Body Located

Looks like they didn't have to come up with the spare body:

• A Chicago woman's body has been found, after it was lost by the Cook County Medical Examiners office.
  
  There were more than 210 bodies at the Cook County Medical Examiner's office Tuesday, more than capacity. Officials checked and double-checked each body and found out it was there the entire time.

Seems they've been double stacking the bodies at the morgue while shorthanding the staff. That's the great thing about working with the dead - fewer complaints from the people who end up sharing tray space with another stiff.

Just Wondering

Why is it that in an entire article about the Toddler's cancer operation, no mention at all is made in the Sun Times of the hospital at which he is being treated?

For the record, it isn't St. Roger's.

County Efficiency

Another example of a well oiled government machine:

• A mystery is ongoing at the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office: the body of a woman who died last Friday is missing.

  The funeral home hired by the family of Rosalie Schultz went to the medical examiner's office today to pick up the woman's remains. After several hours of waiting, officials there told the funeral director they could not find Schultz's body.

  The director says understaffing could be to blame for the mix-up.

Understaffing. Great. Someone call the Toddler so he can hire another relative at six-figures to keep track of the dead. Fortunately, there is a solution on the horizon:

• The director apologized for the mix up and promised the Schultz family a replacement dead body of equal or greater emotional value as soon as one became available.

Ok, we made that last part up.

Stay Aware

If ever there was an abject lesson in why we need border security BEFORE a general amnesty, this is it:

• Large teams of newly trained suicide bombers are being sent to the United States and Europe, according to evidence contained on a new videotape obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

  Teams assigned to carry out attacks in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Germany were introduced at an al Qaeda/Taliban training camp graduation ceremony held June 9.

• U.S. intelligence officials described the event as another example of "an aggressive and sophisticated propaganda campaign."

  Others take it very seriously.

Remember, this is the U.S. intelligence apparatus that completely missed the warning signs of 9/11. But regardless, border security FIRST.

Dig Obama Dig!

Not even a week ago, we covered Obama's letter writing to support Tony Rezko getting some $14 million worth of state business.

Now, the wheels are coming off the rims, the spare is flat and road service is days away.

• During his 12 years in politics, Sen. Barack Obama has received nearly three times more campaign cash from indicted businessman Tony Rezko and his associates than he has publicly acknowledged, the Chicago Sun-Times has found.

  Obama has collected at least $168,308 from Rezko and his circle. Obama also has taken in an unknown amount of money from people who attended fund-raising events hosted by Rezko since the mid-1990s.

So does anyone else think Hillary is cackling over her cauldron?

The Wrong Green

From the Tribune:

• Mayor Richard Daley vowed six years ago to make Chicago a leader in emerging efforts to fight global warming, but city government is churning out more heat-trapping pollution every year.
• The city pledged in 2001 to meet the target by planting green roofs, buying renewable power and rehabbing buildings to make them more energy-efficient, among other steps. Yet the city's emissions of global warming pollution have soared since then, according to records that the Tribune obtained under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.

In an effort to make the City more "green," the mayor spearheaded all of these initiatives and ended up NOT reducing emissions. Emissions have climbed. It would seem that the only people seeing any "green" benefits are the connected construction companies building rooftop gardens and various labor unions rewiring and rehabbing buildings.

How about an investigation on that?

Family Secrets Trial

The biggest Outfit trial in history is supposed to begin this week.

• Federal prosecutors have targeted individual Outfit street crews and their leaders in the past, but Family Secrets will essentially put on trial the structure and enterprise that was the Chicago mob during the last few decades.
• Observers are calling the case the most important involving the Chicago mob since Lombardo and three bosses were convicted in 1986 of skimming millions of dollars from a Las Vegas casino.

We're really hoping for a few political blockbusters to be detonated during the trial. Just to see how interwoven Chicago politics are with Chicago mobsters will truly be an eye opener to those who don't remember their local history.

We're also expecting, though not looking forward to, a number of Police department references to be blasted across the front pages. At least one retired cop has been named in the indictments and who knows when Harhardt's name will start appearing.

Hmmmm

The hidden hand of Hillary?

• A Capitol Hill house where Sen. Barack Obama rents an apartment caught on fire Sunday, but a spokesman said the Democratic presidential contender was out of town to celebrate Father's Day.

  The fire appeared to be on the third floor of a town house in northeast Washington, and was likely caused by a faulty ceiling fan, said Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs. Obama rents an apartment on the second floor, Gibbs said.

Ah yes, the old "got the wrong floor" excuse. We think we saw that in a movie once. Watch your back Barrack - she'll stop at nothing to gain power.

RIP Al

Sun Times, Tribune, Channel 2, Channel 5 and Channel 7 coverage.

Initial reports are talking about a fall off of his deck. Some here at SCC knew Al in passing and he was often in the thick of things. You will be missed.

Superintendent Speculation

The transfer order was out this past Friday and quite a few moves in and out of 35th Street. At least 4 lieutenants were moved and upwards of 15 sergeants got new spots. Quite a few of these moves were of people who haven't been outside in years and actually served at HQ for quite a long while.

Here's the speculation though:

• Who will be the first exempts moved when the new supe is installed? Because you know that there are going to be a mess of substitutions. Some of these new moves will be rescinded before the year is out.
• Who will be the resignations? Because rumor has it there will be a boatload of them.
  

Stupid People

We all knew that Jesse Jackson and Mayor Daley were stupid. We just didn't realize how stupid. Check out this article about the weekend anti gun marches:

• Mayor Daley also led an anti-violence march Saturday. Among other things, he said he'd like to see stricter licensing for gun sellers.

  "If a manicurist in a hair salon and a barber need a license, why can't there be one for gun dealers in the suburbs?" the mayor said.

Um, sir? There are licenses for gun dealers. Numerous licenses. And checks. And balances. At the local, state and federal levels. And Jesse isn't much better:

• Reverend Jackson concedes Chuck's Gun Shop has not broken any laws that he's aware of. And that's the point, according to Jackson: He says his repeated marches on the gun shop are less about that particular business than they are about the laws that allow gun shops to sell firearms the way they do.

"[H]as not broken any laws..." Maybe the marches need to be held elsewhere? Like Springfield where they make the laws. Or maybe, just maybe, march in the neighborhoods and tell everyone to stop shooting at one another?

Stop blaming the guns.

Major Media Scoop?

We got some letters today from officers who work Zone 10 (010 and 011 Districts).

Seems the office staff of newly elected Aldercreature Sharon Dixon has been calling the District desks asking if anyone has seen their boss. She's missed two days worth of appointments and isn't returning phone calls and the minions are getting frantic.

Anyone want to confirm or deny?

Great Idea!

This isn't getting much coverage, but has the potential to make a bunch of people uncomfortable, including our mayor:

• The Tancredo Sanctuary Cities Amendment would withhold federal funds allocated for homeland security from any state that has an official "sanctuary policy" that prohibits or restricts government officials from reporting illegal aliens to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

  These policies flout the law by requiring public entities to provide taxpayer-funded services to persons regardless of whether they are in the United States illegally. Even worse, they have allowed convicted criminals to continue to victimize Americans rather than being deported because police were barred from reporting the criminal aliens to immigration authorities.

  In 1996, Congress passed a law that specifically prohibits state and local governments from enacting sanctuary policies. Despite that, cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston, still have sanctuary policies in place.

This could, potentially, void out and entire General or Special Order requiring us to not ask the immigration status of arrestees. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of questions as to what follow up INS would do. They're as shorthanded as any police department in the nation right now.

Clearing the Corners

This is great:

• Chicago Police officers will start "cleaning the corners" of kids violating curfew to curb the annual surge in summer violence, Mayor Daley warned Thursday, as curfew citations skyrocketed.

  Already this year, the Chicago Police Department has issued 11,027 curfew citations, approaching the 12,965 citation figure for all of 2006.

  That will only be the beginning of the citation-and-fine blitzkrieg if Daley has his way.

  Unless they're going to or from work or are accompanied by an adult, kids under 17 are not allowed on the streets after 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

  "I want parents all over to know where their kids are . . . at all times. It isn't up to the Chicago Police at 11 p.m. to walk around and look for your kids. . . . It's up to you to take responsibility," Daley told a news conference at Avalon Park, 1215 E. 83rd St., called to announce an array of safe summer programs for kids.

  "Police are gonna enforce the curfew. ... Police are gonna start cleaning the corners. Don't complain to them because, if there's a drive-by shooting, you'll complain afterwards."

Thank goodness the gloves are finally off. We were wondering when the political administration was going to finally see the error of their ways and reject the "warn and fuzzy" approach to police work. "Clearing the corners" sounds like a great slogan, and we're going to enforce it with a blizzard of paper. Call us crazy, but we just don't see this one working out real well. In fact, we see just one more pointless mission to be foisted off on the Tact, Gang and TRU teams in the DOC while everything else circles the drain. Anyone else?

Ric Flair Strikes Again

Someone get this guy a gold star:

• Chicago Police seized 992 pounds of marijuana Friday evening from the garage of a Southwest Side apartment building.
  
  The stock of drugs, wrapped as if it had recently been shipped, has a street value of $2.7 million, Chicago Lawn District Cmdr. Leo Schmitz said.

That's a lot of weed boys. WOOOO! HOOOOO!!!

Another Shooting

And once again, the police go home safe:

• Chicago police fatally shot a man Thursday after he charged at them with a lead pipe and a meat cleaver in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, police said.
  
  A woman called 911 after seeing the unidentified man, thought to be in his late 20s, pouring lighter fluid on himself in an alley in the 4500 block of South Wood Street about 4:45 p.m, police said.
  
  Two Deering District officers responded, saw the man wielding the pipe and the cleaver and told him to drop the weapons, said Deputy Chief Michael Shields. The officers hit the man with chemical spray, but he lunged at the officers with the weapons, causing both to shoot him, Shields said.

Good job officers.

And the suburbs get into the action too:

• JOLIET -- A man who allegedly stabbed a Joliet police officer with a knife was shot and killed by another officer Wednesday morning, and the dead man may be linked to a knife attack on another man earlier in the day.
  
  About 10:07 a.m. Thursday, a Joliet police officer was flagged down by a man carrying a baby who said a man had tried to stab him in the second floor hallway of an apartment building at 202 E. Cass St., according to a release from police. The officer requested back-up units and upon arrival of two other officers, the man pointed out the offender to the police.
  
  When officers approached the suspect in the hallway, he refused officers' commands to show his hands, the release said, then he suddenly lunged at the first officer, stabbing him in the stomach and chest.

When the job's done, make sure you go home alive.

Bad News Again

A whole bunch of police related stuff in the paper today - mostly crap again:

• A Cicero cop accused of roughing up a driver and another charged with helping to cover it up pleaded guilty Wednesday and promised they'd never again seek careers as police officers.
• Cook County taxpayers stand to pay almost half a million dollars to a couple who were shot at by off-duty sheriff's officers during a 1999 chase.

  The officers had been at a political fund-raiser for former Sheriff Michael Sheahan and at a south suburban bar before they began following Cory Simmons and Dominique Mapp and shooting at them.

And of course, the requisite CPD scandal surfaces again:

• Embattled Chicago Police Officer Jerome Finnigan was charged with 10 more felonies Wednesday alleging he and two other cops stole $450,000 from a man.

  Finnigan, 44, already faces felony charges stemming from his alleged activities on the Chicago Police Department's elite Special Operations Section. Six other SOS officers have also been charged.

The article goes on to state that the alleged $450,000 was split three ways. But only one person was charged with 10 additional felonies. Looks like a whole bunch of cooperation going on somewhere - and deals have been cut.

Aldercreature Bites the Dust

Hooray!

• Former Ald. Arenda Troutman (20th) was indicted Wednesday on one bribery count.

  Troutman is accused of accepting a $5,000 cash bribe and another $5,000 check to a fund benefitting her in exchange for greasing a development while she was in office.

  Troutman was recorded by an informant working for the government. Troutman has denied wrongdoing.

Once again, the rate of aldercreatures indicted (and hopefully convicted) far outstrips the Police Department.

Ramsey Out

And the field narrows:

• Former Washington, D.C., Police Chief Charles Ramsey decided Tuesday not to enter the heated competition to replace retiring Chicago Police Supt. Phil Cline, but the Police Board declined to say who did apply.

  Ramsey became the second high-profile outsider to opt out of the competition as the Police Board closed off applications.

And someone posted in an earlier thread that Cline is gone 12 July. The rumor mill ought to be heating up nicely now.

OPS Revamp Delayed

Politics as usual:

• Mayor Daley's plan to reform an Office of Professional Standards perceived as too cozy with the Chicago Police Department and too protective of rogue officers hit a roadblock today.

  Four aldermen -- Bob Fioretti (2nd), Pat Dowell (3rd), Howard Brookins (21st) and Joe Moore (49th) -- used a parliamentary maneuver to delay consideration of the ordinance even after Daley bent over backward to appease his critics.

• They argued that the mayor's ordinance ignores the problem of police coercion of defendants and witnesses, and is undermined by a police contract tailor-made to shield abusive officers.

Ah, thank goodness for labor contracts that can delay and maybe derail entire swaths of this "rush to reform" without any real debate or input from the rank and file.

Here's the BIG stumbling block:

• But activists have complained the ordinance does not go far enough, saying it favors officers who are accused of misconduct. At a hearing Monday, Locke Bowman, legal director of the MacArthur Justice Center, said unfounded allegations against officers cannot be used in subsequent proceedings -- a provision he said that ignores an officer's history, including that he or she might have been the subject of dozens of prior complaints.

Read that bolded sentence again. Then wonder why everyone from the mayor on down wants you, us and every copper in Chicago to have fewer rights that the scumbags we arrest. When was the last time you ever heard of Defendant ABC having all his previous arrests, convictions or run ins with the police plastered all over his trial?

You haven't, because its prejudicial to the defendant's right to a fair trail. Yet, the "activists" and other liberal asses expect to deny the police that exact same right to a fair and unbiased trial, hearing or whatever. This OPS revamp had better be run through the legal wringer before the City and the "reverends" attempt to circumvent the labor agreement.

NOTE: Yes, we discovered that the bottom paragraphs of this post had somehow been cut off - that has been corrected.

Naughty Guns

More protests over the 24th CPS student killed this year:

• [Roberto Duran] was the 24th Chicago Public Schools student to die this year by gunfire, according to the CPS, which began recording gunfire deaths in 1998.

  The total is one shy of a record 25 shooting deaths during the 2001-02 school year.

• Such recent incidents of deadly violence involving Chicago's youth prompted hundreds of people to join in an anti-violence rally and march in the Auburn-Gresham community Tuesday night. Mayor Daley and the Reverends Michael Pfleger and Jesse Jackson addressed the rally, which also featured a minister of the Nation of Islam and CPS officials, among others.

  "We adults must say, 'Enough is enough!' " Daley shouted to the cheering protesters, demanding more gun control legislation.

Because as everyone knows, it was a fully registered, licensed and legal handgun that ran up of its own accord and shot this poor altar boy. Oh wait:

• In many ways, Roberto "was a typical freshman, but the problem was getting him to show up to school," Martinez said, noting Roberto did not attend class the day he was killed.

  According to relatives, he stopped attending class several weeks ago after a group of boys chased him as he walked to school.

• "He could have been anything, a doctor, a lawyer -- who knows," said Samuel Garcia, a youth mentor with Stroger Hospital of Cook County. "It was not too late, but life got ahold of him, at least the lifestyle here in this community did."

Would that have been the gang banging lifestyle? He was wandering the streets, truant, because he was bored. We are surprised the teachers haven't been blamed for not making the lessons more interesting or the police for not catching him out of school. But every politician and preacher runs to blame the gun and avoids any talk of the shooter, the gangs, the attitude that education doesn't matter. And the politicians and preachers will run and raise money on the body of a child they failed.

We really ought to outlaw guns someday.

Hate Crimes not Equal

What's gotten into the Tribune lately? Has Col. McCormick risen from the grave? Has someone sprinkled roach powder on the editorial staff?

Sunday, they cover the Christian/Newsom murders in Knoxville, probably the first of the mainstream media outlets to do so (The New York Times sill hasn't).

Today, John Kass addresses the disparity in media coverage when roles are reversed.

• I've been in this business long enough to know that we tap dance around such stories, hesitant, uncomfortable, insecure, vulnerable to an in-house charge of racism for reinforcing ugly stereotypes.
  
  By contrast, hateful white-on-black crime is easy to report as a cultural event. We're secure in it, eager, because we all know our parts as acolytes in the rigidly defined ritual, the victims, reporters, commentators, even the consumers of the news.
  
  Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton appear to carry the story forward. They know their roles and play them well. The cameras click. Editors dispatch think pieces on race in America. TV talking heads offer commentary and what are called "town meetings" and "national conversations on race." Special-interest advocates use the media time to argue for racial preferences in academic admissions and hiring. Politicians mouth their platitudes. Editorials chant conventional wisdom.

As cops, we're in the prime seats to observe this drama first hand. And we're sure it contributes to bunches of stereotypes, animus, and feeds various feelings towards all people. We're surprised the Tribune, so recently sliding and rolling around in the liberal mud, even approached these subjects at all.

Note: comments will be heavily regulated for this post

Spin Obama Spin!

As the wheels slowly fall off the Obama campaign:

• As a state senator, Barack Obama wrote letters to city and state officials supporting his political patron Tony Rezko's successful bid to get more than $14 million from taxpayers to build apartments for senior citizens.
• The letters appear to contradict a statement last December from Obama, who told the Chicago Tribune that, in all the years he's known Rezko, "I've never done any favors for him.''
• Two years ago, the two men were involved in a real estate deal that Obama later apologized for, calling it "boneheaded'' and a "mistake'' because the transaction occurred while Rezko was widely known to be under federal investigation. Rezko's wife paid full price for a vacant lot in Chicago's historic Kenwood district on the same day Obama bought the mansion next door from the same property owner for $300,000 below the asking price. Rezko's wife subsequently sold a sliver of the land to Obama.

For want of a fence, a crooked real estate deal was hatched. Because of this deal, a lie was told. Obama may yet be the democratic nominee because of the anti-war left, but the truth about this entire deal will doom a national campaign. And we'll bet money the leaks are all coming from Hillary's people.

We Got Nothing

Sorry for the lack of posting this evening - feeling a bit under the weather.

In the meantime, open post for all sorts of stuff. We'll try to pick up the pace in the morning

Bad News Coming

Just when you think it couldn't get any worse:

• Mayor Daley’s plan to restore public confidence in investigations of Chicago Police wrongdoing cleared its first legislative hurdle today amid claims that the new Office of Professional Standards is not independent enough. [...]
  

  The new OPS director would now have broader subpoena power and be free to investigate allegations of verbal abuse by police officers based upon a person’s race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or sexual identity.

And this is even better:

• And instead of investigating only those incidents involving discharge of a firearm “at a person,” the new OPS would be empowered to investigate “discharge of a firearm, stun gun or Taser in a manner which could potentially strike an individual” as well as injuries that occur in police custody.

Correct us if we're wrong, but the only circumstances in which one discharges a "firearm, stun gun or Taser" is to potentially strike someone, be it a resister, assailant or nut job with a knife.

So the "new and improved" OPS is going to investigate every single instance? Where are these investigators going to come from? Where's the money budgeted for this monstrosity? What does their training curriculum look like? And if they have subpoena powers, at what point do our 5th Amendment protections kick in? Just a few questions that the Department and the FOP ought to be asking and answering.

The Death Penalty Works?

Imagine if this ever received real exposure in public:

• Anti-death penalty forces have gained momentum in the past few years, with a moratorium in Illinois, court disputes over lethal injection in more than a half-dozen states and progress toward outright abolishment in New Jersey.
  
  The steady drumbeat of DNA exonerations - pointing out flaws in the justice system - has weighed against capital punishment. The moral opposition is loud, too, echoed in Europe and the rest of the industrialized world, where all but a few countries banned executions years ago.
  
  What gets little notice, however, is a series of academic studies over the last half-dozen years that claim to settle a once hotly debated argument - whether the death penalty acts as a deterrent to murder. The analyses say yes. They count between three and 18 lives that would be saved by the execution of each convicted killer.

Now we are aware that there are lies, damn lies and statistics. And it amuses us to no end that people outside of the liberal media and academia are finally taking a closer look at statistics and finding that the results trumpeted for so long are generally complete BS (see the global warming debate).

We really have no idea if the results of this study truly indicate that the death penalty deters crime - what we do know is that in the case of every single executed individual, not one has returned from the grave to commit another murder.

Suffolk County is Hiring

Any takers?

• EAST ISLIP, N.Y. - The exam isn't until Saturday, but 29,300 people apparently have already done the math. With a starting salary more than double that of the nearby NYPD — and potential patrols on sandy beaches or quiet suburban streets — tens of thousands of potential recruits have plunked down a $100 entrance fee to take the Suffolk County Police Department entrance exam.
• It is believed to be one of the largest numbers of applicants to ever sign up for a police test in the United States.

This flies in the face of recent hiring trends for police jobs nationwide. One has only to look at the drop off in applicants for the CPD to see that big city police jobs are rapidly becoming among the least desirable around. Funny how big cities seem to be hotbeds of liberal social programs and declining interest in police jobs.

The Politics of Guns

This is stupid:

• A deadly shooting on a CTA bus is now the inspiration for a new proposed federal law to keep guns out of the wrong hands. Congressman Bobby Rush plans to name it after the heroic teenager who died in the crime.
• The bill, called “Blair’s Bill,” would require licensing of all individuals who own guns, and create a national registry tracking gun sales and ownership. Congressman Bobby Rush, who has also been personally affected by gun violence, plans to introduce it in Washington later this week.

Bobby Rush was personally affected by gun violence in that he perpetuated it and advocated it as a member of the black panthers. You reap what you sow Bobby, and your son and nephew were heavily involved in the gang and narcotics culture, so death by violence or being convicted of visiting violent death on others is part of the harvest you helped foster.

And just how is Bobby going to register some almost 250 million guns in existence when the government has admitted that they can't even register and monitor 12 million illegal aliens? Is Bobby advocating home invasions to force people to register?

And does he somehow think that the assholes who shot Blair Holt are going to somehow register all of their guns?

Grandstanding again by someone who is part of the problem - and part of the original problem to boot.

Update to Below Shooting

Guess who's to blame again?

• Just then, a police car was driving west on 71st, taking a suspect to a station, and two officers jumped out. Seconds later, Derrick Traylor Jr. -- who is supposed to graduate today from Robeson High School -- allegedly turned toward police, gun in his hand.

  He was shot three times.

  "They just jumped out of the car and shot him," a sobbing aunt said. "He would've stopped if they'd said, 'freeze.' "

  Police say they told him to drop the gun before firing.

• And while the Traylor family acknowledged there was blame to be shared, word that a teenager had been shot by an officer sent waves through an Englewood neighborhood dotted by vacant lots, abandoned houses and signs pleading "Stop. Killing People." As crime-scene tape was lifted, rumblings began in the crowd, with talk of officers involved in other shootings and videotaped barroom beatings

Yup, those damn polices, shooting yet another completely innocent altar boy who was just out expressing his discontent with his father in the accepted Englewood fashion.

Shootings

A couple over the weekend.

• A man shot to death Saturday night by Chicago police has been identified.

  Officers say they shot 34-year old Shannon Kraft after he came at them with a machette and a bayonet.

  Police had gone to his home on West Winnemac after receiving a call about a man with knives. Officers say they were searching Kraft's home, when they opened one door and found him.

• A father and son exchanging gunfire on an Englewood street ended with the son allegedly being shot by police and taken to the hospital in serious condition.

  A domestic dispute between the family members erupted into gunfire in the 7100 block of Peoria Streets about 4 p.m., police News Affairs Deputy Director Pat Camden said.

  Englewood District officers driving in the area heard gunfire and saw the son, an 18 year old, allegedly firing shots. Police told the young man to drop his gun, but he allegedly refused and turned toward police with his gun, and police were forced to fire their weapon.

Officers are all ok, so that's good. And Camden is doing what he does best, speaking in front of the cameras instead of lending his name to that propaganda site.

Hello? Investigative Reporters?

We covered this incident a few weeks ago.

• Police and local officials are cracking down on illegal drag racing at the Crawford Industrial Park, which is from 41st to 47th streets between Pulaski Road and Keeler Avenue.
  
  On May 20, police made a sweep of the area, targeting illegal drag racers.
  
  The sweep, code named “Fast and Furious,” netted more than 150 cars being towed from the vicinity, several arrests and the issuance of more than $30,000 in tickets and fines.
  
  An army of tow trucks, public and private, were required to work through the night to remove the vehicles.
  
  “Ald. Burke called upon one of the largest crackdowns ever in the history of the 14th Ward,” said Donal Quinlan, spokesperson for Burke.

We're just wondering (again) who is going to take the fall when it comes out that this entire operation seems to have been conducted in violation of City ordinances.

First up, we doubt that there is ANY evidence whatsoever that the 150 towed cars were drag racing. Even at a bare minimum of 3 minutes per race between two cars (taking into consideration line up, start, finish, clearing of the "track," and settling of wagers) we're talking almost 4 hours of racing. That's unrealistic.

Second, we point to the fact that under City ordinance, if the driver of a vehicle is or appears on scene, a tow truck driver is REQUIRED to allow them to remove their vehicle from the premises. A tow company (or the police) cannot hold a car hostage or detain a car for an available tow truck in this case. The owner of the property can sign a complaint form for tickets, but even the property owner isn't permitted to keep the cars.

Third, the hints of impropriety in allowing a politically heavy tow company to literally "steal" 150 cars under the guise of the drag racing statute, make it almost inevitable that the CPD is going to be left holding the bag should a scandal hit.

We're really tired of being the media's punching bag when stupid bosses and their even stupider political masters leave us holding the short, shitty end of the stick. Why doesn't some reasonably competent journalist make a name for themselves by exposing a bit of this bullshit? Maybe there isn't anyone worthy of the title anymore.

No Training Officers

This story only covers the half of it:

• Chicago continues to struggle in attracting veteran police officers to become trainers for rookies, a top police official says.

  The city's budget contains money for 265 field training officers. But when a new class of 30 trainers takes the street soon, the total will reach only 155, Deputy Supt. Charles Williams said.

What does that tell anyone about the Field Training Officer position? In the right hand tool bar, right below the SCC flag, we wrote about the FTO program back in September of last year. It hasn't improved at all. Does anyone have any realistic proposals to improve the FTO job? It's arguably the most important job in the entire Department, but no one wants it.

Bad Timing

Oops:

• A group aimed at ending violence kicked off 'Cease Fire Week' Saturday. Cease Fire, a community organization, has worked since 2000 to end violence, especially shootings.

And then this happens:

• Police said a man and a woman were shot and critically wounded in a building at the Cabrini-Green housing development on the early Saturday, hours after three people were shot at a party in the same neighborhood.

Maybe if they outlawed handguns... Oh wait a minute.

How Noble!

Next, we'll hear that they "Feel our pain"

• Chicago's $98,125-a-year aldermen voted themselves a cost-of-living pay raise last summer -- and gave themselves political cover by approving the subsequently vetoed big-box minimum wage ordinance on the same day.

  But that doesn't mean they're too big to sacrifice.

  Friday, the City Council's Finance Committee approved a mandatory furlough plan for 3,273 city managers -- and voluntarily added aldermen to the list of those giving up one day's pay to help plug a mid-year budget shortfall.

We've got an even better idea - in addition to giving up an entire day's pay, why don't the aldercreatures contribute one day's bribe money or one day's worth of crooked contracts and land deals. That'd close Daley's budget gap instantly.

TASERs for Everyone!

From the Sun Times:

• Despite a handful of deaths blamed on Tasers nationally, the Chicago Police Department will equip about 150 field training officers with the stun guns -- in addition to 200 of the devices that sergeants have been using for about five years.

  Deputy Supt. Charles Williams said he can envision a day when every Chicago Police officer is equipped with a Taser.

We can't see that day coming, because the City will never spend the amount of money it'd take to outfit every single beat car with at least one TASER. And we are starting to wonder if officers are being given too many options - mace, baton, TASER, gun, not to mention the always present option of "hands on." Does anyone else worry about equipment overload? Maybe hesitation when choosing between options? And if you lose one option to a bad guy, are officers able to step up and switch tactically? Instantly?

A sergeant told us that if a bad guy gets a hold of a TASER, the Use of Force model immediately steps up to "lethal force" because the bad guy can potentially disarm any officer on the scene of his sidearm. Does anyone really want to be the test case for that one?

Cardinal Smacks Pfleger

Finally, some action on the Pfool, Pfleger:

• Cardinal Francis George has taken an unusual step: issuing a statement about the Archdiocese of Chicago’s activist priest, the Rev. Michael Pfleger, for comments he made at an anti-gun rally.

  It is the latest episode in longstanding tensions between George and Pfleger, who have clashed over everything from doctrine to politics.

And rest assured, if Pfleger steps out of line again, the Cardinal will issue ANOTHER strongly worded memo. It's just like the United Nations. A blizzard of paper and memos and denunciations. And nothing changes.

Negotiations Begin

With the current labor contract expiring in 22 days or so, lists of proposals are being collected, debated and published.

From the FOP website, there is a 2 page summary and a 43 page comprehensive list of proposals. The Sun Times also covers the story:

• Chicago Police officers are demanding a 24 percent pay hike over four years and a $3,000-a-year residency stipend to compensate them for being forced to live and send their kids to school in the city.

  The Fraternal Order of Police is also seeking a reduction in merit promotions -- from 20 percent to 16 percent -- and a guarantee that promotional exams will be administered and graded on the same day.

  To prevent the Chicago Police Department from depleting the ranks of the 25 districts, the union wants to cap at 5 percent the number of officers transferred out of units or districts.

The Sun Times is merely an overview of a few headline grabbing proposals guaranteed to stir up the blood of the populace. There's some good stuff in here and some bad. We'll let some of the comments speak for themselves as we digest this thing. We've got some phone calls to make.

A Rainbow of Changes?

Never let it be said that Fran Spielman couldn't turn a phrase:

• Eager to reverse the exodus from his sixth-term cabinet, Mayor Daley made a rainbow of personnel moves today.

  He promoted his white budget director, named an African-American replacement from the private sector and appointed a Hispanic executive director for the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications.

Fran continues to carry water for the Daley administration as she always has. In this day and age, it's truly sad that the media just couldn't say that:

• "Three highly qualified individuals were promoted or hired for positions to ensure the continued safety of the citizenry and smooth running of city government."

But since that entire paragraph would be a complete lie, we guess Fran has to publish a version of what really happened:

• "Continuing to pander to the various ethnic blocks that owe the mayor and, in turn, are owed by the mayor, a white guy, a black guy and a brown guy were put into positions of power where they can exert undue influence over millions of dollars that they most likely have no skills or talents whatsoever to administer."

We could actually respect a paragraph like that one.

Immigration Bill Dies

Hooray!

Coverage around the entire right hand side links.

We especially recommend Ace of Spades, Captain's Quarters, Michelle Malkin, RightWingNews, and PowerLine for a history of this horrendous bill and how it was appropriately killed.

What's This?

From the comments section:

• Comment #1 - i saw a memo in c/o book that the suv's in the districts are being reassigned to the 20 sector sgt's...due to the fact that the department is "currently purchasing tactical equipment" what does this mean??? The memo was from Charles Williams...What tactical equipment??? guns?? or cones for seatbelt missions?? please tell...
• Comment #2 - A teletype came out today stating that as of the first day of the 7th Period, all of the SUV's delivered to the Districts will be re-assigned as the 20 Sector Sgts car. Per the teletype, this will be to facilitate specialized equiptment which is to be carried by that Sgt-----no mention of precisely what kind of equiptment.....Could this be the weapons car for each district that people on this board have begged for??? I cannot confirm, anyone else?

And the replies are great, too:

• More babyseats......
• Ok, shhhh, this is what I heard..
  the SUV will be equipped with, state of the art filing cabinets. Research has found that Sgt's are being inundated with special attentions,and a plethora of medical check requests from every unit city wide and in order to keep these records orderly, Sgt's need more filing cabinets. Really

We'll put money on the "equipment" being more crime scene tape, markers, gun recovery kits, seatbelt enforcement signs, baby seats, SPAR forms and CR initiation paper. And if some how, some way, this ends up being gun safes for shotguns, rifles, riot shields and such, we'll take full credit for getting the ball rolling. Just like we got Phil to resign, Matthews to get reassigned, Hitney to infamy, blogspot to get banned and Seiser to run it (sarcasm people - sarcasm - everyone knows Seiser has always run it)

Department Backs and Covers

Hilarious follies and hijinks.

From this morning's WBBM report (SCC post at this link):

• Police Sergeant Kirkland Crossley says the FN-5.7 bullets can go through 48 layers of Kevlar.

  "We recovered ten shell casings, and this weapon is known to carry at least 20 rounds in the magazine."

  WBBM: How often do you see this type gun on the street?

  "Very first time, very first time I've seen it, and I've been on the job 15 years now. And by far this is probably the most dangerous handgun that I've come across."

  Sergeant Crossley says, compared to the FN-5.7, what police carry is a slingshot.

Tonight, we have this:

• Now police are downplaying Crossley's remarks.
  
  Sergeant Steven Sesso, rangemaster for the Chicago Police Department, called to say there are six types of ammunition the FN-5.7 fires. Only three types, he says, are available commercially. The other three? Only sold to military and law enforcement. And he says those three are the only types that can penetrate body armor.
  
  Sergeant Sesso says it is unlikely the rounds fired yesterday were body-piercing. But he cannot be sure.
  
  "Without having the actual round in hand - just having the cartridge casings - it's not absolutely 100 percent positive what round."
  
  Sergeant Sesso says, "We don't want to cause panic."

Panic among the citizens? Or among the coppers who might be facing this gun? Sgt. Crossley's comments may have been ill advised, but they're out there and now he's going to pay a price. Sgt. Sesso plays the company man and attempts to smooth over the controversy while admitting he has no idea what was fired out of the gun. And as someone pointed out in a comment, thank goodness material has never ever disappeared from a government warehouse or gun shop or even the Evidence and recovered Property Section for that matter.

Channel 7 also covers the story.

UPDATE 0200 hours this morning: Crossley dumped to midnights already? See the comments section. Can anyone confirm?

Mark Brown - The Rest of the Answers

A week ago, Mark Brown published three scenarios from the upcoming Lieutenants re-test.

We, along with a number of our readers took exception to Brown's headline - "Lieutenant's Exam Tests Our Faith in Cops" - as it seems to imply cops had anything at all to do with drafting the test, administering the test or choosing the company that bungled this from the start. It certainly appears that Brown is deflecting blame from the City Administration (Mayor) in whose lap this entire mess should be resting.

Wednesday, Brown published the other four scenarios.

This test should be cancelled immediately. There is no way in hell that this tests any body's ability to think on their feet if they have each and every scenario in hand before the test. Everyone already knows that the truly clout heavy didn't even have to show up for the second portion of the test. All they had to do was pass part one to be considered by the "meri-clout-orious" board.

Do we really need any more mediocrity in the supervisory ranks? Because that is exactly where we're headed - again.

Madigan Endorses Stealing

We were listening to WBBM radio on the way into work and on the way home, and one of the stories that got play most of the day was the on going budget "crisis" in Springfield.

• Illinois leaders seemed farther apart than ever Wednesday after another round of negotiations on the overdue state budget.

  House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, repeatedly spoke up for a version of the budget that even he admits isn't balanced.

• Blagojevich, known for his infrequent appearances at the state Capitol, is urging lawmakers to meet five days a week, rather than the customary three days.

  Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville, took issue with that: "I said to the governor, 'You know what? We've been working a heck of a lot longer down here than you've been. We're here many days you are not, so don't give us that kind of rhetoric.'"

We don't have anything near a balanced budget and the people in charge are taking playground pot shots at each other over how much time they spend in Springfield. Hey assholes? Try getting a real job and working 40 plus hours a week.

We can't find Madigan's exact quote but he is tying the budget to an electrical rate rollback AND a moratorium on cutoffs for three years. A moratorium on cutoffs. Hmmm. So if this passes and we chose to, we don't have to pay for electricity for the next three years? Damn. We're actually thinking of voting for a democrat all of the sudden. Can we expand this a little bit so Madigan can lock in our votes? Maybe we could not have to pay for natural gas. Or fuel for the car? Or groceries? If Madigan can declare a moratorium on our mortgage payments for the next three years, we'll really be impressed.

Madigan is attempting to buy votes by denying a company the ability to cut off service from people who are stealing a product. Amazing. Truly amazing.

IMPORTANT UPDATE

From the WBBM website:

• As police were sorting through the details of a Bronzeville neighborhood shooting, there was rising concern about the weapon used and its long-term implications for Chicago.

  On the ground, shattered glass from the CTA bus stop, where the victims' car smashed into it. Also on the ground, shell casings from a gun known as an FN-5.7.

  Police Sergeant Kirkland Crossley says the FN-5.7 bullets can go through 48 layers of Kevlar.

  "We recovered ten shell casings, and this weapon is known to carry at least 20 rounds in the magazine."

  WBBM: How often do you see this type gun on the street?

  "Very first time, very first time I've seen it, and I've been on the job 15 years now. And by far this is probably the most dangerous handgun that I've come across."

  Sergeant Crossley says, compared to the FN-5.7, what police carry is a slingshot.

So, it's out there. And only WBBM radio is covering it.

Can we please, please, PLEASE

• get the new goddamn weapon order approved
• get some new, modern, decent weapons approved
• get some damn rifles and shotguns on the street ASAP.
  

And we've also drafted a letter for our significant others to retain a lawyer to sue the shit out of the City in the event of our untimely deaths if it is directly attributable to the Department's incompetence in arming and protecting us in the face of overwhelming firepower.

Be DAMN careful out there people - we're as undergunned as we were before they approved semi-autos - probably more so.

Officer Safety Alert

Listening to WBBM Radio this evening, they had this story:

• Chicago police are searching for two suspects wanted in connection with a shooting that left two brothers wounded and caused the car they were riding in to crash into a South Side bus stop.
  
  According to witnesses, the brothers were riding in a black car and the shooter was riding in a white car near the intersection of 39th Street and South King Drive.
  
  Shots rang out and soon after the victim's car crashed into the CTA bus stop at the corner of the intersection causing it to shatter, according to police.

That is the website report. The actual report on the radio noted that bullets found on the scene by police were of the type that can penetrate 40 layers of Kevlar. We have no way of knowing who may have leaked this to the media or if it is true or not, but we know what we heard over the air and the radio reporter mentioned the body armor defeating round. It might turn out to be complete BS, but it's better to be aware that these things are out there. Be careful.

Fire Department Woes

In light of the recent Lieutenants Test Scandal, this really ought to be getting better play in the media. The City can't run a legit test to save it's life. And if it was a legit test, why is the City making private lawyers rich over it?

• Chicago Fire Commissioner Ray Orozco wants to hire up to 500 new firefighters from the list generated by the city's first firefighters entrance exam in more than a decade.
• But that hiring could be derailed by an April 20 ruling by U.S. District Judge Joan Gotschall, who entered an injunction requiring the city to hire 132 African-American firefighters. They sued over the 1995 exam, claiming discrimination.

And the taxpayers take it in the shorts again. Is this affecting public safety in some small way? Since we're shorthanded in the number of cops on the street, are we short 500 people in the firehouses, too?

This is a Bad Thing?

Keep on stalling we say:

• At a meeting with legislative leaders late Tuesday, Gov. Blagojevich warned that unless a budget deal is reached, state government could shut down next month.

And a side benefit of the State failing to pass the budget?

• CTA customers worried about possible service cuts and fare increases are getting a chance to tell the CTA board what they think. The first of four public hearings was held Tuesday night to talk about the so-called doomsday scenario. The CTA has threatened to make those changes if the agency doesn't get the state funding it requested.

Will the Golden Boy end up taking a beating in public for the mayor? Because, after all, the mayor is the one pulling the strings in Springfield - his Machine.

Execute Them All

If a murder occurs during the commission of a felony, aren't all parties to the crime liable for the death? That's how we always had it explained to us:

• Suspects in a South Side bank robbery have given conflicting statements as to who fired the bullet that took the life of a bank teller, according to charges.

  Two of the three people charged in the fatal May 22 robbery told authorities different men among them were responsible for firing the fatal shot at teller Tramaine Gibson, court papers indicate.

This case is being prosecuted by the US Attorney, so we'd hope that they could bypass the Ryan/Blago moratorium on executions and send these pieces of garbage to the gurney in the next decade or so.

Obama Threatens Riots?

No grasp of reality (or maybe just a master (race) baiter):

• Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Tuesday that the Bush administration has done nothing to defuse a "quiet riot" among blacks that threatens to erupt just as riots in Los Angeles did 15 years ago.

  The first-term Illinois senator said that with black people from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast still displaced 20 months after Hurricane Katrina, frustration and resentments are building explosively as they did before the 1992 riots.

  "This administration was colorblind in its incompetence," Obama said at a conference of black clergy, "but the poverty and the hopelessness was there long before the hurricane.

20 months and none have been able to, oh, we don't know, find a job? As a laborer? In the cleanup or reconstruction or anything? And who exactly was running New Orleans for the past couple of decades? Oh yeah, democrats. But we all know who's really to blame:

• "Those 'quiet riots' that take place every day are born from the same place as the fires and the destruction and the police decked out in riot gear and the deaths," Obama said.

Damn those police!

Starks at OEMC?

The dispatcher blogs on the right hand link area have yet to really pick up on this story, but it'll be interesting to see their take on this article when they finally get around to it:

• First Deputy Police Supt. Dana Starks is angling to take over Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications in a deal that would take him out of the running to replace retiring top cop Phil Cline.

• Cline and Starks butted heads from Day One -- ever since City Hall dictated Starks be promoted to first deputy to create a salt-and-pepper team at the top of the Chicago Police Department.

  It was a marriage made in hell--the police equivalent of the Bears hiring Mike Ditka as head coach but demanding that he keep Buddy Ryan as defensive coordinator, sources said.

• Sources said the two top cops also clashed over the July 2005 incident that saw state Sen. James Meeks (D-Chicago) claim he was the victim of racial profiling. [...]
  

  Two months later, Cline redefined Starks' role in a way that removed the No. 2 man from day-to-day control over the department.

  The OEMC job would allow Starks to collect a $162,912-a-year civilian salary, in addition to his $129,339-a-year police pension.

We remember when Cline stripped everything from Stark's domain, effectively gutting the previously recognized "power behind the throne" that was the First Deputy's spot. That was a hilarious event.

But the truly obscene thing here is the fact that Starks can retire and then more than double his salary? We think we've located a whole bunch of waste and fraud in the City budget all of the sudden.

Funny Story - If True

From the comments (again):

• anonymous said: There is nothing funnier to see than fully grown, large men in white shirts at 3510 crying and bitching about SCC.

And the response:

• 6/03
  details---details

Why would they be crying and bitching? Have we been outdrawing the "official" blog again? Maybe if they'd just unblock the filters so everyone didn't have to wait 24 hours to see what was posted about them, they could keep up with the gossip 24/7 instead of having to rush home every day. Oh wait - the really BIG bosses don't have the filters - or so we were told.

8 and 8 - If They're Lucky

We're just saying. The Bears aren't about to surprise anyone this year, they're playing a Division Champion's schedule, and now they have a great big hole up front.

Eight and Eight. We hope we're wrong and someone can remind us how wrong we were in December sometime. Until that time though, we're betting on a bunch of unhappy fans this year.

An Award for What?

Back in April, we posted about the new awards the Department was looking to create. One of them was a "Top Gun" award that had nothing to do with marksmanship and a "Traffic Stop of the Month" award. No criteria have been announced that we know of and we solicited anyone with artistic talent to submit alternate awards along the lines of those we proposed here and here in August of 2005.

We got one entry and we're still trying to figure out where to use it.

Today, we saw this (click to enlarge):An "Attendance Recognition" award. WTF? We can only imagine what the criteria are going to be for this one. Perfect attendance over the course of a year? Not using any time due? Only taking the bare minimum allotted vacation days and never extending furlough? Never missing a parade detail or court appearance? What if they carry you on the sheets?

What the hell is this, grade school? Who comes up with this crap?

Alienating the Base

Well, the conservative base has completely deserted the Administration on this immigration amnesty bill. Bush is doing his part to drive them away by saying that opponents of the amnesty must be narrow minded, unpatriotic and probably racist. Donations to the Republican party from small donors (no businesses or soft money) have dropped by over 40%. And if they aren't sending money, they aren't going to be voting for Senators and Representatives that support this bill.

Then we found this brilliant idea at HotAir.com. Next time you get a solicitation in the mail, be it from Republicans or even a democrat, send this:

First up, if you're using prepaid envelopes sent out by the party, they have to pick up the tab for this nonsense. Second, it conveys disgust most appropriately. It's the best of both worlds. Here's a sheet of 4 that you can print out and mail as the situation warrants.

Hey, Look! Crime is Up

From the feebs:

• For the second year in a row, the FBI's Uniform Crime Report � scheduled to be published Monday � shows violent crime on the rise: Overall, violent crimes were up 1.3 percent. Robbery is up 6 percent and homicide is up .3 per cent.
• The increase in crime is a dramatic reversal from the 1990s when violent crime was at all time lows, dropping 26 percent. The murder rate went down 34 percent. The reduction is credited in part to a federally funded program called C.O.P.S. that added 100,000 police officers to America�s streets.
  
  Democrats in Congress blame the latest crime spike on Bush administration budget cuts in the police hiring program.

Right. It has nothing at all to do with democrats pushing lenient sentencing guidelines or stacking parole boards with bleeding hearts or even the constant attempts to outlaw the death penalty and outlaw guns. Or maybe constantly beating down law enforcement trying to do its job is demoralizing entire generations of police from really caring.

And Speaking of Maintenance

In light of real reporting, we get this:

• A first-ever analysis of city pothole data by the Chicago Sun-Times found that Uptown’s North Side neighbor, Edgewater, was also chock full of street cavities. However, other communities packed with potholes were scattered all over the city.

Wow, how many millions were wasted on this? And the media treats it like real news in the midst of how many Federal Task Force investigations? It does reveal a few tidbits like this though:

• But curiously enough, some of the slowest average response times in patching potholes were recorded in clout-heavy neighborhoods like Norwood Park, (15 days) Edison Park (12 days), Clearing (11 days) and Forest Glen (10 days).

  These bungalow belt communities are home to thousands of police officers, firefighters, city officials — and probably a few pothole patchers.

  So why so sluggish in responding?

Um, because the mayor knows he can take these votes for granted? Because these areas have shown time and again that they'll either elect republicans or actual competent alternative non Machine candidates if presented? What other reason could there be?

No Money for Maintenance?

You'd think that in a city like Chicago, where there are more movable bridges than in just about any other city on the planet, someone would make sure that they operated properly so as not to disrupt life too much. You'd be wrong:

• Traffic was detoured downtown temporarily Saturday after two bridges became stuck in the upright position. The first bridge got stuck on Congress Parkway Saturday morning. Chicago police say it appears an electrical short caused the problem. Workers were able to lower it manually about two hours later. A similar problem occurred Saturday afternoon at the Wells Street bridge. It affected passengers on the CTA Brown Line

So why are we writing about this? Because it's symptomatic of everything that's wrong with the City Administration and how it runs things. Things like maintenance budgets are ignored for a quick buck here and there. Things like actually having a fleet of pool cars for the Police Department are neglected and steered into SUV's for politically connected individuals. Things like actually funding a pension are ignored so the money can be spent on making construction companies rich and political donations flowing.

It's been like this for years and we're finally starting to see some of the cans that were kicked down the road coming to the fore.

Pfleger the Pfool

What is it with this moron?

• Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina’s Church, went way over the top this week. During a protest against Chuck’s Gun Shop, Father Pfleger twice threatened to “snuff out” the shop’s owner and threatened the same fate for legislators who oppose his position on gun control.

  “We’re gonna find you and snuff you out,” Fleger [sic]said about the gun shop owner, likening the man to a “rat.” He later repeated his threat to “snuff out” the owner.

  Fleger [sic] also had this to say to state legislators who vote against gun control measures.

  “We’re gonna snuff out legislators who are voting [garbled] against our gun laws and we’re coming for you because we are not going to sit idly.”

Pardon our interpretation of the law, but isn't this assault? Threatening any person with bodily harm falls under the assault statutes if we recall correctly. We even recall locking up a number of people for threatening others with bodily harm. Pfleger's response is suitably ignorant:

• Vince Clark, a spokesman for Pfleger, told Cybercast News Service Wednesday that the pastor wasn't aware of the violent connotation of "snuff" and didn't mean to threaten bodily harm.
  
  "I've never heard that compared before with the word murder," Clark said. "He [Pfleger] was never aware of that. If that was the case he would never have used that language."
  
  Clark said Pfleger's use of the word "was meaning 'to expose' but to do no bodily harm."

Pfleger has served the parish of St. Sabina's for well near two decades. He's ministered to gang bangers, murderers and the scum of the earth. And he doesn't know the meaning of the word "snuff"? What a crock of shit.

Well, we hope that John Riggio, owner of Chuck's Gun Shop, takes all lawful and legal means to protect himself, his family and his completely legal, Federally licensed and State of Illinois licensed business in light of these threats. And if a certain priest accidentally gets "snuffed" (to wit - "exposed" as defined by the Pfool) then all the better for society.

More coverage over at FreeRepublic and CNS News.

Two Helicopters

That's right - we've got two of them now:

• The new chopper has all of the bells and whistles, including night vision instrumentation that allows officers wearing night-vision goggles to see in the dark; a gamma radiation detector that could be used to locate dirty bombs; and a LoJack stolen vehicle detection system. It's also equipped with a special map system, powerful video cameras that can downlink pictures to Chicago's 911 emergency center and a searchlight.

What other features does it have? Suggestions welcome - how about a DOC area locator so it won't waste any precious moments it could be spending hovering over a hot spot.

Note to Tiny Brains

To the softball that keeps saying we're a "douchebag" for censoring his BS.

Some person is bitching about getting censored more often than not in the comment sections. For their benefit, we are posting this primer on how to get posted regularly on this blog.

First up, as stated numerous times before, we publish between 100 and 250 comments a day, and we publish upwards of 98% of submissions - at last count it was something like 98.7%. Almost every single one is anonymous. We have no way of telling who anyone is unless they chose a moniker and stick with it, like Rue St. Michel, Westcide, and others. So if you aren't getting published, it's because of your content.

We give everyone miles of leeway here. MILES of it. Off topic subjects, constant rumor mongering, speculation to the extreme. There are certain lines we try not to cross and certain words that get your comment flushed into the great Internet void.

• In memorial threads concerning officers hurt or dead, anything that isn't related to well wishes or prayers gets flushed.
  
• Gratuitous attacks on certain races, genders or behaviors get extra scrutiny. The word "savage" in just about any context except when used to describe behavior usually gets trashed. Just about any reference to "rhymes with Lunt" to describe females will never see the light of day. Everyone in the city who pays attention knows Huberman is gay - big deal. If he isn't doing you, who gives a rat's ass? We've published entire lists of words that are banned along with subjects that we've just gotten sick of (like the B Team and Area 2 Gun Team). Go through our archives and find them.
  
• For the most part, bosses are fair game. They are public figures and there is no expectation of privacy for public figures. Their missteps are fodder for speculations on the site and recent State and Federal Supreme Court rulings provide legal protections for comments NOT posted by blog operators.
• Out and out lies and propaganda are flushed too, as we don't feel like expending the time or effort talking to brick walls and correcting stupidity. Certain brainwashed liberal sycophants have disappeared when we denied them a forum.
  
• Ad hominem attacks on SCC are deleted at our whim. Some amuse us - others, not so.

As you might have observed, all of our posts deal with sticky issues in a very general way so as to avoid any entanglements that might arise. You may also have observed that SCC is not a democracy. This is a dictatorship, plain and simple. You have no expectation of getting published here. If you're that hell bent on spewing your bile, get a blog like we did. They're free! Then go and try to generate some interest in your chosen subject. If it's good, we'll even link to it.

Nah Nah Hey Hey Goodbye

Cortez Trotter, who has taken more than a few beatings in various comment sections regarding mismanagement and squandering of training opportunities for the city's first responders, is resigning:

• Chief Emergency Officer Cortez Trotter abruptly resigned today, leaving Chicago with vacancies or lameducks in three jobs crucial to the city’s ability to handle a disaster or terrorist attack.

  Trotter’s resignation from the $167,700-a-year job created just for him was delayed until after the mayoral election.

If only we had friends who could magically create $167,700-a-year jobs just for us. Trotter's reign was punctuated by a "stinging" Federal rebuke on preparedness - almost none of which has been corrected to our knowledge - and preceded by a critical misstep in building search and rescue during the County Building fire that resulted in the deaths of 6 people.

The truly amazing thing about Trotter's retirement? He's going to work for the emergency management and crisis team of James Witt - the same James Witt who investigated the critical missteps that resulted in the deaths of 6 people in the County Building fire that forced Fire Commissioner James Joyce out and resulted in the mayor creating Trotter's spot.

UPDATE: This is even more of an indication of how out of touch the emergency management people are:

• [Regarding the evacuation drill held last year] He added, "It's no small feat to evacuate over 3,000 people during the height of the business day and come back with some true lessons learned and re-write the city's entire Central Business District evacuation plan. We've tried to build on this culture of preparedness. . . . It's been a very productive year."

3,000 people is what? A quarter percent of the downtown business population? Less? And the Tribune published photos of building security propping open exit doors and passing out water bottles and goodie bags. And the feds monitoring the drill?

• But what about the stinging federal critique? It cited a "fragmented regional communications infrastructure" with "insufficient channels for joint operations," prompting many first-responders to use their personal cell phones.

We guess Trotter meant "productive" in terms of his investment portfolio after doing next to nothing to earn his $167,000 aside from press releases blaming the feds for the drill shortcomings.

Hahahaha

Now we can only hope that George ends up living in a cardboard box somewhere in Kankakee since single handedly giving control of an entire state to the Daley machine.

• A Cook County judge on Thursday sided with state retirement officials, ruling that convicted former Gov. George Ryan is not entitled to a $60,000-a-year pension that he made early in his political career before the corruption occurred.
• "Ryan must forfeit all pension benefits earned . . . while working for the state, regardless of the fact that he held differing positions," Agran wrote in an 11-page opinion.

Now how about some jail time? Mr. Fitzgerald?

Blast From the Past

Memories:

• An Old Town restaurateur and convicted felon was sentenced Thursday to 3 years in prison for dodging taxes.
  
  Frank Milito, whose friendship led to the resignation of former Chicago Police Supt. Matt Rodriguez, told U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber he was "very sorry for my sins" before he was sentenced. He pleaded guilty in January to paying employees in cash to avoid Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Ah, the simple days when merely consorting with known mafia figures could bring down a Superintendent.

Amusing Story

Out of the Philippines:

• For singing out of tune, a jobless man was shot dead by a security guard of a videoke bar at the height of an argument in San Mateo, Rizal Tuesday night.

Now, a karaoke bar full of bad singing isn't really a surprise. Has anyone ever been to a couple Detective Area Christmas parties when the karaoke really gets out of hand? We're just shocked that after all the karaoke bar shootings that Seiser has been involved in, stories like these aren't in the headlines every single day.

Seiser loves karaoke. And Seiser always wins karaoke night.