Citywide 10-1.....Again

Hey Kass, do you think Groot might have lost Chicago now?

• Hundreds of people swept through the Magnificent Mile and other parts of downtown Chicago early Monday, smashing windows, looting stores, confronting police and at one point exchanging gunfire with officers, authorities said.
  
  The shots were fired at Michigan Avenue and Lake Street around 4:30 a.m., nearly five hours into the widespread vandalism. Officers were not hit and returned fire, according to the department, which said it was not known if anyone else was hit.
  
  Earlier, an officer was seen slumped against a building by Grand and Wabash avenues as other other cops tended to him. It was unclear what had happened to him. Down the block, police in camouflage gear and shields briefly stood outside at a shop at Rush Street and Grand Avenue.
  
  The looting began shortly after midnight as people darted through broken store windows and doors along Michigan Avenue carrying shopping bags full of merchandise. Cars dropped off more people as the crowd grew. At least one U-Haul van was seen pulling up. Police made several arrests through the night and recovered at least one gun, officials said. One woman with shopping bags in her hands fell on the sidewalk as an officer was chasing her. Another woman appeared to have been pepper-sprayed. A rock was thrown at a squad car.
  
  The looting seemed to be centered in Streeterville and North Michigan Avenue, but some looting was reported on State Street in the Loop and on the Near North Side. By 3 a.m. police appeared to be getting things under control. But some vandalism continued into the daylight hours, and the CTA suspended train and bus service into downtown during the morning rush, while the Illinois state police blocked off ramps from expressways. Bridges across the Chicago River were raised, except for the one on LaSalle Street for emergency vehicles.

As of this morning, OEMC says they are following the previous "shutdown protocols" meaning pretty much nothing is open and the local economy is grinding to a halt meaning no tax revenue to keep government services afloat.

But hey, Groot put up a fence at Montrose Beach to stop the congregating of peaceful sun worshipers.

UPDATE: No usable descriptions of the looters, so don't expect any arrests or prosecutions.

UPDATE: As of 0600 hours, the Slum Times doesn't have any word on the riots and looting. Only the Tribune. We guess they didn't get permission from Groot to actually cover the news. (at 0700 hours, they put up a story and backdated the timestamp to 3:50 AM so they look like they're legit....sneaky bastards)

UPDATE: Send pictures here if you like. E-mail address is up at the top right in the contributor section.

UPDATE: Since this happened overnight while we were "occupied," there are numerous video links in the post directly below this one.