Off Duty Mugged Downtown (UPDATE!)

Crime in Boystown doing the heavy lifting in Chicago media:

• An off-duty Chicago police officer was hit with a bottle and robbed in the Near North neighborhood this weekend. Not far away, a Loop resident was mugged as she entered her high-rise residential building. The incidents are the latest in a violent crime surge that shows no signs of slowing down in the two neighborhoods.
  
  Around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, a group of at least three men approached a 24-year-old off-duty officer in the 600 block of North Wells. A bottle was thrown at the man's face and he was robbed of his phone and personal items, according to the police department. The department did not identify the man as an off-duty officer, but his position was confirmed by a police source. Descriptions of the offenders were not offered by the department.

No descriptions? How can that be? But here's the disturbing trend that blogs are covering, but not the Department:

• Robberies in the Near North neighborhood are up 50% so far this year compared to the same time period in 2017. There were 45 hold-ups reported in the area through February 23 this year compared to 30 during the same timeframe last year and just 15 in 2014.
  
  CWBChicago has been closely watching the Loop’s robbery rate since last winter.
  
  So far this year, Loop muggings are up 106% compared to last year. Sixty-four robberies were reported through February 23, up from 31 during the same time period last year. Compared to 2014’s 13 muggings, incidents are up 80% in the Loop.

Even the police aren't immune to crime, so guess who might be even more vulnerable?

UPDATE from the BWC Blog authors:

• We inaccurately wrote that "Compared to 2014’s 13 muggings, incidents are up 80% in the Loop." That's wrong. We have now corrected our story with the corrected version" Compared to 2014’s 13 muggings, incidents are up 392% in the Loop."

An almost 400% increase in Loop muggings - time for Special Ed to resign, and take the mayor with you.

A Wild(ing) Night

Any word on 018 blowing up overnight?

Oh wait - here's a portion of the story popping up on BreakingNews.com:

• Chicago police this morning were looking into at least three separate downtown muggings that were carried out by separate groups of attackers, as the city gears up for its busy summer festival season.

  The attacks occurred among hundreds of tourists and music lovers emptied out of Grant Park for the Chicago Blues Festival, which city officials tout as the largest free blues festival in the world.

  One incident involved up to 10 attackers, which included seven youths and three adults, who beat and robbed a man in the 500 block of North State Street at about 9:50 p.m., police said.

  The victim, a male tourist in his 40s, was being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital with a broken jaw, police said.

  At about 10:20 p.m., a couple was accosted by a group at the Red Line station in the 100 block of North State Street, just below the Chicago Theatre, police said.

  In that attack, the couple were robbed and the man beaten by an unknown number of attackers, who fled. The male victim was also taken to Northwestern with non-serious injuries.

There seems to be something missing here, though "Red Line" might be a clue.

Remember, the last week of school is coming up and all the lil darlins' will be bored by 1700 hours on Friday. Has Quinn activated the National Guard yet?

And for the record, the "three" "muggings" that are being "investigated?" Add a zero to that for incidents occurring last night in 018.

Crime is down and if no one reports it or the media doesn't get a hold of it? It never happened.

More Jaywalking Missions!!!

Fiddling while Rome burns:

• Another strong-arm robbery was reported in Lincoln Park early this morning, but police said they had no reason to connect it with the recent series of muggings that have put the area on edge.
  
  A 20-year-old woman was approached by two assailants just after midnight in the 800 block of West Webster Avenue. One of them hit her in the face with a handgun and snatched her purse

But we have the jaywalking missions up and running. Got to get that Olympic revenue don't you know? In the meantime, the knowledge of coppers like Snethen and Farrell dissipates into nothingness. Dress up either of these guys (or a couple other people our readers could name) and these Lincoln Park muggings would stop overnight. Stop dead as a matter of fact.

This Department has lost its way. Jaywalking revenue while armed robbers run free? How far we've gone.

Letter to the Editor

The Tribune is covering dems sniping at dems.

The Slum Times is publishing Letters that hint at deeper fractures in the leftist narrative:

• In response to Stefano Esposito’s article, “Post-pandemic ‘crisis’ in Chicago’s cultural arts scene is real,” the major reason for the low numbers at theaters and other cultural arts venues is that because of all the carjackings, murders, muggings, robberies and mobs of youth downtown, people are afraid to come to the city, especially at night. 

  It makes sense that attendance is lower for theater in Chicago than museums because most performances are at night and there’s more crime at night.

  I’ve always lived in Chicago and until the past few years, I’ve felt comfortable going just about anywhere in this city, but now that criminals are emboldened and the police’s hands are tied, I’m afraid to go out.

This is why downtown firms aren't returning to their multi-story office suites. This is why high-end jewelry and clothing boutiques are abandoning Michigan Avenue and Oak Street. This is why the Signature Room closed along with dozens of other classy restaurants....and some not so classy ones.

Who are you going to believe? The politicians or your lying right wing racist eyes?

Attack at the Fireworks Show

Anyone hear about this one?  We didn't:

• A group of people attending a fireworks show at the lakefront Saturday, Nov. 17 got attacked by a mob of 15 to 20 young men and at least one woman was robbed.
  
  Police said the attack took place at about 10 p.m. Nov. 17 in the 1000 block of North Lake Shore Drive. A 19-year-old Chicago woman said that she was watching the fireworks show with her friends from Oak Street Beach, and after the show was over a group of about 20 people aged 15 to 18, several wearing ski masks, surrounded them and then attacked, punching and kicking them.
  
  The woman told police she was knocked down by an assailant who appeared to be a 16-year-old who then took her purse before all the attackers fled in different directions. The woman lost her credit card and keys and reported minor injuries.
  

In fact, SkyLineNewspaper.com has a bunch of stories that didn't seem to find the light of day.  Most are run-of-the-mill robberies, muggings and some burglaries.  But you'd think that a mob of 15 to 20 people attacking someone at Oak Street....that ought to raise some uncomfortable questions for Rahm and Garry.

Leftist Hypocrisy

Look at all this racism in the democratic run shitholes:

• San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a plan on Tuesday to require homeless people in the liberal city to undergo drug testing and treatment in order to receive county-funded cash assistance.

  Breed said that accountability was necessary for homeless people seeking cash assistance because the city faces pressure to handle the fentanyl and homeless crises. However, the proposal will still need approval from the City Council.

We recall when this was a regular stand taken by people on the Right. After all, if we had to take a drug test to earn the taxable income to support these junkies, it was only fair they took a drug test to get the handouts. We remember be roundly condemned as "racist" for that position

And this local liberal anti-police bastion is demanding people show their papers:

• DePaul University is requiring all students, faculty and staff members to carry their ID cards on them in response to an uptick in robberies.

  According to a letter from president Rob Manuel, the university is implementing several changes following feedback at a safety summit and multiple robberies targeting students this month.

The story seems to say this is only within university buildings, which as private property is probably a smart move. But we don't think the recent spate of muggings is taking place inside lecture halls, labs and offices. The trouble with an urban campus is that it is pretty wide open to neighborhood pedestrians, drivers utilizing the public way and ne'er-do-wells hunting for easy prey. 

We expect the usual accusations of "racism" from the libs who claimed police were stopping suspicious characters based solely on physical appearances and not that they were obviously on the prowl.

Nice Campus Rahm

The increasing number of muggings continues apace:

• DePaul University and Chicago police sent out safety alerts after six students were mugged within minutes early Thursday on or near the North Side campus and another victim was robbed on the Near West Side, apparently by the same robbers.
  
  Four or five young men committed at least three robberies on or near the DePaul campus and another not long after on the Near West Side between about midnight and 12:40 a.m., according to police. The group used a white Audi SUV to get around, took out handguns and robbed the victims at gunpoint, according to a Chicago police alert.

Perhaps DePaul University ought to look into opening the city's first shooting range and start training students not to be victims.

Imagine That

Remember that "college counselor" lie Rahm was spewing a few years back when his son got "mugged"? One of the "counselors" seems to be having trouble turning his life around:

• After pleading guilty to robbing Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s teenage son and apologizing in court, Phillip B. Payne got a break.
  
  Cook County Judge Lori Wolfson sentenced Payne to three years of probation, telling him she thought he “is not a violent person” and is “capable of doing well.” She also ordered him to stay away from gangs and drugs.

"not a violent person." After a mugging/strong armed robbery. Right.

• But since his sentencing earlier this year, the wiry 18-year-old known as “Peejay” hasn’t managed to do that, according to interviews, court records and his own social-media posts.
  
  An admitted gang member, he’s now being held in Cook County Jail after a turbulent spring and summer in which he was arrested twice, accused of dealing cocaine and driving a stolen car.
  
  In between, he grieved the loss of his older half-brother — a fellow gang member who was shot and killed in April, a casualty of what appears to be a North Side gang war.

Interesting career choices for a "college counselor." We guess muggings were a "gateway crime" for bigger and better things? But don't worry - we hear there's a "peace circle" in this dumbass's future.

Kass Column on Muggings

Again, Kass hits the high notes:

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

And he throws the police a shout out:

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

Probably never at this rate.

Some truly jaw dropping entertainment at the community meeting though:

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

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

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

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

Safer Bike Lanes?

Hilarious!

• As of right now, Chicago certainly isn't one of the most bicycle-friendly cities, every year numerous cyclists are hit by cars while traveling to and from work and other locations. But city officials are hoping to change that by creating a new type of bicycle lane that will make traveling on Chicago's streets safer and prevent cyclists from getting hit by cars.

Hasn't Shortshanks been promoting Chicago as one of the more "bike-friendly" cities for the past decade or so? Don't we have tens, maybe hundreds of miles of bike lanes set aside? Isn't Lake Short Drive shut down for most of an entire day so cyclists can enjoy the lakefront from a different vantage point? And now someone is saying that it just isn't true? Priceless.

But wait! There's more!

• Unlike the bike lanes in many other cities where the designated lane is just a 5-foot wide strip of the street next to traveling vehicles, the city is adopting a "cycle track." This special type of bike lane will create a physical barrier between vehicle lanes and the lane designated for cyclists. Cycle tracks most commonly use concrete "Jersey walls," typically seen in construction sites, or raised concrete barriers that don't let bicycles pass into the vehicle lanes or vice versa.

  The news came after the Chicago Department of Transportation was given a $3.2 million grant from the federal government to improve their bicycle lanes by testing and building cycle tracks in the city. As of right now, CDOT is trying it out on Stony Island Avenue, between 77th and 69th streets.

Nice to see the feds have $3.2 million lying around for this crap. We're betting CDOT had to come up with some sort of matching funds, too.

First of all, creating a "wall" or Jersey barriers - wouldn't that pretty much remove a few miles of curb parking on the streets affected?

Second, the bikers are going to just love being penned in by a curb and a Jersey wall when someone pops out to hit them with a two-by-four to steal their bikes, phones and i-Pods. Every copper in the city can name a viaduct or stretch of bike lane notorious for muggings, robberies and random beatings of bikers. Many times, the cyclists can utilize their mobility avoid or escape the worst of an attack. But this sounds exactly like the chute to a slaughterhouse.

Well, Lookie Here

Gee, someone else is noticing the bullshit coming out of City Hall, and it's somebody who caters to the money people:

• Is it safe to walk the streets of downtown Chicago? Are armed carjackers prowling the city's glitziest neighborhoods? Should CTA passengers keep their heads down to avoid crossfire?
  
  Such questions would have been dismissed as ludicrous a few years ago. Decades of declining crime rates, gentrification and return migration from suburbia had largely dispelled generalized anxieties over safety in and around the city center. A broad sense of security prevailed in an expanding ring of neighborhoods relatively unaffected by dangers all too common elsewhere in Chicago.
  
  That sense of security is under threat: The Loop saw a 14 percent rise in overall crime in the first quarter of this year compared to the last, with a 30 percent rise in violent crime driven largely by muggings, according to police data analyzed by CWBChicago.com. And a series of recent incidents has revived old worries about crime in the city. A police commander shot to death amid weekday crowds in the Loop. Cars commandeered at gunpoint in the Gold Coast and other neighborhoods across Chicago and the suburbs. A 15-year-old boy hit by stray gunfire as he rode a city bus. Just last week, a federal law enforcement agent was shot in the face as he worked to combat gun violence in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Shots fired inside Water Tower Place on the Mag Mile.
  
  All those events got national media attention, adding to a steady drumbeat of stories that raise questions about safety in Chicago. These questions trouble not only those of us who live here, but also those who might be considering a move to Chicago.

Not to mention so many of Rahm's "55 million tourists," which of course is another bullshit number - Rahm counts passengers transiting O'Hare as "tourists" along with every single I-Pass hit on the Skyway.

Downtown Muggings

Once again, crime in the heart of the tourist area spiraling to new heights:

• Chicago police on Wednesday released a series of photographs of a group of teens that earlier this month robbed women late in the evening near Millennium Park and in the Loop.
  
  In each robbery, the group of about five to eight teens has gone up to the woman or female teen and hit her in the head, police said in an alert issued Friday. Victims have also been kicked.
  
  The robbers have stolen cellphones and backpacks containing tablets, then fled on foot.

Then the media does something amazing - they described the offenders when the police wouldn't:

• Police did not release detailed descriptions of the teens, but photographs released Wednesday show that all those allegedly involved were black. The alerts say the group includes both male and female teenagers, but do not specify their possible ages.

Whoa.And not only that, but the Tribune further describes each and every individual, what they were wearing, and what they did to the victims.

This is undoubtedly the most racist article we've ever seen published by the Tribune. Describing offenders, describing their actions, what they were wearing....it's enough to make you want to throw up a little and write a check to #blm.

NY "Vigilante"

It's not just Chicago:

• Cops are searching for the vigilante gunman who allegedly fired off shots while trying to stop a vagrant from robbing a woman at the Times Square station – as officials warned Wednesday that ongoing subway violence “will not be tolerated.”

  The would-be mugger, identified as Matthew Roesch, 49, was charged with attempted robbery for trying to “forcibly” snatch the 40-year-old victim’s belongings at the 49th Street N, R and W station around 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, police said.

  The unidentified bystander stepped in — and allegedly opened fire toward the homeless man, according to cops.

A full on manhunt is underway for the shooter. New Yorkers should know that they aren't allowed to defend themselves. All instances of muggings, robberies, and rapes must be submitted to 24/7/365 with a smile and an apology for not carrying more money and/or jewelry for the indigent.

And yes, we are aware that by all reasonable self-defense standards, this guy is going to get the book thrown at him. But we expected more incidents like these and we aren't disappointed.

God Forbid More Police!

Neighbors concerned enough to call a meeting:

• The Town Hall (19th) Police District, which serves most of North Center and Lincoln Square, has 50 more officers than it did a year ago and yet residents still feel vulnerable, particularly in the wake of a recent spate of crimes — muggings, businesses being robbed and a sexual assault. "Long-time neighbors, they've told me this is different than anything they've seen before," said North Center resident Michael Menelli.
  
  The perception that crime is becoming increasingly violent in the neighborhood prompted Menelli to organize a public forum, held last Friday night at Welles Park.

Then aldercreature "I'm running for Social Justice Governor" chimes in:

• The sense that more crime is spilling over into previously insulated neighborhoods — something Pawar said he hears from several of his North Side peers on City Council — can be directly linked to the decimation of social services, he said. The agencies that provide job training, counseling, mental health services and violence prevention programs have been gutted, Pawar said. "Once the social safety net crumbles, you see more strong-arm robberies. It doesn't excuse the fact that it happened, but it's connected," he said.
  
  The solution? Not what people want to hear, the alderman said.
  
  "I would be lying if I just said there is a four-point plan and it's going to take effect" in some set amount of time, Pawar said. The easy answer would be to put a cop on every corner, a suggestion that, even if practical, wouldn't produce the desired effect, he said. "I can't sit back and just say it's a police issue. We could hire 50 percent more police and we wouldn't see a 50 percent reduction in crime," Pawar said.

How about actual prison terms? CrimeinBoystown tracks tens of dozens of crimes committed by parolees and persons out on bail all year.

How about higher rates of Concealed Carriers in the neighborhood?

How about a few democratic politicians losing their jobs over these issues and more?

New HeyJackass Category?

Someone suggested that the only approved source of mayhem statistics might add an additional category to their already extensive database:

• Innocent bystanders killed and wounded

In light of recent weeks where the political class has ceded the streets to the lawless, the number of blameless victims suffering at the hands of Groot/Toni/Tommy/Kimmie voters has skyrocketed. Chicago can add yet another child, this time ten-year-old, to the body count:

• A 10-year-old girl was killed by a stray bullet Saturday inside a Logan Square home. The girl was inside an apartment about 9:40 p.m. in the 3500 block of West Dickens Avenue when the bullet came through a window and struck her in the head, Chicago police said.
  
  Lina Nunez was taken to Stroger Hospital, where she was pronounced dead hours later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Granted, there would have to be standards to this category, because we all know some kids put themselves in these situations. The one-year-old and the three-year-old appear to be collateral damage from existing feuds.

But this ten-year-old? Even that college kid the other night catching a stray round up north? These weren't muggings or robberies.

Maybe it's just too confusing, but the innocent deserve a bit more than being a statistic to a useless mayor and an even more useless states attorney.

No Police For You!

If you actually pay taxes, don't expect actual police for your money:

• Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy made no excuses for his department's strategy of deploying more officers to higher crime neighborhoods, even if it meant fewer officers in low-crime areas.
  
  Speaking to Far Southwest Side community leaders Wednesday at St. Xavier University, McCarthy was asked about the number of officers assigned to the Beverly and Mount Greenwood communities.
  
  "We don't deploy as many officers to good neighborhoods as we do to bad," he said.
  
  Chicago's police superintendent said arresting criminals in high-crime areas can keep crime from spreading.
  
  "If they catch them there, they don't come to Beverly," he said.

Well that's bullshit. Thugs go where there's less pressure on them, as demonstrated over and over again during the summer wilding season. And the gigantic spike in armed robberies in 019. And the increasing burglaries (thefts) in places like 016. And the muggings in 022.

This guy spins more than a power station generator.

UPDATE: And how about this whopper?

• "People think that deployment stops crime. It really doesn't," McCarthy told a crowd gathered for the "Breakfast with the Experts" speaker series. The morning discussion was hosted jointly by St. Xavier and the Beverly Area Planning Association.

Yet Rahm spent $93 million on police overtime just last year with another $50-100 million on tap for this year. The lies just keep on coming. Is anyone in the media going to call out this blatant lie? Or at least ask the uncomfortable questions? What a McAsshole.

Safe Passage....Expanding?

How can this be if Chicago is so safe?

• Students from 14 more Chicago Public Schools will now benefit from the Safe Passage program designed to keep kids safe on their way to and from school.
  
  Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CPS officials announced Sunday that the program will be expanded to include 14 more elementary schools: Sidney Sawyer, Ashe, Frazier International Magnet, Park Manor, Morrill Math and Science, Myra Bradwell, Richard J. Daley, McKay, Joplin, Lewis, Martha M Ruggles, Irma C Ruiz, Sherman School of Excellence and Warren Park.

But shootings are down. Homicides are down. Carjackings and muggings are up, but grade school kids don't drive and they don't have much money. So what's the deal?

Oh yeah - "volunteers" get paid.

• The Board of Education are expected to vote Wednesday to increase spending authority for Safe Passage by $1 million to pay for the expansion, according to a statement from the mayor’s office and CPS.
  
  The Safe Passage program began with 35 schools in 2009. It will now serve more than 75,000 students at 159 schools. The program involves 1,400 Safe Passage personnel trained by the CPS Office of Safety and Security.

That's another few hundred more "volunteers" getting $10 an hour to watch kids go to school - something most parents and neighborhoods usually did for free. But there's an election coming up soon and Rahm needs to make sure there's pocket money floating around.

Where's the Pix Google-me?

For a guy who can't wait to post the pictures of the same guns over and over again (it's true - check the inventory tags), he isn't tweeting any of these pictures:

• At least five people have been robbed on the CTA's train system downtown since July 18th, according to a community alert issued by Chicago police on Tuesday evening. Yet, despite having five muggings to choose from and security cameras throughout the transit system, investigators did not release any images of the offenders.
  
  Police said between one and three attackers have been using “force and intimidation” to rob CTA passengers. Some victims were threatened. Others were punched in the face and body before valuables were ripped from their hands or pockets, police said.

Hundreds and hundreds, maybe thousands of cameras, all over the CTA, and not a single image of a single attacker posted anywhere to warn riders of a particularly violent gang of criminals. The Department did describe them accurately for some reason, but no pictures.

Crime is....What Again?

Crime is down right? Well, only the killings, and as most Chicagoans are at low risk for actually being shot, it might be important to maintain awareness of other things that happen in the "safer" neighborhoods:

• Robbery reports remain at five-year highs throughout Chicago’s downtown area and Lincoln Park, according to new city data.
  
  The Loop recorded 113 robberies through April 21, a 40% increase over the same time period last year. Compared to 2013, robbery cases are up 197% in the Loop.
  
  The Near North neighborhood, which includes Streeterville, the Magnificent Mile, and River North has seen a more modest 16% year-over-year increase in muggings. The five-year-trend is an ugly 184% increase.

Once again, Crime in Wrigleyville and Boystown blog doing the heavy lifting that the mainstream media is incapable of doing....or unwilling to do. And they're doing it from public sources supplied by the City of Chicago:

Look for Rahm to shut down the Data Portal in short order.

Maybe he can have Deputy Chief Ryan do it

Thanks Again Helen

The aldercreature who did more to destroy Uptown than most aldercreatures do in a lifetime. Her legacy lives on on the crime numbers:

• Residents of Chicago's Uptown neighborhood should be on guard after reports of three separate muggings that occurred in just 15 minutes Wednesday night. Police have confirmed two of the three incidents.

We suppose these citizens voted for their own demise though...as most of Chicago seems determined to do.