Second City Cop

• it's all smoke and mirrors. 50 2 year wonders detailed to MSF today..yet no new cars or radios...be riding 4 deep...the public will see the same amount of cars out there...how stupid

• This is off the topic, but I was not sure how to bring it to anyone's attention. According to fleet in order to supply enough cars for the new Summer Initiatives, cars that were scheduled to be junked are being call ed back into service. Mars lights are being reinstalled at area 1 as I write this. This does not effect me directly, but shouldn't this be a safety issue? Two weeks ago a department already short on cars was ready to junk them, but now they are [acceptable]?

Labels: rumors, safety issues

• Kids suffer minor injuries in shooting near Hegewisch school
  
  
• Man shot dead on Far South Side
  
  
• Man critically wounded in Far South Side shooting
  
  
• NW Side shooting leaves man critically wounded

Labels: crime

• Holding up an assault weapon surrendered for cash, Mayor Daley urged Chicagoans today to turn in their weapons on May 8 to stop the violence that prompted two state lawmakers to suggest bringing in the National Guard.

• Last summer, the prolonged recession forced a drop in corporate donations and a cut in the bounty —from a 75ドル pre-paid MasterCard for every gun surrendered to 50ドル. The take dropped along with the prize. Roughly 1,900 guns were turned in, 44 percent below the average for the previous five events.

  This year, the bounty is back up to 75ドル per gun and remains at 100ドル for every assault weapon and 10ドル for each BB gun, air gun or gun replica.

  However, former Chicago Police Superintendent Terry Hillard, who is chairing the fundraising drive, acknowledged that only 50,000ドル has been raised so far to bank-roll gun turn-in bounties.

  Unless there’s a last-minute surge in contributions over the final week, that would only be enough to cover 666 prepaid MasterCard at 75ドル-a-pop.

Labels: gun issues

• Transnational street gang members were the target of a series of arrests this week in the Chicago area, federal officials announced today.

  Of the 28 gang members arrested, 27 were in the U.S. without documentation and face deportation, either directly or after facing charges in the United States, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.

  Of those arrested, 25 were from Mexico, one from Honduras and one from El Salvador, with one U.S. citizen arrested on an outstanding warrant.

Labels: silly people

• Benefit for the Children of Michael Vins
  
  Chicago police Officer Michael Vins passed away unexpectedly on August 30 2009 leaving behind a wife and two daughters. Unfortunately, his youngest daughter suffers from Penylketetonuria (PKU) that affects growth and development and requires a strict diet which is not covered by insurance. Michael worked hard to provide for his family. Michael was a 13 year veteran for the CPD working in various districts his last assignment being in Gang Investigations Unit. Michael also has 2 older brothers and a nephew on the CPD
  
  The family and fellow officers are hosting a benefit for Michael's Children
  Sunday June 6th 2010
  115 Bourbon Street
  3359 W 115th st
  1400-2000 hours
  
  Please join us; refreshments, food, entertainment, raffles and a silent auction; this benefit will help raise funds for Michael two daughters medical and education expenses.

• Donations can be sent to:The Mike Vins Family Benefit Fund
  C/O Park Federal Saving Bank
  5400 S. Pulaski,Chicago, Illinois 60632
  Phone #773-582-8200
  
  For more info on benefit contact
  Sgt Jim Sanchez @ 312-446-8644
  PO Mary Karen Fick @ 312-746-7901
  PO Nancy Guswiler @ 773-450-4652
  Sgt. Tom Cronin @ 312-4468757

Labels: events

• What was the BAC of the two deceased traffic offenders? Where is the video of them pounding beers or shots or fizzy mixed drinks?

Labels: scc responds

• There is a rumor from City Hall that Shortshanks is going to buy out the contract of J-Fled because of all the shootings and all the flack from the rank and file. The details of the buyout are being worked out.

• Two children were shot tonight in a playlot in the Southeast Side's Hegewisch neighborhood.

  One of the victims, a boy, was shot in the side of his body and taken in critical condition to the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

  The other victim, a girl, was shot in the leg and taken in serious condition to St. Margaret Mercy Hospital in Hammond, Ind., Langford said.

Labels: crime, department issues

• Mayor Daley’s gun control proposals are frequently shot down by the General Assembly, but he won a rare victory today.

  The Illinois Senate unanimously agreed to make unlawful use of a weapon a non-probationable offense — punishable by one to three years in prison — whenever the offender carries a loaded weapon and has no valid Firearms Owners Identification (FOID) card.

  The House also approved the bill unanimously. It now awaits Gov. Quinn’s signature.

Labels: gun issues

• Everybody wants the M4's but complain about the POWER test requirements. I have taken the test, failed it due to injury and being sick with a cold. Finally I was able to pass and the M4 is back with me in my squad. The rule is stupid, leaving me unable to carry the carbine till I was able to test again. I am 250 lbs and can hold onto my rifle. Is J-Weiss telling me Officers 1/2 my weight who can run 4 laps around the academy are better qualified and have better weapon retention strength?
  
  Why isn't the shotgun made more available? It is lighter and is better suited for most urban situations. The 00 Buck round is very effective and wont travel as far if you let a stray one go. The shotgun ammo is CHEAPER as well as the shotgun itself. As of now, there is no POWER test for that, but once qualified, an Officer cannot sign one out for basic patrol. Lets push for the authorization to carry the 12 Gauges and to be able to purchase/carry our own personal shotguns. Even the training is less time consuming. One day at the range, compared to the week for the M4. The whole program is more economical for the Department if you care about that. Officers can be trained in 1/5th the time and for a fraction of the cost. PUT THE RIGHT WEAPONS IN OUR HANDS!!!!
  
  People want the National Guard? Arm the Police and the few Officers out on the street will be able to better match up with the thugs that are trying to take over and run this City (although not on my Watch)!

Labels: department issues

• Quite often, I hear from friends and neighbors of their unhappiness with the way the 46th Ward and the City of Chicago are run. They complain of corruption in the City, overspending, and mismanagement of City agencies. They object to higher taxes and increased fees with little or no improvement of City services. They are dissatisfied with the numerous pet projects created at the cost of properly funding our schools, police, and other City agencies. These friends and neighbors often tell me that they feel helpless – like there is no hope to prospect to change the way things are run here in Chicago. They tell me that it’s "the Chicago way." More often than not, such an all encompassing statement is followed directly by, "yeah, but what are we going to do?" My answer to that question? Vote them out.
  
  For too long the 46th Ward has been run by one person, for one person. The homeless are still homeless – the poor are still poor – police are not supported in their efforts to suppress crime – the citizens and taxpayers still have no real say in how their Ward is run. Enough is enough. The people of the 46th Ward deserve better. The poor and homeless of our Ward deserve dignified jobs in our neighborhood and to be given the opportunity to earn an honest living. Residents of the Ward deserve clean, well paved streets without fear of street violence breaking out on their street corner. There must be complete transparency in all spending from the Aldermanic office, from menu money to the Alderman's Ward budget. It is time for open and honest government in the 46th Ward and throughout the City of Chicago.

Labels: city politics

• Circulation continues to drop at U.S. newspapers. Figures released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show average weekday circulation fell 8.7 percent in the six months that ended March 31, compared with the same period a year earlier, while Sunday circulation fell 6.5 percent.

  The Chicago Sun-Times' Monday through Friday circulation over the period was 268,803, a decline of 13.9 percent from a year ago -- in line with company expectations after a significant price increase. The Sun-Times raised its newsstand price to 75 cents from 50 cents on March 30, 2009, affecting single-copy sales. However, home delivery increased 4.5 percent. The newspaper's Sunday circulation was 247,416, down 2.7 percent.

  Other papers also showed large weekday losses, with the San Diego Union-Tribune falling 22.7 percent, the Washington Post declining 13.1 percent, and USA Today losing 13.6 percent. The Chicago Tribune was down 9.8 percent to 452,145 weekdays and down 7.5 percent to 858,256 Sundays. The Wall Street Journal was the only one of the top 25 papers to gain in circulation -- 0.5 percent.

Labels: media

• It would be much wiser for the supt's stooges to simply order 10 percent of all units manpower must return to patrol. Make it an order to use reverse seniority. Make it even steven across the board. No excuses granted to anyone. The youth need to get back out on the street and patrol. Crawl before you walk.
  
  This temporary summer thing is ridiculous and lots of officers are getting fked due to the fix being in. Headquarters is picking and choosing which units to take from and which units to leave alone. Already some units got out of giving up any officers, and some other units now have to give up more to accomodate the prima donna units. Some units aren't following the order that says use reverse seniority and using smoke screen excuses.

Labels: from the comments

• A man and a woman have been charged in a baseball-bat attack that put two women in the hospital last week, police sources said.

• The baseball bat believed to have been used in the attack has been recovered. Police used records from the women’s stolen cell phones and credit cards to track down their attackers, sources said. The two suspects were taken into custody Monday night.

Labels: crime

• No one was in custody after separate shootings -- including two confirmed drive-by attacks -- left four men wounded today, police said.

  The few details released were preliminary, and police said the investigations were ongoing.

Labels: crime

• A Cook County judge today ruled that a Chicago police officer accused of drunk driving in a fatal crash on Thanksgiving 2007 was arrested and detained without probable cause.

  Judge Thomas V. Gainer Jr. also called the police lieutenant who ordered Officer John Ardelean's arrest not a credible witness.

  "Probable cause to arrest in this case comes down to the credibility of Lt. (John) Magruder and this court does not believe Lt. Magruder's testimony," Gainer wrote in his opinion.

  Gainer also wrote he had found "no conspiracy to protect this defendant by rogue officers acting without regard to their oath ..."
  

Labels: we got nothing

• Mayor Richard Daley reacted coolly Monday to a suggestion the National Guard be called in to help slow the violence on Chicago's streets, suggesting the idea offered up a day earlier by two state representatives was too simplistic.

  "You have to look at long-term solutions," Daley said, adding he understood the "frustration" expressed by the legislators.

• The mayor also sounded his familiar theme of needing more gun control laws and suggested Fritchey and Ford back him in those efforts.

  "This is all about guns, and that's why the crusade is on," Daley said. "We hope to get their cooperation in Springfield."

Labels: gun issues

Labels: events

Labels: events

• Fact- It seems that Mr. Mike Masters is in a little hot water. He was recently in a some trouble with Da Mayor and got yelled at. We are sensing a little trouble in paradise. Here is the best part. He was later overheard talking shit about his boss (Da Mayor). It seems that Masters now thinks he is better than the guy that put him there and we quote "can't wait for him to leave." There are eyes and ears everywhere. Let's see who lasts longer Masters or the Mayor. Any bets?

Labels: from the comments

• "I never heard the shots."

Labels: scc responds

• Many unnamed persons have forwarded an eMail to me in which the first line reads: "The Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the City of Chicago is accused of cowardice by a man once regarded as the department's chief LUNATIC." (CAPS mine)
  
  Trust me. It's NOT a bruised ego. In recent days, I have contacted editors of newspapers as well as the producers of local electronic media to expose this COWARD for what he truly is. While I believe that essentially local media is in the hip pocket of Mayor Richard M. Daley, media has declined covering the story any further using the unspoken pretext that I am INSANE. In effect, those who have circulated this trash may well have "cut their own throats" if they believe that Weis should resign or be fired.
  
  I herein offer a reward of 10,000ドル.00 to the first person who contacts me with information that would result in a conclusion that I am clinically insane. I'm not. Far from it. As some have said, Northen is "as crazy as a fox." I will never know if libelous rumors influenced local media to not pursue the story of a COWARD who is also "top cop".
  
  Consider me highly litigious and unamused by the author of "lunatic" as well as those who have circulated this false statement. Indeed, I herein offer a 1,000ドル.00 reward for conclusive evidence of the identity of the author and original publisher of the "lunatic" statement.
  
  
• If you have any questions or claims to my posted rewards, contact me via eMail at this address. eau5@yahoo.com
  
  (Sgt.) John Northen (Ret.)
  Chicago Police Department
  AKA: "NorthSide"

Labels: we got nothing

• Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis today spoke out against a request for the Illinois National Guard to be to deployed on Chicago’s streets to help tackle gun violence.

  Stopping just short of outright rejecting the request from state lawmakers Rep. John Fritchey and Rep. LaShawn Ford, Weis said "I don't think the National Guard is the solution."

• Noting that the military does not operate under the same constitutional constraints as the police, he questioned how Chicago residents would react to soldiers raiding homes without warrants, and said that in his 25 years of law enforcement experience, he had never seen an example of military personnel working under local civilian command.

  "The National Guard is very useful if we had a big earthquake or huge flood or a catastrophe like that, where we simply had to control folks," he said, "But the problems we’re facing are illegal weapons, narcotics and gangs. And while I will always look out for as much help as we can, I don't think the National Guard is the solution."

• While Weis came out against the suggestion Sunday, he did add that he had yet to discuss it with the mayor and that is something he was willing to "explore."

  "I’d have to see what the mayor’s position on this is," he said. "If he’s open to it, you know, of course, I’d be open to it. I have certain concerns, based on my time in law enforcement and the United States military."

Labels: dumb ideas

Labels: silly people

• A 19-year-old man was shot and seriously wounded in an incident Saturday night that preliminary information indicated might have involved an exchange of gunfire with police.
  
  Chicago Fire Department paramedics were sent to the scene of a shooting in the 6100 block of South Prairie Avenue at about 10:25 p.m., said fire spokesman [...]
  
  The 19-year-old man was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition with two apparent bullet wounds, he said. It was not clear how the man was shot, but initial information said there had been an exchange of gunfire involving the Police Department...

Labels: shooting

• The new law, which will take effect in late July or early August, was cheered by many, including Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose tough crackdowns have made him a hero in the anti-illegal immigration community. He said it gives him new authority to detain undocumented migrants who aren't accused of committing any other crimes.
  
  "Now if we show they're illegal, we can actually arrest them and put them in our jails," Arpaio said.
  
  Current law in Arizona and most states doesn't require police to ask about the immigration status of those they come across, and many departments prohibit officers from inquiring out of fear immigrants won't report crime or cooperate in other investigations.
  
  Now, police departments seen as weak on illegal immigration could face lawsuits. The new measure also toughens restrictions on hiring illegal immigrants for day labor and knowingly transporting them.

• Chicago Democrat Luis Gutierrez, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has been especially vocal as the measure -- which will require local police officers to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are illegal immigrants-- wound its way through the Arizona Legislature.

  The law makes it "open season on the Latino community in Arizona," Gutierrez said, describing it as "an insult to American justice and one of the harshest assaults on basic civil rights in recent American history."

• Gutierrez plans to attend a rally in Phoenix on Sunday to "let the people of Arizona know that they are not alone in fighting against bigotry and hatred."

Labels: national politics

• As the exchange student and her 24-year-old friend were returning to the friend's Bucktown neighborhood home early Friday after a night out celebrating, they were attacked from behind and struck on the back of their heads by a robber wielding a baseball bat, police said.

  The attacker escaped with their purses, but one woman was able to give police a description of him before she fell unconscious, police [...] said. There could have been a second attacker, police said.

  The student was listed in critical condition at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center on Friday, while her friend, a financial adviser, was listed in serious condition at the same hospital, a spokeswoman said.

• A man jogging on the Chicago Riverwalk this morning was critically stabbed just east of the Michigan Avenue bridge, officials said.

  About 5:52 a.m., a person called 911 and said a man was stabbed on the riverfront jogging path about 50 feet east of the bridge, said Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli.

  The man, a 63-year-old, was taken in critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with multiple stab wounds, according to police and fire officials.

Labels: crime

• Chicago police have launched an investigation after a man came forward with video and pictures that appear to show two police officers sleeping in their squad cars Friday morning.

  ABC7 Chicago obtained that video and the pictures and talked to the man, who did not want to be identified.

  The pictures show one officer sitting in the passenger seat of a marked squad car, eyes closed, head back. One parking spot over, a photo shows another officer in the passenger seat of a squad roll; same situation.

Labels: safety issues

• Scott Lee Cohen, the pawnbroker who flamed out of Illinois politics just days after voters nominated him as the Democratic lieutenant governor candidate, is making plans to run for governor.
  
  Cohen last weekend told House Speaker Michael Madigan, who doubles as state Democratic Party chairman, that he intends to mount an independent run for governor, Madigan's spokesman said. In addition, a Cohen adviser confirmed Friday that Cohen plans to announce his candidacy this week and is trying to find a suitable running mate.
  
  "He came in, in the morning (April 17), and told Madigan he was running for governor as an independent," said Madigan spokesman Steve Brown. Madigan replied he would be supporting the Democratic ticket, Brown said.

Labels: state politics

• J fled was just on morning news stating "we were at one time able to go to the gang leader and say hey knock it off" referring to shooting each other- are you fricken kidding me- he sounded like an idiot! - hey knock it off youse guys

Labels: dumb ideas, from the comments

• Broadway Bank, the family-owned lender that helped launch U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias' political career, was seized by government regulators Friday night, one of seven Illinois institutions taken over and sold to healthier companies.
  
  The failure of Chicago-based Broadway, which was unable to raise the 85ドル million it needed to remain independent, was anticipated, and its worsening health has weighed on Giannoulias' Democratic bid for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat. The bank had been struggling in recent years with real estate loans gone bad, losing 75ドル million last year.
  
  Giannoulias worked for his father at Broadway before entering politics, and during his successful run for state treasurer in 2006 he used his banking experience as one of his chief qualifications. But in the Senate race, he has tried to distance himself from the bank's troubles.
  
  
• The bank's failure will cost the FDIC 394ドル.3 million.
  

Labels: state politics

• Utah is set to execute a convicted killer by firing squad after a judge agreed Friday to the inmate's request, renewing a debate over what critics see as an antiquated, Old West-style of justice.
  
  Ronnie Lee Gardner, 49, was given the choice of being killed by lethal injection or shot by a five-man team of executioners firing from a set of matched rifles — a rarely used method of execution that harkens back to Utah's territorial history.
  
  "I would like the firing squad, please," Gardner told state court Judge Robin Reese after hearing his avenues for appeal appear to be exhausted.

Labels: we got nothing

• Jerome Hendricks dug his hands into his pockets, slumped his shoulders and wept. His daughter's blood -- from when he had cradled her tiny body the night before -- stained the oversized black jacket that draped his shaking body.

  Upstairs, inside Comer Children's Hospital, his 20-month-old daughter Cynia was dying Thursday morning. And he believed that the bullet lodged in her head -- killing her less than an hour later -- was meant for him.

• Human Shields

Labels: scc responds

• Brothers Stephen and Tyrece Bailey — two ex-convicts barred from driving — often had Crawford Davis drive them around, Davis' grandmother says.

  About 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, hours after Davis left home to hang out with the brothers, Chicago police discovered the bodies of all three men bound with their hands behind their backs inside a stolen Pontiac Grand Prix parked in the McKinley Park neighborhood.

  Davis and Tyrece Bailey, both 23, were discovered in the trunk, while Stephen Bailey, 25, was found in the car's back seat, authorities said; all three men, of the 1900 block of West Garfield Boulevard, had been beaten to death, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Labels: crime

• per caller, looking for ETA of the police for a DD. He said, "Don't make me knock on J-Fed's door - he lives in the building."

Labels: we got nothing

Labels: department issues

• This might work IF...
  
  #1. These teams were split up into two man cars and assigned to focus on particular beats in districts.
  
  #2. They were to answer all calls for service in that particular beat so that they would become familiar with the people and the long term problems of that small area.
  
  #3. They would be responsible for case reporting and all enforcement activities during their tour of duty.
  
  #4. They would be responsible to a chain of command through the district in which they were assigned.
  
  Hey, Wait a Minute....
  
  That describes a DISTRICT BEAT CAR!
  
  What a Brilliant Idea!
  
  Why didn't anyone think of this before?!?!?

• I still think a ragtag bunch of guys from callback dressed as clowns running through the ghetto beating gangbangers with 2 foot rubber dongs would reduce crime. They could call it the Insane Dong-Wielding Clown Force.

Labels: sarcasm AND silliness

• A new Chicago police rapid-response initiative will put block-by-block computer analysis into the hands of officers to prevent sporadic summer violence like the kind that left seven people dead and 18 wounded last week, Superintendent Jody Weis said.

  The plan, expected to kick off next week, will rely on computer data to pinpoint city blocks where violence is brewing, Weis said. That information would then be quickly relayed to strategic response units that would saturate the hot spots to stop violence, Weis said at a news conference Tuesday.

Labels: department issues

• Off Topic: Regarding the Exempts Friday nights on the street.
  
  I have seen many exempts "on the street" on Friday and Saturday nights. They usually will attend roll call and head out somewhere else. As a suggestion, why not have the exempts not only attend roll call, but actually fill in as the Watch Commander for the tour from preparation prior to roll call through the end of tour. This would serve many purposes, including:
  
  - Give them 1st hand knowledge and feedback of the effects of their policies and procedures and the implementation thereof
  - Allow them to prepare a watch for roll call and observe the condition of their troops, equipment, and vehicles
  - Make them more accessible to the troops and possibly build a better rapport (not just some figurehead they see once in a blue moon or the proverbial "man behind the curtain")
  - Afford them the opportunity to remain current with all legal decisions and procedures relating to the processing of persons under department control
  - Assist in letting Watch Commanders either take time off or give them the chance to perform critical field duties
  - Keep them current on various crime or personnel issues within the district
  - Great experience both in their perceived and real expectations and performance of the job
  - This follows the theory of 360 degree evaluations you spoke highly of previously and is similar to the D2A familiarity training (without the training wheels)
  
  FOR SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES FACED:
  - They will be able to see and become familiar with the myriad places where training must be approved (and see if they can find a schedule)
  - They will see how many different times/places a Watch Commander must log in per tour (wasted time)
  
  AND IF YOU REALLY WANT TO HAVE FUN:
  - Let them report for work and then be told they must report to another district 10 miles away

Labels: department issues

• The 2 Investigators have uncovered disturbing new details about security gaps at O'Hare International Airport.
  
  Thousands of people have had access to the back entrance of the airport and to security badges that allow them through that back gate while bypassing airport security. CBS 2's Dave Savini has been investigating this threat for years and spoke with former Chicago Department of Aviation Police Chief Jim Maurer, who says he was fired for trying to close the security gaps.
  
  "It's a disaster waiting to happen," Maurer said.

Labels: scandals

Labels: contract stuff, FOP

• A couple weeks ago I wrote about how top administrators with the Chicago Public Schools, from CEO Ron Huberman on down, had budgeted themselves raises even as they threatened to lay off teachers, asked coaches to work for free, and cut sophomore sports to chip away at a deficit approaching nearly 1ドル billion.

  I also reported that the district's chief spokeswoman, Monique Bond, said Huberman hadn't received a raise but wouldn't provide any documentation to back it up.

  It's safe to say the CPS brass has read the story. Two days after it hit the streets, Bond called me. My story was wrong, she said—the district's top people didn't get raises.

  OK, I said—if the salaries of the top brass went up, what's that called if not a raise?

  She said she would be happy to explain—if I'd come to the central office at 125 S. Clark to talk about it in the presence of CPS budget officials.

Labels: corruption

• He has been equivocal on the subject in the past, but on Monday night White House chief of staff and native Chicagoan Rahm Emanuel made no bones about it: He wants to be the mayor of Chicago.

  "I hope Mayor [Richard] Daley seeks re-election. I will work and support him if he seeks re-election," Emanuel told Charlie Rose on the host's PBS talk show, in an interview broadcast Monday night. "But if Mayor Daley doesn't, one day I would like to run for mayor of the city of Chicago. That's always been an aspiration of mine, even when I was in the House of Representatives."

  In January, after The Washington Post reported that Emanuel, a one-time Daley aide and longtime supporter of the mayor, was mulling a mayoral run, Emanuel did not deny the report. He instead said in statement that he was "100 percent focused on the job at hand: serving President Obama as his chief of staff."

Labels: city politics

• Over the weekend, the violence in Chicago dropped dramatically. But that's not good enough for a South Side minister who wants the National Guard to help patrol Chicago's streets.

  Marble Rock Baptist Church Minister Gregory Daniels and his supporters marched outside Chicago police headquarters on Monday. "I have seen Chicago police go to a scene and get shot at," Rev. Daniels said. "They need some policing here other than Chicago police."

  Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis disagrees. He points out that the number of people shot and killed dropped over the weekend after a bloody 24 hours spanning Thursday and Friday. And he noted that he had 36 officers at one recent shooting scene, and someone decided to start shooting again anyways.

Labels: dumb ideas

Labels: silly people

• Jody is the Superintendent of Police.
  
  Have some respect.
  
  His name is J-Fledgar Hoover.

Labels: j-fledgar, open posts

• ... With an economy in free-fall, unemployment marching steadily upward, credit markets frozen, businesses laying off or closing, revenue streams diminishing, government intervention programs of massive proportions seeking to prevent further harm and not knowing whether, when or to what degree those programs will succeed in stopping the
  blood-letting, how am I as an interest arbitrator rationally supposed to set the economic terms of a multi-year collective bargaining agreement which the parties unsuccessfully attempted to reach before the economy crashed ...?

• March 21, 2009

  
  
  BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter/fspielman@suntimes.com

  With tax revenues plummeting, the Daley administration has pulled off the table an offer to raise the salaries of Chicago Police officers by 16.1 percent over five years, according to City Hall sources.

  The decision to withdraw a contract offer the Fraternal Order of Police deemed inadequate to begin with could further depress police morale, which is already so low the union took a no-confidence vote on Police Supt. Jody Weis.

  It also could prompt the FOP to pull the trigger on arbitration, a potentially risky move for both sides.

• ...how am I as an interest arbitrator rationally supposed to set the economic terms of a multi-year collective bargaining agreement which the parties unsuccessfully attempted to reach before the economy crashed ...?

Labels: contract stuff

• The next few months of warmer weather will be crucial for Jody Weis, whose job running the police department is as close as it gets to "Mission Impossible" in Chicago.

  Ever since he took over the department in early 2008, Superintendent Weis’s assignment has been to calm police officers who are angry at many things, including working without a contract since 2007 and a federal misconduct prosecution that put a Chicago policeman in prison with a 40-month term.

• In an interview in early April, Mr. Weis acknowledged that he had a rocky start as the second outsider ever to run the Chicago force. But he said that his relations with officers suspicious of his background as a former F.B.I. agent had reached a "turning point" and that he had presided over a reduction in crime.

  "Overall crime went down across the board in every category," Mr. Weis said of statistics for 2009. "We’ve kept that pace up. We’re in the 15th consecutive month where crime has actually dropped compared to earlier years."

• In the hourlong interview in his offices at police headquarters, Mr. Weis defended his leadership. "I try not to dwell on particular failures," he said, "but I think that we could have done a better job of communicating my vision to folks. There will be a certain percentage who will never embrace me because of where I came from," he said, adding that in recent months morale has improved because of policies he initiated.

• One problem he inherited was an unpopular work schedule that had many officers working six days without a break. He pushed to change the schedule so that they now work four days followed by two days off.

  "We went to it officially in January, and the officers have been coming up to me and thanking me because, you know, four days go by pretty quick," Mr. Weis said. "You’re sharper. We’ve seen a decline in the number of complaints against our officers. They are not mentally drained; they are not run down. And it gives them greater safety on the street."

• The Cozzi episode remains "one thing he will never be able to overcome," Mr. Donahue said.

  Police officers like Mr. Donahue believe that Mr. Weis referred the case to his old federal allies. But the police chief said the F.B.I. was already looking into the incident when he took office.

• When Mr. Weis, who has been given the nickname J-Fed by some officers, went to Englewood to hold a news conference on April 2, a shooting occurred a few blocks away as he was speaking to reporters. When Mr. Weis decided to return to headquarters instead of going to the scene of the shooting, John Northern, a retired Chicago police sergeant, publicly accused him of cowardice, and a police blogger started referring to him as "J-Fled."

  "The scene had been secured," Mr. Weis said. "The victims had already been taken to the hospital; the officers are there talking to witnesses and trying to develop some possible leads. I think if I show up there, I take them away from their work."

Labels: j-fledgar, un-fucking-believable

• Mayor Richard M. Daley grudgingly bears the news media’s tendency to "scrooten" him constantly. Stephanie D. Neely, the first-term city treasurer, is taking a different approach to dealing with scrutiny from at least one pen-wielding critic. She retained a lawyer and is threatening a defamation suit against a Chicago police officer who repeatedly criticized her in the F.O.P. News, a union newsletter published by the local Fraternal Order of Police.

• In the articles, Michael K. Shields wrote that Ms. Neely, acting as a member of the police pension board, cast votes that favored pension fund managers who contributed to her campaign. Her assertion that the articles entitle her to "substantial damages" from Mr. Shields and the union has not deterred Mr. Shields. State records confirm the donations from fund managers to Ms. Neely’s campaign.

• In an interview this week, Ms. Neely said she was justified in threatening to sue and strongly denied that campaign cash influenced her actions on the boards of the police pension fund and other public employee funds.

  "My reputation is all I have," she said. "I have acted in the best interests of the funds."

• Sandy Davidson, a professor of communications law at the University of Missouri, said Mr. Shields had not defamed Ms. Neely. His "shakedown" comment, Ms. Davidson said, is a classic example of free speech known in legal circles as rhetorical hyperbole.

  "The Supreme Court has made it clear that it is so important we have this wide-open, robust debate, especially in political disputes," Ms. Davidson said after reviewing Mr. Shields’s articles. "Public officials voluntarily assume the risk that they will face scrutiny."

Labels: city politics

• All exempts drive marked police vehicles.

Labels: we got nothing

• New rule from J-FLED. Starting today, vehicle emergency lights must be on during every call and stop. He wants to create the illusion we are everywhere, even though we are shorthanded. This idiot is without a lick of street sense. He is creating targets, not solving problems.
  

• The illusion we're everywhere: the notice posted in the CO Book even says "perception." This is ridiculous. It's becoming rapidly apparent that the "perception" has no basis in reality and our ability to affect crime and disorder is an illusion.
  
  
• The cameras: evidently, beat cars aren't generating enough digital recordings of events. The camera goes on when the lights go on. When you arrive and shut off the lights, the event is bookmarked and when uploaded, clears out the cache of anything afterward. By leaving the lights on, the camera keeps running.
  
  
• J-Fled is supposedly working the streets again: by having the lights on, he can see where the nearest squad car is in case he needs to run away and hide from someone shooting.
  

Labels: dumb ideas, from the comments

• O.T. Was buried in the news. Shots fired at the police on the 15th at 85th and colfax. The shooter called in a man with a gun, waited for the P.O.s to show up and when they did a street stop, came out of a gangway and shot at the police and the crowd. The civilian standing next to the cop was shot in the neck.

Labels: from the comments

• CPD History: the CPD Wives Association marched on city hall several times in 1969 for 2-man cars in all Districts. The wives and kids carried signs such as "Mayor Daley, protect my Daddy while he protects you." This was in response to the Black Panthers’ "kill a pig a month" police murders in Chicago.
  
  After a PO was assassinated, in uniform, in his one man car, while writing a report on the south side, the mayor, Rich J, caved in. The city wrote a letter to the Wives Association saying all units would be 2 man from dusk till dawn. The primary police club at the time was COP, Confederation of Police. FOP was an Area Four Det’s social (drinking) club at the time. FOP won the vote in 1979 and we got our first contract in the summer of 1980 from Mayor Jane B. FOP has never had a letter addressing 1or 2 man cars.
  
  As an added note, of the police clubs wanting to represent us (COP, Combined Counties, Teamsters, Local 1975), the FOP was considered the most docile, most easily controlled by the city and least wanted by police officers. The vote came after the Firefighters strike. It was widely speculated that the city rigged the election because no one outside Area Four had ever heard of FOP and no District Officer citywide admitted to voting for FOP. Yes, Mayor Jane B did like the police, but she was smart enough to ensure the new police union would be weak.
  
  Retired LT & former Cadet.

Labels: from the comments

• Grade D-1 Number of Officers
  Step 1 255
  Step 2 157
  Step 3 604
  Step 4 595
  Step 5 449
  Step 6 2,782
  Step 7 2,472
  Step 8 1,352
  Step 9 775
  Step 10 323

Labels: contract stuff

• Responding to an unusually bloody night of shootings that left seven dead and 13 others wounded in just 12 hours, Chicago police Supt. Jody Weis said today that he’ll put his department’s summer crime-fighting plan in place early.

  "Last night was not a good night," Weis said at a news conference this afternoon at police headquarters.

  Details of the summer crime-fighting strategy could be announced as early as Monday.

• No arrests have been made in the shootings, which pushed the murder toll in Chicago so far this year to 97. At this point last year, 81 people had been killed.

Labels: crime

• Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis said he will personally join officers on patrol in a crime-ridden neighborhood Friday night in the wake of a rash of shootings that left seven people dead and at least 15 others wounded.
  
  Four of the fatal shootings happened within a period of about an hour and a half overnight.
  
  "That is unacceptable in an American city and it's totally unacceptable in a city as great as Chicago. We are not Chi-raq, we are Chicago," Weis said at a news conference at Police Headquarters on Friday.

Labels: dumb ideas

• After going nearly three years without a contract, Chicago police officers expect to learn Friday how much of a raise they’ll get when an arbitrator releases his decision.
  
  Officials with both Mayor Richard Daley’s administration and the Fraternal Order of Police said they expect to receive the decision by 8 a.m. Friday. Both sides said they plan to brief reporters later in the day.
  
  Police have been working without a contract since the end of June 2007. The matter went to an independent arbitrator last year after negotiations broke down.
  
  Although the arbitration technically only applies to rank-and-file officers, lieutenants and captains will get the same raise because of clauses in their recently-approved contracts.
  
  Police also are expected to get back pay as part of the decision. City Hall has set aside 70ドル million to cover the costs of the decision and a similar one expected for the city’s firefighters, said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a government budget watchdog.

• FOP Current Updates - FOP SITE DOWN! Try this stripped down link here
  
  
• Five Frank Retro Calculator - hopefully, they're updating their calculator.

Labels: contract stuff

• The Chicago Police Department is alarmingly understaffed, according to 20 aldermen who are demanding that the city act now to ramp up recruits and put more cops on the beat.

  The department is fully staffed at 13,500 officers, but retirements have left more than 700 spots to be filled. When others factors are added, like disability leave, furlough days and sick leave, there are days when fewer than 11,500 police are actually on on duty.

  The short staffing is spread throughout the city's 23 police districts, according to Fraternal Order of Police head Mark Donahue. He said the number of cops on the street drops an additional 10 to 19 percent of when officers are pulled out of a district and assigned to special details like narcotics.

Labels: department issues

• A person was killed by gunfire in the East Chatham neighborhood tonight, [a] Gresham District Lt. [...] said.

  The male victim gunned down at 79th Street and Maryland Avenue was one of at least five people shot on the South or Southeast Side tonight, police said.

  The victim was taken from 79th and Maryland to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:03 p.m., according to a representative of the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Labels: crime, silly people