Fifty-Five Years

And surprisingly, he will allegedly serve every day of it:

• A Chicago man has been sentenced to 55 years in prison for the murder of Chicago Police Officer Aréanah Preston, who was shot and killed during a robbery as she returned home from her shift in 2023, Cook County prosecutors announced Thursday.

  Judge Adrienne Davis handed down the sentence after Joseph Brooks pleaded guilty to the slaying: 35 years for murder plus a 20-year gun enhancement. By law, Brooks must serve every day of that sentence.

  Joseph Brooks pleaded guilty to first-degree murder before Cook County Judge Adrienne Davis. He is one of four men charged in the May 6, 2023, killing of Preston, 24, which prosecutors say occurred during an armed robbery spree that stretched for hours across Chicago’s South Side. Brooks admitted to shooting Preston as she reached for her weapon during the robbery, prosecutors have said.

There are three more jagoffs awaiting trial for this murder. 

We don't know if jagoff #1 is providing any testimony against his cohorts, but with a Guilty plea landing him fifty-five years in a state with no Death Penalty, we can't see what leverage the State has to compel testimony. Hopefully, the case against the rest is a as strong as the first one.

RIP Officer Preston. 

Feds Step In; Conehead Steps on D@#$

Good news on one front:

• Chicago’s top federal prosecutor said he’s taking “no chances” that Sheridan Gorman’s alleged killer will be released, filing an illegal gun possession charge Thursday against the Venezuelan immigrant already charged with the murder of the Loyola University Chicago freshman.

  No federal court date has been scheduled for Jose Medina, 25, who was ordered detained Friday by a state court judge in connection with Gorman’s slaying. Medina’s attorney actually asked Cook County Circuit Court Judge D’Anthony Thedford to hold Medina in jail so he won’t be deported.

  Now the feds have charged Medina with possessing a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol while being unlawfully present in the United States, a charge carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Obviously, state courts cannot be trusted not to SAFE-T Act the killer free to either flee or kill again, so this is a good thing.

In the meantime, Conehead continues to place criminal ILLEGAL ALIENS above Chicagoans:

• Chicago, Illinois, Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) is responding to 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman’s murder, allegedly at the hands of an illegal alien, by saying the federal government ought to pass amnesty for illegal aliens.

  During a press conference this week, Johnson was asked about his remarks at a recent No Kings rally in Chicago in which he said, “We have to end the assaults against immigrants,” just as Sheridan Gorman’s family was holding the Loyola University freshman’s funeral service and burial.

Nothing about the rape of a Mather HS Student by an ILLEGAL ALIEN. And skipping over the murder of a Loyola student by another ILLEGAL ALIEN. That's just two high profile crimes committed by people who broke the law by entering and remaining in the country. No one is "assault[ing]" ILLEGAL ALIENS. In fact, they're the ones assaulting Federal agents when they resist lawful arrest.

We trust everyone has seen Porkulous in his campaign commercials, talking about how much he likes walking on the lakefront, talking to citizens (all while his security team is off to one side) and has no problem that an eighteen-year-old was just walking on the lakefront with friends hoping to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights when she was executed by an ILLEGAL ALIEN. 

Hypocrisy knows no bounds. 

Media Business as Usual

A reader of ours took a "reporter" to task over the WTTW report that said excessive force complaints were up 46%. The actual headline:

• Excessive Force Allegations Against CPD Officers Rose 46% Since 2022: Data

A pretty straightforward misrepresentation of the what the numbers actually revealed as it turned out. Our reader wrote to the "reporter" asking for a retraction:

• Your Feb 23rd article "Excessive Force Allegations Against CPD Officers Rose 46% Since 2022: Data" has been completely blown apart by CWBChicago.

  As YOU should have done, CWBChicago uncovered that a mere FOUR percent of these allegations were sustained last year. They even included a nice detailed chart to illustrate your own data set over the period 2022-2025. The chart shows on average just some 6-7% sustained allegations over 2022-2025.

  Criminals lie. Do "reporters" lie too?

  A retraction is in order.

The "reporter," of course, immediately admitted to misrepresenting the facts and issued a clarification:

• HAHAHAHAHA....April Fool!!!!

The "reporter" - who is a worthless police hater with a lib-tarded anti-police agenda written into her DNA - was very condescending to the letter writer:

• I appreciate your feedback! I'd like to direct your attention to this paragraph of the story: "In a statement to WTTW News, a CPD spokesperson said it would be 'inaccurate' to 'characterize an increase in excessive force complaints as a definitive increase in use of force' by police officers, since those allegations have not been probed for accuracy."

  The story does not assert that all of these complaints have been sustained; as you can see, it includes the information that they have not.

  For your reference, the number of complaints filed against officers was one of the reasons the Department of Justice investigated CPD in 2015 and 2016 and is a metric tracked by federal officials as part of the consent decree process.

  Best regards,

  [police hater with a lib tarded anti-police agenda written into her DNA]

The paragraph in question is seven or eight deep in the article, and as every third grader knows, people who read that far past the headline are few and far between, especially after the past few years of anti-police narratives being peddled in the media. "Editors" in charge of propaganda know this and they write their headlines accordingly, to catch the passing interest of the uneducated who then apply the headline to their internal biases.

And as any reader of the "consent decree" knows, there are no federal officials involved in the CPD "consent decree" aside from a retired federal judge who signed off on some document present to them. An actual Consent Decree involves tons of Federal money pouring into the Department to enact reforms....and that seems to be lacking around here. 

HQ Parking Violations

This is happening? (from an e-mail):

• What happened to taking care of our own? I don’t mean covering up wrong deeds but just plain ol’ professional courtesy.

  I went to 35th and Michigan today to clear from medical and wasn’t allowed in the lot cuz it was full and so I parked in front of HQ (granted I know we aren’t supposed too) I had my ID around my neck, ran inside and cleared. There was a squad behind me saw me get out, I looked right at her. I came back out to a ticket, a ticket from one of “our” own. I thought it was an Aprils fools joke. Nope! Unreal that we give our own Parker’s now.

Do they still only have four spots for the Medical Section patients?  A Department of 10,000 Officers (allegedly), a few hundred on the Medical at any given time....and four spots for them to check in and see their nurse.

There's got to be a simple fix for this. 

Overstaffed? Understaffed?

Twisting the numbers until they scream in pain:

• A long-awaited, detailed study of the Chicago Police Department’s workforce allocation is now public and some of its findings will surprise the department’s biggest critics.

  One headline: some of the city’s most violence-plagued police districts were found to be among the most overstaffed in the city, while some districts considered safe and affluent were found to be understaffed.

The metric being used? Something they call "proactive time:"

• The 767-page report by Matrix Consulting Group examined CPD’s workforce from countless angles, but no section is likely to generate more discussion than its district-by-district breakdown of patrol effectiveness.

  The firm measured something it calls “proactive time,” the share of an officer’s on-duty hours not consumed by handling calls. The idea is that officers need breathing room beyond just answering calls to do proactive policing, community engagement, and problem-solving. Matrix set a minimum target of 40%.

  Citywide, CPD is barely clearing that bar at 40.1%. But the overall number, the study argues, conceals severe inequality across the department’s 22 districts. But those inequalities affect Chicagoans of all races and incomes in neighborhoods across the city, according to the study.

And the numbers being tossed around?

• The most overstaffed district in the city, according to Matrix, is the Lincoln (20th) District, which stretches from the north end of Uptown through Edgewater. Officers there have a proactive time rate of 63%, meaning nearly two-thirds of their on-duty hours are uncommitted. The firm calculated that if the city were to simply redistribute officers to bring every district to the 40% floor, Lincoln would lose 50 of its 135 officers.
• More startling still is what the study says about Englewood. The 7th District, which recorded 141 shooting victims in 2025 and is routinely among the most violent areas in the city, ranked as the second-most overstaffed district in CPD at 56% proactive time. A pure reallocation approach would strip nearly a quarter of Englewood’s officers, a cut of 53 positions.

These are ridiculous findings.

But Larritorious sees an opportunity:

• Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling and other officials said the proposed changes would allow for better supervision, greater opportunities for community policing and more consistent response times across neighborhoods.

  But Snelling said the study isn’t just a call for increased manpower — it’s guidance “to help us become the most efficient department that we can possibly be.”

  [...] The study, commissioned by the City Council over two years ago and conducted by the Matrix Consulting Group, found major “work load inequality” that has resulted in inconsistent services and inadequate supervision. It identifies the need for at least 273 additional patrol officers and 132 sergeants, but also calls for moving about 600 officers out of jobs that could be filled by civilians.

  Civilian positions cost less than those held by sworn officers, and moving cops out of those roles could help fill gaps in patrol. Shifting those 600 officers to the street could ultimately help the department reach the goals identified in the study for adding more officers and sergeants.

This just sounds like another empty promise to gut hidden positions, none of which we believed during our careers and none of which we'll believe moving forward until there are actual parking spots open at HQ and the Academy instead of dozens of cars parked in aisles, over curbs and in the grass medians. 

Rumor

How many officers are we talking about?

• Off topic.. The entire caps office in 012 failed to qualify with their primary weapons and are pending the 7 hr mandatory firearms refresher

Far too many cops fire thirty rounds, once-a-year, at qualification time. That isn't nearly enough to be even remotely proficient at using what is arguably the most important tool on your person.

Someone is going to argue, "How many times would a CAPS officer need to use their gun?" and the answer is, "If it's even once, you better be capable." 

Crime is Down?

We're beginning to have our doubts.

Maybe it's the ages of crime victims that are down?

• A family had simply pulled over to find a house where they were to meet an out-of-town guest when a 16-year-old on probation for armed robbery walked up to the driver’s side, took a shooting stance and opened fire, leaving their 12-year-old son with a fractured skull, bullet fragments on his brain and temporarily paralyzed, prosecutors say.

  The pulled over in the 900 block of North Leamington to locate the address around 6:45 p.m. on February 3, prosecutors said. The 12-year-old was in the backseat next to his 1-year-old sibling. As the father searched for the house, he saw Nasir Pitts approach on the driver’s side and take a shooting stance, according to a detention filing.

  The father screamed for the family to get down as Pitts allegedly fired five shots, striking the boy in the head. Prosecutors said the father sped away from the scene while the mother called 911. Officers and paramedics caught up with them and transported the boy to a hospital, where doctors found a fractured skull and bullet fragments in his brain. He suffered temporary paralysis and continues to receive treatment, the detention filing said.

The sixteen-year-old shooter was ::surprise!:: on probation for an armed robbery....committed when he was fourteen.

The twelve-year-old victim wasn't the youngest crime victim by the way:

• A young girl was among three people shot Wednesday on the city's South Side, Chicago police said. All three victims were reported to be in good condition after escaping with their lives from what appeared to be a barrage of bullets.

  The shooting happened just after 4:45 p.m. in the Lake Meadows Shopping Center at East 35th Street and South King Drive i n Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood, right outside Baskin Robbin's and Subway restaurants.

  The victims, an 8-year-old girl, a 28-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man, were at the location when a dark-colored SUV approached and at least one person fired shots at them from the vehicle, police said.

  The girl was shot in the foot, the woman was shot in the knee, and the man had multiple gunshot wounds, including to his arm and chest. CPD said. They were all taken to hospitals and were reported to be in good condition.

At least we're not New York....yet. A seven-MONTH-old in a stroller caught a stray round and died Wednesday.

Fill in the Blanks

Did the changes finally drop?

• …this matches our last list that was delayed because of vetting delays in the mayors office.
  
  
  
  DC BoCT to Chief BoCT.
  
  Cmdr 005 to DC Academy.
  
  Lt M. BIA to Cmdr BIA.
  
  Lt B. Const. Policing to Cmd Const. Policing.
  
  Lt TP Detail Section to Cmdr Detail Section.
  
  Cmdr (PO) Detail Section to P.O. in OCD.
  
  (New) Captain Frogie to Cmdr 005
  
  Cmdr 012 to Deputy Chief A/3.

"vetting delays" probably means they have outstanding tickets, fines, lawsuits or they haven't taken their Ethics Test yet this year. And they waited until 01 April for payroll purposes. 

 

UPDATE: Here's some of the names from another emailer:

• Chris Papaioannou to Chief of Counterterrorism

  Karla Johnson to Dep Chief of Constitutional Policing

  Lt Tim Parker to Commander Detached Servuces (Mayors unit?)

  Lt Berlage to Cmdr Wellness & Support Group

  Lt Jonathan Medina to Cmdr IAD

  Jimmy Baier to Dep Chief A/3

  Cap Greg Froggy Jackson to 005 Cmdr

  Demotion: Harold Lewis back to P.O.

Lewis had something to do with the Conehead detail.

Cause and Effect Alexi

From the Contrarian X / Twitter feed, pointing out Giannoulias's campaign commercial:

• [Giannoulias] Car insurance premiums are crushing Illinois families. We are fighting back! Our bill has passed the House and now heads to the Senate. Please call your senator and urge them to support Senate Bill 1486.
• [Contrarian]  Interesting how Alexi omits the fact over 23K cars are stolen in Chicago every year.
  
  
  This number excludes vehicular hijackings.
  
  
  CPD won’t even send a car to your house when someone calls 911 to report their car stolen.
  
  
  CPD will not chase a stolen car.
  
  
  CPD will not investigate hit and run crashes unless the collision results in great bodily harm or death.

Insurance companies aren't in the business of losing money, so they increase rates based on real actuarial recommendations and studies that show democrat policies of rewarding crime instead of punishing it are money losers for them, so you're going to pay a pretty penny for basic coverage. 

RIP Firefighter Altman

Private funeral was yesterday:

• Friends and loved ones of fallen Chicago firefighter Michael Altman said their final goodbyes during a funeral Tuesday morning in southwest suburban Oak Lawn.

  The private funeral service was held at the Blake-Lamb funeral home at 4727 W. 103rd St. after planned services on Friday were canceled when Altman’s wife went into labor Thursday.

  Despite steady rain, first responders and community members lined the street outside the funeral home as Altman’s casket, draped in a Chicago flag, was carried to a procession bound for his final resting place at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip.

  Altman, a firefighter and EMT, died March 17 from injuries he suffered the day before while fighting a fire in a Rogers Park apartment. The blaze was in a four-story building in the 1700 block of West North Shore Avenue. Altman fell after the floor collapsed, fire officials said.

The weather matched the mood of the day.

Monday Night Wilding

Reports of a rowdy teen "takeover" in the streets of Hyde Park Monday night after daytime temps had topped off in the upper-70s.

Video is mostly on social media sites that we don't patronize, but it's good to see / hear that the non-demonized yutes are terrorizing the people that voted for exactly this type of behavior. 

Hopefully they saw it up close and personal, because it's going to get even worse as the weather warms further and school lets out in a few months.

Crime Still Down

Meanwhile, another passerby (tourist? day tripper?) manages to catch a round with her leg just off the Mag Mile:

• A woman was shot while walking at one of the busiest intersections along the Magnificent Mile on Monday evening, the unintended victim of a gunman who was trying to shoot someone else nearby, Chicago police said.

  The shooting happened around 9:27 p.m. in the first block of East Chicago Avenue, just west of Michigan Avenue, and set off a chain of events that left a man’s car riddled with bullets and caused a three-car collision along one of the city’s most heavily trafficked commercial strips.

  Police said a 22-year-old man was driving a red sedan when someone in a white sedan pulled up and opened fire on his vehicle. The red sedan was struck multiple times, but the driver was not injured.

  But a 25-year-old woman walking nearby was not as lucky. A bullet struck her in the left thigh, CPD said. She was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fair condition.

Maybe Conehead can start a "Tour Chicago Emergency Rooms" type of tour?

Attempted Murder Charges

For all the "crime is down" we keep hearing, there sure are a lot of people pointing (and firing) guns at police:

• A non-compliant sex offender with two active warrants, now accused of trying to murder a Chicago Police Officer, bragged to cops who arrested him that he just got out of prison for beating other police officers, prosecutors say.

  Menard Allison, 34, was ordered detained Tuesday on charges of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer and several other felonies stemming from a Saturday night encounter near 67th and Halsted streets that started like a slapstick comedy but soon turned deadly serious.

  [...] Prosecutors said he fled into the parking lot of Kennedy King College, where, by coincidence, a third uniformed officer in a marked car was just pulling in on patrol. That officer saw Allison running from the other unit, and his in-car camera recorded what happened next: Allison allegedly pointed a handgun with his right hand at the officer’s car and fired multiple shots. The camera captured several muzzle flashes and a blue laser beam trained on the squad car, as well as a bullet striking the pavement between Allison and the vehicle, prosecutors said. No injuries were reported. 

Just in case anyone forgot, if you're in a car and someone is shooting at you, you are permitted to run them over with the vehicle - deadly force met with deadly force - and in this case, all the evidence you need is being recorded by the dash cam. Nice to see they kept this one in custody.

Great Training

You may have heard a Secret Service agent protecting Mrs Drooling Vegetable "accidentally" shot himself in the "leg" the other day.

It wasn't an accident....and it wasn't in the leg:

Story here.