Alder-Candyass

So mere days after this happened:

• Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th Ward) agreed to pay $157,500 to settle a lawsuit claiming he violated the First Amendment by blocking six critics from his official Facebook page in 2021, court records show. The six plaintiffs –  [...] – will each get $4,000, with the remaining $133,500 covering their legal fees, according to a copy of the settlement agreement obtained by WTTW News.

  Adele Nichols, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, said the settlement was the largest reached in a case related to a public official’s regulation of a social media page.

  “Social media sites like Facebook provide the public a powerful tool to petition their elected officials and make their voices heard,” Nicholas said in a statement. “Elected officials can’t selectively ban people who disagree with them.”

The Contrarian discovered this (note the highlighted portion):

This after voters asked questions about those monstrous salary "increases" or bonuses or pro-rated giveaways of money that would have been better spent on pothole repair.

Seems someone has thin skin.

More PPP Fraud....Judge Who?

Remember that crooked judge who declared the naked crack addict squad car thief innocent by reason of insanity - despite no medical diagnosis of insanity was ever introduced into evidence?

The judge read into the Court Record that she was the subject of threats from unknown individuals during the "trial" and that those threats probably came from CPD Officers unhappy with her rulings in favor of the naked crack whore. This was dutifully reported by certain crooked reporters DESPITE there being:

• no RD number recording any such crime
• no complaint at IAD or COPA reporting any such threats
• no Cook County Sheriffs being told to keep an eye out for crazy cops targeting the "judge"

It seems Judge Walton is the owner of a property on the south side (click for larger version):

....and that address was used for a PPP loan:

....by someone who ISN'T the judge, with a "day care center" that ISN'T licensed anywhere in the City, County or State. Not a single record.....but they still got almost $21,000 in tax payer dollars.

Ending the Year

HeyJackass.com has a post up explaining the end-of-year stats and how they change over the next few weeks:

• With mere hours left in 2024, we wanted to post our usual note to illustrate how the year-end totals are accounted for and how best to compare this year to years past.

  Past year-end totals reflected on this site account for resolved death investigations, found bodies, and late passings that can and will occur for many years after the clock strikes midnight on Jan 1st. We apply those incidents toward the time of occurrence, not the date of death. Other agencies, such as the CPD, choose to add those resolved death investigations, found bodies, and late passings to the year in which the death was recorded.

They list examples about how the year-end-totals climb, so what you see on the site isn't the actual totals for a while yet.

Currently, Chicago is at 608 (don't believe the Department stats - they've been lying about those longer than we spent on the job).

Reminder - For the Ghoul Pools, be sure you define what constitutes the winner before paying out - First RD Number pulled or First by Time of Death Declared by an actual Medical Professional.

Expanding Chances of Being Sued

And this is why we've been saying, "Ticket EVERYONE"

• Five Chicagoans who accused the Chicago Police Department of targeting Black and Latino drivers with a massive campaign of traffic stops will not be allowed to intervene in the federal effort to require CPD to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers, a federal judge ruled.

  U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer ruled that there is no need for the plaintiffs, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, to become an official part of the consent decree case even as negotiations continue over whether and how the court order should be expanded to include traffic stops as well as what role the city’s new police oversight board should play.

  Eric Wilkins, a community organizer who lives in Roseland, is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit that accuses CPD officers of making more than 1.5 million traffic stops between 2016 and 2023 based on dubious evidence of minor violations that took direct aim at Black and Latino Chicagoans but spared White Chicagoans.

But if you go through the "TSSSSSSSSSSS Obama Cards," you find an interesting pattern:

• the police give pretty much EVERYONE a break by doing the blue card instead of a moving violation, including nearly 100% of minorities. 

Seriously. Look it up, the percentages are ridiculous, like 99% of the time, no citation is issued, just a blue card. And they're attempting to use this as evidence of profiling.

You're seriously better off documenting the violation and making them go to court to provide a judge proof of compliance than producing numbers that are going to end with you in a Civil trial. It's only a matter of time and finding the right judge to drag the entire TSSSSSSSSSSS process into a massive lawsuit.

Reminder

You don't hate the media nearly enough:

• Florida headline - Shooting claims the life of apparent home intruder in Manatee County, 1 arrested

Um....home intruder? In that line of work, you should expect to get shot.

In fact, the sheriff said as much:

• Sheriff Rick Wells stated during a press conference, “This is the state of Florida. If you break into someone’s home, you should expect to be shot.”

The dead guy is an illegal from Mexico, and the accomplice another illegal from Chile. No word if the accomplice is facing felony murder or the Florida equivalent, but guess where the dead guy is from?

• Anibal Miller-Valencia was arrested in Oak Brook, Illinois, in 2023, and served four months in jail for residential burglary before being released on parole in November of this year. He had an active warrant for parole violation and was considered armed and dangerous.

Another Crimesha success story has a happy ending in Florida.

Connected Scumbag

Nice to not have to worry about following the Law:

• Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele appeared in court Friday to contest a yearlong driver’s license suspension following a DUI arrest in November.

  Steele, 45, faced a one-year license suspension after her arrest for allegedly driving under the influence.

  She appeared with her attorney, John Fotopoulos, for a nearly five-hour hearing. Steele did not enter a plea but argued for the return of her license.

We've been told for years that "implied consent" is the Law. That driving is a privilege and being licensed by the state means they can test you for influencing substances - especially when an open bottle of wine is found in your vehicle following a crash. If we recall correctly, the "Warning to Motorist" form set has the Implied Consent statute printed and referenced a few times on the paperwork.

But if you're an "elected official," which this scumbag reminded officers of numerous times during the accident investigation, you just have to lean on a judge to ignore what's actually written on the paperwork and has been part of the licensing process for a few decades now.

And this is certainly an interesting twist:

• Steele will return to court in March as her DUI case continues. She serves on the Cook County Board of Review, which hears property tax appeals. Due to a quirk in state law, she also holds a similar position on a county board in Indiana.

Gee, two government jobs in two different states.

2nd Worst President Dies

He was the first in a long line of "America Last" democrat presidents. 

Anyone else as amused as we are that Jimmy Carter managed to stay alive long enough to ensure that he didn't die as the worst president of the United States?

Bonuses? Or Outright Theft?

So yesterday's screen shot of those $300K salaries for four aldermanic assistants?

Turns out all four work for a single aldercreature:

• Those 4-$300K+ salaries belong to staffers in Ald. Nicholas 'Tricky Nicky Sposato's 38th Ward Office. The staffers are: Maurita Gavin, Katherine Blonski, Vanessa Aviles, and Kathryn Balaskovits.
  
  Is this the deal Sposato worked out with Mayor CTU for a yes vote to his budget? Does the deal also include naming CFD union official Joseph Sinorski as Tricky Nicky's aldermanic successor instead of Mayor CTU appointing Sposato's successor?
  
  According to a 12/20/21 FOIA Request with the Chicago City Clerk's office, these $300K+ staffers were making the following at that time:
  
  Maurita Gavin - $79,452.00 (Staff Assistant to the Alderman)
  Katherine Blonski - $62,928.00 (Assistant to the Alderman)
  Vanessa Aviles - $20.00/hr (Aldermanic Aide)
  Kathryn Balaskovits - $58,116.00 (Staff Assistant to the Alderman)

And someone else says that these are - essentially - bonuses?

• Those salaries are called a “bump up” If the Alderman has extra money at the end of the year they can increase the salaries of their staff. Those salaries are then reset in January. The Alderman is not a criminal just a shitty Alderman, he should’ve spent the money on fixing potholes and other needs of the ward.

Um, government doesn't get to (or isn't suppose to) give out bonuses. That's taxpayer money that, if not spent in the service of taxpayers, ought to be refunded or returned to the general fund. How do you get to give out "bump ups" amounting to over $200K or more? And sell your vote to Conehead for a $150 million tax hike on everyone? 

Unless this is some "pro-rated" crap and lord only knows how many more potholes could have been fixed up north if the money was spent properly.

Hey Look!

Felony shoplifting is a thing again:

• Shoplifters in Chicago are being slapped with felony charges 154% more often under Cook County’s new state’s attorney than they were under Kim Foxx’s administration.

  Retired justice Eileen O’Neill Burke took office on December 2 and immediately followed through on her campaign promise to adhere to state law by pursuing felonies against people who shoplift merchandise worth more than $300. Foxx ordered prosecutors to withhold felony charges unless the value exceeded $1,000 or the accused shoplifter had ten or more previous convictions.

  Three weeks into O’Neill Burke’s administration, the results of the rule change are already apparent.

As we said for years, Crimesha had ZERO authority to alter State Law, raising the threshold for felony charges. In fact, O'Neill Burke is saying some thing that sound eerily familiar:

• “The felony retail theft statute says that the value of goods has to be $300 or above to be a felony,” O’Neill Burke said during a February town hall covered by Nadig Newspapers. “You can clear out several aisles at Walgreens before you get to $1,000. The ramification of this policy is that retail stores have closed all over the city because of theft.”

How many retail establishments shrank their city/county footprint because of the flagrant and constant thefts? That affects the tax base that funds much of government, basic Econ 101. But Crimesha was put into place to destroy the city tax base and insist anyone who complained must be racist.

Ethic Concerns?

What is it about a$$holes named "Johnson"?

• As the Chicago Teachers Union pushes hard to finalize a contract with Chicago Public Schools — and on Thursday accused CPS of suddenly dragging its feet — ethical questions about Mayor Brandon Johnson are being raised in a legal filing by CPS CEO Pedro Martinez.

  That filing notes that since the mayor, a former teacher, remains on leave from CPS, he will benefit financially from any salary increases being negotiated should he return to a teaching position in the district. Meanwhile on Friday, CPS officials denied that negotiations were slowing down. The two sides ended Friday without a deal and plan to negotiate again on Monday.

  A 2023 memo written by CPS’ Chief Talent Officer Ben Felton, attached to the lawsuit filing, raised questions about that arrangement with regard to not only the mayor, but also former Deputy Mayor Jen Johnson (no relation to the mayor). The deputy mayor later told Felton the matter had been discussed with the city’s ethics adviser, who “did not have concerns.”

Well, the "ethics adviser" is obviously compromised .... probably named "Johnson" also. Conehead still maintaining a position of influence (and being influenced by) the CTU is another corruption red flag.

Days Off Canceled Again

As expected and as usual. How many days warning is this?

New Years Eve....you know what time it is? 

Ghoul Pool!

X out three square at random.

Sell the other twenty-two for 10 toothpicks a piece.

Number twenty-two pieces of paper with District designators and choose at random from a hat.

Winner takes all upon the first homicide of the year.

This Guy? This Guy?

This is the guy making sense? (click for larger version):

Obviously, he's setting himself up for a mayoral run, but holy crap, who is advising him to the point he sounds actually sane?

Inflated Salaries

Anyone know how much an aldercreature makes?  Salary only, not the bribes and kickbacks.

• The annual salary for Chicago aldermen is set to increase in 2024, with the highest-paid aldermen expected to earn approximately $145,970 after a 2.24% raise tied to inflation. The lowest-paid alderman will earn around $123,024.

Not a bad living.

But then what the hell is this? (click for larger version):

If we're reading this correctly, the top four spots are filled by aldermanic "assistants" who each earn more than $300K. More than Larritorious and the Fire Commissioner. More than the Aviation Commissioner who runs two airports.

All thirteen people on this spreadsheet make more than the mayor.

Conehead wants to jack up property taxes, fees, fines and everything related to the cost of living in or doing business in Chicago and there are ASSISTANTS to aldercreatures making twice what aldercreatures make?

Who the F@#% is running this shitshow and who the F#$% are they kicking upstairs to?

Nice Garage Groot

The crime championed by democrats gets closer to home:

• The garage of former Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot was struck by gunfire Thursday evening in Logan Square on the Northwest Side.

  Around 5:40 p.m. Thursday, officers responded to the block where the former mayor lives and found a bullet lodged in the garage, Chicago police and Joanna Klonsky, a spokesperson for Lightfoot said.

  No one was home at the time and no injuries were reported, according to Klonsky.

She still has a "spokesperson" in addition to the remnants of the security detail?

How long until they re-station a car in the alley?

WEP Bill Not Signed?

Interesting to say the least:

• (from a reader) - On 24 December 2024, Biden signed 50 bills into law.  Guess what bill wasn’t signed?  Yup, HR 82 Social Security Fairness Act.  Did it slip his mind or are staffers keeping the bill from him?  The possibility of a pocket veto for HR 82, is definitely on the rise.  

We did a quick search and found the Drooling Vegetable signed fifty bills into Law just before Christmas....and HR 82 wasn't among the fifty.

As the Biden Crime Family graft and corruption opportunities are drying up, and Mrs Vegetable used to be a teacher of some sort, you'd think that someone would point out that this might increase her compensation in case Hunter stops kicking 10% up to the "big guy."

But they're running up against some deadlines here.

Wrong Priorities

Once again, a "solution" in search of a "problem" that statistically, doesn't exist:

• The city of Chicago has created an advisory group to make suggestions on policy regarding the disproportionate violence against trans people, specifically trans women of color.

  The group — to be formed by the Chicago Commission on Human Relations and the Chicago Police Department by Feb. 28 — is being created to review the city’s policies, procedures and training related to hate crimes and violence against trans women of color. Mayor Brandon Johnson created the group through executive order Tuesday.

  The panel will also try to find ways to make it easier for chosen family, or loved ones who are not related by blood but effectively serve as one’s family members, to be able to get involved in investigative, legal and support processes when trans Chicagoans are killed.

Golly, this must be a massive problem!

• At least 14 trans and gender-nonconforming people have been killed in Chicago since 2016, according to a Sun-Times report. They were all Black or Latinx; were all killed in neighborhoods on the South and West sides; and in all but one case, the victims were trans women. Charges were filed in just four of the slayings.

Fourteen. In nine years.

That works out to 1.5 per year....essentially a rounding error.

Over those nine years (up to today), 6,255 murders have occurred. Fourteen is 0.002238 of the total....less than a rounding error. 

This is what Conehead is spending money on. And of those fourteen, we'll guarantee that at least ten were engaged in high risk behaviors, (to wit - prostitution). When the john found out he had hired a dude, they reacted violently.

Meanwhile, on the west side:

• A 2-year-old was critically hurt in a shooting Thursday afternoon, Chicago police said. The incident happened near 14th and Avers in the city's Lawndale neighborhood just after 4 p.m.

  Chicago police said the toddler was inside a home when he was struck by bullets multiple times. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his lower body, and was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.

No "advisory groups" on hand for this, which occurs far more often than trans-hookers getting lit up, because everyone knows exactly what the problem is.

"Not Allowed"

Yet more proof that the entire intelligence community needs massive reform and that disbanding the fbi is merely a starting point:

• The FBI was not allowed to brief the US President on evidence that suggested Covid-19 was caused by a lab leak, it was claimed last night.

  Jason Bannan, former senior scientist at the FBI, alleged the intelligence agency was not invited to a National Intelligence Council (NIC) briefing with Joe Biden.

  Mr Bannan told the Wall Street Journal: ‘Being the only agency that assessed that a laboratory origin was more likely, and the agency that expressed the highest level of confidence in its analysis of the source of the pandemic, we anticipated the FBI would be asked to attend the briefing.

  'I find it surprising that the White House didn’t ask.’

We don't. The fbi was obviously compromised at this point and were being tasked with investigating school board meetings, covering up Hunter misdeeds and lying about J6 undercover operations and operatives. Why give them input into anything that they weren't already told what the politically convenient result would be?

And once again, you have to go to  European media sources to find mentions of this.

Make Stupidity Painful

Remember, these guys and gals are responding to calls for service, many times for people (and folks) in actual distress. And this is the welcome they're getting from the hood rats:

• A man has been charged with robbing an on-duty Chicago Fire Department ambulance crew on Monday morning. Jaylin Brewster, 20, will appear in court on Christmas Eve to face charges of robbery and aggravated battery.

  Paramedics assigned to Ambulance 24 went to the 7900 block of South Throop around 1:45 a.m. to handle a call about a person with respiratory problems. Police said a man approached the ambulance team, implied he had a gun, and took their property.

  After the robbery, the medics, ages 39 and 41, overpowered Brewster and held him until police arrived, according to CPD. Brewster is also accused of battering the cops who took him into custody.

France already has "no go" zones for cops and firefighters. Large parts of Malmo, Sweden are the same way due to almost 150 grenade attacks in the past year. Pretty soon, it's going to be standard practice across the city (and not just the $hithole neighborhoods) to dispatch scarce police resources to protect CFD paramedics and fire equipment. We used to roll by their calls anyway, but it'll be mandatory soon.

Perhaps there need to be an "ambulance desert" similar to "food and retail establishment deserts" in certain neighborhoods?

Really Secure?

We don't know about you, but stories like this make us feel completely safe and secure while flying to vacation and/or retirement destinations:

• A body was found in the wheel well of a United Airlines flight that departed from Chicago on Christmas Eve, the company said. Flight 202 departed from Chicago's O'Hare airport on Tuesday morning and landed at Maui's Kahului airport.

  After landing, United Airlines said a body was found in the wheel well of one of the main landing gears on a United aircraft. "United is working with law enforcement authorities on the investigation," the company said in a statement to ABC.

Screening long before you get to the gates. No one without a ticket permitted in the concourses. Cameras everywhere. Reasonably well-lit wide open flat spaces for miles around. Secured doors and hundreds of workers all supposedly keeping an eye on things to prevent a terror attack or an airfield incursion. 

And that's not even mentioning the ground crew and flight crew physically inspecting the aircraft prior to takeoff....we see them wandering around underneath the plane with flashlights, checking out cargo doors, exterior structures and wheel wells.

And this still happens every year or so. Any airport people want to update the readers?

This Just Got Entertaining

Conehead's appointed School Board voted to fire CPS CEO Martinez.

Martinez got an injunction pretty much hamstringing Conehead's people:

• A Cook County judge ruled Tuesday that members of the Chicago Board of Education cannot participate in union negotiations without Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez’s approval. Under Judge Joel Chupack’s order, board members also cannot obstruct Martinez’s job in any way nor can they direct CPS staff.

  Martinez’s lawyers filed a temporary restraining order after board members showed up to a union bargaining session on Monday, without Martinez’s knowledge or approval. His lawyers sent the board a separate cease-and-desist letter Monday after he learned members came to the meeting. The document said that the board’s actions “unlawfully infringe on and interfere” with Martinez’s authority as the “sole” representative of the board in negotiations.

  The board unanimously voted to fire Martinez on Friday without cause. His contract allows him to stay on the job for six more months.

  Jeremy Glenn, a lawyer for the board, argued in court Tuesday that since the board approves the final contract, members are allowed to stay up to date on and participate in negotiations. But under Illinois law, the chief executive is tasked with negotiating the contract, while the board is in charge of approving it, Martinez’s lawyer William Quinlan pointed out.

You'd think a lawyer, with all their schooling, would be able to read a Contract, even if it's buried in all sorts of legal mumbo-jumbo. 

Kudos to the judge for recognizing that Conehead's hand-picked Board shouldn't be allowed to negotiate with the people who used to pay Conehead, financed Conehead's campaign and according to recent reports, are still maintaining Conehead's status "on Leave of Absence" while he screws taxpayers for increased pension status.

Merry Christmas

 

If you're lucky enough to be off work, enjoy the day and keep those not as fortunate in your thoughts and prayers all day.

If you're working, stay alert and stay safe. Be aware of these crazy times we've been saddled with and make sure you, your partner and your co-workers all go home safe.

Best wishes to you and yours and thank you for giving us a few moments of your valuable time when you visit. It is appreciated.

ISP Trooper Killed

Tragedy:

• An Illinois state trooper was fatally struck by a vehicle Monday night while removing debris on Interstate 55 near Channahon.

  Just after 9:40 p.m., 35-year-old state trooper Clay M. Carns was removing debris from a southbound lane of I-55 near Blodgett Road when he was struck by a passing vehicle, Illinois state police said.

  Carns was taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Joliet, where he died about an hour later, state police said.

On the anniversary of Scott's Law of all days:

• The crash occurred on what is known as Scott’s Law or “Move Over” Law day in Illinois.

  Scott’s Law Day was established in memory of Chicago Fire Department Lt. Scott Gillian who was struck and killed while responding to an early morning traffic accident on the Bishop Ford Freeway on Dec. 23, 2000.

  Scott’s Law, which was enacted in 2002, requires drivers to change lanes when approaching stationary emergency vehicles, including highway maintenance vehicles displaying flashing lights, and any stationary vehicle with their hazard lights activated. If changing lanes isn’t possible, vehicles are required to slow down and proceed with caution.

An eleven-year vet survived by his wife, two kids and parents, taken during what should be a joyous holiday season. 

Prayers and deepest sympathies to his family, friends and co-workers.

Remember This

 Especially when Fata$$ tries to run for president in the future:

• National stories abound this week about the concerted effort by media, the White House and Democratic officials lying to cover up Pres. Biden’s impaired mental capacity. Much of the commentary was sparked by a detailed Wall Street Journal report based on fifty interviews of people in or close to the White House. You can read it  here and see that Jennings’ comment above is no exaggeration. The coverup was there from the start, even while Biden was Obama’s vice president.

  High among the guilty is one who remained steadfast and outspoken throughout Biden’s term in denying Biden’s impairment and claiming firsthand knowledge that Biden was fine. That’s Gov. JB Pritzker, who served as a Biden proxy during his candidacy.

  Among comments Pritzker made:

  “I’ve been with the President of the United States many times,” Pritzker said in February. “He is on the ball. The man knows more than most of us have forgotten.”

  “Of course,” answered Pritzker when asked in July if Biden was “physically and mentally capable” of serving a second term.”

Plenty more at the link.

And be sure you remind any of your out-of-state friends and relatives how Porky removed toilets to avoid property tax hikes, flew his family (and their horses) all over the USA during COVID lock downs, and was the un-indicted co-conspirator on the phone call that put Blago in prison for eight years trying to sell the Sparklefart Senate seat.

Merry Christmas Eve

 We share it so you have the same nightmares we do.

More Crimesha Corruption

Not only a crappy prosecutor, but a vengeful "rhymes with witch" who only used her office to push her agenda:

• When prosecutors dropped criminal charges this week against an Oak Lawn police officer accused of using excessive force to arrest a 17-year-old boy, it was the latest in a growing list of victories for cops accused of wrongdoing by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

  “After a thorough review, we concluded that the evidence is insufficient to meet our burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt to move forward with the prosecution of this case,” the state’s attorney’s office said in a written statement.

  CWBChicago reported Thursday that Illinois State Police documents showed prosecutors rushed to get a grand jury indictment of Oak Lawn Police Officer Patrick O’Donnell just one day before the state police were scheduled to conduct a comprehensive review of O’Donnell’s case to determine if the agency supported criminal charges.

  In one report, an ISP investigator wrote that “not discussing [an] investigation with [ISP’s Public Integrity Task Force] before charging an officer has never happened in the last 20 years of PITF investigations.”

  Retired Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel called the decision to prosecute O’Donnell “outrageous and unprecedented in my experience as a police officer.” “The fact [former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx] chose not to follow the investigators’ advice suggests that she had made her decision before the investigation was complete, effectively using her investigators to justify her conclusion,” said Weitzel. “Moreover, the involvement of her investigators [in securing the grand jury indictment] raises concerns about a potential conflict of interest.”

Pretty much all of her malfeasance can be traced to her progressive political master and a need to avenge her perceived wrongs from her miserable upbringing in Cabrini Green. She was never qualified to hold office nor practice law.

37 More Commutations

The Drooling Vegetable is clearing out the Federal Death Row and including some really really horrible human beings:

• President Biden on Monday commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 men on federal death row — a list that includes at least five child killers and several mass murderers — while leaving out three notorious fiends.

  In the stunning act of clemency just two days before Christmas, Biden, 82, gave the reprieve to some of the nation’s most violent murderers — nine of them found too dangerous to live after butchering fellow inmates — as part of his effort at “ensuring a fair and effective justice system,” the White House said.

Among the spared, an Illinois man who murdered two children 8 and 9, and a drug lord who ordered the killings of over twelve people.

There's seriously ZERO justification for any of this and no one is sure who is actually granting these mercies to notorious murderers who are now free to live on the taxpayers' dime forever.

But it just goes to show how much democrats love their criminals.

Christmas Week

With Christmas fast approaching, posting may be a little light and comments may be delayed as we fulfill family obligations this Holiday Season.

Stay safe and thanks for your patience.

Obstructing Justice

The Contrarian has another well written piece up, this time looking back at the disaster that was Crimesha, and the lasting damage she managed to inflict on the Cook County "justice" system:

• When Kim Foxx announced she would not present herself for re-election as Cook County State’s Attorney at an April 25, 2023, address to the City Club of Chicago, cheering erupted among Assistant State’s Attorneys (ASAs) in Criminal Prosecutions Bureau offices across Cook County. The bit of festive cheer engulfing the offices, however, was short lived: ASAs soberly realized Foxx’s decision to step down came some 19 months before the end of her term.

  In the months since she delivered her remarks at City Club outlining her accomplishments as prosecutor — the spinning of a historic but deeply flawed two-terms — Foxx, to the exception of several high-profile crimes and Big Gulpgate, largely avoided publicity. However, after a lengthy absence from her downtown office, Foxx reemerged from her Flossmoor home in the final days of her term and returned to the George Dunne building regularly to make herself available for laureling by Chicago’s slavish media for legacy-building interviews.

  Now that the curtain has fallen on her two terms, it's an appropriate a time to examine the damage Foxx inflicted on the office and Chicago in her eight years serving as State’s Attorney.

The article is a bit lengthy and covers all sorts of Crimesha scandals, from discontinuing programs that worked, illegally rewriting laws, manufacturing issues to release killers and shady backroom deals with Juicy Smollett.

As usual, go read it all.

Nice Sentencing

Another citizen fighting back, but look what happens:

• The would-be carjacker who got disarmed and then beaten with his own gun has enjoyed much better luck in the courtroom. Richard Rubio, 32, received a four-year sentence after pleading guilty to attempted robbery in connection with the botched November 22 hijacking. After receiving various credits, he won’t spend any time in prison.

The incident is from around two years ago and thanks to Illinois half-assed sentencing guidelines:

• This month, Rubio pleaded guilty to attempted robbery before Judge Diana Kenworthy, court records show. The judge sentenced him to four years, but Rubio earned 745 days of credit while the case was pending, primarily by wearing an ankle monitor at home. The balance of his sentence will be satisfied by the state’s automatic 50% sentence reduction for good behavior.

We're sure he was a productive, contributing member of society the entire time he was on EM.

600!

HeyJackass.com has the winning homicide (we think) on 21 Dec at 4:35 AM where cops responding to a Burglary, found a man fatally shot that no one bothered to call in.

That's right - it's another ShotSpotter miss - one of Brandon's Bodies according to CWB:

• Chicago police officers responding to a “burglary in progress” call found a man fatally shot in the backyard of a South Shore home overnight.

  CPD took someone into custody at the scene, but they did not receive any calls of shots fired before they found the victim, who celebrated his 24th birthday on Friday. The shooting occurred in a neighborhood that was monitored by the city’s ShotSpotter network until Mayor Brandon Johnson deactivated the system on September 24.

  According to dispatch recordings, a homeowner called 911 around 4:30 a.m. to report that someone was trying to break into his house by the side door. Officers were told the possible intruder was pounding on the door, screaming “police,” and they were also advised that the caller’s son had a concealed carry license.

Congrats Chicago!

Puppets Being Installed

So Conehead's handpicked School Board voted to fire the CEO of the schools:

• The Board of Education voted unanimously to fire Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez during an extraordinary special meeting Friday night after a monthslong leadership struggle with Mayor Brandon Johnson that has engulfed the school district.

  The saga doesn’t appear headed for an immediate resolution, however, after Martinez filed a lawsuit against the Board of Education and all seven of its members hours before the meeting. He asked for a temporary restraining order to prevent the board from taking action Friday, but there wasn’t enough time to get in front of a judge before the meeting.

  Martinez’s 44-page lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court alleged the board, and its individual members, breached his contract.
  

A number of legal experts think Martinez can win. Discovery depositions are going to be amusing as the internal communications between CTU leadership and Conehead are going to be exposed and CEO Martinez would be entitled to damages.

Meanwhile, taxpayers are about to lose on numerous fronts as the new puppets will try for that "short term high interest" loan to cover a new CPS contract along with the massive property tax hike the schools are going to stick in everyone's asses.

NYPD OT Scandal

That NYPD lieutenant we commented on the other day, who was clearing $400K in salary plus OT, retired early after an investigation was begun into the unbelievable amount of hours she was making:

• The NYPD’s highest-paid employee — who shoveled in more than $400,000 last year — filed for retirement this week and then was suspended amid an internal affairs probe into her astronomical overtime, The Post has learned.

  Lt. Quathisha Epps will retire just shy of 20 years with the department, sources said — an early exit that will impact her pension and cost her a $12,000-a-year supplement for cops who reach the two-decade mark.

  Leaving money on the table is seemingly uncharacteristic for Epps, who raised eyebrows by pulling in roughly $204,000 in overtime last year for her administrative job in NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey’s office, payroll records show.

And within two days, this whole thing exploded into a giant sex scandal that took out what NYPD calls their "Chief of Department"  - either the number two or number three guy in the entire Department:

• Former NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey’s alleged years-long sexual abuse and exploitation of women on the force was an “open secret,” according to police sources and accusers. 

  The sex scandal rocking One Police Plaza busted open Saturday, when The Post revealed salacious allegations from Lt. Quatisha Epps, 51, who accused Maddrey, 53, in a formal complaint of forcing her into a sexual relationship in exchange for staggering overtime windfalls.

  At least two other department women have accused Maddrey of wrongdoing.

$400K buys a lot of silence....until it goes away.

WEP Passes....On to the White House

Finally undoing the damage of four decades:

• The Senate passed the Social Security Fairness Act to deliver higher Social Security benefits to millions of public sector retirees.

  The bill now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk for a signature after the Senate cleared the legislation just after midnight on Saturday by a vote of 70-26.

  The legislation to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset has been reintroduced each Congress for decades but had not received a vote in either chamber until just this year. The House previously passed the bill in November.

There's scheduled to be an impromptu parade over in Niles later, into St. Adelbert's Cemetery, where retirees will drink, sing, and relieve themselves on the grave of Rostenkowski....so much so that grass won't grow there for at least a decade.

Nice Contributions Conehead

The media, which never holds a democrat to account for corruption, continues to (A) make a single mention of an incident and then (B) never follows up on it:

• The top executive of a food and beverage concessionaire at O’Hare and Midway airports — whose business operations there are regulated by City Hall — contributed $1,000 to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign fund, elections records show.

  Mayoral aides won’t discuss whether the contribution from Hyde Park Hospitality CEO Marc Brooks to Friends of Brandon Johnson in August 2023 — months after the mayor was sworn in to office — violates an executive order that bans city contractors from giving to a mayor’s campaign and, if so, what consequences the Chicago company might face.

  Signed in 2011 as then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel took office, the ethics order, which remains in effect, prohibits “city contractors, owners of city contractors, spouses or domestic partners of owners of city contractors, subcontractors to a city contractor on a city contract, owners of subcontractors to a city contractor on a city contract, and spouses or domestic partners of owners of subcontractors to a city contractor on a city contract from making contributions of any amount to the mayor.”

Why would they face consequences? They got their contract, they made the required "kickback" in the form of a campaign contribution, they'll make others and get more contracts. It's not like they're Madigan or Burke steering legal work to their connected law firms, who then make sure the guy whose name is on the door (the rainmaker) gets his usual partnership bonus due to all the money walking in the side door.

Another One

Maybe Conehead was on to something? No one cares....so why spend the money on ShotSpotter when he could just give it to the CTU?

• A 24-year-old man was found shot in a South Side alley on Thursday afternoon, police said, but CPD dispatchers did not receive any calls about gunfire in the area before he was discovered. The shooting occurred on a block that was monitored by the city’s ShotSpotter gunfire detection network until Mayor Brandon Johnson terminated the city’s relationship with the company on September 23.

  In a media statement, CPD said someone in a vehicle fired shots toward the victim in the 400 block of East 109th Street around 2:34 p.m. The victim suffered a gunshot wound to his chest and was listed in critical condition at Christ Hospital, police said.
  

Of course, the argument could also be made that the hood doesn't care about educating their kids either, so why give the money away to the CTU? Better to just buy Mrs Stacie Conehead more office furniture or light the cash on fire.

CTU Scrooge

Along with not actually teaching kids to read, write or do arithmetic, one teacher is actively ruining Christmas for students:

• Don't know if this qualifies for your blog but since alot of cops and firemen live in Edison Park, it affects alot of your readers. There is a teacher of 6th grade at Edison Park Elementary who took it upon themselves to tell the children that there is no Santa Clause and that any parent telling them that there was is a liar. Now, I agree that 6th grade is a little advanced to believe but how the holy fuck does this CPS jerkoff get off doing that to kids? Taking that duty from the parents and making them look like lying assholes? Allegedly, there were many bewildered children and some were brought to tears. I don't have the pricks name but sure you could easily find out and make him famous!

$5 says this goof lists pronouns and voted for the Kackler.

Juicy Gets Another Win

He won't have to give any of that OnlyFans money to his co-conspirators:

• Two brothers who helped stage a hate crime attack against actor Jussie Smollett won’t be able to collect damages from Smollett’s lawyers for defamation, a federal judge in Chicago ruled Friday.

  Since shortly after Smollett reported he had been attacked by two men near his downtown apartment in 2019, brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo have claimed they were hired to pretend to beat up the former “Empire” star while shouting racist, homophobic slurs at the gay, Black actor.

  That led to criminal charges against Smollett for lying to police, and to a trial where the brothers became star witnesses – and stars of a documentary about the hoax.

  But that meant the pair could not claim they were defamed by Smollett’s attorney, Tina Glandian, U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland wrote in an order dismissing the case.

  “The ways in which plaintiffs voluntarily injected themselves into this public controversy are myriad,” Rowland wrote, listing among other things the Osundairos hiring a publicist to field media requests immediately after their arrest and negotiating a deal for a documentary within weeks of Smollett’s arrest.

"...voluntarily injected...."

Paging the Keesing Bandit.

Can this entire episode finally disappear now?

Berwyn Shooting

A quick response by Berwyn PD results in a shootout with a wanted subject:

• A man who was wanted for a triple homicide in downstate Illinois was killed during a shootout Wednesday night with Berwyn police, the suburban police department said.

  The suspect has been identified as John R. Lyons, 24, of Westchester, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Lyons was shot and killed in a shootout with officers about two hours later Berwyn.

  Officers responded to a call of a man with a gun in the 1800 block of Home Avenue in Berwyn just before midnight, then trailed Lyons as he forced his way into a home in the 1800 block of Wenonah Avenue, according to a news release from Berwyn police.

  Lyons allegedly fatally shot two dogs at the residence on Wenonah before fleeing back to Home Avenue.

Strangely (and allegedly) this triple murderer showed up at the home of someone else in the news these past few weeks, who just made an appearance in court for Battery after being doxxed and a goofy Karen showing up at his front door:

• Nick Fuentes, a far-right streamer known for his racist, sexist and antisemitic views, claimed Thursday that he was the target of a “would-be assassin” who was fatally shot by police near his home in Berwyn after allegedly killing three people downstate.

  Fuentes made the jarring claim shortly after his first hearing on a battery charge that stems from a bizarre confrontation last month outside the home, which had become a target for his critics after his address was leaked online in response to a controversial social media post he made.

So all of this "conditioning" by the media that violence is an appropriate response to offensive speech and conduct (think the insurance CEO) has introduced a new and disturbing trend of doxxing and hunting down those with whom you disagree. This isn't go to turn out well when someone on the other side decides media types are fair game, too.

Don't Demonize

Remember back when Conehead said that?

These are CWB articles from just the past few days:

• A 16-year-old boy is charged with committing four robberies on CTA trains and platforms earlier this year, police say. Chicago police arrested the boy yesterday in the 1100 block of South Hamilton, which is where the county’s juvenile justice center is located, suggesting he may have other matters pending.
• Prosecutors have filed charges in connection with three carjackings and robberies that occurred over two days in June, Chicago police said. The accused is a 14-year-old boy.
• A 14-year-old boy was arrested on Thursday to face charges in seven recent robberies of CTA passengers along the Red Line.

Sure seems like a little bit of demonization isn't out of line.

Tick Tock....Tick Tock

The clock is running out:

• The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on a bill that could restore Social Security benefits to more than three million Americans, including hardworking folks here in Western Pennsylvania.

  The Senate has until Friday to vote on the Social Security Fairness Act, before the clock resets and the process begins all over again. If passed, it would eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).

We're writing this Thursday evening and all the press is about the failed Continuing Resolution disaster that turned into a gigantic pork-filled mess of censorship funding, congressional pay raises and a new NFL stadium fund for Washington DC before collective outrage derailed it.

So now the focus is on preventing a government "shutdown" and we're wondering if the WEP vote is going to be tanked as collateral damage.

Maybe it all changes in the dead of night - that's when these things seem to be resolved lately.

Dart said What Now?

If Tommy Dart recognizes failure, something is up:

• Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart wants to get out of the electronic monitoring business. He says because of a provision of the Illinois SAFE-T Act, he is unable to properly ensure public safety.

  There is some pushback on the move, and it's coming from the Chief Judge in Cook County.

  The Cook County Sheriff is charged with locking up pre-trial defendants who judges deem too dangerous to release. But, there are another 1,500 who are sent home with electronic monitoring bracelets that allow the sheriff's department to track their movements 24 hours a day. Those defendants are often allowed to leave their homes for school, work or other activities. The sheriff uses geofencing to make sure those individuals stay within their allowed areas.

Here's the kicker:

• However, Sheriff Dart says defendants, who are allowed two days a week to move freely under the SAFE-T Act, are using that freedom to commit crimes.

  "And sure enough, we've had over 200 people charged, mind you, with new crimes, gun offenses, you know, shootings, you name it, and those are just the ones we know of how many other ones we don't know," Dart said. "The devices are off."

  Technically, defendants' movements on their "free" days are still monitored as the sheriff's department, but the alerts to the sheriff's department are silenced.

If you needed any more proof that democrats are morons, this should seal the deal for you. The rest of us caught on years ago, but even you short-bus riders should be able to see that granting habitual criminals a 48-hour open pass on EVERYTHING....well, it certainly amazing that the "media" didn't blast this loophole all over the place and make dems pay a price at the polls.

Oh wait.....

Is Dart on the way out? Failing upwards or running afoul of the Prickwrinkle Machine?

Indiana Executes Scumbag

At least there's still a state in the Midwest that executes their criminals. Too bad it took fifteen years:

• An Indiana man convicted of killing four people including his brother and his sister's fiancé decades ago was put to death early Wednesday, marking the state's first execution in 15 years.

  Joseph Corcoran, 49, was pronounced dead at 12:44 a.m. CST at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Indiana, the Indiana Department of Correction said in a statement. Corcoran was scheduled to be executed with the powerful sedative pentobarbital, but the state agency's statement did not mention that drug. Corcoran's execution was the 24th in the U.S. this year.

Those four weren't his first victims though:

• While jailed for those killings, Corcoran reportedly bragged about fatally shooting his parents in 1992 in northern Indiana's Steuben County. He was charged in their killings but acquitted.
  

The usual bleeding hearts objected:

• Religious groups, disability rights advocates and others have opposed his execution. About a dozen people, some holding candles, held a vigil late Tuesday to pray outside the prison, which is surrounded by barbed wire fences in a residential area about 60 miles (90 kilometers) east of Chicago.

  "We can build a society without giving governmental authorities the right to execute their own citizens," said Bishop Robert McClory of the Diocese of Gary, who led the prayers.

  Other death penalty opponents also demonstrated outside the prison Tuesday night, some holding signs that read "Execution Is Not The Solution" and "Remember The Victims But Not With More Killing."

It's not a "killing" when you put down a rabid dog. It's a mercy to the dog, and society as a whole. 

It needs to return here.

Bad Omen?

They're tearing down the old Tribune printing plant to make way for the casino, so no permanent harm done, but this isn't how a typical demolition is supposed to go:

• Construction debris from the ongoing demolition of the former Chicago Tribune Freedom Center fell into the North Branch of the Chicago River last weekend. The work began in late August to pave the way for the $1.7 billion Bally’s Chicago Casino on the 30-acre River West site.

  Videos shared on social media showed a crane bring down a wall, causing white granular material to spill into the river and bring protective netting down with it. As it hit the water’s surface, the debris produced a dusty cloud and then settled, floating on the river as cranes ground to a halt.

  Operations were halted immediately Saturday afternoon and cleanup efforts started that evening. Bally’s identified the debris as non-hazardous perlite, a volcanic glass used in construction. Using row boats and skimmers, a cleanup crew collected the floating bits and removed the big chunks of debris by Sunday evening.

Slow news day.....sergeant results came in the email today though. Let's hear some scores!

Use Your Eyes

A couple of commentators took issue with our contention yesterday that the Wisconsin shooter wasn't actually a female as the media reported. The pearl-clutchers were offended that we would dare to make such an accusation in the face of media reports to the contrary. Well, let's take a look at it:

1. we were trained observers for nearly three decades and we recognize patterns;
2. we don't trust a word the media says;
3. we have photos and the manifesto from "her" social media sites via third parties and while we won't post them (because Google would shut us down if we did), they're enough to make us question any story being pushed by the media - "her" online handle was "crossixir" which might be a clue - if "she" wasn't full on trans, "she" was a cross dresser on the verge;
   
4. we recognize that Madison, Wisconsin is a hotbed of lib-tarded alphabet person advocacy and they'd never left the truth get in the way of a narrative....or concealing the truth;

And finally, how do you tell everyone the shooter is trans without telling everyone the shooter is trans? You let the chief of police have a press conference:

• The police chief investigating Monday’s deadly Wisconsin Christian school shooting is adamant that the 15-year-old killer’s gender identity isn’t “important at all.”

  Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes dismissed concerns about Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow’s identity when asked about early rumors that she was possibly transgender.

  “I don’t know whether Natalie was transgender or not. And, quite frankly, I don’t think that’s important at all,” Barnes said of Rupnow, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after killing a teacher and a student.

  “I don’t think whatever happened today has anything to do with how she or he or they may want to identify,” he stated.

Except that it has a massive bearing on any legit investigation, including if any drugs, hormone blockers, anti-depressants, etc might have influenced the murderous behavior seen in so many recent shootings.

 By the way, was anyone else amazed at the stupidity coming out of the White House today? Where Biden called for an "assault weapons ban" in a shooting where the killer used a pistol? And then (this really gets us) demands people face the full penalty of law when violating weapon laws, after he just pardoned his own son for not following weapon laws?

CFD No Confidence Vote

Trouble brewing on the fire side of things:

• Ring Camera Marital Affair Melt Down Aficionado Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt got a No Confidence Vote against her by Local 2 for her agenda of DEI hiring and promoting instead of sealing a new contract and getting spare apparatus up to par and eliminating the constant need to downgrade ALS companies to running emergency medical services to the ground. Let us all be reminded she doesn’t live in the city and the footage of her fit of passion over an extra marital affair exists. Now she’s been sued personally for holding off on promoting qualified and seasoned Lieutenants to rank of Captain because they don’t have the proper amount melanin in their skin.

The ring doorbell camera we wrote about back in January. The legacy media refused to report on it, as they will refuse to report on this continuing train wreck of a commissioner.

The Contrarian will though:

This is why the media can't die off fast enough.

Nice Law License Crimesha

So since Crimesha couldn't be bothered to take the minimum effort to maintain her law license (barely an hour a month AND it could have been done by a subordinate (wink wink) with no one ever finding out), are actual convictions in jeopardy?

• Former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is no longer authorized to practice law because she failed to keep her license current by providing proof of completing mandatory continuing education requirements, according to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.

  Foxx is “unauthorized to practice law as [the] attorney has not demonstrated required MCLE compliance,” according to the former top prosecutor’s entry on the ARDC website. MCLE stands for Minimum Continuing Legal Education.

  “This means she couldn’t be bothered to spend a little more than an hour a month watching videos that her own office provided,” said a veteran attorney and former assistant state’s attorney.

This isn't a difficult task - it's almost as simple as our e-learning, probably less so, because we have actual tests at the end of our sessions that have minimal passing grades established. But as with anything concerning Crimesha, unwilling, unable and unqualified was the order of the day, as long as the Soros money kept flowing and the jail stayed empty.

More Crime by Illegals

Doing the crimes that Americans won't do:

• A Venezuelan migrant, charged with murdering another migrant, is hospitalized after being shot by yet another migrant who was angered by the killing, officials say. Both shootings occurred inside the same Washington Park apartment building where a 911 call reporting that armed migrants had taken over the complex was declared unfounded and decried as racism by mainstream news outlet “experts” in September.

  Carlos Reinaldo Maribal-Carvajal, 24, robbed and murdered Peter Sangronis-Medina inside the building in the 6100 block of South Martin Luther King on November 11 and then hid the body in a trash bin, prosecutors said this weekend.

  Maribal-Carvajal robbed Sangronis-Medina of a firearm and then used the weapon to kill Sangronis-Medina inside the victim’s apartment, a felony complaint said. Maribal-Carvajal allegedly left and later returned to the apartment to confirm Sangronis-Medina was dead. He then dragged Sangronis-Medina’s body outside and hurled it over the second-floor balcony into a “deliberately placed dumpster,” hoping to keep the murder from being discovered, the complaint said.

Seems the callers were right about armed illegals taking over. Who would have thought the media lied about everything in the service of getting the Kackler elected?

Meet Me in St. Louis

An amusing thread over on Reddit where someone driving through St Louis saw a CPD squad car parked in the driveway of a run down house.

• link here

The squad car is #2013, which marked cars were never that low. The paint scheme seems slightly off and it appears to be a Tahoe (maybe?)  which haven't been used in years. Plus, any squad cars sold second hand always had the decals and markings sandblasted off.

We assume this is a movie/TV show prop, but we dodn't really care about that - the comments are funny as heck and you ought to go and read them. We don't think you need to sign up for anything - we didn't.

Good Lord

So who are we going to blame for this one (if true)?

• Speaking of lowering the standards… SCC you should look into the gun that went missing from the 006 tact office during the 006 district buy back a few months ago…that now has been recovered from a deceased gang banger who just so happens to be dating one of the tact officers sisters… how’d he get that missing gun? Weird huh

Well hey, at least the gun turned up....eventually. And no one important got killed.

 Nice hiring Conehead.

Finally, a Budget

Fees and fines through the wazoo....but spared a property tax hike for the moment:

• Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $17.3 billion budget — minus a $68.5 million property tax increase — was finally approved by the City Council on Monday, but the political rifts it caused will linger, endangering Johnson’s future agenda.

  The co-chairs of a 19-member Progressive Caucus that usually is the bedrock of Johnson’s support delivered that message loud and clear prior to the 27-23 vote on a budget that holds the line on property taxes, but includes $165.5 million in other taxes, fines and fees.

Some of the increases:

• The mayor’s revised budget also will hit Chicagoans’ wallets in other ways, such as adding an amusement tax on streaming services; higher taxes on cloud computing, business software and equipment leases; and higher taxes on parking and downtown congestion.

  The city also hopes to generate $11.4 million from “automated speed limit enforcement,” presumably by adding more speed cameras in wards where alderpersons allow it, and $4.6 million by raising an array of license fees, transfer fees and fines, as well as the cost of residential parking permits.

  Another late change to the 2025 budget: $10 million in “cost recovery” by charging organizers of ticketed events for police and traffic services and by better scheduling those events to reduce overtime costs.

And once again, the CPS property tax assessment is going to be maxed out again, despite enrollment declining again.

"Escalation" - Ya Think?

The judge saw an issue....but didn't do much about it:

• In May 2021, as U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall sentenced Gad Hughes to five years in federal prison for tossing a stolen machine gun from a car as he sped from police on the Dan Ryan Expressway at 100 mph, she told him she was worried about “an escalation of behavior” in his criminal history, which included drug dealing and gun cases.

  Minutes before sentencing, Hughes, 29, told Kendall he was “ready to change now and be a better man for my kids and family.”

  “I’m at a point in age where if I don’t wake up now, I never will, and I refuse to let that happen for the sake of my life, my future, and my kids and their future,” Hughes said.

  Currently on parole for that machine gun case, Hughes is back in custody, accused of shooting and killing a 62-year-old man on Thanksgiving afternoon.

Project Exile is the only solution,

And a federal death penalty.

As Usual

School shooting in Wisconsin, lame stream media claiming it's a female teen shooter.

Hint: It's not.

But the anti-gun people are out in force. Instead of pointing out we protect our politicians and money in the banks with armed guards, they demand everyone give up the easiest means of self-defense.

How many schools could we protect if Conehead didn't have one-hundred-forty officers watch his dumb ass? Rahm and Shortshanks had barely twenty-five (two shifts of 12 with a sergeant in charge).

Oh wait, the CTU wanted officers out of schools.

Now There's No Tax Hike?

Expect layoffs for non-police positions and probably a full stop hiring freeze for CPD:

• When the Chicago City Council reconvenes Monday afternoon, the big question is will Mayor Brandon Johnson have enough support to call for a vote on the city's budget? And will there even be a new budget proposal to vote on in place? Political observers say not likely.

  The questions come as sources told ABC7 Sunday that Mayor Johnson's latest budget proposal will not include property tax hike.

  When Mayor Brandon Johnson abruptly adjourned Friday's City Council meeting, he did so to avoid what would have been an embarrassing defeat as his second budget proposal failed to attract the minimum 26 votes needed to pass. The mayor's $68.5 million property tax hike was still too much to stomach for too many in City Council.

We did hear one radio report that Conehead was actually thinking of eliminating a single "deputy mayor" spot, but can't seem to fin it at the moment. Someone also said Conehead is completely protecting his inner circle which is something like five times as large as Groot's or Rahm's staffing (again, this was a social media post, so we have no idea how accurate it was).

592...593...

Still sixteen days left in the year and HeyJackass.com has Chicago at 593 homicides.

Since 600 seems a given at this point, how about everyone guess what day it's actually going to occur? Add a time of occurrence as a tie-breaker.

The prize will be a fully paid subscription to the SCC blog....which is free already.

We're going to guess 22 December at 0200 hours.

Vigilante Time

Good thing this isn't New York City:

• A man who robbed a McDonald’s customer at gunpoint on the West Side was hospitalized after the restaurant’s patrons ganged up on him and beat him until Chicago police arrived, officials said. And, prosecutors claim, it was the second time in ten days that the gunman had robbed the same victim inside the same restaurant.

  The first robbery occurred on November 13 inside the McDonald’s at 5153 West Chicago Avenue. Prosecutors said Ahmod Johnson, 21, entered the restaurant and demanded a 46-year-old man’s property while showing a gun in his waistband. 

  Johnson proceeded to pistol-whip the victim and made the victim take off his pants before escaping with the man’s phone, wallet, and $500 cash, according to the state’s detention petition.

  Then, around 5:30 p.m. on November 23, Johnson returned to the restaurant, pointed a loaded handgun at the same victim, and took his cash, the petition said.

  But this robbery ended a little differently. According to a CPD report, Johnson was “tackled, held on the floor, and beaten by unknown bystanders until police arrived.”

No doubt if Crimesha was still in office, she'd be charging all those Good Samaritans for daring to .....what? West side? People  (or Folks?) 

Never mind. Well done unknown citizens.

Sgt Test Results Fixed

According to the FOP's Friday update, the old promotional list is dead and the new one is finalized. Results will be arriving in the mail next week with a sergeants' promotional class in February.

It turns out the only thing slower than California vote "counting" is Chicago "grading" a scantron test.

Air Chase

This still doesn't seem like a good idea:

• Two men are sitting in the Cook County jail, accused of carjacking an Uber Eats driver near Goose Island. And they can thank one of Chicago’s most effective apprehension partnerships: a CPD helicopter and Illinois State Police ground units.

  Prosecutors said the 25-year-old delivery driver was targeted while sitting in his 2016 Toyota sedan in the 800 block of West Blackhawk around 8:45 p.m. on Sunday, December 8.

  According to a Chicago police report, Tayvon Andrews and David Brantley, both 18 years old, approached the car and ordered the driver out while Andrews was displaying a gun. The victim complied, and the hijackers, Brantley behind the wheel and Andrews in the passenger seat, sped away.

  It wasn’t long before CPD’s helicopter located the freshly stolen Toyota. Joined by two ISP troopers, the air and ground team pursued the hijackers until the Toyota crashed at 87th and State streets around 9:45 p.m., the police report said. The troopers arrested Andrews and Brantley at the scene and handed them over to CPD.

They still crashed, all while the helicopter was tracking/chasing them. 

And you can bet that ISP didn't just happen to be in the neighborhood - we're forbidden by General Order to parallel pursue, but is ISP? And what if ISP wrecked into an innocent passerby? The payout would come from Illinois taxpayers instead of Chicago, at least at ground level. We don't know if the chopper crew has been sued for anything like this yet, but give a lawyer a chance and they'll sue their own grandmothers.

Exchange of Gunfire

Nothing good happens after midnight:

• A man was injured after a shooting in Austin early Saturday morning, according to Chicago police.

  The man, 26, was getting out of a parked vehicle that had four others inside, including two off-duty Chicago police officers, in the 100 block of South Mayfield Avenue at 1:28 a.m. when he was shot, police said. One of the occupants of the vehicle he was getting out of shot back as the person who shot the 26-year-old fled.

  The man was taken to a nearby hospital by the off-duty officers and the two other passengers, and he is in serious condition, police said. No other injuries were reported.

Mistaken identity is what we're told. 

Stay alert.

Conehead Failure Theater

This is some raggedy-ass governing:

• Mayor Brandon Johnson called off the vote planned for Friday on his $17.3 billion 2025 spending plan, raising the odds of an unprecedented shutdown of city government in just 18 days. 

  Johnson’s decision to delay the budget vote is an acknowledgment that the spending plan that would hike property taxes by $68.5 million and increase a host of other taxes and fees by an additional $165.5 million does not have enough votes to pass the Chicago City Council, even if Johnson cast a tie-breaking vote.

  The City Council voted 32-17 to recess the meeting, causing members of the public who had planned to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting to erupt in anger.
  

And now they're talking about a government shut-down, something we don't recall ever happening in nearly six decades of residency.

But Conehead has a plan!

• However, there are more than 1,000 vacant positions in the Chicago Police Department, which accounts for nearly 46% of Chicago’s discretionary spending, that could be eliminated to save approximately $170 million, according to budget documents.

Sure! Failing to fill police vacancies while property crime is skyrocketing can only be a good idea, combined with the couple thousand cops who are maxing out over the next two years, what could possibly go wrong?

Also notice how there isn't even a whisper of a suggestion that twenty or thirty under-utilized schools could be closed and the staff redistributed (or eliminated) from consideration. Schools built in the early 20th century for 1,200 students, currently occupied by 100 students....or less.