Second City Cop

Labels: we got nothing

• The police Memorial Foundation is offering a 10,000ドル cash reward for information leading to an arrest; call 1-888-YPO-SHOT (976-7468). The foundation's representative at the press conference said it is giving Lewis' family a 50,000ドル check in coming days.

And if the story couldn't get impossibly sadder...

• Lewis, who McCarthy said has received 81 commendations for his police work, had proposed to his girlfriend, Tamara Tucker, only after asking her 18-year-old son, Keyonta Thomas, for permission. On Christmas morning, Lewis pulled her son aside and asked for her "hand in marriage," said Thomas, 18.
  
  "I am just at a loss for words," said Thomas, who said he saw Lewis as a father.
  
  "He was just as a father (to me). ... He took me in as his child."
  
  Ron Tucker, Tamara's father, also mentioned that the couple had just gotten engaged Christmas Day.

Labels: officer down

• Starting Sunday, the next time you dine out or buy a big screen television in the Chicago area you should find a little extra change in your pocket.

  That’s because the dawn of the New Year means Cook County’s sales tax falls a quarter cent. In most parts of Chicago, the combined city, county and state sales tax rate falls from 9.75 percent to 9.5 percent on all retail purchases except groceries.

  Likewise, taxes on a restaurant tab will fall a quarter cent but will vary depending where you dine out. Restaurants inside a special taxing district that includes downtown Chicago will see taxes fall from 11 percent to 10.75 percent, for example.

  But don’t get too excited: Chicago retains the dubious distinction of having the highest sales tax rate of any big city in the nation.

Labels: money questions

Labels: scandals

Labels: officer down

• Police responding to a domestic incident on the Southeast Side early Wednesday shot and killed a man who allegedly lunged at them with a knife.
  
  The fatal police-involved shooting happened about 1:40 a.m. in the 9500 block of South Avenue L, according to Scott Ando of the Independent Police Review Authority.
  
  Officers were responding to a domestic disturbance in a third-floor apartment and saw a man armed with a knife as they walked in, according to a statement from police News Affairs. The officers announced that they were police and ordered him to drop the knife. He then lunged at them and the officers fired at him, the statement said.
  
  The man was fatally wounded, the statement said. The officers were not injured, and the knife was recovered at the scene.

Labels: shooting

• Taste of Chicago will be chopped in half to a five-day event next summer, and the city's annual smorgasbord will be moved to the middle of July from its traditional late June start.
  
  The festival will run from July 11 to July 15 in Grant Park, according to a news release from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
  
  
• Cultural Affairs officials said they would consider shortening the event in an attempt to move the Taste back toward profitability, and that the focus would remain on the food served by local restaurants in Grant Park, rather than on big name entertainers like Stevie Wonder who have appeared at Taste in years past.

Labels: events

• Sergeants will be going to the academy next week to get 8 hours of training to do the work of the Watch Commander . . opps.. "District Station Supervisor".
  
  8 HOURS????????

So no more Desk Sergeants, but they want Sergeants to do Watch Commander work? And not at Captain's rate? We're sorry, but the PBPA ought to be fighting this and the FOP ought to be backing them. If the city can force people to do jobs that they aren't qualified for, well, let's just say that opens up all sorts of cans of worms in the future that really ought to stay closed. We have contracts for a reason.

Labels: department issues

• This just overheard.
  True to his Management Style in New Jersey and New York, G-Mac, with the just given approval from Tiny-Dancer 9.5, is going to rotate at least 10 District Commanders and 5 Unit Commanders by the beginning of the New Year.
  He believes that no Commander should be in any one place too long. If your C.O. has been in place for three years or better say bye bye.

No idea if there's anything to it, but it helps to keep the bosses nervous.

Labels: rumors

• No expenditures on salt;
• No snowplow OT;
• No tearing up the streets, curbs, light poles, parked vehicles;
• No extra maintenance/wear-and-tear on equipment;
• No de-icing and associated costs at either airport;

Maybe they can apply this windfall to the pension shortages. Or send us a rebate.

Labels: money questions

• Following a legal battle, a retired Chicago police officer is reunited with his dog in Iowa.

  Days after Jim Sak moved to Aurelia, Iowa, to be near his ailing mother, a meter reader reported Sak and his wife to city officials because their dog looked like a pit bull. Aurelia has a ban on all pit bulls.

  Snickers is a service dog. Sak suffered a stroke in 2008 and counts on his pet to keep him safe.

  He sued the town to get his dog back and won.

  Wednesday, Snickers was back home with his family.

Labels: good news

• Two people were killed and five others wounded when shots rang out at a fast-food restaurant in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side this evening, authorities said.
  
  The gunman had gotten into an argument with a person outside the Church's Chicken restaurant near 66th and Halsted streets, then chased the person inside and opened fire about 6:5
  
  Surveillance video appears to show the intended target trying to run away through a crowd of people, police said. No one was in custody, police said.

Labels: cable tv

• Gov. Pat Quinn called Sears’ store closings regrettable but said he wasn’t second-guessing the legislation he signed in to law days ago giving the Hoffman Estates-based corporation a series of tax incentives to keep its headquarters in Illinois.

  "We expect the headquarters to stay here and the jobs to be here, that’s what the agreement is all about," Quinn told reporters Tuesday morning after an unrelated event at the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago. "The fact they have to close some stores around the country, that isn’t good news, but it doesn’t directly affect this agreement."

Labels: money questions

• Matt Forte's season ended Tuesday when the Bears placed him on injured reserve but the day brought some good news as the running back was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career.

  Forte becomes the first offensive player general manager Jerry Angelo has drafted in 10 years to be selected to the all-star game, although he can't play because he was placed on IR with a sprained MCL in his right knee. Angelo now has selected eight Pro Bowl players in the last nine drafts.

  Forte was one of five Bears players named to the NFC squad, joining linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, cornerback Charles Tillman and special teamer Corey Graham. Like Forte, Tillman and Graham are first-time selections.

Of course, the Bears are in the midst of a 5 game losing streak and are headed home after Sunday's final regular season game. We're sure that each of these selections would give it all up for a healthy lineup and a shot a the playoffs.

In the meantime, on the other side of town:

• It took the Blackhawks 36 games to reach the 50-point mark. The last time they did it in 36 contests was in 2009, the season that ended with the Hawks hoisting the Stanley Cup.
  
  Let the comparisons begin.

Labels: sports

• 28 Years of service and this is the first time in my career NO Pax 501 Holiday Message.

That just screams low-class. Anyone see any sort of holiday greetings from the command staff? Yeah, us either.

Labels: department issues

Labels: crime

• Police say an intoxicated man drove his car into an exterior concrete wall at the Gresham District police station on the 7800 block of South Halsted Street early Monday morning.

  Nobody was injured, Chicago Police News Affairs

Now imagine that was a Vehicle I.E.D. If a drunk can get close enough to hit the building, imagine someone intent on harm.

Labels: crime

• A man was found shot at a South Loop "L" station this evening, police said.
  
  A 21-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound in the upper torso in the attack in the 1100 block of South State Street about 7 p.m., said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Darryl Baety. The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious-to-critical condition, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

Remember, it's 100% safe on the CTA. Come downtown! Spend money!

Labels: crime

• Employee Resource Order #E03-01-03 was issued and takes effect on the first of the year;
  
  
• Convalescent Duty is out, done, vanished;
  
  
• To be placed in the "Limited Duty" status, you must be able to handle a gun; walk without the assistance of a cane, crutch, brace; be able to subdue an "active resister;" and drive a squad car;

This is not replacing the I.O.D. or Medical Roll. It seems to be more for long term recovery/long term illness people. The catch is that you are granted a total of 365 days on limited duty for your entire career. Once that's done, so is your career.

Labels: department issues

• The tables were turned on a would-be iPhone robber who was pursued by the victim – a former wrestler – into the Loop’s Miller’s Pub after the attack on a southbound Green Line train early Saturday, police said.
  
  The victim was on his way to his Bronzeville neighborhood home on a southbound Green Line train in the Loop area about 1 a.m. and had his iPhone out when 20-year-old Christopher Dunn tried to take it, police said.
  
  A police source said Dunn "clocked him (the victim) hard in the temple,’’ but the victim -- in his mid 20s and a former wrestler -- fought back and the two "tumbled" out at the Adams Street station.
  
  The victim held on to his phone and Dunn apparently began to realize the man was overpowering him, so he fled down the "L" stairs and into Miller’s Pub, 134 S. Wabash Ave., police said.

Labels: we got nothing

• I guess the stupidity just doesn't stop. Ill keep it simple.... a grand jury that was conducted in rockford in reference to cpd just wrapped up. This time its pointed at narcotics... I guess some people will just never learn... the arrests and news are to break this week... and no, this is not a "you heard it here first". I feel disgusted to have heard the details about this story through the grapevine today... Just when the sos caper was rapping up we are are gonna get hit with this whopper. Way to go narcotics!!

Nothing like starting the year off on the wrong foot. And a contract year at that.

Labels: from the comments, rumors

Labels: open posts

• Presumably as part of his long-term plan to run for president, Mayor Rahm Emanuel managed to bring the unique but risky combination of the international G8 and NATO summit meetings to Chicago next May.

  There is some obvious prestige for the city in hosting these events, though the economics are dubious. But there would be even more glory for Emanuel if all went well — even moderately well — considering that history shows much violence and damage stemming from the massive protests these meetings generate and battles between police and protesters.

  We don’t yet know all the details of how Emanuel plans to handle the protests: Will he easily grant the protesters marching and meeting permits, including adequate space proximate to the G8/NATO meetings? Will he make efforts to assure their voices will be heard? After all, Time magazine just named protesters everywhere the "persons of the year."

  I don’t think we need these "prestigious" events held here, but it’s a done deed. What troubles me more is the first move Emanuel is taking by proposing a series of threatening, and repressive — if not outright dangerous — ordinances.

Labels: we got nothing

Labels: sports

• Illinois residents are fleeing the state. When people leave, they take their purchasing power, entrepreneurial activity and taxable income with them. For more than 15 years, residents have left Illinois at a rate of one person every 10 minutes.

  Recent data from the Internal Revenue Service shows that, in 2009, Illinois netted a loss of people to 43 states, including each of its neighbors – Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky and Iowa. Over the course of the entire year, the state saw a net of 40,000 people leave Illinois for another state.

  The data reflects a continuation of a trend of out-migration from Illinois that has lasted more than a decade. Between 1995 and 2009, the state lost on a net basis more than 806,000 people to out-migration.

  When people leave, they take their income and their talent with them. In 2009 alone, Illinois lost residents who took with them a net of 1ドル.5 billion in taxable income. From 1995 to 2009, Illinois lost out on a net of 26ドル billion in taxable income to out-migration.

It also took representation out of Washington. And a helpful map to drive home the point:

Labels: we got nothing

• Retired police and firefighters from Central Falls, R.I., have agreed to sharp pension cuts, a step thought to be unprecedented in municipal bankruptcy and one that could prompt similar attempts by other distressed governments.
  
  If approved by the bankruptcy court, the agreement could be groundbreaking, said Matthew J. McGowan, the lawyer representing the retirees.
  
  "This is the first time there’s been an agreement of the police and firefighters of any city or town to take the cut," he said, referring to those already retired, who are typically spared when union contracts change. "I’ve told these guys they’re like the canary in the coal mine. I know that there are other places watching this."
  
  As cities, towns and counties struggle with fiscal pain, there has been speculation that they could shed their pension obligations in bankruptcy. Some have said it might, in fact, be easier for local governments to drop those obligations than it is for companies, which use a different chapter of the bankruptcy code.

Labels: pension

• Convicted political fundraiser and businessman Antoin "Tony" Rezko will not spend any extra time in federal prison for a business fraud scheme after agreeing not to appeal his conviction in the case — or his conviction in a wider-ranging political corruption case.
  
  U.S. District Judge James P. Zagel sentenced Rezko Thursday to 71⁄2 years on charges he schemed to get a fraudulent loan to prop up his Papa John’s Pizza franchises in Illinois and Michigan.
  
  But Zagel agreed to make the sentence concurrent with a 101⁄2-year prison term Rezko received last month for corrupting state boards and state government under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Labels: corruption

• This has been a tumultuous year for the Chicago Police Department. A new superintendent shook up long-established units, thousands of city cops got new assignments, and, according to new stats from the Independent Police Review Authority. Deadly force is up significantly in 2011.

  Chicago police officers were involved in more shootings the first nine months of this year than all of last year. Up to today, according to police records, officers here have shot 59 people, killing 22 of them -- nearly twice as many as last year. In all of 2010, Chicago police-involved shootings claimed 13 lives.

  Fraternal Order of Police officials say the increase in shootings by officers is a result of understaffing and of gang and drug units being gutted -- all of which F.O.P. spokesman Pat Camden says allows more guns to stay on the street.

Labels: shooting

• For 32 years, nearly half as a tactical officer, Jim Sak was a cop chasing down bad guys on the streets of Chicago.

  Now that he’s retired and living in tiny Aurelia, Ia., the townsfolk are chasing him — to get rid of "Snickers," a five-year-old Pit bull-mix service dog he needs after suffering a debilitating stroke that left him with no feeling on the right side of his body.

  On orders from the Aurelia City Council, a heartbroken Sak has shipped his beloved protector off to a kennel just outside of the Iowa town where he moved last month to be closer to his ailing, 87-year-old mother-in-law. If he hadn’t gotten rid of Snickers, city fathers had threatened to seize and destroy the dog.

This isn't a stray. Or a fighting dog. We're assuming (quite safely) that the dog was trained and qualified by an organization that tests for temperament, compatibility and socialization skills.

Someone mentioned the Americans With Disabilities Act covers "helper" animals. That might be important seeing as how the City of Aurelia's attorney has stated the following:

• George Wittgraf, an attorney representing the Iowa town, said Aurelia is "simply exercising its authority to protect and preserve the rights and property of its residents — whether or not that’s trumped by" federal law.

Labels: silly people

• Snowfall in the Rockies, strong winds in the West and soaking rain in the South caused problems for holiday travelers on the first official day of winter, forecasters said on Thursday.
  
  A snowstorm swept across Colorado overnight, dumping up to 10 inches of snow in the Denver metropolitan area and up to two feet of snow in the foothills west of the city, according to the National Weather Service.

Labels: we got nothing

Labels: open posts

Labels: media

• Here’s something to make the food slide down a little easier: White Castle, the 90-year-old hamburger chain, is testing wine and beer in one of its restaurants in central Indiana.

  The wine — a choice of two reds and two whites — comes in "a nice plastic cup, (with) the look of an elegant cocktail glass," says White Castle spokesman Jamie Richardson.

  You’ll pay 4ドル.50 for a one-serving bottle, he said.

  Or, there’s beer, including a seasonal microbrew — "A nice complement to the pulled pork with barbecue or a double cheese burger," Richardson said. Beers start at 3ドル.

  Alas, the concept isn’t coming to Chicago any time soon, Richardson said.

  The alcohol is being tested at a Lafayette, Ind. location that combines a traditional White Castle burger joint with a Blaze Modern BBQ, a new restaurant concept also being tried out.

Labels: we got nothing

• A case of brotherly love in South Carolina turned deadly after a young man agreed to eat cocaine hidden in his older sibling's buttocks, then died of an overdose.

  Deangelo Mitchell is seen in a police car video guilting his brother into ingesting the illegal substance because, he is heard saying, "I can't get no more strikes."

• The 20-year-old eventually gives in. Deangelo can be seen removing something from his backside, then Wayne leans down and eats the drugs, police said.

  [...] A short time later, he was dead. Deangelo said his brother ate about an ounce of cocaine, authorities said.

Labels: dumb ideas, silly people

• Calling Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s bluff, the Hispanic Caucus has drafted a new Chicago ward map that cuts the City Council in half — with 25 wards nearly evenly divided between blacks, whites and Hispanics.

  The 50-member City Council is currently comprised of 22 whites, 19 blacks, eight Latinos and Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th), who is of Indian descent.

  The 25-ward map drafted by the Hispanic Caucus includes eight majority white wards, eight majority black wards, seven majority Hispanic wards, one Hispanic "influence" ward and one black influence ward.

  That more fairly represents a city now 32.9 percent black, 31.7 percent white and 28.9 percent Hispanic, according to Ald. Danny Solis (25th), chairman of the City Council’s Hispanic Caucus.

  "If it was 25 wards, we would be much better and more fairly represented because you’re starting from scratch. This would be welcomed by the caucus and me," Solis said.

Labels: city politics

• A Park Ridge police officer acted within reason when he beat a suspect who grabbed his groin and refused to let go, police commanders said.
  
  Frank Slowik, 44, of Westmont was arrested early Dec. 15 outside Dominick’s, 1900 S. Cumberland Ave., said Park Ridge Police Lt. Duane Mellema.
  
  Officers were called to the store at 3:20 a.m. for a report of a possible shoplifter and encountered a man, later identified as Slowik, running from a store employee.
  
  Mellema said one of the police officers ran after Slowik, grabbed him and wrestled him to the ground.
  
  As the officers tried to restrain him, Slowik grabbed a second officer’s groin and refused to let go, Mellema said. The officer then struck him several times in the face with his hand in an effort to get him to release his grip, Mellema said.

Of course, the Slum-Times headline says "Suspect Beaten..." completely obscuring the fact that the jagoff was an assailant, intent on causing lasting permanent harm to the officer. The picture is great though:

Labels: suburban

• The Illinois Teachers' Retirement System — the worst-funded major pension plan in the U.S. — is pumping more of its assets into higher-risk investments while using accounting methods that some pension experts say understate its funding shortfall.

  Springfield-based TRS, the state's largest pension provider, plans to allocate about a third of its 37ドル.8-billion portfolio to alternative investments such as private-equity and hedge funds, a four-month Crain's investigation of TRS holdings and practices finds. These unconventional assets typically dangle the potential for higher returns, but only because they also carry greater risks and fees. TRS is shifting its portfolio while it's still developing an in-house risk-management system.

  Gunning for bigger returns exposes the plan to the possibility of bigger losses, further jeopardizing the pensions of 362,121 former and current teachers. The system, which has just 46.5% of the assets it needs to cover promised payments to retirees, is counting on an 8.5% annual return, which many portfolio managers and investors, including Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s Warren Buffett, say is unrealistically high. If TRS banked on a 7.75% return — the rate that two other Illinois public pensions lowered their forecasts to this year — its assets would equal only 43% of obligations. That would swell its shortfall to 50ドル.1 billion from 43ドル.5 billion.

Labels: pension

• The City Hall practice of assigning public employees to work for the clouted After School Matters organization will end in January, according to the city's cultural affairs office.

  A Tribune review found two salaried city workers handling duties related to fundraising for the charity founded by Maggie Daley, the late wife of former Mayor Richard Daley.

  Responding to inquiries from the paper about the status of the employees in Mayor Rahm Emanuel's 2012 budget, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events said the employees would be recalled to city duties beginning Jan. 1.

Labels: corruption

• Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration will announce Monday its cost-cutting has been more effective than projected: 83ドル million or 8ドル million more than the 75ドル million Emanuel targeted when he took office.

  Emanuel told department heads when he took office in May that he wanted them to cut all non-essential contracts for city services by 6 percent.

  He expected a few of them to come in and complain that it could not be done. None did. So instead of just 17ドル.5 million in savings over what was budgeted, that brought in 23ドル.8 million, Budget Director Alexandra Holt told the Sun-Times Saturday.

No word on how much of that "savings" is offset by "giveaways," "tax breaks," "connected contracts" and "raises to Rahm's people."

The article also has this gem in it:

• "The city is still in a financial crisis," [Civic Federation President Laurence] Msall said. "It still has a structural deficit. We estimated that at 650ドル million, and we think about two-thirds of that is eliminated in 2012. And there is still the ticking time bomb of under-funded pensions. But clearly Mayor Emanuel and his team are moving the city in a positive direction with this."

Labels: money questions

• While Chicago’s infamous parking meter lease deal quietly celebrated its third anniversary the first week of December, the city was releasing documents chronicling more evidence the privatization of the city’s more than 36,000 parking meters turned out to be more costly for taxpayers than originally imagined.

  Financial statements, released by the Chicago Inspector General’s office via their Open Chicago government transparency initiative, reveals what many critics of the lease deal had feared–the city would end up owing or paying Chicago Parking Meters, LLC millions of dollars in compensation when any sort of change or activity by the city impacts parking meter revenue for the company.

  Financial statements for the company show that CPM has billed the city an additional 2,191,326ドル in "True-up Revenue" through the end of 2010.

TheExpiredMeter.com has a very in-depth report on how all these costs are being calculated and Chicago is getting stuck with astronomical additional charges.

Labels: city politics

• A North Side alderman wants to scale back Mayor Emanuel’s 2ドル-a-day "congestion fee" for parking in the city’s garages and lots, so that it only applies during weekday business hours when congestion is an issue.

  Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) introduced the surprise ordinance at Wednesday’s City Council meeting, just weeks after Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s budget plan and 28ドル million "congestion fee" were unanimously approved by the aldermen.

Wait a minute....Tunney voted for the congestion fee before he was against the congestion fee? And what, pray tell, is his sudden objection?

• Tunney said it doesn’t make sense to charge the congestion fee 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, when the city has invested millions of dollars in the theater district and is trying to encourage people to shop and dine downtown.

Labels: dumb ideas

• A caravan of police vehicles with flashing lights rolled through the suburbs and Chicago’s Northwest Side on Saturday.

  Some motorists might have thought a foreign dignitary was in town — at least until they saw the "Operation Santa" placards on the doors of the former Secret Service limo in the middle of the procession. The limo carried Santa and Mrs. Claus to the homes of six families of Chicago Police officers killed or seriously injured on the job.

  The first stop: Darien and the home of India Gordon. Her [...] husband, Officer Michael Gordon, was killed in 2004 when the squad car he was riding in was struck by a drunk driver. "We’re doing the best we can," she told Police Supt. Garry McCarthy. "Seven years, it’s still hard."

Labels: events, officer down

• Three police officers were injured this morning after a man looking for a way home allegedly stole a taxi cab in the Gold Coast neighborhood and then struck a police car as he was fleeing, police said.

  The incident was reported at 7:37 a.m. outside a Starbucks coffee shop at Dearborn and Division Streets when the cab driver flagged down a police officer to report that his cab had just been taken while he was inside the coffee shop, said Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer [...]
  

  The man then drove the cab east on Division Street before turning south on State Street and then west on Walton Street when he went through a red light and struck a squad car carrying two officers with the Mass Transit Unit....

Labels: officer injured

• 'Why would anyone want to live in Illinois?" So muses Curt Wooters, who works for the state and helps his dad run the family's sporting-goods store in Findlay, 200 miles south of Chicago. Imagine California without the sunshine, New York without the cultural elan, New Jersey without Chris Christie. That's Illinois.

  Mr. Wooters has another five years before he can retire, but he's advising his kids to leave the state after college. He's also talked with his dad about closing their shop because it costs too much to run a business in Illinois these days. Plus, "the customers are leaving town."

Chicago is sucking the life out of Illinois.

Labels: we got nothing

• 013th District Watch Commander see's stars in broad daylight!
  
  
• Off Topic: A sergeant from the Wild 013 punched the asshole Lt. S. From 3rd watch. IAD already here investigating! Stay tuned.....
  
  
• Did LT DS get cold cocked by mild mannered sgt RS in the 013th District WC's office?

Leadership is sorely lacking if the white shirts are fighting among themselves.

Labels: we got nothing

• The Green Bay Packers’ perfect season came to a crashing halt against the struggling Kansas City Chiefs, who had just fired their coach and were starting a new quarterback.

  Proof again that nothing can be taken for granted in the NFL.

  Kyle Orton threw for 299 yards to outduel Aaron Rodgers, and the Chiefs rallied behind interim coach Romeo Crennel for a shocking 19-14 victory on Sunday that ended the Packers’ 19-game winning streak. It was their first loss since Dec. 19, 2010, at New England.

Maybe this is it? Nope, that's former Bear Rex Grossman leading the Redskins to victory and pretty much destroying the New York Giant's playoff hopes:

• Rex Grossman threw a touchdown pass and the Redskins put a major hurt on the Giants and their playoff hopes with a dominating 23-10 victory Sunday in a game in which New York showed little desire with much on the line.

Labels: sports

Labels: sports

• An admitted drug trafficker assumed the 15,000ドル he allegedly paid two attorneys more than a decade ago was used in part to pay bribes to Ald. Ed Burke (14th) and others to get the zoning on his Southwest Side property changed to build apartments, according to a motion by federal prosecutors.

  The dealer, Saul Rodriguez, is a government witness in the trial of former Chicago Police Officer Glenn Lewellen and five other men charged with drug conspiracy.

• At a friend’s suggestion, Rodriguez met with two attorneys to speed things up. One lawyer suggested they get Burke on the phone and made a call, which Rodriguez assumed was to Burke. The other attorney allegedly told Rodriguez "this will be done shortly," according to the government motion.

  Rodriguez said one of the attorneys told him the rezoning would cost about 15,000,ドル and the money had to be paid to the lawyers before he could see Burke, according to the government motion.

  Rodriguez told federal agents he made the payment to the lawyers and met briefly with Burke, who said the rezoning would be no problem, according to the government’s motion. The City Council approved the rezoning in February 2000.

So he did meet Burke, but can't say for sure any money went to Burke, even though the rezoning went through. We'd hate to assume that anyone went back on their word - after all, if you buy a politician, he really ought to stay bought.

Labels: corruption

• Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he thinks aldermen will stay "laser-focused" on reaching agreement on a remap plan to keep taxpayers from financing an expensive court fight.

  As WBBM Newsradio [...] reports, Mayor Emanuel says he is optimistic aldermen will agree – and the remap issue won’t have to be decided in court.

Two-hundred-thousand people left the city last decade, but we aren't seeing any sort of reduction in aldercreatures. 311 has lightened the actual need for many of the aldercreatures' ward functions, but Chicago maintains what we believe is the largest City Council in existence.

Labels: city politics

• How would you like a police chauffeur to give your kid a ride to school, or give you a lift to the gym?
  
  FOX Chicago News and the Better Government Association found one elected official using her police perk for more than the public's business.
  
  Chicago Treasurer Stephanie Neely is getting a free ride in an M-plated, unmarked, police car – by a full-time city cop.

This doesn't happen without permission from on high. And it's exactly what you thought it would be:

• Around 6:30 on a Friday morning the officer drops Neely off at her South Side home after what looks like an early-morning trip to the gym.

  On a snowy Thursday, he was spotted bringing in her garbage can from the curb.

  The car is frequently parked for long stretches outside her home - at least once in the middle of the afternoon. The footage gathered includes the driver sitting outside the house, just reading a book.

  When they do move, it's at speeds so fast that FOX and the BGA couldn't keep up without getting pulled over ourselves.

Golly, it's just like having your very own butler/servant. And the part that made us smile most?

• But here is what really caught investigators by surprise: Neely's son getting into the M-plated car all alone for a police chauffeured drive presumably to school.

Labels: corruption

• INFORMATIONAL ASSEMBLY IN FRONT OF CHICAGO’S 911 CENTER (OEMC) on Tuesday Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. REGARDING LAYOFFS AT CHICAGO’S 911 CENTER
  
  Police, Fire and EMS Operators, Dispatchers and Supervisors being demoted and laid off from Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management
  
  CHICAGO, Illinois — The City of Chicago has agreed on its 2012 budget, which contains layoffs to 911 Operators.
  
  Cuts have been made to the front line of defense in Chicago. 911 Operators answer and dispatch equipment to any Police, Fire and EMS emergency and these cuts will effect the normal daily functions for emergency responses. Manpower shortages will lead to longer wait times for someone to answer an emergency call, which may lead to increased response times. Without these trained personnel available to answer the phones, the citizens of Chicago should be prepared for severe changes in the 911 experience.
  
  The Supervisors, Dispatchers and Call Takers take their jobs seriously and are greatly concerned about these cuts. In a statement, organizers of the protest said: "We do our job with pride and professionalism and fear that these cuts will make it that Emergency Services in Chicago will be inadequate, therefore endangering the health and well being of the Citizens and their property."
  
  For more information on Occupy OEMC, visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-OEMC/148123851961646, on Facebook, or send an email to www.occupyoemc@gmail.com
  
  About Occupy OEMC
  
  This group is comprised of 911 Operators and Citizens that are concerned about the dangerous situations these cuts to the Operations floor can mean to Chicago

Labels: 911

• Illinois' pension system was in precarious enough shape in 1994 that Democrats and Republicans came together to solve a crisis threatening the state's financial future.
  
  The agreement they forged was supposed to take politics out of pension funding by requiring a steady stream of payments over the next 50 years. The law was billed as an "extraordinary measure" that would finally force the Legislature to fulfill its "constitutional responsibility" to hundreds of thousands of state workers past, present and future.
  
  The promise proved to be an empty one.

Labels: pension

• The superintendent met last night, Wednesday night, with about 60 parolees at the Relectory in Columbus Park. He asked them not to shoot at each other. Every boss in the department was there which meant they out numbered the parolees. I hope he asked them not to shoot at us, or did he forget that part. Parole agents rounded them up and ordered them to show up or it would be a violation of their parole. Complete joke of a meeting, please don't shoot. On a side note, is the superintendent's driver from Chicago? Does he really need a gigantic GPS on his dashboard. At least throw it on the seat before you pull up so it looks like you know what your doing!

Labels: from the comments

Labels: department issues

• Former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley has joined Coca-Cola Co.'s board of directors effective immediately, the beverage giant announced Thursday.
  
  "Mr. Daley brings significant public policy expertise and experience in creating sustainable growth opportunities for businesses and communities to our company," Coca-Cola Chief Executive Muhtar Kent said in a statement.
  
  As a non-employee board director, Daley's compensation will amount to 175,000ドル a year, with 50,000ドル in cash and 125,000ドル in deferred stock units.

Labels: corruption

• I have lived in Uptown since the mid eighties. It is different now. Back then it was a bonified ghetto, with burnt out buildings, drunks to step over on the sidewalk and children of drug addicts playing on the streets in rags. Over the years it has changed. Like much of the North side of Chicago it has been gentrified. Starbucks and Borders, condos and a Target. Only there are still gangs.

  [...] The Black P Stones are a few blocks away on Magnolia, and they battle the Uptown Vice Lords who live on our street. In the summer the Vice Lords hang out near our building, behind the school. I hate that they are selling drugs, I hate that their leaders send younger members like so much cannon fodder to kill one another. Lives ruined, mothers crying for dead children. Gangs are easy to hate. It is easy to see the insanity of what they do.

But this woman isn't hating them. She's teaching her kid to respect them:

• In the summer my family walks to where the P Stones hang, a park across the street from Starbucks that has a big water fountain. They are there with their families. The dads play basketball and the kids play with my kids in the water. The adults get a kick out of Jude, my big autistic son flapping and laughing in the water, and Eden, my eight year old, runs around with the other kids. Once one of the men made a joke about Eden’s bright red hair, and he scowled at the group of men, not wanting to be singled out.

  I brought Eden over and had him apologize. These members of the P Stone nation were incredulous, this lady making her kid apologize to them. "Just trying to teach him to be respectful," I explained. Not because they were P Stones, or because this was their park. Because they were humans, people, who God loves and have mothers and children and matter. How am I going to teach my son that the homeless man on the corner matters if I deny the humanity of someone in a white tshirt? I didn’t say that. Mr. P Stone smiled at me, and nodded respect to my husband.

Respect? Highly doubtful unless your husband was packing a pistol or a something. And then she's thanking them for not shooting her husband, even though they just shot at least one person on her block:

• Uptown is my home, just like the guy with the white tshirt at the park. Just like him I have sin, and a mother who loves me, and I need some direction, somehow to make sense of this sinful, broken world. Merry Christmas, Mr. P Stone. Thanks for not shooting my husband, and try to stay safe. Hope to see you next summer at the park. God loves you, and I am guessing your mother does, too. Take care.

Labels: un-fucking-believable

• Convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants to enroll in a substance-abuse program at a federal prison outside of Denver, a move that could shave up to a year off of his prison sentence.
  
  Blagojevich’s legal team, however, has downplayed the request, briefly mentioning the drug program by only its acronym in court Tuesday, resulting in hardly anyone noticing among a throng of reporters. And then, a day later, the attorneys declined to comment at all.
  
  But the move raises questions about whether Blagojevich suffers from a real substance-abuse problem or is simply angling to reduce his stiff 14-year sentence.

Labels: corruption

• No Chicago police officers were hurt when a gunman opened fire on officers on the city's West Side, authorities said.

  The shots were fired at Harrison District officers at about 10 p.m. Wednesday in the 1100 block of North Keystone Avenue in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood, police said.

  Police had no details, but said the shooter remained at-large late Wednesday.

  Numerous officers, including the district's commander, remained at the scene gathering details on the shooting, according to one district officer.

Labels: shooting

• CLICK HERE for the complete article

It opens thusly:

• A few months before last February’s citywide elections, Hal Baskin’s phone started ringing. And ringing. Most of the callers were candidates for Chicago City Council, seeking the kind of help Baskin was uniquely qualified to provide.

  Baskin isn’t a slick campaign strategist. He’s a former gang leader and, for several decades, a community activist who now operates a neighborhood center that aims to keep kids off the streets. Baskin has deep contacts inside the South Side’s complex network of politicians, community organizations, and street gangs. as he recalls, the inquiring candidates wanted to know: "Who do I need to be talking to so I can get the gangs on board?"

  Baskin—who was himself a candidate in the 16th Ward aldermanic race, which he would lose—was happy to oblige. In all, he says, he helped broker meetings between roughly 30 politicians (ten sitting aldermen and 20 candidates for City Council) and at least six gang representatives. That claim is backed up by two other community activists, Harold Davis Jr. and Kublai K. M. Toure, who worked with Baskin to arrange the meetings, and a third participant, also a community activist, who requested anonymity. The gang representatives were former chiefs who had walked away from day-to-day thug life, but they were still respected on the streets and wielded enough influence to mobilize active gang members.

Labels: city politics

• Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to raise fines for resisting police as the city gears up for anticipated protests that will come with the G8 and NATO summits to be held in Chicago next May.

  Protesters found guilty of resisting a police officer or aiding escape would have to pay a maximum fine ranging from 200ドル to 1,000ドル. Currently, the range is 25ドル to 500ドル.

  The proposal introduced at today's City Council meeting also would allow Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy to deputize officers with other agencies, including the FBI and Illinois State Police.

• The proposal also would appear to give the mayor greater power to sign contracts related to planning security and logistics without City Council approval.

Labels: dumb ideas

• A man who once knocked out a woman’s teeth in the South Loop when she refused to give him a cigarette was arrested again this week when he threatened to kill a man while panhandling in the Uptown neighborhood, according to Chicago police.
  
  Derrick King, 50, was cited by critics of the state’s early prison release program when he threatened a woman in 2009, a day after getting out of prison for the brutal attack against Jennifer Hall on her birthday in August 2008.
  
  King was sent back to jail after the second incident and was released late last year. He has been arrested on misdemeanor charges three times since then.

Labels: un-fucking-believable

• Disasters come in all shapes and sizes. Tornadoes and tsunamis, hurricanes and hail storms. The list of natural disasters is long, but the list of non-natural disasters is probably longer. Nuclear meltdowns, terrorist attacks and pandemic flus.

  Hurricanes have recently hit New York and New England, heat waves have descended on Moscow and massive floods have occurred in Australia. Let’s face it: life is a dicey proposition. In the context of catastrophes, you can run, but you cannot hide. That’s the bad news. The good news is that society has pioneered a powerful survival strategy. It has three parts: planning, more planning and still more planning.

  In this department, some U.S. cities are more equipped than others to survive the full spectrum of worst-case scenarios the universe has in store for them.

The least well prepared cities:

• Pittsburgh; Fresno; Birmingham; Seattle; Albequerque

The best prepared?

• Washington; Albany; Chicago; Dover; New York

Labels: we got nothing

• If Mayor Rahm Emanuel was looking to score political points using Chicago’s widely despised parking-meter lease, he’s found a platform in Chicago Parking Meters LLC’s demand for 13ドル.5 million in compensation for motorists’ use of disability placards and license plates to park for free.

  "I just don’t write blank checks to companies that say that’s what we owe. I’m gonna be the taxpayer watchdog," the mayor said Tuesday. "Now, they may say that’s what we owe. But, just because they submit it doesn’t mean that’s what we’re gonna pay. We’re contesting that right now in a series of discussions with the company."

  Whether the issue might end up in court is unclear. An Emanuel spokeswoman said that the city has come up with an estimate that’s "significantly less" than 13ドル.5 million. But both the city and parking-meter company have refused to discuss the negotiations further.

Labels: corruption, we got nothing

Labels: general

• An acquaintance of a man slain on the West Side last night reportedly came back to the scene this morning and shot four men in retaliation, one of whom died tonight, police said.

  The unidentified 34-year-old man lived in the 4400 block of West Jackson Boulevard but he was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital, police said. His condition was initially described as "grave,'' according to police.

  A lone gunman who is an acquaintance of 18-year-old Onay Lundy who died in last night’s attack shot the four men today "in retaliation’’ for his killing, police said.

Labels: crime

• Mayor Rahm Emanuel is apologizing ahead of time for those who may be inconvenienced when NATO and the world leaders of the G8 gather in Chicago next spring.

  WBBM Newsradio [...] reports the mayor acknowledged Tuesday that some people who scheduled weddings, bar mitzvahs, ordinations and other events downtown next May might feel compelled to change those dates because of the NATO and G8 summits and the expected protests.

  Emanuel said he’s sorry for any disruption the summits and protests might cause, but he also said he believes normal activities can take place during those days and any disruptions will be worth it.

  "For our city that is trying to attract investments and companies; that’s a big opportunity. I apologize up front for any disruption," Emanuel said. "But I think also we are a big city, a big metropolitan area; people will ... be able to be accommodated with their events."

Labels: city politics

• In light of the recent gang violence in Uptown, Chicago Magazine could not have picked a more relevant time to publish their investigation of Chicago politicians and their connections to gangs. In the recently released January 2012 issue, the article details several different Chicago alderman and their connections to gangs, in addition to publishing a map of gang territory in Chicago.
  
  The 46th ward is featured prominently in this article. Former 46th ward Alderman Helen Shiller is the one of the primary aldermen featured in the article. The article spotlights Helen's connection to twin brothers, Rahiem and Rahmon Ali, two leaders of the Gangster Disciples. Rahiem had over forty arrests before his death. What attorney was defending him in court? The former 46th Alderman's son, Brendan Shiller.

Labels: city politics, corruption

• "I have struck a city - a real city - and they call it Chicago... I urgently desire never to see it again. It is inhabited by savages." Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936; Nobel Prize for Literature 1907)

Labels: general

• In May 2010, a 30-year-old Pakistani-American drove his Nissan Pathfinder into one of the most scrutinized urban spaces on the planet and parked along the curb.

  In the hours that followed, more than 80 city surveillance cameras – as well as dozens of private cameras, constant media feeds and amateur tourist videographers - failed to capture an image of Faisal Shahzad and his suspicious, fertilizer-packed SUV in Times Square. All those electronic eyes couldn't even provide police investigators an image of the suspect

Without some to watch and interpret the video feed, all you have is a lot of taxpayer money pissed away to no end. Some other points:

• London city data revealed that police were no more likely to catch the perpetrators of crimes committed in camera-dense areas than in other boroughs, suggesting no link between more cameras and better crime solving.
  
  
• In Chicago, the country's most extensive, integrated network, cameras in Humboldt Park correlated to a 12 percent decline in overall crime, including a 33 percent reduction in drug offenses and robberies and a 20 percent drop in violent crime. Meanwhile, a second Chicago area of study, West Garfield Park, saw no crime drop.

1. The FBI won't accept Chicago statistics in their annual report on crime. Why would the camera study people trust anything coming out of these bean counters?
2. Most importantly, what role did gentrification play in the crime reduction around Humboldt Park? If you price the gang bangers out of the neighborhood, they aren't around to do robberies, burglaries and murders.

Smoke and mirrors, but the mirror is cracked and the smoke is rapidly dissipating.

Labels: crime

• Two men and a woman were wounded in a Monday afternoon shooting on the South Side. The shooting happened about 3:55 p.m. in the 1900 block of East 73rd Street, said police News Affairs...
  
  
• A teenage boy is dead and a woman was seriously wounded Monday evening during a shooting in the Albany Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side. The shooting occurred at 7:46 p.m. in the 3100 block of West Montrose Avenue, said police News Affairs...

Crime is down across the board though.

Labels: crime

• Chicago police shot and killed a man at an 'L' station Sunday night when they said he pointed two pistols at officers.
  
  A spokesman for the Fraternal Order of Police said it appeared to be a gunman may have committed "suicide by cop."
  
  The incident began with officers responding to calls of a man with a gun at the Western/Cermak Pink Line station in the 2000 block of South Western Avenue at about 8 p.m., according to police and FOP spokesman Pat Camden.
  
  When officers from the Monroe District arrived, they found the 55-year-old man holding a gun to his own head, Camden said. The officers tried calming the man into dropping the weapon and ending the standoff. But the man then pulled a second handgun and pointed both at officers, Camden said.

  The officers, put in a "defensive posture," fired their weapons, striking the man. He was later pronounced dead, Camden said. His identity wasn't immediately released.