Tommy Skilling Earns Another Medal

This is the spin:

• Police say on Wednesday, no shootings or homicides were reported in Chicago for a period of 24 hours, for the first time in nearly a year.

  In a statement, police Supt. Garry McCarthy credited the lack of violence to “the tremendous police work of the men and women of the Chicago Police Department.”

  He pointed out that since May of last year, the department has placed 1,000 officers back in districts from special units, and instituted the data-driven CompStat program to track and fight crime.

The reality is that the daytime temperature was under 20 degrees and the wind was bitingly cold. As we go to post time, the temperature is six-degrees and projected to drop even more.

Tommy Skilling deserves at least as much credit as CompStat, probably more.

More MFF Rumors

We're unable to confirm as we aren't available at the moment, but rumor has it that the Department removed the POWER Test requirement for the MFF eligibility list. That tells us one thing:

• Reverse seniority is about to be used

They can't draft you into an "assignment" and then have everyone who doesn't want to be there tank the test so they don't qualify for it.

Who the heck is doing the thinking on this one? Because they're looking like completely out-of-touch idiots at this point.

Someone Was Wondering...

...where's the promised equipment?

• When are the replacement shields coming in as promised? When are the new gas masks coming in as promised? When and where do I get my eye glass inserts? Why am I hearing that I have to pay for them? What about the insert for the helmet to stop the pee and poop or bleach from running down off my helmet into my eyes blinding me after jagoffs through this shit at me? Do we all get a shield? Are they supplying the front line officers with relief every other hour? How about water, gatorade, sandwiches? Porta Johns? Extra Mace? Extra Ammo? Flex Cuffs? Emergency first aid kits? I say call in the National Gaurd and put them througout the city in groups of 25 troops. Let the people know if shit goes postal, the military will do what needs to be done to restore order.

We were promised the same thing. After more than a few Bulls riots, we can barely see through the plastic shield.

Your New G-8 Best Friend

Use as necessary.

UPDATE: It's not for securing anything.

UPDATE: Hint - it covers things.

"Training" Shortfall

Once again, the main stream media playing catch up:

• More than 6,500 Chicago police officers have been trained in anticipation of the thousands of demonstrators, some of whom are expected to incite violence, that are expected in Chicago in May for the NATO/G8 summits.

  But just how well Chicago police officers are being trained is a question being raised by some.

  The great majority of officers have undergone an eight hour training session, which according to those who participated, consisted of watching a film for half the time and baton practice for the remainder.

  Officers said they are given a small 13-page pocket pamphlet with stick figures that outline various formations. It’s called Chicago Police Crowd Control Formations.

They ran out of pamphlets when we went, so we never even saw them.

Good for the FOP preparing the ground over which the next battle may be fought - the blame game if this turns into the disaster it has in every other city it was held. We fully expect that the supposed 12 hour days are going to turn into 14 hour ones in short order.

Read the Fine Print

From the comments:

• The department sent out another notice concerning MFF, this time they eliminated some of the wording. They took out, you will be assigned to your district and called out as necessary and replaced it with you may be called out if your on duty.
  
  Typical department thinking everyone below them is a moron.
  

They're just making this less and less desirable.

I Tripped

This will go down in history as one of the worst excuses ever, along with "Those ain't my pants" and "I just came outta the house"

• The captain of the Italian cruise ship gave a slapstick explanation of how he ended up safely in a lifeboat instead of going down with his ship, saying he tripped and fell into the boat as it was being lowered into the sea, Italian media reported today.

  "I had no intention of escaping," Francesco Schettino, 52, said during his first court hearing Tuesday, according to Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.

  "I was helping some passengers put the life boat to sea. At a certain point the mechanism for lowering it, blocked. We had to force it. Suddenly the system unblocked itself and I tripped and I found myself inside the life boat with a number of passengers."

This goof is so screwed.

Again

Please don't gamble your life, livelihood and freedom over alcohol:

• A Cook County jury on Wednesday found Chicago police officer Richard Bolling guilty of aggravated DUI and reckless homicide in connection with the death of a 13-year-old boy nearly three years ago.
  
  Trenton Booker, 13, was on his bike May 22, 2009 when he was struck while riding near 81st and Ashland. Bolling, now 42, was off-duty at the time.

We all know someone who tends to drink a bit much. We also know there are others more than willing to be designated drivers for those who wish to partake. When something like this happens, we all suffer.

We've said in the past that the star you carry opens a world no one else gets to see. But it also opens a hell should you screw up. If past sentencing is any indication, 10 years is the minimum being looked at.

Brilliant!

This is a great idea:

• Expect to see the junker cars in your district to disappear real soon.
  
  EMMD is compiling a list of crap vehicles, they plan on using the junkers during G8 in the hopes that vehicles will be damaged and claim damage and replacement by fed.
  
  McJersey is trying to put a spin on it that he is pulling crap cars from districts because he cares about the equipment that patrol needs to do their job. Only thing is he doesn't have any replacement vehicles right now, so expect to have to wait for cars coming out of roll call.

We heard about this method of thinking once. Something along the lines of "never let a crisis go to waste." This is inspired thinking. This is...

Oh wait a minute...damnit

As Close as it Gets

Someone ran the numbers by title code. This is what we have at the moment:

• 9161 Police Officer...............9,422
  9206 E.T.’s...............93
  9174 Police Agent...............21
  9170 PO-Armorer...............00
  9169 PO-Mounted...............25
  9168 PO-Marine...............38
  9164 PO-FTO...............67
  9163 PO-Fingerprint...............13
  9155 PO-Arbitration...............12
  9153 PO- Expl K9...............27
  9152 PO-K9...............24
  9151 PO-Traf Spec...............24
  9126 Police Tech...............8
  9165 PO-Detective...............971
  9213 PO-Firearm ID Tech I...............2
  9201 PO-Forensic Inv I...............19
  9166 PO-Superv Latent...............1
  9160 PO-Security Spec...............12
  9158 Explosive Tech I...............18
  9156 PO-Supv Sub Abuse Cns...............1
  9015 PO-Legal Officer I...............14
  9171 Sergeant...............1,117
  9202 PO-Forensic Inv II...............0
  9173 Lieutenant...............206
  9159 Expl Tech II...............0
  9016 PO-Legal Officer II...............5
  9175 Captain/XO...............43
  9157 Expl Tech III...............0
  9017 PO-Legal Officer III...............0
  9752 Commander...............46
  9796 ADS/Deputy Chief...............7
  9785 Chief...............9
  9781 1st Deputy...............1

That's supposed to add up to 12,236 total sworn as of a few weeks ago. We don't know how many are light/limited duty, medical, IOD, etc. We assume LOA isn't counted, but can't be sure. It's a snapshot. The trouble is we have nothing to compare it to from 5, 10 or even 20 years ago.

Once Again, Media Bias

Again at the Tribune.

Exhibit A: The Bridgeport Beating:

• Comments are closed in what appear to be a bunch of punks (Asian and a white kid) beating on a minority (Asian) teen. The YouTube video has gone viral, worldwide attention on Bridgeport and all its warts. Outrage is palpable on this one, though why it's treated differently from so many of the downtown "wilding" beatings, we can only imagine.

Exhibit B: Big money settlement to an autistic kid beaten by CPD:

• Comments are WIDE open. "Corrupt police." "Dirty pigs." "worse than gangs." "Take it out of their pensions." Etcetera, etcetera, ad nauseum.

But then again, what would anyone expect from the Tribune? We canceled our subscription a decade ago.

Less Government? Or Bad Idea?

On one hand, less government is better government. On the other, the potential for abuse or connected firms slipping through the cracks is, needless to say, almost expected in Chicago:

• Chicago retailers that sell pre-packaged foods and recently inspected restaurants with no history of foodborne illness would police themselves and send inspection reports to City Hall, under a “self-certification” plan advanced Tuesday to free inspectors to focus on “high-risk” establishments.

  Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan, approved by the City Council’s Committee on Budget and Government Operations, would apply to roughly 2,500 of the city’s 15,000 licensed food establishments.

  The group would include grocery stores, gas stations and other “low-risk” stores that primarily sell beverages and pre-packaged foods and engage in minimal handling or preparation of food.

  Self-certification would also be open to restaurants that have passed inspections in the prior year, have not been closed for food safety issues for 36 months and “not implicated as a source of food borne outbreak” in the past three years.

15,000 food establishments. Only 32 inspectors citywide.

We're going to go with the "less is better."

A Professor Said What?

Well would you look at this:

• A University of Chicago economist says Antarctica or Guam would be better places than Chicago for the upcoming G8 and NATO summits, now scheduled for mid-May in the Windy City.

  Economist Alan Sanderson often questions large scale government subsidies for sports venues like Soldier Field for the Bears and U.S. Cellular Field for the White Sox. In the case of the NATO and G8 summits, Sanderson says there’s a lot of downside for the city’s reputation and little upside in the way of economic development.

  “It’s just a potential disaster,” Sanderson said. “Again, I hope it’s not. I hope things go really well and the city gets a real positive spin from it, but if you were betting in Las Vegas, you’d bet that’s not going to be the outcome.”

So since we and our readers have been saying this for over a year now, are we all that much smarter than a University of Chicago economist professor?

And this is amusing:

• The city says security precautions will cost $65 million, to be picked up by private donors and the federal government.

"Private donors?"

If It Ain't Nailed Down...

...sell it:

• City officials are doing what frantic penny-pinchers have done for years: They’re searching every nook and cranny for old fax machines, abandoned SUVs, unsold sports banners and other surplus property to auction online.

  Their efforts, per Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s do-more-with-less edict, collected $3.6 million in winning bids in 2011 — double the $1.8 million take in 2010.

  City officials now aim to collect $4.6 million from the online auctions this year by finding even more junk to get rid of.

There's a lot of stuff lying around, collecting dust, waiting to be sold. Of course, we're sure quite a bit of it was bought at a pretty penny, enriching the chosen few who's hands the connected contracts passed through. And now the taxpayers get pennies on the dollar years later. Ah Chicago.

FOP Endorsements.

Has the FOP released a list of 2012 political endorsements yet?

We looked at the site and we're confused by all the bells-and-whistles.

Maybe we're missing it.

Pension Rip-Off Averted

So for every one they catch, how many slip through the cracks?

• Two weeks after former state Sen. William Marovitz settled federal insider-trading allegations last summer over his sale of Playboy stock, he gave up his work as an outside lawyer for two Chicago city pension funds — and applied for a city pension even though he wasn’t a city employee.

  Marovitz — a lawyer and longtime Democratic Party leader in Illinois who is separated from his wife, former Playboy chief executive officer Christie Hefner — already gets a government pension of $102,480 a year for the 20 years he served as a state legislator and member of the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

  He was seeking a second government pension — which would have paid an estimated $50,000 a year — for the 27 years he did legal work for two City Hall pension funds.

  One problem: He was never a city employee, just a lawyer in private practice whose clients included two city pension funds.

Arrogance gone wild.

Short Another 150?

Can anyone from Personnel confirm 150 people retired as of 15 January?

And that another few hundred are scheduled to go prior to 15 May?

And that around 480 recruits are processed and ready to go through the Academy this summer?

OK, we made up that last one - no one is scheduled to go through the Academy at all this year.

Got Hair?

Get ready to shave it:

• We're just over 2 months away form the 2012 St. Baldrick's event, you know, the one where you pledge to get your head shaved in solidarity with the kids who have cancer and lose their hair to chemo, while seeking pledges from friends and family on your head. This year's events will be on Friday, March 23rd from 0700-1700 hours.
  
  This year the CPD events should reach a total of over $500,000 raised to fight this terrible disease and we can't do it without you, the shavees and volunteers who make it possible.
  
  The events will be held at the Academy, Area 5 and new this year for the south-siders, the 22nd District instead of Area 2. Please go on line at www.stbaldricks.org and click on find an event, then type in Chicago Police and pick the event you want to attend. Once you register on line you'll get instructions as to how to best fund raise, as well as what to expect the day of the event.
  
  We look forward to seeing a lot of familiar faces and heads, and hope this year you can get your partner, a family member or a friend to join you. Women, don't forget if your hair is long enough and you don't want to lose it all, you can donate hair that is 10" or longer through a program with Pantene, or 12" or longer to "Locks of Love. Both of these groups use the hair to make wigs for the kids that lose it during chemo.
  
  Not sure about giving up your hair? No problem, volunteers can help with registration, distributing t-shirts and other items, sweeping up hair or if you are a licensed barber/hair stylist by cutting hair.
  
  All participants get a free t-shirt and lapel pin when you sign up on line before the event. Walk-ins are welcome but signing up on line is the only way to ensure there will be a t-shirt for you at the event.
  
  Thanks for reading and hopefully for your participation. Should you have any questions contact Bill O'Reilly, chromedome1269@sbcglobal.net for the Academy, Anne Zamzow, anne.zamzow@chicagopolice.org for Area 5, and Bill Murphy, 50murf@comcast.net for the 22nd District event.

A worthy cause and a favorite of many.

Well, It is the Northside

One of those nights evidently:

• A man who was wearing only his underwear and socks was charged with misdemeanor DUI after he struck a squad car Saturday morning on the city's Northwest Side.

  About 11 a.m., a concerned citizen alerted police to a possible drunk driver driving in an alley on the 2800 block of North Kostner Avenue...

• The man eventually drove the wrong way on a one-way street on the 2900 block of North Kilbourn Avenue in the Belmont Gardens neighborhood and crashed into a squad vehicle that was assisting in the call....

  After the crash, the man opened the door and fell out of the car wearing only underwear and socks

Minor injuries to the police. In the offender's defense though....

Ah, who are we kidding? There's no defense. Guilty as charged.

Jesse Loses Everything

Spending his last days sleeping on the floor of a homeless shelter.....what? It's a stunt? He didn't lose anything? Ah crap, we had high hopes:

• The Rev. Jesse Jackson planned to sleep in a bed in a shelter to put the spotlight on homelessness for Martin Luther King’s birthday, but said he will end up sleeping on the floor because all the beds were taken.

  Jackson spoke to reporters outside the Pacific Garden Mission on South Canal Street as homeless men lined up outside in the cold waiting to get in.

  “I’m not taking a bed,” Jackson said. “Instead I’ll be sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag because conditions are such that they need every bed.”

And now we're hearing it's a down-filled ultra warm top-of-the-line $499.99 sleeping bag special from some connected store. With an air mattress.

IPRA Reopening Closed Cases?

This rumor pops up every so often. It came up the other day, too:

• a po was just stripped for an allegation that was six yrs old and not sustained by ops six yrs ago- ipra opened it back up -rule 14 on a case given by the only person at the scene- watch out boys!

Anyone care to chime in with good info on this? Seems like something we'd all need to be concerned about if it was actually happening.

Poetic Justice

As Homer Simpson might say, "D'oh!"

• Two people in a Chevy Suburban were killed when they apparently tried to ram another vehicle near Archer and Western avenues early Saturday and rolled the vehicle near the northwest corner of McKinley Park, police said.

  Four passengers in the Suburban also were hospitalized with injuries suffered in the crash. One of the men who died was 19, the other 19 or 20, according to the medical examiner's office.

• Police said the crash is under investigation as an aggravated battery.

Not only is it poetic justice, Darwin is smiling somewhere at the latest subtractions from the gene pool

Bring Out Your Dead

Once again, the morgue is proving to be an embarrassment to the County government:

• To the disgust of some staff, bodies are piling up at the office of the Cook County Medical Examiner, stacked atop each other in blue plastic tarps against a wall of the storage cooler because of ongoing financial woes, the Sun-Times has learned.

  All the storage trays are full, and many have a second body on them, according to sources in the office. Some 400 adults and about 100 babies are currently being kept in the cooler designed for under 300, one source said.

  “There are so many bodies in there now, they can’t keep it cool enough. The stench is like nothing I’ve ever seen,” another source in the office said. “I think it’s sacrilegious.”

We wonder what it's like to actually live in a place where government is semi-competent.

It's Baaaaaack

And promising to be just as large a headache as before:

• City officials have agreed to issue a permit for the South Side Irish Parade to be held again this March, despite concerns about security connected to the St. Patrick’s Day event that organizers shut down in 2009 after widespread drunken fighting and assaults on Chicago police officers.
  
  The South Side Irish Parade Committee hopes to return the Beverly neighborhood event to its family-oriented roots while continuing to draw the massive crowds that, after the parade was launched in 1979, became a bonanza for local taverns and other Southwest Side businesses.
  
  Organizers of the March 11 event are considering setting up checkpoints manned by private security guards, making the parade route along Western Avenue shorter and cracking down more forcefully on outdoor drinking in an effort to quell unruly behavior in nearby parks and residential streets, parade committee chairman Joseph Connelly said Saturday.

Of course, this could be a model for all future parades and festivals. Pay your own way, maintain your own security, assume all of your own liability. Apply this to the PR fest, PRIDE, Billiken and assorted other celebrations.

Eavesdropping Lawsuit

Raise your hands - who didn't see this coming?

• A woman found not guilty of secretly recording Chicago Police officers who allegedly tried to discourage her from filing a complaint against an officer who groped her filed a federal lawsuit Friday against the city and the officers.

  Tiawanda Moore, 21, claims Chicago Police responded to her home for a domestic dispute and one of the officers groped her breasts and buttocks while interviewing her in a bedroom, according to a suit filed in U.S. District Court.

• The suit claims Moore called police to report the officer’s misconduct, and met with a lieutenant and an Internal Affairs Division officer, who discouraged her from filing a complaint.

  Moore began secretly recording her conversation with the lieutenant and IAD officer on her Blackberry, according to the suit. Police then arrested her and charged her with violating the Illinois Eavesdropping Statute, which prevents people from secretly recording conversations.

It's probably best to assume everything is being recorded all the time and to conduct yourself accordingly. It's headed that direction anyway.

MFF Subterfuge?

Another take on the new "unit:"

• I got the scoop from someone in the know. The department crunched some numbers and is now realizing that even with the tact teams, Area Sat teams and other misc teams there WILL NOT be enough "tier 1" officers available to handle the downtown crowds. The Chief of Patrol found out that most of the district officers trained with the shields DO NOT have dept issued bdu's and turtle gear and therefore can not be used on the front lines. The Chief (EW) responded "then make them buy it" to which he was told it would be 1st issue and the Dept would have to buy it. They then crunched THOSE numbers and realized they didn't want to spend that kind of money for what would turn out to be a "one time use, single event"
  
  After putting their heads together they came up with this great MFF idea. Here's what it comes down to...get the officer to spend the $800, give them a cool title (MFF Officer) and use them ONE WEEK and forget about them.
  
  Chief EW and DC Stevie G both know there are enough "Tier 1" officers trained for almost all other events EXCEPT G8.
  
  So go ahead guys, spend $800 each that the dept won't spend for a 1-time use event.
  When it happens,and it will, don't say you weren't warned.
  
  -former 153/253

We're perusing the letter that went out. It seems this isn't a "unit," but rather a citywide incident team, on call and subject to canceled furloughs and days off along with switching start times and the like. You would be required to pass the POWER test, have an acceptable disciplinary and medical record and be available for certain training classes.

Oh yeah, you also have to come up with $800 to $1,000 in out-of-pocket expenses for equipment, thereby circumventing a largish portion of the FOP Contract, none of which guarantees you'd stay in the program if the city doesn't want you (they reserve the right to remove you without explanation).

We don't know who's brainchild this one is, but it's obviously poorly thought out or poorly presented.

Limited Duty Meeting

This from the comments:

• I was there and I pray that you never get hurt or sick. The showing was poor for what we are about to lose. This does not only affect medical abusers but the whole department. Are you aware of what we will lose?
  
  Everyone with less than 15 years on the job should have been there. If we do lose the benefit we are all FUCKED plain and simple. With guys at 15 yrs on you have 365 days that will take you to 16 years on the job. At this point you will get 1 year disability for every 4 years on the job. At 16 you are eligible for 4 years on disability which you can carry until you reach your 20 yoj.
  
  Everyone else with less than 15 years needs to be careful out there. Cancer is known to hit certain districts more than others and heart problems are also big on this job. With this new order accommodations will no longer exist be careful who you call medical abuser tomorrow you may be looking at one in the mirror. As for the pregnant officers there is a form you will need to fill out from now on. This new order affects all members even IOD's.

Anyone have some concrete info? Off duty injuries are one thing. We can't see how IOD's would have anything to do with this - it's a separate contract issue.

Uh...What?

This is a first:

• Authorities say an Indiana man got so angry when he was arrested for stealing a car that he threatened to eat the police officers who arrested him, as well as their entire families and their dogs.

Really? Dude must be hard up for a meal:

• Paul Brock, 39, of Frankfort, Ind., was arrested at 10 p.m. on Friday of last week for after stealing a car from a Speedway gas station in Lafayette, Ind. The gas station manager said she had just unlocked the car and left it running so it would warm up by the end of her shift, WISH reported.

  Police caught up with Brock and pulled him over in a Pay Less parking lot at Maple Point Drive and Indiana Route 38 in Lafayette, WISH reported. Before he was arrested, Brock kicked a police dog in the head twice, the station said.

  Brock, who was drunk, was taken to an area hospital. Detectives tell WISH that once there, he said he would hunt down all the officers who arrested him and eat them, as well as their children, dogs, and entire families.

We suppose if he shows up at the house with a knife, fork, picnic basket and condiments, it'd be a justified shooting.

Look Who Got Out

Has it been ten years already?

• William Hanhardt, once a legendary Chicago cop who rose to deputy superintendent only to fall from grace with his conviction as the head of a crafty crew of mob-connected jewel thieves, was released from custody Friday after completing a 12-year sentence, his lawyer confirmed.

  Hanhardt, 83, has been confined at his home since his release from a halfway house on Chicago's Near West Side in late September. He served the bulk of his time at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind. In all, he served more than 10 years in custody.

Time does fly.

Look Who Turned Up

As predicted:

• Indiana State Police say a man who stole a police car before wrecking it in a drainage ditch turned himself in about 10 p.m. Thursday.

  William Blankenship III, 22, was wanted for stealing a police car after he was arrested on drug charges on Jan. 10 by a Kouts police officer.

  The car was found submerged in a ditch in LaPorte County with three weapons still inside.

Low grade dope charges upgraded to major felonies. Good job idiot.

Mobile Field Force

Who has the scoop?

A temporary volunteer detail due to run all summer and fall?

Any guarantees you get to go back to your Unit of Assignment or are they running short in Englewood again?

That Eavesdropping Thing?

It's about to run into a Constitutional buzzsaw. And now this:

• With the constitutionality of Illinois' eavesdropping law already facing several court challenges, a Democratic state representative from Northbrook has filed a bill that would allow people to audio-record a police officer working in public without the officer's consent.

  "I believe that the existing statute is a significant intrusion into First Amendment rights, so with the prosecutions and the court cases that have been reported about, it just seemed that this is a problem in need of a swift solution," Rep. Elaine Nekritz said in an interview Thursday.

  Illinois' eavesdropping law is one of the strictest in the country and makes it illegal to audio-record police without their consent, even when they're working in public. The state is one of a handful in which it is illegal to record audio of public conversations without the permission of everyone involved.

  The law — a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison — has come under increasing scrutiny in the last few years in courts throughout the state.

Assume you're always on camera.

Assume everyone you're talking to has a cell phone set on record.

Conduct yourselves accordingly.

Getting Ugly

So many people under the bus:

• A Chicago police officer who stopped an off-duty cop suspected in a fatal hit-and-run testified Thursday that her watch commander ordered her to "hold off" on a field sobriety test.
  
  
• ...on Thursday, she became the second officer in as many days of testimony at Bolling's trial to change her account and say she now believes he failed to pass the field-sobriety tests.
  
  
• "no one ever ordered me to file a supplemental report."
  
  
• "I was just following orders," she said.

We have no idea how this could look any worse for the Department.

Slow News Day

We can only assume that everyone is awaiting the Sno-mageddon of 2012 - six to ten inches of snow means Obama might be forced to camp out here an extra day, and that would just be uncomfortable for everyone involved.

We put up a bunch of nonsense posts and hopefully that keeps everyone busy for a bit. Boring is good sometimes.

Open boring post for now.

Whoops, but no Harm

Here's something you don't see every day:

• An elderly motorist drove a car to the end of a pier at Montrose Harbor late Tuesday, leaving the car teetering over the edge, a Chicago Fire Department spokesman said.

  The driver, an elderly woman, was safely removed from the Volkwagen Jetta and didn't fall into the 36-degree lake water, authorities said.

  The Jetta was similarly rescued without plunging into the harbor, Fire Department spokesman

We had no idea you could still get out that far on the piers. We'll have to remember that next time we go smelting.

Whoops Again

Rumor or fact?

• there was an escape from 008 lockup about 0045 hours. one p.o. took a restroom break and second p.o. was escorting arrestee into cell when arrestee over powered p.o. taking the master key to all exit doors for lockup the officer was then locked in a cell. p.o. returns and discovered partner locked in cell.

At the very least, out number the prisoner. That way someone can call for help if it looks like 2-on-1 isn't working. Be careful boys and girls, especially if they're attacking us in our backyard.

UPDATE: Additional info - comments are claiming this was a mis-bonding issue. If true, it sure makes the station supervisor look overworked. Maybe if we had a Desk Sergeant, like New York?

Whoops, with a Good Ending

At least a partially good ending - no cops hurt, no weapons on the street:

• Police in northwest Indiana have recovered a squad car they say a handcuffed suspect stole during a traffic stop Monday.

  It happened in the town of Kouts, in Porter County, Ind.

  The Porter County Sheriff's squad car was found early Wednesday morning, along with guns that were inside, but the suspect remains on the loose.

He'll turn up, they always do.

Bye Bye Asshole

How did this happen? Oh yeah, Federal Court:

• A Chicago gang leader who prosecutors say oversaw a sophisticated and brutal organization with at least 10,000 “soldiers” in Illinois — even while he was in prison — that beat, shot and extorted money from rivals was sentenced Wednesday to 60 years in federal prison.

  Fifty-one-year-old Augustin Zambrano did not speak during the hearing and displayed no emotion when U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle imposed the maximum sentence that, because federal guidelines require he serve at least 51 years, means he will most certainly die behind bars.

  Calling Zambrano, an unimposing man with short, graying hair, “a leader of this barbarian organization,” Nagle said that in court filings Zambrano had shown no remorse and had not accepted any responsible for his role in the Chicago-based street gang.

A happy ending.

The Future?

Guess what someone located?

• The Ann Arbor Police Department will now allow people to file police reports for minor crimes on the Internet through the department’s website, officials announced Monday.

  According to a statement released by the department, people now can make police reports for harassing phone calls, theft, vandalism, identity theft, lost or damaged property or private property crashes by visiting www.a2gov.org/police.

  The statement said these crimes were chosen because “these reports typically do not require a police interview or follow up investigation but they are often needed for insurance claims or other matters.”

We have almost no doubt this is on the way. It would impact crime stats, too, if they make it just complicated enough to frustrate the computer illiterate (elderly, poor, minority, etc.) And if they combine this with a 9-1-1 revamp of calls that police will no longer respond to? You're looking at a double digit "drop" in crime percentages.

Share the Pain

Here's a brilliant idea - defer or give up your pay raises:

• A pair of Chicago aldermen on Tuesday called on city library workers to give up pay raises so branch libraries can stay open six days a week.

  The proposal came in a letter from Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, longtime chairman of the Finance Committee, and Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, vice chairman of the Budget Committee.

  “We think the public would be surprised to know — as we were — that all city AFSCME employees are receiving a 3.5 percent pay increase in 2012,” Burke and Reilly wrote in a letter to American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 Executive Director Henry Bayer. Noting the tough economic times, the aldermen calculated the cost of the raises at $1.6 million.

And what exactly was that raise the aldercreatures voted themselves a little while back? 6%? And the raise for their staff? 5%? Evidently, shared sacrifice is a wonderful thing, as long as the aldercreatures aren't the ones bleeding.

Fine Rude People

If NYPD does it, why don't we?

• Lounging on the New York subway with feet up on the seats was costly to lazy riders fined by the city last year, police said on Tuesday.

  More than 7,000 riders on New York City subways were ticketed last year for putting feet on the seats or otherwise taking up too much space, under a law that makes bad manners a crime.

  The offenses, which ranged from putting a bag on a seat to blocking a door to stretching out for a nap, carry $50 fines, police said.

Of course, enforcement means bringing Mass Transit up to strength, and that means getting bodies from Districts since the city isn't hiring.

So Who is the Real Target?

Here's a good take on the new XO program:

• I am surprised nobody has commented on the all too obvious: They are not getting rid of the rank of Captain. They are getting rid of the rank of Commander!
  
  The XO will be running the Districts and Units soon enough. They will do this through attrition or forcing the current Commanders to retire. Lieutenants will run the Watch with Sergeants and the Sergeants will be in charge when the Lieutenant is off.
  
  Now most will think, "Good, fuck 'em". That is shortsighted, though, unless you came on the job to work harder for less money. This whole shake up equates to the Police Department taking a huge pay cut with less chance of promotion. Now are you paying attention young guy?
  
  This is a naked end run around our Union. Nothing new for the Mayor.

We understand they are making less promotable spots. The last time they made detectives was 4 years ago and a small class of sergeants was 2 or more years ago. Lieutenants, same thing. Opportunities are not going to be there in the future.

We also assumed that the Department was making the Captain/XO spot a crappy job so as to force the Captains out and eliminate the spot again. But eliminating the Commander spot makes more sense after reading the above comment. We can't really disagree with either move as the entire Department is top-heavy far beyond need. It's the expecting everyone else to take on more responsibility without compensation and in violation of the contract that grates on everyone who is paying attention.

Daley Resigns

No not that one. The other one....no that other one. The taller guy:

• William Daley is stepping down as White House chief of staff and budget director Jack Lew is taking over the President Obama’s team as it heads into a tough election year, senior administration officials say.
  
  Daley gave his letter of resignation to the president in a private meeting in the Oval Office last week, recounting the administration's successes of his one year on the job and saying it was time for him to return to his hometown of Chicago.
  
  President Obama made the news official this afternoon in a brief appearance in the state dining room of the White House, where he told reporters in somber tones that he is sorry to see Daley leave.

Speculation abounds:

• Daley doesn't associate with losers. Obama is headed into a tough reelection;
• Obama and his team realize the Chicago connections are more of a liability than an asset now, especially with Chicago being run by Rahm and circling the proverbial toilet;
• Damage control - maybe a Daley or someone close to them is about to get indicted and having Bill Daley in the White House might be a bit of a distraction.

Personally, we're hoping for option #3.

$45 Million Wasted

Don't we know somebody over there? (MMM)

• Project Shield was supposed to make citizens safer. But in the end, the $45-million Homeland Security program more resembled a disaster, wasting taxpayers’ dollars and failing to make a single citizen more secure.

  The failed Cook County initiative was replete with equipment that failed to work, missing records and untrained first responders according to a report by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

  The report, to be released Monday but obtained by The Sun-Times and NBC5 News, found “millions of tax dollars may have been wasted.”

Gee, government waste in Cook County. Who'd have thunk it?

More Hints of a Shortage

Yesterday, we pointed out an article showing how traffic stops are down statewide along with tickets, led by the Chicago Police Department. We opined that the claimed non-existent manpower shortage was in fact, an actual manpower shortage and that coppers running from call to call all day and night left little time for traffic enforcement.

Now we find this in our comment section:

• Mcjersey shore, needs to acknowledge that murders have been up the last four months. Sept,Oct, Nov & Dec all had more murders than the previous year. Jan is on pace for a 35% increase in murders. We don't have the manpower to prevent crime. We don't even have the manpower to respond to many calls in a timely manner. There is no time for traffic stops all you do is go from call to call.

We did notice that the Department stopped bragging about the "drop in crime" from month X 2010 as compared to month X of 2011.

Anyone think the media will actually put 1 and 1 together and come up with 2 while Rahm and McJersey tell them it's actually 4?

Police Shoot OFFENDER (updated)

Once again, if you don't point a gun at the police, you won't get shot:

• A man was shot by Chicago police this evening after they were summoned to the Hanson Park neighborhood for a domestic-related incident and were confronted by an armed man who refused to drop his gun, officials said.

  The shooting happened shortly after 6:30 p.m. on the 2100 block of North Laramie Avenue, police said.

  When officers arrived on the block, they were met by a woman who said she had called police after her boyfriend became beligerent [sic] inside their basement apartment after drinking. She also reported to police that the man had a gun, said Patrick Camden, a spokesman for the Fraternal Order of Police.

Hey! It's the Orange One! Hi Pat!

And here comes the media bullshit:

• The loaded and cocked handgun was recovered at the scene, said Camden.

  No police officers were injured.
  
  [...] The victim was shot in the left side of his chest, police said.

Offender, you assholes. Police shot the OFFENDER. The victims are the police officers.

Someday, the media will get this correct, hopefully after one of them is beaten into a bloody pulp during a crime. And hopefully, the officers on scene relate to them that they were battered by a "victim of society" or some other such crap.

UPDATE: The Tribune has now changed the article to read "The man was shot in the left side of his chest..."

He's still an OFFENDER and if he lives, will be charged as such.

Good shooting Officers.

ABC Media Slant

Guess who gets the black eye?

• A Chicago police officer allegedly turned a $132 speeding ticket into a pick-up opportunity when he later tracked down the female driver and asked her out, saying the least he could do for the money he cost her was to treat her to dinner, according to a lawsuit the woman filed in federal court.

Damn those Chicago cops!

Except it was a Stickney cop as the allegedly out-of-control Romeo. But as we've seen in most of ABC's reporting, as long as the cops look bad, it doesn't seem to matter which ones get the blame (right Chuck Goudie?)

UPDATE: Seems some other people took the reporter to task. She has since amended her posting without saying so to read "A suburban Chicago police officer..."

Thank You From Minnesota

From e-mail:

• Yesterday, we laid to rest a Lake City, MN Officer that was killed in the line of duty. We had a great turnout of Officers to show their support and pay their respects. I saw at least 2 Chicago PD Officers there. I am a Minneapolis Police Sergeant and a member of the MN Law Enforcement Memorial Assoc. Honor Guard, a statewide honor guard comprised of Officers from various MN Law Enforcement agencies. I wasn't able to personally thank the Chicago Officers or get their names, but I wanted to say thank you to whomever they are. I was hoping you might pass on my appreciation for their support. We were impressed to see them there. This death was very hard on the small town and it's 12 man department. I know that the family and Dept. were very appreciative of the show of support. Thanks again and stay safe,

  Chris H

Thank you Sergeant. Our condolences.

XO Failure

Amazing. The Captains voted what? A week or so ago to sell out their own contract and by their actions, throw everything else into disarray. Now the city and Department turn around and stick it in their asses? Priceless:

• Exempts and XO's were called to an emergency meeting yesterday at 1730. All XO's will be in Sun/Mon, start at either 1630 or 1730. They wlll approve all overtime and CU for all 3 watches.They will all be given blackberries and if there is a problem they can be called while they are off and they will be compensated(OT) for the calls!!!!They will be responsbile for all administration duties and crime analysis(compstat) in the district. There new office will be the former Watch Commander office and the station supervisor will sit out at the desk. The goal is to remove all Lt's from Units and put them back in patrol.
  
  Things got pretty heated, it became obvious to the Capt/XO's that they got lied to and fucked by the City and good ole Don O'Neil. The City specifically put the starting times at 1630/1730 because they are within 3 hours of the starting time of 3rd(1330) and 1st(2030)watch. The Capts can have their hours changed by 3 without being compensated.
  
  We are in for a long and bumpy rode, grab your ankles and hold on tight

Everyone saw this one coming. Everyone except the 23 Captains who voted for Hoot's harebrained scheme. Remember, these are our leaders selling everyone else down the river.

Still No Manpower Shortage

The funny thing is though, all the evidence points to exactly the opposite. For example, take this study:

• An analysis of state data on traffic tickets found that the number of traffic stops dropped by 6 percent and the number of ticketed motorists dropped by 11 percent.
  
  Pinched by the recession, police departments ranging from small suburbs to Chicago have been pulling over fewer motorists, while also giving more breaks to those they do stop, a Tribune analysis found.
  
  Police officials offer a host of theories to explain the trends, with the most popular being loss of manpower to make the stops.

But there aren't any shortages, are there?

• ....Chicago police fueled much of the drop.
  
  The region's largest agency stopped 38,000 fewer motorists and ticketed 46,000 fewer — drops of 19 percent and more than 30 percent respectively. The numbers reopened a long-running debate about manpower shortages in Chicago.
  
  
• Superintendent Garry McCarthy has said the department doesn't have a manpower shortage and the reassignment of officers will help curtail crime.

The "debate" is merely spin. If we're chasing the radio from start until finish, we aren't doing traffic and we aren't being proactive. But even in the face of this evidence, McJersey continues to parrot whatever Rahm is telling him to say to the media. No crisis! No shortage! No problems.

No Bail

A very thorough investigation is bearing fruit:

• Bail was denied today for two Chicago men charged in connection with the slaying of an off-duty Chicago police officer.

  Clifton Lewis, 41, an eight-year police veteran, was fatally shot during a Dec. 29 robbery at a West Side convenience store.

  Tyrone Clay, 29, and Edgardo Colon, 34, both of Chicago, were charged early Saturday with murder while in commission of an armed robbery and first-degree murder of a peace officer, said Cook County state's attorney spokeswoman...

Good job all around so far. Keep up the good work.

Parolee Charged in Officer's Death

This is unacceptable. Bold type is ours:

• Two Chicago men have been charged in connection with the slaying of an off-duty Chicago police officer, according to department sources.

  Clifton Lewis, 41, an eight-year police veteran, was fatally shot during a Dec. 29 robbery at a West Side convenience store.

  Sources said Tyrone Clay, 29, of the 5100 block of West Huron Street and Edgardo Colon, 34, of the 1100 block of North Central Park Avenue, were both charged early Saturday morning with murder while in commission of a forcible felony and first degree murder of a peace officer.

  Colon was arrested Tuesday by police for making an improper turn in his vehicle, authorities said. A .357-caliber handgun with two live rounds was found, they said.

  Colon clutched a baseball hat in his hands and shook his head in court Friday as prosecutors detailed the charge of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. He was ordered held without bond on an unrelated gun charge, and is on parole for a conviction for home invasion.

  Lewis was off-duty from his police job and working security when two masked robbers burst into M&M Quick Foods at 1201 N. Austin Blvd., opened fire with a gun — akin to a TEC-9 — and fatally wounded him, police said.

  Lewis took the part-time job at the store after it was robbed Dec. 9. The two crimes appear unrelated.

  Lewis drew and fired his weapon, according to police, who declared that he had died in the line of duty as a result, affording him a funeral service and honors. He had become engaged Christmas Day, four days before his death.

  Sources said cash was stolen from the register and the officer’s gun is missing.

  A third person who was being question was released without charges.

  State records show Colon was sentenced to six years in prison in April 2007 for a home invasion in which he was armed with a firearm, a class X felony. He was paroled in October 2009.

  Before that, he was sentenced to four years for manufacturing or delivering one to fifteen grams of cocaine in 2006 and one year for obstruction of justice in 2005.

  He was first in Illinois Department of Corrections custody in August of 1999 for a variety of gun and marijuana charges, sentenced for three crimes to a total of four years, according to records.

This guy should have been in prison until at least 2013.

We are calling for the FOP to immediately begin backing a truth-in-sentencing law so that these parolees remain in prison so they don't kill citizens and police officers. This should be priority #1 along with pension legislation. How many parolees are out there killing people that we have written about over the last several months to a year?

Officer Targeted?

CBS running with a rumor we'd rather not see in print:

• Four people were in police custody Friday in connection with last week’s fatal shooting of Chicago police officer Clifton Lewis, and one detainee has been charged in an unrelated crime, sources tell CBS 2.

• About two weeks before the shooting, sources say another police officer, who also worked at M & M Quick Foods, 1201 N. Austin Blvd., had an altercation with members of a gang while he was on duty as an officer.

  The gang members knew the officer also worked security at the store. On the day Lewis was shot, he had switched shifts with that officer.

  Sources say it appears to be a case of mistaken identity, with the suspects thinking Lewis was the man they were trying to target.

This has bad news written all over it.

The Promised Changes (NOT!)

Did someone finally get it right? Our resident Jeanne Dixon's correct prediction percentage just climbed up to 7%:

• Much to do about nothing. All the same names, all the same clout, all the same bulls*it!
  
  Leo schmitz lateraled to narcotics
  
  ogrady lateraled to take Schmitz place in gang enforcement.
  
  corruthers remains in place in 007.
  
  Cmdr Kevin Ryan Commander of 018.
  
  commander Angarone from 018 to commander of intelligence.
  
  Gorman to remain commander of gang investigations.
  
  Commander Kupczyk of 008 to be A/1 deputy chief.
  
  Deputy Chief Wayne Guilliford lateraled to be deputy chief of organized crime.
  
  Capt Dennis Walsh Promotion to Commander of 008th district.
  
  Patricia Walsh commander of 005.
  
  Commander John Ball to be in charge of the new Stratigic Deployment Unit(SDU)(the old msf/tru).. which will not form until end of march 2012
  
  so far that is all... will keep you informed of anything else.

So they're reforming SOS/MSF/TRU? And John Ball is coming out of retirement to run it? Wow.

Five-to-one says none of this is true.

Just a Thursday Night

In January?

• Fourteen people were wounded in separate shootings across the city Thursday.

We'll spare you the details, but you can click on the story link for more.

We're going to hazard a guess we're slightly ahead of last year's totals. Go CompStat!

Fiscal Meltdown Continues

We all better start sampling cat food or looking at other states for retirement options:

• Though Illinois took steps in the last year to address its fiscal crisis, including a temporary hike in the corporate and personal income tax rates, the steps did not lift the ratings on its debt.
  
  As the state prepares to take $800 million in general obligation bonds to market next week, two of the three major credit rating agencies kept their ratings the same and one downgraded its rating a notch, which means Illinois continues to lag most other states. The bond issue will help finance school, transportation and other capital projects.
  
  Moody's on Friday downgraded the state's rating from A1 to A2, still investment grade, but in the middle of that range.

Nothing about this inspires confidence in anything coming out of Springfield.

CFD OT?

From the comments - a clever attempt to divide Police and Fire?

• scc,
  
  I was talking to a fireman friend of mine yesterday and this mess in May came up. did u know that CFD is paying it's members to go to May fest training OVER TIME. WTF we have to go training on straight time and CFD is getting 3 days of OT.

Can anyone confirm?

The perils of the "me too clause." It cuts both ways.

13,000?

Seriously, where do they come up with this BS?

• After the service, Police Supt. Garry McCarthy had his own message regarding the gunmen.

  “We’re going to get ‘em. Make no mistake.”

  When asked if he had evidence to back the claim, McCarthy said, “I have 13,000 Chicago police.”

So what does that mean? Here's one scenario:

• Defense Attorney: Please state your name and position in the Chicago Police Department for the record.
  
  GMac: Garry McCarthy, Superintendent
  
  DA: And exactly how many police officers do you command?
  
  GMac: 13,000
  
  DA: I have here a listing of personnel currently employed by the CPD. Could you read that number at the bottom?
  
  GMac: 9,247
  
  DA: That isn't 13,000 is it?
  
  GMac: Well, no.
  
  DA: So you're committing perjury?
  
  GMac: Well, it was 13,000 about 20 years ago.
  
  DA: And this other statement about evidence to back your claim - are you suborning perjury from "13,000" Chicago Police Officers?

Hush up aleady, Let the detectives work the case and stop making statements to the press that can be picked apart in a few years.

New Districts, New Names

This leaked out to us from HQ:

District Realign Rename

You may have to click on the "View Full Screen" button at the lower left. We're having issues with the spacing today.

Open Post

It's Friday, we haven't had an open post in a bit, we're all waiting for the supposed "big changes" to come rolling downhill, and it's the "adjustment" weekend before First Period starts on Sunday.

Keep it clean.

Wait...Rahm Lied? Again?

This is hilarious, the mayor lying to the aldercreatures. And the aldercreatures are surprised about it:

• Chicago Public libraries will close all day Mondays — instead of Monday and Friday mornings as promised — stunning and infuriating aldermen who thought they had an agreement with Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

  “That’s not what was proposed or voted on. It’s completely contrary. We need to sit down quickly and get back to the original agreement, which was keep those libraries open” every day, said Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd), who led the charge against the library cuts.

  The mayor’s plan to reduce library hours and impose draconian job cuts that would impact library services at all hours fast emerged as the most controversial element of the mayor’s 2012 budget.

We're still convinced this is a feint of some sort. Get everyone all up in arms over library cuts, and then he's going to back door something really big. And the aldercreatures, who were so good at rolling over to get their bellies rubbed by Shortshanks, are going to bring their own lube to Rahm's "that's-not-my-belly!" rub.

Arrested and Charged?

Rumblings all day about three in custody for the murder of Officer Clifton Lewis.

WBBM is now reporting that one has been charged (no link to the story yet).

Sun Times and Tribune coverage of the initial story here.

Final Remembrances

Officers are lined up to pay their respects to Officer Clifton Lewis.

Final prayers and well wishes to the family in this thread only.

Godspeed Officer.

Overtime $$$

And there's the announcement:

• The Chicago Police Department plans to free up a third of its force during a pair of international summits this spring by switching officers to 12-hour shifts, police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said.
  
  The added hours will result in more money in the pockets of police after the G-8 and NATO conferences in May — a security tab Mayor Rahm Emanuel hopes will be picked up by the federal government.
  
  "It's going to cost some money because we're going to go 12-hour tours, which means we're going to be paying out overtime," McCarthy recently told the Tribune.
  
  The city's nearly 12,000-strong police force generally works in three 8 1/2-hour shifts. By adding 3 1/2 hours to the shift, McCarthy said he will be able to dedicate enough officers to the summits.

Of course, it's not couched in terms of public safety or the lack of a city-wide response unit or the almost criminal lack of manpower. No, the money quote is "The added hours will result in more money in the pockets of police...." as if we had enough money already and "Damn those greedy police officers for not working for free."

Personally, we're checking the money box every single day and hoping for a few canceled days off during the events.

Bankers' Hours

Once again, Detroit leads the way:

• Detroit, which has one of the highest crime rates of large American cities, plans to close its police stations to the public for 16 hours a day -- including the critical overnight hours -- as the cash-strapped city struggles to slash costs.

  Public-facing desks at the eight stations that represent the eight precincts or districts of the Detroit Police Department will be closed at 4 p.m. every day and reopen the next morning at 8 a.m. starting on Monday. It means residents could have a harder time immediately finding face-to-face help from the police during key hours of the day.

  The moves are expected to lead to "virtual precincts" as the police department plans to redeploy desk-bound officers to more time on the streets during the affected hours.

Hey, we've already got POD cameras acting as "virtual police officers." "Virtual precincts" actually fits right in with the "less is more" concept.

No Range for You!

Once again, the CPD Outdoor Range is in jeopardy of never being built:

• Chicago police are still pushing to build a shooting range on the Southeast Side even though Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Pat Quinn vowed last month to preserve nearby wetlands and abandoned industrial sites for open space, wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation.

  In a last-minute plea, conservationists are urging the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board to block the Police Department's bid for a plot across the Calumet River from Hegewisch Marsh, the centerpiece of a federal, state and local effort to turn the environmentally significant area into a tourist attraction. The elected board is scheduled to vote Thursday on a 39-year lease for the district-owned tract at 2025 E. 134th St.

Heaven forbid it's ever simple for us to get adequate equipment or training so we can do our jobs better, even in the face of studies that say a range wouldn't be an issue:

• A city study concluded that noise from up to 40 practice shooters would barely be perceptible in the ecologically sensitive areas nearby. Any audible noise from the gun range, the report said, would be at a level similar to normal speech 3 feet away.

Good thing the conservationists and environmentalists don't have a united front:

• "We've always envisioned there would be mixed uses in the reserve," said John Rogner, assistant director of the state Natural Resources Department and a prominent Chicago-area conservationist. "We don't see this (gun range) as incompatible with the overall plan."

There's still a chance.

Do What You Have To Do

Brilliant:

• A teenage mother shot and killed an intruder after a 911 operator said she was allowed to defend her infant son and herself with force.

  Sarah McKinley, 18, killed Justin Martin with a single gunshot wound on New Year's Eve when he forced his way into her Blanchard, Okla. home and came at her with a long hunting knife

• She also holed up in her bedroom with a 12-gauge shotgun and a pistol, while she put a bottle in her three-month-old son's mouth.

  "I've got two guns in my hand -- Is it okay to shoot him if he comes in this door?" McKinley asked the 911 operator.

  "I can't tell you that you can do that, but you do what you have to do to protect your baby," the dispatcher told McKinley when she asked a second time. The call went on for 21 minutes as the men powered their way into McKinley's house.

  Eventually, Martin kicked in the door and charged at her with a knife, but McKinley fired before he could injure her.

A twenty-one minute response time? Sounds like they have the same staffing problem we do. The offender was dead on the scene and his accomplice surrendered later, so it was a happy ending all around.

Off-Duty Firefighter Rescue

Quick thinking, quick action:

• An off-duty firefighter rescued a fisherman from the water near the docks of Diversey Harbor this afternoon while paramedics responded to the scene, according to fire media information.

  Shortly before 4 p.m., firefighters were alerted about a person in the water at Diversey Parkway, according to a spokesman.

  An off-duty Chicago firefighter, Bill Miller, also was fishing on the dock when he saw the victim fall into the water.

  Miller, a 6-year veteran of the department, held the victim up until paramedics arrived at the scene, according to Fire Department spokesman...

Well done.

Erred?

Rahm gets caught in some lies and immediately lies some more to cover it up:

• Mayor Rahm Emanuel today said he erred last month when he said tighter protest rules and higher fines for thwarting police would be temporary measures designed just for a pair of spring meetings of international leaders in Chicago.

  "I misspoke, and I take responsibility for the confusion," Emanuel said at an unrelated news conference. The mayor meant to say that only the blanket spending authority for the G-8 and NATO conferences, which he is seeking along with the other measures, would be temporary.

Among the lies, permit fees, fines and protest hours. While we're all for protesting peacefully and participating in the process, we're also big on responsibility for one's actions and what gets attracted to your cause. Especially in light of the massive number of people coming to town shortly.

The media gives Rahm a pass, sticking with the story that he "misspoke." Can anyone here remember a single instance of Rahm misspeaking? Or not saying exactly what was on his mind. Or saying exactly the opposite for a political advantage? Yeah, us either.

Greektown Brawl

This was posted on YouTube on New Years Eve.

We aren't sure if it was shot then or earlier:



Anyone from 012 want to fill us in? Just looks like another out-of-control wilding.

Good Off-Season News

It's a start:

• George McCaskey, who just completed his first season as the team's new chairman, has decided to relieve longtime general manager Jerry Angelo of his duties, according to a team source. Mike Martz has resigned, according to a source.

  After a 7-3 start, the Bears collapsed down the stretch, losing five consecutive games. Although they won the season finale, against the Minnesota Vikings, the Bears had already been eliminated from playoff contention.

If they'd sell the team to someone who felt like winning, maybe everything would be all right.

PO Lewis Services

Thursday only?

• Services are set for Thursday morning for slain Chicago police officer Clifton Lewis, who was fatally shot during a robbery Thursday night on the West Side.

  A public wake for Lewis is scheduled for 10 a.m. at United Baptist Church, 4242 W. Roosevelt Rd., according to Steven Leak, of Leak & Sons Funeral Home. The funeral, also public, is scheduled for 11 a.m., Leak said. The burial will be private, Leak said.

  A Police News Affairs statement added that a 9 a.m. ceremonial arrival is also planned at the church.

The FOP site reflects the same information. Does this mean no Wake the evening before? Because we're sure there are hundreds of Officers who'd like to pay their respects and we aren't sure an hour is going to cover it.

Media Slant - Again

This is exactly why we didn't cover the New Years Eve/Day shooting. We fully expected this crap and we weren't disappointed:

• (from the Tribune) - [police spokesman] couldn't immediately confirm that the man was the city's first slaying. Technically, the year's first homicide belongs to police, who fatally shot Michael Smith, 52, after authorities said he pointed a handgun at officers in Marquette Park just 10 minutes into the new year.
• (from the Sun Times) - The man’s death is the first homicide of the year in which police played no role in the death. Just after midnight on Sunday, police shot and killed Michael Smith, 52, in the 7200 block of South Campbell Avenue, after they say he pointed a gun at officers.

So now the police are no better than the gang bangers who kill indiscriminately, hosing down street corners and fast food joints with automatic weapon fire. We can hardly wait for some media asshole to claim the cop killed this guy because he had 008 in the annual ghoul pool.

Misplaced Priorities (UPDATE)

Man attacked by pit bulls:

• It was hot in Stanley Lee’s South Shore apartment Monday morning, so he cracked open a window. That’s when he heard the screams for help.

  Lee’s apartment overlooks Rainbow Beach Park along the lakefront, and through his window he witnessed a frightening scene: two pit bulls attacking a 62-year-old jogger.

• Arriving police officers were confronted by the dogs and fatally shot them, authorities said.

But guess who some people feel bad for?

• TeResa Gaddis also lives near Rainbow Beach Park. She saw one of the dead dogs as she walked her two German shepherd mixes Monday morning just before animal control officials cleared the scene.

  “It’s a shame all the way around. It just broke my heart to see them lying there,” she said.

We guess she'd rather see the 62-year-old man dead on the path. We were also wondering why the media doesn't cover the fact that most days, there's only one or two Animal Control Officers out on the street, and that's only during daylight hours. Many is the time we call or have heard officers call for Animal Control and dispatch tells us six times out of ten that there is only one Animal Control van on the street and he's somewhere else? The other four times, they just take a notification and tell us there is no one available.

It's amazing we don't kill more four legged dogs than we actually do.

UPDATE: From an e-mail, this little tidbit:

• Hey SCC, did you know all bite numbers are now obtained via 311? They cut staffing at Animal Care & Control to the bone, so the Police Department is picking up the slack again. Tell everyone to update their FOP Books, that 24-hour number at ACC is no good.
  

A Math Problem

We haven't seen the official count yet as we're enjoying the last few days of our 13B. Supposedly, Chicago suffered a grand total of 4 fewer murders than last year.

• 2010 - 435
• 2011 - 431

After a year touting "double digit" crime reductions all over the media, the only number that matters was less than a 1% reduction. All the units being disbanded, the shuffling of administrative positions and elimination of spots, even the counting of recruits coming off probation as "officers" was used to justify all sorts of political shenanigans, and pretty much demonstrated exactly how little control the police have over idiots determined to kill one another.

Here's a conundrum though - crime statistics are usually expressed in terms of ".... per 100,000 people." Chicago lost 200,000 residents in the last census. So is it safe to assume that Chicago's homicide rate has actually been climbing? We're going to guess that the media is told to play up the "drop in the number of homicides" rather than the "homicide rate climbs."

Taser Use Up

And we reply, "So?"

• A Tribune analysis shows Taser use has jumped fivefold in the city since 2008 and suburban agencies that were surveyed were on pace to double their use, as departments equipped more officers with the devices. Chicago police were deploying Tasers at a rate of more than twice a day in 2011.

  And oversight has not kept pace with the explosion in use. Departments are on their own in developing policies on when and how electroshock devices should be deployed, with no state regulation.

Chuck Goudie is salivating, hoping that Tasers are outlawed so that the CPD can go back to killing people outright. Then he can write another slanted piece that does nothing to castigate the criminal assailant for behavior that gets them killed, but lays all the blame at the feet of the police who just want to do their jobs and see their families at the end of the day.

Underdogs Finally

Take the Bears and the points. Bet the "under" today:

• The Bears snapped a five-game losing streak Sunday at Mall of America Field, with a 17-13 victory, but they hardly looked like a team that belonged in the postseason.

Oh, wait. They won? Maybe we need to stop writing about them and they'll actually win games? Maybe next year.

Meet the New XO's

Effective 03 January 2012:

• 001 - Al Nagode
• 002 - Corwin Calhoun
• 003 - Kenneth Johnson
• 004 - Kevin Navarro
• 005 - James O'Donnell
• 005 - James Jones
• 006 - Juan Morado
• 007 - Edward Kulbida
• 008 - Dennis Walsh
• 009 - Robert Johnson
  
• 010 - Richard Aguinaga
• 011 - Roger Bay
• 012 - Ronald Pontecore
• 013 - Kevin Anderson
• 014 - Marc Buslik
• 015 - Mark Scheithauer
• 016 - Edward Lenti
• 017 - Thomas Karnickk
• 018 - Edward Denk
• 019 - Michael Ryan
• 020 - Henny Penny Trahanas
• 021 - Lynette Helm
• 022 - Michael Alexander
• 023 - Nancy Lipman
• 024 - John Matula
• 025 - Lupe Pena

The Units:

• Thomas Lemmer - 393
  Martin Ryczek - 543
  Eli Voulgaris - 142
  James Gibson - 606
  Terrance Williams - 620
  Hootan Bahmandeji - 701

And the new & improved Inspectors!

• Brigid Forlenza; Joseph Boisso; Leo Crotty; Delores Deloughery; Jerome Fluder; Christine Kolman; Janice Robards-Dillon; Joseph Vaclavik; Ruth Wedster; Cynthia White (seriously??);
  

Wow. The headcases, shady and clouted among those Inspector names is amazing.

UPDATE: Minor corrections. Whomever sent us the list didn't count the double in 005 and everything ended up off one number. They also left off the details to Units among the Inspectors. Those are in the comment section and we'll update the main page later.

Reward up to $13,000

Up from yesterday's $10,000:

• A group of Chicago-area ministers is adding to a reward in the shooting death of Officer Clifton Lewis.

  Lewis was killed while working a part-time job as security guard in a convenience store near Austin and Division. Police say two masked men stormed in and opened fire, killing Lewis.

  The local faith leaders met at the store Saturday to announce the reward and to urge the public to come forward and help police.
  

From what we see looking in, the Department is putting a good effort behind this one.

No Charges = More Bloodshed

Once again, the lack of effort in a prosecution results in more mayhem:

• A man accused of gunning down two and wounding five others at a packed Englewood fast-food restaurant was ordered held without bail on Saturday.

  But Arthur Chaney, 23, of the 6600 block of South Peoria was being treated for sickle cell anemia at an area hospital and did not appear in bond court for his hearing.

• Records show Chaney faced weapons charges in 2010 but those charges were later dropped. He was sentenced in 2009 to one year of court supervision for unlawful use of a weapon and failing to register a firearm.

Gee, weapon charges in 2009 and 2010 for a grand total of "one year of court supervision" results in 2 murders and 5 wounded in 2011.

Englewood Rings Another

Congratulations to 007, who ran away with the homicide total this year. In fact, they keep rolling right up until the New Year:

• A teenager was fatally shot Saturday afternoon in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side, police said.

  Police responded at 3:05 p.m. to the 6000 block of South Green Street, according to police News Affairs Officer Darryl Baety, citing preliminary information.

  Officers found an 18-year-old man who had been shot twice in the neck seated inside a White Cadillac at the Green Street address, according to police News Affairs...

The next closest competitor was so far distant, they weren't even in contention since July or August.