Vallas Commentary

As long time readers are aware, this is our only social media presence. We don't have any other accounts and yes we're aware there are others out there that use the same name we do....but it isn't us.

It isn't likely we'd expand our footprint, so we're mostly reliant on people sending us interesting posts from other authors. This particular one was either from The Contrarian's or Paul Vallas's X Account. Since Vallas writes for the Contrarian, it gets confusing sometimes and our emailer wasn't clear:

• You can’t make this up.
  
  
  Just the latest in a string of settlements involving hundreds of criminals who actually committed the crimes for which they were convicted and incarcerated, many were released and granted “Certificates of Innocence” by Kim Foxx. The COIs helped them secure multimillion dollar civil settlements.
  
  
  Foxx admitted in a recent deposition she believed evidence existed suggesting Gabriel Solache and Arturo Reyes were both guilty of the heinous Bucktown murders. Mejia, a co-conspirator in the crime who procured Solache and Reyes services and never retracted her testimony of their involvement remains in jail.
  
  
  These cases have cost hundreds of millions and will cost hundreds of millions more. It is important to note half of those released and half the cash settlements for “wrongful convictions” occurred in county while Foxx was in office.
  
  
  For the cottage industry of advocates and trial lawyers who claim this was justice reform, explain this warped justice that has rewarded hundreds of millions of dollars to vicious criminals and their trial lawyers, to the families of the victims who were overwhelmingly Black or Hispanic.
  
  
  Meanwhile the media reinforces this narrative that these settlements are all because of police misconduct, portraying these criminals as victims and even sometimes heroes and their lawyers as civil rights advocates.
  
  
  This demands a US Justice Department investigation.

Foxxx really needs to be prosecuted for Official Misconduct at some level - there's no statute of limitations on it in Illinois, and she was actively playing for the other team - elected to PROSECUTE criminals, but making up Laws to make it impossible to successfully charge, try and imprison felons along with the "Certificates of Innocence" bullshit that is costing taxpayers hundreds of millions.

But she's part of the crooked system here, so that's unlikely.

Hey Conehead?

Can we demonize this one?

• Less than two hours after 17-year-old Javar Woods returned home from a stint at the Cook County juvenile detention center on May 21, he shot 13-year-old Deantwan McKeever while the two were stealing a car together, prosecutors allege.

  Felled by a single shot to his forehead, McKeever lay alone in a South Chicago gangway for roughly 24 minutes before someone finally called 911 on his behalf, officials say. Until Mayor Brandon Johnson deactivated the city’s ShotSpotter network in September 2024, the technology could have alerted first responders to the gunfire even if no one else did.

Added Bonus!  Another Conehead Corpse! 

This happened on 21 May around 2:43 in the afternoon....a school day. 

Why weren't these non-demonized yutes in skool?

Cheap Ass Mofo

Another SAFE-T Act success story!

• A suburban man accused of robbing a restaurant owner at gunpoint tried to saw off his ankle monitor by walking into Home Depot and using a pair of — appropriately — bolt cutters from the shelves, prosecutors say, but he walked right into the arms of Cook County Sheriff’s Police in the parking lot, according to prosecutors.

  Tyrone Arnold, 28, is charged with escape from electronic monitoring and criminal damage to government property for almost severing the county’s GPS tracker from his ankle. Almost.

Cheap ass couldn't even buy the bolt cutters?

We guess we should be thankful he didn't steal them....even though he'd be released on that charge before the case reports were approved.

Police Are Bad

But don't look over at the CPS / CTU:

• More than 700 employees of Chicago Public Schools were found to have engaged in some form of misconduct within a single year, an analysis of district records shows. 

  Over the course of four months, WTTW News obtained records that provide a detailed look at how CPS disciplined employees in cases investigated by district staff, outside agencies or the CPS Office of Inspector General.

  Between Jan. 3, 2025, and Jan. 6, 2026, Chicago Public Schools sustained misconduct allegations against more than 700 employees, with most cases involving routine workplace violations and dozens involving more serious allegations, including harassment, discrimination and fraud, records show. Among the most serious offenses, 10 employees resigned or were fired after facing allegations of sexual abuse involving a student, and almost two dozen cases overall involved allegations of sexual misconduct or discrimination. 

It sure would be interesting to compare those numbers against other City departments, even on a per capita basis. Sure, there would be a lot of low level, SPAR sustained stuff for uniform infractions, court deviations and procedural errors, but we highly doubt any other department would come close to the chomos that CPS covers up for.

We Guess the Truth Hurts?

Reports from the State FOP Conference:

• Illinois State FOP Vice President and Chicago Lodge 7 President John Catanzara addressed the delegates from across the state. Instead of focusing on issues affecting law enforcement, he spent part of his remarks complaining about a website that has, "been critical of his leadership," and "made fun," of him  Although he never mentioned it by name, it was obvious what he was referring to. He became visibly emotional, saying he couldn't believe people would question his character and integrity. His voice shook, he appeared to fight back tears, and the room full of law enforcement officers from across Illinois seemed noticeably uncomfortable. Nobody in that room wanted to watch John cry cause his feelings were hurt. 

Well, golly....

• if you'd just answer legit questions from the members you claim to represent, 
• open the books as required by the By-Laws instead of imposing improper restrictions (as you yourself complained about when running for office)be getting emails on a daily basis about 
• and stop with the backroom politics, strange hiring practices, questionable investigations and tossing out elected representatives for real or imagined offenses regarding your behavior

...then maybe we wouldn't be getting daily emails from people whose voices and concerns have been dismissed out of hand, along with continuous rumors of outside investigations by both the State Lodge and the feds?

Just saying..... 

Another Conehead Corpse

In a neighborhood originally covered by ShotSpotter:

• A 15-year-old boy found unresponsive on the back porch of a West Side home overnight was actually a gunshot victim, a discovery paramedics made only after they began treating him at the scene.

  First responders had no indication the boy had been shot, or even that there had been gunfire in the neighborhood, because nobody called 911 to report shots fired, records show. The block is also no longer monitored by ShotSpotter after Mayor Brandon Johnson ended the city’s contract with the gunshot detection system in September 2024.

  The Chicago Fire Department responded to a home in the 4600 block of West Jackson Boulevard shortly after 1 a.m. for a report of a person who was not awake or breathing. According to dispatch records, the person who discovered the child had already begun performing CPR before emergency crews arrived.

  About 15 minutes later, a Chicago Police officer who was asked to ride along with paramedics reported over the radio that the fire department believed the boy might be suffering from a gunshot wound. They soon confirmed their suspicions. In a media statement, CPD said the 15-year-old had been shot in the head. He was transported to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

How long ago did Conehead say he was looking for a replacement for ShotSpotter?

How long does it take to find a niece, nephew or other aldermanic relative to run this connected replacement?

This is the 88th victim of Conehead's Reign of Error. 

 

House Mouse Deployments

The First Deputy is making some waves:

• It has been decreed that ALL full duty members in cushy spots (like BIA, BOCT, BOP & Constitutional Policing) are to be deployed on posts. No EXEMPTIONS are permitted. Full duty members will be “working day” deployed for all events. This alleviates cancelled days off, reduces overtime (to keep her promise to the Mayor) & takes the strain off units that are constantly deployed, day-in-day-out. Also heard, some of the Chiefs are already in her crosshairs for perceived slights since her promotion. 

Exhibit #1:

Actually a good and appropriate move, but kind of humorous seeing as how little time the First actually spent on the street. We've got an entire folder of those stories. 

But how much "power" does she actually have as they brought Interim Fred back and wouldn't even let her run the Department for a single day - which is actually in the job description for the First Deputy

Fun times ahead? 

Attempted Disarming

West side:

• A Chicago police officer’s weapon discharged during an attempt to arrest a suspect accused of being in possession of a stolen vehicle early Tuesday in North Lawndale.

  Around 3:40 a.m., Ogden Police District officers in the 1600 block of South Drake Avenue were trying to arrest a male for possession of a stolen vehicle when he tried to disarm an officer, police said.

  An officer’s weapon discharged during the struggle, authorities said. No one was struck by gunfire. The officer suffered minor injuries and was taken to an area hospital in fair condition, officials said. The suspect was arrested and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital for minor injuries, according to police.

  The officers involved in the shooting will be placed on routine administrative duties for at least 30 days.The Civilian Office of Police Accountability was investigating the shooting.

If it turns out the suspect discharged the Officer's weapon, does he have to serve the thirty-days off of the street? 

But if that happened, you can bet COPA is going to hand out ten or twenty days.

Another Blown $$$ Opportunity

Chicago missed the casino boat a long time ago. Then the River North Casino has turned into a boondoggle of construction delays and missed revenue projections while the suburban Rivers Casino turned into the #1 casino in the state that prints money for Des Plaines.

Now it's going to turn into a lawsuit that Conehead's people will likely lose:

• Bally's casino is warning Chicago aldermen it will sue the city if the City Council does not reverse its decision to legalize video gambling terminals in bars and convenience stores — and the company is offering a deal it says would replace the revenue the city was counting on.

  At a committee hearing, Bally's senior vice president reminded aldermen that a 2022 agreement struck by the Lightfoot administration gave the company a monopoly on virtual slot machines within Chicago city limits. Legalizing video gambling terminals, known as VGTs, outside Bally's property would render that contract null and void, the company said.

  The City Council approved legalizing VGTs as part of its late 2025 budget.

  If the contract is voided, Bally's said it would halt its annual $4 million licensing payments to the city and would no longer honor its commitments to diversity and union hiring.

Chicago politicians could f#@$ up a one-car funeral.

Number One Again

But in a completely off-the-wall category:

• Chicago has been ranked the worst city in the country for bed bugs for the sixth consecutive year, according to Orkin's annual list.

  The pest control company's rankings are based on where it performed the most bed bug treatments between May 12, 2025 and May 12, covering both residential and commercial sites.

  Los Angeles came in second on this year's list, followed by Detroit at third, Cleveland at fourth and Indianapolis at fifth. New York fell just outside of the top 10.

So raggedy. 

How long was Chicago #1 in rats?

Officer Recovering

Out of surgery and resting.

It appears he was wounded through a closed doorway and the bullet struck below his vest - one of the worst spots to get shot:

• When officers approached the door, the man allegedly shot through it and struck a police officer.

  The officer was shot in the lower abdomen and was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital.

Twenty years ago or so, we remember seeing the HBT people (this was before SWAT) had a large ballistic shield - almost like a Kevlar curtain - that had to measure al least six feet by six feet square on a frame. It appeared to be mounted on a pipe frame for ease of movement.

This was in addition to the man-portable shields with a visual window to see through that covered from the top of the head to the knees, protecting the vital organ areas. 

Were none of these available? 

Prayers and best wishes to the wounded Officer for a full recovery.

Confused Conehead

Somebody asked for this photo:

 

We're told that's a common expression most of the time.

Fifteen Years (minus four)

Already four years off for custodial credit though:

• A Chicago man who fired a machine gun at an off-duty Chicago police officer during a road rage altercation on the Stevenson Expressway has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, court records show.

  Neither the officer nor the accused man, 26-year-old David Abarca, was injured in the August 2022 shootout. But a 24-year-old woman driving the car Abarca was riding in suffered serious injuries when one of the officer’s bullets struck her in the head.

  [...] Investigators found a handgun with an extended magazine outfitted with an auto-fire switch and a green laser sight lying on an embankment about 15 feet from the crashed vehicle. They also found 23 shell casings that had been ejected from the recovered firearm. Abarca initially denied possessing a firearm.

  Abarca had faced attempted murder and other charges, but those charges were dropped after he pleaded guilty to possessing a machine gun in a vehicle. Judge Steven Watkins sentenced him to 15 years in prison with credit for 1,493 days earned while in the Cook County Jail.

No Federal charge for the switch?

Officer Shot

 Albany Park area:

• A Chicago police officer was shot Monday morning in Albany Park.

  The shooting happened in the 4600 block of North Springfield at around 11:45 a.m.

  The officer was taken to Illinois Masonic. Their condition is not available at this time.

We will update when we can.

Heavy Phone Calls

You probably aren't going to hear much about this one unless some enterprising "reporter" steals it from an alternative site:

• 16 July 2026; 1904 hours; 2711 W Flournoy
• M/1/21; son of State Senator Lakesia COLLINS arrested for PCS and Resisting Arrest 

We certainly hope the Senator hasn't been calling the 011th District desk attempting to "seek information" and maybe get her son released....oh wait....

CB number and RD number available for FOIA requests to interested parties.

Aldercreature Neighbor?

The Contrarian had this on their social media feed the other day:

The reason this is concerning to 19th Ward people is surprising:

• the aldercreature lives almost directly across the street from this problem residence - literally the width of the street.

So the "ward leadership" is undoubtedly 100% aware of this problem building, the problem residents, and the issues that lead to 022 police resources being expended there on a weekly basis.

Are they political donors or something? 

Wounded Suspect was What Now?

From yesterday:

• A suspect is recovering in the hospital on Saturday after he was shot during a struggle with officers who were working to disperse a crowd on the city’s South Side overnight.

From the comment section since:

• Apparently this goofy was on off duty IDOC agent. Whatever that means. Misdemeanor charges also.

"Goofy" would be an understatement.

Just so you know, the on-duty Officer is always assumed to be in the "right" in terms of Department Policy and the eyes of the Law. 

There is no "right to resist" and certainly no "right to be an off-duty goofy." That's why there are investigative processes to figure out things after the fact - in the meantime, do what you're told and complain later.

 

Everyone is Packing on the CTA

If you're unfortunate enough to ride the CTA, might as well:

• Two men are jailed after a tipster informed Chicago cops that the pair had guns on the Red Line downtown, and for one of the accused men, it’s the second time he’s been jailed for allegedly having a gun on the Red Line.

  Officers assigned to the CPD’s Public Transportation Section tactical team arrested the two convicted felons and recovered two firearms early on July 15, 2026, with the help of the tip, police said. The team was conducting a routine check at the Jackson Red Line station, 230 South State Street, when a witness approached officers and reported a man on the platform with a gun.

  Officers relayed the description to colleagues working in the Public Transportation surveillance camera room, who located footage allegedly showing the man entering the station by jumping a turnstile. The surveillance officers used the CTA’s extensive camera network to provide tactical officers with his live location, CPD said. Tactical officers stopped the man, identified by police as 22-year-old Davonte Sims, and recovered a firearm from his bag, according to police.

  The surveillance team also spotted a second man placing a bag containing a gun inside a seat on the Jackson platform, CPD said. That man departed on a train before police realized the firearm was in the bag. But the surveillance officers once again used live video feeds to track him down. They located the second man, 28-year-old Terry Sturgis, at the Garfield Red Line station and sent patrol officers to arrest him, police said.

Nice job by the Officers. Nice job by the camera operators who were able to follow the suspects from camera to camera until apprehension.

That's why if you're packing, don't attract attention to yourself, don't commit other crimes, and avoid the "tells" that might giveaway that you're armed. 

Gold Coast Stabbing

It's everywhere!

• A man was left in critical condition after being stabbed during a fight in Chicago's Gold Coast Saturday night.

  Police said at 9:35 p.m., the man, age unknown, came up to a woman on Oak Street near Rush Street and they got into a fight.

  The woman took out a sharp object and stabbed the man in the neck, police said.

  The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition.

We're pretty sure there are roughly 200 cameras within a mile of that location.

And 9:35 PM on a Saturday night is prime tourist/nightlife time.

And someone still got stabbed, because crime is down.

Suspect Wounded

Likely by his own gun:

• A suspect is recovering in the hospital on Saturday after he was shot during a struggle with officers who were working to disperse a crowd on the city’s South Side overnight.

  Officers said the incident unfolded around 12:32 a.m. in the 5300 block of South Princeton Avenue, in Fuller Park.

  [...] As officers worked to control the crowd, they say they saw a man who had a firearm and tried to stop him. A brief struggle ensued between the officers and the suspect, however.

  Amid the struggle, police said the suspect’s gun went off, striking him in the leg. Officers immediately called for an ambulance and rendered aid to the suspect at the scene.

We guess that's one way to avoid the thirty days of desk duty - make sure he wounds himself. 

But also, if you see a gun, it's probably easier to shoot the gunman from a distance from behind cover. 

What's the Story Here?

Deadly Force can be used in self defense OR in defense of another. So what happened here?

• A suspect was arrested after allegedly fatally shooting a man who she saw stabbing a woman Friday night in Englewood on the South Side.

  The situation unfolded as a 22-year-old woman and 38-year-old Marcus Young were arguing inside a home in the 400 block of West Marquette Road around 10:55 p.m. and Young pulled out a sharp object and stabbed the woman in the abdomen, Chicago police said.

  When Young pulled the 22-year-old outside of the home, a female inside the home who witnessed the altercation, shot Young in the chest. Young was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

  The 22-year-old was taken to the same hospital in good condition, police said.

  Officers arrested the female and recovered the gun, police said. Charges were pending.

Black woman defending another black woman from being stabbed by a black man. Sounds like straight up "defense of another" at this point.

But it is the Slum Times "reporting," and we all know how inaccurate they are six-times-out-of-ten. Three-times-out-of-the-other-ten, they just lie.

Twice in Three Days

CWB asking what the lame-stream media won't:

• A Chicago man is accused of carrying a machete on a CTA train just two days after a judge released him to await trial on an earlier machete arrest, and questions are now being raised about why he wasn’t hit with a more serious charge the first time around, one that could have kept him detained from the start.

  Chicago police arrested Ronald Reed, 31, at the Clark-Lake station around 2:51 p.m. on July 8 after officers discovered he had a machete, according to a CPD report. A police spokesperson said officers initially stopped Reed for having an open can of alcohol and then subsequently found the weapon.

And we'll answer the same way we usually do:

• crooked judges
• SAFE-T Act nonsense
• democrats love criminals

But until we get a few more citizens stabbed, shot or lit on fire, don't expect voters to wise up.

But we remind everyone, if criminals can get machetes on board CTA trains, then you can certainly get a pistol on board to defend yourself or others. 

Try it - you might like it. 

They'll Be Back

Someone was asking what happened to HeyJackass.com as they haven't updated in a few days.

This post appeared there shortly after:

• Gone Fishin' 

 

So not to worry - they're just taking some time off, same as we did a few weeks ago.

Open post for a smokey Sunday. 

Police Layoffs?

Not likely among the rank and file, but among PPOs without Contract protections? It's been done before waaaaay back under Harold Washington:

• Some Chicago city employees, including police officers, could face layoffs this fall as Mayor Brandon Johnson and members of the City Council's budget accountability coalition clash over responsibility for a projected $98 million midyear budget shortfall.

  Johnson's administration outlined the deficit in its latest budget update, prompting a new round of fingerpointing over stalled revenue plans and the potential impact on jobs and a planned $260 million advance pension payment.

Conehead was bitching about the City Council refusing to enact his Head Tax, something that has been proven time-and-time again to drive businesses OUT of Chicago, some merely establishing their addresses across the street in a border suburb.

Oh, and what the Hell is a "pension advance payment"? 

• The $16.7 billion budget approved by a City Council majority that rejected Mayor Brandon Johnson’s corporate head tax required the city to make a full $260 million advance pension payment to stave off another costly reduction in Chicago’s bond rating.

  The Johnson administration ignored that mandate, made a half payment of $130 million in January, and promised to pay the other half in the second quarter of this year. Now that second installment is in jeopardy.

So Conehead and his people (folks?) lied again.

But he had $500 million for ILLEGAL ALIENS.

$400 million in TIF money for a soccer stadium.

$100 million "redirected" to some anti-violence grifters.

And extra $800 million in fantasy money that might have bought back the parking meters.

Now they might miss a "pension advance payment"?  

Close these Money-Pits

How long have we been pointing this out? Ten years? More?

• Proposed cuts, furloughs and a spending freeze are part of Chicago Public Schools' budget plan as the district works to balance its finances, but the proposal does not include school closures because of an ongoing moratorium.

  The issue has renewed debate over the cost of keeping severely under-enrolled schools open, including Frederick Douglass High School on the city's West Side.

  The school, which can hold about 900 students, now has around 30 students enrolled.

And we all know exactly who is to blame for all this waste:

• "It's costing CPS about $94-95,000 a year per student at this school," Ferguson said.

  According to Ferguson, the average cost per CPS student is typically about $18,000. He also noted that the Chicago Teachers Union contract requires certain staffing levels regardless of enrollment.

  "We're talking about 30 students. We're talking about 30 full-time employees for a student-teacher ratio of one-to-one," Ferguson said.

And of those 30 students, guess how many read, write and math at grade level? Go ahead, guess.

We don't have the answer, but someone probably does. And someone probably has that link we used to use with all of the under-enrolled schools that are wasting literally tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions or scarce taxpayer dollars for pretty much zero return on the "investment." 

Don't Get Middled

Most readers here (not all) are Chicago Police Officers.

You have pretty much zero authority to investigate Federal agents, no matter what Conehead and the alder-morons claim:

• City officials were summoned to a testy City Council committee hearing Friday to provide answers about the delayed implementation of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s order directing Chicago police to investigate potential crimes committed by federal immigration agents.

  Members of the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights spent about two hours peppering mayoral aides and police leaders with questions about Johnson’s “ICE on Notice” executive order, asking what the decree has accomplished and what additional steps are needed to enforce it.

  Police officials said the department had finalized internal procedures to implement the order, nearly five months after the mayor’s 30-day deadline. However, they wouldn’t say why it took so long.

  “We value CPD and want to believe that officers are indeed here to preserve and protect our communities. But it is long past time for accountability to the public,” said Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), the committee chair.

They even want third party complaints to be "investigated" when the complainant wasn't there, witnessed nothing, and has zero standing. 

Don't fall for their bullshit, because they WILL NOT back you when the Federal courts decree you operated outside the scope of your local authority. 

Waller Making Moves

 Not much time being wasted:

• Deputy Chief Jill Stevens (BOP) to Chief of Patrol.
  
  Deputy Chief A. Parham to Deputy Chief BOP.
  
  Cmdr R. Watson (BOP) to Deputy Chief replaces Parham.
  
  Cmdr L. Courts (007) to Cmdr Narcotics replacing Josh Wallace (Retired).
  
  Lt Miles to Cmdr 007.

Anyone hoping things might get better just got kicked in the teeth.

Tracking SAFE-T Act Failures

This "transparency" thing seems to be a serious self-own:

• A newly released report shows that 10% of the people enrolled in the Cook County court’s electronic monitoring (EM) program were missing as of June 1, the latest disclosure in what Chief Judge Charles Beach has described as a renewed transparency effort following the killing of an on-duty Chicago police officer and the critical wounding of his partner by an EM escapee in April.

  But the program continues to be plagued by high-profile failures, including recent revelations by CWBChicago that a 10-time felon who was supposed to be confined to his home while wearing an ankle monitor was found in Gov. JB Pritzker’s backyard. And another man, alleged by federal authorities to be a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, is charged with kidnapping and murdering an 18-year-old man while wearing one of the chief judge’s monitoring devices.

The only reason the "high-profile failure" even see the light of day is the outstanding reporting of the CWB blog - no other media outlet is doing it. And the number of "low profile" escapees is likely in the hundreds....many hundreds.

Something that should be spotlighted by persons running for higher office on a daily basis.

This is a Law?

This has been around for almost a century?

• A man who fatally punched a House of Blues patron outside the River North venue in November 2023 was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, according to court records. Jamie Miller, 32, was originally charged with murder. But prosecutors were unlikely to win that charge at trial, based on nearly a century of Illinois case law holding that a person cannot reasonably expect a single punch to kill someone.

  Miller’s sentence will be cut in half under state law, and he will also receive credit for 912 days spent on electronic monitoring and in jail while awaiting trial, according to an order from Judge Mariano Reyna.

That's a Hell of an assumption because we've known a few Golden Gloves fighters and more than a few street brawlers, and we always assumed that they could kill someone with their bare hands if the decided to go that route. In fact, killing someone with bare hands accounts for more murders than rifles most years, so the possibility is there for anyone who cares to research it. 

Giving this "freebie" to criminals who "didn't know" after they've spent years perfecting the ability to end a fight as quickly as possible is questionable at best, irresponsible at worst. 

But maybe we can use if for the Street Vigilante Committee in the future? 

More PPP Accountability

But only for the CPD?

Probably because it's easier to fire cops for Rule Violations than it is to get rid of union members with all sorts of delaying tactics:

• Eight more Chicago police officers now face dismissal for fraudulently obtaining federal Paycheck Protection Program loans during the pandemic, City Hall’s inspector general announced Wednesday.

  The officers falsified statements on government documents to obtain a total of $282,639 in federal funds intended to help small businesses during the COVID-19 crisis, according to Inspector General David Glockner’s first quarterly report.

  Glockner stepped into the watchdog role in April, succeeding succeeding Deborah Witzburg. Witzburg, now chief of staff to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, previously issued reports showing a total of 28 other cops had bilked the PPP program, which was rife with fraud.

  The eight officers highlighted in Wednesday’s report are accused of breaking the law, making false statements and discrediting the police department, among other things. Their names weren’t released.

Still no word on OEMC workers, of which there are dozens upon dozens.

And CPD exempt members are still being allowed to retire (with credentials) if they got caught up in this shitshow. 

(on a side note, we had to call 9-1-1 the other day for an incident - the phone rang thirteen times before being picked up....that hints at staffing issues that might have something to do with them slow-walking the OEMC investigations, especially if they suddenly had to fire fifty calltakers.) 

Larry Leaves

If you're interested, here's a media link.

We can't say we had a high opinion of him. He was a tool during the COVID strippings, he had quite the reputation at the Academy during the #metoo era that was conveniently swept under the carpet, and we scored higher than he did on every promotional test we ever took.

We'd wish him luck in retirement, but we're sure he's already got something lined up politically to go along with his "Given, not Earned" gold braid pension.

See ya. 

No One Likes Conehead

And the polling numbers are reflecting it:

• Mayor Brandon Johnson has yet to announce if he'll seek re-election next year, but a new poll reveals he faces a tough road ahead if he does run for another term.

  The gold standard poll commissioned by the University of Chicago's Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation delivers an education on how poorly Chicagoans view Johnson, and the uphill climb he faces if he runs for re-election.

  The city that delivered him a victory in 2023 is delivering a starkly different message in the final year of his first term.

  The poll found just 13.6% of Chicagoans want Johnson to run again, and 58% of Chicagoans say they're not excited by another Johnson campaign.

  Johnson's job approval rating dropped to 23%, down from 25% in December.

And that 23% is a combination of "great job" and "okay job" numbers. His "great job" numbers have never climbed much higher than 6%.

The anointed one is burying Conehead in campaign dollar totals:

• Mayor Brandon Johnson spent nearly three times as much money as he raised in the second quarter of this year, and has just over $631,309 in the bank just two weeks before mayoral candidates start circulating their nominating petitions.

  Johnson already faced a huge fundraising disadvantage, having closed the first quarter of 2026 with $813,125 in campaign cash on hand — compared to $18.3 million for Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.

  Giannoulias, a prolific fundraiser, has continued to widen that gap. In the three-month period ending June 30, he took in about $3.65 million and spent about $106,000, leaving him with about $21.85 million in cash on hand, according to the quarterly fundraising report filed Wednesday.

  That gives him a roughly $21 million lead over Johnson.

No word on how many of those millions are from the taxpayer bailout of Broadway Bank, but hey, putting someone who used to run a failed bank in charge of a city that can't balance the books or keep taxpaying citizens and businesses in town....what could go wrong?

Now We're Talkin'

Is it a cascade of layoffs inbound?

• Chicago Public Schools officials on Wednesday announced plans to lay off hundreds of teachers and other staff and impose five furlough days to help close a $732 million deficit for next school year.

  The district's budget plan calls for laying off 760 teachers, 801 teachers' aides, and 162 central office employees. The district also plans to furlough staff for five days when students are not required to be in school – such as report card pickup days and teacher training or planning days – during the second semester.

  CPS also plans a midyear spending freeze starting in the second semester.

  CPS said its proposal does not add to the district's roughly $9 billion debt. Instead, district leaders said they're looking to reduce administrative spending, tighten operations, and rely on additional state money to help balance the books.

What state money? Illinois is billions and billions in debt. That's a dry well.

But back to the layoffs - the fact that they can lay off more teachers' aides than teachers tells you that CPS has a manpower allocation problem. And the 162 central office employees is just the usual bureaucracy middle management overstaffing problem that affect every large organization.

If you fire everyone who has the word "assistant" in their job title, you'd save billions over the years....and yes, that includes every CPD employee as well, though in the CPD case, the title "deputy" can also be grounds for being launched. 

Heat Wave - Close the Beaches!

It's a bit warm:

• Chicagoans caught outside on Tuesday sought relief from the heat any way they could as the city entered its second stretch of 90-degree-plus temperatures in a month.

  [...] Temperatures peaked at 96 degrees Tuesday afternoon at O’Hare Airport, shy of the record 100 degrees set in 1998, according to the National Weather Service.

  An air quality alert was in effect until at least Wednesday for the area. The air quality could worsen on Thursday and Friday, when wildfire smoke could reach the region, according to the Illinois Department of Health. State health experts encouraged people to stay indoors, use stronger air filters and turn off fresh air intakes on air conditioning. They also suggested limiting time outside.

So when does Conehead shut down the beaches?

You know, like McStreetlights did for Rahm at North Avenue a number of years back - it was just too darn hot to have the beaches open next to the cool refreshing water. 

Or has City Hall revamped that opinion these days? 

More Cuts Needed

We'd call this a "good start" except everyone laid off will be rehired shortly, probably with back pay:

• Chicago Public Schools on Monday announced that it laid off 162 employees from its central office and citywide positions last week.

  The layoffs come as CPS works to close a $732 million budget deficit for the upcoming academic year. The reductions are said to generate about $18 million in savings.

  On Tuesday morning, members of the Chicago Teachers Union blamed some of the cuts on a chronic problem with property taxes.

  Cook County property tax bills did not go out on time this summer, starting a chain reaction. A delay in collecting money causes a delay in doling out revenue, which causes a gap in funding.

  CPS has been forced to fill that cash hole with a loan. Once the loan was taken out, interest payments then added even more costs to the district's balance sheets.

Someone had a shocking statistic the other day that claimed there are twice as many non-teaching positions in CPS than there are actual teachers. We don't know the actual numbers, but someone out there does.

Fully staffing these schools - and operating them - when they're only at 5% or 10% of capacity is an excellent place to begin real cuts to the bloated CPS system.

But we'll never see it. 

The Contrarian Demonizes

Damnit, didn't they get the word from Conehead? No demonizing!

• I was strolling through the park one day in the merry, merry month of July (as the old song goes) when I stumbled upon something that perfectly captures the absurdity of Chicago’s approach to crime. It was a Lime scooter, not particularly remarkable in itself, except for one detail: It was covered in gang graffiti. Think about that for a moment. Not a wall. Not an abandoned building. Not a railroad viaduct. A rented electric scooter that exists for one purpose — to move people from Point A to Point B. Apparently, even that has become gang territory.

  Now, I realize this is anecdotal evidence. One scooter does not constitute a scientific study. But it does illustrate something everyone in Chicago already knows and our political leadership desperately tries not to acknowledge: The overwhelming majority of serious violence in this city is connected to gangs. Not poverty alone. Not climate change. Not racism. Not a lack of social workers. Not a shortage of government programs. Gangs.

  The problem is obvious. In some neighborhoods, everybody knows who the gang members are. Chicago Police know who they are. The neighbors know who they are. The victims certainly know who they are. Yet somehow our political class continues to treat gang violence as though it were a random weather phenomenon rather than the predictable result of organized criminal behavior. Every weekend we see the same headlines: Drive-by shootings, retaliatory shootings, street-corner shootings, carjackings, armed robberies. Again and again, investigators discover gang connections. Again and again, the same names, the same crews, the same neighborhoods, the same feuds.

It hasn't changed in our lifetimes, now in our sixth decade. And prior to that, it hadn't altered much then either. It was always a core group of assholes driving the disorder and violence....and it was always explained away by all manner of bullshit.

It may be finally petering out. We've certainly noticed it in other locations that aren't blue state shitholes run by lib-tarded morons. 

Go read it all.