Violation of Bail Restrictions?

Isn't there something about not repeating the same behavior or is that only a city thing that reverends don't have to abide by?

• Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Michael Pfleger staged another protest outside a suburban gun shop Friday, less than one week after both were arrested for a similar demonstration.

  Now, Jackson and Pfleger have gained a high-powered supporter of their efforts outside Chuck's Gun Shop in Riverdale: Chicago Police Superintendent Phil Cline says the demonstrations bring much-needed attention to the firearms debate.

  There were no arrests in Thursday afternoon as marchers announced an expansion of their anti-gun shot crusade.

Great, now Phil feels the need to sound off on what is a completely LEGAL business enterprise outside of City limits.

And if in fact, the citizen up in 016 was "renting" out guns to gangsters, throw the book at him. But we've known too many stories about non existent C/I's and "J. Doe's" to completely believe anything coming out in the media or anywhere else for that matter. In fact, didn't the Department just revamp the entire Search Warrant/Consent to Search orders because a number of corroborating witnesses couldn't be located for a large number of Search Warrants? Isn't that why a supervisor has to meet, interview, and verify the existence of an informant?

Foiled Terrorist Plot

In London:

• Police in London's bustling nightclub and theater district on Friday defused a car bomb that could have killed hundreds after an ambulance crew spotted smoke coming from a Mercedes filled with a lethal mix of gasoline, propane and nails. Hours later, police confirmed a second explosives-rigged car was found nearby.

  The first car bomb, found near Piccadilly Circus, was powerful enough to have caused ''significant injury or loss of life'' at a time when hundreds were in the area, British anti-terror police chief Peter Clarke said.

• Clarke said Friday evening that the second car -- another Mercedes -- was originally parked illegally on nearby Cockspur Street, but had been towed from the West End to an impound lot near Hyde Park.

But don't worry - we're perfectly safe:

• Some you see and some you don't, but if you don't think security was tightened after word of the car bombs discovered in London reached Chicago, think again.
  
  "We have what we think is an excellent camera system that we're using out at the Taste," said Chicago Police Department First Deputy Supt. Dana Starks. "We're able to see all over the area that comprises the Taste of Chicago and we believe with that, the extra vigilance, the vigilance of the community and people who attend the taste, we're on top of it."
• "We're keeping in touch with Homeland Security and we have a police officer assigned to Washington," Cline said.

Anyone have the turn around time on how long it takes a suspicious vehicle to be towed once it's called in? Minutes? Tens of minutes? And who is this lucky police officer assigned to Washington? What are their qualifications? Or is it just another glorified clout child taking messages from the feebs?

Another One Bites the Dust

Good job:

• A Calumet City man fleeing Chicago police was killed late Thursday during an exchange of gunfire with an officer on the city's Far South Side, police said.
  
  Police determined this afternoon that the "officer was within department guidelines in use of force with [a] service weapon," according to Chicago Police Department spokeswoman Monique Bond.

And everyone who is supposed to go home safe, went home safe.

Guns

We've been noticing a bit of static in the comments of one of our previous posts concerning the gun "seizure" on the northwest side. Some people are saying they agree with us. Some are taking the Gun Team to task for their actions. Some are saying that these are the rules and we enforce them regardless. Here's a little thought on the subject:

How many of these guns (and we can go back to the other Area gun team seizures of recent months) were ever used in a crime? How many were used in drive-bys? How many killed 13 year old girls or 15 year old boys? Probably none.

And don't try the tired old arguments that each of these guns represented a "potential" shooting or mass murder. Every automobile out there represents a potential hit and run and we aren't confiscating every single car off the street.

Last time we checked, the 011th District was leading the City in homicides and 51st Street had the Area title well in hand. Wouldn't that lead one to believe that there are TONS of unregistered guns somewhere nearby? Maybe resources ought to be directed that way? Misdemeanor "Failure to Register" arrests do nothing to alleviate the homicide rate.

Just our opinion.

Robocop, Meet Cyberdyne Systems

Every single day, there are brave men and women, working tirelessly to bring us killer robots who will one day replace police officers:

• RoboCops and robot soldiers got a little closer to reality Thursday as a maker of floor-cleaning automatons teamed up with a stun-gun manufacturer to arm track-wheeled 'bots for police and the Pentagon.

  By adding Tasers to robots it already makes for the military, iRobot Corp. says it hopes to give soldiers and law enforcement a defensive, non-lethal tool.

  But some observers fear such developments could ultimately lead to robots capable of deciding on their own when to shoot and kill.

Sweet. Progress is looking better all the time.

Responsibility!!!

Evidently, the mayor has found religion - and it appears to be the Cult of Responsibility. But it appears to be a fleeting phenomenon. Tuesday, we are treated to this:

• "Who's responsible for that? The family better stand up. That young man ... belonged to [a] family. Who is he? Where's the family? Aren't they outraged that their son just killed a 13-year-old girl? It's unbelievable. They should be outraged. Parents have to go into the bedrooms. Find out whether their sons or daughters have guns in their room. Find out whether their sons or daughters are palling around with gangbangers on a block or in a community ... Parents have to do this. They should prevent crime.

But two years ago, we got this:

• Thirteen died in the collapse of the porch June 29, 2003. Within days it was learned that the porch was built without a permit, was bigger than code allows and was poorly constructed, even though city inspectors had looked at it. Much of that was confirmed in a preliminary report prepared for the city by architecture professor Elliott Dudnik.

• A year-and-a-half after it had Dudnik's preliminary findings, the city filed a legal complaint against John Koranda, a party host, suggesting that he and others were intentionally rocking the porch back and forth, and that that contributed to the collapse.

  "Everybody has to take responsibility in this world, in life. No one wants to take responsibility," said Mayor Richard Daley in February 2005.

So Daley's definition of responsibility two years ago was to ignore his own commissioned report that found an illegally built porch, shoddy material, improper fastenings, missing hangers and the fact that he had a Department full of building inspectors regularly taking bribes, logging non existent visits to work sites and hiring unqualified kids under 21 as fully certified inspectors and instead sued the brother of a dead victim for "shaking" the structure.

Who knows what today might bring?

• Summer storms have flooded hundreds of basements on the Chicago's North Side, and many residents are blaming the city.
• The city's Office of Emergency Management addressed the problem Thursday afternoon, saying the problems are not their fault. They say there's plenty that homeowners can do to prevent flooded basements.

Things that make you go "Hmmm."

Are You Missing $231,000?

You might be if you're a taxpayer:

• According to the list of earmarks in the Committee Report for the Financial Services Appropriations Bill, the very first request listed is for the ”Abraham Lincoln National Airport Commission." Sounds noble – until you realize that it's for an airport that doesn't exist run by a congressional staffer on Rep. Jackson's payroll.
• According to its website, the Airport Commission “has a mandate from its members to plan, develop, finance, construct and operate a commercial airport with passenger and cargo facilities near University Park. In short, the Commission is dedicated to developing a third airport in the Chicago area.
• Specifically, this earmark would direct $231,000 – taken from taxpayers’ pockets across America – for “Minority and Small Business Development and Procurement Opportunities.” It seems rather curious that an airport that doesn't yet exist would need to develop opportunities for minorities & small businesses.

Who needs a Budweiser distributorship when you can steal hundreds of thousands for a non existent airport?

Crook County ASA Blog

The blog run by "The Asshat" is gathering steam.

Hop over and lend your support. He's on the lookout for good stories. Evidently, the ASA's are fighting back, but aren't doing too well.

Gun Story Changes

We cant find the WBBM AM 780 story at the moment, but it seems to have changed from earlier this morning compared to this Channel 7 report:

• Police officers seized several guns and arrested one man during a raid of a Northwest Side home.
• The arsenal included more than two dozens rifles, shotguns and handguns. A task force that included the department's gun team and agents from the Department of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms discovered the weapons in a home on the 7000-block of North Ozark.

Reports earlier had a large quantity of Cannabis being confiscated along with the "arsenal." Let's just say if this is an "arsenal," then we know a whole bunch of people who might be in trouble for owning "weapons depots." But if there was no Cannabis and the entire seizure is based on someone "failing to register," then this is just wrong.

Trickle Becomes a Flood?

Chicago is losing population again (still?):

• For the third consecutive year, Joliet was the fastest-growing city in Illinois and remained one of the fastest-growing in the country, while Chicago continued to lose population, according to new U.S. census estimates set to be released Thursday.
• Meanwhile, Chicago lost around 63,000 residents from 2000 to 2006. The city's estimated population was 2,833,321 for 2006.
• According to many demographers, older urban centers like Chicago continue to lose population as people of childbearing age leave the city for the suburbs and as immigrants chase jobs that are rapidly flowing away from the inner cities.

No wonder the democrats want to grant an amnesty to 12 million illegal aliens so quickly - they'll pick up maybe a million or so living in the city alone - all potential democratic voters. Or at least someone in the Machine can use their forged identity cards to create another "voting bloc."

Clout Promotions?

Yes. we know this was on Fox News a day or so ago. And it's been bandied about in various comments sections. We were having some computer difficulties actually getting the video to load up. Here it is in its entirety.

We hope the officer has gone as far as she hoped to go on the job unless she can do it by score alone. And even if she makes it by score, there's always midnights in the 005 District to worry about.

Still, a fairly gutsy move to accuse the entire Department of something that it cannot or will not ever reveal the criteria for. It bears watching.

What is the Mayor Smoking?

From Tuesday's Sun Times:

• "This young girl who was killed ... at 6:45 p.m. — she was with her grandmother in a park sitting there. A 19-year-old punk jumps out of the car with guns and starts firing ... We lost a young girl. Went to Ames School. Basketball team, honor society, wonderful family. Gunned down by a punk," Daley told a news conference at Lloyd Elementary School, 4834 W. Dickens, called to announce more gains in reading and math test scores.

  "Who's responsible for that? The family better stand up. That young man ... belonged to [a] family. Who is he? Where's the family? Aren't they outraged that their son just killed a 13-year-old girl? It's unbelievable. They should be outraged. Parents have to go into the bedrooms. Find out whether their sons or daughters have guns in their room. Find out whether their sons or daughters are palling around with gangbangers on a block or in a community ... Parents have to do this. They should prevent crime."

Noble sentiments, to be sure. But this is a mayor who has spent his entire life running away from responsibility and throwing other people under the bus when corruption comes knocking at his door. A micro manager who can't remember diddly shit when called for depositions. The entire continuation of the Chicago phenomenon of business getting done on a wink and a nod can be laid at his doorstep.

The Commander's Story

Closing the book on a rumor:

• "I jumped down from the porch and yelled, 'Police! Freeze!'" Wysinger, 44, said Monday. The man turned toward him and fired one shot, Wysinger said. Wysinger grabbed his gun from his holster, returned fire and chased the man down the street.
  
  The man shot again, then tripped. The man fell again, and Wysinger apprehended him.

Mayor Protests the Protestors

No, not Richie:

• A suburban mayor is speaking out against a protest in her village last weekend. That demonstration ended with the arrests of Reverend Jesse Jackson and Father Michael Pfleger. They have led two protests at Chuck's Gun Shop in Riverdale. The mayor there says the demonstrations have cost the village thousands of dollars.
• The mayor says resources spent on protecting protesters' rights and safety will be better spent elsewhere, in particular, trying to prevent gun violence. This was all sparked by an incident over the weekend, a protest of a gun shop in Riverdale.

Of course, until Jesse gets some sort of payoff, he'll keep protesting. The payoff can be in the form of beer distributorships or even corporate donations to his "charities." The fact that he's sucking up city resources in already resource-poor Riverdale means nothing.

Once Again, From the Comments

SCC Disclaimer: This comment was not created by us. We had nothing to do with it other than making sure it complied with our "no naughty words" policy. We know nothing about the situation that gave rise to the comment, nor do we know any of the truth or rumor behind it. We are looking for INFORMATION regarding the situation. Is this clear enough for the tiny brains who are going to slam us anyway? And if you think we're going to post this disclaimer every single time we quote one of our own readers, think again.

From the comments section:

• The Keesing Bandit says----
  
  Four P.O.s and a Sergeant working Special are going to be sparred for "inattention to duty". Supposedly they allowed a party to continue in 1230 N. Larrabee and a shooting occurred at least an hour after they got off work.
  
  The Commander in 018 demanded that the Watch Commander spar the third watch officers for a shooting that happened on the first watch!!!
  
  WTF??????
  
  Parties are not illegal. It may be a CHA lease violation but that is a civil matter, not a criminal one.
  
  Where is Seiser when you need him?
  
  Now, kees me you fool!!!

This looks like a completely winnable grievance to us if the time line works out. How can guys who were already off for a couple of hours be held responsible for a shooting that occurred after they were miles away? If we are going that route, the citizenry has an open door on civil suits against the police for every single shooting that takes place after we turn the corner or any crime that takes place under a camera. The afternoon guys could get sparred by midnight sergeants for every crime that happens near a disturbance they handled. Or anyone doing a contact card or dispersal prior to an Aggravated Battery that takes place on the corner could be tracked down and reprimanded for not doing MORE to alleviate the condition that led to the shooting.

If any of this is spar nonsense is true, someone better step on it before it really starts to affect morale.

Cameras Get One

Finally:

• For the first time, detectives may have solved a killing using video from a police blue-light surveillance camera, the department announced Sunday.

But not because the camera captured the shooting:

• About 470 of the cameras have been installed atop utility poles in high-crime neighborhoods across the city since 2003. Their flashing blue lights are intended to scare off drug dealers and gang members.
• A camera at Keeler Avenue and Cermak Road recorded two men running from a car used in the June 11 shooting of 14-year-old Roberto Duran, police said. A school surveillance camera showed the same car in the 4200 block of West 25th Street minutes earlier when Duran was killed, according to Harrison Area Cmdr. Steve Peterson.

Hopefully, there won't be too many loose ends in this one. The only thing a camera is (as stated previously), is a witness who won't change its story.

8 and 8 or Better?

By removing this distraction early enough before training camp and the season, we feel the Bears have moved up from 7 and 9 territory to an even .500, maybe even 9 and 7 team. If the Bears even win the division, it'll be because everyone else in it sucks pretty badly.

We of course, will be cheering on a Blackhawks team that has made the playoffs something like once in the past decade and doesn't look to improve on that performance any time soon.

Such is our cross to bear.

Jesse Complains

Typical:

• Reverend Jesse Jackson is saying a gun shop owner has a "chokehold" on suburban Riverdale police, after he was arrested Saturday.

  Father Pfleger and Reverend Jackson were charged with criminal trespassing for allegedly blocking the entrance to Chuck's Gun Shop along with other protesters. But Reverend Jackson and Father Pfleger say the owner of the shop, John Riggio, pushed him and that police wouldn't let him file a complaint against Riggio.

  "John Riggio says, 'Arrest these two.' They arrested us for trespassing in a place we never went into," Pfleger said.

  "The power of a gun shop owner to have a chokehold on the police is intimidating," Jackson said.

Evidently, Jackson got his law degree from the same cereal box that he got his "Divinity" sheepskin. For extensive details, we recommend the book "Shakedown" by Ken Timmerman.

Seiser Branches Out

Not content with running just about everything, Seiser has decided to expand:


Sent to us by someone in the 025th District who says this sign is posted in a storefront at the corner of Harlem and Grand. Seiser KNOWS pizza. Unfortunately, Seiser might not know the pizza business:

• [P]izza makers nationwide -- from family run pizzerias to national delivery chains -- are feeling the pinch of escalating costs for an essential ingredient in a hotly competitive, $30 billion-plus industry.

  Block cheddar cheese reached $2.08 a pound Thursday on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, up 78 percent from $1.17 a pound a year ago. At the end of 2006, the price was $1.33. Cheddar is the benchmark for mozzarella. Industry observers attribute the price surge to strong demand coupled with higher milk prices.

Good luck!

We Feel Safer Already

Thank goodness for useless bureaucracies:

• Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced Sunday the launch of a Methamphetamine Manufacturing Registry now operating on the Illinois State Police Web site.The registry, similar to the state's sex offender registry, lists the names of those convicted of manufacturing meth, according to a release from the governor’s office.The registry lists the name, date of birth, offense, conviction date and county where the meth manufacturing took place, the release said. It is set to be updated daily.

Sex Offender Registry? Great idea - very useful along with pictures and addresses and offenses arrested for. But a Meth Offender Registry? We think we recognize the odor of tax dollars being wasted.

What???

From the comments:

• Why is there no mention of the 015th District commander getting involved in a shooting last night. He fired at the bad guy and hit a civilian. If that was one of us ti would be plastered on the front page

Verification please.

Is the Death Penalty an Option?

Please, let it be so:

• The Rev. Jesse Jackson was arrested Saturday at a demonstration outside a south suburban gun shop.

  Prompted by the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old honor student on a Chicago Transit Authority bus, Jackson and other community activists have held several protests at Chuck's Gun Shop in Riverdale in recent weeks. Jackson says the gun shop's proximity to Chicago provides gang members and criminals easy access to firearms.

  At a protest Saturday, Jackson and the Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Catholic priest who oversees a South Side congregation, were arrested when they refused to move away from the gun shop's entrance, police said in a statement. Both were charged with one count of criminal trespass to property.

Now as far as we know and as far as we've heard, none of the guns used to kill Blair Holt or any of the other 30 or so Chicago Public School students was traced to any transactions at Chuck's Gun Shop. If even a single one had been, we're sure the media whores Jackson and Pfleger would have been trumpeting it from the rooftops. That hasn't happened.

And as far as we know, although accusations have been made in the media about Chuck's Gun Shop being a source for illegal firearms, the fact remains that Chuck's Gun Shop hasn't had a license revocation at any governmental level, local, state or Federal.

We'll just bet Chuck's just happens to be the closest gun shop to Jesse's house.

LIDAR Working?

Stolen from the Johnny Law Chronicles:

So what's up with the LIDAR devices in every district? Are they pulling their weight? Or is it another pointless mission keeping cars down and contributing to the near constant backlog in the busy zones?

8 and 8?

A few weeks ago, we predicted that the Bears would be lucky to go 8 and 8 with a giant hole in the front line and facing a Superbowl runner-up schedule.

We will now amend that prediction to 7 and 9 because someone is going to be serving all 8 games of his suspension shortly:

• Arizona police pulled over Chicago Bears Defensive Tackle Tank Johnson early Friday morning and took him to a police station under suspicion of driving while impaired

Paris Hilton has nothing on Tank Johnson.

New Initiative

The Department is willing to try anything to raise the anemic clearance rate:

And we mean anything.

Does Anyone Believe This?

Count us among the doubters:

• Chicago police will soon be able to see what is happening on a Chicago Transit Authority bus without getting on board, NBC5 reported on Thursday.
• New computer upgrades will allow officers to electronically tap into video cameras already installed on city buses.
• Video images viewed in real time will let police dispatchers issue immediate alerts about criminal activity.

First up, who the heck is watching all these cameras? We have a suspicion that the answer is "no one." These things are meant to give the impression of safety and the illusion of deterring crime, but anyone who works the street knows the reality of it - the camera, if it is pointing in the right direction, is merely a witness that doesn't change its story. And more than 99% the time, it isn't catching anything at all.

Second, see as how the PDT's are out of range more often than not and the pool rides so prevalent in Fleet don't even have mounts for the new computers, we're going to bet that actual camera time is overly limited.

But someone somewhere is making some major coin selling these things to the City.

Great Idea for a Website

Run by a regular reader of ours who has claimed the moniker "The Asshat," he has opened up the "crookcountyasa" blog. His aim is to bring to light cases that were denied felony approval for whatever excuse the on duty ASA's could come up with.

Hopefully, he can bring a few of the more egregious incidents to light and highlight the uselessness of the so called "Felony Review," which more and more often just seems to be a place to put connected political lawyers who couldn't make it in the private sector.

Sergeants Lawsuit

We don't often cover issues exclusive to bosses. We know that bosses read this site, but for the most part, we cover stuff of interest to the guys and gals on the front lines. But this kind of affects everyone who hopes to be promoted one day. The Sergeants Association lost their initial appeal in court this week to stop the Lieutenant "re-test" as it utilizes the exact same questions/scenarios as the earlier version, meaning every single person has the questions in advance, undermining the theory of test being an evaluation of "thinking on one's feet."

We don't know who this judge is (Bernetta D. Bush) that ruled for the City, but it's obvious she has no grasp of reality. Here's part of the City's lawyers reasoning to deny the suit that she bought hook, line and sinker (from Second City Sarge):

• 51 of the original tests had technical problems.
  None of the tests had been scored.
  The City’s Attorneys stated this is a fair process. Additionally, there is the 30% meritorious process available to every eligible candidate.

Two of these statements appear to be mutually exclusive. If the City knows there were 51 original tests with "technical problems" how can they say none of the test were graded? The City had these tests for 6 months and nothing got graded? Sorry, but we're calling bullshit on that one. And the 30% meritorious "available" to every eligible candidate? Excuse us while we laugh. And laugh. And laugh some more. A "mericloutorius" position is only available to a certain select few of proper blood lineage and political sponsors.

Here's our theory, based on years of experience and observation of the City promotional processes:

• The tests were graded. And the results didn't turn out anything like what the City had planned. We're talking light years from the City's expectations.
  
• The City dreamed up this "re-test" to provide connected persons with a second opportunity to take what is now a known test - known so well that even Sun Times columnist Mark Brown has the questions and has published them in the newspaper.
• This time, the City has changed the answers instead of the questions. And certain people will have the key words or phrases that will get them that extra point or two since everyone is going to score better this time since they know the test. Certain key words like "notify the Watch Commander" or "a writing instrument" or even "a large pepperoni pizza" will carry the day for connected persons, leaving more "mericloutorious" positions available to the real morons.

And if the City gets away with this for Lieutenant's promotions, who knows what they are going to do for Sergeants and even Detectives? We are so doomed.

Where's the Money?

Two stories, one involving the schools:

• The feds want the Chicago Public Schools to repay at least $16.8 million in federal money earmarked for poor schools because CPS failed to fully staff those schools.
• State education officials have appealed, asking to pay just $1.6 million. They say CPS tried to find applicants but there were few takers.

That money is already spent. Good luck with the feds getting an accurate accounting.

The other incident involves the continued shenanigans of former aldercreature Troutman:

• The alderman who took over indicted former Ald. Arenda Troutman's landmarks committee accused her Wednesday of mysteriously draining the panel's budget before she left office in May.

  Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) said he was amazed when he became chairman of the Committee on Historical Landmark Preservation to learn only $30,000 was left in the committee's $110,000 budget for 2007

The Chicago way continues. Mr. Fitzgerald? Faster please.

Good News

Another set of coppers doing exactly what they are supposed to do - and the media actually covers it:

• Two Chicago police officers from the 6th District were in the area responding to another call when they noticed smoke coming from the building. They called it in and then ran into the building to get people out.

  "As we went up, the smoke got thicker and thicker," said Officer Steven Sanders. "It was hard to breathe but we still kept knocking on doors to get people out of their apartments."

• Officer Sanders graduated from the Chicago Police Academy in May while Officer Griffin has been with the force for six years. Residents from the building have similar messages for the brave officers.

  "Thank you, God bless you, we love you," said resident Priscilla Johnson. "They did a real good job."

They certainly did ma'am.

What the ?!!?

Goofy:

• Barry Cooper sells a DVD on how to stash pot in your car without getting caught. This fall he will release a second one on how to keep police from raiding your home for marijuana.

  Now for the kicker: Cooper is a former narcotics officer once considered among the top cops in Texas, where more marijuana is seized each year than in any other state.

• 'I'm not helping them to break the law. It's clear the law is already being broken,'' said Cooper, 38, who left law enforcement a decade ago. ''I will do anything legal to frustrate law enforcement's efforts to place American citizens in jail for nonviolent drug offenses.''

How about advocating alternative punishment then? ANOV's or tickets for misdemeanor weed - that proposal has already been studied and rejected in Chicago. More boot camps for non-violent offenders? At some point, are marijuana laws going to have to be changed? we're pretty sure that most of the "nonviolent" drug offenders are in for crimes like "trafficking" and similar. No one goes to jail for years for weed unless its heavy weight or a violation.

Post Time!

The horses are approaching the starting gate. The field:

• Sources said the list includes at least five insiders: Chief of Patrol Charles Williams; Deputy Supt. Hiram Grau; Assistant Deputy Supt. Eugene Williams; Chief of Detectives Maria Maher and Assistant Deputy Supt. Deb Kirby, head of the Internal Affairs Division.

  A third woman, Assistant Deputy Supt. Anne Egan, also has a chance of making the final cut.

  Assistant Deputy Supt. Matt Tobias and Frank Limon, chief of the Organized Crime Division, are longer-shot possibilities. First Deputy Police Supt. Dana Starks, who had a strained relationship with Cline, did not apply for the superintendent's job, sources said.

We can eliminate the outsiders automatically. Smart money is moving to Grau with Maher as a close second. Why? Three words:

• Rodriguez, Hillard, Cline

Plain and simple, it's LAPA's turn.

Note: Spelling police appeased - correction made

Shots Fired at Police

Initial report:

• One person was reportedly killed in a police-involved shooting in Rogers Park on the North Side Tuesday night.
• A Chicago Fire Department dispatcher said paramedics are on the scene of 1321 W. Pratt Ave., as of about 8:15 p.m., responding to reports of a gunshot victim. Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said there was one victim on the scene, reportedly dead, and reportedly shot by police. There were no other injuries reported from the scene, Langford said.
• Just prior to the reported shooting victim, police had issued a 10-1 call -- for an officer needing assistance, for shots reportedly being fired at police.
  

Double Standard

If there was any doubt (which there never was in our minds) that the Office of the State's Attorney is a completely political entity, this ought to dispel it for everyone:

• Chicago Police officials are angry that prosecutors refused last week to pursue a felony battery charge against a man accused of beating an off-duty suburban cop and his girlfriend.

  Des Plaines Officer John Bueno and girlfriend Sheila Inserra were attacked May 13 outside a Northwest Side bar, police said. The Cook County state's attorney's office is pursuing a misdemeanor battery charge against Edward Miller, 21, of the 6800 block of North Osceloa.

• Miller was not charged with felony aggravated battery, a separate offense, because the couple were not injured severely enough, O'Brien said. Bueno required three stitches to his nose, and Inserra needed four stitches to the corner of her eye. Bueno may have suffered broken ribs, too, police said.

Not that we'd ever expect someone to use the Office of the State's Attorney as a springboard to further political ambitions, eh?

Body Located

Looks like they didn't have to come up with the spare body:

• A Chicago woman's body has been found, after it was lost by the Cook County Medical Examiners office.
  
  There were more than 210 bodies at the Cook County Medical Examiner's office Tuesday, more than capacity. Officials checked and double-checked each body and found out it was there the entire time.

Seems they've been double stacking the bodies at the morgue while shorthanding the staff. That's the great thing about working with the dead - fewer complaints from the people who end up sharing tray space with another stiff.

Just Wondering

Why is it that in an entire article about the Toddler's cancer operation, no mention at all is made in the Sun Times of the hospital at which he is being treated?

For the record, it isn't St. Roger's.

County Efficiency

Another example of a well oiled government machine:

• A mystery is ongoing at the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office: the body of a woman who died last Friday is missing.

  The funeral home hired by the family of Rosalie Schultz went to the medical examiner's office today to pick up the woman's remains. After several hours of waiting, officials there told the funeral director they could not find Schultz's body.

  The director says understaffing could be to blame for the mix-up.

Understaffing. Great. Someone call the Toddler so he can hire another relative at six-figures to keep track of the dead. Fortunately, there is a solution on the horizon:

• The director apologized for the mix up and promised the Schultz family a replacement dead body of equal or greater emotional value as soon as one became available.

Ok, we made that last part up.

Stay Aware

If ever there was an abject lesson in why we need border security BEFORE a general amnesty, this is it:

• Large teams of newly trained suicide bombers are being sent to the United States and Europe, according to evidence contained on a new videotape obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

  Teams assigned to carry out attacks in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Germany were introduced at an al Qaeda/Taliban training camp graduation ceremony held June 9.

• U.S. intelligence officials described the event as another example of "an aggressive and sophisticated propaganda campaign."

  Others take it very seriously.

Remember, this is the U.S. intelligence apparatus that completely missed the warning signs of 9/11. But regardless, border security FIRST.

Dig Obama Dig!

Not even a week ago, we covered Obama's letter writing to support Tony Rezko getting some $14 million worth of state business.

Now, the wheels are coming off the rims, the spare is flat and road service is days away.

• During his 12 years in politics, Sen. Barack Obama has received nearly three times more campaign cash from indicted businessman Tony Rezko and his associates than he has publicly acknowledged, the Chicago Sun-Times has found.

  Obama has collected at least $168,308 from Rezko and his circle. Obama also has taken in an unknown amount of money from people who attended fund-raising events hosted by Rezko since the mid-1990s.

So does anyone else think Hillary is cackling over her cauldron?

The Wrong Green

From the Tribune:

• Mayor Richard Daley vowed six years ago to make Chicago a leader in emerging efforts to fight global warming, but city government is churning out more heat-trapping pollution every year.
• The city pledged in 2001 to meet the target by planting green roofs, buying renewable power and rehabbing buildings to make them more energy-efficient, among other steps. Yet the city's emissions of global warming pollution have soared since then, according to records that the Tribune obtained under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.

In an effort to make the City more "green," the mayor spearheaded all of these initiatives and ended up NOT reducing emissions. Emissions have climbed. It would seem that the only people seeing any "green" benefits are the connected construction companies building rooftop gardens and various labor unions rewiring and rehabbing buildings.

How about an investigation on that?

Family Secrets Trial

The biggest Outfit trial in history is supposed to begin this week.

• Federal prosecutors have targeted individual Outfit street crews and their leaders in the past, but Family Secrets will essentially put on trial the structure and enterprise that was the Chicago mob during the last few decades.
• Observers are calling the case the most important involving the Chicago mob since Lombardo and three bosses were convicted in 1986 of skimming millions of dollars from a Las Vegas casino.

We're really hoping for a few political blockbusters to be detonated during the trial. Just to see how interwoven Chicago politics are with Chicago mobsters will truly be an eye opener to those who don't remember their local history.

We're also expecting, though not looking forward to, a number of Police department references to be blasted across the front pages. At least one retired cop has been named in the indictments and who knows when Harhardt's name will start appearing.

Hmmmm

The hidden hand of Hillary?

• A Capitol Hill house where Sen. Barack Obama rents an apartment caught on fire Sunday, but a spokesman said the Democratic presidential contender was out of town to celebrate Father's Day.

  The fire appeared to be on the third floor of a town house in northeast Washington, and was likely caused by a faulty ceiling fan, said Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs. Obama rents an apartment on the second floor, Gibbs said.

Ah yes, the old "got the wrong floor" excuse. We think we saw that in a movie once. Watch your back Barrack - she'll stop at nothing to gain power.

RIP Al

Sun Times, Tribune, Channel 2, Channel 5 and Channel 7 coverage.

Initial reports are talking about a fall off of his deck. Some here at SCC knew Al in passing and he was often in the thick of things. You will be missed.

Superintendent Speculation

The transfer order was out this past Friday and quite a few moves in and out of 35th Street. At least 4 lieutenants were moved and upwards of 15 sergeants got new spots. Quite a few of these moves were of people who haven't been outside in years and actually served at HQ for quite a long while.

Here's the speculation though:

• Who will be the first exempts moved when the new supe is installed? Because you know that there are going to be a mess of substitutions. Some of these new moves will be rescinded before the year is out.
• Who will be the resignations? Because rumor has it there will be a boatload of them.
  

Stupid People

We all knew that Jesse Jackson and Mayor Daley were stupid. We just didn't realize how stupid. Check out this article about the weekend anti gun marches:

• Mayor Daley also led an anti-violence march Saturday. Among other things, he said he'd like to see stricter licensing for gun sellers.

  "If a manicurist in a hair salon and a barber need a license, why can't there be one for gun dealers in the suburbs?" the mayor said.

Um, sir? There are licenses for gun dealers. Numerous licenses. And checks. And balances. At the local, state and federal levels. And Jesse isn't much better:

• Reverend Jackson concedes Chuck's Gun Shop has not broken any laws that he's aware of. And that's the point, according to Jackson: He says his repeated marches on the gun shop are less about that particular business than they are about the laws that allow gun shops to sell firearms the way they do.

"[H]as not broken any laws..." Maybe the marches need to be held elsewhere? Like Springfield where they make the laws. Or maybe, just maybe, march in the neighborhoods and tell everyone to stop shooting at one another?

Stop blaming the guns.

Major Media Scoop?

We got some letters today from officers who work Zone 10 (010 and 011 Districts).

Seems the office staff of newly elected Aldercreature Sharon Dixon has been calling the District desks asking if anyone has seen their boss. She's missed two days worth of appointments and isn't returning phone calls and the minions are getting frantic.

Anyone want to confirm or deny?

Great Idea!

This isn't getting much coverage, but has the potential to make a bunch of people uncomfortable, including our mayor:

• The Tancredo Sanctuary Cities Amendment would withhold federal funds allocated for homeland security from any state that has an official "sanctuary policy" that prohibits or restricts government officials from reporting illegal aliens to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

  These policies flout the law by requiring public entities to provide taxpayer-funded services to persons regardless of whether they are in the United States illegally. Even worse, they have allowed convicted criminals to continue to victimize Americans rather than being deported because police were barred from reporting the criminal aliens to immigration authorities.

  In 1996, Congress passed a law that specifically prohibits state and local governments from enacting sanctuary policies. Despite that, cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston, still have sanctuary policies in place.

This could, potentially, void out and entire General or Special Order requiring us to not ask the immigration status of arrestees. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of questions as to what follow up INS would do. They're as shorthanded as any police department in the nation right now.

Clearing the Corners

This is great:

• Chicago Police officers will start "cleaning the corners" of kids violating curfew to curb the annual surge in summer violence, Mayor Daley warned Thursday, as curfew citations skyrocketed.

  Already this year, the Chicago Police Department has issued 11,027 curfew citations, approaching the 12,965 citation figure for all of 2006.

  That will only be the beginning of the citation-and-fine blitzkrieg if Daley has his way.

  Unless they're going to or from work or are accompanied by an adult, kids under 17 are not allowed on the streets after 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

  "I want parents all over to know where their kids are . . . at all times. It isn't up to the Chicago Police at 11 p.m. to walk around and look for your kids. . . . It's up to you to take responsibility," Daley told a news conference at Avalon Park, 1215 E. 83rd St., called to announce an array of safe summer programs for kids.

  "Police are gonna enforce the curfew. ... Police are gonna start cleaning the corners. Don't complain to them because, if there's a drive-by shooting, you'll complain afterwards."

Thank goodness the gloves are finally off. We were wondering when the political administration was going to finally see the error of their ways and reject the "warn and fuzzy" approach to police work. "Clearing the corners" sounds like a great slogan, and we're going to enforce it with a blizzard of paper. Call us crazy, but we just don't see this one working out real well. In fact, we see just one more pointless mission to be foisted off on the Tact, Gang and TRU teams in the DOC while everything else circles the drain. Anyone else?

Ric Flair Strikes Again

Someone get this guy a gold star:

• Chicago Police seized 992 pounds of marijuana Friday evening from the garage of a Southwest Side apartment building.
  
  The stock of drugs, wrapped as if it had recently been shipped, has a street value of $2.7 million, Chicago Lawn District Cmdr. Leo Schmitz said.

That's a lot of weed boys. WOOOO! HOOOOO!!!

Another Shooting

And once again, the police go home safe:

• Chicago police fatally shot a man Thursday after he charged at them with a lead pipe and a meat cleaver in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, police said.
  
  A woman called 911 after seeing the unidentified man, thought to be in his late 20s, pouring lighter fluid on himself in an alley in the 4500 block of South Wood Street about 4:45 p.m, police said.
  
  Two Deering District officers responded, saw the man wielding the pipe and the cleaver and told him to drop the weapons, said Deputy Chief Michael Shields. The officers hit the man with chemical spray, but he lunged at the officers with the weapons, causing both to shoot him, Shields said.

Good job officers.

And the suburbs get into the action too:

• JOLIET -- A man who allegedly stabbed a Joliet police officer with a knife was shot and killed by another officer Wednesday morning, and the dead man may be linked to a knife attack on another man earlier in the day.
  
  About 10:07 a.m. Thursday, a Joliet police officer was flagged down by a man carrying a baby who said a man had tried to stab him in the second floor hallway of an apartment building at 202 E. Cass St., according to a release from police. The officer requested back-up units and upon arrival of two other officers, the man pointed out the offender to the police.
  
  When officers approached the suspect in the hallway, he refused officers' commands to show his hands, the release said, then he suddenly lunged at the first officer, stabbing him in the stomach and chest.

When the job's done, make sure you go home alive.

Bad News Again

A whole bunch of police related stuff in the paper today - mostly crap again:

• A Cicero cop accused of roughing up a driver and another charged with helping to cover it up pleaded guilty Wednesday and promised they'd never again seek careers as police officers.
• Cook County taxpayers stand to pay almost half a million dollars to a couple who were shot at by off-duty sheriff's officers during a 1999 chase.

  The officers had been at a political fund-raiser for former Sheriff Michael Sheahan and at a south suburban bar before they began following Cory Simmons and Dominique Mapp and shooting at them.

And of course, the requisite CPD scandal surfaces again:

• Embattled Chicago Police Officer Jerome Finnigan was charged with 10 more felonies Wednesday alleging he and two other cops stole $450,000 from a man.

  Finnigan, 44, already faces felony charges stemming from his alleged activities on the Chicago Police Department's elite Special Operations Section. Six other SOS officers have also been charged.

The article goes on to state that the alleged $450,000 was split three ways. But only one person was charged with 10 additional felonies. Looks like a whole bunch of cooperation going on somewhere - and deals have been cut.

Aldercreature Bites the Dust

Hooray!

• Former Ald. Arenda Troutman (20th) was indicted Wednesday on one bribery count.

  Troutman is accused of accepting a $5,000 cash bribe and another $5,000 check to a fund benefitting her in exchange for greasing a development while she was in office.

  Troutman was recorded by an informant working for the government. Troutman has denied wrongdoing.

Once again, the rate of aldercreatures indicted (and hopefully convicted) far outstrips the Police Department.

Ramsey Out

And the field narrows:

• Former Washington, D.C., Police Chief Charles Ramsey decided Tuesday not to enter the heated competition to replace retiring Chicago Police Supt. Phil Cline, but the Police Board declined to say who did apply.

  Ramsey became the second high-profile outsider to opt out of the competition as the Police Board closed off applications.

And someone posted in an earlier thread that Cline is gone 12 July. The rumor mill ought to be heating up nicely now.

OPS Revamp Delayed

Politics as usual:

• Mayor Daley's plan to reform an Office of Professional Standards perceived as too cozy with the Chicago Police Department and too protective of rogue officers hit a roadblock today.

  Four aldermen -- Bob Fioretti (2nd), Pat Dowell (3rd), Howard Brookins (21st) and Joe Moore (49th) -- used a parliamentary maneuver to delay consideration of the ordinance even after Daley bent over backward to appease his critics.

• They argued that the mayor's ordinance ignores the problem of police coercion of defendants and witnesses, and is undermined by a police contract tailor-made to shield abusive officers.

Ah, thank goodness for labor contracts that can delay and maybe derail entire swaths of this "rush to reform" without any real debate or input from the rank and file.

Here's the BIG stumbling block:

• But activists have complained the ordinance does not go far enough, saying it favors officers who are accused of misconduct. At a hearing Monday, Locke Bowman, legal director of the MacArthur Justice Center, said unfounded allegations against officers cannot be used in subsequent proceedings -- a provision he said that ignores an officer's history, including that he or she might have been the subject of dozens of prior complaints.

Read that bolded sentence again. Then wonder why everyone from the mayor on down wants you, us and every copper in Chicago to have fewer rights that the scumbags we arrest. When was the last time you ever heard of Defendant ABC having all his previous arrests, convictions or run ins with the police plastered all over his trial?

You haven't, because its prejudicial to the defendant's right to a fair trail. Yet, the "activists" and other liberal asses expect to deny the police that exact same right to a fair and unbiased trial, hearing or whatever. This OPS revamp had better be run through the legal wringer before the City and the "reverends" attempt to circumvent the labor agreement.

NOTE: Yes, we discovered that the bottom paragraphs of this post had somehow been cut off - that has been corrected.

Naughty Guns

More protests over the 24th CPS student killed this year:

• [Roberto Duran] was the 24th Chicago Public Schools student to die this year by gunfire, according to the CPS, which began recording gunfire deaths in 1998.

  The total is one shy of a record 25 shooting deaths during the 2001-02 school year.

• Such recent incidents of deadly violence involving Chicago's youth prompted hundreds of people to join in an anti-violence rally and march in the Auburn-Gresham community Tuesday night. Mayor Daley and the Reverends Michael Pfleger and Jesse Jackson addressed the rally, which also featured a minister of the Nation of Islam and CPS officials, among others.

  "We adults must say, 'Enough is enough!' " Daley shouted to the cheering protesters, demanding more gun control legislation.

Because as everyone knows, it was a fully registered, licensed and legal handgun that ran up of its own accord and shot this poor altar boy. Oh wait:

• In many ways, Roberto "was a typical freshman, but the problem was getting him to show up to school," Martinez said, noting Roberto did not attend class the day he was killed.

  According to relatives, he stopped attending class several weeks ago after a group of boys chased him as he walked to school.

• "He could have been anything, a doctor, a lawyer -- who knows," said Samuel Garcia, a youth mentor with Stroger Hospital of Cook County. "It was not too late, but life got ahold of him, at least the lifestyle here in this community did."

Would that have been the gang banging lifestyle? He was wandering the streets, truant, because he was bored. We are surprised the teachers haven't been blamed for not making the lessons more interesting or the police for not catching him out of school. But every politician and preacher runs to blame the gun and avoids any talk of the shooter, the gangs, the attitude that education doesn't matter. And the politicians and preachers will run and raise money on the body of a child they failed.

We really ought to outlaw guns someday.

Hate Crimes not Equal

What's gotten into the Tribune lately? Has Col. McCormick risen from the grave? Has someone sprinkled roach powder on the editorial staff?

Sunday, they cover the Christian/Newsom murders in Knoxville, probably the first of the mainstream media outlets to do so (The New York Times sill hasn't).

Today, John Kass addresses the disparity in media coverage when roles are reversed.

• I've been in this business long enough to know that we tap dance around such stories, hesitant, uncomfortable, insecure, vulnerable to an in-house charge of racism for reinforcing ugly stereotypes.
  
  By contrast, hateful white-on-black crime is easy to report as a cultural event. We're secure in it, eager, because we all know our parts as acolytes in the rigidly defined ritual, the victims, reporters, commentators, even the consumers of the news.
  
  Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton appear to carry the story forward. They know their roles and play them well. The cameras click. Editors dispatch think pieces on race in America. TV talking heads offer commentary and what are called "town meetings" and "national conversations on race." Special-interest advocates use the media time to argue for racial preferences in academic admissions and hiring. Politicians mouth their platitudes. Editorials chant conventional wisdom.

As cops, we're in the prime seats to observe this drama first hand. And we're sure it contributes to bunches of stereotypes, animus, and feeds various feelings towards all people. We're surprised the Tribune, so recently sliding and rolling around in the liberal mud, even approached these subjects at all.

Note: comments will be heavily regulated for this post

Spin Obama Spin!

As the wheels slowly fall off the Obama campaign:

• As a state senator, Barack Obama wrote letters to city and state officials supporting his political patron Tony Rezko's successful bid to get more than $14 million from taxpayers to build apartments for senior citizens.
• The letters appear to contradict a statement last December from Obama, who told the Chicago Tribune that, in all the years he's known Rezko, "I've never done any favors for him.''
• Two years ago, the two men were involved in a real estate deal that Obama later apologized for, calling it "boneheaded'' and a "mistake'' because the transaction occurred while Rezko was widely known to be under federal investigation. Rezko's wife paid full price for a vacant lot in Chicago's historic Kenwood district on the same day Obama bought the mansion next door from the same property owner for $300,000 below the asking price. Rezko's wife subsequently sold a sliver of the land to Obama.

For want of a fence, a crooked real estate deal was hatched. Because of this deal, a lie was told. Obama may yet be the democratic nominee because of the anti-war left, but the truth about this entire deal will doom a national campaign. And we'll bet money the leaks are all coming from Hillary's people.

We Got Nothing

Sorry for the lack of posting this evening - feeling a bit under the weather.

In the meantime, open post for all sorts of stuff. We'll try to pick up the pace in the morning

Bad News Coming

Just when you think it couldn't get any worse:

• Mayor Daley’s plan to restore public confidence in investigations of Chicago Police wrongdoing cleared its first legislative hurdle today amid claims that the new Office of Professional Standards is not independent enough. [...]
  

  The new OPS director would now have broader subpoena power and be free to investigate allegations of verbal abuse by police officers based upon a person’s race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or sexual identity.

And this is even better:

• And instead of investigating only those incidents involving discharge of a firearm “at a person,” the new OPS would be empowered to investigate “discharge of a firearm, stun gun or Taser in a manner which could potentially strike an individual” as well as injuries that occur in police custody.

Correct us if we're wrong, but the only circumstances in which one discharges a "firearm, stun gun or Taser" is to potentially strike someone, be it a resister, assailant or nut job with a knife.

So the "new and improved" OPS is going to investigate every single instance? Where are these investigators going to come from? Where's the money budgeted for this monstrosity? What does their training curriculum look like? And if they have subpoena powers, at what point do our 5th Amendment protections kick in? Just a few questions that the Department and the FOP ought to be asking and answering.

The Death Penalty Works?

Imagine if this ever received real exposure in public:

• Anti-death penalty forces have gained momentum in the past few years, with a moratorium in Illinois, court disputes over lethal injection in more than a half-dozen states and progress toward outright abolishment in New Jersey.
  
  The steady drumbeat of DNA exonerations - pointing out flaws in the justice system - has weighed against capital punishment. The moral opposition is loud, too, echoed in Europe and the rest of the industrialized world, where all but a few countries banned executions years ago.
  
  What gets little notice, however, is a series of academic studies over the last half-dozen years that claim to settle a once hotly debated argument - whether the death penalty acts as a deterrent to murder. The analyses say yes. They count between three and 18 lives that would be saved by the execution of each convicted killer.

Now we are aware that there are lies, damn lies and statistics. And it amuses us to no end that people outside of the liberal media and academia are finally taking a closer look at statistics and finding that the results trumpeted for so long are generally complete BS (see the global warming debate).

We really have no idea if the results of this study truly indicate that the death penalty deters crime - what we do know is that in the case of every single executed individual, not one has returned from the grave to commit another murder.

Suffolk County is Hiring

Any takers?

• EAST ISLIP, N.Y. - The exam isn't until Saturday, but 29,300 people apparently have already done the math. With a starting salary more than double that of the nearby NYPD — and potential patrols on sandy beaches or quiet suburban streets — tens of thousands of potential recruits have plunked down a $100 entrance fee to take the Suffolk County Police Department entrance exam.
• It is believed to be one of the largest numbers of applicants to ever sign up for a police test in the United States.

This flies in the face of recent hiring trends for police jobs nationwide. One has only to look at the drop off in applicants for the CPD to see that big city police jobs are rapidly becoming among the least desirable around. Funny how big cities seem to be hotbeds of liberal social programs and declining interest in police jobs.

The Politics of Guns

This is stupid:

• A deadly shooting on a CTA bus is now the inspiration for a new proposed federal law to keep guns out of the wrong hands. Congressman Bobby Rush plans to name it after the heroic teenager who died in the crime.
• The bill, called “Blair’s Bill,” would require licensing of all individuals who own guns, and create a national registry tracking gun sales and ownership. Congressman Bobby Rush, who has also been personally affected by gun violence, plans to introduce it in Washington later this week.

Bobby Rush was personally affected by gun violence in that he perpetuated it and advocated it as a member of the black panthers. You reap what you sow Bobby, and your son and nephew were heavily involved in the gang and narcotics culture, so death by violence or being convicted of visiting violent death on others is part of the harvest you helped foster.

And just how is Bobby going to register some almost 250 million guns in existence when the government has admitted that they can't even register and monitor 12 million illegal aliens? Is Bobby advocating home invasions to force people to register?

And does he somehow think that the assholes who shot Blair Holt are going to somehow register all of their guns?

Grandstanding again by someone who is part of the problem - and part of the original problem to boot.

Update to Below Shooting

Guess who's to blame again?

• Just then, a police car was driving west on 71st, taking a suspect to a station, and two officers jumped out. Seconds later, Derrick Traylor Jr. -- who is supposed to graduate today from Robeson High School -- allegedly turned toward police, gun in his hand.

  He was shot three times.

  "They just jumped out of the car and shot him," a sobbing aunt said. "He would've stopped if they'd said, 'freeze.' "

  Police say they told him to drop the gun before firing.

• And while the Traylor family acknowledged there was blame to be shared, word that a teenager had been shot by an officer sent waves through an Englewood neighborhood dotted by vacant lots, abandoned houses and signs pleading "Stop. Killing People." As crime-scene tape was lifted, rumblings began in the crowd, with talk of officers involved in other shootings and videotaped barroom beatings

Yup, those damn polices, shooting yet another completely innocent altar boy who was just out expressing his discontent with his father in the accepted Englewood fashion.

Shootings

A couple over the weekend.

• A man shot to death Saturday night by Chicago police has been identified.

  Officers say they shot 34-year old Shannon Kraft after he came at them with a machette and a bayonet.

  Police had gone to his home on West Winnemac after receiving a call about a man with knives. Officers say they were searching Kraft's home, when they opened one door and found him.

• A father and son exchanging gunfire on an Englewood street ended with the son allegedly being shot by police and taken to the hospital in serious condition.

  A domestic dispute between the family members erupted into gunfire in the 7100 block of Peoria Streets about 4 p.m., police News Affairs Deputy Director Pat Camden said.

  Englewood District officers driving in the area heard gunfire and saw the son, an 18 year old, allegedly firing shots. Police told the young man to drop his gun, but he allegedly refused and turned toward police with his gun, and police were forced to fire their weapon.

Officers are all ok, so that's good. And Camden is doing what he does best, speaking in front of the cameras instead of lending his name to that propaganda site.

Hello? Investigative Reporters?

We covered this incident a few weeks ago.

• Police and local officials are cracking down on illegal drag racing at the Crawford Industrial Park, which is from 41st to 47th streets between Pulaski Road and Keeler Avenue.
  
  On May 20, police made a sweep of the area, targeting illegal drag racers.
  
  The sweep, code named “Fast and Furious,” netted more than 150 cars being towed from the vicinity, several arrests and the issuance of more than $30,000 in tickets and fines.
  
  An army of tow trucks, public and private, were required to work through the night to remove the vehicles.
  
  “Ald. Burke called upon one of the largest crackdowns ever in the history of the 14th Ward,” said Donal Quinlan, spokesperson for Burke.

We're just wondering (again) who is going to take the fall when it comes out that this entire operation seems to have been conducted in violation of City ordinances.

First up, we doubt that there is ANY evidence whatsoever that the 150 towed cars were drag racing. Even at a bare minimum of 3 minutes per race between two cars (taking into consideration line up, start, finish, clearing of the "track," and settling of wagers) we're talking almost 4 hours of racing. That's unrealistic.

Second, we point to the fact that under City ordinance, if the driver of a vehicle is or appears on scene, a tow truck driver is REQUIRED to allow them to remove their vehicle from the premises. A tow company (or the police) cannot hold a car hostage or detain a car for an available tow truck in this case. The owner of the property can sign a complaint form for tickets, but even the property owner isn't permitted to keep the cars.

Third, the hints of impropriety in allowing a politically heavy tow company to literally "steal" 150 cars under the guise of the drag racing statute, make it almost inevitable that the CPD is going to be left holding the bag should a scandal hit.

We're really tired of being the media's punching bag when stupid bosses and their even stupider political masters leave us holding the short, shitty end of the stick. Why doesn't some reasonably competent journalist make a name for themselves by exposing a bit of this bullshit? Maybe there isn't anyone worthy of the title anymore.

No Training Officers

This story only covers the half of it:

• Chicago continues to struggle in attracting veteran police officers to become trainers for rookies, a top police official says.

  The city's budget contains money for 265 field training officers. But when a new class of 30 trainers takes the street soon, the total will reach only 155, Deputy Supt. Charles Williams said.

What does that tell anyone about the Field Training Officer position? In the right hand tool bar, right below the SCC flag, we wrote about the FTO program back in September of last year. It hasn't improved at all. Does anyone have any realistic proposals to improve the FTO job? It's arguably the most important job in the entire Department, but no one wants it.

Bad Timing

Oops:

• A group aimed at ending violence kicked off 'Cease Fire Week' Saturday. Cease Fire, a community organization, has worked since 2000 to end violence, especially shootings.

And then this happens:

• Police said a man and a woman were shot and critically wounded in a building at the Cabrini-Green housing development on the early Saturday, hours after three people were shot at a party in the same neighborhood.

Maybe if they outlawed handguns... Oh wait a minute.

How Noble!

Next, we'll hear that they "Feel our pain"

• Chicago's $98,125-a-year aldermen voted themselves a cost-of-living pay raise last summer -- and gave themselves political cover by approving the subsequently vetoed big-box minimum wage ordinance on the same day.

  But that doesn't mean they're too big to sacrifice.

  Friday, the City Council's Finance Committee approved a mandatory furlough plan for 3,273 city managers -- and voluntarily added aldermen to the list of those giving up one day's pay to help plug a mid-year budget shortfall.

We've got an even better idea - in addition to giving up an entire day's pay, why don't the aldercreatures contribute one day's bribe money or one day's worth of crooked contracts and land deals. That'd close Daley's budget gap instantly.

TASERs for Everyone!

From the Sun Times:

• Despite a handful of deaths blamed on Tasers nationally, the Chicago Police Department will equip about 150 field training officers with the stun guns -- in addition to 200 of the devices that sergeants have been using for about five years.

  Deputy Supt. Charles Williams said he can envision a day when every Chicago Police officer is equipped with a Taser.

We can't see that day coming, because the City will never spend the amount of money it'd take to outfit every single beat car with at least one TASER. And we are starting to wonder if officers are being given too many options - mace, baton, TASER, gun, not to mention the always present option of "hands on." Does anyone else worry about equipment overload? Maybe hesitation when choosing between options? And if you lose one option to a bad guy, are officers able to step up and switch tactically? Instantly?

A sergeant told us that if a bad guy gets a hold of a TASER, the Use of Force model immediately steps up to "lethal force" because the bad guy can potentially disarm any officer on the scene of his sidearm. Does anyone really want to be the test case for that one?

Cardinal Smacks Pfleger

Finally, some action on the Pfool, Pfleger:

• Cardinal Francis George has taken an unusual step: issuing a statement about the Archdiocese of Chicago’s activist priest, the Rev. Michael Pfleger, for comments he made at an anti-gun rally.

  It is the latest episode in longstanding tensions between George and Pfleger, who have clashed over everything from doctrine to politics.

And rest assured, if Pfleger steps out of line again, the Cardinal will issue ANOTHER strongly worded memo. It's just like the United Nations. A blizzard of paper and memos and denunciations. And nothing changes.

Negotiations Begin

With the current labor contract expiring in 22 days or so, lists of proposals are being collected, debated and published.

From the FOP website, there is a 2 page summary and a 43 page comprehensive list of proposals. The Sun Times also covers the story:

• Chicago Police officers are demanding a 24 percent pay hike over four years and a $3,000-a-year residency stipend to compensate them for being forced to live and send their kids to school in the city.

  The Fraternal Order of Police is also seeking a reduction in merit promotions -- from 20 percent to 16 percent -- and a guarantee that promotional exams will be administered and graded on the same day.

  To prevent the Chicago Police Department from depleting the ranks of the 25 districts, the union wants to cap at 5 percent the number of officers transferred out of units or districts.

The Sun Times is merely an overview of a few headline grabbing proposals guaranteed to stir up the blood of the populace. There's some good stuff in here and some bad. We'll let some of the comments speak for themselves as we digest this thing. We've got some phone calls to make.