car2go = car2gone

Underestimating the cost of doing business in Chicago:

• The short-term vehicle rental company “car2go” announced Friday it’s ending operations in Chicago at the end of the year.
  
  In a post on its website, the company said it was pulling out of Chicago and four other North American cities after it “underestimated the investment and resources that are truly necessary to make our service successful in these complex transportation markets amid a quickly changing mobility landscape.”

And what did that cost entail?

• It is an app-based service that lets users reserve rental cars, drive them then leave them at designated parking spots. Rides cost between 29 cents and 39 cents per minute.
  
  The company suspended services in Chicago earlier this year after a rash of vehicle thefts.
  
  In April, 21 people were charged after more than 100 car2go-owned Mercedes-Benzes were stolen in the city.

Oh yeah - 100 vehicle thefts of high end cars that resulted in something like zero prosecutions. That was a winning business model for sure.

Payday Coming?

This has a big lawsuit written all over it. Who will be the lucky copper who files and wins?

• COPA has directed the investigations into Chicago Police Officers off duty weapons purchases. The order that they are using was written by Debra Kirby requires ANY weapon owned by an officer to be registered. The only people in the entire world that would have to register these weapons are Chicago Police Officers.
  
  So members of BOC have been directed by the Chief, who is married to Blago’s sister, to utilize the Illinois State Police F-Tip system to check officers off duty weapons purchases for COPA. This system is for criminal investigations ONLY, not for administrative investigations. This directive violates the MOU between the city and the state. Keep this in mind when you are summoned to make a statement, leave and ensure you have an attorney.
  
  Oh and by the way the F-Tip system is not being purged and has every firearms purchase EVER made by citizens and officers in the history of the State of Illinois with an FOID card. This is a firearm registry being keep by the State of Illinois, which is expressly prohibited by federal law.

Kirby, the former Internal Affairs Division Chief, has been gone for years, but before that she was a name on the fringes of numerous scandals, most of which seemed to conveniently die (or at least be delayed for years) at IAD's Confidential Section until such time as the politically connected reached retirement age. Do a quick search and see how many times her name appears in media reports of lawsuits. We heard stories that she took a job in Ireland to avoid a blizzard of subpoenas. It's an eyeopener.

So it wouldn't be surprising that COPA is using something authored by her to abuse the system and trick bag Chicago cops who are the only people in Illinois required to register a gun any more. Some commentators have suggested this is part of COPA doing search warrants, which is going to cost taxpayers millions at some point.

More Accountability?

Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is actual accountability (Apologies to Ian Fleming)

• Add Tina Skahill and Gloria Hannah to the list. Did Tina order investigators to change a SUSTAINED RULE 14 VIOLATION against Hannah for ordering officers to falsify the time and date of an arrest on New Year’s Eve from 30 pending now to a reprimand? Tina thinks discipline procedures are meant for blue shirts? Lightfoot doesn’t agree with that.

Skahill was among the most incompetent bosses we ever ran across and her tenure everywhere was marked with lawsuits and beefs for making up her own rules as she goes along. We can only hope this is true.

CR's for Helping ICE?

From the ICE post yesterday:

• Just so you know CR numbers were already pulled today on the officers who just responded to help. The numbers were direct from city hall. Not just any officer who had a role but any officer who was even on scene. Unbelievable.

True? False?

Outrage? Protests?

We're not sensing it from the political set yet:

• A gunman opened fire from a street corner in Humboldt Park, wounding a 44-year-old man in the head Saturday night on the West Side.
  
  About 6:20 p.m., the man was eastbound in a vehicle driving his young daughter to a birthday party in the 3800 block of West Grand Avenue when someone on the corner of Grand and North Avers Avenue fired shots to the west, according to Chicago police.
  
  The bullet went through the windshield and struck the 44-year-old man in the head, directly between his eyes, and he was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.

Just another statistic to gloss over at Accountability Tuesday.

Good Eyes, Better Memory

Good job officer:

• Two Chicago men are accused of firing guns illegally at a shooting-range because they are convicted felons. Jarvis Bell, 26, and Ricky Jones, 34, appeared before Cook County Judge John Mahoney on felony charges of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.
  
  According to the complaint, Jarvis and Bell were accompanied by a friend with a valid FOID card to the Eagle Sports Range in Oak Forest, around 6:15 p.m. Sept. 7. The prosecutor said the friend rented a weapon for the three to use, and proceeded to the range area. After shooting for a while, the prosecutor said Jarvis, Bell and their friend went back and rented another gun.
  
  A Chicago police officer familiar with Jarvis and Bell's backgrounds, notified Oak Forest police of the convicted felons' unlawfully handling a gun at the shooting-range on security video cameras, the prosecutor said. Bell and Jarvis were arrested by Chicago police officers on Sept. 23 on felony gun charges. The friend with the valid FOID card was not charged.

The judge was appreciative:

• Mahoney set bail on the new charge at $20,000.
  
  "No guns means no guns," Mahoney said.

Let's see what Crimesha does with it.

ICE "Manipulated" CPD

That's what they're calling it:

• Seven Chicagoans are being detained by federal authorities after back-to-back immigration operations this week, and city officials are slamming U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for attempting to drag Chicago officers into their operations.
  
  Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) said federal officers called 911 for backup during an immigration stop on Tuesday in Back of the Yards, leading Chicago police to the scene.
  
  Under Chicago’s Welcoming City ordinance, police and other city employees are prohibited from asking a person about their immigration status or turning undocumented immigrants over to federal agents, but the 911 call essentially tricked CPD into responding, Lopez said.
  
  “This was a bait call to get CPD out there,” Lopez said. “Unfortunately, CPD was manipulated by ICE.”

Well, these are law enforcement officers. And they are enforcing federal law. And if that means CPD has to make sure they do their job without interference from the rabble, well then the rabble better stay out of the way of the federal officers.

The usual suspects are outraged that someone actual cares about border security and the rule of law, demanding some mayoral executive orders to prevent CPD from assisting ICE, which as it turns out, we haven't been. We've had a visible presence to deter overreaction, maintain the peace and all that.

The Downside of Green

Of course, Groot might see this as a positive development:

• The police are supposed to protect and serve. But what's the point of protecting and serving the public if you're not protecting and serving Gaia? It's good to stop crime, but there won't be any crime at all if everybody gets killed by the weather. That's why I'm glad to see police departments switching to electric cars. Unlike those dirty gas-burning cars, electric ones are powered by... magic, I think? Goodbye, boys in blue. Hello, guys in green!
  
  There's just one problem with electric cars, though: You need to remember to plug them in first.

As you might suspect, the "low battery" warning came on and the primary vehicle had to drop out of the pursuit - not a big deal until you consider that as the pursuit moves farther away, the officers in that unit are now completely out of the picture should back-up be required.

Perhaps these "green" units ought not to be used for regular patrol. Maybe bosses should get them as take home vehicles. At least that way, The Wod couldn't be speeding across Indiana.

Accountability???

Finally?

• Word is spreading fast...3 Commanders to be demoted (Doss, Escamilla and Wodnicki) by 14 October.
  
  Several ”anointed ones” being sent to Media Training which we all know is a precursor to promotion and Wiser (022) bring moved to A/C D Unit to replace Wodnicki.

Wodnicki is the obvious one.

Escamilla should have been fired twice (and jailed) as a PO and it still amazes us that he tricked everyone into three "merit" promotions before being caught banging the CAPS girl in the office and using on-duty personnel as babysitters.

But Doss?

Well, when you're on tape "badging" a couple of dollies into Lolla and allowing them onto the elevated SWAT platform so they can enjoy the concert from above....and there are a few dozen cell phone videos making their way through Google-me's office (who has been trying desperately to keep this one under wraps), Groot is going to be asking questions.

In fact, she IS asking a bunch of questions and this might be the beginning of some actual accountability.

UPDATE: One white guy, one Hispanic guy, one black guy. Things that make you go, "Hmmmmmm"

Paintball Gun

Englewoodians acting the fool again:

• A Chicago police officer was shot by a paintball gun by someone inside a van in the Englewood neighborhood Thursday night, police said.
  
  The on-duty officer was dressed as a civilian and on the sidewalk conducting an investigation at about 11:25 p.m. in the 5800-block of South Loomis Boulevard when someone inside a black van fired a paintball gun, police said.
  
  The officer was hit in his left side but was not injured. Police pursued the vehicle to Calumet Park, where three male suspects fled on foot.
  
  One suspect was taken into custody and no injuries were reported. Area South detectives are investigating.

No idea if it was deliberately targeting a cop or just idiots looking for a quick drive-by score. It could have been bad either way and can you imagine if any of the cops justifiably returned fire and wounded or killed on of these assholes?

• But it was only a paintball gun!

What a shitshow that would have ended up being, and it's fucking sad that we have to think that way nowadays where the political winds dictate how we respond to crap like this.

Cops Injured by Drunk

Up in 016:

• Two officers were hurt in a crash Friday on the Northwest Side after their squad car was struck by a drunk driver, according to police.
  
  They were southbound in a marked squad car in the 6700 block of North Caldwell Avenue when a Ford Crown Victoria hit them from behind as they tried to make a left turn, Chicago police said.
  
  The officers and the male driver of the Ford were taken to an area hospital with minor injuries, police said.
  
  The male in the Ford will be cited as the crash appears to be alcohol-related, police said.

Best wishes on a speedy recovery officers.

Commander Dumbass - 007

Does anyone know what "standards" Special Ed uses to pick these morons?

• How about the commander of 007, RDR, coming into roll call to thanks the troops for a job well done. As soon as roll call is over there is a 10-1 in 008 and a car that was suppose to be on beat integrity goes out of the station lot after just getting in their car to assist officers in need. Just after a disregard is given they are heading to the beat and a person shot comes up in their beat. Commander shows up on scene and wants them sparred for not being on the beat at the time of the shooting. So apparently its more important to be on the beat in case Joe Blow gets shot then to go assist officers needing help. No wonder the morale in 007 is so shitty.

What a putz. Obviously, never an actual police officer.

Groot Taking Suggestions

From aldercreatures?

• Chicago aldermen are urging Mayor Lori Lightfoot to lift the city’s ban on video gambling, create a new city sticker for ride-hailing vehicles and, if a massive property tax increase is unavoidable, phase it in and make the bitter pill easier to swallow by abolishing the $9.50-a-month garbage collection fee.
  
  Those are among the ideas floated during closed-door meetings with small groups of aldermen that Lightfoot’s financial team has been holding this week to solicit cost-cutting and revenue-raising ideas to eliminate Chicago’s $838 million shortfall. Former Mayors Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel did the same. It’s a way to appease aldermen, share the blame and build support for the difficult choices ahead.
  
  Conspicuously absent from the list of aldermanic ideas obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times is the property tax increase Lightfoot wants desperately to avoid, but has refused to rule out. Instead, aldermen have raised the two progressive revenue ideas Lightfoot would love to adopt if only the General Assembly would sign off: a graduated real estate transfer tax increase and a sales tax on professional services.

These are the assholes who voted in the massive deficits and extra spending that has driven Chicago to the the brink. In fact, they signed off on Shortshank's Skyway deal and the parking meter fiasco.

These are not exactly paragons of fiscal restraint. You could save tens of millions eliminating half of them tomorrow. Who's going to suggest that?

Have Gun, Will Travel

The interesting route taking by a gun:

• The same gun used in two wild shootouts involving Chicago police as well as a daylight shooting in the downtown area last week has been traced to yet another shooting in Minnesota less than two months ago.
  
  A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Minneapolis alleged that Sequana Cigolo , 38, bought a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun for Jason Winston, 48, the cousin of her former boyfriend who could not legally purchase a firearm because of his felony background. He allegedly reimbursed her about $250.
  
  Winston was charged with passing the gun along to Cigolo’s former boyfriend, who is alleged to have shot Cigolo’s brother with the weapon on July 28, according to the complaint.
  
  Cigolo’s former boyfriend then fled to Chicago, authorities in Minnesota said.
  
  Authorities do not explain how the gun then allegedly ended up in the hands of Michael Blackman, 45, who faces a raft of charges in Cook County court for a shooting spree last week.

So...a straw purchase. And after being used in a Minnesota crime, the gun ended up in Chicago (with all the proper paperwork filled out for every subsequent transfer no doubt) and was used in a "raft" of crimes.

Any bets on whether Minnesota Federal Courts will be any more aggressive in sentencing someone who circumvented federal law to supply a gun to a known felon?

An aside - the media seems to be glossing over the wounding of the young lady in the Fulton River District. Has anyone verified her condition?

Groot Finds $100 Million

Remember, Chicago is broke, but money keeps appearing from nowhere, lying around, unused:

• City Treasurer Kurt Summers announced the Chicago Community Catalyst Fund in 2016 with much fanfare — the city would earmark $100 million to jump-start investments in struggling neighborhoods, providing the seed money needed for ventures in places where many banks had been reluctant to put their money.
  
  None of it was spent. In fact, it wasn’t until Summers was about to leave office this May that he moved $75 million of the earmarked money into a bank account where it could be administered. But upon taking office, Mayor Lori Lightfoot deemed that move improper and pulled the funds back, while not accusing Summers of doing anything illegal.
  
  Now, Lightfoot herself is looking to reboot the program and finally deliver on its promise. Last month, she was given the names of possible people to fill vacancies on the fund’s board, and along with new Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin is looking to fund projects on the city’s South and West sides.
  
  Questions remain, however, about how the Catalyst Fund, also known as Fund 77, was set up to begin with.

There ought to be some Pension Funds and union officials wondering how many other pots of money are lying around, un-utilized or improperly accounted for.

In fact, maybe a bankruptcy judge would like to take a look?

Closing on 400

HeyJackass.com has Chicago at 391 with four days left in September. Leading the charge? 011...and wouldn't you know it, they're closing on 60, over twenty ahead of the nearest competitor (006). The hospitals are cleaning up old cases to help them along:

• A man shot in Homan Square almost two weeks ago on the West Side has died from his injuries.
  
  Emmett Adams, 26, was pronounced dead Tuesday at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
  
  An autopsy found Adams died from complications of multiple gunshot wounds and ruled his death a homicide, the medical examiner’s office said.

That was number fifty-nine. Number fifty-eight got killed Wednesday morning, meaning 011 is averaging a death-a-day recently. But don't worry - our contacts tell us that the commander and captain have established yet another fixed post, bringing the total number of fixed posts in 011 to seven or eight, depending on the day of the week. Who's answering calls?

Might we suggest sandbagged machine gun emplacements on every corner? And maybe holding the top staff accountable?

Interesting Take

FLSA rules are kind of difficult to get around as this commentator points out:

• The question I want answered is how the department plans to comply with the FLSA mandate of overtime compensation for hours worked over 40 in a 168 hour (7 day) period. For example, those in day off group 61 had two weeks in August that 45 hours were worked. Now that's going based off 9 hours. If you go off of 8.5 hours it's 42.5. Federal law states we are owed overtime compensation.
  
  The FLSA even goes so far as to name Police, Fire, and other first responders as NOT exempt from this.
  
  It also further states that collective bargaining agreements may enhance but not diminish this provision. Just Google FLSA overtime exemptions.

Have the unions looked into this?

What Could Go Wrong?

Running a California prison on touchy-feely crap:

• SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California prison officials have halted an effort aimed at forcing warring prison gangs to get along with each other after the inmates wound up brawling and even rioting when placed together in prison recreation yards, officials told The Associated Press.
  
  The effort started a year ago with officials gradually allowing prisoners from different gangs into exercise yards to try to get them to make peace. This permitted officials to reduce harsh restrictions that kept gang members locked up in cells for lengthy periods without access to rehabilitation programs that could allow them to shorten their sentences.
  
  But the greater liberty generated the same result at several state prisons: Gang members brawled in what critics labeled “gladiator fights” that they allege prison officials deliberately set up to get the inmates to fight.

As far as we're concerned, the only failure here is the failure to find a pay-per-view vendor to broadcast the "gladiator fights" to defray the prison costs. Maybe next time.

Study Material

So there are a couple of places trying to put together study packages with all of the orders, law, etc into a single binder-ready package. But some people are saying that copy stores, like Kinko's, aren't allowing photocopying of copy-written material.

What is everyone else out there hearing?

Swiping Arriving

And the FOP says just go with the flow until (A) someone gets harmed or (B) some judge or labor board issues an injunction.

The order (click for larger version):

The FOP reply:

• Today, the Department released its final order and will implement Employee Resource E02-03-04 with an effective date of 30 September 2019.
  
  Our attorneys will file an Unfair Labor Practice with the Illinois Labor Relations Board tomorrow as the City refused to negotiate with the Lodge over the impact of this order on our members.
  
  Members should comply with this order on its effective date and continue to comply until the Labor Board issues a decision.

Which means a whole lot of nothing.

Corruption at the Airport?

Doesn't aldercreature Burke run the airports?

• Chicago firefighters assigned to O’Hare and Midway Airports will be re-trained under a new commander, thanks to an ongoing federal investigation into allegations that “unqualified personnel” were staffing specialty rigs assigned to air rescue.
  
  “The FAA made an inquiry about certain circumstances related to training and certification. As we looked at it in response to the FAA inquiry, we resolved that there were some issues there,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot told reporters at City Hall.
  
  “As a consequence, the individual who was in charge of that training was replaced by someone else.”

Lori, it's going to take years (and not a little amount of balls) to actually clean up the stink at the airports. Burke has treated these city assets as his own personal playground, assigning people there for years based solely on phone calls. And now the feds want an accounting - literally and figuratively - of how money is being spent.

You ought to cooperate and just give them Burke to waterboard.

More Indictments?

You'd think Illinois was a corrupt shithole or something:

• Federal agents descended Tuesday on the home and offices of state Sen. Martin Sandoval as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, adding him to the growing list of city and state politicians facing serious scrutiny.
  
  Feds in suits could be seen lugging boxes, electronics and a bag marked “Evidence” from the state capitol building in Springfield. A similar scene played out at Sandoval’s Southwest Side home. And agents could be seen outside Sandoval’s political office in Cicero.
  
  FBI Special Agent John Althen confirmed the agency had personnel in the state capitol conducting “authorized law enforcement activity,” but he declined to comment further. IRS Criminal Investigation was also involved in the search, according to an official there.

The IRS is involved? Oh boy. And you have to read down to the fourth paragraph to find out that Sandoval is the Democratic Caucus whip, which means he has quite a bit of power....and who knows how many names to chirp about to keep his happy ass out of prison.

Hopefully, plenty.

The Beatings Will Continue

And we do mean "beatings:" (CWB Blog doing the heavy lifting again)

• A group of thirteen teenagers beat and robbed a man of his phone in the Loop on Wednesday evening, according to an alert issued by DePaul University’s public safety office. The offenders then battered and robbed another group of people nearby, according to police reports and the school. Five offenders are in custody, DePaul said.
  
  The teens attacked the first victim around 9:30 p.m. at 359 South State Street, took his phone, then ran southbound. Moments later, the group attacked and robbed four men as they stood outside 701 South State Street, according to the school’s alert. Police said the second group of victims sought help at a nearby pizza restaurant.
  
  Officers searched the area and arrested five people who were identified as being part of the group who beat and robbed the victims.
  
  DePaul and Chicago police said the offenders were black males and females in their late teens, many of whom wore yellow jackets. After the second attack, the group ran south on State, then east on 8th Street, police said.

Wow, an actual description of the offenders. That's a new twist.

Probably all charged with misdemeanor battery, theft, and assorted hi-jinks. That would be par for the course.

The Whole City?

We're having a hard time believing this editorial in the Slum Times:

• It’s good news that the Chicago police officer who was shot and horribly wounded over the weekend is expected to make a full recovery. The 41-year-old officer is recuperating from a second surgery since being critically injured in a gun battle between the police and 45-year-old Michael Blackman on Saturday, police spokesman Anthony [Google-me] told us.
  
  We’re sure pulling for the officer, a father of two whom [Google-me] described as “very well-liked and energetic.” We look forward to him returning home soon from Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
  
  The officer’s shooting is yet another reminder, if anybody needs one, that the Chicago police put their lives on the line for us every day. It’s part of the job, remarkably. They know it going in.
  
  And we thank them.

Maybe it's early onset senility kicking in, but we can't recall any recent instances of the Slum Times Editors thanking us for anything. In fact, along with their wife-beating columnist and the non-prosecuting car theft victim, we recall taking quite the verbal lashings over the past years.

• First Deputy Supt. Anthony Riccio described Blackman, charged Monday with two shootings, as an “engine of violence.” That sounds about right, if the accusations against him prove to be true.

Jagoff might be the "engine," certainly. But don't forget who's supplying the gas, flipping the ignition and stomping on the accelerator. Nationally, it was Sparklefarts, Holder and Lynch. Locally, there's Prickwrinkle, Crimesha, Dart and Evans along with supporting roles played by Shortshanks, Rahm, Groot and the current cockroaches at City Hall.

The editorial closes with this:

• We don’t know his name.
  
  But we tell him this: A whole city wishes him well.
  

On one hand, we appreciate the sentiment.

On the other, some people (or folks) didn't get the memo because we were told to "Go fuck yo'self bitch-ass police" twice yesterday.

Wrong Message Groot

Chicago is broke, or at least that's what Groot keeps telling everyone (we have our doubts). So why is she spending money on this?

• Federal immigration officials have detained five individuals at a pizza shop on Chicago’s Far South Side, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced on Twitter. The ICE raid took place Monday at Route 66 Pizza, located at 10180 S. Indianapolis Avenue in the East Side neighborhood.
  
  [...] Mayor Lori Lightfoot tweeted the following statement:
  
  "The Mayor's Office has confirmed that earlier today, federal immigration officials detained five individuals at Route 66 Pizza, located at 10180 S Indianapolis Ave."
  
  “We are actively monitoring the situation and engaging with community partners for more information on this incident, and to provide assistance to the affected families.”
  
  “Chicago is and always will be a welcoming city, and we stand firmly with our immigrant residents. Make sure your friends and neighbors know their rights:”

ICE doesn't detain immigrants. ICE detains illegal aliens. You know, people who have broken the law. Criminals.

And here's Groot, presiding over a bankrupt city, saying her administration is going to "provide assistance to the affected families." Would that be a bus ticket to reunite the family to wherever they are supposed to be until such time as they properly apply for resident alien status and then citizenship? Because if it's anything aside from that, you aren't getting a lot of sympathy from this quarter, and we're going to accuse you of squandering taxpayer money.

Surely there's a "revrund" or two who has a congregation of people looking for jobs?

AdMin Fax Messages

You can learn a lot reading the Administrative Fax Messages on the Department Intranet - transfer orders, policy changes, upcoming retirement cake and coffee events, death notices, etc.

You can also learn a lot of things not to do, like leave a personal rifle in a personal car and the keys to said personal car in a gym bag in another unlocked car, so that thieves can steal the bag, click the key fob, drive away with the personal car....and said rifle within.

Three places you should never leave guns:

• gym lockers
• cars
• anywhere a kid can touch it

There are probably a few more, but those are our big ones.

Foxxx Campaigning

Just not in Illinois. If you want to win a Senate seat from some senile old white guy, you gotta fund-raise somewhere else - like California or DC with the newest progressive faces:

• ...the CCSAO Victim Witness Unit hosts an annual event to celebrate the year's accomplishments and further assist victims of and witnesses to crime. This year's gala is said to be scheduled for October. For years the function has been held at UIC, but this year's celebration will move from UIC to a church on the south side. The twist is Foxx is said to be only making a one-hour appearance at the fete because she is joining California Bolshevik, Senator Kamala Harris, for a fundraiser or political appearance in either Washington, D.C. or back in California.

This isn't making her any friends with the lawyers doing the grunt work in the trenches. This is a BIG DEAL and is supposed to demonstrate the Cook County States Attorney Office's commitment to the actual VICTIMS of crime.

Crimesha doesn't care about victims. She cares about making friends with the correct useful idiots amongst the Soros crowd and raking in cash for a Senate run.

This is also probably part of the friction between Prickwrinkle and Groot.

CCL Kills, is Killed

Not the optimal outcome:

• A concealed-carry permit holder and a man attempting to rob a business were each killed in a shootout Saturday night in Roseland on the Far South Side, according to police.
  
  About 7:15 p.m., Derrick Gholston, 43, was standing outside of a business in the first block of East 112th Place when he was approached in the by two men who flashed a handgun and demanded his property, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
  
  The man complied and the two robbers then entered the business and announced another robbery, authorities said.
  
  Gholston, who was a concealed-carry permit holder, pulled out his own gun and confronted the robbers, leading to an exchange of gunfire, authorities said.

Unfortunately, while he managed to kill one of the robbers, he lost his own life. Most likely, if he had simply fled after surrendering his wallet, he would have been better off, but he did society a favor by ridding the streets of one scumbag.

Another

This time a retired lieutenant:

• A retired Chicago police officer took his own life at his Chatham home Saturday, officials said.
  
  James Crawford, 61, was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head about 7:40 p.m. at his home in the 8300 block of South Wabash Avenue, according to Chicago police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. An autopsy Sunday ruled his death a suicide.

Lt. Crawford was a genuinely nice guy and will be missed. He had recently received some devastating health news that no doubt contributed to this decision. Prayers for his family, friends and co-workers.

007 Update

The wounded officer has been upgrade. Not out of the woods yet, but better than yesterday.

A day long manhunt resulted in the offender's capture:

• After a daylong manhunt in West Englewood, officers shot and arrested a man suspected of shooting a Chicago police officer on Saturday and wanted in connection with another shooting earlier in the week.
  
  The suspect was shot about 3:35 p.m. following an “armed encounter” with officers near 64th Street and Bell Avenue, Chicago police spokesman Anthony [Google-me] said in a tweet. No officers were injured in that encounter.
  
  The suspect was identified as 45-year-old Michael Blackman, who was wanted in connection with the shooting of a 29-year-old woman Wednesday while riding a bike through the Fulton River District, according to Brendan Deenihan, deputy chief of the Chicago police’s Bureau of Detectives.
  
  Blackman has not given a statement, but it appeared “he randomly targeted and shot this poor woman downtown,” Deenihan said.

The papers are reporting the officer applied a tourniquet to his own leg before being taken off the scene by his co-workers. Fantastic work by everyone there to get him to safety and medical attention.

We're getting a few e-mails about this jagoff and how he was hoping to ignite some sort of "revolution." We're sure more will become clearer as the days go on, but we would not be surprised if his gun can be traced back to some other scenes.

Coppers Injured in Dragging

One cop seems to have been caught between:

• Two Chicago police officers were dragged by a vehicle after performing a pat-down on an armed suspect in the Douglas area early Saturday morning. The officers were called to a restaurant in the 3400 block of South Dr. Martin Luther King Drive with reports of a man inside with a gun, according to Chicago police.
  
  Police said the officers performed a pat-down on the suspect and found that the man was in possession of a handgun. Police said the offender pushed past the officers, fleeing the building to a vehicle parked outside. According to police, the offender drove off, struck the marked Chicago police vehicle and dragged both officers as he fled.
  
  The officers were transported to Northwestern Hospital with injuries after the vehicle was found a few blocks away, police said. According to CPD, both officers sustained injuries due to being dragged by the vehicle including abrasions, contusions, possible fractures and internal injuries. According to CPD, a female officer was admitted to Northwestern Hospital and is being treated for two collapsed lungs and fractured ribs. Police said a male officer suffered minor injuries.

Prayers for a full recovery.

So....

Groot said no more police OT.

Cubs drop five in a row.

Looks like they're assisting Groot by getting rid of any playoff/World Series OT money that would have been on the table.

Well played Groot. Well played.

Officer Shot - 007

Serious-to-critical condition according to reports and e-mails.

Currently out of surgery and doing as well as can be expected.

Subject is the asshole on a bicycle who shot a woman in a seemingly random attack.

Sun Times coverage.

Prayers.

UPDATE: Connected to previous high profile crimes?

Duckfoot?

UPDATE: Shot numerous times and in custody.

Weekend Break

Not so much a break as a we've got somewhere to be, our backups have somethings to do and this takes a backseat to all of that.

So comments may be delayed, posting might be skimpy. We'll do what we can. Open post for now.

Cop Rides to Fight Opioid Abuse

A personal tragedy driving her ride:

• A Chicago police officer is biking to raise awareness about the country's opioid crisis. Officer Kim Conte took off Friday on a 300-mile bike ride from Chicago to Iowa, and back.
  
  Conte's brother died from a heroin overdose two years ago today. The loss inspired her to make a difference.
  
  Conte cycled 100 miles last year for the same effort.

Good luck and Godspeed Officer.

Police Board Unhappy

With Special Ed of all people:

• Chicago police Supt. Eddie Johnson was scolded by the Chicago Police Board for failing to deliver an oral report on the status of police matters at its monthly board meeting.
  
  “Mr. President, I’m going to waive tonight. We don’t really have [any] additional information other than what was said last month. Next month we should be prepared to give a report,” Johnson said at the Chicago Public Safety Headquarters Thursday night.
  
  A visibly taken aback Ghian Foreman, board president, asked Johnson if he was sure of his decision. He reminded the superintendent that his request not to report would be voted on by all the board members present, and it would likely fail. It did.

Special Ed was obviously given orders not to care:

• “Superintendent, at the police board meetings there is a duty for you to provide a report. We have stated that we will no longer waive the report,” Foreman said. “We believe that we, the police board, have a right to get this information, as well as the public.”
  
  “It is my and this full board’s expectation that there will be an oral report presented every month,” Foreman added.
  
  Johnson calmly responded, “Duly noted.”

So what's going on? The City Council is giving Groot static over her property tax proposals, the teachers are still talking strike, the FOP is (so far) recalcitrant regarding the Contract. What gives?

Sign Up for Sgt Test

By the way, sign up started today for the Sergeant Promotional Exam.

Check out the Department Intranet for links and directions.

Sergeants Settle?

Does this even have to go to a vote?

• Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the unions representing Chicago police supervisors have reached an agreement on contract terms that will give the department’s sergeants, lieutenants and captains a 10.5% raise over a five-year period, according to the administration.
  
  Other issues, including items related to police discipline and the federal consent decree aimed at overhauling how the city’s historically troubled force operates, will go to arbitration in December.
  
  The agreement with police supervisors covers the period between July 2016 and June 30, 2022, officials said. Chicago police sergeants, lieutenants and captains have been without a contract since their previous deal expired at the end of June 2016. The 10.5% raises cover January 1, 2018 through January 1, 2022.

So in actuality, the raises look like this:

• 01 July 2016 - 2% (denied FOP raise via grievance)
  01 Jan 2017 - 1% (denied FOP raise via grievance)
  01 Jan 2018 - 2.25%
  01 Jan 2019 - 2.25%
  01 Jan 2020 - 2%
  01 Jan 2021 - 2%
  01 Jan 2022 - 2% (thru 30 Jun 2022)

So it's a 13.5% raise for six-years. We got about twenty e-mails pointing out the cost of living in Chicago has risen at an annual rate of nearly 2.9% a year since 2014, so the PBPA is moving backwards? And the Health Care was raised 1.5% to match what other city unions are paying.

• how come this never happens with the Teachers Union paying their own pension?

Small bumps in duty availability, but not uniforms, and a paragraph that says if the FOP or Fire side do better, the "me-too" clause kicks in.

And how much do the teachers turn down the other week? 16%? Looks like supervisors are going to be used to hammer the FOP as "unreasonable."

UPDATE: All the disciplinary stuff is in the hands of an arbitrator - which we're told is impossible since the PBPA had refused to discuss any changes - especially after one of their members was fired for merely approving TRR reports that were brought to him at the desk - he wasn't even on the scene - and he got fired. What the Hell is that about?

CTA Crime is .... Up?

Up significantly, too:

• The Chicago Transit Authority has seen a rise in violent crimes this year despite tens of thousands of surveillance cameras deployed throughout the train system.

Yeah, because all those cameras just leap off the walls and ceilings to arrest criminals and maintain a high-visibility presence on CTA property.

As we've said a couple dozen times, the only thing all those cameras do is (A) enrich some connected firm and (B) preserve the moment that you became a crime victim in a full color HD picture suitable for framing.

• CTA officials said that the serious crimes on Chicago's "L" trains are comparatively rare, considering that there are 1.5 million rides every week day. But riders remain nervous about the attacks.
  
  Chicago police said there's been more than 4,400 reports of serious felonies on the CTA so far. It's 6% higher than those reported last year.

And arrests are down. A lot. The report claims manpower is up forty-four officers, but has anyone actually seen them? The current command staff has chased a lot of officers out of the Unit and the rest can't be found anywhere useful most times. How often have you heard, "No Mass Transit Units available"?

Another $100

The I-Team, once again, blatantly stealing from the blog:

• Thursday at 10: The I-Team uncovers why Cook County jail inmates were secretly allowed to visit Chicago's Children's Museum.

[UPDATE: We posted this story back in August and Goudie is just getting to it weeks later. So to the unpublished tiny brain, perhaps you're the one who doesn't understand "time." Or stealing.]

So when we typed this earlier today, the stolen material hadn't aired yet. We'll update this post later, probably after court of sometime earlier.

In the meantime Goudie, do the right thing and cut a check to the Chaplains. It's the least you can do and maybe they'll pray for your thieving soul.

UPDATE: What a joke this is:

• Dressed in street clothes, inmates from the Cook County Jail were recently allowed to visit their children at Navy Pier as part of a pilot program aimed at breaking the cycle of kids with an incarcerated parent ending up in prison themselves.
  
  On August 12, five inmates were transported to the Chicago Children's Museum to meet their families. Bobbi Davis brought her daughter, Geaniya, to visit her father, Gean Eriwin, who had spent the summer in the Cook County Jail on drug charges.
  
  Geaniya is one of 37,000 children who had a parent at the Cook County Jail during the past six months.

We think we've spotted the problem:

• The president and CEO of the Chicago Children's Museum told the I-Team they are always looking at what the best outcome for the child is. and they are really interested in how childhood trauma affects the child's outcome moving forward.

Shouldn't that be the job of a two-parent household?

• Bobbi Davis said she did not like taking her daughter to the Cook County Jail because it is loud, cold, and she felt like they were treated like inmates. Still, she did it because it was important for Geaniya to see her dad.

How about not sleeping with dope dealers? Or any guy who's not going to be around to....you know....actually parent?

This part calls into question the entire program:

• Sheriff Dart told the I-Team the five participants were in the jail on a variety of non-violent charges including identity theft, drug violations and aggravated robbery.

Not exactly a "non violent" offender.

And it cost $8,000. Dart, you're an idiot.

Lake County Failure

So what's the purpose of the law any more?

• Lake County prosecutors have dropped murder charges that were filed against five Chicago teenagers last month after a member of their group was fatally shot by a homeowner in the north suburbs while they allegedly tried to break into a vehicle.
  
  Diamond Davis, 18; Kendrick Cooper, 17; Stacy Davis, 17; Steven Davis, 17; and Curtis Dawson, 16, will no longer be charged with murder for the death of 14-year-old Jaquan Swopes, Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim wrote in a statement.
  
  “The circumstances and facts outlined in my statement support the charge of Felony Murder,” Nerheim wrote. “However, after full consideration of all the evidence, mitigation presented by defense counsel as well as the wishes of the victim’s family, my office has entered into an agreement with defense counsel for the five offenders. This agreement ensures all offenders will be held responsible and face appropriate sentences.”

That is the job of a jury, isn't it? Made up of Lake County citizens? This spineless pretender to maintaining Law and Order ought to be voted out of office as soon as possible. Criminals need to be held accountable to the fullest extent the law allows.

You know what lesson was taught here? That criminals can get away with anything if the liberals whine hard enough.

Get a gun citizens. The only justice you're going to see is dishing it out yourself. And get a decent lawyer.

Oops

Bad choice:

• A would-be robber had a change of mind Wednesday when he realized his target was an on-duty Chicago police officer in civilian clothes.
  
  The officer was sitting inside an civilian vehicle outside of a scheduled CAPS meeting on the South Side when two males drove up in a black pickup truck, an armed passenger exited and announced a robbery, Chicago police said.
  
  The armed male left when he realized he was robbing a CPD officer, police said.
  
  The attempted robbery happened about 6:25 p.m. in the 2900 block of South Vernon Parkway, police said.

Situational awareness boys and girls. Especially in that part of town.

Sergeant Exam Information

Everyone knows the test is coming.

What they don't know is how fucked up the Department is going to make this thing.

Here's Part One (from an inside source):

• The FOP has been trying for the last year to get the city to put a percentage value on part 1 of the sergeants exam.. 30-50 percent is the national standard and best practice.
  
  I have learned that the city will respond this week with a big FU to all coppers studying, by placing a zero value on part 1. This will be stated in the candidate prep guide, that it’s just a pass/fail which is so wrong. If I get a 95 and some moron gets a 56, we both go to part 2.
  
  56 was the sergeants exam pass point last time.

Not surprising. Remember, you're only as good as the dumbest bosses kid/buddy/pin cushion, etc. If they need someone to pass Part One, then they're going to lower the bar as far as they need to. Look at the promotional lists we had a few years ago where some people were skipping over 2,000 spots to get promoted. "Best and the Brightest" right? "Earned not Given"? Don't make us laugh.

Part Two though...Part Two is a nightmare:

• ...the city will announce this week or next that officers who pass part 1 and go on to part 2 will test over a 5 day period in 2020 and take 5 different oral tests! Yes that’s correct, the idiots plan to give 5 different tests.

This Department can't run day-to-day operations without a Guide Dog. And they're planning on drafting five different versions of the test? Over five days? Are they insane?

If you'd like to register your displeasure, you're welcome to e-mail the Consent Decree Monitor. Her e-mail address is MHickey@schiffHardin.com. Be polite, but be sure to point out that this is no way to even seem plausibly legitimate.

No word on which version Gene Williams is teaching from.

Fillmo' Extends Homicide Lead

A triple yesterday afternoon:

• Three of four men who were shot at a convenience store near a busy intersection in the city’s West Garfield Park neighborhood Wednesday have died, authorities said.
  
  The attack prompted a lockdown of at least one school in the area.
  
  The victims were wounded at the Quick Food Mart in the 4200 block of West Madison Street about 2:50 p.m., according to police and fire department officials.
  
  All of the victims were standing on the sidewalk outside the business when multiple shots were fired from a passing white sedan, police said, citing preliminary reports.

Firstly, if by some miracle, 011 didn't have another homicide all year and every other District in the city maintained their current rate of killing, Fillmore would coast to their sixth-in-a-row homicide title - an unprecedented feat in modern times.

Secondly, this happened right after Accountability Tuesday, and it seems no one has been demoted from 011 at all. Imagine that.

And lastly, seeing as how we're imagining things, and there's not a chance in Hell that 011 is going to go even 48 hours without some form of massive retaliation, you boys and girls on the west side watch your asses. Summer ain't over yet and this has every indication of spilling over into 015 and 025.

UPDATE: You know what doesn't appear in either the Tribune or Sun Times news stories?

• The words "mass shooting."

Even using the most lib-tarded definition of mass shooting (four victims, at least one dead), this one hits all the metrics. But the media won't say it.

Nice New Police Station

This is just lovely - how much was it?

• The new police station at O'hare just opened 1 week ago and we have had two major water issues. The first one was over the weekend when the roof was leaking and flooded the woman's locker room. The second one was just yesterday when third watch came in for roll call and found the all bathroom and floor drains along with the showers were backing up filling the station with raw sewage. Hallways to locker rooms along with the radio room, lockup and some side offices flooded with this disgusting black fowl water along with some brown logs, Only the best for CPD!!!

Well, it's way out at O'Hare, only serves 200 coppers or so, and won't be seen by 99.99% of the public or the media. Perfect place for shoddy workmanship and crooked contracting that can't even properly pitch a waste line.

Knock that Shit Off Wheezie!!!

More "arrogance gone wild!" as Harold used to say:

• A Chicago police sergeant claims he’s being “intimidated into silence” by Superintendent Eddie Johnson and his wife because he reported their alleged involvement in a purported cheating scheme during a departmental exam.
  
  Those allegations – that police officers cheated on a lieutenant’s exam in 2015 – were never substantiated. But a complaint filed against the sergeant in the wake of the report is now interfering with his plans to retire, he says.
  
  In the lawsuit filed this week against Johnson, Johnson’s wife Lt. Nakia Fenner and the city of Chicago, Sgt. James Prah Jr. alleges he’s been retaliated against because he blew the whistle on a study group that included Fenner and others who were allegedly provided testing information before the 2015 exam.

So it's not enough that they mostly got away with cheating their way into undeserved ranks, higher pensions, etc. Everyone knows they cheated and stole spots from actual qualified department members. Anyone with a background in statistics will tell you the chances of so many people connected to (we're talking one-degree-of-separation) Mrs. Wysinger, IAD and Wheezie is billions-to-one. Hell, the original ExamScam lawyers calculated the odds at something like four-trillion-to-one when certain Sergeants sued the city last time and knowing Wheezie and Maryetta....let's just say the odds are far in excess of those numbers.

Take your ill-gotten promotions and shut the fuck up. You will never have the respect of anyone you "command" and will forever be marked as cheating scumbags.

Cut This Pension

If they can reduce/diminish honest workers' pensions via an act of the Legislature, they can certainly diminish this pension via the same method for being a corrupt asshole:

• Disgraced former Chicago Ald. Daniel Solis collects a nearly $95,000 annual city taxpayer-funded pension, despite his role as a central figure in an ongoing public corruption scandal at City Hall, records show.
  
  Federal authorities filed an affidavit under seal in May 2016 that made several allegations against Solis before he agreed to cooperate with their investigation. Solis wore an FBI wire for two years as part of the wide-ranging criminal probe that ensnared Ald. Edward Burke and rocked city government.
  
  After more than two decades on the City Council, the 69-year-old Solis announced last November that he would not seek another term representing the city’s 25th Ward. He finished out his term this spring, and began receiving his pension over the summer, records show.

Last we checked, aldercreature was still defined as a "part time job." But a $95,000 a year pension is more than any beat copper, sergeant or most lieutenants will ever receive even after twenty-nine years of honorable service.

How about starting the cuts there Groot? No reason Solis shouldn't be stuck driving a truck or hanging drywall for the rest of his miserable existence.

Dude, Where's Our Prisoner?

When you transport someone to Court, you should probably make sure they get there. Seems a southside wagon crew drove up to the prisoner drop off area at the Cook County Jail and discovered that their prisoner was MIA, having somehow jimmied the lock despite numerous safeguards in place to prevent such a thing and his current whereabouts are unknown.

On the bright side, the intrepid prisoner appears to be taking advantage of a new policy by Dart and Crimesha:

• Self I-bonding 

No more muss or fuss involving judges, just jump off a moving wagon with an implied promise to return later. Maybe.

Water Management Corruption?

An interesting story over at an interesting site called ChicagoClout.com involving a heavily connected former CPD exempt:

• Everyone that works for the City of Chicago needs to follow certain protocols when involved in a hit and run. Commissioner Alfonzo “Randy” Conner of the Department of Water Management decided to show us on how a classless city employee scams over innocent hard-working taxpayers and how to make some other sucker pay the way.

Conner was involved in a traffic accident that needed to be "fixed" seeing as how he may have been impaired, in a city vehicle, and didn't stick around after the fact. Guess who's in charge of the cover-up?

• Commissioner Conner called Ralph Chiczewski, the safety and workers comp czar at the Department of Water Management at home. (or the saloon). Ralph told him to meet him at the Wentworth Police Station due to Commissioner Conner’s messed up condition. Ralph “Chicklets” Chiczewski is a former high-ranking Chicago Cop that insisted Conner go to a Police Station that will, “keep their mouth shut”. Conner refused to report an injury to again avoid a drug test.

ChicagoClout.com pulls exactly zero punches:

• After the holiday weekend, Ralph made a memo after the phone was ringing off the hook from Mr. Elliott. Ralph made his name covering up for dirty police and his treatment of homeless folks on DOWM property. Ralph also made a name for himself falsifying workers comp injuries and stopping hurt workers pay, medical care, and providing jobs for injured politician’s family members. Ralph also worked with the famous Alderman Edward Burke, “Committee on Finance”.
  
  After a FOIA request, the only documents that show up prove that entire cover-up. All the pictures of the accident site were destroyed. All of Mr. Elliott’s phone calls to the 311 and leak desk were destroyed. Ralph did not take a picture of the accident site. Ralph did not take a witness statement of the lady with Conner. Ralph and his family have awesome City jobs and make piles on the payroll, keep your mouth shut.
  
  Ralph made a cover his ass memo a couple of days after the accident to Julie Hernandez-Tomlin, number two at the department. His memo refused to admit the accident was caused by Conner, the Lexus was parked, and he did not take a single picture. Amazing. Ralph also went to the Wentworth police station with the Commissioner since Conner was not smart enough to do it himself?

Hey Groot? We can see a couple places to save some money right here. In fact, ChicagoClout.com has a whole bunch of stories that might lead to some substantial savings via firing connected assholes.

No Words....Again

September is supposed to be Suicide Prevention Month. The Department is on a big kick, passing out cards, flyers, bracelets, holding seminars, sending out e-mails.

And then this:

• An off-duty Chicago police officer died Monday night in what is being investigated as a possible suicide at a forest preserve on the Northwest Side, according to police.
  
  The officer’s identity was not immediately released, but the death was an apparent suicide and happened while the officer was off-duty...

Prayers only here.

Hiring Freeze? What Hiring Freeze?

And once again, Groot talking out of her ass again:

• Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s choice to be director of violence prevention is a longtime anti-violence worker in Chicago, her administration announced.
  
  Norman Livingston Kerr will start in the $130,000-per-year role Monday, officials said.
  
  Originally from Jamaica, Kerr is a Chicago Public Schools graduate and former director of CeaseFire. He also worked at UCAN, a group that works with “15,000 at-risk children, youth and families across Illinois,” according to the organization.
  
  At UCAN, Kerr led the organization’s community violence intervention efforts, the mayor’s office said.

Anyone have the casualty counts for the past few years that this guy was helping run CeaseFire? Maybe he can account for that million dollars or so that what's-his-name never told anyone where it went or how it was spent? And now without a single job cut, Groot has created a six-figure spot for someone who's failed - badly - at preventing violence.

What's the phrase we're remembering?

• Past performance is not indicative of future results...

Groot better hope not.

Remember, Chicago is Broke

But Groot can forego $15 million of desperately needed revenue:

• Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to go easier on scofflaws and stop suspending driver’s licenses for non-moving violations will cost cash-strapped Chicago $15 million in annual revenue, aldermen were told Monday.
  
  Over time, top mayoral aides hope losses tied to the plan advanced by the City Council’s Finance Committee will disappear and the plan will become “revenue-neutral” as more and more motorists sign up for payment plans they can afford.
  
  But at least initially, a city that is already struggling to close an $838 million shortfall will cost itself $15 million in annual revenue.

Groot really ought to fire whoever is in charge of her messaging - because it sucks. Inconsistent. Contradictory. And plain old incompetency rules the day.

Another Bad Idea

Does the Slum Times have any actual good ideas?

• Chicago and the State of Illinois must find billions of additional dollars to fund pensions and pay bills.
  
  There’s no getting around it.
  
  The only honest question is, who’s going to pay?
  
  Should we hit up, say, a middle-class truck driver who earns $50,000 a year? Should he or she pay more in state income taxes?
  
  Or should we first hit up a retired corporate lawyer whose income in retirement tops $1 million a year. Right now, that lawyer doesn’t pay a dime on any pension he might have.
  
  We’re on the side of the truck driver, and we bet you are, too.

Sure, advocate class warfare. So guess who can afford to shelter his income via various means? Live off capital gains? Afford to move out of Illinois or maintain a primary residence somewhere else and some BS condo here, if it isn't just a PO Box? And when all those that can afford to leave, who becomes the new top tier taxpayer?

How about cutting out lard? Streamlining services? Fix crooked contracting? Eliminate gold braid pensions (and outrageous pensions that outstrip actual salaries) that are based solely on political appointments?

What Bullshit is This?

From a regular source of ours (click for larger versions):

COPA is preparing Search Warrants?

For Officers' homes? Over administrative matters?

And presenting the to the State? And judges?

This is beyond the pale for an administrative agency to even be thinking is legal.

Someone is going to get badly hurt by this - and it'll probably be the taxpayers to start.

Fake News

We all know this couldn't possibly happen because the CTA has those "no guns allowed" signs posted all over the place:

• A 21-year-old man is in police custody after he accidentally shot himself Sunday on a Red Line train near the Garfield station in Englewood.
  
  The man was riding a southbound train about 9:30 a.m. when his gun went off as the train pulled into the Garfield station, 220 W. Garfield Blvd., Chicago police said.

One day the media will be held to account for the lies they constantly tell in furtherance of the lib-tarded agenda.

Guns on the CTA....what are they going to try to tell us next?

Not So Quiet Any More

Even in the "nicer" neighborhoods:

• A 35-year-old man was shot and critically wounded Sunday morning in the Lincoln Park neighborhood on the North Side.
  
  About 2 a.m., he was standing on the sidewalk in the 400 block of West Fullerton Parkway when a gunman in a red SUV fired at him, striking him throughout the body, according to Chicago police.
  
  The 35-year-old was driven to the Fullerton Red Line station and then transported to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was in critical condition, police said.

"throughout the body"? Sounds targeted, right?

And the weekend totals were sitting at seven dead, twenty wounded early Sunday. HeyJackass should have the final totals up in a bit. Non-accountability Tuesday is right around the corner....or coroner. Depends how sarcastic you're feeling.

Cities Shrinking

Another of those articles we occasionally run across that deserve far larger exposure than we can possibly give it. Be sure to spread the info among your circle of friends:

• Over at The Atlantic, Derek Thompson mulls over whether we're seeing a "great metropolitan exodus" because America's top cities have recently begun losing population. Chicago has been losing people for years now, but Los Angeles and New York City have also found themselves on the decline. Both cities had been seeing domestic outmigration (people moving out of the city to other parts of the country) for several years, but foreign immigration into the two cities have long made up for it.
  
  But new census data show that Los Angeles County is seeing a net loss of about 13,000 folks, and New York's Bronx, Kings, and Queens counties (all containing parts of New York City) have seen a combined net loss of about 40,000 people, based on census data released back in April.
  
  Thompson hits some of the big issues affecting these cities (housing problems in Los Angeles, crime and racism in Chicago), but he does so in a vague "maybe this is a contributor?" fashion. It's partly understandable; because the trend is new (except in Chicago) the full nature of this population drain isn't entirely clear, and it's too soon to give firm answers without falling into confirmation biases, even if they do have statistical support.
  
  Still, each of these cities is facing some severe problems in the way they're managed, their uncertain financial situations, and a general disregard for the welfare and liberty of the citizens who live there.

Go read it all.

Better Aim

The ratio of persons killed to persons shot seems to be improving:

• Six people are dead and at least 11 others have been injured in shootings across the city of Chicago so far this weekend, according to Chicago police.

The only question now is will the weekend totals top thirty?

Trial Balloon?

Anyone old people (like us) remember the apocryphal Vietnam Era quote, "We had to destroy the village in order to save it"? It probably wasn't actually said, but it made sense in a twisted sort of way to the left and their anti-war efforts.

Someone is suggesting that Groot has an obligation to declare bankruptcy in order to "save" Chicago:

• “Bankruptcy” is a dirty word that connotes failure, an ending — the antithesis of opportunity. For many, it’s unthinkable “to go there,” as if it were a dark place, replete with shame. And indeed bankruptcy was once all of that. Those unable to pay their debts were thrown into dark jails to rot until relatives came up with money to pay off their debts.
  
  Chicagoans should know that this barbaric treatment of debtors hasn’t been our law for hundreds of years. In a great innovation that unleashed capitalism, the law turned the tables on creditors and set debtors free. Bankruptcy erases burdensome debt, requiring those who finance and facilitate failure to bear the losses associated with that failure. Bankruptcy means freedom, a new beginning and fresh opportunities. Bankruptcy is a painful process, but it’s pain with gain: a future free of excessive debt.
  
  Mayor Lori Lightfoot revealed that the City of Chicago faces a deficit of nearly $1 billion, driven by debt, including bonds, unfunded pension and retiree health obligations and tort judgments. So far, she’s only talking about increasing taxes on, or cutting services to, Chicagoans, but there’s no upside to that strategy: It offers Chicagoans nothing but more pain. Instead, she should be talking about strategies for restructuring and reducing the city’s debts now, including bankruptcy, before things get even worse.

It's a disturbing article, cold and calculating. Go read it all - it helps to know what all sides are thinking.

The Birth of a Conservative?

It's amazing when they finally realize the system is failing them, this time in Flint, Michigan:

• A Southwestern High School teacher says her car was stolen from the school parking lot by a student and is accusing the school district and police of not doing anything.
  
  [Special Education teacher Mary] Toth says on August 13th the student was supposed to be helping her clean her classroom. She says she left her purse in the classroom when she stepped out. She says when she returned, she later discovered that money and keys were stolen from her purse.
  
  She says the student then stole her 2015 Chevy Malibu from the back parking lot. She says minutes after her car was stolen, she looked at surveillance video with four other administrators and they all identified the student. But nearly one month later, her car has yet to be returned and she says charges have not been filed. She says days after this happened the student was also back in school.

Not only is the kid back in school, he still has the car! And she's still paying for the car!!!

• “I’m outraged by the fact that I’ve made $700 worth of payments on my car and a thief is driving my car,” she says.

And just when you think it couldn't get any better, the thief is using the car....in crimes!

• Toth says it was spotted on surveillance video tied to a shoplifting incident at a Flint Save-A-Lot. We reached out to the store to get the surveillance video. An employee confirmed the incident but says Flint Police have to release the security video.

Anyone want to bet on her previous voting habits? And whether or not they might change? We're going out on a limb here and guessing, "No." The disconnect in people is an amazing thing.

Second Guessing (UPDATE)

We're getting a couple e-mails about coppers being summoned down to COPA for "interviews" about an open CR number and the officers are then being sandbagged with "observations" that COPA investigators made of other officer's videos [correction - without presenting any allegation paperwork or signed complaints by anyone] in direct violation of the Signed Affidavit Bill.

Anyone know the truth?

[UPDATE] Apologies. we misread part of the e-mail. The COPA-cabana boys are refusing to even show officers a signed affidavit before, curing or after questioning, which is the foundation of every CR number that we've been a part of.

Alderassmunches Have Ethics?

Only under duress it seems:

• Chicago aldermen who also work as attorneys can’t handle criminal cases involving the city’s Police Department, a local ethics panel concluded in a decision made public Friday.
  
  The ruling from the Chicago Board of Ethics has a limited effect on the City Council’s few practicing attorneys, but it adds a new level of nuance to how the city will enforce an ethics ordinance Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration overhauled in one of the biggest early actions of her first term.
  
  It means aldermen who are attorneys cannot personally represent — or derive anything of value from representing — people in traffic or criminal cases where the Chicago Police Department is involved.
  
  It doesn’t matter which law enforcement agency brings charges, the board concluded. If CPD personnel make an arrest, execute a search warrant, investigate a case, serve as witnesses or hold onto evidence — aldermen can’t participate in the case as attorneys.

This would seem obvious to any sane person - you can't represent someone who is also suing your other employer - in this case, the City of Chicago and its taxpayers.

But evidently, Brookins was doing it on a regular basis.

Something Missing Here

So Groot is talking all this stuff about transparency and accountability and the alderassmunchers want sunlight shined in every crevice that isn't their own corrupt practices. Everyone is talking up training, too.

• Anyone seen an Ethics Test yet this year? It's September. It's supposed to be done prior to 31 October in past years.

Without a yearly reminder to not take gifts, money and white wine spritzers from the Keesing Bandit, we're going to end up taking our cues from Burke, Austin, Solis and other "leaders" of the City.

We might even accidentally end up taking traffic money again or cashing Social Security checks from our dear departed Mother.

Boo Hoo Hoo

Lawyers demanded this - they can live with it:

• (Virginia) Public defender’s offices have long struggled with high turnover. But lately, one time-consuming part of the job is driving lawyers out even faster.
  
  Attorneys are quitting at least partly because they’re swamped by the amount of video footage they have to review from police body-worn cameras.
  
  And in localities without public defender’s offices, court-appointed attorneys are struggling to maintain their own law practices and keep up with the body camera footage.
  
  Police departments across Virginia have fitted officers with thousands of body cameras in the past few years, largely without considering the attorneys who are ethically bound to review the thousands of hours of video they produce. Both defense lawyers and prosecutors need to see if there’s anything in the footage that helps their cases, and prosecutors are legally required to turn over any evidence that’s favorable to the defense.

You made our job too hard! We were just supposed to Monday morning quarterback you into a quick settlement, not actually have to defend our clients based on facts recorded by you evil police!

School Consent Decree?

Federal oversight at least:

• In what federal officials called a historic enforcement action to protect students from sexual violence, Chicago Public Schools has entered into a legally binding agreement with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and pledged extensive reforms in its handling of abuse and assault cases.
  
  “This is one of the deepest dives that we have done" of a major urban public school district, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kenneth Marcus said of his office’s yearslong investigation.
  
  “This is an extraordinary and appalling case,” Marcus added. “It is one of the worst that we have seen in the elementary, secondary school context.”

Unlike the CPD consent decree, this one doesn't rely almost completely on made-up stories and falsified evidence. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 legitimate complaints of Criminal Sexual Abuse and Assault in a 10-year time span completely dwarf the suspect numbers cited by Sparklefarts' DoJ minions who long had axes to grind.

So, when are the teachers, principals and janitors going to be wearing body cameras? After all, it really is for the children this time.

Wait a Minute.....

Are we misunderstanding something here?

• Following a meeting with Police Department brass Tuesday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said it was too soon to definitively say whether a pregnant woman gunned down Sunday in Back of the Yards was killed because she testified in a murder trial earlier this summer.
  
  “I don’t want to leap to conclusions, obviously that would be a very, very serious issue,” Lightfoot said of the potential murder of a state’s witness. She added that the city would “not spare any expense” finding the person who pulled the trigger.

So now overtime is okay? We're confused.

So Kenny Johnson Got.....?

We can't find a single story (as of this evening) saying what disgraced former skinny commander and currently convicted felon was sentenced to. We did recall this story from May:

• Preliminary guidelines call for Johnson to be sentenced to up to about two years in prison for the felony conviction on one count of theft of government funds. U.S. District Judge Manish Shah set sentencing for Sept. 11.

That was yesterday.

Seriously?

Harold Washington defined hubris as "arrogance gone wild."

He wasn't wrong:

• Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke will become the next chief justice of the state’s highest court.
  
  Burke, the wife of indicted 14th Ward Ald. Ed Burke, has served on the court since 2006 and was selected by the other justices to serve as the leading justice. The position rotates among the justices based on seniority and Burke will begin her three-year term as chief justice on Oct. 26.
  
  In a statement, Justice Burke said she’s “humbled and honored that my colleagues have chosen me to be the next Chief Justice.”

And if anyone here read Robert Cooley's book, "When Corruption Was King" you know that Ed and Anne were wired into some pretty hinky shit....hinky as in Outfit business along with the more recent fundraising complaints, frequent recusals of both Burkes from conflicts of interest situations and Ed's ongoing legal issues.

The optics on this are just bad.

NY Times Pinheads

You want some insight into exactly what the left is attempting to accomplish?

So, the airplanes went rogue and flew themselves into buildings?

Blame the tool used and not the evil intent of the hijackers.

Seems very familiar to everyone blaming guns for crimes.

Intentional or not, it also attempts to mitigate the 2,977 murders that took place that day.

Eighteen Years

New York

Washington DC

Shanksville

Everything changed in an instant and too many people have already forgotten what was lost.

Groot to Take on CFD

Which may be a hard sell - people generally like firefighters and respect them as professionals who know their jobs, unlike politicians:

• Runaway overtime at the Chicago Police Department isn’t the only item in Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s cost-cutting crosshairs.
  
  She also hopes to hammer out a new firefighters’ contract that eliminates treasured union perks and outdated staffing requirements that cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
  
  “She doesn’t want to have a confrontation, but she’s a tough cookie, and there are some things in the firefighters’ contract that don’t make a lot of sense and should be changed,” a mayoral confidant said Tuesday on condition of anonymity.
  
  “Fires are way down. Emergency medical calls are way up. Yet, this is still a fire suppression department firmly planted in the 1950s and ’60s. Changing that kind of encrusted tradition is extremely hard. But she’s taking a hard look and trying to come up with a plan.”
  
  Sources said Lightfoot delivered her cost-cutting message in a recent face-to-face meeting with Jim Tracy, president of Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2.
  
  The mayor asked for help and cooperation from a union that gave her a pivotal endorsement during the runoff campaign against Toni Preckwinkle.
  
  Sources said the answer was no, setting the stage for contentious negotiations.

Generally speaking, we like firefighters. Heck, even specifically, we like them. If they say they need five guys on a truck (two 2-man teams and someone to watch/operate the apparatus) then they need five guys on a rig. They're the ones going into burning buildings.

We certainly recognize that more ambulances are needed as the population ages, medical emergencies become more prevalent and serious discussions ought to be undertaken. But not at the expense of firefighter and citizen safety. We're betting there's plenty of waste at the top, just as in our own department, that could be trimmed without affecting manning issues.

Groot however, doesn't believe in actual negotiation, as demonstrated with the police.

Witness Slaughtered

Snitches don't just get stitches - they get buried:

• Three years ago, Treja A. Kelley was walking near her South Side home with her cousin when a man opened fire from a passing car, fatally striking her cousin.
  
  This past June, Kelley, then 18, testified at the trial of her cousin’s accused killer, helping Cook County prosecutors secure a conviction.
  
  On Sunday night, Kelley was just around the corner from the 2016 slaying — again walking to her home in the Back of the Yards neighborhood — when a gunman stepped from an alley and opened fire, striking her three times in the head and several times in the torso.
  
  Kelley, who was pregnant, was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

The lawlessness fostered by Crimesha and Prickwrinkle have real world consequences, along with the drumbeat to distrust the authorities. And the self-perpetuating cycle of circling the drain will continue.

OT Cuts Coming

The OT Train is pulling into the station - where it will park for a while:

• Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city of Chicago “can’t afford” police overtime expenses at the current level and called on Superintendent Eddie Johnson to develop a cost-cutting plan.
  
  Lightfoot said she’s “angry and frustrated” with the department’s overtime expenses, which totaled $67.6 million in the first six months of the year, according to a Sun-Times report.
  
  Asked who’s to blame for the overspending, Lightfoot said, “Every department head has to take responsibility for what goes on.”
  
  “I’ve talked to Superintendent Johnson about it. We’re going to challenge him to come up with a very specific proposal. When you’ve got 13,000 sworn members, there should be no reason why they blow their budget,” Lightfoot said. “We’ve already started a conversation about what we’re going to do next year to make sure that doesn’t happen. We can’t afford it. The truth is, we can’t afford it.”

Time to look at cutting the fat Groot.

• How many Chiefs do we have? Six? You need three, tops, one for Patrol, one for Investigations, one for Admin bullshit.
• How many Deputy Chiefs? Nineteen? You need maybe six like we had 20 years ago. One for each Patrol Area, One for each Detective Area. Maybe one spare for furlough relief.
• How many Captains? Forty? Redundant - eliminate them all and put their cars back in the vehicle pool .
• How many officers are there compiling statistics to make pretty charts for you? It numbers on the hundreds, but it should be zero. And those are the people who shouldn't be getting Duty Availability - they aren't available for diddly shit.

And stop canceling everyone's holidays off. That costs you a couple of million every major holiday. Knock it off.

Look at that - we just saved you about eight million.

Chime in with your suggestions.