orozco couldn’t believe his eyes: three kids in two off-road vehicles going down the Dan Ryan Expressway at about 60 mph. Orozco was driving home to Lansing around midnight Friday night when he spotted the two vehicles in the southbound lanes near the Garfield exit.
  
  The vehicles appeared to be Polaris Ranger side-by-sides. Even more shocking, the drivers appeared to be about 10 years old. They didn’t have their lights on, and the vehicles did not appear to have any license plates.
  
  Video of his encounter has been posted on YouTube and Facebook, where it already has been viewed more than 300,000 times, and has more than 1,900 comments and 11,000 shares.

Video at the link up top and more at come of the media sites on the right hand links. Quite a number of comments about "Where are the police?" First up, we don't patrol the expressways and second, where is/are the parent(s)?

Serious Discussion Time

Is it time for a realistic look at arbitration? Before everyone gets all huffy about us even bringing it up, relax. The FOP has done a fine job so far holding the line on what will and won't be discussed. Everything we've heard leads us to believe they have not even acknowledged Rahm's efforts to gut discipline, which means it won't be before the arbitrator. But there are recent developments that members should be paying attention to in order to be aware of what's in play.

First the Teachers Union just had an election, and their president is playing the asshole card early:

• The president of the Chicago Teachers Union easily won re-election after ballots were counted late Friday and immediately issued a warning to the incoming mayor, Lori Lightfoot, who was not endorsed by the labor group.
  
  "We hope that the new mayor makes good on her promises to transform our public schools," said Jesse Sharkey after winning re-election with 66% of the vote. "If she does, she will find us to be a steadfast ally. If she does not, she will find us to be an implacable foe."
  
  The union, which represents around 25,000 teachers and other education workers in a district with 400,000 students, had endorsed Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in the mayoral election.

The CTU backed the loser (Prickwrinkle) and now are making demands on an administration that hasn't even been sworn in yet. Not the way to make a first impression.

Then there is the current financial situation going from bad to worse:

• There’s a reason city finances were excluded from the 110-page transition report delivered Friday to Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot.
  
  Lightfoot is buying time to get her arms around a budget shortfall she claims is infinitely “more dire” than the newly revised $700 million figure outgoing Chief Financial Officer Carole Brown has acknowledged.
  
  The last thing Lightfoot wants is to have a public airing — and potential flogging — of the painful tax increases and budget cuts being kicked around by her task force on budget and financial issues chaired DePaul University CFO Jeffrey Bethke.

So Rahm lied (again) and stuck Lightfoot with the extensive bill.

It should not be impossible to discuss that the PBPA had the correct idea. With the financial situation being what it is, why not arbitrate? Discipline is off the table since the FOP refused to discuss it, the raise is left to the arbitrator and he must consider the current economic boom along with comparable raises across the spectrum, and when the inevitable tax hikes are presented, the FOP can shunt the blame over to Sharkey and the CTU - they'll look unreasonable, greedy and they'll strike, which will really tick off taxpayers.

Discuss. Civilly.

Burke Missed Injury Fraud?

Who would have thunk it?

• While Ald. Edward M. Burke ran City Hall’s program to compensate injured workers, there was little, if any, effort to “detect potential fraud, waste and abuse,” according to an audit issued Friday — months after Burke lost control of the program following his arrest for attempted extortion in an unrelated case.
  
  For decades, Burke has overseen the $100 million-a year workers’ compensation program, refusing to allow city agencies to monitor the expenses, and even hiring private law firms to fight Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s efforts to examine the system, in which some city workers have been receiving disability payments for years.

Wasn't there an "open source" site that tracked political donations? Wouldn't it be interesting, informative and maybe Pulitzer Prize winning to look into the names that might appear on both workman comp claims AND contributors to certain aldercreatures?

Kind of like how the law firms that sue Chicago in all forms (police, fire, streets, etc) all limit-out on contributions to certain politicians or their pet projects.

New Buffering Parameters

Evidently, the City wasn't getting anything with which to jam officers up on body camera, so they are unilaterally increasing the pre-event buffering from 30 seconds to two full minutes.

They have agreed to hold off on programming this into the body cameras until the FOP meets with Department officials. The FOP has also promised a labor action though we (and numerous e-mailers) believe the FOP has misstated the situation slightly, saying that it's "audio recording" instead of "visual recording." As we understand the systems, audio kicks in upon manual activation of the camera.

Anyone know why? We can't think of a single reason that doesn't involve someone playing "gotcha!" with the footage. 99% of the footage is going to be of the steering wheel or the airbag cover. Maybe it'll catch us twirling the radio dial to US 99 or something - is that illegal now?

On the other hand, maybe it'll catch the asshole who keeps carving up the steering wheel in our pool rides.

Going Federal

And removing Crimesha from the most blatant of cases:

• Four teenagers who faced state carjacking charges for taking an off-duty Chicago police officer’s vehicle in Edgewater last October have now been slapped with a federal indictment in the case.
  
  A federal grand jury charged 18-year-olds Jamar Jarvis and Javion Bush along with 19-year-olds Raynell Lanford and Jamaal Ashsaheed with the Oct. 18th incident in the 5800 block of North Winthrop.
  
  After taking the off-duty cop’s Lexus shortly after midnight, Jarvis, Lanford, and Ashsaheed drove onto Lake Shore Drive where officers working in the Town Hall (19th) Police District intercepted the vehicle and followed it south as members of the FBI’s Carjacking Task Force and the Chicago Police Department helicopter unit joined in.
  
  Officers eventually pulled the vehicle over in the 5500 block of South Lake Shore drive and then chased the occupants on foot before each was arrested. Police said a gun was found inside the stolen car.

The feds don't lose too many car-jacking cases. We're looking forward to this one playing out in court. The four offenders have all been in custody at County since apprehension. Does anyone know if they get transferred to the MCC at some point so Crimesha can't under-bail them?

Thanks to the CWB Blog for reporting this - we don't think anyone else did.

More Proco Joe

Now he's being sued by the woman he "lent" his car to:

• Liliya Hrabar thought someone might be playing a practical joke when Chicago police pulled her over in February and said the car she was driving had been reported stolen by her boyfriend, Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno.
  
  The 35-year-old insurance broker from Des Plaines said she had been in regular contact with Moreno since borrowing the Audi A6 from him a few weeks earlier. When police placed her under arrest on Feb. 4, she said, she started looking around for a hidden camera.
  
  “I couldn't believe that happened,” the Ukraine native said in a thick accent Thursday at a news conference shortly after filing a defamation lawsuit against Moreno. “That’s why I keep saying there’s a hidden camera somewhere. I keep thinking that’s a joke.”

Seeing as how Joe had insurance fraud charges filed against him, she might have a winnable case.

CWB tells us that Proco Joe is plotting his defense already:

That's Joe and Tom Tunney discussing things at El Jardin.

Perhaps discussing upcoming legal issues?

Media Sues for Jussie Files

Someone pissed in the media's Cheerios again:

• Keeping Jussie Smollett’s criminal records under wraps is pointless since the high-profile charges against him — and their subsequent bombshell dismissal — made news all over the world, attorneys for the Chicago Tribune and other news organizations argued Thursday in court in a bid to unseal the files.
  
  “There is no way to secrete the fact of Jussie Smollett’s arrest. At this point it is widely and publicly known from here to Helsinki and back,” said Natalie Spears, a Tribune attorney. “No potential employer, let alone anyone with a pulse, does not know about Jussie Smollett’s arrest at this point.”

Golly, suing a democrat State's Attorney in a democrat county court system regarding dropped charges against a democrat? Did someone discover an entire closet full of testicles and they're just handing them out to anyone now?

Interesting if True

Rumors abound as the mayoral inauguration approaches:

• FYI O/T The bodyguard detail will be out for Lori. Private security to take over. No Police.
  
  Also Lori's wife will have an office on 4th fl at city hall.

Why would the mayoral spouse need an office? Is she drawing a salary, too?

The "no police" thing though - no more clouted sergeants stealing a commander paycheck (and pension) and 24 "politically reliable" officers grabbing sergeants pay, even when working overtime not guarding the mayor. That's already $300,000 or so cut from the budget (minus the cost of whoever she hires.)

Great Statistic

Did you know that 8% of the Chicago city council is currently out on bail?

• Chicago has a long history of aldermen getting in trouble, and despite decades of attempts at reform, three sitting aldermen are currently serving their constituents while out on bond. A fourth was just booted from City Council and is out awaiting sentencing. And a fifth has been a City Council no-show for months after it was revealed he was flipped by the feds and wore a wire on colleagues after getting busted himself.
  
  
  • Aldermen Ed Burke (14th) and
  • Ricardo Munoz (22nd) are facing various charges in different cases,
  • while Ald. Willie Cochran (20th) has been convicted in a federal case and is out awaiting sentencing. He was kicked off the council when he pleaded guilty.
  • And Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno (1st) joined their ranks on Tuesday night when he was arrested. The alderman has been charged with insurance fraud and obstruction of justice and appeared in Bond Court on Wednesday. A judge agreed to release him on his recognizance.
  • Meanwhile, Ald. Danny Solis (25th) has acknowledged he’s a federal informant.

And hopefully, a few more are waiting in the wings after Solis and Burke turn State's evidence - looking at you Johnny.

9.5 - Mission Accomplished

Hilarious section from the Q-and-A with the soon-to-be former mayor:

• Q: Do you own that maybe your leadership style was too top-down and too brash?
  
  A: Every one of those problems I told you about, those problems became exasperated because the elected officials decided they wanted to be liked rather than lead. My goal wasn’t to be liked.

Well, you succeeded there Asshole. We're pretty sure no one liked you. Hopefully, they see the crooked hole that you drove Chicago into and remember the fiscal irresponsibility that led us to this point should you run for Dick "Turban" Durbin's senate seat.

Here We Go

The first (?) of many:

• Last month, a criminal case against a Hoffman Estates woman became tied to the legal drama surrounding Jussie Smollett when a judge, saying the situation “smells, big time,” asked why the woman was being “treated differently” than the actor by Cook County prosecutors.
  
  And now the woman has acquired a new attorney to help her fight the felony charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report, the same crime Smollett was accused of in a 16-count indictment before charges against him were suddenly dropped.

Of course, the offender apologizes to Jussie for prolonging his turn in the spotlight. Her lawyer, whether you agree with it or not, points out the double standard for the connected and well-to-do.

The correct answer however, is punish everyone equally, not disregard the law. Crimesha has set a dangerous precedent.

I'm Told That I'm Sorry

"Un-indicted" Johnson and Babs "Pillow" West doing damage control - and failing miserably:

• “In this never ending hilarity, Miss-Lie-Tenant-Carter was ordered to apologize to the recruits this past Friday for her outburst the other week (I’m a fuckin Lie-tenant of Po-leech).”
  
  “Fat-KJ (the unindicted Johnson - SCC) in hopes of avoiding the ire of BabsWest ordered Captain M and M to order Miss-Lie-Tenant-Carter to apologize. I was there and she (Saadia Carter) tried her best but was soooo disingenuous to the point that we as Metro recruits didn’t believe a word this lousy excuse for a person had to say. Her actions the other week spoke volumes compared to her actions this past Friday.”
  
  “BabsWest is worried the metro Chiefs will revolt against her and FatHeadEd for what happened w Miss-Lie-Tenant-Carter. I wonder what hubby blowhard, Eric Carter, thinks of her shenanigans?!?”

Eric Carter hasn't given a single thought to his wife's actions - the entitled never do. Anyone know if Captain Murphy has been disci0lined yet for failing to carry out the orders of a Deputy Chief? But Pillows and Un-indicted Johnson (and Special Ed) can't afford to have Lori looking at where corruption, scandal and poor morale have their roots.

Speaking of scandals:

• Why did Saadia Carter have a P.O. call Area South Violent Crimes yesterday to try and get confidential information about a sensitive case? P.O. was told to go pound sand. Not the first time Saadia put a P.O. up to doing her dirty work. The Dept should be looking at her for media leaks on confidential/sensitive cases.

This is captain material?

We're Number One!

Once again, in a category that no one wants to be in:

• America’s 10 largest cities, largely Democrat strongholds, are drowning in municipal debt, according to a new report from government watchdog Truth in Accounting.
  
  The report sought out “to determine what ... overlapping financial entities mean for taxpayers’ bottom line.” Truth in Accounting said its purpose was to “calculate the various bills (and surpluses, when available) at the city government level and divide them out to determine a per-Taxpayer Burden.”
  
  The two cities with the highest burden: Chicago and New York City; Chicago’s combined taxpayer burden: $119,110; New York City’s combined taxpayer burden: $85,600.

And if you read the posts below this one, that tax burden is only going higher.