Riots? Not Quite

This is what qualifies as a riot in uptown?

If the video doesn't play, it's here at this link.

In any case, some misguided and over exuberant youths toss bottles at one another, some rambunctious horseplay ensues, a few bicycles change hands and a car aerial is wielded like a sword. One person went to jail and according to this Channel 5 report, an officer was slightly injured. It's spreading, without a doubt, popping up in all the finer neighborhoods.

In our opinion, whoever shot the video ought to have skipped the camera and invested in a nice sniper rifle instead.

Don't Offend the Indians

Lord knows there are probably only 50 that reside inside the Corporate boundaries, so each and every vote counts:

• A tragic chapter in Windy City history known to generations of schoolchildren as "The Ft. Dearborn Massacre" will be renamed by the Chicago Park District on Saturday.
  
  With a military honor guard and Native American dancers, a patch of green at 18th Street and Calumet Avenue is to be dedicated the "Battle of Ft. Dearborn Park."
  
  That apparent nod to political correctness won't go down well with many Chicagoans who, from bar stools to seminar tables, cherish their city's legend and lore.

Over at Shaved's site, the comments are running hot and heavy against this travesty. Shaved himself begins the fun with:

• The Great Chicago Fire will now be called The Great Chicago BBQ and Marathon Run (Many folks ran out of the city after the fire started)
  
  The Eastland Disaster will now be called The Underwater Picnic
  
  "Edmund Fitzgerald" sinking will now be called The little ship who thought she was a submarine

The fun continues in the comment section:

• The Bataan Death March will be now known as the Philippine 100K Fun Walk.
  
  
• The 2016 Olympics will for ever be known as the "Shortshanks Redemption".

We're sure the well isn't anywhere near drained for this subject. Contributors?

Defense Fails

Good news! The "Jerry Did It" defense fails miserably:

• An Oak Lawn man on trial on charges he killed a former drug customer who he believed had stolen from him was found guilty of murder Thursday evening, according to court records. Jurors rejected the man's claim that a former Chicago police officer was responsible for the death.

Nice to see a jury with brains sitting in the box when it counted. Hopefully, the civil suits go the same way.

Guns at the Airport - Part II

The continuing saga of a Billy Joel/Elton John fan who just wanted to meet the stars. There are too many witnesses to deny the event happened, despite the protestations of the 19th Ward Political Action Committee. Here's the problem:

• There was only one authorized detail at Midway Airport - a dignitary detail for Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. While violating untold numbers of City, State, Federal and TSA rules and laws, she led a party of armed Elton and Billy fans onto the airfield where they ran into the actual authorized security detail for Gates. Confusion reigned and at least one CR was generated.

There appears to be some weight and heft to the story and more than a few questions that need answers. Like this one - General Order 08-01; Section V, subsection C:

• C. In no event will an exempt member be permitted to have any interest whatsoever in any security firm, guard service, or private detective agency; to work as a security guard, private detective, watchman, defense investigator, or security consultant; or to be concurrently employed by another law enforcement agency.
  

So what we have here is a conundrum. Either the exempt fan violated assorted rules, regulations and laws and therefore should be prosecuted, or the exempt is in violation of General Order 08-01 Section V-C and should be removed from active duty pending the outcome of the investigation, and if guilty, suspended or fired in accordance with existing precedent and disciplinary schedules.

We sure hope this "Celtic Consulting" isn't a security firm, even though it's listed with the International Association of Professional Security Consultants. That might be a slightly larger problem if true.

We know we're going to receive a whole bunch more hate mail and vitriolic comments regarding this post, but pointing out the multiple sets of standards applied to the clouted class, even in the face of alleged J-Fed "reforms," is looking out for the interests of every single unclouted man and woman on this Department. A department that seems determined to commit institutional suicide by any and every means possible.

Interesting Rumor

Who was that man spotted around town yesterday? Was he just a tourist? Was he just passing through O'Hare and decided to catch a few of the sights?

Why would the former Commissioner of the Boston PD, the NYPD and Chief of Police in Los Angeles be hanging around Chicago?

• On August 5, 2009, Bratton announced that after nearly seven years he would be stepping down as chief of police for the City of Los Angeles. Bratton will continue to serve as chief until October 31, 2009. Bratton will be moving back to New York City to take a position with a private international security firm called "Altegrity," serving as a of a new division where he will consult on security for police departments worldwide.

Guess he was just passing through. Oh well.

Gun Turn-In Recession

Times are tough all over:

• The economy's gotten so rotten you can't even get as much money as you used to for turning in your handgun to Chicago police.

  People who turn in handguns Saturday during the city's annual gun buyback program will get $50. Last year, a handgun fetched $100.

  Aides to Mayor Richard Daley today blamed a more than 50 percent drop in donations for the program and noted fundraising took place in a down economy. Last year, about $130,000 was collected. This year, only $50,000 so far has come in.

But as one commentator said on the BreakingNews site, you're better off keeping your gun seeing as how dangerous the streets are lately.

We're betting the crew that usually comes in from Kentucky and Indiana with their boxes of broken guns skip this year's event since the price is down to $50. They usually had a post on their website showing the shiny new pistols they bought with Daley's gift cards. It was good for a laugh.

Warm and Fuzzy Story

We just have to smile:

• The shotgun-wielding owner of a Harlem restaurant-supply company blasted two men to death and wounded another Thursday when they tried to rob him in broad daylight.

  Turning the tables on the bandits, 72-year-old Charles (Gus) Augusto opened fire with a pistol-grip shotgun he kept under the counter for such an occasion, cops and witnesses said.

  Four robbers, one armed with a gun, stormed into business, Kaplan Brothers Blue Flame, just after 3 p.m. demanding cash and threatening an employee. They bolted for the exit when they saw Augusto's shotgun.

  Two of the robbers were hit in the back, including one who dropped dead inside the store among the sparkling gas stoves Augusto sells, witnesses said.

  The other would-be thief made it across the street before collapsing on the sidewalk. He later died at St. Luke's Hospital.

The New York Daily News has pictures of the happy event:

The power of the Second Amendment. Can you imagine Shortshanks' face if this happened here?

Kass Column on Muggings

Again, Kass hits the high notes:

• The Lincoln Park Marauders story isn't just a crime story. It's a political story.
  
  The details of the crimes have been repeated endlessly in the news. Unsuspecting taxpayers walking in high-end neighborhoods are approached by thugs, who punch the taxpayers in the face, beat the tar out of them, humiliate them further and take their money.
  
  It happens in other neighborhoods. But in other neighborhoods, unfortunately, this wouldn't lead the local newscasts. It would be police blotter stuff, next to the motor vehicle break-ins and petty thefts and bleak, one-paragraph accounts of murder.

And he throws the police a shout out:

• They'll catch them. Police have made one arrest and cut the suspect loose for lack of evidence, but sooner or later, the marauders will be caught. And we'll be treated to another dog and pony show. Politicians who rule from on high will thump their chests and pronounce Chicago safe. The real police will snicker and wonder when they'll ever get a contract.

Probably never at this rate.

Some truly jaw dropping entertainment at the community meeting though:

• "[Residents] really do feel safe up here so they ignore their environment," Belmont Area Deputy Police Chief Bruce Rottner said. "It's not 1975 anymore, it's 2009 ... if people aren't aware of their environment they set themselves up to be victims," he said.
  

Translation - We can't protect you. And due to Daley's reckless disregard of the Second Amendment, you aren't allowed to protect yourself. Good luck!

• "The violence aspect is what's really shocking people. People get mugged all the time. It happens. They take your money. But they don't put you in the hospital, and I think that's what people are concerned about," [Lincoln Park resident Nick Terrell] said.

Translation - I'm an idiot seeing as how anyone with a single brain cell could look around and find about 10,000 communities where people can walk around without a single mugging taking place within 100 miles of where they reside.

Self Styled What?

Fran, what have you been smoking?

• Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd) acknowledged Wednesday that his daughter was admitted to Whitney Young Magnet High School for the upcoming school year after he called the principal to ask that his daughter be allowed to follow in her brother's footsteps.

  The self-styled reformer denied that his personal appeal placed undue pressure on Whitney Young Principal Joyce Kenner -- and he made no apologies for it.

"self-styled reformer"?

• self admitted latin king
• UUW arrest
• "Photo Estudio Munoz" owned by his mother burns to the ground under mysterious circumstances
• "Photo Estudio Munoz" owned by his father, who was convicted of manufacturing fake ID's, sentenced to 4 years and is scheduled to be deported after his sentence (unless Obama steps in shortly)

Oh, Fran didn't say "reformer - Chicago-style." We misunderstood.

Chalkie for Hire?

In Rio?

• When Brazilian police raided the house of Wallace Souza, a popular Amazonian MP who doubles as a TV presenter, they might have expected to find scripts for the next episode of his daily crime show.

  Instead they discovered more than $150,000 (£90,000) in cash, a stash of weapons and a tatty piece of paper with the names of at least four dead men whose executions, police claim, Souza might have ordered in an attempt to boost the ratings of his lunchtime TV show.

So this guy is hiring killings to be carried out to boost ratings?

Wait until Shortshanks get a load of this one.

Run Away Officer

A ridiculous finding overturned in court:

• A Cook County judge today reversed a decision by the Chicago Police Board to fire a veteran police officer for allegedly stealing a $1 bag of trail mix, court records show.

  Ogden District Officer Aaron Pena, a 22-year veteran, was fired in 2008 after the city alleged he paid for two bags of trail mix but stole a third from a Walgreens in the 1900 block of West Cermak Road. Pena argued that he became concerned that he couldn't hear his radio and accidentally walked out of the store without paying.

  "We're very happy the court saw it the way we saw it," said Dan Herbert, Pena's attorney. "He simply made a mistake." The board will reconsider punishment for Pena.

It sounded like an honest mistake at the time and it sounds exactly the same now. The store initially refused to sign complaints until threatened by IAD and didn't show up at court on a number of occasions.

In any case, don't look a gift horse in the mouth - retire and leave this armpit of a city, county and state as soon as you can.

CeaseFire Fails

Where was CeaseFire? Why weren't their "shooting stoppers" out there catching bullets and preaching to the gangsters to put down their weapons and establishing "rules of engagement" to stop this senseless shooting?

• A 16-year-old girl is in critical condition Wednesday night after she was shot in the head on the Far South Side.

  About 8 p.m., the teen was shot in the 11000 block of South Normal Avenue, according to Fire Media Affairs spokesman Joe Roccasalva. The girl was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition, reportedly with a gunshot wound to her head.

But they think they have an effect on conditions?

Daley's Dictionary

Abatement:

• noun.
• Diminution in amount, degree, or intensity; moderation.
• The amount lowered; a reduction.
• Law. The act of eliminating or annulling.

Abatement, Chicago-style:

• Concerned about a political backlash from struggling homeowners, Mayor Daley tried Tuesday to portray a $43 million property tax increase for Chicago Public Schools as an “abatement.”

  That’s because his handpicked school officials wanted to raise property taxes by the maximum allowed by the property tax cap, as they have for 11 of the 14 years since Daley’s school takeover.

  Instead, the mayor demanded that they cut the increase in half.

So since he's only screwing you half as hard, that's an "abatement." And note that the schools have asked for the maximum increase in 11 of 14 years. What have we received for the taxpayers largesse? One of the worst educational systems in the world with crumbling infrastructure that bleeds money like a stuck pig. And teachers who receive pay raises regardless of the product turned out. At least the police have been reducing crime according to the statistics the City releases - where's our raise?

Thank You Denver-Area PD's

Keeping an eye on Densey Cole:

Even the Chief of the Denver PD stopped by.

Anyone who knows of any Denver cops coming to town, be sure they don't pay for a thing.

UPDATE: Title altered to convey appreciation to all the suburban Denver Police Departments who are pitching in - especially Englewood, Colorado.

Of Course They Don't

This city is run by morons. And the people who report it aren't much better:

• Mayor Daley’s Chicago 2016 panel has no problem with committee member Michael Scott’s role developing a for-profit real estate project near a planned Olympic venue, according to a statement the organization released Tuesday night.

  Scott met with Olympic bid officials Tuesday to explain his plan to develop residential and commercial units on city-owned land kitty-corner from the proposed Douglas Park cycling venue. Scott has said he was working on behalf of a group of West Side ministers, although his name alone appears on the venture’s incorporation papers.

So the hand-picked committee has no problem with a Daley insider making crooked deals? What a shocker! And the "ministers?"

• Scott’s politically connected team of ministers, which includes Rev. Charles Robinson, a Daley-appointed member of the Chicago Transit Authority board...

Gee, the connections just get clearer and clearer. How come our Pension Fund isn't in line to make a few bucks off these deals?

Update to Previous Post

The Inevitable Lawsuit can be found at the embedded link or just page down two days. In it, we posted the following:

• Here's where a real superintendent would ignore the "we don't comment on pending litigation" BS and go to town on this deranged segment of society that seeks a payout because they raised an asshole who managed to get killed while being an asshole.

Well here's the opportunity. According to an e-mail we received, a 16-year-old was charged with Homicide Monday. After being advised of his rights, with his guardian present and on video, he admitted the following:

• being an accomplice of the dead Rakeem Nance,
  
• that Nance was given a gun by another individual,
  
• that Nance and a third individual were carrying guns during a home invasion,
• and admitted he saw Nance running with a gun in his hand when police arrived on the scene.

That kind of blows momma's lawsuit out of the water, doesn't it? And gives Corp Counsel an almost airtight case. They might actually have a 50% chance of winning this one.

Man Punches Police Horse

Blazing Saddles comes to life:

• A 21-year-old man spent the night in jail after he allegedly punched a Chicago police horse near the Lollapalooza music festival.

  The alleged offender, Pablo Fernandez, approached the officer on horseback in the block of 500 East Congress Plaza Drive at about 9 p.m. Sunday, intent on petting the horse, police said.

  When the officer ordered Fernandez to move aside, Fernandez reportedly refused and punched the horse, causing the animal to panic and rear back on its back legs in the middle of the crowd present for the three-day music festival [...].

  Fernandez, a citizen of Mexico without a local address, was charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct, Lesniak said.

And the obligatory video shot by a bystander:



So, a citizen of Mexico without a local address? Illegal? Oh wait, we can't ask that. Never mind.

Wait a Minute....

Something fishy going on here...

• A CTA employee who contracted Legionnaires' disease died over the weekend, officials said today.

  Robert Pierce, 37, a CTA electrician who worked most recently at CTA facilities at Midway Airport and at another Southwest Side location, died Sunday at Edward Hospital in Naperville, according to the DuPage County coroner's office.

  They said no autopsy will be performed on Pierce, of the 1700 block of Hidden Oaks Court in Plainfield, who died of pneumonia that he developed as a complication to Legionnaires' disease.

Wait a minute...there it is again!

• They said no autopsy will be performed on Pierce, of the 1700 block of Hidden Oaks Court in Plainfield,

A CTA employee? Living in Plainfield? Hmmmmm.

When the Deal Goes South

Restructure it!!!

• When they started their real estate investment company three years ago, Mayor Daley's nephew Robert Vanecko and his partners made a promise to five City of Chicago pension funds they were seeking as investors:

  We'll put $7 million of our own money into the deal to show we believe in our high-risk strategy of investing city retirees' pension money in developing inner-city neighborhoods

And today?

• But now it turns out that Vanecko and his partners -- Chicago developer Allison S. Davis and his son Jared Davis -- will put in just $3.5 million, half of what they initially promised.

  Despite some concerns, the city pension funds quietly agreed to rework the deal with Vanecko and the Davises last August, making changes that financially benefitted the mayor's nephew and his partners, recently subpoenaed records show.

So shouldn't the pension funds get a bigger cut of the pie since they're taking more of the risk? Of course, since DV Urban has done nothing but lose money, the funds are already taking it in the shorts.

Can pension funds invest in tar and feather futures? Just wondering.

Guns at the Airport

An interesting story trickling in following the Burger Queen at Midway tales.

It seems a certain Police Commander is a big fan of Elton John and Billy Joel and was determined to meet them come hell or high water. So when the stars showed up at Midway Airport, a contingent of fans, including the aforementioned Commander and numerous associates, including armed Police Officers (who aren't assigned to Midway), managed to get onto the airfield itself in violation of TSA regulations and Federal Law.

And to top it off, she provided the celebrities with an armed escort to waiting cars and allegations are being made that she was paid for this service via a private security firm. IPRA, IAD and News Affairs are aware of the situation and are attempting to bury this abuse of exempt rank by any means possible. We can only imagine what the initiation report must have looked like.

So is J-Fed aware of this disaster? Or is he part and parcel of the cover up?