SECOND CITY COP

SECOND CITY COP
SARCASM AND SILLINESS FROM A WINDY CITY COP
MONDAY, JULY 17, 2017
Shooting
Something like the third police involved shooting in 025 in under two months:
Chicago Police shot an 18-year-old man twice during a traffic stop in the Belmont Central neighborhood early Sunday morning.

Police say they pulled over a vehicle with four individuals between the ages of 17 and 21 for failing to use a traffic signal during a right turn around 3 a.m. Sunday. As officers were getting the driver's license and registration, police say they noticed a man in the backseat with a gun in his hand.

CPD Deputy Chief Al Nagode said the man made several statements that were "threatening in nature."

"The officers had a dialogue with the individual where they were attempting to get him to put down the weapon and not continue," Nagode said. "The subject refused to do that and it resulted in the subject being shot.”

Both a sergeant and an officer fired their weapons, striking the teen once in the arm and once in the leg. He’s now in serious but stable condition at Loyola Hospital. Neighbors say he's from the neighborhood where he was shot.
It seems every effort was made at "de-Escalante-ation" as per the direction of previous administrators, and yet, the subject still refused to follow clear and lawful direction. Amazing, isn't it?

Good job to all involved.
Labels: shooting

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:05 AM 9 COMMENTS
And Isn't This Ironic...
Don't you think?
A 58-year-old man was shot dead Saturday afternoon less than a block away from the anti-violence organization where he worked on the South Side, his family and police said.

The man, Willie Cooper, was one of 14 people shot Saturday citywide.

Cooper was walking in the 100 block of West 95th Street when a dark colored vehicle approached and someone inside fired, hitting him in the mouth and torso about 4:15 p.m., police and family members said.

He was pronounced dead on the scene in the Princeton Park neighborhood, according to police.
At one point this weekend, Chicago racked up 30 shot in 30 hours (eight dead and twenty-two wounded.)

Final totals later this morning.
Labels: crime, stats

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:04 AM 4 COMMENTS
Another Dead Kid
As of 0700 hours Sunday, Chicago had already passed 2016, 2015 and 2014 for total weekend homicides:
7:00a Shoot-o-Rahm-a Tally: 11 killed, 41 wounded
2016 weekend tally: 8 killed, 55 wounded
2015 weekend tally: 10 killed, 34 wounded
2014 weekend tally: 5 killed, 45 wounded
But you know that the tame media is going to tout the "shootings are down" narrative. Harder to explain is this one:
He would’ve started the fourth grade this fall.

About halfway through summer break, Gustavo Garcia was already looking forward to school starting back up at Arnold Mireles Academy.

“He liked to play with his classmates,” said Andrew Holmes, a community activist who spent Sunday morning at the Cook County morgue with Gustavo's mother and stepfather. They had to officially identify the boy who was shot to death while riding in a car with his stepdad about 11:15 p.m. Friday in the 3500 block of East 97th Street, Holmes said.
The latest in a long line of child homicides that cry out for longer prison sentences and a return of the death penalty.
Labels: crime, stats

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:03 AM 8 COMMENTS
Poor? Or a Payoff?
Kim Foxxx is broke. Kim says so. Prickwrinkle says so. It must be true because politicians never lie.

But what's this?
The civil bureau of the State's Attorney's office laid off two experienced ASAs including one who was the previous Chief of the bureau. At the same time, the new Chief of the Civil Bureau has retained his former law firm to try a case in federal court for $500 per hour. This case could readily be handled by the staff assistant state's attorneys. How can the County cry poor mouth and let the SA's office hire private firms at $500 per hour to do their work?
Too bad there aren't any actual investigative reporters around to look into things like this.

Maybe there's an Assistant US Attorney looking to get some public corruption cases started?
Labels: corruption

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:02 AM 9 COMMENTS
Again, No Local Talent
Only imported personnel....at an imported price:
Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans has chosen an African-American woman who runs New York’s Port Authority to be her chief operating officer at O’Hare Airport, City Hall sources said Thursday.

Stephanie Dawson will replace Jonathan Leach, a holdover from the team assembled by former Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino.

[...] Leach resigned earlier this week, exacerbating a leadership vacuum under Evans that the commissioner has blamed on salaries too low to compete for top talent.
And then this bit of info slipped in the article:
Evans is the city’s highest paid public official, with an annual salary of $300,000 and a contract that allows her to earn a performance bonus of $100,000 a year.
Amazing - a government job that relies on the talent and ingenuity of private companies to actually do the heavy lifting, to make a political hack an extra $100,000.

Back in the heady days of McCarthy, when crime was "down" and we were all getting ribbons for "reductions," we would have forgone that unneeded expense for a bonus totaling one-third of our salary. We would have been at least as deserving as these airport hacks.
Labels: money questions

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:01 AM 6 COMMENTS
SUNDAY, JULY 16, 2017
Darwin Alive and Well
The self-cleaning oven strikes again:
A 33-year-old man accidentally shot and killed himself while in Englewood on Thursday night, police said.

At 11:55 p.m., the man had a gun in his waistband and was in a parked car in the 6100 block of South Winchester Avenue, police said. The man moved around the car and his gun went off, hitting the man in his abdomen.

The man was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition and was later pronounced dead, police said.

The gun was found, police said.
Two bets to make on this one, both almost certain to make you money:
No holster;
The gun will make an appearance on the "table of guns" that the superintendent trots out a few times a year to decry "gun violence," even though this was a case of "gun stupidity."
Place your bets.
Labels: silly people

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:05 AM 54 COMMENTS
Is There an Accountant in the House?
You'd think the media - the part that isn't the propaganda arm of the Machine - might be interested in figuring out exactly where so much tax money gets pissed away. They'd have a field day with crap like this:
The following description is copied right off the Cook County Government web site:

"The DUI Memorial Program is offered in Cook County to provide families an opportunity to safely commemorate a loved one who died as a proximate result of a crash caused by an impaired driver under the influence of alcohol, other drug or drugs, intoxicating compound or compounds, or any combination thereof, as well as to raise the public’s awareness of the consequences of driving while impaired under the influence.

"Under this program, a DUI Memorial Marker may be installed and maintained by the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways (Department) for a period of at least two years for fatal crashes which occurred on or after January 1, 1990.

"A DUI Memorial Marker consists of a Sign, and Plaque (optional), which will normally be installed and maintained by the Department at or near the location of the crash. An immediate relative of a deceased individual of a crash caused by a driver found to be under the influence of alcohol, other drug or drugs, intoxicating compound or compounds, or any combination thereof, may apply for a DUI Memorial Marker through this program by submitting an official application form to the Department."

Relatives of the deceased pay for the Markerand Plaque. However, the county Department Of Transportation And Highways pays for the installation and maintenance of the marker and plaque and county employees have to process and approve the requests. The County Treasurer's office has to process the payment for the signs. The County also employs a Roadside Memorial Coordinator to manage entire program.

The entire program involves a Coordinator and employees from multiple County Departments and yet the entire program has little or no value to the taxpayers who must support it. This is merely an example of the kind of waste in Cook County Government that has contributed to the layoffs of some county employees who are actually doing the taxpayer's work.
Something like this pops up when politicians don't want to cut spending, but are actively looking for some way to spend "leftover" money instead of returning it to taxpayers. And this is only one example among thousands in the County (and City) budgets, and it's been going on for decades.

From the comment sections, we also hear that Foxxx just hired five more lawyers while dozens received layoff notices. We aren't sure how that works - there must be politics involved somehow - but when times are tight, hiring goes out the window and the lowest seniority people (or folks) are the ones sweating the pink slips. And that's not even asking if it's true she has a "Director of Ethics," a "Deputy Director of Ethics," a "Director of Diversity" and a "Deputy Director of Diversity." Does anyone know? Are they being laid off? Is the County (and Chicago) budgets on line so a friendly accountant can look at some of this preposterous (and corrupt) spending that goes on?
Labels: county, money questions

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:04 AM 42 COMMENTS
Pistol vs AK-47 = "Excessive"
The inevitable ghetto lawsuit:
A lawsuit filed Thursday accuses a Chicago police officer of shooting a 36-year-old man to death without “just cause or just provocation’’ earlier this month in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side.

The suit was filed in federal court by Tamara Locke, sister of Quintec Locke, who was shot during what police said was an armed confrontation in the 2200 block of South Kostner Avenue around 10:45 p.m. July 1. Two weapons were recovered from the scene, an AK-47 and a handgun.

[...] According to the suit, which names the city of Chicago and Officer John Doe as defendants, Officer Doe and his partner responded to the scene with their guns drawn to a report of people shooting weapons and when the officers got there, they confronted Locke.

The officers “did not take normal precautions or follow the usual practice approaching a suspect,’’ according to the suit, and “without just cause or just provocation’’ Officer Doe shot Locke “several times.’’
Wait....there's a "usual practice" confronting a man with two guns, one of which is completely capable of defeating CPD body armor? Let's review:
Police were called to the scene and given descriptions of people with guns;
Police responded fast enough that they arrived while the offender was still in the area;
Police methodically searched the given location and discovered the offender;
So now what? Wait until fired upon? Wait until someone is dead? Needlessly endanger citizens and coppers alike by letting him run amok with a rifle that can has an effective range of over a city block?

The City better not even enter into negotiations with this waste of protoplasm.
Labels: shooting, un-fucking-believable

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:03 AM 50 COMMENTS
Another Pension Lie?
This appeared in our e-mail (click for bigger version):



Hooray! Solvency!! We're saved!!!

But then this appeared in our newsfeed:
Illinois’s biggest financial challenge, the $130 billion debt to its workers’ pension funds, may only get bigger thanks to the budget that pulled the government back from the brink.That spending plan, pushed through by lawmakers eager to keep Illinois’s bond rating from being cut to junk, allows the state to sink deeper into the hole by giving it five years to phase in hundreds of millions of dollars in increased contributions to four of its five retirement plans.

Those extra payments stem from the funds’ decisions to roll back forecasts for what they expect to make on their investments, which means Illinois will need to set aside more money to ensure it can cover pension checks due in the decades ahead.

“The phase-in of the actuarial assumption is another exercise in kicking the can down the road, but we’re not sure how far the can travels,” said Dave Urbanek, spokesman for the Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System, the state’s largest pension, which has $73 billion of unfunded liabilities. “You pay less now, pay more later.”
So the can got kicked down the road again? For five more years, which covers how many elections cycles? Why can't anyone be honest with the workers? Even for a second?
Labels: money questions, pension

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:02 AM 31 COMMENTS
Shut Up Al
Sharpton says what?
The Rev. Al Sharpton has voiced concerns about the federal government's announcement that more federal agents were sent to Chicago to deal with the city's violence problems.

Sharpton, who heads the National Action Network, held a news conference Thursday at a church on the city's West Side. He says everyone wants to stop the shooting in Chicago, "but you've got to have the will and the determination to do it on all sides and be fair and just."
All sides? Like whom?
people and folks?
people v people?
folks v folks?
What "sides" does Al happen to be talking about here?
Labels: silly people

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:01 AM 36 COMMENTS
SATURDAY, JULY 15, 2017
So Prickwrinkle Lied?
It wasn't about the health of people/folks who aren't paying the tax anyway?
More than 300 Cook County employees have been laid off after a proposed county soda tax was indefinitely stalled by a lawsuit, county officials said Friday.

Each county department had to cut 10 percent of its budget to meet the shortfall, according to a statement from County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

In addition to the layoffs, more than 600 vacant positions will go unfilled, she said.

"I regret that these actions are necessary — and I deeply regret the impact they have on individual employees," wrote Preckwinkle, noting that she proposed the soda tax in part to avoid such significant budget cuts.
As someone pointed out, Cook County government is bigger than the government of many states, so we're supposed to feel sorry for them?
Cutbacks to vital offices in the county's criminal justice system could have a significant impact, authorities said.

The state's attorney's office announced that 17 prosecutors will be laid off, plus 22 other staffers. In addition, non-union staffers, prosecutors included, will be required to take two unpaid furlough days, according to spokeswoman Tandra Simonton.

Simonton declined to comment on the impact of losing nearly 20 prosecutors, but earlier this summer officials told the Chicago Tribune that the office was already understaffed as violence continued to spike at levels unseen in two decades. As a result, the office has made policy shifts, including a plan to stop prosecuting certain traffic offenses altogether.
We have some suggestions:
Lay off any prosecutors for weed;
Lay off any prosecutors in the shoplifting department;
Lay off any prosecutors in the "Throwing babies out 8-story windows" department;
That should balance the budget by Tuesday.
Labels: county, money questions

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:03 AM 109 COMMENTS
Two a Days
Summer is in full swing. How can we tell? The countdown clock over at HeyJackass.com has started marching downward in terms of how often some gets shot and how often someone gets murdered.

July is averaging over two homicides per day, this past week being particular bloody, with almost an additional eight shot per day.

And there are still quite a few summer weekends on tap.
Labels: stats

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:02 AM 35 COMMENTS
Dart Wises Up?
Not very likely, but maybe, just maybe, Dart is starting to realize people don't commit crimes against actual citizens when they're in jail:
In an effort to crack down on Chicago’s persistent gun violence, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart announced Thursday his office will be alerting local police when defendants with gun charges post high bonds.

The initiative follows an analysis conducted by the sheriff’s office that discovered the communities that are most plagued by gun violence are the same communities suspected gun offenders are returning to after they post high bonds, according to a news release from the sheriff's office. From February through May, 351 alleged gun suspects posted more than $5,000 to bond out of Cook County Jail, with the sum of their bonds exceeding $3.3 million.

“Gang members arrested on gun crimes can quickly come up with thousands of dollars – often tens of thousands of dollars in cash – to get out of jail and return to the communities they continue to terrorize,” Dart said in a statement Thursday. “We should be using the laws on the books to find out where they are getting that kind of money. This shows how our broken cash bail system permits violent offenders to return to the streets within hours while many of those who are poor are stuck behind bars on non-violent crimes.”
After pushing for years to establish a "revolving door" type of bail system so he could fulfill Prickwrinkle's ambition to have an empty jail, could Dart be seeing exactly who the fall guy is going to be for any upcoming bail/bond scandal? Remember, if you can't spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker. Same thing in Illinois, Cook County, Chicago politics.
Labels: county

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:01 AM 37 COMMENTS
FRIDAY, JULY 14, 2017
Surprise Gas Tax
Remember when Pelosi sold American's a bullshit Bill by telling her party, "we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it"? Madigan snuck one in on Illinois taxpayers:
Now that Illinois has a budget, people are taking a closer look at some of the hidden costs associated with this deal.

Tucked inside the 583-page budget bill are a few pages that detail a hidden tax hike. It's expected to raise $95 million for the state, but it means we'll be paying more every time we fill up our gas tank.

Gas prices in Chicago are currently $0.44 a gallon higher than the national average and they will soon be going up even more.

[...] That's because of the elimination of a 20-percent sales tax credit that was given to wholesalers on unleaded gas containing ethanol. That cost will be passed along to consumers - $0.04 to $0.05 a gallon - depending on where you live.
Even better, since it's a Sales Tax, it doesn't even go to repair roads that are already falling apart. It goes into the General Fund where it can be appropriated for just about anything.

You can bet there are more hidden surprises that will be trickling out, each one of them costing taxpayers money.
Labels: scandals

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:05 AM 89 COMMENTS
Need Wheels?
If you can't steal cars at dealerships, service shops or rental agencies, you might as well go to the source:
A security guard was run over by a robbery suspect behind the wheel of one of three cars that were stolen from the Ford plant on the Far South Side on Wednesday afternoon.

The incident was one of at least six over the last few months from the lot near 126th Street and Burley Avenue and the plant a few blocks west in which at least 25 cars have been taken by teens as young as 13 or 14.

Wednesday's incident happened about 1 p.m. in the city's Hegewisch community, according to authorities. The Ford plant is at 130th Street and Torrence Avenue a few blocks west.

One of the fleeing drivers ran over a 68-year-old security guard, who was in good condition while being treated for a leg injury at Advocate Christ Medical Center, according to police.
We suppose it's the logical progression - go to where there are a bunch of cars with keys nearby.
Labels: crime, info for the police

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:04 AM 47 COMMENTS
Great Training
Remember, these COPA Cabana Boys (and Girls) are getting the FINEST training:
They had COPA investigators in the exempt Use of Force 5 hr training. One guy was knocked out asleep a female was checking her Facebook. When the scenario was done someone posed a question to them as to if they believed the shooting in the scenario was justified. They refused to answer the question only saying, "there's much more investigation that needs to be done before that can be determined". The whole room wanted to choke them. They were told the officer has a split second to make the determination but they are going to sit there and tell us it might take weeks for THEM to make that same determination?
Hopefully, one of the Exempts at class took notes on which Investigators were preoccupied present in case there's ever a question about the quality of the training taking place for the railroading investigating of police actions.

Fetal.
Labels: info for the police

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:03 AM 43 COMMENTS
Bond Revoked....but
Guess who the judge is blaming? Not the guy trafficking guns:
A federal judge on Wednesday blasted prosecutors, but still revoked bond for a man charged with selling military-style rifles used by gang members that opened fire on Chicago Police officers in a May shooting.

Charles Williams had been free since late July 5 on $4,500 bond on a gun trafficking charge after getting caught selling a handgun to a Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms informant.

But last week, after police sources complained to the Chicago Sun-Times that Williams was the source of the weapon used in a May 2 shooting in the Back of the Yards that wounded two CPD officers, prosecutors sought to have Williams held without bond.

Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kavitha Babu got what she wanted— Williams was led out of the courtroom by marshals— but U.S. Magistrate Judge Young Kim made it clear that it was not because he believed Williams was a danger to society if he remained free. In fact, the judge said, the government had put Williams’ life in danger.
That's right...it's all the government's fault:
“I think what the government did here was wrong. You placed Mr. Williams and his family in danger,” Kim said, as Williams longtime girlfriend, seated by the pair’s daughter, sobbed.

“Unfortunately, given your public filing” which named Williams as a source for guns for the La Raza street gang, “Mr. Williams’ presence in his house does pose a danger to his family and any bystanders,” Kim said.

“I can’t have it on my hands that because of what the government did that Mr. Williams is going to be killed or that his family will be in the way and will be killed as bystanders.”
Maybe if he wasn't passing guns along to people/folks who kill without compunction, his family wouldn't be in danger. But he made his choices, and if the music coming his way isn't to his liking, too damn bad. A lot of officers weren't happy that the gang shot up a van with two cops inside either.
Labels: crime, good news

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:02 AM 24 COMMENTS
Working on the Railroad
Attempting to launch the second judge without explanation:
The special prosecutor who last month charged three Chicago Police officers in a conspiracy to cover up for the cop who shot Laquan McDonald has asked to replace a controversial judge who was assigned to hear the landmark case.

Special Prosecutor Patricia Brown Holmes, a former judge and federal prosecutor, on Thursday filed a motion to swap Cook County Judge Diane Gordon Cannon for another judge.

State law allows prosecutors to ask to substitute a judge they deem prejudiced against a case, without having to specify the reasons, within 10 days after the case is assigned.
Just trying to get the "right" judge so as to meet a political end.
Labels: corruption

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:01 AM 28 COMMENTS
THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017
Here Comes COPA!
And they are digging into uncharted territory:
With broader powers certain to create an expanded caseload, Chicago’s new Civilian Office of Police Accountability opens for business Sept. 15 with 140 full-time employees, 90 of them investigators.

The 45 percent increase in staff undergoing seven weeks of training is apparently not enough to guarantee the independence that the soon-to-be-abolished Independent Police Review Authority lacked. That’s why COPA wants even more investigative help.

The agency charged with investigating police wrongdoing has issued a request-for-qualifications from “subject matter experts” with experience investigating and reviewing six different categories of cases: use of force; testing and analysis of ballistic evidence; crime scene reconstruction; forensic analysis of digital evidence; forensic medicine; and motor vehicle accident reconstruction.
Seven weeks of training? Golly, Detectives do what? Two months? Sergeants about the same. Lieutenants and Captains top out at a month or so, but their contention is their training "builds" on previous training, but that doesn't explain a lot of morons in the upper echelon.

And why those six particular categories? Ballistics? Medicine? Accident reconstruction? For what? We have State Police labs for that, people with degrees, subcontractors with expensive machines. This sounds like a patronage money grab, with a side of screwing the police at every single turn.

And hiring "subject matter experts"? Well, we suppose those are the people with all the answers.....Hahahaha - see what we did there?

They want you fetal, even embryonic.
Labels: info for the police

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:05 AM 113 COMMENTS
Weed Emergency
Your chuckle for the day:
Nevada state officials declared a state of emergency after stores that sell recreational marijuana reported that their supply is running out just less than two weeks after the drug went on sale legally.

Gov. Brian Sandoval, R-Nev., issued the state of emergency on Friday, which will allow state officials to decide on new rules that could ease the shortage of marijuana, according to Fox 13 Now.

Nevada’s Department of Taxation released a statement that said it will contemplate emergency regulations that would permit liquor wholesalers to cash in on the marijuana sales.
How the Hell do you run out of weed? By allowing the government to run it we suppose. Perhaps Nevada can set up some sort of "weed sharing" program where an oversupply in one city can be shipped to a city in distress. And then after everyone gets their smoke on, they can do the same thing for Twinkie shortages.
Labels: out-of-state, silly people

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:04 AM 46 COMMENTS
Manpower Lies
At least someone is paying attention - the Crime in Wrigleyville and Boystown blog:
Despite plenty of hype about "more police" being added to the Chicago Police Department's 19th District over the past year, the Town Hall station actually has three fewer cops this month than one year ago.

That's according to new police staffing data released in 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney's newsletter today.

The district, which stretches from Fullerton to Lawrence and the Chicago River to Lake Michigan, is staffed by 375 cops today, compared to 378 last June and 468 officers in October 2011.
Too bad there aren't more blogs running these numbers - like a Pilsen blog for 012 and 013, which are down hundreds of cops from the numbers that used to patrol two districts. Or another for 021 and 002.

We refer you to a quote from this article from 2011:
Consolidation, McCarthy said, is not coming without careful thought. "It's not the buildings that protect the public," McCarthy said. "It's the officers, and by having more officers in those areas, we'll have a better delivery of service."
Except when you don't have more officers - then you're just lying for Rahm.
Labels: department issues

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:03 AM 20 COMMENTS
So, More Airport Openings?
Or perhaps a return to Airport VRI?
From now on, the Chicago Police Department will be the lead responder on disturbance calls at the airport and on planes, not aviation security officers, according to a new city directive issued in response to the infamous dragging incident on a United Airlines flight at O'Hare International Airport.

The department also will remove the word "police" from the uniforms and vehicles of aviation security officers. The directives build on plans already discussed by the city's Aviation Department, which also is updating procedures and training for airport security.
That last few airport openings were filled by bids with 26-to-28 years, but it certainly looks like they're going to need bodies...unless they want response times measured in quarter hour increments.
Labels: department issues

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:02 AM 40 COMMENTS
A Good Start
Finally, some good news from Cook County:
The court battle delaying the Cook County sugary drink tax is about to start hitting home.

A hearing on the tax has been pushed back until next week, but Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said Tuesday that layoff notices will be going out soon.

Preckwinkle was counting on that tax revenue to generate tens of millions of dollars this year alone, and without it she said she has no option but to take drastic measures. So, starting later this week, more than 1,100 layoff notices will start going out.
We're betting that the actual noticeable impact is closer to zero than Prickwrinkle is letting on. County government is far too overstaffed with made up spots being paid six-digits, like Mrs. Mark Brown for starters. There are dozens, maybe hundreds more.
Labels: county, money questions

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:01 AM 43 COMMENTS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2017
Kim Foxxx Hates Babies
Well, we finally know exactly what depths of depravity Kim Foxxx will stoop to:
A woman accused of throwing her newborn baby from an 8th-floor apartment window in Uptown has been sentenced to four years probation.

Mubashra Uddin had been charged with four counts of murder for allegedly killing the baby girl moments after giving birth in her family's apartment.

But prosecutors last week agreed to drop three of those charges and then reduced the fourth murder count to involuntary manslaughter of a family member. Judge Carol M. Howard handed down a sentence of probation.
We don't see anything "involuntary" when you toss a newborn infant from an 8th story window. And we don't see how the ability to tell right-from-wrong hasn't manifested itself in a 19-year-old individual. And we completely fail to see how being raised in a "strict muslim" household mitigates a single action taken here. In fact, in the Middle East, we're pretty sure she'd be following that baby out the window in short order.

Misdemeanor Murder - what a fucking joke.
Labels: un-fucking-fucking-believable

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:05 AM 133 COMMENTS
Tom Dart Hates Women
From the crew over at "Crime in Wrigleyville and Boystown," yet another Dart fuck up:
Already accused of two rapes, a Lakeview man is now charged with a third sexual assault. The good news, if there is any, is that a judge has finally decided that the guy shouldn’t be on electronic monitoring anymore.

Robert W. Walters, 44, was arrested last week at his apartment in the 600 block of West Diversey after investigators connected him to a rape that he allegedly committed last summer while he was already under investigation for two other sexual assaults.

Walters is now charged with one more count of criminal sexual assault and he's been ordered held without bail. He had been on electronic monitoring, even after being charged with his second sexual attack last winter.
And guess who abetted the rapes?
Walters was initially held on $5 million bail, but Judge Carol M. Howard would later cut that to $200,000.
When Walters showed up in court for his second rape case, Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil set bail at just $75,000. Walters went free on electronic monitoring.
Female judges set bail so low for forcible rapes that Dart was able to justify Electronic Monitoring, leaving this piece of shit free to rape again. And this Judge Howard is the one who signed off on four years probation for the baby tosser in the post directly above.

If we understand the rules now, the first two rapes in Cook County are close to free - probably part of Foxxx's "no felony charges" plan. And does anyone at County know if this was one of the almost 500 people in EM that Dart has no idea of their whereabouts?
Labels: county, un-fucking-believable

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:04 AM 46 COMMENTS
More Kids with Guns
Safe link to Gateway Pundit, but he links to the Worldstar site if you want to risk it:
Facebook video showing a young child brandishing what appears to be a handgun on Chicago’s South Side is raising new concerns about kids and guns.

The video shows three young boys walking at a shopping center at 63rd and Halsted. A driver is heard taunting the boys, telling one of them to show him his gun. The youngster eventually does so.

The video has surfaced at the same time Chicago police say a boy as young as 6 years old is a suspect in an armed robbery in another Chicago neighborhood.

The manager of a restaurant at the shopping center on Halsted says the boys often stop in, asking for food, and she’s worried the one with the gun might kill someone or get himself killed.
Remember, police are the problem, not shorties running around with pistols.
Labels: info for the police

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:03 AM 47 COMMENTS
Murder Trial
The trail for the murderer of PO Clifton Lewis got underway Tuesday. Attendance was kind of light.

If you're at 26 and California for anything the next few days, swing by Room 206. The family could use the support.
Labels: officer down

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:02 AM 6 COMMENTS
DOA Not Cops?
Anyone want to explain the political ramifications?



So all Dept. of Aviation officers had their certifications revoked?
Labels: we got nothing

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:01 AM 94 COMMENTS
TUESDAY, JULY 11, 2017
Downtown Shooting
Don't worry, it's safe. Bring the kids!
A man was shot downtown Monday afternoon just south of the Chicago River near Michigan Avenue, police said.

The 33-year-old man shot near Garland Court and Lower Wacker Place just about drove to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound to the stomach, police said. He was in good condition Monday evening, according to police.

The shooting happened just before 3 p.m. in the 200 block of North Garland Court, which is close to the Hard Rock Hotel sits, and East Wacker Place and South Water Street. The man was in a vehicle when a man fired shots from nearby, police said. The victim was not cooperating with investigators.

Chicago Police squad cars were used to block off intersections along the lower level of areas heavily populated by hotels and tourists. Traffic was light, and there wasn't a queue of vehicles, despite the closures.
If someone got shot in Times Square, it'd be all over the national news. But here? It's expected.
Labels: crime

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:05 AM 64 COMMENTS
Fake Uber/Lyft Sex Assaults
We haven't seen a Community Alert - why would we? Some connected relative is a big deal with one of those companies - no bad news shall be published that might affect the bottom line.
SCC, could you start to spread the word. There have been a series of sex assaults on female Uber/Lyft users who aren't checking the plate and type of car that picks them up. Usually happens after the bars close and have been particularly violent.
If you know someone who uses these services, make sure they are aware and take the appropriate precautions.
Labels: info for the police

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:03 AM 28 COMMENTS
Death Spiral Continues
Over at CPS, it's accelerating:
Chicago Public Schools, still unclear on how much state aid the district will receive for the new school year, sold $500 million in long-term general obligation bonds at high interest rates, doubling planned borrowing after buyers lined up.

Some $215 million will restructure existing debt, and the rest will pay for capital projects and reimbursements for ​payments related to interest rate ​swaps, district spokeswoman Emily Bittner said. She wouldn’t release further details, saying that “CPS hasn’t finalized its budget, and will detail how the bond proceeds are being used at that time.”

The new bonds, underwritten by J. P. Morgan, add to the $7.5 billion CPS already holds in long-term debt.
In a statement, CPS’ senior vice president Ron DeNard said that the district received $1.1 billion in orders for the bonds, generating $500 million authorized by the school board.

DeNard touted the interest rates as lower than the whopping 8.5 percent CPS paid last year on general obligation bonds, but they’re hardly low. Ranging from 7.25 percent up to 7.65 percent depending on maturity date, they’re at least twice what a typical government would pay on the same deal, according to Municipal Market Data.
And that $5 billion shortfall in Madigan's budget isn't instilling confidence in anyone.
Labels: money questions

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:01 AM 61 COMMENTS
MONDAY, JULY 10, 2017
Shooting
North side:
A man was shot and killed by police after his mother reported to police that he was holding his girlfriend and her child hostage late Sunday morning, authorities said.

Police arrived in the 2700 block of North Leclaire Avenue after a woman went to the Grand Central District police station and reported her son was holding his girlfriend and her child against their will.

The man was shot to death by a Chicago police officer about 11 a.m. Sunday after running from police, jumping off a roof and firing at least two shots at officers, authorities said.

The man’s name had not been released, and his family was not immediately available for comment.
Still don't know why the media looks for family members - so they can say, "He didn't mean it!" or "He was just turning his life around."?

An excellent job by all involved.
Labels: shooting

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:05 AM 45 COMMENTS
GMFM?


We don't know about this:
Former Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy is mulling over making his first run for political office against the man who fired him — and now there are campaign buttons.

Small gold and green "GMFM" buttons have been circulating in some corners of the city. That's short for Garry McCarthy For Mayor. And in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, McCarthy acknowledged he's weighing a challenge against Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

"There's a group of people who are very serious about this, and they are looking at all the angles," McCarthy said Wednesday. "I haven't said 'no' yet. Let's put it that way."

He's not close to saying "yes" yet, either, calling a run for mayor "probably unlikely."
Back when he was making his first run at the top job, the media pointed out his documented propensity to use a certain racial slur. During his second run, we pointed out his "holier than thou" attitude when his daughter got pulled over by regular cops and also the numerous broken streetlights that appeared in close proximity to him. Since he's been fired, his choice of company doesn't inspire confidence in his judgement at all.

But he could tap into a certain amount of resentment. And if he opened the doors on how the McDonald tape really got suppressed and who really saw it before the settlement offer, well.....that could sink Rahm before he even got started.
Labels: city politics

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:03 AM 152 COMMENTS
Great Idea
This is from March, but any good idea means that it'll never happen here:
San Luis Obispo (CA) residents got an up close and personal explanation about police use of force in their community as part of the city’s new Police Education and Community Engagement Program or PEACE.

Police Officers demonstrated and explained the split-second decisions they must make in the line of duty and what they consider to be “reasonable” use of force.

The presentation included police dashcam video of a recent encounter with a man armed with a knife.

In the police video, the suspect is seen ignoring commands to drop and the knife and continues to walk toward the first officer on scene who has his gun drawn and is prepared to open fire.
The Machine wants an ignorant populace at odds with the police, the better to channel the outrage against the cops and distract from the blatant corruption and thievery going on elsewhere.
Labels: out-of-state

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:01 AM 28 COMMENTS
SUNDAY, JULY 09, 2017
Teach Em Early
Still waiting for the "outrage" from the community, the politicians, the "revrunds," anyone at all:
Chicago police are warning residents of neighborhoods including South Commons and Bronzeville that a group of young kids and teens are robbing people at gunpoint on sidewalks, in parking lots and even inside apartment buildings.

Authorities on Saturday said a group of three to nine school-aged robbers was listed in robbery reports taken throughout the month of June in the area west of Dunbar high school and north of Illinois Institute of Technology. The most recent case, on June 28 in the first block of East 29th Street, involved a boy who was described as being between the ages of 6 and 8, and who “displayed a silver handgun and demanded money,” according to a news release.
Six years old. And then this ridiculous bit of advice from the Department:
Authorities advised that anyone who finds themselves the victim of this type of crime should:
Be aware of their surroundings.
Stay calm if confronted.
Remember unique physical characteristics.
Never pursue a fleeing assailant.
Call 911 to report the crime.
Stay at the location when it’s safe.
Get contact information from anyone who witnessed the crime.
Somehow they always forget the part about a citizen who avails him/herself of Illinois' Concealed Carry Law and saving taxpayers a lot of future headaches (and money aches) by protecting themselves from a gun wielding criminal, regardless of age.

UPDATE: Someone suggested this may be some sort of Internship Program we haven't heard about yet.
Labels: crime

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:09 AM 130 COMMENTS
Boo Hoo
Cry us a river there Prickwrinkle:
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle's administration is warning of 10 percent budget reductions if a judge doesn't allow a countywide sweetened beverage tax to take effect by August.

In a letter dated Monday sent to all county elected officials, bureau chiefs and department heads, Preckwinkle budget director Tanya Anthony said analysts would be providing them "a recommended course of action" to meet spending cuts needed if Cook County Circuit Judge Daniel Kubasiak doesn't lift a temporary restraining order that's preventing the penny-per-ounce tax from being levied.
Dart and Foxxx are whining about layoffs:
According to a memo sent out by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, as many as 925 employees of the department could be laid off as a result of spending cuts.

“The proposed layoffs amounted to approximately 17 percent of our work force,” Dart said.

Meanwhile, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office is looking at drastic cuts as well. State’s Attorney Kim Foxx told CBS that she expects that she would have to lay off at least 100 prosecutors and dozens of administrative staffers if the revenue from the soda tax isn’t replaced.
Since Foxxx isn't prosecuting as many crimes, she can probably afford to law off a crap load of lawyers anyway. Public defenders, too.

And Dart? Well, his budget could use a bunch of trimming anyway. Via the underground sheriff blog, some numbers that would make a name for an actual investigative reporter:
Sheriff Tom Dart's budget has increased 124 million (inflation considered 41 million) since he took office in 2006. The Sheriff added 68 Shakman exempt positions while eliminating 602 full time predominately officer positions in the last decade. Records indicate the Sheriff has been incredibly reckless with budget decisions, resulting in 600+ less officers providing valuable resources and protection to the citizens of Cook County. Records also indicate that Sheriff has had more than sufficient funding to keep staffing at standard/safe levels but inexplicably chose not to do so!

2006 Sheriff Budget:: $388,872,980.00
2016 Sheriff Budget:: $513,351,967.00

Elimination of 602 Jobs..
Sheriff office 2006:: 7,306 full time positions.
Sheriff office 2016:: 6,704 full time positions.

Political Hiring..
Exempt Positions 2006:: 176 positions
Exempt Positions 2016:: 244 positions.
It sure looks like Tommy has been hiring way too many administrators at the expense of the rank-and-file...many of whom are married or otherwise related to media figures. We don't think his office will be hurt functionally by eliminating a whole bunch of spots.
Labels: county, money questions

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:07 AM 108 COMMENTS
More Found Money
And not just a little money either:
A growing economy—combined with consumers' desire to have purchases shipped directly to their door—is helping drive up air freight traffic worldwide. City Hall wisely aims to capitalize on the trend.

As Crain's political columnist Greg Hinz has reported, Chicago Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans is renegotiating leases for warehouse space at O'Hare International Airport. Before you yawn and turn the page, play this little guessing game: How much does United Airlines pay to rent space in a 1.3 million-square-foot cargo facility at O'Hare?

The answer is a nickel. A nickel a square foot. Per year. It's been that way since 1986.

But under letters of intent that American Airlines, FedEx and six other carriers have signed with Evans & Co., ground leases will soon go for $1.75 to $2.25 a square foot, depending on whether the site has direct access to the airport. In addition, rental rates on warehouses on that property, if city-owned, now will go for a standard $10 a square foot per year. United's charge, meanwhile, will rise to the new standard level, $2.25 a square foot, when its current contract expires in 2022. And the city for the first time will begin imposing a fee of $5 a ton on carriers that store their cargo off-field but move it through O'Hare.

Evans says the hikes should net the city an additional $37.6 million a year on O'Hare land leased for cargo, hangars and parking—up more than 900 percent from the current $4 million — while still leaving the field in a competitive position relative to peer airports around the country.
That was certainly a sweetheart deal since 1986 - a nickel per square foot? Who took the bribes on that one to steer a few billion dollars in savings over the past 30 years? Those billions could have been used to spare taxpayers a lot of pain and given certain pensions a lot of growth opportunities.
Labels: money questions

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:05 AM 38 COMMENTS
Good Idea? Or Not?
We're pretty sure this failed once here in Chicago:
For Jeremy Arn, being a prosecutor in Milwaukee's most dangerous neighborhoods means spending more time on the streets than in court.

His officemates are police officers in District 5, the city's busiest, and his focus is not just locking people up, but preventing crime and giving people second chances.

The transformation of the prosecutor's traditional role and the collaboration with police has special significance in Milwaukee, where the incarceration rate for African-Americans in some neighborhoods is the highest in the U.S. and law enforcement is hoping to rebuild a strained relationship after two nights of riots last summer when a black officer fatally shot a black man during a traffic stop. The arrangement has made prosecutors more accessible to residents, though its success is much harder to quantify than courtroom work.
Someone can correct us if we're mistaken, but some ASA rode along with a DUI guy (since many traffic guys ride 99), and after watching him do a DUI, had the copper charged when the observation period didn't meet the State standard. The copper contended that his observations period started upon arrest/detention, but the ASA insisted it began in the station. We have no idea how that one played out.

Fortunately, Kim Foxxx has "shortcutted" the system by not charging people (or folks) AND unilaterally circumventing State Law by raising the minimum requirements for certain charges.
Labels: dumb ideas

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:03 AM 18 COMMENTS
Training Snowflakes
Memphis is running into problems:
The latest class of 150 rookies for the Memphis Police Department may not be ready for the real world when they graduate, according to Local Memphis. Questions are being raised about treatment of new recruits for the Memphis Police Academy, with accusations that they are being treated with ‘kid gloves’ in one of the most violent cities in the nation.

On their first day at the academy, they were treated to lunch at the Rendezvous, according to Mike Williams, Memphis Police Association president. He said, “They’re parading these guys around like look a hundred guys, and they’re just having a great wonderful time. With all the power brokers there. They had recruits at each table and a power player at each table.” During the lunch, they heard speeches from Academy Director Mike Rallings and Mayor Jim Strickland. A spokesman for the mayor’s office said that they did not pay for lunch, and that it was paid for by a group called the ‘Retired Carnival Kings.’ He said that the lunch has happened in the past with new recruits, but several veteran officers disagreed.

Mike Matthews, reporter for Local Memphis, wrote that two officers had been transferred from the academy after rookies complained that they were too tough. Recruits are also believed to have filed complaints about ‘unfair treatment’ with the City’s Human Resources or with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Williams said, “It’s been pretty much stated or assumed. It’s hands off these guys, we don’t want to lose them.” The Police Department is severely understaffed, with the total number of officers expected to drop below 1900 ‘sometime this fall.’
These recruits got a full lunch from "power players"? Aren't there Ethics tests involved in Memphis hiring? We can't accept a coffee discount, but can get free Sox tickets, and aldercreatures have to pass an exemption to swindle free Cubs tickets. As for lunches, the closest we got to a free lunch was a frosted sprinkle Dunkin' Donut at the top of a six-foot wall.....and when we got over the wall, the instructors wouldn't even let us sniff the donut.
Labels: out-of-state

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:01 AM 32 COMMENTS
SATURDAY, JULY 08, 2017
RETIREE ALERT!!!!
IMPORTANT - IF YOU KNOW A RETIREE, REACH OUT TO THEM.

Phone, social media, e-mail.

Of course, this breaks on a Friday night/Saturday morning:
Burglary to storage unit at a "facility [that] holds the paper work for police pension". Lock was cut to unit, unsure what exactly the unit might contain and/or to what extent things may have been compromised.

Facility is the "Store Your Things - Self Storage" at 2325 N. Clark Street in Lincoln Park.

Reference RD# JA-338630 - Event# 1718812075

....the unit contains a sizable amount of retiree pension files/information and that one or two of the storage containers had been manipulated/rifled through but they were unable to tell if anything was missing
Why this would be stored at a self-storage facility rather than someplace a wee bit more secure is a real puzzler, except that it's Chicago and everything is done half-assed.
Labels: un-fucking-fucking-believable

POSTED BY SCC AT 7:01 AM 70 COMMENTS
Federal Gun Case
Now we'll see some real justice....wait, what?
A man who sources say sold an assault rifle to gang members — which was then used to shoot two Chicago Police officers last May — was released from federal custody on a $4,500 bond on Wednesday.

Charles Williams was arrested and charged in federal court last week with possession of a firearm by a felon. On Wednesday, Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim ordered him released on $4,500, court records show.

A law enforcement source told the Chicago Sun-Times that Williams is believed to be the man who sold a high-caliber assault rifle to members of the La Raza gang. The gun was used in a May shooting that wounded two Chicago Police officers at 43rd and Ashland.
And so continues the local effort to ignore or downplay gun-running charges that should result in extensive prison terms in the Federal Pen. The goofy judge was appointed to the Northern District in 2010, so we can probably guess his political leanings....and we imagine they tilt a wee bit to the port side.
Labels: un-fucking-believable

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:04 AM 64 COMMENTS
Protect the Clout!
An interesting game being played once again:
Chicago police are seeking to fire a sergeant involved in two fatal shootings in recent years, but the charges deal instead with decade-old allegations that he concealed an arrest while applying to be a cop and moonlighted as a part-owner of a bar while on the force.
You'd think that a thorough background investigation would have revealed the arrest and bar ownership at some point. How could the investigators overlook something that obvious?
Early last year, [P] won a merit promotion — one not based on test scores — to sergeant on the recommendation of Kevin Navarro, now first deputy superintendent.
Oh. Something that would have barred you or us from the job wasn't even a speed bump on the way to a "merit" promotion.

Once again, one set of rules for one class. Another set for the clouted. We're amazed they actually allowed Navarro's name to get attached to this train wreck. We're also surprised that Special Ed is being allowed to dredge up 17 year old allegations to grease the skids for what is undoubtedly going to end up in Court somewhere.
Labels: we got nothing

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:03 AM 61 COMMENTS
Logic Loop
After reading about the new cars yesterday, and all the technology that will allow cops to respond faster that the speed of light to crime scenes, has anyone in the Department or political realm actually thought this through?
Shotspotter = faster response
faster response = confronting gunmen
confronting gunmen = potential shootouts
shootouts = more cops stripped
more cops stripped = more fetal Department
more fetal = more Shotspotter to catch criminals
There's a flaw here.
Labels: sarcasm AND silliness

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:02 AM 32 COMMENTS
ShotSpotter Fail
Dead body found surrounded by shell casings:
A woman was shot to death Thursday evening in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood, police said.

The 25-year-old was found shot multiple times by officers responding to a call of a person shot about 6:30 p.m. in the 4400 block of West Haddon, Chicago Police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
And according to an e-mail, a Shotspotter fail, and a failure of the neighborhood:
Hey SCC, one of those "you ain't going to believe this" stories. The body they found on Haddon Thursday was called in by neighbors. When the cops arrived, the body was surrounded by 4 shell casings, the blood had already coagulated, the flies were in full force and the body had begun to exit the rigor mortis stage, and becoming a bit ripe. Dead 8 or 10 hours before a single call came in. And Shotspotter didn't have even a blip on the radar. What a great use of taxpayer dollars.
Does anyone know the success/failure rate of the Shotspotter set-up? That might make an interesting story for an actual reporter.
Labels: crime

POSTED BY SCC AT 12:01 AM 58 COMMENTS