Still Giving it Away

This is as bad as building a new NFL stadium:

• The Chicago area’s bid for Amazon’s second North American headquarters includes $2.25 billion worth of incentives — and even more if the company chooses the Thompson Center or the old Michael Reese Hospital site where the city and state could provide free land.
  
  The incentive package includes:
  
  Roughly $1.4 billion in state EDGE tax credits. The newly-revised program provides a 50 percent tax break for every job they create in Illinois.
  
  $170 million in state sales tax breaks for building materials purchased by and new construction completed by “high-end businesses.”
  
  $60 million in property tax breaks through the city and county programs known as Class 7B and 7C.
  
  $450 million in site-specific infrastructure improvements that would come from the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Chicago Department of Transportation, the CTA and other agencies.
  
  $250 million worth of investments in education, workforce development and “Neighborhood Opportunity Funds” to make certain that all Chicagoans can qualify for the 50,000 high-end Amazon jobs and that businesses that spring up or move here to support Amazon locate in Chicago neighborhoods.
  
  Free land worth $100 million, if Amazon chooses to build its second headquarters at the old Michael Reese Hospital site purchased by former Mayor Richard M. Daley as the site for an Olympics Chicago didn’t get. If Amazon chooses either to re-purpose or demolish and rebuild the Thompson Center that the state has been trying desperately to sell, the free land would be worth even more money.

Amazing that Chicago can afford to give up all that to a Top Five market value company. The owner of Amazon trails only Bill Gates among richest Americans clocking in at over 80 billion in personal wealth.

Rahm might be headed for a Shortshanks-type disaster though:

• The incentive package pales by comparison to the $9 billion that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie offered in hopes of luring Amazon to Newark.

Out-bribed again?

$4 a Call?

We suppose that's one way to drive crime down.

Rahm's latest tax includes a provision to increase the 911 "fee" to $4 per call.

If it's too expensive to report crime, we imagine crime will go "down."

It's so twistedly brilliant.

Safety Info

Getting some information from various sources about Officer Involved Shooting from last month.

• On 28 September, Officers in 025 were confronted by members of a well known gang. The offenders identified the police as officers they knew, drew weapons, fired and advanced while continuing to fire, retreating only after a lengthy gun battle and abandoning their weapons.

Information is sketchy but numerous people have told us the most disturbing portion of the entire incident is that the gang bangers continued to advance and fire, almost like the Dallas police killings - advance and engage, quasi-military in nature.

This type of threat isn't exactly new, but it has been (until this point) rare, at least in Chicago. Watch yourselves, your partners and realize that the subject you may be encountering may have training equal or superior to CPD's inadequate efforts.

Nice Public Transit Rahm

Doing less with less - and guess who's noticing? In broad daylight no less:

• Three men were robbed at gunpoint Saturday afternoon at the Grand Avenue CTA Red Line subway station on the Near North Side, police said.
  
  The men, ages 22, 24 and 26, were robbed on a platform at the station, 521 N. State St., about 12:25 p.m., said Officer Thomas Sweeney, a police spokesman.
  
  The three were on the platform when three male attackers came up to them and demanded their property, police said. One of the attackers showed a handgun, and the victims handed over at least one wallet, a backpack and three phones.
  
  The robbers then fled. No detailed description of the attackers was immediately available.

No description, eh? Imagine that. So be on the lookout for some people with guns, which now, come to think of it, would be too late to actually avoid being robbed. What we want to know is how did the offenders get the guns onto the CTA platform? There are "NO GUNS" signs everywhere, so we are truly baffled.

Oh yeah, and Transit is hopelessly undermanned, as is everyone.

Great Idea!

It is said that all CPD policies are birthed in New York.

All stupidity seems to be born on the opposite coast:

• In San Francisco, where no automobile parked on the street is immune from glass-smashing thieves, some people have taken to posting signs on car windows announcing that there are no valuables inside.
  
  The hope, of course, is that a thief will read the notice and decide: "Huh. No valuables in this one.I guess I'll break into some other car."
  
  On Tuesday, a Reddit user posted a photo of such a sign and posed the question "Do you think it works?" to the Reddit community. A lively debate ensued.

This is original? Has no one in San Francisco ever seen a taxi cab (Driver has less than $20) or a delivery truck (Driver carries no cash)? Has anyone seen how well the "Block Club" signs work so very well in impoverished "communities"? Do left coasters actually think that car burglars read? It's a crime of opportunity - see a purse, wallet, CD case, cupful of change, electronics, anything not nailed down that catches someones attention and ::poof:: it's gone, along with your window.

Maybe Rahm could print up a bunch of "No Carjacking" signs or maybe some "No Beating Up Old People" signs to put on the CTA. They'll work so well with his "No Guns" signs.

More Wasted Money?

This is what happens when you let policy be dictated by the mob:

• Prompted in part by high-profile complaints about police use of force, the U.S. government in recent years has allocated tens of millions of taxpayer dollars for body cameras for state and local police departments – and those states and municipalities have invested millions of their own dollars as well.
  
  But a study released Friday reveals that body cameras have little to no effect on police behavior. Officers wearing the devices act similarly to those who don’t, the study concludes.
  
  And there is no significant difference in citizen complaints about camera-wearing officers versus those without cameras, the study says.

And the true cost isn't even realized yet. Remember - the cameras were free in most cases. The cost?

• Storage

When that bill starts coming due, well, you won't hear politicians complaining. They'll just raise taxes again. But it's telling that the study doesn't find any difference in officer behavior. Human nature wins out every time. And the complainers are always going to complain, regardless if the officer is wearing a camera of not. The only way to change that is to prosecute the lying complainants as provided in State Law - the State Law that Foxxx won't follow.

We aren't certain, but with 020 getting cameras this month, we think that 100% of the Districts are now video equipped. No word on the Units yet.

Once Again, A Budget Shortfall

Just like Prickwrinkle spending $200 million she hadn't collected (and had no realistic chance of collecting), Rahm just did the same thing:

• The number of plastic and paper bags Chicagoans used to haul home their groceries dropped by 45 percent after city officials imposed a 7-cents-per-bag tax in an effort to keep the disposable sacks out of area landfills, city budget documents reveal.
  
  Because of the drop in use, the bag tax is now expected to generate $5 million for the city this year. When the tax went into effect in February, city officials had initially expected it to add $9.2 million to the city's coffers in that time, according to Mayor Rahm Emanuel's 2018 spending plan.

The "keeping the bags out of landfills" was a laughable argument, similar to Prickwrinkle claiming the "health" of certain communities was the driving force behind the soda tax. Have you seen how plastic bags come packaged? You can fit a few thousand into a shoe box.

It was a money grab. Again. And Rahm "successfully" altered peoples' buying habits with his tax. People bought canvas sacks, or Tyvek bags, or just reused the ones they had. We personally did more of our shopping in the suburbs anyway to avoid the bottled water tax - the bag tax was just another reason to continue.

But now ::surprise!:: Rahm has a $4 million hole (approximately) in his budget that he must fill. The stories that the increased cell phone tax or some other fee will make up the difference is pure speculation. No one can accurately predict how consumers will react to the increasing tax burden, though the Cook County Board discovered to their dismay that enough pissed of taxpayers started effecting sales tax revenue by the millions. Tens of thousands of children aren't in CPS anymore, meaning their parents have left the city, yet taxes still go up?

We hope that Chicago and Cook County are on the verge of a taxpayer revolt.

Greektown Shooting

Not like that area isn't a thriving nightclub and tourist spot:

• Three people were shot inside a Greektown restaurant after a fight broke out Saturday morning, police said.
  
  The victims and the shooter were involved in a fight inside the restaurant in the 800-block of West Jackson Boulevard when shots were fired.
  
  A 31-year-old man was wounded in the chest and transported to Stroger Hospital in serious condition and a 26-year-old woman suffered a graze wound to her right foot and refused treatment at the scene.
  
  Police said the shooter, a 26-year-old man, was wounded in the left leg and transported to Stroger Hospital. Police said the 26-year-old shot himself.

That list line is humorous, though the continuing fallout from gang crime isn't. Hopefully, Amazon wasn't monitoring the news Friday night.

This Doesn't Add Up

So CPS is losing students at an alarming clip:

• Chicago Public Schools’ enrollment this fall was down nearly 10,000 students from a year ago, a reduction somewhat steeper than the district had expected.
  
  The count on the 20th day of classes was 371,382. The overall student count includes all schools that operate under the district’s oversight, including privately run charter schools.
  
  Last year’s CPS head count was 381,349, which was down close to 11,000 from the previous school year. That difference was largely driven by a lower number of children in district-operated elementary schools and prekindergarten programs, according to the district, while this year, close to three-quarters of the population drop was at district-operated elementary and high schools.

Less students should equal less expenditures, right?

Wrong:

• The district has said it won’t reduce funding for schools where enrollment fell below projections. CPS also said it will not make any midyear budget cuts or order unpaid staff furloughs, as it has in each of the past two years.
  
  The district planned on an enrollment decline of about 8,000 students for this year. That meant district-operated schools in total received roughly $43 million less than they did last year.
  
  Such cost reductions have not eased taxpayers’ burdens. CPS plans to raise its property taxes by more than 8 percent, generating $224.5 million of revenue that will be spent largely to cover steadily rising contributions to the city’s teacher pension fund and school infrastructure projects.

How about making the teachers contribute what everyone else does for starters? Screw this 2% - start coming up with 9-and-10%.

Once Again, the Connected

It must be nice to go through one's career, not even showing up for half of it, but somehow managing to score a pension - by changing the law just for yourself:

• They were a couple of Chicago cops, each serving in the Illinois Legislature, when they helped change state law to give themselves police pensions at taxpayer expense.
  
  The amendment co-sponsored 16 years ago by now-retired state Rep. Edward “Eddie” Acevedo and current state Sen. Antonio “Tony” Munoz gave them — and also any future Chicago cops-state legislators — the ability to get credit toward their police pensions for every day they served in the Illinois Senate or House.
  
  And Acevedo and Munoz took advantage of the change in Illinois law that they helped enact.
  
  Without that, neither would have been eligible for a police pension at all. That’s because they took so many leaves of absence from their duties at the Chicago Police Department to work in Springfield that they didn’t have the minimum 10 years on the job needed to get a cop pension from the city of Chicago.

But don't anyone else worry - that pension money will be ready and waiting for you when you retire. Swearsies!

Are You Fucking Serious?

The Slum Times has hit a new low. They published an Op-Ed Thursday, and the letter deals with the unfortunate murder of a school teacher. The letter was written by a parent whose children were taught by the deceased. The parent blames guns, gang culture, polticians and the Police Department:

• To the police superintendent: Step up. There is much leadership within, but not enough, from CPD. You can fix that. Start by telling City Hall what you think CPD needs to be doing, and demand from City Hall what you need to do it. Take a lesson from your patrol days. Patrol officers exercise enormous judgment in the field, but do so within the parameters of extensive training and guidance from the department to execute strategies developed by experts. In other words, patrol officers are brave, dedicated soldiers who follow orders and direction from leadership. Your role in this scenario: lead.
  
  And let’s admit what we all know: Our city does not have a comprehensive crime strategy. We desperately need one — and a leader to make it a reality. What we don’t need? Spinning an innovative technology-enhanced tactical pilot project as a crime strategy, which it is not.
  
  If you are missing the needed expertise internally, then get help from the outside. People chosen by you, not City Hall. People with experience and demonstrated successes in developing and implementing crime strategies in large municipalities.

The letter writer?

• Inspector General Joe Ferguson

The same fucking Ferguson who couldn't locate any hint of cheating on the Lieutenants Exam, despite first person eyewitness testimony, department e-mails discussing meeting times and locations and monetary compensation to certain NOBLE members. Test-takers who had to be "gifted" a "merit" promotion to even be eligible to take the exam who suddenly scored first, second, third and a few more Top Ten scores, all connected to IAD or Mrs. Wysinger.

You remember the Lieutenant rank? It's where pretty much 100% of the command staff comes from in one fashion or another. The same command staff that Ferguson is insisting come up with strategies. Who Ferguson somehow believes are able to lead and inspire the troops, despite the fact that the troops all know that they're political hacks, liars and cheaters who couldn't lead anyone to save their own skin.

And Ferguson thinks that Special Ed, Wheezie, Hall, Ward, other cheaters and every single exempt are in a position to "tell[...] City Hall what you think CPD needs to be doing"?

1. What are you smoking?
2. When were you last drug tested?
3. You do realize that the Department does what Rahm says and not the other way around?

How many exempts haven't accepted a single "merit" promotion on their way up the ladder? Less than one? The absolute gall of this motherfucker is a sight to behold when he (and his sawed-off midget boss) have done more to destroy morale, desire and the drive to do pro-active police work in this backassward city than even the ACLU managed to do (the ACLU wasn't a surprise).

Kass was right to blame the political class for this murder - and that includes Joe Fucking Ferguson. He had a chance to bring meaningful reform to the CPD by exposing and ending years of cheating, connected promotions, the "who-you-know, who-you-blow, who-you-marry" culture. Hope that increased budget and new four-year term was worth it Joe.

Amazon Bidding War

Business Insider has a list of potential cities that may win the new Amazon HQ along with its 50,000 jobs:

• (10) - Salt Lake City
• (9) - Boston
• (8) - Portland Oregon
• (7) - Miami
• (6) - NYC/New Jersey/White Plains
• (5) - Pittsburgh
• (4) - Rochester, NY
• (3) - Philadelphia
• (2) - Atlanta
• (1) - Austin

Chicago must have come in at number 1A, which means it's almost a lock since Austin is in Texas and Amazon is run by a bunch of bleeding-heart liberals who hate Texas. Congratulations are in order for the 9.5 digit midget.

Rifle Murder

West side:

• Two men are dead, and two others were wounded Thursday in shootings on the South and West sides, Chicago police said.
  
  The fatal attacks happened Thursday morning in the Lawndale and Greater Grand Crossing neighborhoods.
  
  Shortly after 10 a.m., a person on a bicycle pulled a rifle from a backpack and fatally shot a 32-year-old man who was who was sitting in a vehicle in the 1300 block of South Troy Street.

A rifle in a backpack? And no one in the neighborhood noticed? What did they think it was?

No Bail?

But we thought that defendants were entitled to the bail they could afford?

• More than 14 years after he skipped out on his federal drug conspiracy trial, ex-Chicago police Sgt. Eddie Hicks was back Thursday in a courtroom at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse following his arrest last month in Detroit.
  
  Hicks, 68, was led into U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Martin’s courtroom in an orange jail jumpsuit with a thin, graying goatee and shackles clanking around his ankles. He spoke only to say, “Yes, your honor,” when the judge asked him if he understood the proceedings.
  
  A 29-year veteran of the police force, Hicks was charged in Chicago in 2001 with running a crew of rogue officers who robbed drug dealers, pocketed the illicit cash and sold the stolen drugs to other pushers.

Of course, that might not apply in Federal Court after 14 years on the lam.

No OT This Year

Rham must be happy.

Selective Outrage

The Slum Times jumps into it with both feet, bemoaning the fact that Chicago Police Officers have actual Rights granted to them under the Constitution:

• Only in Chicago.
  
  On Tuesday, a Chicago Police officer and a retired Chicago police officer both took the Fifth Amendment — declining to testify so as not to incriminate themselves — in two separate courtrooms in two separate cases.
  
  What a sad commentary on the Chicago Police Department. What a sad reminder that reform of the police department must continue full bore, with federal judicial oversight.

Extremely ironic, given that the "federal judicial oversight" (A) isn't endorsed by the current federal administration and (B) is in place because CPD supposedly violated all sorts of Civil Rights, yet the Slum Times is championing CPD not being allowed to exercise their Fifth Amendment Rights. You are considered LESS than a citizen by the Slum Times.

Particularly galling to the screeds at the Slum Times?

• [the officers] ...declined to testify or repeatedly said, "I don’t recall."

Amazing.

Now let's enter the "Way-Back machine" and time travel back to October of 2013. Richard "Shortshanks" Daley is being deposed for only the fourth or fifth time in his illustrious law career regarding a Millennium Park restaurant contract, one in a series of crooked contracts that seemed as common as west side gunshot victims:

• During depositions for the case, Daley answered "I don't recall" 139 times.

We don't recall Sneed ever removing her lips from Daley's ass long enough to mention that. Assorted other Slum Times reporters always managed to snag underlings, but never questioned Shortshanks. Not if they expected to keep their reporting beats, maintain "access" and be spared the wrath of Daley. And that was involving tens of million of dollars - hundred of millions over Shank's political tenure.

So much for unbiased reporting. The media in Chicago is bought and paid for, publishing what they are told to publish, hiding what they are told to hide, and ignoring facts detrimental to the Machine.

A favorite pundit of ours said it best:

• Journalism is about covering important stories. With a pillow, until they stop moving.

He said that about the national media coverage of Hillary Clinton. Amusingly, he lived in Chicago, so we don't doubt local politics may have colored his take on things.

LAPD Drones

Brush up on your quadcopter skills - you never know when the CPD helicopter unit will be looking for pilots:

• The civilian panel that oversees the Los Angeles Police Department approved a drone pilot program Tuesday -- several months after the department first presented what it called a limited plan to use the technology.
  
  Approval of the program by the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners came despite opposition from activists who consider the technology a threat to civil liberties and after only 6 percent of the 1,675 emails the LAPD received about the program expressed support for it.
  
  [...]
  
  According to the guidelines the Police Commission approved, drones would be used in a limited capacity, including high-risk tactical operations, barricaded armed suspect responses, hostage rescues, and situations involving threats of exposure to hazardous materials and the need to detect explosive devices.
  
  The drones would not be weaponized or used during surveillance, and their use would have be approved on a case-by-case basis. The commission also added several more amendments before the final vote, including that facial recognition technology would not be used on the drones.

But those are just hurdles to be overcome in the intervening years. In a few years, probably right after we retire, this will be the face of police work:

Hey, that looks like Englewood!

CATA Training

HQ is going to swipe in and out? This will be entertaining:

For many, this will be the first time "working" a full day in years, decades in some cases.

Come back to the watch - you might get a late lunch if your lucky.

Changes

A quick guide to who went where:

• Promotion - Dwayne Betts from CMDR - 015 to Dep Chief of CAPS
  Lateral - Eric Washington from Dep Chief of CAPS to Dep Chief of IAD
  Lateral - Darren Doss from CMDR 003 to XO (CMDR) of Special Functions
  Promotion - Ernest Cato from Lt 015 to CMDR 015
  Promotion - Gloria Hanna from Lt. 015 to CMDR 003
  Promotion - Randall Darlin from Capt (XO) 007 to CMDR 009
  Lateral - Stephen Chung from CMDR 009 to CMDR 012

015 got shook up and emptied out.

Command Changes...with a Twist

Another day, another rumor of changes to be made in the Department. The biggest change of all? Residency is optional.....if you're an XO bucking for Commander:

• Hey SCC, Looks like an "untouchable" residing out of town is going to be named commander. How you ask? Nothing as simple as a wedding dress. Two houses. Live in LaGrange, own a second house in Garfield Ridge. Have your kids attend [omitted] and have your spouse tell everyone who'll listen how you've scammed the system for years. IAD refuses to investigate where he lays his head.

There have been a number of persons who resided outside of city limits and got away with it, based on how heavy their clout was. We suppose if you're rich enough to have two houses, and pay taxes on both, everything else is a matter of semantics. But most cops don't get rich on this job - it's hard enough to buy and maintain a single house, let alone two. A cheap apartment might be the way to go instead.

But if it were this easy, we imagine a lot more people would be doing it.