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Chicago, Illinois, is President Obama's hometown. It is a city where Democrats have been in charge for decades. It is a city with some of the most restrictive gun-control laws in the country. How's that working out? Woman Mentioned The Wrong Gang In Chicago, Gets Brutally Assaulted. I hate to blame the victim but don't hang around with these degenerates in Chicago. Gang members will kill you if you even mention or put a shout-out to a rival gang. [Video clip] Chicago's mayor has ended the ShotSpotter system that helped direct cops to gunfire. A truism about police is that they usually arrive on the scene too late to stop a crime. This isn't their fault. When it comes to gun crimes, people first find safety and then call the police. In Chicago, though, the ShotSpotter system changed that dynamic. Monitors mounted on poles used technology to locate gunshots and notify the police. The system worked, but Chicago's hard-left mayor, Brandon Johnson, allowed the contract with ShotSpotter to expire. Although the mayor complains about the system's price (which he gets wrong) and about a corporation making money, his real problem is that it's "racist," because it mostly captures shootings in minority neighborhoods. Chicago's leftist mayor cancelling gunshot detection contract because he's beholden to his ideology. Chicago, in Brandon Johnson, has a leftist idealogue as its mayor. Not surprisingly, he's failing. Take away his far-left beliefs, "Branjo" is a big empty suit, one tailored by his former employer, the radical Chicago Teachers Union. As I discussed last week, Johnson was a backer of the Defund the Police movement, until after he made it to the runoff round of last year's mayoral election. Johnson's approval rating is 25 percent. Crime was the biggest issue of the 2023 campaign. While murders are down slightly, the crime numbers remain horrible. People don't feel safe, despite the minimalizing of lawbreaking by Chicago's weak-kneed media. Despite 33 of Chicago's 50 alderpersons voting to continue the city's contract with ShotSpotter, a gunfire detection system deployed in high-crime areas, Branjo is putting ShotSpotter on mute. While there are critics of ShotSpotter on the left and right, the general belief of people possessing open minds — meaning people aren't extreme left-wingers — is that ShotSpotter works. A University of Chicago Crime Lab study said that there is a "3-in-4 chance that the technology saves about 85 lives per year." Chicago School District In Shambles As Teachers Union Thwarts Major Change That Could Help Turn Fortunes Around. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is attempting to block the closing of "empty" and "failing" public schools in Chicago despite experts calling for closures and consolidations, according to a Monday report from Wirepoints, an Illinois nonprofit. Many public schools in Chicago are facing various issues, such as a steep decline in enrollment, budgetary stresses and "emptying" schools, according to the report from Wirepoints. While experts are calling for closures or consolidation of schools in the district, CTU have opposed the idea of potential closures and instead are calling for the school district to hire more employees, according to Wirepoints. Arrival of Tren de Aragua in the Windy City sets the stage for bloody turf wars. A reformed Chicago gangster sounds the alarm on what's brewing in the Windy City: a metropolis "up in flames" and a bloody turf war of "blacks" versus "migrants." Tyrone Muhammad was once a Chiraq gangbanger whose life changed after he spent twenty years in a state prison for a murder conviction. Since his release, he's devoted his energy to street patrols and violence prevention, starting a group known as Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change, and he's warning the public about what he sees as a very real possibility if the Biden-Harris illegal aliens continue to be given the free rein on our tax dollars and in our nation. 4 killed in shooting on CTA Blue Line train in Forest Park. Four people were killed in a Monday morning shooting on a CTA Blue Line train in Forest Park, the west suburban village's police said. Officers were dispatched to the Forest Park Blue Line station, 711 Des Plaines Ave., at 5:27 a.m. Monday after someone called 911 to report three people were shot on a train, Forest Park police said in a statement. Three people were pronounced dead at the scene, police said, and a fourth shooting victim was pronounced dead soon after at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. The ages and identities of the victims were not disclosed, but a representative for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office confirmed the four fatalities. Forest Park police said a suspect was later taken into custody on the Pink Line by Chicago Police officers and a weapon was recovered. Chicago's Jeanette Taylor. We don't hear much about the 20th Ward's DSA alderman, but she is actually more inflammatory than her party colleagues[.] Of the 50 aldermen seated in the Chicago City Council, six are acknowledged Democratic Socialists. One DSA, the foul-mouthed Jeanette Taylor of the 20th Ward, often flies under the radar. Situated on the South Side, the 20th Ward comprises the Back of the Yards, Woodlawn, and Washington Park neighborhoods. The ward has a checkered history. Scholars of the City Council know that since 1973, an astonishing 38 members of the City Council have been sentenced to federal prison. Two wards, the 31st on the Northwest Side, and the 20th, have seen three of its aldermen establish residency in the "House of Many Doors." Willie Cochran, Taylor's predecessor in the Council, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2019. Woman Accused of Attempted Murder on Chicago Train Released on Electronic Monitoring. Despite a recent ruling by a federal judge, concealed carry is still prohibited for most folks on the buses and trains run by the Chicago Transit Authority (the named plaintiffs in the case are the lone exception, at least for the time being). And despite the prohibition on carrying guns, knives, or any other weapons on public transportation, riders continue to be targeted by violent criminals who pay no mind to the CTA's policy. Chicago Democrats wield the taxation sledgehammer and smash the low-income black communities. So much for the schtick that progressive tax policies won't impact anyone struggling to survive in this economy! According to a piece out at Crain's Chicago Business, Cook County Democrats recently hiked property taxes across the board, with increases larger than any other in nearly three decades. Of course, on the southside of Chicago, the hardest hit were the low-income blacks. [...] A person making $24,500 per year, living in an inherited home, could easily be taxed into poverty, and forced to sell a property they own outright, because they can't afford the tax bills; progressive politicians are taxing people out of their own homes, and as always, the hardest hit are those on the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder. Chicago Resident Issues Chilling Warning to Armed Venezuelan Gangs. Brutal gang wars may soon be on the horizon in Chicago thanks to border czar Kamala Harris' intentional dereliction of duty. As The Gateway Pundit reported Libs of Tik Tok shared, a shocking 911 call on X that revealed 32 armed Venezuelan migrants were attempting to overtake an apartment complex in Chicago last night. [Tweet] This news comes just a week after Venezuelan gangs took over apartment complexes in Aurora, Colorado, a city just 9 miles outside of Denver. Shortly after the news broke, a Chicago resident posted a video on Tiktok that raises cause for concern that rampant gang violence could break out unless the Venezuelans are swiftly removed (not likely to happen). 'Shocking' Attack on Chicago-Area Subway Train Kills Four. A shooting on a subway train outside Chicago on Labor Day morning left four people dead, police said. Three people were pronounced dead at the Forest Park station, an above-ground stop on the Chicago Transit Authority's Blue Line. The fourth victim died at a hospital. The suspect got away but was subsequently arrested on a train on a different route, Forest Park police said. Four subway riders shot dead in Chiraq. Illinois, one of the most gun-regulated states in the Union, still can't keep gun crime down. [Tweet] Confronting Chicago's Twin Financial Crisis. Chicago is facing a twin financial crisis with the city and schools looking at massive budget deficits next year. Both are facing budget deficits approaching $1 billion. There is a pathway out of the current financial quagmire that can address these financial challenges while simultaneously expanding quality of school choices for all families, regardless of family income. This involves radically decentralizing Chicago Public Schools (CPS), removing the Chicago Teachers Union's (CTU) stranglehold over the district, and phasing out the city's massive school subsidies. Chalkbeat Chicago projects the CPS deficit at a staggering $933 million if teachers and principals are awarded a modest four percent annual salary increase and the district picks up the $175 million payment to cover the pensions of school district non-teaching staff. The CTU, however, is demanding for an outlandish nine percent in annual increases and city employees' annual received increases of five percent. Therefore, the deficit is likely to balloon to over $1 billion. The Pending Implosion of Chicago Public Unions, No City is More Deserving. Chicago has a budget deficit of nearly $1 billion. Tack on another $2.9 billion for a proposed teachers' contract plus an unknown amount for firefighters. [...] Johnson proposes a "short-term, high-interest loan to pay for a CTU contract." Then what? Let's give credit where credit is due. No matter how stupid you think Chicago's mayor is, every election the city manages to find someone worse. Even Lori Lightfoot was better than this. However, any thinking person knew this in advance. Johnson was hand picked by the CTU to screw the city, screw the taxpayers, screw the corporations, and screw the kids. Chicago Plans to Launch City-Run Grocery Stores. As grocery store chains such as Aldi, Walmart, and Whole Foods have fled Chicago due to an increase in theft, Chicago is planning to launch a city-run grocery store. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has commissioned a study looking into creating grocery stores operated by the City of Chicago. HR&A Advisors did the study, and the research concluded that Chicago could establish three stores in the city to combat "food deserts" in the Windy City. The Editor says... 3-in-10 Chicago public school teachers send their children to private school. Nearly 31% of public school teachers in Chicago send at least one of their children to private school, according to federal data. The leader of the Chicago Teachers Union sends her oldest child to a private school, too. The fact that so many public schools teachers are choosing private schools for their children is according to an original analysis of data from the 2018-2022 American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample, compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau. What does it mean for a city if 3-in-10 of its public school teachers choose to pay for private school rather than send their child to a public school like where they teach? It could mean these children need something different from the public school model. It could also mean teachers in the system know firsthand the school system is failing its students, and they want better for their own children. Hmmm. Crime is out of control in Chicago. Whose fault is that? The Editor says... School Worker Sentenced To Nearly 10 Years Prison For Stealing $1.5 Million In Chicken Wings. A south suburban school worker has pled guilty to stealing $1.5 million worth of food, mainly chicken wings. [...] Vera Liddell was the food service director for Harvey School District 152. Cook County prosecutors accused her of stealing massive amounts of food meant for take-home meals for students learning remotely during the pandemic. [Video clip] CBS Camera Crew In Chicago Captures A Real-Time Looting At A Foot Locker. A local CBS affiliate in Chicago was absolutely flabbergasted after their cameraman caught several people casually looting a Footlocker after smashing in the front window. We're told that no police are on the scene right now, and Dave, we can actually see people..." the baffled female reporter begins, as three looters nonchalantly load up their arms with shoeboxes and calmly walk away with the stolen merch. [Video clip]
More Blacks Resisting the Narrative: National Assoc. of Black Journalists Hosts Conversation With Trump. As I covered extensively on Saturday, the dam is breaking in terms of Blacks and their presumed lockstep support of the Democrat Party. This is particularly prescient among Black men, who have become quite vocal about no longer supporting the party and its aims, which are counter to their concerns and issues. Fox Digital interviewed attendees at a July 27 Grand Rapids, MI, Trump Rally, and they sounded off about what the Democrat Party gets wrong about them. Something else is causing a stir among the Black intelligentsia. Some are highly upset that the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) plans to have a conversation with former President and GOP nominee Donald Trump at their annual Convention & Career Fair in Chicago. Roosevelt University Program Restricted To Black Males Challenged By Equal Protection Project. The Equal Protection Project (EPP) (EqualProtect.org) of the Legal Insurrection Foundation has challenged numerous racially discriminatory programs done in the name of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This discrimination comes in various ways, but the overarching theme is to exclude or diminish some people and promote others, based on race, color, or ethnicity. We have filed over thirty complaints and legal actions since launch in February 2023, with over half the schools withdrawing or modifying the discriminatory programs. Almost all of our actions have addressed discrimination in higher education. In our latest action, we have filed a Civil Rights Complaint (full embed at bottom of post) with the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education, against Roosevelt University (Illinois) regarding a race-based program for black [C]hicago males. Chicago Mayor Governs as a Tribal Chieftain. In the 14 months since he was sworn in as Chicago mayor, Brandon Johnson has revealed much about himself. To the lament of residents, what we've seen is troubling for voters who had hopes Johnson would unite the city. When Johnson finds himself in trouble — much of it his own creation — the mayor falls back on race to defend himself. Last October, when asked about the migrant crisis and if he had plans to visit the southern border, Johnson lashed out in a hysterical tone: "And I'm doing all of that with a black wife raising three black children on the West Side of the city of Chicago. I am going to the border as soon as possible." Shortly after his outburst, Johnson cancelled his planned journey to the southern border. Yet despite his family constraints, the mayor traveled to Los Angeles in February for a African American Mayors Association meeting — he was accompanied by four bodyguards and three other city employees. The mayor was just 150 miles from the southern border, but rather than finding time to visit, Johnson instead, presumably with his entourage, attended the Grammy Awards in downtown LA when he was away from the conference. 'God Bless the Blackest City in the World'. Chicago celebrated 'Juneteenth' with 40 shootings. The Windy City kept up a Father's Day weekend in which 71 people were shot by fatherless young men in a city where 8 out of 10 black children are born to single mothers. And in which it's all the fault of "systemic racism". Over in Daley Plaza, Mayor Brandon Johnson (pictured above) raised the 'Juneteenth flag' created by an activist who wanted the black parts of Boston to secede and form a new city named 'Mandela'. But who needs Mandela, when you've got Chicago? "God bless the blackest city in the world," Johnson, a radical who has presided over massive crime and enjoys an approval rating of 28%, declared. With a 28% black population, Chicago isn't even the blackest city in Illinois, let alone the U.S. or the world. And the black population has fallen by 400,000 since the 80s. Hispanics are actually the second largest group in Chicago, but since 60% of them disapprove of him, it's understandable why he didn't want to mention them. Or the 68% of white people who oppose the former teachers' union operative. Chicago's Mayor Blames Richard Nixon For The Out Of Control Shootings In His City. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson blames Richard Nixon after over 100 people were shot, 17 fatally, during the July 4th weekend. "...We had a chance 60 years ago to get at the root causes, and people mocked President Johnson, and we ended up with Richard Nixon..." At least 100 people were shot, 17 fatally, during the July 4th weekend in Mayor Brandon Johnson's Chicago. [Video clip] Mayor Johnson's Call for Reparations Ignores Chicago's Most Serious Problems. Let's state the obvious: Slavery in America was an abomination and the institutional racism that followed for the next century, including segregation, lynchings, Jim Crow laws, and housing discrimination, was disgraceful as well. In Chicago, racial covenants, redlining, discriminatory contract home sales, as well as overt bigotry, were widespread decades ago. In contrast, Illinois was never a slave state. Over 250,000 Illinoisans fought in the Civil War to preserve the Union and end slavery, and over 30,000 of them perished in that conflict. Racial covenants were ruled to be unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 and the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 made redlining illegal, and the swindles of contract home sales became much more difficult to implement because of the protections those laws offered. Think about it: Someone who was 18 when the Community Reinvestment Act became law reached retirement age this year. The socioeconomic situation people are born into, whether they are on the long end or the short end of the stick, is not their responsibility. And the better people — and I believe that's a strong majority — hope everyone succeeds, regardless of race. 4 Illegals From Venezuela Choke And Rob A Man On A Train In Chicago. A new video exclusively obtained by Fox shows the moment a group of Venezuelan migrants attacked and robbed a 49-year-old man while he rode a Chicago commuter train in February. The violent knifepoint attack saw one of the migrants put the man in a vicious chokehold, leaving the victim unconscious, although he later recovered. The suspects were arrested and appeared in court today. Three have been ordered to remain in custody while one was let out on electronic monitoring. [Video clip] One Country, Two Different Cities. I have lived in Chicago for over twenty years. [...] I, along with three million residents, call it our home. However, the home has lost its function to protect its residents' safety and quality of life — drive-by shootings, murders, daytime robberies, lootings, and other disturbances in public places have ruined, or deeply affected Chicagoans' lives. It is time the residents stopped tolerating such public nuisances and held the city officials accountable. In my daily take of the Red Line, loitering, loud talking, eating, sleeping, shouting, cursing, smoking, standing on chairs, and video-playing are routine occurrences. Certain passengers even make the train their home, eating, sleeping, and urinating, creating inconvenience and health hazards to thousands of riders each day. Former Chicago Democrat Alderman Ed Burke Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Corruption. Former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke, who was once one of the most powerful officials in the city, was handed a two-year prison sentence Monday after his conviction on corruption charges in December. Burke was arrested on charges of federal racketeering, bribery, and extortion for using his powerful position at city hall to elicit lucrative contracts for his company by extorting businesses into hiring his law firm in exchange for favorable outcomes on requests for property tax appeals, business permits, and other city services. [Advertisement] On December 21, the former alderman was convicted on all 13 counts of racketeering; corruptly soliciting, demanding, accepting, or agreeing to accept things of value; using an interstate facility to promote unlawful activity; and attempted extortion. Chicago Ranks as One of the Worst Run-Cities. [Scroll down] The cost of living and taxes have forced people out of the city. Yeah the city has 2.7 million, barely holding on as America's third-largest city, "but it's a quarter smaller than it was about a half-century ago." Those who stay in the city make way less than the national median household income. Over 50% of the residents live in poverty. One Chicago resident left the city when it doubled her property taxes in 2023, totaling over $7,100. The property taxes went up 1,000% in 20 years! Then again, people have been fleeing Illinois for years because of taxes and spending, and it's corrupt. I'm shocked Chicago ranked 45th under safety. It's a violent city. Number of homeless Chicagoans jumped by 200% over a year-long period. The latest "point-in-time" study finds that the number of homeless Chicagoans jumped by 200% over a year-long period beginning in early 2023. With the annual survey used by the federal government to track such trends, researchers also note that as more than 35,000 migrants poured into the city, the number of individuals living in city shelters or on city streets tripled and the number of longtime homeless residents spiked by 25%. In all, nearly 19,000 people lacked a permanent place to sleep at the time of the survey after the number of unhoused individuals across the city had largely held steady over the prior decade. Chicago issues formal apology to Black citizens, creates task force on reparations. The city on Monday issued a formal apology to Black Chicagoans for the harm that slavery, Jim Crow laws and present-day policies have had on them and their descendants. The acknowledgement is included in Executive Order 2024-1, signed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, creating a "Reparations Task Force to develop a Black Reparations Agenda" that will ultimately offer recommendations on remedies to the polices that have harmed African Americans in Chicago for generations. He previously earmarked $500,000 in the city budget to study the issues. [...] A few cities around the country, including San Francisco, Detroit and Asheville, North Carolina, have launched similar efforts to study the legacy of slavery and systemic racism. Evanston in 2021 became the first U.S. city to make reparations available to its Black residents for past discrimination. A conservative activist group earlier this month filed a legal challenge to the program. Teacher contract negotiations set to begin in Chicago — they want 'climate action' for 'green' schools. If progressive Democrats remain designated as the custodians of education and learnedness, we're doomed. In March of this year, I wrote a blog on the impending expiration of the employment contract between the city of Chicago and its teachers — that agreement has now expired, and the two parties are set to enter into official re-negotiations this Friday. As we're only a few days out, we've gotten a glimpse into the demands from the teachers, and though the absurdity isn't surprising, it's still absurd; the fact that these people are not qualified to mold the minds of our youth, based on their ludicrous proposals alone, needs to be iterated. Let's Check in on How Things Are Going in the DNC's Host City. Yesterday we told you about the illegal immigrant living in Chicago who was arrested nine times in nine months for various crimes, getting released back onto the street every time until he finally committed a more serious felony. This is how things go when pro-crime "progressive" policies meet pro-illegal immigration "sanctuary" policies. It's a caricature of dysfunction and lawlessness. While some Chicago Democrats have started rebelling against this approach to governance, even calling to rescind the city's sanctuary status, others are burying their heads in the sand. One elected official, for instance, has decided to simply stop posting crime alerts, because doing so creates a bad 'perception.' [...] Chicago's new mayor not only isn't keen on fixing the city's budget disaster, he's literally bought and paid for by a radical teachers union that is trying to fleece taxpayers for even more money with insane new contract demands, guaranteeing even more ruinous city finances. Is it projection or just horse hockey? I can't tell. Over 71 People Were Shot In Liberal-Run Chicago This Weekend. Chicago had at least 71 people shot, including nine fatally, from Friday evening to Monday morning. There were 47 people shot, seven fatally, over the weekend, and 24 shot, two fatally from midnight to 5 a.m. Monday. There were two mass shootings just over an hour apart early Monday morning. [Video clip] The Editor says... Chicago's criminals emboldened over cop shortages, no-cash bail, and a Soros prosecutor. Chicago, not surprisingly, is coming apart at the seams. While recently propped up a bit by COVID relief money, which will run out next year, Chicago, because of massive unfunded pension liabilities, is essentially bankrupt. Its streets and roads are in terrible shape. Riding on Chicago's buses, and even more so its el trains, can be trip into a scene from Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. The George Floyd riots of 2020 chased out major retailers on North Michigan Avenue, and fear of crime has solidified the work-at-home movement, keeping office workers, and their wallets, out of Chicago's central business district, the Loop. Last year, Chicagoans voted in a defund-the-police advocate, Brandon Johnson, as mayor. In 2020, while a county commissioner — as well as working as an organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union — Johnson said of the defund movement, "I don't look at it as a slogan," he said. "It's an actual real political goal." At a forum the month before the runoff election, which Johnson of course won, he answered back to that statement with this lie, "I said it was a political goal, I never said it was mine." Chicago begins evicting entire migrant families from city shelters. Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration has begun the process of removing from city shelters dozens of migrant families, including those with children who attended Chicago Public Schools. Just days after the CPS school year ended, officials this week began the eviction process to continue to ease pressure on overstretched resources in shelters run by the city and state. It's the second significant wave of forced removals at shelters since the city began ordering mostly single men and some single women to find housing elsewhere. Now, entire families are being told the same. Homeless advocates and experts said moving the families from shelters could be detrimental to the children's sense of stability. For many of the migrant children, school has been the only structure in their lives after traveling for months to the United States, the experts said. Teachers Union Issues List of Climate Demands as Students Struggle to Read at Grade Level. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is making climate-related demands in contract negotiations as the city's students continue to struggle mightily in the classroom, according to E&E News. The CTU will push the city to include initiatives like electric school buses, green jobs training programs for students and reducing emissions from buildings with solar panels and other retrofits, among other initiatives, according to E&E News. Those demands are being made while 2023 testing data shows that about 75% of Chicago's public school students were unable to read at grade level and 83% of students were behind grade level proficiency in math, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. The union is also demanding the removal of all lead pipes in school buildings, replacement of windows that do not open and the creation of a "climate champion" role at each school to organize climate-related initiatives and activities, according to E&E News. Ordinary Chicago Residents Need to Learn How to Complain. The time for Chicagoans to complain not only is here, but it has been here for a longtime. Yet, few Chicagoans do. Oh sure, there are the full-time protesters, the pro-Palestinian crowd, "bike mafia," and many others. Because they are loud and persistent these group shave the ears of public officials, particularly the far-left members of the Chicago City Council. And they know how to complain. However, ordinary Chicagoans need to learn how to play the same game: Be persistent and firm when complaining, but also polite. Black Woman In Chicago Accuses White Man Of Racism For Filming A Black Man's Arrest. The arrest of a black man on a busy Chicago street sparked fury among onlookers after a black woman insisted a white man could not film it because her rights are 'different' to his. The white blogger headed to the scene near North Wells Street on Wednesday afternoon after a police radio scanner tweeted about an off-duty officer being assaulted by a man in a Dodge Charger. He pulled out his phone after finding three white officers arresting the dreadlocked driver who was not resisting, but found a different subject when a female onlooker demanded he stop filming and accused him of racism. [Video clip] 'Sanctuary City' Doesn't Sound So Hot To Chicago Mayor As Migrant Evictions Set To Start. As the sanctuary city of Chicago grapples with the influx of thousands of migrants, Mayor Brandon Johnson has announced a contentious decision — to begin evicting some of these individuals from the city's shelters. This move, which has drawn sharp criticism from progressive lawmakers, aims to address the strain on the city's resources and accelerate the resettlement process for these new arrivals. Effective immediately, the city of Chicago has implemented a new policy limiting the stay of incoming migrants in its shelters to 60 days. This means that all migrants entering the shelters from this point forward will have to find alternative housing within two months or face eviction. White Couple Is Randomly Attacked By Gang Of Black Youths In Chicago, Woman Miscarries. A husband and wife were attacked after going on a date in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood on Friday. The couple found themselves surrounded by teens around 8:30 p.m. at Grand Avenue and McClurg Court. They were kicked, stomped on, and punched repeatedly. Nina, who didn't want to show her face on camera, shared images with FOX 32 showing a chunk of her hair pulled out. During the interview, her eye was still bruised. Her husband was also viciously attacked by the group, which held him down. Nina said this wasn't a robbery, and that the teens pepper-sprayed her and kicked her stomach. She was two weeks pregnant and said she found out after the attack that she had lost the baby. [Video clip] Four Chicago Thugs Terrorize A White Woman, Rob Her, Then They Come Back To Brutally Assault Her. Terrifying video captured a group of men ambushing a woman walking on the Northwest Side last week. It happened on Jan. 29 around 4:30 a.m. on West Lawrence Avenue near Long Avenue in the Jefferson Park neighborhood. [Video clip] Chicago alderman says she will no longer share crime alerts because they create a bad 'perception'. In a North Side ward where four people have been shot in the past week, and robberies and sex crimes are at their highest level in over a decade, the local alderman announced on Wednesday that she would no longer post crime alerts on social media or send crime alerts to her constituent email list. Why? Something about racism and her belief that "over-reporting of crime leads to an inaccurate public perception about crime rates." Do you know what else leads to a perception of high crime rates? High crime. Which alderman with a skyrocketing crime problem is going to start playing "hide the football" with the people who elected her? Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th), whose ward includes much of Edgewater and parts of Uptown. Migrant gets arrested for the 10th time in 10 months. Carlos Mavarez Viloria, a resident of the Standard Club migrant shelter in downtown Chicago, has been arrested ten times since arriving in our fair city last summer, according to police and court records. Viloria was consistently released from custody after each arrest, but that ended with the tenth case, his first felony, and he is currently living in the Cook County jail. His first arrest came on July 12, when he was accused of stealing 10 Major League Baseball hats, watches, a backpack, and food, worth a total of $193, from Walmart in Evergreen Park. A judge issued a warrant for his arrest when he failed to appear in court the next month. But he wasn't on the lam for long. The following day, Chicago police arrested him after security at Macy's, 111 South State, claimed he attempted to shoplift $158 worth of t-shirts. [...] Memorial Day Weekend in the City. On Friday, May 24, as Chicagoans prepared for the Memorial Day weekend, Mayor Brandon Johnson and police superintendent Larry Snelling spoke to reporters, asking them to pass on a message to the public: "Parents, please, know where your children are. They're out of school for the summer, and they should have fun, but they need to do so safely and responsibly." Fifty years ago, such a statement would have meant, "Make sure your kids don't play with dangerous fireworks, or go joyriding, or risk breaking a window with a baseball, or running out in a busy street." No longer. In today's Chicago, and in similar big cities across the country, the dangers of summertime are all too often the kids themselves, as it's the teenagers who start fights, deal and use drugs, and commit the property crimes and sex crimes that plague our many metropolises. Not to say that the criminals are all young, but adult criminals aren't stupid; organized gangs use youths to commit their crimes, because everyone knows that minors are more likely to get off easy if caught. [...] In 2023, for example, there were 59 people shot during Chicago's Memorial Day weekend, eleven of them fatally. Report: 84% of Chicago's Measles Cases Linked to Venezuelan Migrants. A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has linked 84% of Chicago's measles cases to the recent influx of illegal migrants from Venezuela. According to the report by Yahoo/Bloomberg, these cases were primarily found in unvaccinated individuals, traced back to a single migrant boy who arrived in Chicago with the disease, as reported by the Daily Mail. Chicago health authorities acted swiftly when the boy was taken from a migrant shelter in the Pilsen neighborhood to a hospital on February 27. By May 13, 57 cases of measles were identified among migrants living in the shelter. While most cases were traced to Venezuelan migrants, additional cases were linked to individuals from Peru, Ecuador, and Chile. The Pilsen shelter has housed approximately 2,100 people since February. The 57 measles cases included 30 women and 27 men, with patients ranging from six months to 49 years old. [A] Chicago mom [was] told [there were] 'no units to send' after calling 911 over [a] home invasion. A Chicago mother was forced to wait for hours for a police response after someone broke into her home last Tuesday. According to the homeowner, Michelle, she left her front door open around 12:30 pm after letting her dog out when two men suddenly entered her home. "I saw two men wearing masks standing inside my house," she later recalled to local station WMAQ. "I screamed 'I am calling the police' and they bolted." After trying to run after the goons with a neighbor, she eventually called 911, who in turn told her to wait outside for the police to arrive. And so she waited. Migrants Get Into A Knife Fight In The Streets Of Chicago. A tense scene unfolded in downtown Chicago as migrants chased and menaced each other with large knives. [Video clip] Socialist Member of Chicago City Council Thinks the Idea of Punishing Criminals is 'Racist'. Rossana Rodriguez, a self-described socialist serving on Chicago's city council, believes the idea of punishing criminals is racist. What does she think should be done with rapists and murderers? Summer camp? When you look at the breakdown of law and order in cities across the United States, remember that the chaos is being driven by people like this. They are the problem. Chicago DA, Kim Foxx [says] If Cops Find Illegal Firearms, Drugs Or Stolen Property In Your Car, They Won't Charge You. Soros-funded lunatic, District Attorney Kim Foxx of Chicago has proposed a new draft policy to decrease prosecutions resulting from findings during traffic stops significantly. According to this proposal, if illegal firearms, drugs, or stolen property are found during a search of a vehicle, prosecutors would not pursue charges. Foxx argues that these charges disproportionately affect black people. However, there is an exception to this policy: if the stop directly resulted from a public safety incident, it would be considered. Routine traffic violations such as registration issues, headlights, or signal lights would not be considered a public safety threat and would not be pursued under this policy. [Video clip] 9-years of decline: Expect Chicago to be No. 4 behind Houston by 2035. Chicago suffered its ninth consecutive year of population decline in 2023, losing 8,208 residents from July 2022-July 2023, according to data released May 16 by the U.S. Census Bureau. [Chart] Chicago's population first began declining in 2015. Since then the city has lost more than 128,000 residents. Last year's population drop was the third-worst of any city in the nation, with only New York (-77,763) and Philadelphia (-16,294) losing more residents. CPS to let teachers skip school to lobby lawmakers for more money. Chicago Public Schools leaders are giving more than 600 teachers and staff members a paid day-off so they can go to Springfield to lobby lawmakers for more money. A CPS spokesperson confirmed it's working in conjunction with the Chicago Teachers Union on the legislative push just as the two sides begin contract negotiations. Schools CEO Pedro Martinez and board of education president Jianan Shi will also take part in the lobbying day on May 15. The CPS/CTU relationship has gained close scrutiny following the election of former union leader Brandon Johnson as mayor. You're not supposed to have ANY faith in government, Pastor. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Plays 'Hide the Illegals' Ahead of DNC, Outraged Residents Have Other Ideas. Democrats who tout themselves as champions for homeless people oftentimes have a funny way of showing it, as we've seen, for instance, during Democratic National Conventions in years past. For example, in Denver in 2008 and Charlotte in 2012, Democrat leaders in those cities and states ushered in temporary plans to restrict the homeless from areas where they could potentially be seen by visitors to their respective cities during DNCs. More recently, we saw California Gov. Gavin Newsom, in partnership with San Francisco Mayor London Breed, admit in November to hiding the city's homeless and cleaning up its streets ahead of an APEC Summit, where President Joe Biden and China's Xi Jinping met for a high stakes meeting. "I know folks are saying, 'Oh they're just cleaning up this place because all those fancy leaders are coming to town.' That's true because it's true, but it's also true for months and months and months prior to APEC we've been having conversations," Newsom said at the time. Insane Illegal Street Takeover In Chicago Leads To Man Being Shot To Death In His Car. A man was shot and killed during a "street takeover" in Chicago's Gage Park neighborhood last night. The driver of the sedan involved was pronounced dead at the scene, with gunshot wounds to his face, chest, and arms. [Video clip] Chicago Cancels Cinco De Mayo Parade After Massive Gang Brawl Between The Latin Kings And Satan's Disciples. Chicago's annual Cinco De Mayo parade was abruptly halted and canceled Sunday amid reports of gang-related violence near the route, according to Chicago police. Police made the announcement Sunday afternoon shortly after the parade had been scheduled to get underway. Citing an "abundance of caution," officials said that the parade was canceled following reports of large-scale fights in the area. [Video clip] Caught on Camera: Chicago Mayor's Alleged Dodgy Escape From Reporters. Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson found himself at the center of controversy when video footage emerged of him allegedly attempting to flee from reporters and eluding their questions by quickly getting into a getaway car. The chaos was captured in a Twitter video shared by CBS reporter Darius Johnson, showing a group of journalists, including Johnson, pursuing what appeared to be Mayor Brandon Johnson, seeking answers regarding the recent death of Chicago Police Department (CPD) officer Luis Huesca. Reporters can be heard shouting, "Mr. Mayor! Mr. Mayor, will you please wait? Mr. Mayor, why do you have to run from us?" The CBS reporter specifically mentioned the arrest made the previous night in relation to Officer Huesca, pleading for a comment from the mayor. However, Johnson seemed to ignore their requests and hastily made his escape. [Tweet] Soros-funded Chicago prosecutor will finally get tough on lawbreaking protesters — but only for the DNC. Kim Foxx, the state's attorney of Cook County, is the chief prosecutor in Chicago and its inner suburbs. The George Soros-funded catch-and-release Democrat has been a disaster for Cook County residents, except for the many criminals living here. Nationally, the leftist ideologue is best known for botching the Jussie Smollett case. Yeah, I keep bringing that up, largely because Foxx supposedly throws a fit whenever her name is attached to the hate-crime hoaxer. Feel her rage. By throwing his considerable weight around, both literally and symbolically, Illinois' governor, JB Pritzker, who hopes to run for president in 2028, brought the 2024 Democratic National Convention to Chicago. This may prove to be Pritzker's undoing. Chicago was hit hard by riots after the George Floyd murder, and the crime rate in Chicago and its core suburbs has soared since Foxx took office in 2016. Fortunately, Foxx chose not to run for a third term. Which Major City Will Completely Collapse First — Los Angeles, Chicago or New York City? In 2024, virtually all major U.S. cities have certain things in common. First of all, if you visit the downtown area of one of our major cities you are likely to see garbage, human excrement and graffiti all over the place. As you will see below, some of our core urban areas literally look like they belong in a third world country. Most of our politicians don't seem too concerned about doing anything to clean up all the filth, and so it shouldn't be a surprise that rat populations are absolutely exploding all over the country. In some of our largest cities, the total rat population is numbered in the millions. Meanwhile, rampant theft, out of control violence, endless migration, predatory gangs and the worst drug crisis in the entire history of our nation have combined to create a "perfect storm" of social decay that is unlike anything that any of us have ever seen before. Millions of law-abiding citizens and countless businesses have been fleeing America's largest cities, and property values in our core urban areas have been absolutely crashing. We really are in the early stages of a full-blown societal "collapse", and things just keep getting worse with each passing day. Chicago is the DNC's Kind of Town? I'm old enough to remember the 1968 DNC convention in Chicago, and smart enough to see that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is no Richard J. Daley. So, as food prices rise with no end in sight, I advise you to stock up on popcorn before the August 19 convention in Chicago this year. As for the Democrats, I cannot imagine a scenario where there is anything but downsides for picking this site, this year. [...] This year, it's not just the pro-Hamas wing that will be protesting, but Black Chicagoans opposed to the Democrats' open-border policies. Olivia Reingold and Eli Lake detail on Free Press how far-left activists are already plotting to disrupt the DNC Convention. According to the Free Press essay, in just one day 75 organizations discussed how they would participate on the "March on DNC 2024" to disrupt the convention. They plan to so flood the streets that they could avoid arrest, they taught how to avoid the Secret Service and how to say "Death to America" in Farsi. A representative of the left's legal arm, the National Lawyers Guild, told attendees how to spot police carrying "mass arrest kits." Chicago Democrats Balk at Mayor's Request for $70 Million to Take Care of Illegal Immigrants. The city of Chicago continues to struggle to deal with the impact of the border crisis while even more Democratic politicians are contending with how the problem is affecting American citizens. Unfortunately, despite the challenges faced by Chicago and other major cities, this situation is likely going to be the new normal for the time being. Chicago's budget committee recently voted to advance a budget proposal requested by Mayor Brandon Johnson, requesting tens of millions of dollars to care for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers who continue to flow into the city. Can Chicago protect the people going to the convention? As we saw this week, the mob closed O'Hare Airport and travelers had to get out of their cars or miss their flights. Was this a "test run" for the convention? Probably so. Add Midway Airport plus local freeways and moving around the city will be a nightmare. Add to this the shooting, and who in the world wants to go to the convention? The convention hall is going to look like a fortress, and who knows what will break out on the floor? The Squad will be there and that's a formula for madness. My point is that this is a city out of control. Over the weekend, they shot 43 and chaos reigned again. Activists Chant Death To Israel and Death To America At Meeting In Chicago. Video captured anti-Israel activists in Chicago chanting "hands off Iran" and cheering on Iran's attack on Israel hours after shouting "death to Israel" and "death to America" in Farsi. The shocking footage was taken Saturday after Hatem Abudayyeh, who heads the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, told some 300 left-wing protesters that Iran launched its drone and missile attack on the Jewish state,The Free Press reported. [Video clip] They chant it before they know what it means. [Tweet with video clip] Are you paying attention? This is Chicago! This is the same [stuff] I saw growing up in Europe decades ago. Today, I could not, nor would I attempt, to go some of the same places there I once went freely as a teenage with my friends. Are you paying attention America? 81 Year Old Vietnam Vet Is Sucker-Punched, Car Stolen And Then Crashed By Teens. 81-year-old Vietnam Veteran Ernie Aimone was sucker punched by teens before they stole and crashed his car. [Get out] of Chicago! Ernie has delivered pizza on the Northwest side of Chicago for over 40 years. He served in the United States Army and went on multiple tours in Vietnam. [Video clip] Want to Guess What the Media Missed Regarding This Officer-Involved Shooting in Chicago? The dishonesty from the media continues to sink to absurd levels. On March 21, Dexter Reed was shot and killed by Chicago police after he fired on officers. It's all on video. Reed fired first, which led to police returning fire. One officer was shot and injured by Reed. The media either obsesses about the 96 fired shots or buries the crucial detail that Reed fired first. The incident was a routine traffic stop, where Reed was pulled over for reportedly not wearing a seatbelt. Credit to NBC 5 Chicago, who had an accurate headline for this story: "Police fire nearly 100 shots in 41 seconds after man shot officer during traffic stop." [Tweet] Yet, what we've got from a host of people, some of whom are the usual suspects in ginning up false narratives, is that the police murdered Mr. Reed. Some have wondered whether the media is trying to create another George Floyd situation for this election season. The evidence is clear: Reed shot first and paid for it. The officer who was shot is expected to make a full recovery. [Several tweets] I don't want to hear about what a great kid he was — Reed was a wannabe cop killer, and now he's six feet under where he belongs. Chicago Thug Who Was Recently Let Out Of Prison Shoots At Cops After Being Pulled Over. Plainclothes Chicago police officers fired nearly 100 gunshots over 41 seconds during a traffic stop that left one man dead and one officer injured, according to graphic video footage a police oversight agency released Tuesday. Five officers from a tactical unit who were in an unmarked police vehicle surrounded an SUV last month driven by Dexter Reed, allegedly for failing to wear a seatbelt. Video shows the 26-year-old Black man briefly lowering a window and then raising it and refusing to exit the vehicle as more officers arrived, yelled commands and drew weapons. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said preliminary evidence showed Reed fired first, injuring an officer in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on the city's West Side. Then four officers returned fire, shooting 96 rounds. [Video clip] Chicago's mayor Brandon Johnson asks, "Who expected me to defeat white supremacy in one year?". Chicago has a nasty mess on its hands with Brandon Johnson as mayor. Crime rates remain high compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019. It's common for big city mayors to claim that crime is declining, but they usually look back only a year for comparison numbers and then declare, "You see!" However, in March, the murder total in Chicago exceeded the killings in March of last year — by 28 percent. Johnson suffered a major political loss last month. His Bring Chicago Home referendum, which would have raised the real estate on high-end property transactions, was defeated. Funds from that tax hike would have been used to battle homelessness, although Johnson and other key supporters of BCH provided no details on how that money would be spent. Supporters of BCH, utilizing a class warfare tactics, dubbed it a "mansion tax." When commenting on the defeat of Bring Chicago Home, Johnson all but blamed supporters of former president Donald Trump. But in the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden won all 50 Chicago wards, with Trump collecting a meager 15 percent of the vote in Chicago. Sorry, Jussie Smollett, but Chicago is not MAGA Country. Chicago's Far-Left Mayor Demands Biden Issue Work Permits to Half a Million Illegals. Chicago's far-left Mayor Brandon Johnson has petitioned the Biden administration to hand out to the nearly half a million illegals living in Illinois. Johnson, who was elected mayor a year ago, met with business and immigration advocates on Thursday where he touted a letter signed by other leaders across the state of Illinois. [...] Chicago is among the many U.S. cities drowning under the weight of tens of thousands of new arrivals, the vast majority of whom have crossed the southern border illegally and are now seeking to gain the right to work. Last December, Mayor Johnson begged the Biden administration for additional funding to help ease the cost of the city's illegal immigrant crisis. Chicago Is Trapped in the Jaws of an Ideologue Mayor. Last April, in an election that saw one of the lowest voter turnouts in recent memory, Chicagoans elected Brandon Johnson mayor with 52 percent of the vote. When voters sent Johnson to City Hall, they thought they had elected a former CPS teacher, an organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), and a Cook County commissioner as its 57th mayor. Johnson's resume is undeniably true. Nonetheless, Chicagoans also elected a left-wing ideologue as mayor. During the 2023 mayoral campaign, Johnson rejected the police-first crime fighting strategy supported by his moderate opponent, Paul Vallas, instead favoring a "root causes" approach to law enforcement. However, Johnson sheepishly backed away from his 2020 statement that defunding the police was "an actual, real political goal," In a debate with Vallas, he claimed: "I said it was a political goal. I never said it was mine." Yeah, right. Tuberculosis outbreak at Chicago migrant shelters sparks urgent contact tracing. Tuberculosis cases have been detected at migrant facilities in Chicago following a recent measles outbreak in the city's shelters, sparking health officials to urgently start contact tracing. The Chicago Department of Public Health did not disclose the exact number of cases or which shelter it originated from but confirmed that 'a small number of cases' were reported 'in a few different shelters' around the city. 'These outbreaks happen in close quarters, people who are living close to one another,' associate professor of medicine, Infectious Diseases and Global Health at the University of Chicago Dr. Aniruddha Hazra told Fox 32 Chicago. Hazra said the situation is concerning, but that the public does not need to panic. The Editor says... A Boy Is Beaten by a Mob of Muslims at a Chicago Mosque for Eating in the Bathroom During Ramadan. A boy was beaten up by a fasting muslim mob for eating in the bathroom of the mosque before the Taraweeh prayer of Ramadan which reportedly happened in Chicago. [Video clip] Chicago Resident Uneashes a Torrent of Facts About Illegal Immigration. [Video clip only.] Chicago Election Shenanigans. What a Surprise! I sometimes think that leftists intentionally do sketchy things in elections just to enrage Republicans. How else can you explain the transparently ridiculous excuses for Democrat-leaning ballots suddenly appearing days after an election, only to massively swing election results? [Tweet] It's like they want us to see it and complain so that their allies in the media can gaslight the public and smear us as conspiracy theorists and election deniers. It drives us crazy, and the public seems to tolerate it because confronting the fact that our elections are rigged is dispiriting. Yet another example of this phenomenon took place in Chicago again, when over 9000 ballots were "discovered" during the excessively-long counting process, threatening to swing the election for prosecutor away from a moderate Democrat to a loony leftist. In Cook County, the Chicago Way recrudesces for the prosecutor's race. Another mail-ballot election, another trove of "found" ballots, which is what we see in a local race for Chicago's state's attorney (or prosecutor) between two Democrats. [...] American elections are getting quite a reputation for this. Every third world country on the planet can count its ballots in one night, but somehow, the U.S. always takes at least a week, and always has "errors" like troves of "found" ballots. The other thing is that these "errors" happen only when the race is really close: [...] Let me guess: The tougher-on-crime one is ahead in the polls, and when the final tally is taken from those 10,000 "found" ballots, the candidate who takes the winner's crown will be the other one. A Google search shows that that is exactly the set-up we are starting to see. Drop box or mail-in ballots just "found" in Chicago that may effect [sic] razor-thin Cook County state's attorney race. Oh no, another "found ballots" story. Primary election Day was Tuesday in Illinois[.] Eileen O'Neill Burke and Clayton Harris III are the Democratic candidates for Cook County state's attorney. Cook County is Chicago and the inner suburbs. I live in Cook and I voted for Burke, as Harris promises to continue the pro-criminal "prosecution" policies of Jussie Smollett's protector, Kim Foxx. Mail-in ballots are still being counted, currently O'Neill Burke, a retired state appellate judge is leading by about 4,000 votes. Mail-in ballots are still arriving. But suddenly thousands of drop box ballots have just been discovered. Or are they mail-in ballots? Details are still coming in. But right now, this story is combining the debacles of the 2000 Florida presidential election recounts and the 2020 Trump-Biden race. Chicago election officials 'find' 10,000 missing ballots in Democratic primary race for DA. The Chicago Board of Elections says it made a mistake when tabulating the results for the Democratic primary race for Cook County state's attorney. The race to lead the nation's second-largest prosecutor's office could not be tighter with just 2,000 votes separating the candidates after a heated primary campaign. At last count, Eileen O'Neill Burke is leading Clayton Harris III by 2,015 votes. O'Neill Burke has 259,445 votes while Harris has 257,430 votes. 'I traded speed for accuracy in reporting out numbers this week as quickly as I could,' Chicago Board of Elections Public Information Officer Max Bever said in a statement. 'I truly regret this error on my part and for the confusion that it has caused the voters of Chicago. I will share updated numbers only when they are accurate and verified. 'There will be additional results coming in, both large and small, through the next week. 'We continue to ask for voters' patience as the process plays out, and by law all the votes are counted.' The vote-by-mail ballots were delivered on Monday, March 18. It is not clear why they were not included during the original count. The Editor says... New law Chicago is using to sue Glock being challenged in state, federal courts. The city of Chicago is using a recently enacted state law to sue a firearms manufacturer. Last year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law that allows lawsuits against the firearms industry for a variety of reasons. [...] Separate federal and state-level lawsuits are pending challenging the law. Tuesday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced his administration was using the law to sue firearms manufacturer Glock. [...] Johnson said Glock should be held accountable and responsible for third-party switches criminals are using illicitly to turn semi-automatic firearms into full-auto. Chicago Is MAGA Country... Again. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has a superb explanation for why his proposed tax increase was rejected by the voters. It was MAGA. Chicago is MAGA country! [Tweet] Johnson is the former teacher union organizer-turned-mayor who has been driving Chicago into the ground. He won by out-progressiving Lori Lightfoot, and has proven to be just as incompetent as she. Certain that he hasn't enough money to destroy Chicago as quickly as he likes, Johnson has been pushing for a huge tax increase on the transfer of property in the city. While lowering the taxes a bit for the least valuable properties, it more than doubled them for high-valued properties. The taxes were intended to deal with the homeless problem. Democrat Mayor Blames MAGA Supporters for His Homeless Policy Being Rejected. Democrats tried and true tactic when their policies failed and Americans abandoned them: blame Donald Trump. And it was no exception for Democrat Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson who claimed Trump supporters are the reason his homeless policy was rejected by voters. Johnson's progressive agenda failed Wednesday night after 53.7 percent of Chicagoans voted against his homeless referendum, compared to 46.3 percent who were in support of it. The Democrat claimed that the same people who voted against his policy were "the same people who want to see Donald Trump ... be president again." "There were 38,000 Republicans that showed up and voted for Donald Trump... in Chicago," Johnson said. "If we're trying to draw some conclusions, and you want some other analytics, you might want to discover that there's a good chance that played a part in this referendum." In Chicago, cartel-tied illegal Venezuelans trump transgender illegal aliens. El Tren De Aragua isn't just a violent gang. It's the largest growing criminal organization in the world and, thanks to Biden's policies, it's here in America, along with (probably illegal) foreign nationals who are working as transvestite prostitutes. Combine this with leftist district attorneys, weak judges, and BLM-authored state bail laws, and we're left with a system in which alleged criminals freely walk the streets — even when they've allegedly shot the left's current favorite victim group. Chicago Teachers Union molding Soviet-style Young Pioneers. On Friday, the far-left Chicago Teachers Union organized a rally for voting age Chicago Public School students, during school hours, the "Student Power Forum." They might as well have called it the Young Pioneers march. The event was co-sponsored by Bring Chicago Home, which is working to pass a referendum, also called Bring Chicago Home, that will increase Chicago's real estate transaction tax on properties selling for more than $1 million. Election day in Illinois is Tuesday. Proponents call Bring Chicago Home a "mansion tax," but many retail storefronts and apartment buildings, and probably all skyscrapers, are worth more than that. I call it a jobs killer and a rent raiser. Funds from the tax hike, if voters approve it, will aid the homeless. No specifics are given as to how the homeless will benefit from Bring Chicago Home. Of course, Chicago's leftist mayor, Brandon Johnson, enthusiastically supports Bring Chicago Home. Johnson, who prior to his election as mayor, had no executive experience, but he's a former CPS teacher and a longtime Chicago Teachers Union organizer. You Can Thank Joe Biden's Open Border Policies for a Measles Outbreak In Chicago. Not only have President Joe Biden's reckless immigration policies brought tens of millions of illegal aliens, skyrocketing crime, dangerous gangs, and deadly drugs into the U.S., but sanctuary cities are now having to face a measles outbreak at shelters. Officials in Chicago are sounding alarms over the third case of measles found in the child of an illegal alien staying at one of the city's migrant shelters. This comes as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has responded to more than eight total cases involving illegal immigrants in the city. All but one of the individuals diagnosed with measles were described as being connected to the migrant shelter, or Chicago's "new arrivals mission." Next week's headline: Where are all these homeless people coming from? Chicago: Migrant Evictions Will Begin Sunday. As you've probably heard, Chicago has been dealing with a large number of migrants, many of whom have arrived by bus from Texas. Starting last year, Mayor Brandon Johnson was trying to discourage the buses by impounding them. But he couldn't do that to the plane loads of migrants which flew in from Texas. Things got worse this month when there was a measles outbreak at one of the city's shelters housing the migrants. The number of cases reached 12 yesterday and most of them are connected to one of the city's shelters. Despite the outbreak the city continued to press forward with a new plan that would limit migrants to 60 days in a city shelter. That plan was announced last November but Mayor Johnson has extended the deadline three times to avoid evicting people during the frigid Chicago weather. Now the deadline is finally set to take effect this weekend but yesterday the mayor announced another last minute change of plans. Migrants bring the measles to Chicago. In the U.S., the migrant crisis has come to remind us just how unlike the rest of the world we are — or were, until the millions of illegal migrants came along. [...] Seems the "new arrivals" brought a few things with them, and it shouldn't surprise anyone that many were not vaccinated. Now all of U.S. life returns to, say, pre-vaccine 1860 when catching the measles was something that happened pretty frequently, with mortality levels to show for it. Life in America will no longer be all about taking it for granted that the next person over is vaccinated and diseases long thought of as eradicated were a figment of the past. As the border collapses, a measles cluster is growing at a migrant shelter in Chicago. Want to come to the United States legally? You will need 15 different vaccinations, including, yes, a Covid shot. A Covid vaccine is required even if you have previously had Covid — and even if you are young and at low risk from Covid but at high risk from mRNA-caused myocarditis. In fact, the government has stricter rules for Covid jabs than other vaccines. Immigrants must have received only the first dose of other vaccines when they apply for entry or citizenship. But they must have completed their Covid vaccinations. These rules were issued in 2021. They remain in place three years later even though Covid is now endemic and not even the most dedicated mRNA fanatic believes the shots protect from Covid infection or transmission. You will also be required to get a flu shot, Hepatitis A and B vaccines, and of course a measles shot; measles is very contagious and the vaccine against it highly effective. A Deep Dive into Chicago's Crime Data. [Scroll down] [A]nyone can go to the Cook County government website and find the open data portal. From there, select data sets tagged "state's attorney" and several tables will pop up. One of the most interesting is a table called "Intake." This table, if queried correctly, will show the results of the CCSAO's "felony review" process over the years. There are 17 fields for each record and the table contains half-a-million records going back to 2011. When considering only cases brought by CPD and removing arrests that bypass the felony review process there are 178,085 records for the years 2011-2023. When reviewing the five years (2011-2015) before Ms. Foxx arrived in office, the average felony approval rate was 83 percent. The average rejection rate of the felony approval process was 10 percent. In the five years subsequent to having Ms. Foxx at the helm (2017-2021) the approval averaged just 73 percent and the rejection rate jumped to 18 percent. Measles infections rise in Chicago area as 45 cases recorded nationwide. The Chicago Department of Public Health said four cases of measles have been detected in migrants housed at a shelter in Pilsen, bringing the number of cases in the Chicago area in the past four days up to five. "CDPH has been at 2241 S. Halsted working around the clock to screen residents for symptoms and provide measles vaccinations to those who haven't had one," the CDPH posted to X Monday. Of 'Teen Takeovers' and Television News. [Scroll down] On Saturday night, March 2, 2024 there was another teen takeover event at which a 17-year-old was shot to death during an altercation. [...] Following this latest event, local TV news totally eschewed the word, "mob," clearly deciding to use the mayor's preferred term, "large gathering," over "teen takeover." The next night, on March 3, most local news stations avoided use of even the expression "teen takeover." WGN9 called the mob event a "large gathering," but listed previous similar incidents. ABC7's "Digital Team 7:04 p.m." referred to "a group of people, potentially [?] teenagers," who "were in the area"; its later 10:00 p.m. news employed the wording, "large gathering." The anchor on CBS2 described "an out-of-control crowd," but the reporter preferred the wording, "so-called teen takeovers" and spotlighted crisis prevention specialists sporting orange hats and jackets dealing with teens who were "dancing in the middle of the street" and "antagonizing law enforcement." Only NBC5 unequivocally spoke of a "South Loop takeover," also featuring a grill owner's remark about "teenage meet-ups." On March 4, two nights after the horrors, NBC5's 10:00 p.m. coverage contained a reference to "Facebook meetings."
The Editor says... Second measles case confirmed at Chicago migrant shelter. A second case of measles has been reported at a migrant shelter in Chicago, raising concerns about the potential for a larger outbreak due to the high number of unvaccinated asylum-seekers. According to the Chicago Department of Public Health, this is the second case among young children confirmed at a shelter in the city's Pilsen neighborhood. The first case marked the first occurrence in five years since the last case was identified in Chicago, the health department said. The first child who was infected has since recovered, and the second child is hospitalized in good condition. Armed Robber Killed, Armed Citizen Wounded in Chicago Shootout. A would-be robber made a fatal mistake on Friday morning when he targeted a Chicago man who had the means and motivation to defend his life. According to authorities, a 60-year-old man was confronted outside his home around 5:30 this morning by an armed suspect who demanded the victim hand over his belongings. Instead, the man chose to fight back. White Student Is Brutally Beaten By Black Kids At Chicago High School. There was outrage in the western suburbs Wednesday night after a student was allegedly brutally beaten inside a bathroom at Wheaton Warrenville South High School last month. Two juveniles are now facing charges in connection to the beating. At about 11:43 a.m. on Feb. 28, the School Resource Officer (SRO) at Wheaton Warrenville South High School was alerted about a potential medical emergency involving a male student in the building's commons area, police said. The SRO concluded that the student had reportedly engaged in a physical altercation with at least one other male student. School nurses assisted the student, and the SRO called Wheaton Fire Department paramedics for further assistance. Subsequently, the student was taken to a nearby hospital for assessment and medical treatment. [Video clip] Chicago Public Schools Will Be Even More Dangerous Without School Resource Officers. At a bare minimum, every student attending a public school in the United States should feel safe. Sadly, in far too many government-run schools, this is not the case. This is particularly true for the 320,000 students who attend Chicago Public Schools (CPS), where abuse, assaults, thefts, drug dealing, and gang activity have become all too commonplace. Unfortunately, the decision to remove school resource officers from CPS will likely result in more violence and a less conducive learning environment. According to a recent report by the University of Chicago's Urban Education Institute, "School safety is a particularly pressing issue in urban public schools; the incidence of violent episodes is almost 60 percent higher in city schools than in suburban schools, and 30 percent higher than in rural schools. Urban schools are approximately twice as likely as other schools to report that students verbally abuse teachers and act disrespectfully (other than verbal abuse) toward teachers either daily or at least once a week." This disturbing trend has engulfed Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Chicago's Problems Will Not Be Solved by Rebranding. Chicago is facing a wide assortment of problems. Some of those complications, such as its pension crisis, are intractable. Nevertheless, if you are John Pletz, senior writer with Crain's Chicago Business, the solution for Chicago is simple: A rebranding. [...] Chicago is a city in sharp decline, albeit not necessarily an irreversible one. Still, when looking at contemporary Chicago, it would be wise for lawmakers in the Windy City to consider the fate of Detroit to fully understand how incompetent lawmakers in the Motor City mishandled the situation and led that city into receivership. Chicago cop sues city for right to change his race after department allows officers to change genders. A Chicago police officer is suing the city to change his race on his official records after the department said it would allow officers to freely change their gender to match their identity. Mohammad Yusuf, 43, said in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed last week that he is looking to change from "Caucasian" as he "currently identifies as Egyptian and African American." However, the Chicago Police Department is not allowing him to change his race. The lawsuit comes as the department allows an officer's "gender identity [to be] corrected to match their lived experience," Yusuf's lawsuit alleges. And, the decision is impacting Yusuf's professional advancement, he claims. If Illinois prevails in keeping Trump off of the ballot, our republic is finished. Cook County has been labeled "Crook County" for good reasons. Chicago Circuit Judge Tracie Porter decided that former President Donald Trump should be disqualified from appearing on the Republican presidential primary ballot in Illinois. This decision was based on allegations tied to his involvement in the events of January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol. The judge's ruling, invoking the insurrection clause of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, has sparked a significant debate over the balance of free speech, political activism, and the boundaries of legal disqualification from public office. Insurrection? Give me a break. Trump was not part of the demonstration and even if he were, it's free speech and not an "insurrection." This ruling, while currently delayed in anticipation of an appeal, underscores a concerning trend towards the politicization of legal mechanisms and the potential for judicial overreach, to say the least; it is paramount to recognize the implications such decisions may have on the democratic process, especially when considering the role of the judiciary in electoral matters. Thug Tries To Rob 100k In Jewels From Jewelry Store In Chicago, The Owner Was Armed and Dangerous. A man trying to rob a jewelry store in the Loop Saturday morning was shot by an employee inside, and it was all captured on surveillance cameras inside and outside the store. The incident happened just before 11 a.m. on Jeweler's Row, in the 0-100 block of North Wabash Avenue. Surveillance video shows the would-be robber, who wore a red sweatshirt, walking around for about a minute before he took off running toward the entrance. He began to bash in a glass case, and that's when the employee reached behind the counter and began shooting at the man before he tried to get away. [Video clip] Eric Adams Does 'Stunning Turnaround' on Sanctuary City Laws As Greg Abbott's Plan Comes to Fruition. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has taken a lot of incoming verbal fire from The Usual Suspects on the left and in the media ever since he decided to turn the tables on the Biden administration in 2022 and start bussing illegal immigrants to Democrat-run sanctuary cities in order to make a statement about the dire nature of the Biden border crisis. New York City has been a frequent stop on the Abbott Express Bus over the last two years, so much so that NYC Mayor Eric Adams has taken to repeatedly trashing Abbott as the Big Apple gets a little taste of what Texas border communities do every single day. But with the crisis hitting a fever pitch in Adamstown, and with angry and frustrated voters giving the Adams administration a piece of their mind, Adams has gotten desperate, so much so that he is now doing what Fox News border crisis reporter Bill Melugin described as a "stunning turnaround" on his previous pro-sanctuary city stance. Chicago Removing Police From Schools. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? If you've been paying any attention at all to the news for the past couple of years, you've no doubt heard about the increased levels of crime and violence in Chicago, along with so many other large, blue cities. At the same time, we've seen a disturbing rise in school shootings and other criminal activity in our public schools, with the Windy City's public schools additionally being overrun by the children of illegal migrants. Rushing to the rescue this week was Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. His brilliant plan to address these concerns involves keeping a campaign promise he made while running for office. He's going to pull the police (school resource officers, or SROs) from Chicago's schools and find a "different, comprehensive whole school safety policy." Given the current conditions in the city, this idea is clearly far less popular than the mayor believes. Women in power abuse it. Upon taking office as mayor of Chicago after landslide victory in 2019, Lori Lightfoot said, "I know we're just a little bit closer to that dream as I stand here today, inaugurated as Chicago's first black woman and first openly gay mayor. I know we're a little bit closer as we celebrate that, for the first time in the history of Chicago, women of color now hold all three of our citywide elected offices. Four years later, when she couldn't make it out of the Democrat primary, she blamed racism and sexism. Democrats nominated a black man. The media promoted women candidates — especially the women of color — as being inherently superior to men. Let's see how that worked out. Sued For "Climate Change," Big Oil Should Destroy Chicago's Economy. You might have seen this earlier. It would be comic if it wasn't so idiotic. The city of Chicago, one of the worst-run cities on the planet, has now filed suit against BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell for having ruined the climate, or something. [...] All of this is completely asinine, of course. Why sue just Big Oil and not every single driller, refiner, transporter and retailer of gasoline? Why not sue all the plastics companies? Why not sue all the pharmaceutical, consumer goods and food-service companies? They all use petroleum products in their offerings? It's a stupid publicity stunt and a wish-and-prayer attempt to drag one or two of the oil companies into a settlement that might bail out the city of Chicago which is rapidly going bankrupt under the mismanagement of Brandon Johnson and the morons who preceded him. What a brilliant idea! Guess Who's Closing Stores in Chicago Now. It wasn't racism that forced longtime local favorites like Seven Treasures, Metropolitan Brewing, or Vesecky's bakery to close (after 118 years!) — it was economic reality. Inflation and higher interest rates are national problems and nothing unique to Chicago. But the closures of national chain outlets like CVS, Walmart, and now KFC are because of a different kind of economic reality. Unlike inflation and higher interest rates, this economic reality is self-inflicted. This is where I should remind you that these neighborhoods didn't used to be so dangerous — so what changed? Why was KFC happy to operate on the South Side for years but now feels the need to shutter three popular locations? We know exactly what happened. In the Summer of Love following the martyrdom of St. George of Minneapolis, Chicago's political leaders embraced the same crime-friendly policies as the political leaders of so many other Democrat-run cities. When given a chance to change course in the 2023 mayoral election, Chicago voters chose more of the same. In Chicago, Sounds Are Racist. The fragile, grossly incompetent former union toadie currently finishing off what was left of the city of Chicago after being elected mayor — Brandon Johnson — has made another decision fulfilling a campaign promise: canceling the city's contract with ShotSpotter. [...] ShotSpotter is a system of acoustic microphones mounted on poles (accompanied in some confirmed high crime areas by cameras) that alert police to the location of suspected gunfire. It does have its problems, also being susceptible to identifying explosive car backfires and the like as weapon discharges, but overall, the police are happy to have the assistance (They are quite adamant about that.) Supposedly, according to community activists and progressive mouthpieces, the black community in Chicago is not nearly as enthusiastic, for all the carnage on the streets there. They feel it brings more police to their neighborhoods and the potential for more police shootings and harassment of residents. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Hands 'Black and Brown' Businesses $18M to Feed Migrants. Chicago's Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson recently touted his efforts to bestow $18 million exclusively to "black and brown" businesses to feed the thousands of illegal border crossers the city is housing. Johnson's administration partnered with the Greater Chicago Food Depository, BJ's Market, and other nonprofits by diverting the huge sum to minority-owned businesses, according to WFLD-TV. During a press conference on the partnership, the "sanctuary city" mayor celebrated the program, applauding "black and brown businesses" as the "soul" of Chicago. Racist Chicago Mayor Crows About Program That Handed Out 17 Million Dollars To Black Businesses Based Soley On The Color Of Their Skin. Chicago Mayor touts program where black-owned businesses were given $17 Million to feed illegal aliens, white-owned businesses did not qualify for the program[.] "It really captures what I call 'the soul of Chicago.' It's who we are." Footage From Inside A Chicago Public School Shows What Teachers Go Through Every Day. You have to feel for these educators as they deal with angry, unruly black males from the inner cities of Chicago. The level of patience from this particular teacher is near saintly levels as all the students curse and disobey him. The vast majority of these kids have no father figures in their lives and it shows. [Video clip] Armed Chicago Tow Truck Drivers Provide Violent Attacker With a Trip to the Hospital. In the streets of Chicago, a gang member learned a hard lesson after he opened fire on two armed citizens. The Windy City has been a dangerous place for years due to the flawed soft-on-crime policies of the local government, making responsible gun ownership even more important for law-abiding residents. This particular incident occurred on January 31 when Soto, a tow truck driver, got into a dispute with two other tow truck drivers over a job. The situation soon turned dangerous when he decided to fire on the two men. $23 Million Worth Of Computers Lost/Stolen From Chicago Schools. Tens of thousands of laptops and iPads were lost or stolen from Chicago Public Schools in the 2021-22 school year, amounting to $23 million in missing property. The Inspector General of Chicago Public Schools' annual report found that 77,505 devices were missing from schools' inventory, including 27% of all devices lent out to students. Three dozen schools reported that every single device lent out to students was missing. In three schools, 50% of all devices in the building were reported as lost or stolen. Half of the schools in Chicago lost at least 10% of their devices, a percentage the Inspector General called a "serious problem." The $23 million price tag on the missing devices is a conservative estimate, according to the report. [White] Man Gets Pistol Whipped Inside A Chicago Target By [Black] Gang Members Over His Hairstyle. Gangbangers in Chicago Pistol Whip Dude at Target for having Gangster Two Six haircut. ... It's exclusively worn by Latino gang members in Chicago. It seems the man getting assaulted has no affiliations to any gang but this is what Chicago has become. [Video clip] 'Take My Sanctuary City... PLEASE!' Things must be getting kinda dicey in the Windy City. Left and right, people are begging the federal government and their president to take all these illegals off their hands. It's gotten so bad, one Democrat is even asking the powers that be to take the "Sanctuary City" bit off the "Welcome to Chicago" sign. [Tweet] Why on earth would she want to do that? It sounds like Chicago is a warm, welcoming, open-arms sort of city. Just the kind of place every illegal who ever dreamed of an apple pie at McDonald's would want to head for. I mean, here it is in their own words and straight from the mayor's office: [Documennt] [...] While the Sanctuary City welcome party for illegals might be harried and still in progress for Mayor Brandon Johnson, and other hardcore ChiTown machine Dems, it is long over with for the citizens of this formerly fair city. Residents like long time Democrat and government employee Cata Truss who, along with her neighbors, are so fed up with illegals taking over their neighborhood facilities, and being handed benefits citizens cannot receive, that they've banded together to file a lawsuit against the city. Orkin: Chicago Ranks Number One Worst City in United States for Bed Bugs. Chicago is suffering from an infestation of creepy crawlies, the Orkin pest control company revealed Monday. In a press release, the company said it is the city's fourth year in a row to be named number one on its Top 50 Bed Bug Cities List: ["]Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia hold onto the top three spots, ranking first, second and third, respectively for cities with most bed bugs.["] Gun-toting 17-year-old holds up Chicago restaurant, cops say. But concealed carrier on premises isn't having it. A gun-toting male — only 17 years old — held up a Chicago restaurant Monday night, police said. But also in the establishment was a concealed-carrying man who took issue with what was happening and opened fire on the suspect. Police said the teen entered the Taco Burrito King at 5413 W. Belmont Ave. off Long Avenue in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood — and at gunpoint, demanded the contents of the cash register, WBBM-TV reported. The clerk behind the register complied with the teen's demands, but police told the station that a man with a concealed carry license was also in the Mexican restaurant — and he confronted the gun-toting teen. Chicago Organized Retail Burglary Ring Allegedly Led by Newly Arrived Illegal Aliens. The Chicago suburb of Oak Brook has been beset with an increase in retail theft and burglaries over the last year, and police say the leading culprits have been recently arrived illegal border crossers who have filtered out to the suburb from Chicago. The Oak Brook Police Department reports that 47 recently arrived illegal aliens have been arrested in connection with retail thefts and home and car burglaries just since October and more than 175 since last year, according to Newsbreak. 'Hopeful Migrants' in Chicago Arrested for Mass Looting. We've been seeing plenty of headlines related to Chicago and illegal migrants recently, particularly now that a brutal winter season has set in. Many of these stories deal with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson complaining about the Governor of Texas or demanding more resources for the migrants from Washington. The liberal defenders of the new arrivals fret over the cold conditions these people are facing and talk about how they came here "seeking a new life" and they "just want to work." That may be true of some of them, but certainly not all. And they're not simply staying in the city. An increasing number of them have been heading out to the suburbs and engaging in the new fashionable trend of mass looting and retail theft that's been sweeping the nation. And local law enforcement officials have their hands full. Chicago Organized Retail Burglary Ring [was] Allegedly Led by Newly Arrived Illegal Aliens. The Chicago suburb of Oak Brook has been beset with an increase in retail theft and burglaries over the last year, and police say the leading culprits have been recently arrived illegal border crossers who have filtered out to the suburb from Chicago. The Oak Brook Police Department reports that 47 recently arrived illegal aliens have been arrested in connection with retail thefts and home and car burglaries just since October and more than 175 since last year, according to Newsbreak. Officials of the suburb — which is only about 25 minutes west of downtown Chicago and only minutes south of O'Hare International Airport where hundreds of illegals have been sheltering for months — noted that the thieves often use bags lined with sheets of tinfoil in an attempt to thwart store anti-theft protection devices at entrances, the New York Post reported. 'Climate Change' Puts Biden's EV Mandate On Thin Ice. The polar vortex gripping the nation has exposed a fatal flaw in President Joe Biden's push to force Americans into electric cars. EVs don't work well in the cold. Several news stories out of Chicago this week report how EV owners have been struggling to keep their cars charged as extreme cold saps their batteries of energy, extends charging times, and forces owners to wait for hours to get an open charger. "Several motorists told local news outlets that they had been stranded at charging stations in the cold with cars with dead batteries, while successful charging was taking far longer than usual. They also claimed that many of the charging stations were not functioning," Newsweek reports. One motorist reported that he'd seen "at least 10 cars being towed away after their battery died, with too much energy being expended keeping the car warm while drivers waited." Chicago woman, 61, brain dead after being stomped by paroled 8-time felon. The mean streets of Chicago have claimed another victim in the Democrat-controlled city with a 61-year-old woman left brain-dead after being stomped during a robbery attempt. In yet another of the tragedies that have become commonplace in the crime-ridden midwestern metropolis, the unidentified victim was riding on a Red Line train in downtown Chicago when she was set upon by two men looking to steal her purse and who resorted to savage brutality during their criminal act. One of the men, a hulking black thug and convicted felon named Mijawon Johnson, pinned the woman to a seat and "repeatedly punched and stomped her head and stomach, and jumped on her 'with all of his weight," according to police. 61-year-old woman 'not expected to survive' after being savagely beaten on a CTA train in the Loop: prosecutors. Prosecutors say a 61-year-old woman is brain dead and will likely die after an eight-time felon, on parole for robbing an undercover CPD narcotics officer, savagely beat her during a robbery aboard a Red Line train in downtown Chicago. Judge William Fahy granted the state's petition to detain Mijawon Johnson, 36, as a public safety threat during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse. State officials have also moved to revoke his parole. This is a polite way of saying they were STOLEN: Chicago Public Schools lost $23M worth of laptops, iPads and other devices in 1 year: report. An annual report from the Inspector General of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) revealed that millions of dollars worth of tech devices were reported lost or stolen "without appropriate search and recovery efforts." The fiscal year 2023 annual report released Tuesday states CPS schools reported 77,505 tech devices as lost or stolen during the 2021-22 school year, totaling well over $23 million in original purchase price. The discovery, as a result of the district's first post-COVID-19 inventory, calls the numbers "unacceptably high" and says the oversight process is in need of a "serious overhaul." The report said the missing items included laptops, iPads, Wi-Fi hotspots, printers, document cameras and interactive whiteboards. The Editor says... Only 1% of migrants in Chicago have work permit. Multiple factors likely contribute to why only a small fraction of asylum seekers in Chicago have received permits to work legally. CBS 2's Sabrina Franza reported how only about 1% of the 26,000 migrants in the city have received their documents with assistance from the city and she dug into why the number is so low. The number really boils down to three things: the cost of the application, the availability of documents, and the significant demand. "So, the jobs are there. We just have to get them the right status," said Ald. Bill Conway (34th), explaining why so few asylum seekers have received their work permits. "The only ones eligible are people that were here before August 1st and that are from Venezuela, essentially." The cost to fill out the application is over $400. Brandon Johnson Calls Greg Abbott a Threat to 'National Security' for Shipping Illegals to Chicago. To be sure, all Democrat politicians — as far as I can tell — are blatant hypocrites, completely devoid of self-awareness. That said, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is in a class of his own. Sunday, on CBS's "Face the Nation," Johnson's blatant hypocrisy and mind-blowing lack of self-awareness were on full display — in all of their magnificent idiocy. At issue was Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's continuing transport of illegal aliens to the Windy City. Johnson told host Margaret Brennan that Abbott was "determined to continue to sow seeds of chaos" by shipping illegals to his city. [... But] While most of the embattled Chicago mayor's assertions were largely correct, the blame lies exclusively at the feet of the worst president in at least modern history. The Biden Border Crisis was intentionally created by this president and as the monthly numbers of illegal alien crossings continue to rise, with December setting a new record, this administration continues to do zero — other than lie. Despite warning of cold temperatures, migrants choose to come to Chicago. As the suburbs continue to take a stand on arriving migrants, Chicago is running out of funds to help them, and space to house them. As CBS 2's Marybel Gonzalez reported, migrants are still choosing Chicago as their landing spot in the U.S. Even as temperatures drop in Chicago, the city continues to be a hot spot for new arrivals. CBS 2 spoke with a person running some of the shelters along the southern border about why this could be. The Editor says... Idiot Chicago Mayor Proposes Dumbest Possible Solution to the Increase in Violent Crime in His City. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat, is advocating for a $16.77 billion budget that includes $500,000 allocated to reparations programs as a response to the city's rising violent crime rates. During an interview with CNN's Poppy Harlow, Johnson emphasized the need for a comprehensive government approach to tackle the crime problem. Harlow pointed out that while the murder rate had decreased from the previous year, all other forms of violent crime had risen by 17%. She questioned whether Chicagoans would be safer in 2024 under the proposed budget. Johnson argued that his plan, which he referred to as a "full out community safety plan," not only addresses the root causes of violence but also makes critical investments in various areas. Johnson detailed these investments, including $250 million to address homelessness, $100 million for violence prevention, and an additional $80 million for youth employment programs. The
Chicago Mayor's Hat Trick of Dreadful Policies. Mayor Johnson wants to:
Chicago Residents Erupt During City Council Meeting Over Migrant Crisis. Chicago residents are desperately suffering from President Joe Biden's immigration policies that have caused cities to use all of their resources on illegal aliens rather than on their own residents. This week, a prominent Black activist gave a passionate speech during an all-Democrat city council meeting, calling on officials to handle immediately hand the immigrant crisis by "sending them all back." George Blakemore condemned Biden's unwillingness to secure the border, urging former President Trump to "come in here and clean up this mess" as some of the poorest neighborhoods suffer from a lack of funding and city services due to the migrant crisis. The Chicago resident called it "un-American" and "disgraceful" to see illegal aliens come into the United States and reap the same benefits, if not better, than hard-working American taxpayers. One of Chicago's longest-serving Democratic lawmakers [has been] convicted of racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion. Former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke, one of the most powerful and longest-serving politicians in the Windy City, was found guilty Thursday of racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion after a six-week-long federal corruption trial. The 79-year-old Democrat was convicted on 13 of the 14 charges leveled against him in a 2019 federal indictment accusing the veteran Chicago City Council member of using his position to steer business from private developers to his law firm. Prosecutors also alleged that Burke threatened to block a measure raising admission fees at Chicago's famed Field Museum over its failure to grant an internship to the daughter of a former alderman, whom he had recommended. Illinois population declines for 10th straight year. Illinois residents left the state at a rate of 1 every 6 minutes between July 2022 and July 2023, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed the state's population declined for the 10th year in a row, losing 32,826 residents this year. The Illinois Policy Insititute calculated that 83,839 people left the state. A poll it conducted found that 51% of residents said they would leave the state if given the opportunity, citing high taxes, crime, and the cost of living as primary reasons. Texas officials send migrants to Chicago on private plane, mayor's office says. Texas officials chartered a private plane to fly migrants to Chicago on Tuesday night, according to Mayor Brandon Johnson's office. Police at O'Hare Airport were told a private plane chartered by the Texas Department of Emergency Management landed and left approximately 100 asylum seekers at Signature Flight. The mayor's office says this is the first time a private plane has been chartered to fly migrants into Chicago. Two unidentified individuals who flew with the plane reportedly fled Signature Flight and left the scene in an Uber before police arrived, according to a statement from the City of Chicago. The flight originated from El Paso, Texas. Chicago's new mayor [is] focusing on [the] wrong root causes of crime. Last Thursday, Chicago's new mayor, Brandon Johnson, the candidate of the far-left Chicago Teachers Union, held a press conference. It was one of those dog-and-pony shows, also in attendance was the city's police superintendant, Larry Snelling a Johnson appointee, and other municipal officials. Armed with brochures, Johnson unveiled the "People's Plan for Community Safety." Who are the people that devised the plan? Presumably that group doesn't include cops and crime victims, and it almost certainly doesn't include the South Side family who had two cars stolen in separate incidents last month. One theft was a carjacking that was captured in a horrifying video. Crime was the main campaign issue in this spring's runoff election for mayor. Paul Vallas, a moderate Democrat, promised to beef up law enforcement. It was the center piece of his lackluster campaign. Johnson, appealing to his African American and leftist whites, vowed to attack crime at the root causes — just like the outgoing mayor, Lori Lightfoot. Crime soared under Lightfoot. And now that she is gone, it's still high. Chicago voters won't get chance to weigh in on sanctuary city status, City Council decides. Mayor Brandon Johnson and his City Council allies on Thursday used a parliamentary maneuver to squelch an advisory referendum that would have allowed Chicago voters to weigh in on whether Chicago should remain a sanctuary city. A special City Council meeting called to consider the issue was over in less than an hour and never got off the ground. Instead, Johnson ruled that the proposed referendum championed by Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) needed a two-thirds vote, or 33 alderpersons, to suspend the rules so that it could be considered because it had not been approved by the Rules Committee. 3 Chicago men [were] arrested with multiple loaded guns following high-speed police chase: prosecutors. Three men were charged after leading police on a high-speed chase from suburban Oak Brook to Chicago on Wednesday [12/13/2023]. Jeremiah Dawson, 21, Travon Garland, 19, and Isaiah Dukes, 26, all of Chicago, were arrested in the 6400 block of West Higgins Avenue where police found several loaded weapons in their car following a pursuit. Chicago's migrant crisis spirals out of control: City spent nearly $1 million on failed camp before pulling the plug. Chicago spent nearly $1 million to build a migrant camp on a toxic site, as the city continues to struggle with a massive surge of asylum seekers, with officials now impounding incoming buses. Official records seen by ABC 7 show the city spent more than $985,000 on the shuttered migrant camp at a Brighton Park lot[,] despite warnings that the site was not safe and outrage by locals, including a lawsuit. The nearly $1 million bill is not much compared to the total expected cost of the camp, which was mostly financed by the state government under a $125 million contract with a private contractor. Chicago lawmakers are blocking efforts to put sanctuary city status on ballot. Chicago's Democrat leaders have been accused of hiding from voters in a city buckling under a migrant crisis after they blocked a vote on ditching its sanctuary city status. Mayor Brandon Johnson ordered his lieutenants to quash a bid to put the controversial 'Welcoming City Ordinance' to a referendum on Chicago's March primary ballot. It came after the mayor's floor leader was forced to resign for physically blocking opponents trying to access a previous vote on the issue last month. The president of the Illinois NAACP called illegal aliens 'savages'. For decades, the Democrats have built a political coalition based on victimhood. Indeed, they even have a name for this coalition: Intersectionality. Women, blacks, the handicapped, Hispanics, the LGBTQ+ cadre, they were all bound together by shared resentment against white men. As the old Arab proverb went, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." But what happens when the common enemy is less of a problem than that intersectional friend? We're finding out in Chicago where blacks are increasingly dismayed by the city giving illegal aliens resources that once went to the black community. And in a city plagued by crime, it turns out that at least some blacks prefer the familiar black criminals as opposed to the new illegal alien criminals. News broke yesterday that the president of the Illinois NAACP got in trouble because she called illegal aliens rapists, robbers, and even "savages": [...] What the Democratic Party Has Become. A recent headline in "The Epoch Times": "Chicago to Give Illegal Immigrants up to $9,000 Each for Housing Costs." Chicago is paying people to break the law. This is what the Democratic Party in America has become. I guess Chicago did this. The city is taking money away from hard-working, law-abiding, decent American citizens and giving it to people who should not be in the country. People who are violating American laws, spitting in the face of our people, and mocking the United States. They are criminals who are allowed to roam freely on our streets with no penalty, taking jobs from Americans, indeed, with money from honest people in their pockets, courtesy of the Democratic Party. But this is what the Democratic Party has become. They hate America. What other explanation is there for robbing their own law-abiding citizens and giving the money to criminals? America will never be saved until the traitorous, totalitarian, America-loathing Democratic Party is totally crushed. 'Bank jackings' in Chicago see robbers drain victims' accounts with their phone apps. You know about carjackings. Now, you also need to be wary of "bank jackings." Millions of Americans whip out their phones to pay for everything from dinners to vacation rentals using banking apps like Zelle, Venmo and Cash App. But that convenience is fueling a new kind of robbery. In Chicago and other cities, gunmen have been forcing people to unlock their phones with their pass codes or technology that recognizes thumbprints and faces, according to police. Once in, the robbers drain victims' bank accounts. The payoff is often $1,000 or more — a lot more than criminals typically score by just stealing a wallet. In Chicago, the robbers often wear the kinds of masks that have been common since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, even when the police can trace where a money transfer ended up from someone's phone, the victim often can't identify the assailant. Progressive Chicago Teachers Union boss owes thousands in unpaid utility bills despite eye-popping salary. The progressive president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) owes thousands in unpaid utility bills despite making an eye-popping salary, the Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) has found. According to the non-profit group, Stacy Davis Gates owes the city of Chicago $5,579 in unpaid water, sewer and trash bills as of Nov. 7, 2023, despite bringing home "at least" $289,000 a year. Documents uncovered by the group show Davis Gates started a payment plan for the amount in July 2023, but quickly defaulted. It's unclear where she currently stands on the payments. Chicago Teachers' Union Got Some 'Splainin' to Do. They sure can strong arm people to collect it, and they sure can spend it, but the second the folks who are required to hand it over every month ask "where's it going?" You already know what the union answer is. [...] Well, those racists out there forking over now $1400 a year are wondering why an organization that hauled in over $35.5 million last year still ran a half a million dollar deficit. Which is why they were asking, yet again, for an audit as required by the Chicago Teachers Union's own rules. Chicago Migrants Kicked Out Of Police Station Into Bitter Cold Weather. Chicago migrants temporarily living in a police station were kicked out into the cold due to their refusal to relocate to a shelter. Migrants have been piling into the Windy City over the past few months. There are limited resources and limited places to house these people. Police stations, churches, Chicago O'Hare Airport, and other locations have been turned into makeshift homeless shelters just to accommodate the migrants. However, the situation has become untenable and other arrangements must be made. Migrants at a Chicago police station were requested to transfer to a local shelter. Some of them accepted while others refused and attempted to hunker down at the police station. A viral video shows law enforcement removing the remaining people and forcing them out into the cold. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Blames 'Right-Wing Extremists' for City's Problems. Democrat Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson blamed "right-wing extremism" for some of the ills facing his crime-ridden city. Johnson issued his statement about the "far right" during a press conference on Tuesday. "What we've seen is a very raggedy form of right-wing extremism," the mayor said. "Everyone knows that the right-wing extremism in this country has targeted democratically run cities, and quite frankly, they have been quite intentional about going after democratically ran [sic] cities that are led by people of color." The Editor says... Dems Are Getting Mugged By Reality, Often Literally. Some Democrats are waking up and noticing that the policies they've been cheerleading have produced violent crime waves, a massive migrant crisis, and genocidal antisemitism. One would hope the public at large is catching on as well. Just over the past few weeks, we've seen a spate of headlines about lefty, soft-on-crime Democrats attacked on the mean streets they've helped create. [Examples omitted for brevity.] Andre Vasquez, who heads the Chicago City Council's Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, told Politico "You're hearing sentiments that are not dissimilar from what you would hear at Trump rallies. ... There are people who are saying 'the Democratic Party isn't doing anything for us' and 'look at what we're stuck with.'" Maybe that's because, as one Chicago Democrat pointed out, while tens of thousands of blacks in the city are homeless, illegals are being put up in hotels. 4 Chicago Cops Learn It's Hard To Keep A Good Scholar Down. Video of a retail theft arrest at 95th and Ashland. The subject resists police and takes off running. [Video clip] Or, to put it another way... As unemployment in the black community climbs, Chicago Democrats hold a job fair for illegals. At the beginning of this month, a Chicago-based staffing agency partnered with a number of local Democrats to hold a job fair for around 400 open job positions, to a group of around 500 illegal aliens; [...] Meanwhile, black Americans have the highest unemployment rate in the country; according to the latest national data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that number was 5.8% for October 2023. According to a September report from a local Chicago outlet, Chicago unemployment rates hovered around the national average, but among black residents? That number was a whopping 14.3%. [...] Well, congratulations to the black Chicagoans, because they're getting exactly what they voted for, even though they probably didn't realize it — they went to the ballot box for abortion, skin color, and "progress" and got more unemployment, more crime, and more betrayal. Illegals are the Chicago political machine's newest crop of voters, of course they're rolling out the red carpet to accommodate; getting these tens of thousands of people on the government dole means a new reliable voting bloc for years to come. Chicago: A City in Freefall. [Scroll down] When a sports team gets better, its rivals do, too. They have to. When a restaurant or department store becomes more popular, its competitors across the street or across the mall quickly up their game as well, offering better value, better service, better quality, better ambiance — whatever it takes to win back the customers they've lost. Only in politics do we see this apparent disinterest in results. Only in the sphere of state and local governments do we see politicians uninterested in the decline of their cities, the indigence of their population, the loss of opportunities for the generations to come. In both Chicago and Springfield, the statistics virtually scream for a change in direction, and our politicians just whistle louder to themselves, hands over their ears, as they continue to do more of the things that caused the problems. It's not rocket science: cut tax rates, revoke sanctuary status, lock up the criminals. That's all. Business will thrive again; tourists and shoppers will return. But the Chicago Democratic Machine just doesn't do "solutions." Oh, the South Side of Chicago Is the Baddest Part of Town. [Scroll down] Chicago criminals also seem to have started indulging an overdeveloped sweet tooth for vehicular thefts, with or without drivers. In one particularly horrifying instance last week, a mom had just parked her car after bringing her 12 year old daughter home from volleyball practice. Knee deep in closing the door of the separate garage and getting to the backdoor of her home in the dark, she never once noticed the two men who had followed them home, and were waiting in the driveway for her. Raucous crowds flood Chicago City Council, shut down meeting over sanctuary city issue. A special City Council meeting to discuss Chicago's sanctuary city status descended into chaos on Tuesday. The meeting was suspended amid a large contingent of loud and angry demonstrators that had taken over the gallery in the City Council chambers, expressing their displeasure over Chicago's status as a sanctuary city. Some protestors were kicked out of the rules committee meeting, which had to be shut down because nobody could hear what anybody was saying. Last week, there was an attempt to take a vote on an ordinance that would create a referendum on next spring's ballot, allowing the public to decide whether Chicago should continue its status as a sanctuary city. However, that meeting never got off the ground, because they could not reach a quorum. The migrant crime wave is here. Where is the mainstream media on this story? In the Chicago area, where I live, the MSM is asleep at the wheel. Chicago's woke daily newspapers, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, the latter laughingly calls itself "the hardest-working newspaper in America," are the worst violators of committing the sin of omission in regard to media bias. Television and radio websites here are a bit better, but if you want to get the feel of what the Joe Biden's migrant crisis has done to the Chicago area, there is only one website to visit, CWB Chicago, which works a heck of a lot harder than the leftist Sun-Times. Here are some headlines from CWB Chicago from just the last six months: [Long list of headlines] [...] As for those links, while the alleged criminals are all referred to as "migrants," it's not always stated in these reports where they are from. That being said, in every case where a nationality is named, every time they are listed as Venezuelan. Chicago's Solution to Its Failing School System: Stop Grading Schools on Performance. In 1987, U.S. Education Secretary Bill Bennett famously traveled to Chicago, where he ruffled feathers by telling a closed-room group that the Windy City's school system was "the worst in the nation." Local parents and educators bristled at the charge, which resulted in an awkward New York Times story. But decades of data would subsequently prove that Mr. Bennett was basically correct: Chicago's schools were a total mess. The city's own accountability report card would later demonstrate that huge majorities of students in the city's worst schools — 75 percent in elementary and 95 percent in high school — failed to meet the state standards. Things hardly improved during the pandemic, even though the Chicago Public School (CPS) system was spending roughly $28,000 per student (partly thanks to federal bailout cash). "Just 30% of Black students meet or exceed reading standards in the third grade, and the number falls to 14% for 11th graders, according to data from the Illinois State Board of Education," The Chicago Tribune pointed out last year. Chicago schools clearly aren't getting the job done, but political leaders in the city have discovered a solution to the problem: stop grading schools. Pro-Palestine Protesters Clash in Chicago With Radical Black 'Israelite' Group. An extremist group that believes black Americans and other people of color are the real descendants of the ancient Israelites clashed Saturday with pro-Palestine protesters in Chicago while police attempted to calm the two groups. The sometimes violent exchanges between pro-Palestine protesters and members or supporters of Black Hebrew Israelites followed a march around the Chicago Loop organized by a group called the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine, police said. Pro-Palestine and pro-Hamas protesters chanted their demand for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. Thirty minutes into the march, altercations began to break out among the thousands of protesters, CBS News Chicago reported. Video reports show members and supporters of Black Hebrew Israelites and pro-Palestine groups violently attacking each other, some using flags as weapons and others throwing objects. Chicago meeting turns ugly as residents protest planned migrant camp in local neighborhood: 'Nobody asked us'. A meeting over Chicago's brewing migrant crisis in the Brighton Park neighborhood became heated as residents protested a planned camp that can house over 2,000 migrants, according to Fox 32 Chicago. Residents of the southwest side of Chicago neighborhood were fiercely divided over the plan, with city officials confirming their plans to build a camp for migrants on a "10-acre vacant lot, located at 38th and California," per the outlet. "The City of Chicago has been identifying viable sites across the city to construct base camps as an alternative to new arrivals sleeping outdoors, at O'Hare and on the floors of police district stations as winter fast approaches," a statement from the mayor's office reads. "The site at 38th and California appears viable, and the intention is to construct temporary shelter at this site." The GOP and moderate Dems should be paying attention to Chicago's anti-migrant protests. If Republicans — or even those few moderate Democrats — want to advance their political career, a good place to start is Chicago's Southwest Side. There have a been a series of protests in the mostly Hispanic Brighton Park neighborhood, which has a sizable Asian minority, over the migrant crisis created by Joe Biden and the Democrat Party. Residents found out through the rumor mill that the administration Mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago's far-left mayor who was elected six months ago, has his haughty eyes on Brighton Park. And rumors are true sometimes, and they were confirmed when residents noticed bulldozing on property that has been vacant for a while. Chicago's 12th Ward, which has slightly less than 60,000 residents, will have a population bump soon. However, many of them will be living in tents, although a contractor is calling them "yurts." Orkin declares Chicago [is America's] 'rattiest' city. In the rat race for 'most rodent-infested city' Chicago has taken the top spot for its ninth year in a row beating Los Angeles and New York. Pest control company Orkin looked at the number of rodent treatments performed on both residential and commercial buildings in the past 12 months and declared the city in Illinois as the most rodent-infested city for 2023. Los Angeles came in second and most surprisingly New York City trailed closely behind at third. Government-Run Grocery Store Is Predictably Losing Money. Chicago's city government is infamously corrupt and unable to provide basic services like education and public safety consistently, but Mayor Brandon Johnson is pushing for the city to also try running a grocery store. It wouldn't be the first government-run grocery store — and not even the first one in the United States. For some context about what Chicago is planning, The Wall Street Journal dispatched a reporter to check out the municipal-owned grocery store in Erie, Kansas, which opened in 2021. How's it going there? Uh, not great. "Erie Market, which the city took over in 2021, is losing money almost every month amid stiff competition from a Walmart 15 miles away and a Dollar General across the street," reports the Journal's Joe Barrett. Erie Market posted just a single profitable month during 2022 and lost $132,000. Maybe Erie's erstwhile government grocers didn't realize that — unlike with other government services — grocery stores are subject to competition. Two Rival Gangs Shoot Each Other Up in Chicago. The River North neighborhood is on edge again after eight people were left wounded when gunfire erupted early Sunday morning. "I heard a lot, definitely more than 10 sounds. And for me, it was more like fireworks. They were, like, nonstop," said Yulia Ilina, who lives in the area. [Video clip] Chicago Gang Members Show Off Their Guns. Filled with vim and lethal exuberance, these Four Corner Hustlers are joyriding in Austin, which also happens to be the Mayor of Chicago's neighborhood. The young lad in the back seat has a pistol outfitted with a switch for full auto. [Video clip] They live at the police station. Chicago is giving $9,000 to migrants to cover their rent and help furnish their apartments. Chicago is giving $9,000 in rental assistance to migrants in need of temporary housing, after it paid a medical firm a staggering $7.2 million for staffing shelters for just one week, according to official records. The Windy City is struggling with over 11,000 migrants in shelters and 4,000 staying in police stations and the O'Hare International Airport after more than 18,000 have arrived in the city in one year. To free much-needed room in shelters, the state of Illinois is helping cover costs for temporary housing for migrants, including $9,000 in rental assistance over a six-month period, Chicago's deputy chief of staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas told Fox32. The funds include assistance with moving costs and a starter kit to furnish apartments. Chaos Erupts in Chicago City Hall as Palestinian Rioters Disrupt Council Meeting. Palestinian rioters stormed Chicago City Hall on Friday, disrupting the proceedings and assaulting police officers. The incident occurred as the City Council was in the process of approving a resolution declaring solidarity with Israel, following a brutal attack by Hamas militants over the weekend. Alderman Debra Silverstein, the council's only Jewish member, introduced the symbolic Israel Solidarity Resolution to show support for Israel after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack from the Gaza Strip, killing hundreds and taking many more hostage. "I urge my colleagues to be on the right side of history, and to take a stand against Hamas' evil. The United States of America stands with Israel. President Biden and Vice President Harris stand with Israel," Silverstein said. The resolution was met with opposition from pro-Palestinian protesters who had gathered in the City Council chamber. Mayor Brandon Johnson ordered police to clear the public out of the second-floor gallery after protesters repeatedly ignored his calls for decorum. Chicago braces for buses carrying up to 1,250 migrants daily: 'An untenable situation'. Fifty coaches carrying migrants have arrived in Chicago over the last week and authorities are bracing for up to 25 buses with around 1,250 people aboard to start arriving daily. The deluge has caused huge problems and prompted backlash from residents in the city, which long ago ran out of shelter space and has been allowing asylum seekers to sleep in O'Hare Airport and police stations across the city. In a scathing letter to President Biden Monday, Illinois' Democrat Governor, J.B. Pritzker accused the feds of failing to provide adequate aid to the city — a sentiment echoed by numerous other American mayors as the crisis unfolds. The Purge: Chicago Style. In the mayoral runoff election in 2023, law-and-order Paul Vallas went up against if-you-notice-increasing-crime-you're-a-racist Brandon Johnson (both Democrats, mind you). After years of more daylight robberies, more Magnificent Mile flash mobs, and more grade schoolers murdered by gang violence, voters got to choose between course correction and doubling down on stupid. And Chicago progressives declared in one voice, "Hold my box wine." So here we are, a few months later, with no signs of things going in any direction except worse. One could hardly expect less with Jussie Smollett's bleach-wielding attackers still on the loose. But for those more inclined to engage in deadlier forms of assault, Chicago remains a spiraling free-for-all. It's gotten to the point where a community group called Native Sons recently proposed "The People's Ordinance," which asks the local drive-by shooters and drug dealers to voluntarily restrict their rampant criminality (or, as they put it, "high-risk activities") to between the hours of 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. A Democratic civil war in Chicago. Tempers are flaring in the city of Chicago and protests are taking place on an almost daily basis now. But the city's residents are not protesting against Donald Trump or the police or carbon emissions. They're protesting the government of newly elected Mayor Brandon Johnson. And they're not just upset about the rampant crime rates in the city, though there have been some protests about that as well. The most recent protests are in opposition to the city's handling of the busloads of illegal migrants that are showing up in Chicago and the Mayor's plans to convert more buildings and facilities into migrant shelters. The one that took place yesterday outside of the Amundsen Park Fieldhouse was particularly "lively" [...] The current plan would convert the park into a shelter and the people from the neighborhood were having none of it. A typical night in Chicago. When Brandon Johnson was elected as the new Mayor of Chicago earlier this year, he promised that things were going to be different. And everyone there who managed to survive Lori Lightfoot's tenure as Mayor certainly hoped that was true. But specifically, how would it be different? He's had some time to find his way around and begin putting his own policies in place, but taking a quick glance at recent headlines, things really don't seem to have changed all that much. Looking closer, however, perhaps things are at least a tad bit different. If anything, they're worse. Pretty much every night after the sun goes down, people show up across the city and start committing crimes. These aren't protests of any sort. Nobody is waving banners or yelling about how Black Lives Matter. They're just criminals taking to the streets in large numbers. CBS News in Chicago is scrambling to cover all of the action that unfolded on Sunday night. In one series of events, multiple people were robbed in a matter of minutes, likely by the same group of armed suspects. Chicago Armed Robbers on an Extraordinary Rampage: 'Everyone Is so Freaked Out'. Chicago's criminal class is feeling a little left out these days. They're envious of all the smash-and-grab looters that are operating out west. So Chicago's criminals decided to go the looters one better. In a shocking series of armed robberies throughout the city, thieves have developed new tactics that allow them to hit a dozen or more unsuspecting victims on the street and disappear before the police can scoop them up. The robbers use stolen cars and hit specific neighborhoods, accosting people and taking their valuables while brandishing automatic weapons in their faces. One such spree included two armed thieves hitting two discount stores and robbing employees and then stealing wallets and other items from pedestrians on the street. The police captured one of the crooks by sheer happenstance when a citizen called in a report of two men running from a stolen Kia. But this is a "drop in the bucket," according to the Chicago Tribune. Venezuelan Migrants Discover Chicago Is Far Worse Than Where They Came From. A recent video shows a chaotic scene what appears to be Chicago minors and adults attacking a group of migrants in Rogers Park Wednesday afternoon. The families, who arrived from Venezuela a few months ago, said their children were attacked after school near Sullivan High School by a group made up of minors and some adults. Mirna Mendez, the mother of 15-year-old Asdrubal, said her son was hit twice with a bat and kicked several times, leaving him bruised with broken ribs and a black eye. [Video clip] Voters are the reason Chicago has food deserts. Crime is so rampant in major cities like Chicago that shoplifting calls have become something police no long have the time to respond to. They are short-staffed and crime is growing virtually unchecked. Many store chains have policies for employees, including security, to not stop shoplifters for fear of the employee being hurt. This invites criminals to take what they want, leaving the company to take the loss. For those who say, crime is not a problem (and it is doubtful that most of the politicians in office would try to make this case anymore), look on the streets of the city and see what is happening. Hundreds of teens rioting, damaging property, and attacking people, for no reason other than they were encouraged to do so on social media. The result is that stores in high-crime areas are dealing with a greater number of shoplifting incidents that police can't respond to because they are short-staffed and shoplifting isn't as important to them as dealing with a murder, rape, or assault. Cashless bail: Judge refuses to jail Chicago man accused of shooting dog, having 50-round ammo magazines. A Cook County judge rejected a prosecutor's request to jail a Chicago man who allegedly shot a dog as a threat to public safety on Monday. Instead, Judge Mary Marubio sent Darrick Bender, 19, home with a nighttime curfew and orders to stay away from the dog's owners, court records show. Chicago police initially responded to a ShotSpotter gunfire detection alert in the 5000 block of South La Crosse late Sunday night. Before they arrived, dispatchers radioed that a 911 caller reported that a man had just shot his dog one address away from where the ShotSpotter indicated a gun had been fired, according to a Bender's CPD arrest report. A [White] Man Is Brutally Sucker-Punched, Assaulted In Chicago Alley By Two [Black] Thugs, Then Robbed. A man was attacked from behind in a Bucktown alley by two assailants in broad daylight Monday. As CBS 2's Sabrina Franza reported, the whole thing was caught on camera. At 2:55 p.m., the 33-year-old victim was walking down an alley behind Damen Avenue at Dickens Avenue. Two attackers were trailing him over his shoulder. The attackers threw the man right into a chain-link fence and knocked him to the ground. He could not see it was coming — but he did fight back. [Video clip] Some Workers at Chicago Migrant Shelters Making $200 an Hour. The City of Chicago has denied a Freedom of Information Act request by TV station NBC5 for city records on a Kansas-based company, Favorite Healthcare Staffing, which billed the city for $57 million to staff migrant shelters around the city. The burden of redacting the records, the city's letter says, "outweighs the public interest in the information." What is the news outlet so curious to know? Back in August 2022, city finance records show that Favorite Healthcare Staffing has billed the city for $57 million. The only problem is that no one in the city government will say what that $57 million was for. And what little information has come to light has only lit a fire under the news outlet that sniffs a good old-fashioned Chicago political corruption story. [Tweet] Chicago Bears See $100K Worth of Equipment Stolen From Soldier Field. According to ABC7 in Chicago, a manager at the Bears' home stadium revealed on Friday that someone stole equipment with "gators and lawn mowers" taken out of a "parking structure." The theft reportedly occurred overnight on Wednesday night, with the perpetrators tearing down a security fence to drive the equipment out of the garage. In Chicago People Got Hacked By Machetes During Mexican Parade. Chaos and violence broke out during 'Mexican Independence Day' celebrations in Chicago over the weekend. Multiple barbaric attacks were captured on camera as combatants slashed each other with a machete and a visibly injured police officer was bashed over the head with a wooden stick as he lay in the street. [Video clip] To Market, to Market. [Scroll down] In sum, Defund the Police has morphed into Destroy Our Urban Centers. Of course, the very people who endorsed the economic and law-enforcement policies which have driven up prices will now be heard to whine about food and retail deserts. The mayor of Chicago has offered up an idea even dumber than Defund the Police. Mayor Brandon Johnson wants to create city-owned grocery stores. The notion of one of the most corrupt, incompetent governments in the West running retail establishments, which even when well-run eke out slim profits of an estimated 1-3% of sales, is hilarious. Do it, mayor. Let us know how you handle shoplifters in them and what city management will cost those overburdened taxpayers unable to flee the city. Sanctuary City Chicago Faces $538M Budget Deficit Over Illegal Immigration. The sanctuary city of Chicago, Illinois, is facing a massive budget deficit due to illegal immigration, while non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rake in huge sums of taxpayer cash for providing services to border crossers and illegal aliens. Since the summer of last year, Chicago has seen an influx of thousands of border crossers and illegal aliens — 13,500 of which are living off taxpayers in the city's shelter system. Chicago Cop Is Beaten With A Wooden Beam During Mexican Independence Day Celebrations. This happened during the Mexican Independence Day "celebrations" at 25th and Homan in Chicago. There are no reports of the incident as of yet on the mainstream media. [Video clip] Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Wants to Open City-Owned Grocery Stores. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) is looking into opening taxpayer-funded, city-owned grocery stores in areas in which businesses have pulled out due to rampant crime. Johnson announced a partnership with the Economic Security Project to look into the possibility of opening city-owned grocery stores. The first step in the partnership will be to perform a feasibility study, but the city did not provide a timeline, the Chicago Tribune reported. The Editor says... Growing costs of migrant care tied to projected $538 million budget deficit. Mayor Brandon Johnson announced Wednesday that the city of Chicago is facing a projected $538 million budget deficit for 2024 — a financial burden his administration blamed in part on the growing cost of caring for migrants. Since asylum seekers began arriving one year ago, the city is now hosting at least 13,000 migrants who are living at airports, police stations and shelters spread across the city. According to latest budget projections released by the Johnson administration, records show at least $200 million of the deficit stems from special project costs — which includes caring for new arrivals to the city of Chicago. Chicago Mayor Pushes 'Mansion Tax' on Homes over $1 Million. How much does a "mansion" cost in a major U.S. city? Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson's answer: $1 million. Never mind that $1 million will barely get you a single-family home, retail space, or three-flat walkup in a decent neighborhood in Chicago. Johnson believes people who own properties worth $1 million in the third-largest city in the U.S. are "rich." If they sell those properties, they need to pay. That's why the new mayor, a former leader of the radical Chicago Teachers Union, has proposed a new real-estate-transfer tax. It's a "compromise" from his previous plan, which would have more than tripled the transfer-tax rate from 0.75 percent to 2.65 percent for transfers over $1 million. No 20-mph default speed limit in Chicago: Stop the tyranny of the cyclists now. Chicagoans voted for a handful when they elected Brandon Johnson as mayor. He's a leftist whose candidacy was pretty much paid for by the Chicago Teachers Union. In July, his transition team released "A Blueprint for Creating a More Just and Vibrant City for All," their gameplan for America's third-largest city. In it you'll find a recommendation that Chicago should "lower the default citywide speed limit to 20 mph generally and 10 mph on residential streets." Currently, unless otherwise posted, the statewide urban default speed limit, when no signs are posted, is 30 miles per hour. That means for what you might call a through street, or an arterial street, such as Cicero Avenue or 111th Street, unless posted differently — and yes, possibly higher — the speed limit is 30-mph. Expressways have [...] 55-mph speed limits in Chicago. Residential streets, or what Chicagoans have always called side streets, appear to also have a 30-mph speed limit too. Chicago rideshare driver brutally beaten and carjacked by three women. A violent attack took place in broad daylight in Chicago's Chinatown, where an Uber driver was assaulted by three women with a pipe. The horrific incident was caught on police surveillance video. Footage of the attack was captured at the intersection of 22nd Place and Princeton Avenue. Danxin Shi, 62, recently spoke out about the incident. He had just arrived home when he was brutally assaulted and had his car keys stolen, according to WFLD. Chicago to move migrants from police stations to tent camps before winter under mayor's plan. Nearly 1,600 migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. will be relocated from Chicago police stations to winterized camps with massive tents under a plan by Mayor Brandon Johnson, according to a report released Thursday. The relocations will occur "before the weather begins to shift and change," Johnson said in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times. The tents could hold up to 1,000 migrants, he said, and the camps would provide meals and recreational and educational programming. Chicago's O'Hare Airport [is being] used as a migrant shelter. Chicago leaders are facing backlash over hundreds of migrants being housed at O'Hare International Airport, one of the nation's busiest airports. Chicago reporter William Kelly joined "Fox & Friends" Thursday to discuss what the city has been experiencing as a result of the influx of migrants. More than 400 migrants are reportedly being housed in a section of the airport, hidden from public view behind black curtains, up from 31 at the beginning of August. Blacks In Chicago Are Now [Complaining] About Getting What They Voted For. Black citizens of Chicago came out in force to publically condemn the government for letting hordes of illegals into the city and giving them all the resources the black community needs. Hey, you guys keep voting for the same madness that harms your community so maybe stop [complaining] and start voting differently. [Video clip] Teachers Union Pres. Who Conflated Private Education With Facism Sends Her Son To Elite Private Catholic School. Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) president Stacy Davis-Gates sends her son to an elite private Catholic school, despite having voiced her opposition to school choice policies in the past, according to multiple reports. Davis-Gates reportedly sends her son to the well-regarded De La Salle Institute, nestled on Chicago's south side, according to Wirepoints. The private Catholic school costs $14,750 in tuition per year, according to their website. An Armed Chicago Homeowner Shoots Intruder, Highlighting the Urgency of Gun Ownership in the Windy City. Chicago had another bloody weekend with a string of gun violence incidents. It's an issue that seemingly comes up every single week as the Windy City deals with an ongoing rash of violent crimes. Over 30 people were shot, including six children. However, there is one incident that brings a more nuanced perspective to the overall debate over violent crime and lawful gun ownership. A Chicago man is still alive thanks to his firearm, which he used to protect himself and his property from a home intruder on Monday. A Group Of [Black] Kids Rob A [White] Man Of His Bike And Go Through His Pockets In Chicago. Another example of how far Chicago has fallen as young kids quickly took a bike from a guy and went through his pockets near Grand & Homan yesterday. [Video clip] Another Weekend, Another Mass Shooting Outside A Party In Chicago. After a party on 57th and Lawndale, a group of people gathered outside. As they stood together on the corner, a car slowly approached then one of the occupants could be heard asking loudly, "Who's about to get smoked? [Video clip] House migrants at City Hall, police union president says. Fed up with having Chicago police officers "babysit" asylum-seekers, Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara on Thursday proposed an alternative to district stations: allowing hundreds of migrants to sleep in the lobbies and open hallways at City Hall. "I don't think there's one single one of 'em living in City Hall — whether it's on the county lobby floor or the City Hall floor. There's certainly plenty of space to put a couple hundred in there, but I don't see that happening in their workspace. But they certainly have no problem putting 'em in our workspace," Catanzara said. "Why be a hypocrite?" Catanzara said it was "so ridiculous" that "there's actually mail. Migrants are using police district addresses to receive their mail. They now have CPS out there recruiting migrant children to register for CPS just to have that number in the next two weeks to grab as much tax revenue as they possibly can. Whether these kids come to school or not, they don't care. This is all a big game to far too many people." Mayor Brandon Johnson has made it a priority to, as he put it, "decompress" police stations, but that appears to be a losing battle. Chicago Slides Further Into Chaos As Locals Battle With Illegal Immigrants On The Streets. According to the source of the following footage, there was recently a clash between migrants and some individuals in Downtown Chicago, they can be seen throwing bottles at each other, in the video one of the individual involved in the conflict seems to have been injured during the confrontation. [Video clip] Entire Restaurant Hits The Deck As Man Is Executed In His Car Right Outside. Early this Sunday, a man was fatally shot while waiting at a red light on the Near North Side. The 24-year-old was in his BMW on the 800 block of North Orleans when a white SUV pulled up beside him at about 3:36 a.m. Multiple shots were fired from inside the SUV, hitting him multiple times, despite CPR and other life-saving attempts by bystanders, and paramedics he didn't survive his injuries and passed away at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. [Video clip] Chicago sues automakers over cars being stolen. For several years now, Chicago's spiraling crime rates have featured a shocking increase in the number of vehicular thefts and carjackings. The Chicago Police Department recorded an increase in car thefts from 9,000 to 21,000 in just the past three years. Among the most popular cars to steal are Kias and Hyundais, possibly because they are the easiest to break into and drive away. In response, the city's new anti-cop mayor, Brandon Johnson, has decided to finally do something about it. Will he be sending out the police to arrest the thieves and break up the criminal gang? Don't be silly. Of course not. He's filing a lawsuit against Kia and Hyundai, claiming that their cars are too easy to steal. The Evil Of The Democrat Party. The city of Chicago might as well not exist to Democrats on the national stage. Yes, that party has ruled the city with an iron fist since 1931, and the dead there has a remarkable turnout rate for elections, but in Washington, DC, the city doesn't exist. Joe Biden and the swamp gang don't mention it because they'd have to acknowledge the piles of dead bodies the city racks up annually. While they'll show up occasionally in the region for a photo-op, they won't talk about the murders, the drugs, or the terror citizens there feel on a daily basis. It is, for lack of a more perfect word, evil. Republicans have zero say over what happens in Chicago; everything terrible there is directly a result of liberal policies. All the blood spilled drips off the hands of Democrats. They know it; they don't care. Why would they? What consequences have Democrats faced for their failure? In the last 92 years, there hasn't been a blip on the radar of a threat to Democrats winning elections there, so why would anyone give a damn? The city had a chance to pull up, just a little, from its nosedive when they tossed out the incompetent Lori Lightfoot in the mayoral primary last year. But rather than go with a more sane option, they voted for someone even worse. The new Mayor gets more upset when someone refers to murderous goons as a mob than he does any of the murders in the city. Why is anyone supposed to care if the people who live there don't? Chicago would like gang members to only shoot people at night, please. When Chicago's old anti-cop mayor was replaced by its new anti-cop Mayor, Brandon Johnson, some were concerned that he wouldn't do enough to combat the gang violence that has been leaving a trail of bodies around the Windy City for years. Well, fear not. The Mayor and the City Council are working with a local community group called Native Sons to develop a messaging campaign aimed at Chicago's street gangs. Rather than threatening to lock them up and throw away the key, they are politely asking the gangbangers to restrict their shooting activities to between the hours of 9 pm and 9 am when they are "less likely" to gun down children and innocent bystanders. How did nobody think of this before? Chicago Alderman 'backs plea for Windy City's criminals to only shoot guns between hours of 9pm to 9am. A Chicago politician and a community group desperate to slow the city's spiraling crime problem is begging for 12 hours a day where people don't shoot their guns. Alder Maria Hadden, a Democrat, boosted a proposal by the group Native Sons calling for 'The People's Ordinance' -- a ceasefire between 9 am and 9 pm. [...] They're asking for the refrain from gunshots to reduce risk to Chicagoans who are 'not involved in high risk activities.' 'We have to start somewhere,' Tatiana Atkins, co-founder of Native Sons, told CWB Chicago. The Editor says... Sanctuary City Chicago Considers Shipping Border Crossers to Suburbs. Chicago, Illinois, Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) is considering a plan in which the city would bus border crossers and illegal aliens to surrounding suburbs. According to the Center Square, Johnson said he is working with Cook County officials as well as other officials from various counties to coordinate a plan that would send hundreds — potentially thousands — of border crossers and illegal aliens out of Chicago, a proud sanctuary city. [...] Most recently, as Breitbart News reported, Chicago officials have refused to disclose a full accounting of more than $120 million that has been allocated to border crossers and illegal aliens arriving in the city. Many of those tax dollars are estimated to have ended up in the hands of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) contracted by Chicago officials to facilitate housing and other social services for border crossers and illegal aliens. Complete Chaos Breaks Out At The Chicago United Center After Active Shooter Opens Fire During Rap Concert. Over a dozen law enforcement agencies are responding to a report of an active shooter inside the United Center tonight. According to reports, law enforcement agencies in Chicago, Illinois have been called to the United Center located at 1901 W Madison St, Chicago following a report of a shooter actively firing shots. [Video clip] Chicago Mayor Johnson upset about reporter calling last week's riot a "mob action" even though it was a mob action. [Scroll down] But 40 of the creeps were arrested, they were aged from 12 to 20. Yep, 12-years-old. Well, as it's still summer vacation time in Chicago, at least Sunday wasn't what my parents called a school night. Speaking of schools, [Brandon] Johnson was the mayoral candidate of the far-left Chicago Teachers Union. He went from being a CTU teacher, to a CTU organizer, then on to being elected a Cook County commissioner. In that last post, Johnson still collected a $100,000 annual salary from the CTU. The Chicago Teachers Union is a longtime apologist for the failures of Chicago's youths, partly because they bear some responsibility for those failures, because Chicago's schools educate children quite poorly. FOP's John Catanzara blasts Brandon Johnson for calling teen looting a 'trend'. Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara unloaded on Mayor Brandon Johnson on Friday for referring to the ransacking of a South Loop convenience store as a teen "trend" — and not a "mob action" — and for telling reporters it was inappropriate "to refer to children as, like, baby Al Capones." In a YouTube video to the police rank-and-file that focused largely on an independent arbitrator's two rulings favorable to the union, Catanzara condemned Johnson as the City Hall equivalent of a permissive parent who would rather make excuses for young people wreaking havoc than hold them accountable for their criminal behavior. "The teen takeover on Roosevelt Road was not a teen takeover," Catanzara said. "It was looting. It was mob action. It is in the ordinance, Mr. Mayor. Look it up. It's also in the state statute. I would hope you'd be familiar with that. [...]" Chicago's Mayor Johnson scolds reporter for calling mass looters a 'mob,' says 'large gathering' is 'appropriate'. I don't know which is more discouraging: that the Mayor of Chicago actually tried this verbal flim-flammery or that the assembled media at his press conference didn't erupt in laughter at his attempt to blackwash rampaging looters. He thought he could get away with it, and so far as one can see, he did. [Video clip] I doubt that many Chicagoans are fooled by this linguistic pretzel-twisting. They see the 27% storefront vacancy rate on the once-proud Magnificent Mile, and the even higher rate in the Loop office district. Are these to be christened "retail opportunities"? They see weekend body counts that horrify the nation and the world. They fear leaving their homes because street crime is out of control, and they know that driving a nice car in the city risks carjacking. Are these crimes to be called "opportunity seeking"? The Editor says... Mob of '400' youngsters trashed 7-Eleven in Windy City. Chicago's new mayor Brandon Johnson took issue with a reporter for using the phrase 'mob action' to describe a rabble of up to 400 teenagers who trashed a 7-Eleven. A huge crowd stormed the convenience store in the South Loop just after 9 pm on Sunday and wreaked havoc with some looting items and others vandalizing it. The large gathering resulted in the arrest of at least 40 people, aged 12 to 20, as police tried to get the situation under control. It must be a joke when anyone ranks Illinois as a good place to do business. As an Illinois resident, it was embarrassing to read this on the front page of my local paper. It's as if no one proofreads articles anymore: [...] First, I will correct some obvious errors: The article says Illinois had an unemployment rate of 4.1% which was lower than the national average of 5.7%. The national rate was 3.7%, not 5.7%. [...] The article says that Illinois had a .2% growth rate in the 1st quarter. While nationwide the rate was 2%. I have trouble believing that minimal growth rate is a good selling point for Illinois for businesses. In Illinois biggest school district, Chicago, has only 21% of kids that read and do math at grade level. Does that really give Illinois a #2 rating in education in the country? If that is true, it is pretty sad. And Democrats just defunded a program that allowed poor kids to go to better schools. Chicago residents berate officials over crime from illegal aliens at shelters. Residents of a Chicago neighborhood angrily denounced their local officials over the crime overflowing from illegal aliens at a shelter, and some are threatening vigilante violence if nothing is done soon. More than 50 residents of the Woodlawn neighborhood attended the community meeting at Apostolic Church of God to express their outrage over prostitution, drug dealing, and violence from a migrant shelter set up at the former Wadsworth High School building. "I would ask you all to go out there — go out there at night, in the middle of the night — and see what goes on," said one woman in tears. A Massive Hood-Rat Brawl Broke Out At Wrigleyville, Chicago. At least six people died and as many as 26 others were injured in gun violence that sprawled across Chicago over the last 48 hours. The identified victims were ages 13 to 64. The violence didn't stop with shootings. A massive brawl between a couple of dozen of women broke out in Wrigleyville which took several police [officers] to break up. [Video clip] Daylight robberies return to West Loop, Logan Square; cops warn of holdup crew responsible for 60+ crimes. Another day, another stack of robberies to report about. And, like so many times in recent weeks, Wednesday's holdups were centered around Humboldt Park, Logan Square, and the West Loop. Yesterday's first wave of robberies began around 11:10 a.m. in the 1000 block of West Fulton Market. Three men traveling in a car with temporary plates robbed a man who was working outside of his money and phone, according to a CPD report. [...] According to the alert, this particular group does not use firearms to commit their robberies. CPD said the crew consists of three Black males between 15 and 20 years old who wear dark hoodies, dark pants, and dark ski masks. Another robbery was reported around 11:40 a.m. yesterday in the 2500 block of West Lyndale. But guns were displayed at that time. The victim was outside when two men wearing black masks took their wallet and phone. They escaped in an SUV bearing a temporary plate. Report: Illinois, Chicago public pension crises [are the] worst in [the] U.S.. By multiple measures, Illinois' statewide public pensions are in the worst shape in the nation, a new report shows. The same is true for Chicago-area public pensions. Yet political leaders either don't get it or fail to admit it. Gov. J.B. Pritzker and others are touting Illinois' financial improvements, but a new report by Equable Institute shows just how little improvement has been made on Illinois' biggest financial problem — pension debt. The report examined state and local pension debt across all major state and municipal pension plans, with the analysis confirming Illinois' pension crisis is the worst in the nation. Illinois ended the 2023 fiscal year with an estimated $429 billion in pension liabilities but only $218 billion worth of assets, leaving the state with $211 billion in unfunded state and local pension liabilities. Woman who ran high-end brothel in Chicago sentenced. Jessica Nesbitt, who pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges for running a high-end brothel in Chicago, has been sentenced to probation. The court ordered her to spend nine months in home confinement. Nesbitt was initially arrested in 2019, accused of earning millions of dollars through prostitution services. She admitted to arranging appointments for herself and her employees, charging as much as one thousand dollars per hour. The Classic Psychology Text That Predicted Today's Urban Decay. It's a question that most Americans who follow the news ask themselves daily: "How can the residents of so many of the nation's largest cities keep supporting local officials who tolerate the ongoing destruction of their communities?" Why this May, for example, did the citizens of Chicago — a city where 21,000 students cannot demonstrate a basic competence in reading, science, and math — choose the teachers union-backed candidate, Brandon Johnson, for mayor? Especially when Johnson's chief opponent, Paul Vallas, had promised the electorate sensible school reforms? El Paso to Chicago: The popular bus route. We learned yesterday that landlords in Illinois won't be allowed to consider a future tenant's immigration status. [...] Talking about creating an incentive to go the Windy City. That Chicago bus seat just got more and more popular. There are several problems here. First, your immigration status is important when it comes to your criminal record. I'm sure that most of the migrants do not have a criminal background. However, the landlord should be allowed to investigate the perspective tenant. It's a common-sense issue for someone who is going to give you the keys to their property. Second, how do you evict a person who is in the country illegally? How do you enforce a lease signed by someone you can't check? A Chicago Sex Scandal in Migrant Temporary Housing. No matter how many crimes occur in Chicago every day — carjackings, muggings, drug deals, political corruption — these rarely make the news, other than in reports of crime statistics. We hear numbers; we rarely learn the victims' names. There are just too many of them. It's the rarest of crimes — the incidents of severe police misconduct — that make the news. And the news of the day is a particularly disturbing story. The story broke on Thursday, July 6 that at least one Chicago police officer was being investigated for having sexual contact with illegal aliens (the press calls them "undocumented migrants," but we know what they mean), who were being housed in a police station in the North Lawndale neighborhood. The story grew by the hour, and by Friday, it was admitted that internal affairs was investigating at least four officers at the station in question, for sexual relationships with (allegedly) multiple girls sheltering there, at least one of whom is a minor, reportedly pregnant with a police officer's child. Chicago to seek disaster relief after thousands of basements flood over weekend. Some parts of the city of Chicago saw nine or more inches of rain fall over the weekend, and after thousands of residents were left dealing with basement flooding, officials are seeking state disaster relief. [...] In addition to disaster relief funding, [Mayor] Johnson also called for additional funds for flood prevention, saying that climate change will only cause more severe weather events in years to come. "Clearly the Earth is speaking to us loud and clear, where extreme weather is taking place all over the country," he said. "Unfortunately because of some of the failed policies that have left our environment vulnerable, this is not likely the last extreme example of weather." The Editor says... NASCAR and the Chicago traffic jam of 2023. Chicago tried something new this year. For the first time ever, on the weekend before Independence Day, the city of Chicago hosted a NASCAR street race — yes, in downtown Chicago, one of the best known business, shopping and entertainment districts in the world. This isn't something that the voters chose consciously; it's a decision made by the last city government, the office of the recently-defeated Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Chicagoans have been referring to the event as Lightfoot's last attack on the people of Chicago. Events like this take weeks to set up, so driving barriers and temporary viewing stands have been erected, disrupting traffic for weeks. Chicago traffic is always a challenge, even worse now than usual with a massive repaving project in process on the Kennedy Expressway (the highway connecting downtown Chicago with O'Hare Airport). Summer traffic normally swells with tourists already; Chicago hardly needed the added snarl of extensive NASCAR road closures in one of the most congested areas in the country. Chicago Police Raided at Least 21 Wrong Houses. Chicago police raided the wrong house at least 21 times between 2017 and 2020, according to an inspector general report released this week, but shoddy record keeping means the true number is unknown. The Chicago Office of Inspector General released its final report Wednesday on the Chicago Police Department's (CPD) search warrant policies, concluding that CPD's inadequate record keeping made it impossible to count or fully analyze wrong-door raids. The records the inspector general did get, however, showed that inexperience and failures to do basic investigative work contributed to botched raids. Off-Duty Chicago Cop Is Shot After Moving Garbage Cans Blocking Road. An off-duty Chicago police officer was shot on the Near West Side Wednesday night [6/21/2023]. Police said the shooting happened in the 2200-block of West Maypole around 9:15 p.m., near the intersection with Leavitt. According to police, the officer was driving in an alley when he came upon garbage cans blocking the throughway. He got out of his car, moved the garbage cans out of the way, and when he got back into his car a group of up to five people confronted him. At least some of the group were armed, and opened fire. [Video clip] Debauchery And Lawlessness During [an] Illegal Street Takeover In Chicago. This was the insanity Monday night [6/26/2023] in Chicago during an illegal street takeover. [Video clip] Mother Encourages Her 14 Year Old Son To Murder A Restaurant Worker In Chicago. Prosecutors on Thursday accused a Chicago woman of encouraging her 14-year-old son to shoot two people during an altercation at a fast food restaurant over the weekend, resulting in one man being killed. The boy did not shoot the second person. Now the mother and son are both charged with first-degree murder. "It is, in this court's opinion, highly disturbing that the defendant would encourage her 14-year-old son to be armed with a firearm and fire shots at a victim on the streets of Chicago," Judge Barbara Dawkins said during Carlishia Hood's bail hearing on Thursday. She ordered Hood to pay a $300,000 bail deposit to be released on electronic monitoring. [Video clip] Update: Chicago police: 1 injured in flash mob at Bronzeville gas station. A flash mob at a South Side gas station drew hundreds of young people and a large police presence Tuesday night. Video from the scene showed some people jumping on cars at the BP gas station near 31st Street and Michigan Avenue. Chicago police said an 18-year-old woman was struck by a gray vehicle, which fled the scene. The woman was injured in the leg and transported to a hospital in fair condition. Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson makes $10 million "growing pains" error with e-signature blunder. Chicago's newly sworn-in mayor, Brandon Johnson, just made a $10 million whopper of a mistake. ShotSpotter, which this year changed its name to SoundThnking, is a firm that sells gunfire-detection software, has few friends in Chicago. It is blamed, wrongly in my opinion, for setting up the chain events that led to the death of 13-year-old reputed gang member Adam Toledo in a police shooting. A Northwestern University study found that 86 percent of Chicago police deployments initiated by ShotSpotter alerts led to "dead-end deployments." During this year's mayoral campaign, Johnson vowed to cancel Chicago's contract with SoundThinking. But earlier this month, a contract with his e-signature approved a $10,184,900 payment to SoundThinking, covering a contract extension approved by his predecessor, Lori Lightfoot, last autumn. The mayor's senior advisor, Jason Lee, says Johnson's e-signature was mistakenly attached to the document authorizing the hefty payment. Of the contract carelessness, Lee said, "That's not the procedure that we will have moving forward, but that's what was done." Chicago Youths Film Themselves Running From Cops, Flashing Illegal Guns. [You'd better get] out of these neighborhoods, they will only get worse as their citizens vote for more and more pro-crime mayors. [Video clip] Taco Bell On The South Side Of Chicago Got A Little Too Spicy. Looks like one of the employees got his Taco Bell rung. [Video clip] I suspect the perpetrator has little or no concept of Father's Day. Dozens Of People Shot At Illegal Street Takeover In Chicago. A shooting unfolded during an illegal street takeover in Willowbrook, near Chicago, resulting in at least 29 people injured, including one fatality. According to witnesses on scene the incident occurred shortly before 12:30 a.m. at the intersection of Honeysuckle Rose Lane and Route 83. Approximately 200 to 300 individuals had gathered for the illicit event when gunshots erupted. [Video clip] CPS will use its taxing authority to increase property taxes 5% in Chicago to help funding. [Thread reader] At this rate, CPS and the city will just own all our houses soon. In the private sector, when demand for your product or service declines 20% over a decade, you usually get some sort of restructuring that includes right-sizing costs. But in the public sector? [...] To be clear, I appreciate and respect teachers. My wife was once a teacher in CPS and I benefitted immensely from quality public education. But it's fair to ask — as city tax payers — what we're getting in return for this spending increase. White Delivery Driver Finds Out a New Street To NEVER Drive On Again. This delivery driver was attempting to drop off a package at one of the houses these Chicagoans were standing in front of, it didn't end well for him when the racist remarks started and the [beating] quickly followed. Hate crime! [Video clip] Things Get Tense Between Homies And Cops In Chicago After Shots Were Fired By Another Gang. Dozens of shots were fired on Ogden in Chicago and when cops came to calm things down, they were caught in the middle of tensions. Lucky for them, they were able to settle things down a bit. [Video clip] Chicago makes the case for ending "juvenile" crime distinctions. At first glance, this recent story from CBS News in Chicago is sadly not at all unusual. On Thursday, a 27-year-old woman on the West side was physically assaulted and robbed. Previously, the same assailant allegedly committed similar assaults and robberies against a 20-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl in nearby West Garfield Park. When police finally caught up to him, he resisted arrest and fought with them. But we don't have a name for the suspect because he was also only 16 years old, so his identity is being shielded as a minor. What do you suppose is going to happen to him now? [...] Initially, the boy was charged with three felony counts of robbery and two misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and battery. But as you would imagine, public defenders are already pushing to have his case handled in juvenile court, where he will almost certainly be released and directed to some sort of "rehabilitation" program instead of serving any time. In other words, it's quite likely that he will be back out on the streets holding people up in no time. Michelle Obama's Exploitation of the Black Community. [Scroll down] Michelle's two most significant jobs in Chicago involved working on behalf of white liberal elites to deal with the problems that Black people were causing them. Chicago liberals couldn't hire a White person to make 20,000 Blacks homeless. Their answer was to hire Michelle Obama. She became Mayor Richard Daley's assistant planning commissioner. Her job was to facilitate the destruction of the low-income all-Black Cabrini Green housing project and cede the choice downtown real estate to Democrat party donors developers like Tony Rezko. Nor could the White liberal elites at the University of Chicago Medical Center hire a White person to deny access to health care to Blacks. Only a Black person could fill that job. For a cool $300,000 a year, Michelle was prepared to do all the denying that was needed. 'Junk' removal company remains busy as more people opt to leave Illinois. "In a busy day, we'll do anywhere from like 15 to 20 houses and it's weird because this started off as like a hobby," said Alex Broches, owner of The Junk Removal Dudes. Broches' side hustle with an SUV and a trailer grew into a full-blown business. [...] More and more customers are calling for a specific reason: moveouts because people are leaving the state. "You know, taxes here in Illinois are crazy," said customer Kelly Smaltz. Smaltz and her husband were headed abroad for work. Finances played into the decision to depart for them and for friends. "Of our group, probably 10 of us are leaving or have left Illinois just because, it's just, taxwise, a very difficult place to live," she said. Chicago May Have A New Mayor But The Ultra-Violence Continues. At least 20 people have been shot, four fatally, in Chicago shootings so far this weekend, police said. A man was killed and another wounded in a shooting Saturday morning in Englewood on the South Side. Shortly before noon, the 70-year-old man and a 24-year-old man were struck by gunfire in the 7100 block of South Peoria Street, according to Chicago police. The older man was shot in the chest and [he was] rushed to University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. [Video clip] ESPN Host Stephen A. Smith Is Fed Up with Silence About Black-on-Black Gun Crime. The outspoken host of ESPN's "First Take" and "The Stephen A. Smith Show" podcast is fed up with black-on-black crime and the silence that surrounds it. This week Smith said during his eponymous podcast that he "had no choice" but to talk about it. Lamenting the high number of shootings in Chicago over the long Memorial Day Weekend, Smith had a question for the black community: "When are we going to look at ourselves when it comes to black people being killed in the streets of America?" Smith is right to be angry. Over the long holiday weekend, fifty-three Americans were indeed shot in Chicago alone. Video Shows Chicago Decending Into A Deeper Dystopia. A spree of armed robberies has several Chicago neighborhoods on high alert. Police say the common thread in these incidents is the targets are food vendors and individuals either coming home or going to work. The latest incident happened in the 2600 block of West Warren Boulevard. That was one of 13 robberies that happened Saturday morning, all in the span of 2.5 hours. Police say it's all part of a larger pattern that started on April 22. [Video clip] How did hundreds of noncitizens end up on Chicago's voter rolls? Hundreds of noncitizens have been kicked off Chicago's voter rolls after admitting they were never supposed to have been registered in the first place, according to a new study that blames the Motor Voter Act for how the names got added in the first place. Since 2007, the city has removed 394 people from its voting lists after deciding they were actually foreign nationals who, under the law, are ineligible to vote. City records show that 20 of the noncitizens did actually vote, casting a total of 85 ballots, according to data compiled by the Public Interest Legal Foundation. Walgreens debuts new-style anti-theft store in Chicago. Stand by for inflationary price hikes, as costs will soar with a labor-intensive format for new thief-resistant drugstores in the face of skyrocketing urban crime. And you thought inflation might ease? Walgreens, which has closed about 750 stores in the last few years, just debuted a theft-resistant format in a redesigned store in downtown Chicago. As CWBChicago reports, it has a lot more staff than a regular store, where customers (and thieves) help themselves to merchandise off the shelves. In what was once a typical Walgreens, there are now just two short aisles of so-called "essentials," where "customers may shop for themselves." If you want anything else — a bottle of booze, a deodorant brand deemed "non-essential" — you'll need to order it at a kiosk and pick it up at the counter. Chicago's crime crisis and the 'progressives'. This past Memorial Day weekend was a bloodbath in the streets of Chicago. Over the three-day holiday weekend, 53 people were shot, 11 fatally, as violence continues to plague the Windy City. According to newly elected Mayor Brandon Johnson, "The violence our city experienced this weekend is intolerable. It produced pain and trauma that devastated communities across Chicago, and my heart breaks for everyone affected. That's why as mayor, I am committed to leveraging every single resource at our disposal to protect every single life in our city." Unfortunately, Johnson's words ring hollow for Chicagoans who have been living in abject fear for several years while so-called progressive leaders constantly tout that they are doing all that they can to fight the steep rise in crime that has made the city practically unlivable. Crime hits home for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson: Brutal murder across the street from his house. It's no secret that crime is out of control in Chicago, with murder at the top of the list. But when a gruesome murder takes place across the street, it's hard not to experience a shiver of dread or worse, even for those who see the police as a foe. Chicago's newly elected Mayor Brandon Johnson, who ditched his previous "defund the police" rhetoric while running for office, just saw his very nice-looking, yet crime-ridden block on the west side of Chicago host a horrifyingly brutal crime at the hands of an alleged suspect with a spotless criminal record. Black Chicago Residents Freak Out Of The City Approving 51 Million For Illegals. The Chicago City Council voted Wednesday to spend $51 million in funding from a 2021 budget surplus to pay for efforts to care for migrants from Central and South America who have been sent here from Texas, following a heated debate that was repeatedly interrupted by angry protesters. The vote came one week after three alderpersons opposed to the measure temporarily blocked a final vote during Mayor Brandon Johnson's first City Council meeting. [Video clip] Chicago "peace keeper" cop substitutes [are] looking too much like Chicagoans so far. Brandon Johnson, teachers' union tool, anti-law enforcement advocate and left wing lifer extraordinaire, took the mayoral reins of the City of Chicago on the 24th of May. His inaugural address left some of his new constituents smoking mad. [Transcript omitted for brevity, among other things.] In an effort to help the new Hizzoner get a good leg up his first weekend on the job, the similarly anti-law enforcement minded governor of the state of Illinois — Jumbo J. B. Billionaire Pritzker — decided to roll out the "yellow vest Peacekeepers" program to patrol the streets. These civic minded do-gooders would prove you didn't need cops to maintain security or law and order. You just needed cool heads and soft voices. [Tweet] In typical Leftist social engineering fashion, the Democrats would call them something swanky and spend a lot of money they didn't have on something guaranteed to fail. It was only going to be Memorial Day Weekend for their inaugural run at peace-keeping, but never keep a good plan down. Arrest of Chicago 'Peacekeeper' police substitute demonstrates the folly of 'defund the police'. A man wearing the vest of the new "Peacekeeper" corps deployed over the Memorial Day weekend, to stem the mayhem on a holiday weekend that has become an opportunity for murder tallies to soar, was arrested for a violent attack. [...] One of the many fantasies of the progressives is that there is something inherently wrong or dangerous with police. Instead of armed police capable of using the threat of violence to restrain offenders, unarmed social worker-like alternatives can reduce violence by sympathizing with offenders and understanding the root causes of their behavior. The Chicago Police Department's 1,700 vacancies are so catastrophic that Democrat politicians are desperate to deflect blame for their support of defund the police and anti-cop measures. Chicago's new mayor, Brandon Johnson, ditched his former defund-the-police rhetoric during the campaign but still won't commit to adding funds to the police. Gunfire shuts down popular Chicago beach hours after opening for the season. A Chicago beach was closed hours after it opened for the summer season when shots were fired during a large brawl on Friday, according to police. The fight broke out among a group of 80 to 100 teenagers at North Avenue Beach around 1:30 p.m., police said. During the fracas, someone pulled out a gun and fired a shot, Fox 32 reported. Fortunately, no one was struck. A juvenile was taken into police custody. The weapon has not been recovered, cops said. Parents infuriated as migrants enroll in Chicago schools without health records after years of COVID rules. Chicago-area parents are voicing their outrage over public schools allowing migrant children to enroll without health documentation, as cities across the U.S. are dealing with an influx of migrants into their communities. Mother Jennifer Preston joined "Fox & Friends First" on Thursday to discuss the hypocrisy of requiring vaccination records from residents, while migrants are allowed to enroll without such documents. "Right now in the school district in which we live we have to provide residency, citizenship, health records and vaccination records on an almost annual basis. I have a child right now, and I must have five emails in my inbox stating that my child cannot return to school next year without a specific vaccine. So it's certainly inconsistent with what they're allowing for the migrant children coming into the Chicago public schools." More Chicago teens released without charges after killing. Back in February, in the town of Robbins, southwest of Chicago, three teenagers stole a KIA and took off in a high-speed chase. They wound up crashing the stolen vehicle into a car being driven by 70-year-old Donald Carter. Carter was killed in the crash. An investigation was launched (sort of) and questions were raised about how it was being handled. Now, months later, the teenagers have all been released and no charges have been filed against them. David Carter's family is apoplectic, as you might imagine. And the more details that we learn about the entire incident, specifically the involvement of Robbins Mayor Darren Bryant, the more it smells like something is really rotten in that town. Can Democracy Be Saved? Elections matter. But just as important is the quality of the electorate. One of my long-time and wise colleagues who has passed on, Professor Bertram Levin, some years ago pointed out to me the irony that a democracy can destroy itself by voting itself into communism. Chicago, a beautiful and once vibrant city, has proven the point. Brandon Johnson, the new mayor, is an avowed communist. His recent characterization of businesses as evil profit-mongers is sure to accelerate Chicago's death spiral as businesses flee the city. Johnson should not be blamed; the electorate should. The quality of the electorate can have profound effects on society. Footage shows overflowing Chicago police precincts turned into migrant shelters. Footage is going viral showing police precincts across Chicago overflowing with illegal immigrants, with many having been transformed into makeshift shelters. Personal items, luggage, and plastic bags litter the precincts as illegal immigrants carve out areas with bedding in the precincts, according to a report citing videographer Rebecca Brannon. Brannon filmed the scenes on Sunday, and immigrants can be seen listening to music while children scurry around playing. [Tweet] "Numerous Chicago police stations are serving as makeshift shelters for migrants and are dealing with bed bugs, illnesses, food and basic healthcare shortages," she tweeted. INSANE Brawl Breaks Out At Baggage Claim At O'Hare International Airport. Shocking video captures the moment a mass brawl broke at O'Hare International Airport's baggage carousel which ended with a man and woman being charged. The footage, which has gone viral on social media, shows the moment the huge fistfight broke out late Monday night in the baggage hall of the Chicago airport's Terminal 3. [Video clip] Chicago Has to Shut Down Armed Forces Carnival Because [of a black mob]. The Blaze-An armed forces carnival that was scheduled for Sunday was canceled by officials in a Chicago suburb after a flash mob of hundreds of teens caused chaos at the event on Saturday [5/20/2023]. The Village of Tinley Park in Illinois announced that the final day of the Armed Forces Weekend Carnival scheduled for Sunday had been canceled "due to safety concerns stemming from a flash mob incident at Saturday's event." "Police said a group of about 400 teenagers who were responding to a call on social media to form a flash mob gathered at the carnival Saturday evening and began running through the parking lot and fighting with each other in an attempt to cause chaos and disrupt the event," Tinley Park government officials said in a statement. [Video clip] Crazy Man Goes Jordan Neely On Chicago Train Passengers And Gets Handled, South-Side Style. CTA passengers step in after CTA security is unable to contain a person who was threatening people on the Grand Blue Line. Seems there are a lot of Jordan Neelys across blue cities in America. This incident won't get any protests though, even if the crazy man died since his assailants are all black. [Video clip] Chicago's new Mayor Brandon Johnson is already bad for business. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has been operating in the Loop since 1898, just 27 years after the Great Chicago Fire. The exchange was part of the city's rebirth and helped establish Chicago as a financial hub. Now, we see the opposite of rebirth with Chicago's population shrinking. [...] Mayor Brandon Johnson was inaugurated May 15, becoming one of the most radical city leaders in the country. He's proposed new taxes worth about $800 million, including a financial transactions tax that would make it impossible for CME to do business in Chicago. Chicago's Brandon Johnson: 'Wicked,' 'Unconscionable' for Texas to Send Border Crossers to Sanctuary Cities. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) says it is "wicked" and "unconscionable" for Texas to bus thousands of border crossers and illegal aliens to the sanctuary city. This week, on his first official day as mayor, Johnson visited border crossers and illegal aliens who are living inside city police stations on the ground. Chicago, RIP. Electing Lori Lightfoot as Mayor of Chicago was the beginning of the end for that city. Replacing her with someone even more far left is accelerating Chicago's terminal decline. Tom Bevan notes that the death throes are under way: [Tweet] The stupidity is hard to fathom. A "head tax" on employees means less employment. The tax on jet fuel will fall, I suppose, on all who fly into or out of O'Hare or Midway airport — yet another reason to avoid the city. A 3.5% income tax that goes all the way down to $100,000 in income is suicidal. I have no idea how the city plans to implement a "wealth tax," but it sounds as though a household with a net worth of just $1 million would pay another $4,000 a year. And the transaction fee will drive banking and investment firms out of the city. In short, the plan, if enacted, will be a disaster. Meanwhile, At Chicago's O'Hare Airport.... Even if you try and escape the violence in Chicago, it follows you to the airport. [Video clip] Chicago Thugs w/Semiautomatic Weapons Rob 10 in 30 Mins. Incoming Mayor Brandon Johnson would warn us against demonizing these thugs, urging us to remember that they don't have anything better to do with their time because of systemic racism. And anyone who tried to resist them, if they didn't get shot, would face the same BLM lynch mob as the brave former Marine who stood up to subway monster Jordan Neely. The cops don't want to deal with it, so barring Batman or Paul Kersey, this is just the new normal of increasingly aggressive criminals who know there's no justice system anymore. [...] Law enforcement and morality have collapsed. The only ethos that still exists is 'get some' and they're getting some. Chicago cop murdered because girlfriend of accused killer needed money for a barbecue. When does a local crime story become a national one? Outside of a mass shooting, a local crime story becomes a national one when there is a race element. On May 1, a deranged homeless man, Jordan Neely, was threatening passengers on a New York subway train. A former marine, Daniel Penny, aided by two other passengers, placed Neely, who by the way had 42 prior arrests, in a chokehold. Penny has since charged with second-degree manslaughter. The mainstream media, to use an old radio term, still has the Neely killing on heavy rotation. On May 6 a much more troubling homicide occurred on Chicago's South Side. Aréanah Preston, a Chicago police officer, had just finished her shift. As she exited her car in front of her home, Preston, who was still in uniform, was shot to death. Jakwon Buchanan, 18, two 19-year-olds Trevell Breeland and Joseph Brooks, and a 16-year-old, Jaylen Frazier, have been charged with her murder. Preston, 24, was to have been awarded her master's degree from Loyola University on Saturday. Chicago Democrats [are] in Trouble With Black Voters Over Migrant Invasion of South Side. Chicago got a lot more than it bargained for when the people voted for "sanctuary city" policies. Taking them at their word — that they would welcome hordes of illegal aliens — the governor of border state Texas, Greg Abbott, has been sending busloads of people who cross into his state illegally right to the heart of Chicago. It's the best idea anyone has come up with yet. Let the sanctuary cities become the new border towns! Let the blowhards who say it's inhumane to turn people away absorb them! Afterall, they're the compassionate ones, right? They're the ones who continually point the finger at the border state governors and criticize their reluctance to take on the never-ending human waves. So why, when they've now been given the chance to welcome them with open arms, is there trouble in sanctuary paradise? Black Chicagoans got something to say about migrants. Let's just clear the air right from the beginning and settle the matter — by the definition laid down by the Democratic Party and their Progressive masters, the people you will read about and see in the following posts are racists, pure and simple. I don't care what you've heard about skin hue determining racist proclivity — they are racists by their own party's repeated guidelines. That's how this works. Their rules, not ours. [...] Hey! You Chicagoans are all are so proud of your Sanctuary City status, well... what's the problem? Are you or aren't you a sanctuary? Chicago residents launch legal action over plans to house 500 illegal immigrants inside a shuttered high school. Furious residents of Chicago have filed a lawsuit against the city after it announced plans to house illegal immigrants in a disused high school in the South Side. The old South Shore High School is expected to become a temporary holding space for up to 500 migrants, but officials have not clarified for how long. The lawsuit was filed after on May 4 hundreds of South Shore residents packed into an auditorium and bombarded local officials with criticism over plans to house the migrants in the school, complaining about safety and a lack of consultation. Four teens 'looking for victims' charged with the murder of Chicago police officer. Chicago has some serious problems. This story involves four teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 who went out looking for people to rob one night and wound up murdering a 24-year-old police officer named Aréanah Preston. [...] Preston was hit twice and the teens stole her gun and fled the scene. The city's ShotSpotter picked up the gunshots but for some reason it took half an hour for police to respond. [...] Police later learned the identities of the killers when the 16-year-old bragged to a friend about the murder. [...] The teens had been out trying to rob people because one of their girlfriends wanted to buy a barbecue grill. They had apparently robbed five other people before they encountered Officer Preston. The 16-year-old claimed that they had sold Preston's gun. Is Chicago a "sanctuary city" or not? Lori Lightfoot Blames Racism, 'Right-Wing Forces' For Devastating Loss In Chicago. Chicago Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot contended that the landslide defeat against her reelection campaign was attributable to "right-wing forces" and racial bias. Lightfoot, who overwhelmingly won the city's mayoral election four years ago but failed to advance to the runoff this year, will depart office next week. She will be succeeded by Brandon Johnson, the left-wing former commissioner of Cook County, who defeated Paul Vallas, the more moderate former chief executive of Chicago Public Schools. Lightfoot said in a Monday interview with MSNBC that she lost because of national political tumult that caused divisions in Chicago, which she admitted is a "deep-blue Democratic city." Cook County prosecutor quits after 20 years: 'this State and County have set themselves on a course to disaster'. A 20-year veteran prosecutor walked out of the Cook County state's attorney's office for the last time on Friday. Jason Poje, a long-time felony trial attorney for the office, entered his two-week notice on April 21. But before he moved on to the next chapter of his life, Poje sent a goodbye email to 85 colleagues late Friday afternoon. In his farewell, Poje extended thanks and appreciation to his colleagues. And he explained why he decided to leave the office — and the state. Chicago Police to City Businesses Facing Rising Crime: "Buy Riot Glass". Chicago is a difficult place to own a business. Riots, looting and burglaries make it almost impossible for retailers to survive. Smash-and-grab thieves robbed a Rolls Royce dealership in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood in December and made off with millions in luxury watches. Thieves attacked and pepper-sprayed a security guard while robbing two luxury retail stores in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood. Retails, like Walmart, say they are losing tens of millions of dollars a year operating in Chicago and have announced the closure of four stores. Chicago, and the unfunded liabilities. When Chicago's mayor-elect, Brandon Johnson, is sworn in on May 15, he'll inherit an albatross: the weakest pension system of any major American city. Its relentless cash calls have been squeezing city programs for years, helping to spur the departures of thousands of over-taxed, under-served residents. It's a problem of too much debt, not unlike the one now playing out in Washington, but with a twist: Chicago can't get into a bipartisan standoff over its pension debt, because Chicago is a one-party town. It hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1931. Might as Well Put Them to Use: Chicago Police Stations Become Migrant Shelters. At last, the Left has found a use for police stations that is consistent with its guiding principles and overall philosophy. Chicago is a showcase city for far-Left policies. Crime is through the roof, drug use is rampant, and the police are cowed, defensive, and defanged. But now the city, in its infinite Marxist/Leninist wisdom has found a new use for the police stations that have become largely ceremonial in outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (and soon to be incoming Mayor Brandon Johnson's) Chicago: they're being used to shelter illegal migrants. How wonderfully fitting. Fox News reported Wednesday that "Chicago police sources say that their stations have become shelters for migrants, with at least two police precinct lobbies housing asylum seekers." How enlightened! How progressive! Popeye's Employee Loses His Mind and Destroys the Store After Not Being Paid for An Entire Month. A Popeyes employee in Chicago has been caught on TikTok destroying the restaurant after allegedly not being paid for a month. The viral video shows the employee throwing food, equipment, and other items around the restaurant, causing extensive damage. The incident has raised concerns about the treatment of workers and the need for proper compensation and labor laws to prevent similar incidents in the future. Chicago Area High School Slammed Over Segregated Math Courses for 'Black' and 'Latinx' Students Only. A Chicago area high school has come under fire after it was discovered the school is offering segregated mathematics classes for "Black" and "Latinx" students only. Evanston Township High School District 202 (ETHS) is providing the racially segregated courses in calculus, pre-calculus, and algebra. ETHS's math curriculum for the next school year suggests that the segregated classes will continue. One of ETHS's pre-calculus courses describes, "[t]he course is restricted to students who identify as Black male students." While another pre-calculus course mentions that it is only for "Latinx" students, and a third course does not have any restrictions based on gender or race. Chicago mayor calls on Texas to cease sending migrants to the city. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is urging Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to not follow through with his "inhuman and dangerous" plan to send more migrants and asylum seekers from his southern state to her city. The outgoing Chicago mayor made her appeal to the Republican governor in a letter Sunday, stating that they are aware Texas is planning as soon as Monday to start sending migrants to Democrat-led cities including Chicago. "Chicago is a Welcoming City and we collaborate with county, state and community partners to rise to this challenge, but your lack of consideration or coordination in an attempt to cause chaos and score political points has resulted in a critical tipping point in our ability to receive individuals and families in a safe, orderly and dignified way," Lightfoot wrote. Refusing to enforce the law. [Scroll down] The most recent example comes from Chicago. There, a 17-year-old and a 14-year-old [...] stole a car and promptly crashed into another car. In that second car was a 34-year-old mother with her three children, aged 15, 7, and 6 months. The crash killed the baby. In a sane world, the 17-year-old would be tried as an adult for murder (probably second-degree), while the 14-year-old would spend the next seven years in juvenile detention. However, Chicago is not a sane world; it is a leftist world. That's why the prosecutor charged the boys with [...] a misdemeanor for criminal trespassing. Again, they stole a car, drove it recklessly, and killed a baby, which equals three separate felonies. The news is filled with stories like this, with unquestioned crimes being undercharged or dismissed. Teens face only misdemeanor charges — of criminal trespassing — after crashing stolen car, killing infant in Chicago. Two teenage boys are facing only misdemeanor charges after they allegedly stole a car and crashed it into another vehicle, killing a 6-month-old baby in Chicago last week. The boys, ages 17 and 14, were each charged with just one misdemeanor count of criminal trespassing in the deadly April 16 crash in the city's West Garfield Park neighborhood, according to Chicago police. The teens were driving in a stolen Hyundai when they slammed into a Ford pickup truck at an intersection of West Washington Boulevard and North Kostner Avenue shortly after 5 p.m., according to cops. The 6-month-old boy, Cristian Uvidia, died in the hospital following the crash. Chicago police investigating officers' response to mob attack in Loop after witness says police declined to help. The Chicago Police Department launched an investigation into how officers responded to violence that broke out late Saturday [4/15/2023] during a large gathering of young people in the city's downtown tourism district. The investigation comes after a viral video showed a mob attacking a couple as they exited a Loop store and it follows allegations of police inaction. As the attack unfolded, police failed to respond to calls for help and even drove past, said Lenora Dennis, who witnessed the beating and helped the couple get to safety. "It makes me feel scared. It terrifies me that people are either asleep at the wheel or that they're willfully blind," Dennis told the Tribune on Wednesday. The attack Dennis witnessed was one of the violent outbursts that emerged as hundreds of teens and young adults met up downtown. Looting as a way of life. Karl Marx's famous prescription for economic equity is "from each according to his abilities to each according to his needs." A more honest version is "robbing Peter to pay Paul," which takes brute force in most cases. This is the ethos of the radicalized Democratic Party, whose mantra is centralized power and redistribution of wealth. The street version is called "looting," but that word aptly summarizes their entire agenda. The Biden administration's war on America's energy sector has unleashed ruinous inflation, which pushes people into higher tax brackets so the government can take more of our income. And taxes are never high enough. Democrats portray any resistance to more spending as the equivalent of kicking a begging orphan in the teeth. The party's power rests on plundering the middle class and increasing the ranks of their Free Stuff Army. As for the street version of looting, Chicago's next mayor, Brandon Johnson, refused to strongly condemn rioting in his city. Hundreds of "youths" rampaged downtown, attacking tourists and smashing things. But the mayor-elect seemed more worried that the little rascals might have become unpopular. Crime-ridden Chicago searches for new top cop after police chief retires after one month. Chicago's interim police chief is to retire after only month in the job — stepping down after a series of headline-grabbing crimes, on the same day as the ultra-progressive new mayor takes office but insisting that his decision was made months ago. Eric Carter, the interim superintendent, will retire on May 15 after 30 years on the force. He took over when David Brown resigned after the February 28 mayoral election. Brown turns 63 in September, which is the mandatory CPD retirement age. Chicago Is Quickly Becoming The Disgusting Ghetto Mayor-Elect Brandon Johnson Wants It To Be. Within just the last week, Walmart closed half its store locations in Chicago, and the city police department instituted new curfew and bag-check policies at public parks and beaches following days of "reckless, disruptive and violent behavior." A sane person who prefers living in a clean, safe, and prosperous city would see that news and say things are going in the wrong direction, and the people who are responsible for it need to be held accountable. [...] A person who is perhaps not sane or who is, at minimum, a societal parasite sucking the life and goodness out of everything would react just the opposite. He would excuse the ne'er-do-wells, thieves, and fiends. Instead, he would direct blame at those who refuse to tolerate anti-social behavior. That's how deadbeat incoming Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson reacted. (I assume you don't need me to tell you he's a Democrat.) Following a weekend of street thugging and mayhem around the once-cherished Millennium Park, during which two teens and a six-year-old boy were shot, Johnson saw no urgency. Illinois State Senator Says Flash Mob in Chicago Last Weekend Was a 'Mass Protest' and a 'Political Act'. Last weekend, a flash mob of up to 500 Chicago young people — mostly teens — descended on downtown and began to burn cars, terrorize tourists, smash windows, and fight among themselves in a no-longer-shocking display of lawlessness and mayhem. Some Chicago leaders appeared frightened. "We've had more than our share of downtown mass arrest incidents going back over a decade. This is not new," 2nd Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins said. "What is new is to have it happen three days in a row." The police were paralyzed and ended up quarreling with other agencies about who was in charge and who was at fault. "There should be all sorts of contingency plans in place for when these incidents occur," Hopkins said. "Instead, we had an absolute meltdown of command and control. Nobody knew who was in charge." Incredibly, mass transit kept running through most of Saturday night's mayhem, bringing more and more rioters to the scene — drawn by TV reports and social media postings — because no one knew who was in charge. The Editor says... People Are Blaming Racism For Walmart Leaving Chicago But In Reality, it's [Stuff] Like This. Looks like Walmart is NOT down with reparations. [Video clip] Massive Mob Of Black Teens Nearly Beat White Woman To Death For Laughs In Chicago. A horrific video circulating on social media shows a helpless white woman being cornered in a doorway before being dragged to the ground and brutally bashed by a large group of rampaging black youths. The footage was reportedly filmed in downtown Chicago outside of a residential apartment building. [Video clip] Chicago continues its descent into an unlivable dystopia. Last night, mobs rioted, taking over portions of the city and wreaking devastation of various kinds. Here are a few of the videos: [Tweets with video clips] Everyone knows about Chicago's sky-high murder rate, but this kind of wanton lawlessness, apparently beyond the power of the police and normal citizens to control, is more devastating to the life of a city. Who in his right mind wants to be anywhere near Chicago? One also notices that pretty much all of the rioters are black. Could it be that telling young people that they live in a hopelessly racist and oppressive society, and therefore they can never get ahead but instead are owed a living or "reparations" of some sort, is a terrible idea? Two shot as hundreds of rowdy teens clash with Chicago cops for second night. A massive mob of rowdy teenagers clashed with cops near downtown Chicago's Millenium Park on Saturday night, leaving two teens wounded and at least one bystander beaten. The unruly mob erupted in violence — trashing property, smashing windshields and torching cars while attacking at least one motorist — forcing cops to escort tourists to safety, WFLD-TV News reported Sunday. Chicago police said two teens — 16 and 17 years old — were wounded by a gunman in the crowd, the outlet reported. Remember, when they say "teens," they mean, "black teens." The Editor says... Hundreds of 'teens' flood into downtown Chicago, smashing car windows, prompting police response. Hundreds of teenagers flooded into Downtown Chicago on Saturday night, smashing car windows, trying to get into Millennium Park, and prompting a major police response. A woman whose car was smashed by people jumping on the windshield said her husband was beaten as he sat in the driver's seat. Police were escorting tourists and others back to their cars in the Millennium Park garage. Shots were fired near the corner of Madison and Michigan, and FOX 32 Chicago decided that it was unsafe to keep our news crew on the scene. Brawl Outside Chicago Bar Has Thug Slashing People With A Broken Bottle. A fight outside of Bounce Sporting Club early Sunday morning on Orleans and Chicago had an individual with a broken bottle slashing at another group of men as a brawl spilled into the street. [Video clip] Massive, Wild Brawl Breaks Out As Chicago Whites Sox Game Between Fans. A huge brawl broke out at Saturday's Chicago White Sox game for over two minutes with several spectators involved. Fists were flying all over the place before a woman was dragged from behind over a row of seats on the first-base side. One lone security guard attempted to make peace, while another pair of women were throwing haymakers at one another. [Video clip] Scene From Last Night's Mob Chaos In Chicago. Chicago police responded to massive crowds of teenagers Saturday night at Millennium Park, one day after a similar gathering took place at 31st Street Beach, prompting police to heighten their presence along the lakefront. Video taken Saturday night showed a massive presence at the park, along with large groups of people in the area. A similar gathering took place Friday night near 31st Street Beach and eventually came to an end after a teenager was shot. [Video clip] Chicago Has Fallen, Hundreds Of Black Youths Storm Downtown, Destroying Cars And Buses. Hundreds of teenagers flooded into Downtown Chicago on Saturday night [4/15/2023], smashing car windows, trying to get into Millennium Park, and prompting a major police response. At least one person in a car was attacked. Shots were fired near the corner of Madison and Michigan, and FOX 32 Chicago decided that it was unsafe to keep our news crew on the scene. [Video clip] Chicagoans Blame Walmart for Closing Down Despite Losing Millions Due to Theft. Local leaders in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood, located in the south side, held a press conference to demand the area's Walmart to not close down, going as far as to blame the company leaving the area is the reason they not are economically thriving. "We have healthcare deserts. We have food deserts. And we wonder why! Our communities look like they look! That we have violence every single day! It is not just on us, it is on the corporate citizens that come into our community and ravage our community. And Walmart, you should absolutely be ashamed of yourselves. You are the reasons that our communities lack the investment that they have," one speaker said. "We deserve! We deserve to be able to shop, work, play in our own communities." Brandon Johnson and education in Chicago. In Chicago, only 25 percent of elementary students tested at or above the proficient reading level, and only 21 percent did so in math. What's worse, those numbers generally go down, not up, as students "progress" through middle school and high school. Chicago families are yearning for answers concerning the city's failing education system, as these shortcomings persist despite CPS spending $29,400 per student in 2023. For context, in 2013, CPS spent $13,200 per pupil. Evidently, more spending does not necessarily translate into better results. On the other hand, increased competition in the education realm, in the form of school choice, wherein parents have the freedom to choose what schools their children attend, seems to be a commonsense solution to what ails CPS. In fact, school choice seems to be the only solution to the endless cycle of corruption, fraud, waste, and abuse that has become so endemic throughout CPS. Leftist Money, Not National Mood, Drove Last Week's Election Wins. Off-year elections reflect the clout of big-money institutions such as public employee unions, advocacy organizations, and large corporations, with the first-named being the most powerful of all in municipal elections. Accordingly, Chicagoans elected Brandon Johnson, a candidate to the left of incumbent Lori Lightfoot, a radical progressive whose failures in crime control and education caused her to miss the runoff election held April 4. Johnson defeated Paul Vallas, a lifelong Democrat and former CEO of the Chicago Public Schools and other public school systems. Johnson, a Cook County commissioner and former teacher and union organizer, received powerful support from the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and other progressive organizations. Johnson "raised some $10.1 million through March 31, and 91% came from unions, more than half from the CTU, according to the Illinois Policy Institute," the Wall Street Journal reports. 9 Reasons Chicago Is the Perfect Site for the 2024 Democratic Convention. [#1] The rampant crime: Like most big cities the Democratic Party has controlled for decades, Chicago has a crime problem that its elected leaders are unable or unwilling to do anything about. The city's murder rate has jumped nearly 40 percent since 2019, while car theft has more than doubled in the past year alone. Kim Foxx, the George Soros-backed district attorney in charge of prosecuting crime in Chicago, has a history of letting violent offenders off the hook. Convictions have dropped nearly 30 percent on her watch. Naturally, the city's voters just elected a radical new mayor who in 2020 said "defund the police" was "an actual real political goal." Just how bad is crime in Chicago? We all are aware that crime is a growing problem in Chicago. [...] San Francisco, which has been getting attention for its crime problem, isn't nearly as violent as people suppose. It is a hellhole, yes, but not especially violent. But Chicago? It is not just a hellhole, but a horribly violent one too. And getting more violent. And will continue to do so because they just elected a pro-criminal mayor — again. Wirepoints, an Illinois-based public policy nonprofit, did the math and it looks pretty horrible. And as they show, it looks horrible because crime does pay and people do get away with almost all the time. Why did Biden choose Chicago for the Democrat convention? Chicago is a very troubled city so naturally, the Democrats are going to reward its failures with the economic boom brought about by hosting the Democrat National Convention in August. [...] Why Chicago when they could have had their convention in a city like Atlanta? Granted, Atlanta has some problems with violence and crime, as all big blue cities do, but I would have thought that a focus in 2024 will be on retaining Georgia in the D column for the presidential election. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have made numerous trips to Atlanta since they came into office, pandering to voters. It looks like they are more concerned about winning the Midwest states in 2024. The Editor says... Chicago Is Committing Suicide As Residents Flee And Voter Turnout Plummets. Detroit was America's fourth largest city in the 1940s, with a population of approximately 1.8 million. People flocked to the city to take high-paying jobs on the assembly lines of Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors. Then, in the 1950s, the automotive companies began moving out of Detroit and into the suburbs, as they closed old, outdated plants, and opened new plants. The middle class followed, and The Motor City began its decline. Chicago, on the other hand, has simply decided to commit suicide. In February, Mayor Lori Lightfoot became the first Chicago Mayor to lose re-election in 40 years. The defeat of Lightfoot drove a run-off election between Paul Vallas, a former schools CEO, and Brandon Johnson, a Cook County commissioner. Mr. Vallas ran on a platform of reducing crime and supporting police, improving the performance of Chicago's public schools, and bringing fiscal responsibility to Chicago's budget. Mr. Johnson ran on a platform of taxing the wealthy and businesses, a jet fuel tax, reducing fares on public transportation, and increasing the transfer tax on the sales of multi-million-dollar homes. He has also previously called for defunding the police and replacing them with mental health counselors to respond to domestic disputes. The consensus in Chicago was that, given the failure of Ms. Lightfoot to win re-election, Chicagoans had finally had enough of crime and that Mr. Vallas would walk into the mayor's office in a landslide. After all, Mr. Johnson was a candidate who ran to the Left of the mayor. Then, on April 4, Mr. Johnson became mayor of Chicago in an election that saw only 38% of registered Chicago voters cast a ballot. Mr. Johnson's victory demonstrated the power of unions in Chicago. Mr. Johnson enjoyed the support of both the Chicago Teachers Union and the Service Employees International Union. Walmart's plan to abruptly close 4 Chicago stores slammed as 'unethical' and 'unceremoniously abandoning these neighborhoods'. Walmart's decision to shutter four Chicago stores has drawn ire of elected officials representing the Windy City. In a rare press release on April 11 announcing store closures, Walmart said bluntly that these stores "have not been profitable since we opened the first one nearly 17 years ago." "These stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years," the company said. "The remaining four Chicago stores continue to face the same business difficulties, but we think this decision gives us the best chance to help keep them open and serving the community." Democrats Choose to Advertise Failures of Single-Party Democratic Rule by Holding the 2024 DNC in Chicago. The Democratic National Committee on Tuesday announced that the party has decided to hold its 2024 national political convention in a city that has been ravaged by decades of one-party Democratic rule: Chicago. The Windy City has been run by Democratic mayors for 93 consecutive years. The 50-member City Council currently includes zero Republicans. The Cook County Board of Commissioners has 17 seats; 16 are filled by Democrats. So totalizing is the city's unipartisan political culture that recently vanquished mayoral finalist Paul Vallas, a lifelong Democrat, could not overcome the campaign criticism that he was a "Republican in disguise." So what has all this unobstructed Democratic governance produced? Population flight, for starters. From a peak of 3.6 million residents in 1950 the city has tumbled down to an estimated 2.7 million in 2021. What for a century had been the "Second City" in the United States has been #3 since the 1980s; what was the fifth-largest metropolis in the world in 1900 is now #5 just in North America. Woke UChicago Students Too Afraid To Call Out Obama For Gentrifying The South Side. Agroup of leftist students at the University of Chicago are demanding their university pay over $1 billion in reparations to Chicago's South Side residents for displacing black people living in the area. There's just one problem: The university, which has been located in Chicago's Hyde Park since 1890, is not what's displacing the residents. It is Barack Obama and his presidential center that have caused the median home price to more than double in the South Side, forcing people to leave the area. Obama claims that his $500 million presidential center, scheduled to be complete in 2025, will change Chicago's Woodlawn and South Shore neighborhoods for the better, but residents told The Federalist that isn't true. "I just think it's a crime," said one resident. "Black Americans are not going to be able to afford to live over here [because] property tax is gonna be higher." "The cost of living is definitely going up," another resident told The Federalist, adding that she believes the center is being utilized to "move crime around." "[The locals] are gonna be able to stay here, some of them, but they won't be able to participate because they won't be able to afford it." Resident Lynn Franco described the center as "a land grab" since it took 19 acres of land away from the historic Jackson Park. The Left has killed our great cities. Mark down Tuesday, April 4, as the night Chicago died. That's when we learned that Second City voters narrowly elected Brandon Johnson as their next mayor. This is a city that was flattened during the reign of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who lost in the first round of voting for Chicago mayor because she didn't finish in one of the top two spots. [...] Now, the voters have selected Johnson. Elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 2018, Johnson narrowly won the mayoralty of America's third-most-populous city on April 4 over Paul Vallas, a former Chicago schools CEO and a Democrat who presented himself as a political moderate compared to the far-left Johnson. The incoming mayor may turn out to be a worse mayor than Lightfoot. Johnson's occupation is an organizer for the teachers unions. The unions spent several million dollars on the race. They got their man. What this means is that Chicago's municipal government will now be a fully owned subsidiary of the Chicago Teachers Union. (Can you imagine what the union contracts are going to look like?) This is a city where, in roughly two dozen schools, zero children can read or write at proficiency level. Walmart closing 4 locations in Chicago. Walmart plans to close four stores in Chicago by mid-April, the company announced Tuesday. [...] Officials with the department store cited profit margins as the reasoning behind the closing. "The simplest explanation is that collectively our Chicago stores have not been profitable since we opened the first one nearly 17 years ago — these stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years. The remaining four Chicago stores continue to face the same business difficulties, but we think this decision gives us the best chance to help keep them open and serving the community," a press release stated. The Editor says... There's A New Mayor In Chicago And Thugs Still Rule The Streets. Saturday night was a late night for some people living on Chicago's Near North Side. Video shows what appears to be an illegal street car meetup right outside their homes on the corner of Wells and Oak. Images of the incident were posted on TikTok overnight. It runs just under a minute but gives a good idea of the chaos that unfolded. [Video clip] Chicago's Hard-Left Choice. Chicago has suffered high crime rates since the George Floyd riots. Cab drivers spontaneously tell me of carjackings and shootings they have witnessed. A campaign that focused on public safety, like the one that Paul Vallas ran, seemed tailor made for the times. Moreover, [Brandon] Johnson was running as a progressive after the failed tenure of another self-proclaimed, if far more moderate, progressive, Lori Lightfoot. [...] Johnson, too, was an imperfect messenger for the Left. The teachers' union provided him with much of his campaign funds and boots on the ground, but many parents were unhappy with the union's long strike in 2019 and prolonged school closures during the pandemic. Additionally, at the end of the campaign, news emerged that Johnson owed the city thousands of dollars in unpaid bills and fines. He initially said that he would pay the city on an installment plan, but when that message didn't play well, he settled his debt a few days before the election. It was hardly an effective closing argument from someone seeking to manage a city budget that runs in the billions of dollars. Incoming Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson can collect $1.1 million teacher's pension despite having taught only 4 years in Chicago Public Schools. Newly elected as mayor of Chicago, former teacher and union organizer Brandon Johnson, exemplifies why the State of Illinois faces a $210 billion unfunded public employee pension liability, thought by some independent expert observers to be even larger. As the Illinois Policy Review points out, after teaching a mere 4 years in a Chicago classroom, Mayor John is able to receive retirement benefits totaling $1.1 million over his expected lifetime. And, if he plays his cards right going forward, his public pensions could total $2.8 million, which is a nest egg most Americans could only fantasize about. No wonder he is smiling: [Photo] Two suspects arrested in organized, violent Chicago crime spree are just 13 and 15. On Tuesday, the city of Chicago did the unthinkable in electing a candidate for mayor who by all intents and purposes will be even worse than disastrous Mayor Lori Lightfoot — especially when it comes to crime because Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson believes in a more "holistic" approach to public safety that doesn't involve more funding for police. To be sure, police in Chicago need more funding. Shootings, robberies, and carjackings are common and the criminal element in the Windy City seems to be getting younger and younger. On Wednesday, two young teens, ages 13 and 15, were arrested for their involvement in a series of armed robberies and carjackings in Logan Square by a gang of 6-8 suspects, CWB Chicago reported, citing Chicago police. The end of cities. I recently reviewed the results of the mayoral election in Chicago, which appear to have sounded the death knell for America's third-largest city. The buildings will remain and the people without the means to escape will still huddle in their homes (at least those who have homes), hoping to avoid being the next statistic in a crime wave that shows no signs of abating. Commerce has slowed to a crawl and its once-famous entertainment district is now too dangerous for most to risk an evening out on the town. At the Washington Examiner, Stephen Moore takes a similarly dim view of Chicago's prospects, but he notes that the Windy City is not alone in its downward slide. Many cities across the United States are simply becoming unlivable. And the real tragedy in all of this is that the decline was completely avoidable. But an epidemic of suicidally dangerous liberal policies has opened the gates for the barbarians that were always waiting outside. This Is Who Chicago's New Mayor Says Should Respond to Crime Scenes. Chicago Mayor-Elect Brandon Johnson (D) told CBS News on Thursday his plan to tackle the city's crime problem: Send more social workers to crime scenes. Johnson, a staunch progressive, pointed to instances where police killed black men as evidence to say more police officers are not the solution. "This is really about making sure that people understand the context of the level of frustration when you see that type of brutalization over and over again, it can be discouraging," Johnson explained. Chicago proves that FDR was correct about public unions. Up in Chicago, the teachers union won big and I don't mean that test scores or literacy is on the rise. The got their man elected and who knows what happens next. I would not be surprised if a few Chicago residents are looking at a "zip code change." Years ago, our family would drive down to Chicago from our early days in Wisconsin to get stuff at a Cuban "bodega." We'd listen to Larry Lujack on WLS and drive home listening to the White Sox on WMAQ. My parents complimented the clean streets, the order everywhere, and the police were so pleasant at giving you directions when we used maps rather than GPS. Going to Chicago was great. Well, I don't think that my parents would be complimenting Chicago today. Chicago mayor-elect Brandon Johnson rebukes 'large corporations' for poverty, violence in the city. Liberal Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson put the blame on violence and poverty in the Windy City on big corporations. "We have large corporations. Seventy percent of large corporations in the city of Chicago — in the state of Illinois, did not pay a corporate tax," Johnson said during a Thursday appearance on CBS Mornings. He argued that low investment in Chicago has led to poverty, which in turn caused violence. "And it's that type of restraint on our budget that has caused the type of disinvestment that has led to poverty, of course that has led to violence." The Editor says... As the Chicago Mayoral Election Proves, Blue Cities Have Become Modern-day Jonestowns. As PJ Media's Rick Moran reported, the Chicago mayoral runoff on April 4 went the way of the teachers unions, which drove a massive turnout campaign for their anointed radical candidate: [...] The only quibble one might have with Rick's article is that the State of Oregon has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the teachers unions and SEIU since the turn of the century, so Chicago may not be able to lay claim to first-in-the-nation status. His conclusion is, however, spot on: radical leftists defeated a moderate who wanted to rein in Chicago's laughably awful violent crime and education failures. One could go even further in what this portends for Chicago and other deep blue cities across America: they've devolved so far into cultish adherence to radical ideology that they have become modern-day Jonestowns. Is America lost? Everyday Americans are at least peripherally aware that things are amiss. They tell pollsters that the country is on the wrong track. But when given the opportunity to actually do something about the rot, enough Americans go to the polls and choose to continue the policies that have brought us to this point. Chicago, for instance, is falling apart. Everybody knows that crime is tearing the city apart. In a multi-candidate primary, the voters even tossed out the Mayor, Lori Lightfoot, who brought the city to the brink of anarchy. Yet once the candidates were whittled down to two, the voters chose to replace her with an equally bad progressive candidate. Jazz wrote up the story here and you should read it to get the gist of what happened. He captured the essence in his headline: "Chicago chooses chaos over recovery." Yep, that sums it up. What has Chicago done? Chicagoans cheered Mayor Lightfoot's exit. Gone was her toxic attitude. Her flippant dismissal of the city's many crises. Her dismal record on crime. And her destruction of police morale. She was an absolute failure by any measure. From the beginning, she was more interested in imposing a progressive vision and an "equity" agenda on Chicago than enacting the many reforms the city needed. So Chicagoans kicked out Lightfoot. Change was possible. But what Chicagoans voted for on April 4 was someone more extreme and exactly opposite of what the city needed. To reduce Chicago's nation-high homicide rate, Chicago needed a new mayor willing to take on Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's unwillingness to prosecute dangerous criminals. A mayor willing to challenge Judge Tim Evans' decarcerationist agenda. A mayor willing to jam shut the system's revolving door for criminals. Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson won't do any of that. Instead, look for him to embrace the policies of Foxx and Evans. Chicago Chooses Crime. Brandon Johnson's "victory" means that Mayor Lori Lightfoot will be replaced by someone far worse. Lightfoot at least made occasional efforts to fight crime, Johnson's message is that criminals are the victims. [...] Chicago loves crime, but this isn't the Capone kind of vote, it's the solidarity between the Left and the thugs running the streets. The old Chicago machine alternated between tolerating crime and cracking down on it. It cut dirty deals with bosses and busted hoods. The new machine loves street level criminals. [...] And in Chicago, where the Democrats used to court the working class vote, there were serious efforts to at least fight street-level violence. Not anymore. The old coalition is in shards. What has replaced it are leftist wokes, teachers' unions and gang members. Report: Border Crossers Found Living Inside Downtown Chicago Police Station. Border crossers and illegal aliens, recently bused to the sanctuary city of Chicago, Illinois, from Texas, have been found living inside a downtown police station, local reports confirm. Since Texas started busing border crossers and illegal aliens to Chicago last year, more than 5,100 new arrivals have landed in the sanctuary city. Some of those migrants, CWB Chicago reveals, have ended up living in the city's police station. Chicago elects a new mayor who defended looting. Not quite one-third of registered voters (33.2%) bothered to vote in Tuesday's election for the next mayor of Chicago, and the non-voting two thirds may soon regret their electoral passivity. Brandon Johnson, a far-left radical, has won the race with a 2.8% margin at the latest count, and thanks to his anti-police stance, the crime wave driving businesses and residents out of the city will only get worse. [...] The term in office of Lori Lightfoot, defeated with an ignominious third place finish in the primary in large part because of public disgust over crime, may soon be regarded as the good old days. Chicago Elects [a] Mayor Even More Radical Than Lightfoot as Her Replacement. Brandon Johnson, a radical socialist candidate, defeated moderate Democrat Paul Vallas in the race to replace Chicago mayor/Beetlejuice-lookalike Lori Lightfoot. As noted by journalist Andy Ngo, Johnson had called for "removing law enforcement from society. During the 2020 riots, he defended looters, saying they were lashing out against racism." [Tweet] "Chicago's violent crime has surged over the last few years under Lori Lightfoot," he added. Indeed it had. Violent crime had risen steadily throughout Lightfoot's tenure. Gun violence exploded in 2021, with some neighborhoods seeing over a 100% increase in fatal shootings. The crime wave had played a major role in Lightfoot becoming the first Chicago mayor in four decades to lose a re-election bid. But it looks like Chicago will be electing a candidate who is even more radical than Lightfoot to replace her. Chicago Voters Go to the Polls Today With Little Confidence That Anything Will Change. Chicago voters will go to the polls on Tuesday to choose their next mayor with the out-of-control crime rate uppermost in their minds. Former Chicago public schools CEO Paul Vallas and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson offer two different visions for the voters — and two different versions of reality. Both men are Democrats and men of the left. But there are stark contrasts that separate the candidates and give the voters a clear choice. Can Anyone Really Fix Chicago? Like most big cities, Chicago has a crime problem. The city is not unique in that respect, nor is it unique in residents charging the police with racism, brutality, and the targeting of minorities. But Chicago is afflicted with a deadly combination: a police department that walks on eggshells for fear of being accused of brutality, thus making far fewer arrests, and a local prosecutor who believes it's more important to impose her idea of "restorative justice" than enforce the law. The city's police department is under a Department of Justice consent decree that does little to address the real, systemic problems on the Chicago police force but adds reams of useless paperwork to the job. Police morale is at rock bottom with more than 2,600 police officers leaving the department from 2020 to August 2022. As for the schools, more than 90,000 students have left the public schools in the last two years, leaving a huge hole in the budget. Driver gets probation for dragging Chicago cop 'several city blocks' with her car. A woman who allegedly dragged a Chicago police officer for several blocks through River North while trying to evade a traffic stop has been sentenced to probation. Jasmine Smith, 30, pleaded guilty this month to aggravated fleeing through two or more traffic control devices and resisting police. Judge Lauren Edidin handed down the sentence. Officers pulled Smith over for a traffic violation in the 700 block of North State on the afternoon of December 7, 2020. Prosecutors said during her initial bail hearing that she had a state ID but no driver's license, so the cops asked her and her passenger to step out of the car. But Smith and the passenger refused to get out, prompting a cop to reach through the passenger-side window to remove her seatbelt, prosecutors said. That's when Smith allegedly put the car into drive and accelerated down State Street with the cop hanging out of the side window. Armed men committed 18 robberies in 5 days across Chicago, including Lakeview and Lincoln Park. Chicago police have linked two incidents in Lakeview early Monday morning to a growing pattern of armed robberies that began last week, according to a community alert issued by Area One detectives. Investigators have linked at least 18 robberies to the crew. Most of the crimes involve three or four offenders who confront victims at gunpoint on the street, police said. University Of Chicago Student was Called a Terrorist for Calling Out the 'Problems With White People' Course At His School. Danial Schmidt, who is a sophomore at the University of Chicago, calls out his school for having a 'the problem with whiteness' course at the school. Danial made a post about the course and it went viral which ended up in a news article in which the professor of this racist class calls him a terrorist. The professor is now calling for Danial to be expelled. [Video clip] Lori Lightfoot confronted by reporter who was booted from press briefings. A Chicago reporter who filed a lawsuit against Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot for allegedly silencing him by pulling his city press credentials fired back at her yet again in a fierce exchange at a Wednesday city council meeting. "You shut down our schools, you shut down the churches, you shut down the businesses. You did the one thing I thought could never happen: As somebody who was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, I never thought in my life that I would ever see the city of Chicago brought down so low," reporter William Kelly slammed Lightfoot. Whether the Chicago Bears leave or not, taxpayers are on the hook for growing Soldier Field debt payments. As the Chicago Bears make plans to build a new stadium, taxpayers still are on the hook for the old one. A big bill is coming soon — and the primary method of paying for it may not be enough. Whether or not the team leaves for its newly acquired site in Arlington Heights, the public is obligated to pay for the 2003 renovation of Soldier Field that was meant to keep the team there. Due to refinancing and years of primarily paying interest instead of principal, the debt owed for Soldier Field has ballooned from the original $399 million to $631 million, according to the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, or ISFA, which manages the debt payments. The increase in the debt alarms experts who work in stadium financing. Pregnant Woman Shot In Chicago While Allegedly Attempting To Rob Car: Police. A pregnant woman in Chicago, Illinois, died Monday after multiple rounds of gunfire hit her during an alleged car robbery attempt, police say. Genesis Escobar, 21, and her unborn child were killed at around 1 p.m. after she reportedly entered a car in Belmont Cragin in the Northwest side of Chicago, allegedly with the intention of robbing it. A gunfight erupted between individuals inside the vehicle and someone outside, hitting Escobar in her shoulder, back and hand, police told ABC7. Though first responders pronounced Escobar dead at the scene, she was brought to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where doctors were unable to save her would-be firstborn, according to the outlet. Brandon Johnson, the elected official who still collects big checks from the Chicago Teachers Union, will be a disaster as Chicago's mayor. For all of you cynics who says there is no real choice in most elections, next month's runoff race for Chicago mayoral election proves you wrong. The unpopular and incompetent incumbent, Lori Lightfoot, finished third in last week's first round of voting, collecting an anemic 17 percent of the vote in a nine-candidate field. Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas took first place with 33 percent of the vote and Cook County commissioner and Chicago Teachers Union organizer Brandon Johnson in second with 21 percent of the tally. Chicago's municipal elections are non-partisan, but the remaining candidates are Democrats. Vallas has been largely successful in other education jobs, including posts in Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Bridgeport, Connecticut — but he has butted heads repeatedly with teachers' unions, most notably the far-left Chicago Teachers Union, which has strongly backed Johnson's candidacy. And that's not all. Johnson, who earns over $100,000 a year as a Cook County commissioner, also has collected nearly $400,000 as a legislative coordinator for the CTU over the past five years. So not only is Johnson in the pocket of the Chicago Teachers Union, the CTU is in Johnson's pocket. As of this writing, Johnson has not said if he will quit his CTU post and stop cashing that paycheck. The most important issue facing Chicago is the pension deficit. There's no way to tax our way out of this. [Thread reader] We need growth plans. Vallas gets this. Johnson believes in "trickle down pension-omics." More tax $ for his CTU pals at the expense of a functioning city. [...] Here's the summary of each candidate's plan. Johnson's tax ideas are indicative of zero understanding of how the economy works. Last time I checked, there's no wall around Chicago preventing anyone from leaving. Under Johson, we'll have higher tax rates and lower revenue. [...] Like I've said many times, we already have some of the highest local taxes in the country. And our 9.5% corporate tax ranks #3. But I'm sure ramping taxes even more will make people and businesses flock to Chicago and everyone will soon be pockets deep in free money. Lori Lightfoot lost for failing Chicago — not because voters are racist/sexist. Anyone can stand at a podium and accept adulation. Real leadership involves having the humility to remain standing upright while accepting blame when you've failed the people you're responsible for instead of conveniently leaning on a readily available crutch. But then, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot never was much of a leader. Lightfoot lost her re-election bid this week, receiving just a putrid 16.4% of the vote, finishing behind former head of Chicago Public Schools Paul Vallas and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson. Lightfoot had her crutch before the results were in. "I am a black woman — let's not forget," she told The New Yorker in a piece published three days before the election, providing reasoning for her inevitable defeat. "Certain folks, frankly, don't support us in leadership roles." Lori Lightfoot Effectively Calls Chicago Residents Racist, Sexist After Election Loss. As RedState reported on Tuesday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her reelection, and not by a little. According to the polls, she was something of an afterthought, falling well behind Paul Vallas and runner-up Brandon Johnson who got 33.77 and 20.29 percent of the vote respectively. Lightfoot limped into third with 17 percent of the vote. Naturally, like any good radical leftist, Lightfoot took no personal responsibility for her loss, choosing to blame it instead on others. In this case, the entire city of Chicago is guilty of being sexist and racist as reported by the New York Post: [...] The truth is that Lightfoot took a crime-ridden city filled with violence and murder and made it worse. Under her reign, Chicago's violent crime rate increased a whopping 37 percent while auto thefts skyrocketed by 74 percent. Corporations abandoned the city for safer places as the homeless population increased to unmanageable proportions. Amid all of this, Lightfoot found it the proper time to give herself a raise. Lori Lightfoot's critics sound off on Chicago mayor losing re-election: 'Crime doesn't pay'. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democrat, lost her re-election bid Monday night, and critics are celebrating the end of her term. Under Lightfoot, Chicago has seen soaring crime rates, which became a theme of her opponents' criticism. In 2021, homicides in Chicago rose to their highest numbers in 25 years, outpacing other crime-ridden cities like New York City and Los Angeles. Throughout her tenure, the mayor has been blasted for her poor relationship with law enforcement, as the city's police department lost a significant number of officers in recent years amid the rise in crime. Lightfoot faced challenges from eight other candidates in the mayoral race, but failed to make the runoff after finishing the election in third place. Lori Lightfoot Goes From Historic First to Historic Loser. Her defeat is truly stunning in a few ways. Lightfoot was yet another HISTORIC FIRST Democrat. She is both the first Black woman and openly gay person to be the Windy City's mayor. In theory, she should have been able to rule forever just for checking off two boxes on the diversity résumé. Add into the mix the fact that Chicago has been reflexively electing Democrats to the mayor's office for 92 years and you can see that she should have waltzed to reelection. This is the first time in 40 years that a Democrat hasn't been reelected mayor in Chicago. In fact, the last Democrat who didn't get reelected was another HISTORIC FIRST — Jane Byrne — the city's first female mayor. [...] Whether Chicago will be any better off under a new mayor is iffy. As we have discussed here a few times, whenever you get rid of one awful Democrat, there's often a worse one waiting in the wings. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Has Been Defeated. Chicago's embattled Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot will soon be looking for a new job. After finishing in third place on Tuesday, she's been eliminated from the race as it moves on to a runoff election on April 4 that includes only the first- and second-place candidates after no one in the nine-candidate field received a majority of votes. Chicago mayoral election results may be delayed DAYS due to mail-in voting. Paul Vallas, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools is the first candidate for Chicago mayor to advance to the April 4th runoff election. The AP announced Vallas' victory at 7:45pm EST. If no candidate wins 50% or more, the election on April 4th will be necessary. Local News ABC 7 reports that an initial slow turnout "may be due to a surge in voters choosing to mail in their ballots — which could lead to a dayslong delay in learning who makes the runoff." As a result of this, the results of the election may not be known for days[.] Chicago Inmates Claim Guards Are Trying To Get Them To Vote Illegally For Mayor Beetlejuice. Chicago inmates have claimed they are being pressured to illegally vote in the city's mayoral election. The inmates, some who are accused of murder, argued guards at Cook County Jail were pushing them to vote - despite some being registered in a different jurisdiction. They claimed the guards were receiving orders from higher up and were 'just doing what I'm told' when confronted over the move. It comes amid fears of ballot harvesting as insiders claimed the jail was the 'ideal environment' due to no cameras or election observers. [Video clip] Chicago mayoral candidates canvass churches in final push — and warn of 'false prophets'. With the clock winding down on Chicago's municipal election, the field of nine mayoral candidates fanned out across the city Sunday to deliver some of their final pitches to win over undecided voters and to push those who have made up their minds to follow through with a ballot. The late-stage political ground game before the polls close Tuesday sent fifth floor City Hall hopefuls to bistros, bars, bungalows, bus stops and beyond — but not before church. Nearly every candidate started their run into the home stretch at a house of worship. Can Chicago finally turn things around? Chicago has non-partisan elections for aldermen and mayor — which is good, because there are so many chumbolones: dim-witted Chicagoans who will vote for any Democrat, no matter how bad, like Soros-backed prosecutor Kim Foxx. The non-partisan races tend to break down by race, among white, black, and Hispanic candidates all scrambling to make the run-off. Last time, two black mayoral contenders made the run-off — the corrupt machine boss, Toni Preckwinkle, and the supposed reformer, Lori Lightfoot. Interestingly, Chicago has seen a steep decline the last 20 years in its black population. The polls in 2022 showed Lightfoot getting trounced by several contenders and Congressman Chuy Garcia leading. Garcia, though, appears to be the first casualty of the Sam Bankman-Fried scandals. I suppose young Sam figured that if Soros could buy a Chicago prosecutor, he ought to buy a Chicago mayor. The Anti-Social Contract: Chicago, Illinois, and the Failures of Modern Progressivism. Chicago and Illinois are in trouble. You know it. I know it. Your neighbors know it. Yet, somehow, it's considered rude, bordering on sacrilege, to acknowledge in polite company. Best to sweep this inconvenient truth under the rug. To obscure it behind a façade of inspiring lakefront imagery. But just open your eyes. Our problems are as ubiquitous as they are obvious. Rising crime, unsustainable debt, economic malaise, failing schools, dilapidated infrastructure, population loss. Each a fraying thread in a bleak tapestry of urban blight. There's no need to rehash any of this in detail. Nor is it necessary to discuss "root causes." We know them: decades of poor governance punctuated by recent years of incompetence and recklessness. Our slow-motion train wreck is speeding towards its inevitable crash. In a Staggering Number of Chicago Schools, Zero Students Are Proficient in Reading or Math. How is American education going? In at least one blue midwestern state, not well. Nonprofit research organization Wirepoint has looked into Illinois public schools, and their performance deserves less than an "A+." Among more than 30 institutions of learning, zero students can read at their respective grade levels. As for math, across 53 schools, no students are proficient. The bulk of those underperforming campuses — twenty-two in the case of reading and thirty-three in the case of math — sit within the City of Chicago School District — where taxpayers annually spend between $5,929 and $56,311 per student. Chicago Thug Picked The Wrong Woman To Rob, Turns Out She's An Off-Duty Cop, Shoots Him Dead. The private surveillance footage, released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, initially shows Leevon Smith arguing with a group of people in the 1300 block of West 90th Street just before 1 p.m. on Jan. 18. The off-duty officer eventually leaves an apartment building, tries to diffuse the conflict and urges those involved to "calm down." The other people take off, but Smith sticks around and talks to the officer for just over a minute. As she turns to head back into the apartment building, the video appears to show Smith reach for the officer's handgun, setting off a struggle. [Video clip] 2nd Amendment steps in after cops step back in wake of defund movement in Chicago. An 80-year-old man living near Chicago's O'Hare airport was left "battered" late last month when two intruders knocked on his door and entered his home. The elderly man was a legal gun owner and managed to fire off a shot, hitting one intruder and sending the other running for cover. The incident is one of dozens that have played out in the Windy City in recent years. Legally armed citizens are taking matters into their own hands, thwarting attacks and other crimes. Employees At Chicago's O'Hare Airport Say Homeless People Are Taking Over. Almost every major city in America is experiencing a homeless problem right now. In Chicago, where it can get pretty cold in winter, employees at O'Hare Airport claim that homeless people are taking over the place, making a mess and even making workers feel unsafe. Homeless community growing at O'Hare International Airport, prompting concerns. The number of Chicago's homeless community seeking shelter at O'Hare International Airport is up. As CBS 2's Marissa Perlman reported Thursday night, two employees at the airport say they are concerned for their safety. They shared what they see in the overnight hours. Thousands of Chicago homeless people seek refuge from the cold inside O'Hare. Employees sent us photos of people sleeping on heater vents, using the terminal to dry their clothes, and trashing airport bathrooms. "It's out of control," Chatman said. Not A Single Student Is Proficient In Reading Or Math At 55 Chicago Schools. In 55 Chicago Public Schools, not one student met grade level expectations in either math or reading during the 2021-2022 school year, according to a Wirepoints report. Out of 649 Chicago Public Schools, 22 schools have zero students who met grade level expectations for reading while no students were proficient in math in 33 schools during the 2021-2022 school year, according to a Wirepoints report. The data analyzed is from the Illinois State Board of Education annual report which details how schools within the state are performing. "Defenders of the current system are sure to invoke COVID as the big reason for the low scores," Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner, authors of the report, stated. "But a look at the 2019 numbers show that the reading and math numbers were only slightly better than they are now." State Planning to Move 658 Migrants to Vacant Kmart on Chicago's Southwest Side. The Illinois Department of Human Services is preparing to move 658 recent migrant arrivals into a former Kmart in Chicago for temporary shelter, WTTW News has learned. The 100,000-square-foot store has sat vacant at the corner of 71st Street and Pulaski Road on the city's Southwest Side since 2016. Sources said the migrants — mostly asylum seekers — will be relocated from the suburbs, where they are currently staying at hotels. According to documents WTTW News obtained, the site was selected because of its nearby resources and because it is in a welcoming neighborhood. Chicago Police Department Responds To 9 Armed Robberies In Just Over One Hour. Four men conducted nine armed robberies in Chicago within the span of an hour Friday morning. The thieves traveled the West Side in a black SUV, stealing personal belongings from victims held at gunpoint, according to WGN News. The crime spree started at 6:12 a.m. and ended around 7:30 a.m., police reported. When We Describe America's Largest Cities As "War Zones", We Aren't Exaggerating One Bit. Crime rates are soaring all over the nation, and this is especially true in heavily populated urban areas. The complete and utter lawlessness that we are witnessing has caused many pundits to describe our largest cities as "war zones", and unfortunately that is not an exaggeration at all. In fact, there are some zip codes in Chicago where young adult males are more likely to be shot and killed than U.S. soldiers were during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This is what happens when all your transactions go through your credit cards and your cell phone. Lightfoot's soft-on-crime approach comes back to haunt her. As the Chicago mayoral primary election approaches in April, the candidates are looking to defeat incumbent mayor Lori Lightfoot. They have apparently found her Achilles heel: crime. Chicago Police statistics aren't something Lightfoot can trumpet as a success. During her time in office, crime is up 19 percent in the city. Murders have increased 20 percent since 2018, and shootings are up 19 percent. Motor vehicle thefts saw the largest increase of 114 percent. While some categories decreased, such criminal sexual assaults (down 4 percent), it's not enough to improve the city's violent image, especially among its residents. With eight candidates running to unseat Lightfoot, they have all noticed public safety is not something Lightfoot can tout, while it is of great concern to citizens. Chicago School Worker Is Charged After Stealing 1.5 Million Dollars Worth Of Chicken Wings. The food service director for an impoverished south suburban school district is accused of stealing $1.5M worth of food — mainly chicken wings — according to court documents reviewed by WGN Investigates. Vera Liddell, 66, worked for Harvey School District 152 for more than a decade, according to a LinkedIn account associated with her name. [Video clip] One Chicago mayoral candidate speaks the truth about crime in his city. We're exactly one month away from Chicago's mayoral election, and early voting has already started. The big question is whether Lori Lightfoot, who has presided over large parts of Chicago diving into a crime-rich, Dante-esque hellscape, will get another term. Currently, there are multiple candidates vying against her, but one — Willie Wilson, a five-time candidate — stands out for his courage in saying what must be said: Chicago needs its police, and criminals must face consequences. Nothing needs to be said about Lightfoot. Her incumbency speaks for itself. Except for Wilson and Paul Vallas, the other candidates are all generic leftists. Tucker Carlson Clobbers Chicago Mayor Over Crime Hurting The 'Poorest People'. Fox News host Tucker Carlson criticized Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago over crime Tuesday as a reporter described the effect on the "poorest people." "Someday, historians will untangle one of the biggest mysteries that we're living through, which is why would our leaders want to make our society more dangerous? Why do they want more rape and armed robbery and murder? Clearly, they do want that," Carlson, an honorary member of the Daily Caller News Foundation's board, said. "Why? We don't know. We can only chronicle the effects. Lori Lightfoot has made Chicago intolerable for people and so dangerous. That's intentional," Carlson continued. "She banned police from chasing criminals on foot, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera and as a result, the poorest people are suffering the most. Street vendors robbed all the time." Chicago man shot by concealed carry holder on Green Line train has 32 arrests in last 10 years. Darius Moss is no stranger to police in Chicago. Since 2014 Moss has been arrested an incredible 32 times since 2014; a rap sheet that has also resulted in at least four felony convictions during that same time period. Moss's latest arrest came on Friday afternoon, after authorities say he robbed a man at gunpoint on a Green Line train. Since Chicago bans firearms from all CTA premises, Moss may have (rightfully) believed that the odds of his victim also being armed were pretty slim, but the repeat offender ended up winning the armed citizen lottery by picking an off-duty security guard who had a gun of his own as his intended target. Lightfoot: don't use cash. Street vendors in Chicago are getting robbed at gunpoint, and are demanding more police presence to deter the criminals. Apparently, the vendors have this bizarre idea that thugs pointing guns at them shouldn't be occurring. Lori Lightfoot has a better solution: don't take cash from customers. After all, if you have money on your person you really do deserve whatever you get. Criminals gotta eat too. Haven't you ever heard the term "you eat what you kill?" Flatfoot: Chicago mayor keeps making a mess of things. Lori Lightfoot is the mayor of Chicago. She is running for re-election. For a second time, she has tried to recruit students to campaign for her. The first time was in August 2021. Last year, she sent emails to the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) seeking volunteers. She was shot down. [...] Lori Lightfoot is not a quick study. She did it again this past week. Not only did she send emails to CCC in search of volunteers, but she also sent emails to Chicago Public School teachers suggesting that they get their students to help her and receive credit to boot. Carjacker Picked The Wrong Kia To [Tamper] With In Chicago. Since Chicago is circling the toilet alongside Los Angeles And New York City, as crime spirals out of control, some people are taking things into their own hands and fighting back. [Video clip] We're All Chicagoans Now. Progressives intend to establish a socialist totalitarian society with a permanent underclass ruled by a small elite — the so-called vanguard of the proletariat that Lenin said must rule indefinitely until workers were prepared to govern themselves, a day that never has arrived in any communist state. Chicago employs some 36,000 persons, most of them at or close to six-figure salaries. That would presumably be close to 36,000 (plus family members) votes for Democrats. In addition, more than 14% of Chicago's population live below the poverty line, though far more receive government benefits — again, an incentive for maintaining the status quo. Couple these with votes from traditionally liberal groups such as teachers, media, social workers, and the wealthy elite, and one can see how Chicago has remained under Democrat control for close to a century. Even if liberal policies are not working for Chicago, they are working, in a narrow sense, at least, for the elite and the underclass whom they rule. No wonder progressives see Trump as a "threat to democracy": Trump was elected on the promise of "draining the swamp," by which he meant just the sort of political corruption that one associates with Chicago politics. Daughter of Ald. Derrick Curtis suffered accidental gunshot wound during gun safety class he taught last week. Ald. Derrick Curtis' daughter was accidentally shot in the leg last week during a concealed carry class Curtis was teaching at a church in Ashburn, months after the 18th Ward alderperson accidentally shot himself. Curtis was conducting the class Jan. 5 at Monument of Faith Church, 2750 W. Columbus, with his daughter and son in attendance, according to a Chicago police source. Someone handed Curtis' daughter a Glock 19 and the weapon went off. The 25-year-old was struck in the leg and taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in good condition, police said. The shooting was classified as accidental. The Editor says... Chicago: chaos inside the public school system. One might say it's better to home-school your child in Chicago but stray bullets flying through windows is a norm these days so it's a [toss-up]. Best to stop voting a certain way or escape the asylum. [Video clip] Chicago drivers now stuck in traffic congestion more than any other U.S. city. Chicago just surpassed New York City. Well, that's at least the case when it comes to cities with the most traffic congestion. Chicagoans were more impacted by time spent in traffic in 2022 than drivers in any other U.S. urban area, according to the latest annual report from transportation analysis firm Inrix. 3 juveniles charged with Friday carjacking spree in Gold Coast, West Town; adult faces gun charge. Three juveniles are charged with committing a string of armed carjackings during a spree Friday afternoon in the Gold Coast and West Town, Chicago police said. An 18-year-old man who allegedly ran from one of the hijacked vehicles as police moved in faces a felony gun charge, but he is not accused of carjacking anyone. The hijackings began when two masked carjackers displayed guns and took control of a woman's 2017 Porsche Macan at the Marathon service station, 649 North Ashland, around 3 p.m. Heard about the Chicago public schools grooming gangs? It was a story that came and went a few days ago. The Chicago Board of Education's Inspector General's office came up with an annual report noting hundreds — and hundreds — of sexual incidents by Chicago public school teachers commiting crimes against students in their "care" — groomings, rapes, "love" affairs, and inappropriate sexual touching and encounters. The figure was described in the report as "an extraordinary high case volume." Kira Davis at RedState has descriptions of some of the most revolting activities. [...] Undoubtedly, there are more such crimes of this nature that go unreported as such things go. If you were a kid, would you even know who to report such unthinkable acts to? You wouldn't have any idea who could be trusted and you'd probably see your claim swept under the rug if not get yourself penalized for reporting it. It's also a very good reason to leave the public schools. And yes, people are leaving. Inspector Report Found Hundreds Of Chicago Teachers Allegedly Sexually Groomed, Raped Students. The Chicago Board of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) annual report found hundreds of Chicago Public School (CPS) teachers were accused of adult-to-student sexual misconduct in the 2021-2022 school year. The OIG's Sexual Allegations Unit (SAU) opened 447 cases investigating teachers for allegedly grooming, sexually assaulting, or raping CPS students last school year, following the 325 opened in 2021. Of the open cases, the SAU closed 600 over the past 12 months, according to the OIG annual report, reported ChicagoCityWire. SAU investigated a Chicago high school substitute teacher for grooming several students for sex and engaging in sexual acts with at least one student on school property, the OIG found. COVID relief fraud probe includes over 50 employees in Cook County Clerk of Court Iris Martinez's office. More than 50 employees of Cook County Clerk of Court Iris Martinez are suspected of defrauding a federal program intended to help small businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, a spokesman said Friday. The clerk's inspector general is working with Cook County's inspector general's office, which is conducting a separate investigation of employees who work for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, according to Martinez spokesman James Murphy-Aguilú. Interim Cook County Inspector General Steven Cyranoski has provided Martinez's investigators with a list of clerk's employees who've obtained loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program. Cyranoski's office also subpoenaed bank records of those workers on behalf of Martinez's investigators, who don't have that authority. What does "sanctuary city" really mean? Shocking Chicago Public Schools Report Reveals Over 600 Cases Of Staff Grooming and Sexually Assaulting Students. A shocking report from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has revealed hundreds of cases of teachers sexually grooming and assaulting CPS students in 2022 and earlier. The report, released last week, details disturbing encounters between staff and students, including one CPS teacher who "groomed and sexually assaulted" a 17-year-old girl on multiple occasions. In a move that will feel familiar to parents already sounding the alarm about school officials encouraging students to be open about sexual issues with teachers while hiding it from parents, the girl told investigators "she began to think of him as her friend and therapist." Black Chicagoans: Migrants Should Be With 'Their People' Instead of Our Neighborhood. Chicagoans in the Woodlawn neighborhood continue to voice their opposition to the city's plan to place a migrant shelter at a closed school amid the historic crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, going as far as to say migrants should be sent to Latino-majority neighborhoods. One resident said at a protest on Thursday the migrants, who most assuredly will be from South America, should be sent to the Little Village neighborhood, a mostly Mexican area. "I am here because I am a child of Woodlawn. I was born and raised in Woodlawn. And I am speaking on behalf of the people that are here and the ones that's not here... We are very disappointed in this decision that Mayor Lightfoot has made to place these migrants in our community without our permission," one woman told reporters. "Please withdraw your decision to put the migrants in our community. There's plenty of room in Little Village for their people. Please, speak to Little Village and take them over there. We are not hating on anyone but we're loving on Woodlawn," she added. The Editor says... Illinois ranks second in top move-out states in study. St. Louis-based logistics company United Van Lines released its 46th annual National Movers Study on Monday, which showed that Illinois was the second most moved-from U.S. state in 2022. Illinois came behind only New Jersey. The study is based on ratings of inbound and outbound state moves with United Van Lines. According to the study, Illinois had a total outbound rate of 63.8% compared to an inbound rate of 36.2%. Springfield, the Champaign-Urbana-Rantoul area, Joliet and Chicago were in the top 25 metropolitan cities for outbound statistical areas. Springfield saw outbound moves at 73%, Champaign-Urbana-Rantoul saw a rate of 69%, Joliet was at 68% and Chicago at 67% for people moving out compared to moving in. Why Crime Will Explode In 2023. If you reward criminals with fewer consequences, crime grows exponentially. So mark January 1st 2024 on the calendar. Today January 1st 2023, a new law goes into effect. The law will leave a major impact on the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago. In some circles it is being touted as "the most dangerous law in America." All for good reason. The new law closely mirrors criminal "reforms" that have now been in effect for two years here in New York. In short it seeks to "right the wrongs" of "unfair" law enforcement and to press its thumb on the side of those previously disenfranchised. This is mostly just a way to say that the woke left is attempting to bring down effective law enforcement in another big state, create chaos, and further allow that environment of anarchy to bring about their culturally marxist ideals. We've seen the pattern across the nation. 2 Thugs Execute A Man In His Car At Chicago Gas Station. A man was shot to death and another was wounded while sitting in a vehicle early Tuesday morning in the Englewood neighborhood. The man, whose age was unknown, was sitting with a 35-year-old man around 2:36 a.m. in the 1100 block of West 63rd Street when three males got out of a gray Hyundai sedan and started shooting, police said. [Video clip] Chicago Will End 2022 with at Least 723 Homicides. Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D) Chicago will end 2022 with the tragic figure of at least 723 murders for the year. The Chicago Sun-Times reported the city was at 723 homicides for the year as of December 30, 2022. Moreover, the Sun-Times observed motor vehicle theft in Chicago was up 95 percent in 2022, when contrasted with motor vehicle theft in 2021. Theft was up 50 percent, burglary was up ten percent, and robbery was up ten percent. Stellantis idling Belvidere Jeep Cherokee plant indefinitely, laying off 1,350 auto workers. Stellantis is idling the Belvidere Assembly Plant, the exclusive production home of the Jeep Cherokee, and laying off its remaining 1,350 workers. The indefinite plant closure is set for Feb. 28, the automaker announced Friday. "Our industry has been adversely affected by a multitude of factors like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the global microchip shortage, but the most impactful challenge is the increasing cost related to the electrification of the automotive market," Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said in a statement. Chicago private school holds 'affinity groups' that white students are banned from attending. The elite, $40,000-a-year Chicago school that was recently revealed to have students as young as 14 discussing sex toys also has 'affinity groups' that ban white children from attending. Francis W. Parker School has come under fire after Dean Joseph Bruno, 41, told an undercover reporter from the conservative news website Project Veritas that the school aims to teach students at the Francis W. Parker School all about queer sexual intercourse. There's more to the 'progressive' school's activities, including the affinity groups for children as young as four. Chicago: Concealed Carry holder surprises three would-be robbers. A trio of teens looking for victims to rob in Chicago wound up being victims themselves. [...] The teens, who the story says were between 15 and 18, were all injured. The driver was shot in the head as he tried to drive away and crashed the car. [...] Looking at multiple sources for this story I noticed that this is just one of several incidents like this in Chicago recently. Remember when you could mail something and expect it to be delivered to the addressee? Benjamin Franklin, the founder of the US Post Office, must be spinning in his Boston grave, over what has happened to his creation. I am sure that I was not alone in being shocked when, four weeks ago, just prior to the holiday peak mailing season: ["]The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has warned people not to use its blue boxes on specific dates. It particularly warned about the chances of theft from these on Sundays and holidays.["] I hadn't ever noticed blue mailboxes being cut open and their contents stolen. So how, I wondered, did this thievery work? An answer has just come from Chicago, where civil order goes to die. 23-Year-Old Chicago Woman Shoots Armed Carjacker In Head. A 23-year-old Chicago woman who was legally carrying a concealed weapon was able to defend herself against four armed carjackers who tried to steal her Toyota Corolla on Wednesday night [11/23/2022]. The incident occurred at about 2 a.m. on Nov. 22 [sic] as the woman was sitting in her car near the corner of 89th Street and Kenwood Avenue in the Calumet Heights neighborhood, WBBM reported. The woman told responding officers that a black sedan pulled up beside her car and four men got out of it. Police said the woman said one of the men brandished a gun at her and tried to open her car door, WBBM reported. The driver of the Toyota they were trying to steal — a 23-year-old woman with a concealed carry permit — pulled out her legally-owned handgun, according to police. Police said she shot the man who was trying to get into her car in the head, WBBM reported. Mebbe you shunna axed dat querstion. Rap Video Shoot In Chicago Turns Into Actual Shooting. During the video shooting for a track called "Opp Music" by some local Chicago rapper named Tray Tray, a rival gang pulled up and sprayed the scene with bullets. [Video clip] Indicted Ald. Carrie Austin Tells Judge She is Too Ill to Stand Trial, Says She'll Leave City Council March 1. Indicted Ald. Carrie Austin (34th Ward) told a federal judge on Friday that she is too ill to stand trial. She also informed Mayor Lori Lightfoot she plans to retire from the Chicago City Council on March 1 — one day after the next Chicago City Council election. Austin, 73, pleaded not guilty to charges that she accepted bribes from a developer and lied to FBI agents. Indicted in July 2021, Austin has never appeared in person before Judge John Kness because of her ill health and restrictions put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19. In her resignation letter, dated Nov. 11, Austin told Lightfoot that she wanted to finish out her sixth term in office but was unable to do so because of her worsening health. Cook County Guaranteed Income Pilot Prepares Participants for First Payments. At an enrollment event this week, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle welcomed some of the more than 3,000 participants in the Cook County Promise guaranteed income pilot. The participants, who were selected by lottery, are set to receive their first monthly payment of $500 on Dec. 15. "This is the largest guaranteed income pilot in the country, $42 million. We will have 3,250 individuals participating over a two-year period in the pilot program," Preckwinkle said. 14 Year Old Is Beaten Bloody By Female McDonald's Worker Wearing Brass Knuckles. A female McDonald's employee allegedly attacked a teenage boy with brass knuckles at one of the fast-food chain's Chicago outlets, according to police. Chicago police said the assault on the 15-year-old boy took place at a McDonald's near Western and Warren on Tuesday afternoon. [Video clip] Armed Robber Picked The Wrong Business Owner To Mess With In Chicago. A Chicago business owner is sharing his story after fighting back against an armed robber in Portage Park earlier this month. The confrontation occurred at Car Care Auto Spa near Cicero and Patterson Avenues. It's been more than two weeks since James Suh came face to face with the armed robber inside his business, with the two minute-long confrontation caught on surveillance camera. "It was just so sudden and alarming, no preparations," he said. "I didn't even see him walking in and all of a sudden he's just there in front of me." [Video clip] 'Doesn't make sense': Woodlawn leader, residents concerned about migrants coming to their neighborhood. Chicago has welcomed thousands of migrants in recent months, bused in from Texas. CBS 2 has learned there's a plan in the works to house hundreds at an old school in the Woodlawn neighborhood and it's a decision many residents, and the alderwoman said, blindsided them. Chicago's Bloody Weekend Ends With More Than 50 Shot, 11 Murdered. More than 50 people were shot over the weekend in Chicago, including a 14-year-old boy on a playground, while three others were killed during a drag racing incident. The city recorded 43 shooting incidents and tallied 51 shooting victims between 6 p.m. Friday and midnight Sunday, Fox News reported. Of those murdered, 10 were shot and one fatally stabbed, the outlet cited police. A street racing incident on the 4300 block of South Kedzie saw nearly 100 cars overtake the intersection. After at least 13 rounds were fired, three men were dead according to police. Police said those killed in Sunday's street race were between ages 15 and 20, all with gang affiliations, Fox News said. Spike in CTA crime: 'At a level not seen in years'. CTA crime is at a level not seen in years, with over 80 cases reported in the month of September, according to police data. A 60-year-old man was shot on board a red line station Saturday morning [10/15/2022] and police are now investigating it as a homicide investigation. According to reports, crime on the CTA is at its high since 2015. [Black] Chicago Woman Held Without Bail After Killing And Dismembering [White] Landlord. Prosecutors revealed disturbing new details on what happened in the moments leading up to and after a woman allegedly killed and dismembered her Chicago landlord before putting the human remains in a freezer. Sandra Kolalou was ordered held without bond in court Thursday, with Judge Kelly Marie McCarthy saying she poses a "real and present threat." [Video clip] Multi-Billionaire Who Fled Lightfoot's Chicago to Land in Florida Is Donating $100 Million to GOP Candidates This Cycle. Citadel owner Ken Griffin fled Lightfoot's Chicago to Florida earlier this year — and he brought his company with him. The hedge fund firm known as Citadel moved its operations to Florida, citing a more business-friendly environment. What is wrong with Chicago's Mayor Lori Lightfoot? There is no doubt among those paying attention that Chicago is in crisis. Crime has exploded, with ordinary citizens living in fear of venturing out from their homes. (And, if they live in the wrong neighborhoods, their homes may be shot up as drive-by gang assassination attempts hitting neigboring homes.) Mayor Lori Lightfoot may try to downplay the severity of the trendline, but Chicagoans understand the risks they take merely by walking or driving on the streets as recidivist criminals are set free to wreak mayhem again and again on the innocent: [...] Major companies and well-to-do taxpayers are fleeing the city. Chicago-area's guaranteed income program [is] open to illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants can apply for a guaranteed basic income pilot program in Illinois that will provide participants with monthly cash payments for two years. The Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot will send 3,250 residents $500 each month in cash assistance. Eligible participants must meet certain thresholds in order to be eligible. They must be adult residents of the county and make a household income of or below 250% of the federal poverty level or make less than $69,375 for a house of four. Applicants will not be asked about their citizenship status, according to the program website. Tyson foods joins Caterpillar and Boeing in ditching Chicago amid huge crime wave. Tyson Foods has become the latest company to shutter its Chicago-area offices in response to rampant crime seen under progressive Mayor Lori Lightfoot, joining Boeing, Caterpillar, and several others to turn tail and flee the Windy City. The chicken giant made the bombshell announcement Wednesday, revealing it's bringing together its corporate employees at its global headquarters in Arkansas, and closing down three of its offices, including one in Downtown Chicago. The other two include a location in nearby Downers Grove, a suburb just outside the city, and in Dakota Dunes in South Dakota. The Worst Places to Live in the US. [For example,] Rogers Park (ranked number 5 best place) "is one of Chicago's most diverse neighborhoods, with more than 60 different languages spoken." Nevertheless, it's riddled with crime. Acording to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, Rogers Park's overall crime rate is 22% higher than the national average, and residents have a 1 in 30 chance of being a victim of property, violent, or other crimes. It's also noteworthy that major businesses are fleeing the Chicago area, including Tyson Foods, Caterpillar, Boeing, and Citadel. Tyson Foods moves corporate jobs to Arkansas in [the] latest blow to Chicago. Tyson Foods Inc is joining other corporate heavyweights in moving jobs out of Illinois. The biggest U.S. meat company by sales said on Wednesday it will relocate all corporate employees from offices in Chicago and suburban Downers Grove, along with those in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, to its headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas. It is the latest shakeup for Tyson, which has about 1,000 corporate employees in the Chicago-area and South Dakota offices. Overall the meat company has about 120,000 U.S. employees, with about 114,000 of those working in production plants. Elderly Man Is Beaten With A Wine Bottle And Robbed On Chicago Metro Train. Chicago police and the CTA are investigating after a man was robbed and hit over the head with a wine bottle during a brazen attack that has since gone viral after footage was posted to social media. In the video, posted by a Facebook user, multiple assailants are seen assailing a man on a CTA Red Line train, asking for his identification and then snatching an unopened bottle of wine from him. Video then shows the suspects reaching into his pocket and stealing money, and as the man begins to get up, one of the suspects strikes him in the head with a wine bottle, leaving him dazed and bleeding profusely in his seat. [Video clip] McDonald's CEO bemoans crime 'seeping into every corner' of Chicago. McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski told attendees that "our city is in crisis" at an Economic Club of Chicago event on Wednesday, referring to rampant crime in the Windy City. He added that crime is "seeping into every corner of our city" and is even happening in McDonald's restaurants. There have been 479 murders in Chicago so far in 2022, according to the Chicago Police Department. Overall crime in the city has spiked 38% compared to 2021. Lori Lightfoot Drops Biden With the Priceless Words We've Been Waiting to Hear About Illegal Aliens. We saw the left melting down on Thursday after Texas bused illegal aliens to Kamala Harris' house in Washington, D.C., and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent 50 illegal aliens up to Martha's Vineyard where the liberal elite like Barack Obama live and take vacations. They can't even handle 50 illegal aliens without declaring an emergency, while border towns deal with thousands every day. Texas began sending illegal aliens to Chicago, a sanctuary city, in August. Mayor Lori Lightfoot's office claimed that they would be welcoming. "As a person of faith, I believe we must see God's presence in all human beings," Lightfoot said. "That's what being a good Christian is." The "good Christian" was lying, because once they arrived, Lightfoot rounded them up and then shipped them out to suburbs like Burr Ridge. Lori Lightfoot had blasted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for treating the migrants like "cargo" and not providing her with advance notice they were arriving. But then, she turned around and did the same thing. Illinois mayor demands an apology from the governor for sending illegal migrants without notice. Mayor Craig Johnson of Elk Grove Village, Illinois wants an apology from Governor Pritzker for bussing 90 illegal migrants to the Chicago suburb on very little notice or advance planning. Chicago, a sanctuary city, has received buses from Texas and Arizona to ease the Biden border crisis. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is having a meltdown over the buses arriving in Chicago. Her city is the nation's third largest and yet she acts as though a small number of new arrivals to Chicago will be too much of a burden for city resources. She sent 64 illegal migrants to Burr Ridge, Illinois last week after a bus filled with 147 migrants arrived in Chicago. Now a second suburb has received illegal migrants and the mayor said enough is enough. Ninety illegal migrants were bussed to a motel in Elk Grove Village. Mayor Johnson received about an hour's notice of the arrival and no other information. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Blasted Over 'Hypocrisy' After Settling Dozens Of Migrants In GOP Suburb. Chicago Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot is taking heat after she bussed dozens of migrants out of her city and housed them in a hotel in a smaller suburb without warning. Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso, a Republican, accused Lightfoot of hypocrisy on Saturday. Grasso said Lightfoot bussed migrants into his town while complaining about similar behavior by Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R). "We're more than happy for people to find freedom, it is hypocrisy by the mayor of Chicago to complain about the governor of Texas — I do agree with what he's doing — the city of Chicago says it's going to be a sanctuary city which I oppose — but there must be vacant hotel rooms in Chicago. This is hundreds of people in a city of millions. Why are they sending them out to the Republican suburbs? You have to wonder," Grasso told Fox News. Migrants bussed to sanctuary city Chicago are promptly shipped off to suburbs. A group of over 100 migrants from the southern border were moved to an Illinois suburb after being welcomed in Chicago — an action that is reportedly frustrating local officials. The migrants are staying at a Hampton Inn in Burr Ridge and a Holiday Inn in Countryside, according to reporting by WGN-TV. An estimated 300 migrants have been bused from Texas to Chicago in the past two weeks. While Chicago is a sanctuary city and Cook County is a sanctuary county, the migrants at the Burr Ridge Hampton Inn are in DuPage County. The county's sanctuary status is unclear. However, Burr Ridge Republican Mayor Garry Grasso previously said he would work to secure the border and "defund sanctuary cities," according to WGN-TV. Chicago welcomes Texas migrants, then sends them to Burr Ridge. WGN Investigates has learned several dozen of the migrants Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent to Chicago have now been relocated to a hotel in the suburbs without advance warning to the local mayor. "I am concerned neither the village administrator nor I were told about this," Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso told WGN. "We want to know: Why Burr Ridge?" Just days ago, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blasted Abbott for treating the migrants like "cargo" and not providing her with advance notice they were arriving. Chicago reporter sues Mayor Lori Lightfoot as city pulls his press credentials following combative exchanges. A Chicago reporter filed a federal lawsuit against Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police Department Superintendent David Brown after his press credentials were revoked. The suit, filed by journalist William J. Kelly to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in late August, alleges Lightfoot and Brown are violating his First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights, saying, "They have done this for the most cynical and contemptible reason that can be imagined, to prevent Lightfoot from being questioned about their failures in the performance of the public offices they currently occupy." "Lightfoot desperately wants to prevent anyone from questioning her about her multiple failures in office or about the false statements she makes, at press conferences because she is standing for re-election and wants to keep her dismal performance as mayor of Chicago from being publically [sic] exposed and criticized," the suit reads. 16-year-old Chicago male charged with four carjackings in one day. On August 16th of last year in the city of Chicago, a 29-year-old man was carjacked at gunpoint on West 109th Street. Not long after, a 21-year-old woman was similarly removed from her vehicle further down the same street. Later that evening a 28-year-old man was carjacked at gunpoint one block over on 110th Street. Topping the night off, a 75-year-old man received the same treatment on South Vernon Avenue. This may not sound like all that unusual of a day in the Windy City because carjacking is sort of the municipal pastime for the gangs in that area. But all four of these robberies were committed by the same person. And the suspect, who was eventually apprehended, was sixteen years old. [...] The suspect's attorney managed to have the case handled in Juvenile Court. Because of Chicago's lax criminal code, that means he will not be doing any serious time behind bars, instead being put into a "rehabilitation" program. Would it surprise you to learn that this was not his first run-in with the law? Black Crime: Facing Down the Elephant in the Room. Blacks are a third of the population in Chicago but commit 80 percent of all shootings, author Heather Mac Donald told Tucker Carlson on a recent show. In Los Angeles, blacks commit 44 percent of all violent crime but make up 9 percent of the population. In St. Louis, blacks are less than a third of the population but commit 90 percent of all homicides. In New York City, blacks commit about three quarters of all shootings although they're 23 percent of the population. On Monday alone, 16 people were shot and two killed in Chicago, a city led by blacks. Two teenage black girls killed an Uber Eats driver in D.C. during a foiled carjacking. A knife-wielding black man, 25, was shot dead after he rammed his car into a barricade at the Capitol, killing one policeman. A deranged black man who had been released from prison after killing his mother was caught on camera kicking, stomping, and beating a random 65-year-old Asian woman, while others, including a security guard, watched. With all the talk of structural racism, equity, and white supremacy, violence has not only gotten more brash, but it's becoming institutionalized. Sanctuary cities — for criminals. The New York Post reported, "Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday night that immigrants will be bused from the Lone Star State to Chicago in the latest iteration of his controversial busing program. "The first busload of immigrants arrived at Chicago's Union Station Wednesday night as the Windy City becomes the third destination city for asylum-seeking immigrants who are being bused from Del Rio, Texas, Abbott's office said." Chicago's mayor issued a decree that said, "Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is without any shame or humanity. "But ever since he put these racist practices of expulsion in place, we have been working with our community partners to ready the city to receive these individuals. "We know that racism, discrimination, and human cruelty have played a pivotal role in how immigrants are received within our borders, and we are still working to recover from the previous presidential administration, which encouraged this behavior. "This is such an important moment for Chicago as a city has been a sanctuary for thousands of newcomers. We are welcoming them and we will not turn our backs on those who need our help the most." The Democrats mindset is that it is racist to send illegal aliens you do not want to places that say they want them. Chicago mayor blasts Abbott for busing migrants to her city. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot slammed Gov. Greg Abbott after buses of migrants from the southern border state of Texas pulled into the Illinois city late Wednesday. "As a city, we are doing everything we can to ensure these immigrants and their families can receive shelter, food, and most importantly protection," a spokesperson for Lightfoot, a Democrat, said in a statement issued Wednesday evening. [...] Two buses of roughly 60 migrants stepped off state-funded buses at Chicago's Union Station last night and were transported to local shelters. Chicago is the third city that Texas has begun transporting migrants to from the border, after Washington, D.C., and New York City. All three cities self-identify as "sanctuary" zones, areas that will not turn over illegal immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement if arrested. Now Texas sends migrants to Chicago. Texas sent around 100 migrants to Chicago on Wednesday, as Republican Governor Greg Abbott expands his effort to push responsibility for border crossers to his Democratic political opponents. The buses arrived at Chicago's Union Station at around 7:30 pm — after it was revealed that Texas has already spent $12 million on taking migrants to New York City and Washington DC. Among the 100 or so people who were on the buses, around 20 to 30 were small children. Pregnant women and children were among the busload. The migrants said they were from Venezuela. Chicago Sideshow Descends Into Chaos And Lawlessness as Participants Attack Police Cruiser. This was the insane scene down in Chicago's West Loop on Saturday night as another illegal sideshow spiraled out of control. Chicago police tried to break up the scene after one of the drivers sped towards police officers, nearly hitting them. Police cruisers drove in to break up the crowds and were met with bottles and rocks being thrown at them. [Video clip] Suspect Charged for Hit-and-Run That Killed Three Outside Chicago Gay Bar. We previously reported on this Aug. 14 incident in which three men — Donald Huey, 25, Devonta Vivetter, 27, and Jaylen Ausley, 23 — were fighting in the street outside the Jeffery Bar ("one of the oldest and longest continuously running Black gay bars in the nation") at 5 a.m. when they were killed by a driver who disappeared after ditching his car three blocks away from the fatal scene. He is now behind bars: [...] Did I mention Dunbar has twice served time for violent crimes? ["]According to Hanichak, Dunbar received a five-year prison sentence for beating a victim in the head with a baseball bat during a dispute over money in 2007. Five years later, Dunbar hit his 11-year-old brother in the head and body with a curtain rod and grabbed the boy by his neck, Hanichak said. Dunbar received two years for that crime.["] Even in Chicago, I don't think he'll get off so lightly now. Teens Brawled Outside Of High School In Chicago, 3 Shot. Three teenagers were wounded, two seriously, in a shooting Friday afternoon near Michele Clark High School on Chicago's West Side, according to authorities. The shooting occurred at approximately 2:30 p.m. in the 400 block of South Laramie, just blocks away from the high school. Chicago police say three male individuals were near the sidewalk, possibly involved in a fight, when they were struck by gunfire. [Video clip] Chicago Public Schools website features appalling video justifying burning and looting. The Chicago Public Schools are doing a miserable job educating the children of that troubled city. As Matt Rosenberg of Wirepoints notes, the school system has every incentive to try to redirect anger over its failures onto society as a whole, specifically to white racism. It Only Took a Year for Lightfoot's $1M Anti-Gun Hotline to Blow Up in Her Face. Back in July 2021, Chicago's Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot made a fuss about a gun tip hotline that she funded with one million dollars of the city's budget, so people "who have a conscience" can take a bite out of crime and get rewarded to do so. But one year after the program began, only a small number of tips have been verified and rewarded with a payout. And to date, only just over .01 percent — $10,395 — of the one million-dollar fund has been paid out to tipsters, according to the Chicago Tribune. Lightfoot made a big flourish over the tipster program in July of last year. Chicago is being devoured by violence, so city looks to removing monuments. As I've stated many times before in this space, Chicago's best days are behind it. Seemingly random and numbing violence is everywhere. Yes, shootings and murders are down from 2020 and 2021, but remain much higher than in 2019, the year its embattled mayor, Lori Lightfoot, was sworn into office. However, theft, burglary, and automobile theft are dramatically higher compared to 2021 — overall crime is up 36 percent. Since two waves of riots in 2020, major retailers such as Macy's, the Gap, and the Disney Store have closed their massive stores on Chicago's premier shopping district, North Michigan Avenue, for now at least, known as the Magnificent Mile. Boeing is moving its headquarters out of Chicago, as is investment firm Citadel, which is headed by Ken Griffin, a prominent donor to Illinois Republican candidates. Griffin mentioned Chicago crime as a reason for departing for Miami. Chicago's CTA public transportation system includes its sprawling el train lines. Violent assaults and murders have become common on the el. The criminal descendants of Jesse James aren't attacking trains from the outside, they are paying, well... maybe paying, customers. I suspect most of the creeps are turnstile jumpers. At Least 3 Shot At Chicago Six Flags. Three people were injured Sunday evening in a shooting outside Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, sparking a massive law enforcement presence and a chaotic scene at the amusement park. A spokesperson for Six Flags Great America said three people were injured when shots were fired from a single vehicle in the parking lot. The vehicle immediately drove away from the scene following the shooting, according to the spokesperson. Two people were taken to the hospital for evaluation while a third declined treatment. [Video clip] Kia, Hyundai Thefts Soar 767% In Chicago. Thefts of vehicles manufactured by Kia and Hyundai surged 767% in July compared to the same month last year as nationwide phenomena known as "Kia boys" and the "Kia challenge" took hold in Cook County, according to the sheriff's office. Many thieves are taking advantage of a design flaw that allows them to steal Kias and Hyundais with little more than a USB cord, and some are then posting their joyrides on social media. The sheriff's office said in a statement that there were 642 Kia and Hyundai thefts in the county last month, up from 74 in July 2021. In Chicago proper, total auto thefts are up 54% this year, with over 8,500 cases reported as of August 7, according to CPD. CCTV Captures One Of The Many Shooting This Weekend In Chicago. A 29-year-old man was killed and a 23-year-old man wounded about 3:20 a.m. Saturday in a parking lot in the Loop. The men were in the 400 block of South Clark when someone in a black sedan opened gunfire, police said. Deontae D. Winfrey suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he died. CTA, police vow to boost security after fatal Red Line shooting, the latest in violent year for transit agency. Chicago police and transit officials announced additional plans to increase security on L and subway trains and platforms after a 29-year-old man was fatally shot on a Red Line train early Saturday near Chatham. Diuntel Moon was on the train near the 100 block of West 79th Street at about 2:05 a.m. when someone walked up and shot him in the chest and abdomen, according to police. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he died. [...] As of mid-July, 488 attacks had been reported on the transit system — the most since 533 during the same period in 2011, according to a new Chicago Sun-Times analysis. Violent crimes have accounted for more than 26% of all 1,863 crimes reported on the CTA this year. In 2018 and 2019, when there were far more riders, violent crimes amounted to 13% of the crimes. Chicago Doesn't Have Enough Police to Respond to 911 Calls. The Chicago Police Department is spread so thin that in 2021 more than half of high-priority emergency service calls were not responded to. Wirepoints blog reported this astounding figure, uncovering data through public records requests to the Chicago Police Department, showing that there were 406,829 incidents of high-priority emergency service calls where no police responded. That's 52 percent of the 788,000 high-priority 911 service calls dispatched in 2021, Wirepoints reported. High priority calls include "Priority Level 1 incidents," which represent "an imminent threat to life, bodily injury, or major property damage/loss," and "Priority Level 2 incidents" are when "timely police action... has the potential to affect the outcome of an incident." NFL's Chicago Bears Reject Lori Lightfoot's Billions, Plan To Abandon Crime-Ridden Windy City For Safer Suburbs. The 7th-most valuable NFL franchise, Da Bears of Chicago, are packing their bags and heading to greener (read: safer, more tax-friendly) pastures. It's the perfect middle finger to woke, inept leadership personified by real-life Beetlejuice Lori Lightfoot. Chicago has seen an astonishing 35% increase in crime and hopelessly stupid policies from Lightfoot now prevent CPD officers from even pursuing potential misdeamor [sic] suspects on foot. Meanwhile, the Bears rake in $166 million annually to go toward a corrupt budget that prioritizes illicit gangbanging activities over the safety of its players, fans, and own citizens. The only question worth asking is why they didn't do this years ago. Chicago Mayor Proposes $2.2 Billion Plan to Entice NFL Team to Stay; Bears Moving On to Safer Suburb. On Monday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot proposed a $900 million to $2.2 billion Hail Mary offer to convince the Bears to stay in their home stadium of over 50 years. However, the Chicago Bears stated in a press release earlier this month that they wouldn't consider any other offers, even for their home stadium, Soldier Field. The NFL team reaffirmed that sentiment to ESPN this week, noting that they were set on moving to another location over 30 miles away. "As part of our mutual agreement with the seller of that property, we are not pursuing alternative stadium deals or sites, including renovations to Soldier Field, while we are under contract," stated the team. The Bears plan to move to Arlington Park, the longtime site of Churchill Downs' thoroughbred racing in Arlington Heights. That area experiences well below the national median of crime levels, according to multiple crime statistic analyses. Halting the Madness. While the liberals and the leftists launch a collective and desperate attack against our country and all it stands for, they launch another fierce movement nationwide to defund the police and defend the violent and repeated criminals. [...] Take Chicago as an example. In 2019, there were 2147 gun shootings and 500 gun deaths; in 2020, 3261 shootings and 772 deaths; in 2021, 3561 shootings and 797 deaths; in 2022, by the end of June, 1255 shootings and 310 deaths. Yet shootings are not the only crimes criminals commit; they also engage in thousands of carjackings, robberies, shopliftings, lootings, assaults, with few consequences. According to NBC Chicago, in 2021, one year after hundreds of businesses in Chicago, including those upscale shops on the Magnificent Mile, were looted in 2020, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office only approved 392 looting cases; only 33 cases made it through the courts; only 26 individuals received probation; only seven ended up in jail. Man gets probation after allegedly trying to push a woman in front of train. The unfathomable policies of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office — the second-largest prosecutor's office in the nation — under Soros-supported Kim Foxx have released upon the public a man who, in my opinion, is a clear and present danger to public safety. Chicago Mayor Proposes $2.2 Billion Plan to Entice NFL Team to Stay; Bears Moving On to Safer Suburb. On Monday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot proposed a $900 million to $2.2 billion Hail Mary offer to convince the Bears to stay in their home stadium of over 50 years. However, the Chicago Bears stated in a press release earlier this month that they wouldn't consider any other offers, even for their home stadium, Soldier Field. The NFL team reaffirmed that sentiment to ESPN this week, noting that they were set on moving to another location over 30 miles away. "As part of our mutual agreement with the seller of that property, we are not pursuing alternative stadium deals or sites, including renovations to Soldier Field, while we are under contract," stated the team. The Bears plan to move to Arlington Park, the longtime site of Churchill Downs' thoroughbred racing in Arlington Heights. That area experiences well below the national median of crime levels, according to multiple crime statistic analyses. Violent, Attempted Robbery on CTA Red Line Train Near Lincoln Park Leaves Multiple People Critically Stabbed. 95th-bound Red Line subway trains at the Chicago Transit Authority's North and Clybourn station on the southwest side of Lincoln Park near Old Town were temporarily re-routed early Friday due to Chicago police investigating reports of multiple people stabbed overnight, officials said. According to police, at 2:03 a.m. Friday, a 42-year-old man exited a Red Line train and switched to another train car in the 1500 block of N. Clybourn when six suspects followed him and demanded his belongings. The suspects then began attacking the victim with a knife and a broken glass bottle, authorities said. 150-Strong Chicago Mob Attacks Trooper's Vehicle, Breaks Windshield. Illinois State Police (ISP) are investigating mob violence against a trooper that happened early Sunday in Chicago. The incident happened just prior to 2:00 a.m. at Division Street and Elston Avenue, ISP said in a social media post on Tuesday: ["]An ISP trooper was driving southbound on I-90 near Division St. and noticed congestion on the exit ramp and eastbound traffic on Division completely stopped. When the trooper approached the intersection of Division and Elston there were several vehicles blocking the intersection and people engaging in reckless driving stunts.["] A mob of approximately 100 people surrounded the trooper's squad car, jumping on its hood, shattering the windshield, kicking the car, and tossing rocks, bricks, and fireworks. Seconds after the trooper's vehicle stopped in the roadway, the group approached, many of them holding up cellphones to record the scene, a dash cam video shows. Over 400,000 High-Priority Incidents In Chicago In 2021 Had 'No Police Available To Send', New Data Shows. As crime continues to roil economic and social life in post-George Floyd, post-COVID Chicago, getting policing and criminal justice right are crucial. City officials are failing at that task. We're already seen anemic rates of arrest and prosecutions in Chicago, accompanied by finger-pointing between politicians over crime and the court system. And years of no support from city leadership, anti-policing legislation and the damaging rhetoric of the "defund" movement have taken a toll on Chicago police morale and manpower. All that has spread the police force so thin that, in 2021, one of law enforcement's most basic functions, responding to high-priority emergency service calls in a timely manner, was regularly beyond their capacity. Remain At Your Own Risk! Another Major Business Operator Pulls Out Of Chicago. The old adage, "Crime doesn't pay" needs an update. In Democrat-run cities like San Francisco, New York, and Chicago, where soft-on-crime prosecutors and policies have taken hold, tone-deaf political elites drink their wine and eat their brie under the protection of security details at the taxpayer's expense. Meanwhile, hard-working citizens and business owners are taking it on the chin. Their families aren't safe to walk the streets, brazen shoplifters help themselves to whatever products they fancy at local supermarkets, and an overwhelming sense of lawlessness pervades everyday life. If you're a regular citizen or business owner in a blue city, your mindset needs to be adjusted to, "Tolerating crime doesn't pay." [...] But citizens and businesses have had enough, and nowhere is the problem more evident than in Chicago. Chicago Police Break Up a Massive Brawl In Old Town. Three Chicago police officers were injured while breaking up a fight in Old Town on the North Side Tuesday night. The officers were responding to a disturbance in the 1600 block of North Wells Street when they were hit by a 16-year-old boy around 10:50 p.m., according to police. One officer was hit by an object on the back of his head and was taken to a hospital, where he was treated and released. [Video clip] 1 killed, 1 wounded after gunmen open fire on CTA bus in West Garfield Park. One person was killed and another wounded after gunmen opened fire on a CTA bus Sunday afternoon in West Garfield Park. About 1:20 p.m., two armed males entered the bus in the 300 block of South PulaskiRoad, walked to the back and began shooting at two people on board, Chicago police said. A male, whose age was unknown, was shot in the head and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. A man, 24, suffered a graze wound to the head and refused medical attention, police said. Following the shooting, the gunmen left the bus and fled eastbound. Chicago is basically banning police foot chases, and it's not going to end well. We recently penned an editorial that mentioned Washington state's extremely foolish policy of banning car chases of most suspects above the speed limit. As you might imagine, it has had some unintended consequences. The policy, which has only very limited exceptions where car chases are permitted, has caused a surge in auto thefts. More than a thousand people have evaded state troopers this year by simply driving a few miles per hour above the speed limit and refusing to pull over. (That isn't even counting local police.) Assuming that they use stolen cars, something most criminals do when they use vehicles in a crime, this policy lets criminals off scot-free. By tying the hands of the police, Washington mistakenly legalized many other crimes, at least in effect. Illinois' richest man Ken Griffin is taking his $25 billion fortune and trading firm Citadel to Miami. Illinois' richest man is leaving the state and taking his billion-dollar hedge firm with him to Florida amid rising crime in the Windy City. In a memo to employees, Ken Griffin announced he and his family are relocating to Miami, Florida — and said the headquarters of his Citadel hedge fund and his trading firm Citadel Securities will move with him. 'Chicago will continue to be important to the future of the Citadel, as many of our colleagues have deep ties to Illinois,' he wrote in the memo, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Ken Griffin: Chicago Is Like Afghanistan On A Good Day, It Is Getting Hard To Stay. Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin said that his time in Chicago is limited in "years, not decades," unless something major changes with regard to crime, during a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago on Monday [6/20/2022]. "It's becoming ever more difficult to have this as our global headquarters, a city which has so much violence," Griffin said. "I mean Chicago is like Afghanistan, on a good day, and that's a problem." He said he saw "25 bullet shots in the glass window of the retail space" in the building he lives in. [Video clip] Ken Griffin moving Citadel to Miami from Chicago following crime complaints. Billionaire Ken Griffin is relocating his big hedge-fund firm Citadel from Chicago to Miami, the third major employer to announce the move of a corporate headquarters from Illinois in the past two months. In a letter to employees Thursday that was viewed by The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Griffin said he had personally moved to Florida and that his market-making business, Citadel Securities, would also transfer. He wrote he views Florida as a better corporate environment and though he didn't specifically cite crime as a factor, company officials said it was a consideration. Mr. Griffin is the wealthiest resident of Illinois, so his departure will hurt state tax collections on both the individual and corporate side. Chicago police no longer allowed to chase people on foot because they run away. Chicago police officers will no longer be allowed to chase people on foot simply because they run away or give chase over minor offenses, the department said Tuesday, more than a year after two foot pursuits ended with officers fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy and 22-year-old man. The new policy adheres closely to a draft policy put in place after those shootings and gives the department something it has never had: permanent rules about when officers can and can't engage in an activity that can endanger themselves, those they're chasing and bystanders. Last night in Chicago. Viral video purportedly out of Chicago on Friday night shows a giant mob of black youths swarm an elderly white man's car, climb onto his roof and start jumping and twerking on it to cheers. This is the new normal in Chicago. [Video clip] 'Peace Circles' Instead of Prisons Lead to Shootouts in Chicago. 1,120 people have been shot this year in Chicago and 282 people have been murdered. Yesterday, four people were shot and killed in four hours in just another Wednesday. Good thing the city has "peace circles". Police defunders have been tasked with coming up with "restorative justice" alternatives to the three P's, police, prosecutors, and prisons, that ask criminals to apologize to their victims. That's the principle of the "peace circle" in which the thug meets with his victim, says "sorry" and then leaves a free man to shoot, stab, or kill. Chicago's pro-crime politicians eagerly embraced "peace circles". There are peace circles in schools and a whole lot of "trained facilitators" have hung up their shingles. While pro-crime activists claim that peace circles come from Indian culture, they're actually one of the stupidly disastrous ideas promoted by Howard Zehr, a white leftist who went to a black college on a minority scholarship, and helped inflict the concept of "restrorative justice" on the country. Thieves target Sam Jidd Luxury Motors for fifth time in Des Plaines; owner says he's leaving Chicago area. One of the Chicago area's most elite car dealerships was targeted by thieves overnight Monday [6/6/2022] into Tuesday. As CBS 2's Chris Tye reported Tuesday, the crew got away with three luxury vehicles — and something that might be more even more valuable. The owner of Sam Jidd Luxury Motors, at 1505 S. Mt. Prospect Rd. in Des Plaines, said this was the fifth time in a little more than a year that thieves have struck. The owner says lax laws and policing are only inviting copycat crimes. Man Tossed Off Chicago Train Platform, Knocked Out, 2 Sent To Hospital. Two people were hospitalized after they began fighting at an Englewood CTA station and fell onto the train tracks, officials said. About 3:20 p.m., a 32-year-old man was standing on a train platform in the first block of West 63rd Street when another male spat on him, Chicago police said. [Video clip] Chicago police are left shaken after two officers were shot in the same neighborhood in less than a week. A Chicago police officer was shot on Chicago's South Side five days after another cop was gunned down in the same neighborhood as surging crime rates continue to plague the Windy City. Chicago Police Department spokesman Tom Ahern tweeted on Sunday afternoon that an officer from the department's 7th District had been shot and was being transported to the University of Chicago Hospital. Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said he believed the officer's wounds were not life-threatening, according to The Chicago Tribune. Machete-wielding robber has struck 6 times in Avondale and Irving Park, police say. A man armed with a machete has committed at least six robberies in Avondale and Irving Park since May 27, police said in a community alert on Saturday morning. The robber, who travels in a silver four-door car, confronts victims on the streets and demands their property while displaying the weapon. Chicago taxpayer debt averages $135,700 person, study finds. "A new report is highly critical of how Chicago and other large cities present their financial reports. Truth in Accounting says to truly understand a city's financial condition, taxpayers have to play an impossible game of hide and seek. The government watchdog's analysis of the 10 most populous U.S. cities included underlying government units for which city taxpayers are responsible for, such as schools and transit, details Chicago leaves out of its financial report. When the unfunded debt of these underlying government units is combined with the county, municipal and state debt, city taxpayers are on the hook for much more than they think. "In New York City, each taxpayer is burdened in that city $91,500, where Chicago is actually $135,700," Truth in Accounting CEO Sheila Weinberg said. Massive Mob In Chicago Throw Bottles And Pineapples At Cops On Memorial Day. Police arrested four people at North Avenue Beach late Memorial Day, and a group threw projectiles at officers afterward. A police source told CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov that officers arrested four people after a disturbance at the beach. All four had guns, the source said. Police then tried to disperse a crowd that had amassed amid the arrests. The crowd began throwing objects such as bottles at officers — and someone even threw a pineapple, the source said. [Video clip] Number of pot shop licenses will more than double as court lifts stay. Would-be marijuana shop owners breathed a sigh of relief Friday morning as a Cook County judge lifted a stay that had delayed state officials from issuing nearly 200 licenses for cannabis dispensary operators. "I'm going to open some red wine and have a splash and a few puffs," said Rickey Hendon, a former state legislator and license winner. Hendon said he and his investors had been waiting more than two years for this day. "This is like Christmas and my birthday all in one." After a confusing slate of three lotteries in 2020 and 2021, litigation filed last August by license applicant WAH Group stalled the licenses from being formally issued for some nine months. WAH Group requested the stay be lifted this week. The Chicago Mass Shooting You Didn't Hear About This Week. The city of Chicago suffered a mass shooting Thursday [5/19/2022], according to NBC News. [...] By now, readers are all too familiar with Mayor Lori Lightfoot's excuses for her party's decades of failure in Chicago. But, listen as the city's Police Superintendent David Brown insists the problem is a national misery beyond his control; he bemoans that the city is "awash in guns." Chicago Logic: Don't Fix The Skyrocketing Murder Rate, Just Use Tax Dollars For Funerals. As homicides in Chicago show no sign of stopping, the demand for funerals is now bigger than the demand for baby formula. Just like a war-torn country, Chicago has now introduced a curfew. It is safer for the kids to be on the streets of Ukraine or Afghanistan than take a walk in the South Side of Chicago. While Lori Lightfoot fights racism by refusing interviews with white journalists, the city's black population is getting exterminated by the black drug gangs. Apparently, Lori believes Tucker Carlson is not only responsible for the Buffalo shooting but also for black gangs indiscriminately spraying bullets on the streets of Chicago. This government only cares about a murder that can be blamed on "white supremacy." When it comes to black people shooting each other they take a Whoopi approach: "ya'll go fight amongst yourselves!" Teen gunned down near Chicago's 'Bean' tourist attraction. A curfew banning unaccompanied minors will be implemented to combat violence after a 16-year-old boy was fatally shot near "The Bean" sculpture in downtown Chicago's Millennium Park, which is among the city's most popular tourist attractions, city officials said Sunday [5/15/2022]. Police said the teen was shot in the chest at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday near the giant, mirrored structure. Chicago Devolves Into Full Riot Mode After 16 Year Old Gets Shot Dead, 26 Children Arrested, Another Man Shot. The 16-year-old boy that was killed in Chicago on Saturday, May 14 has been named by police, as more information emerges from the riots that ensued following the young man's death. The teenager was shot in the chest while standing by 'The Bean' statue on the 200 block of East Randolph Street at around 7:30 pm. He later died in hospital as a result of his injuries. [Video clip] Lori Lightfoot issues a 'call to arms' against Supreme Court justices. Chicago's incompetent Mayor Lori Lightfoot, presiding over a city devolving into violent, bloody anarchy on the streets, is encouraging violent protests at the homes of Supreme Court justices believed to be supporting a draft decision by Justice Alito overturning Roe v. Wade. That is the logical interpretation if two tweets she issued that Twitter believes do not violate its "standards" that prohibit advocating violence: [Tweet] Lori Lightfoot Appears to Push for Violent Insurrection With Dangerous 'Call to Arms'. Words matter, right? That's been the prevailing message of the left for years, but if you thought they'd hold themselves to their own standard, you'd be wrong. Alright, no one thought that, so Lori Lightfoot appearing to push for a civil war via a "call to arms" and a challenge to "fight" an unelected body like the Supreme Court isn't at all surprising. It's the ultimate cliche given the transparent bias in the news industry but imagine for a second that a Republican put these tweets out. [Tweets] Definitionally, a "call to arms" has a very specific meaning. "Arms" means weapons, and Lightfoot is calling to use them to enact a political outcome. There's a word for that, too, but no doubt the Chicago mayor will claim she meant her tweets in the most peaceful way possible. That makes no sense, though, given the language used, but that will be the excuse, and that's if the media even press her to give one. Chicago mayor sends 'call to arms' over Supreme Court. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot set social media ablaze Monday evening with a "call to arms" in response to an impending ruling from the Supreme Court. Pegged as incitement by critics, a warning was sent by the Democrat about how gay rights could be next after a leaked draft opinion signaled a crackdown on abortion access. [...] Earlier in the day, Lightfoot announced a $500,000 investment in the Chicago Department of Public Health to support abortion access for women, according to FOX 32 Chicago, and the mayor said a host of different rights, beyond those associated with abortion, are at risk. Chicago's Decline Accelerates as Boeing Abandons It. Boeing, the world's third-largest defense contractor and a famous maker of passenger jets, is moving its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Va. The move comes as Chicago is increasingly ravaged by crime and random drive-by shootings in the middle of downtown. In recent weeks, the theater district in downtown Chicago has had to shut down plays because the area has become so unsafe at night. Crime in Chicago is up 35 percent this year compared with the same period in 2021. Theft is up by 67 percent. Man Is Shot 3 Times For Not Giving His Cell Phone Password. An armed robber ambushed a man during a hold-up in Lincoln Park early Friday — then shot the victim twice. And, after ordering him to give up his phone password, he shot the man again in the head as the victim writhed in pain on the street. Chicago police said the victim is in his 20s and was critically wounded. It happened at the corner of Wayne and Webster avenues around 3:05 a.m. Boeing to Move Headquarters from Chicago to Virginia After Working on a Deal with Gov. Youngkin. The world's largest aerospace company, Boeing, announced Thursday that it would move its global headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia, after working on a deal with Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) and Senator Mark Warner (D). According to a Virginia state official, Governor Glenn Youngkin has a personal relationship with Boeing President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun and has been working on a deal since last year. In a company news release, Calhoun thanked Gov. Youngkin for his partnership and Sen. Warner for his support. Name one other city that wants to host this event. Wealthy Chicago homeowners hire armed off-duty cops to stamp out carjackings and robberies as out of control crime spikes by up to 86%. Wealthy Chicago suburbs are hiring private security details of armed off-duty cops to patrol their streets as crime soars up to 86 percent in some neighborhoods. At least five neighborhoods north of Chicago have have hired or plan to hire patrols, including Lincoln Park, Bucktown, and Lakeview. The patrols consist of off-duty cops patrolling the neighborhoods in marked cars equipped with advanced surveillance and communications tools. Video Livestreamed From Chicago Basketball Court Shows Youths Armed To The Teeth. A disturbing video uploaded to social media shows a bunch of black youths, most of which are teens, showing off the massive cache of weapons they are carrying at an indoor basketball court. The video is said to be from the south side of Chicago. [Video clip] Young Chicago Student Commited Suicide After Being Bullied About His Vaccination Status. A 15-year-old boy who was initially targeted by a false rumor that he was unvaccinated was bullied relentlessly until he took his own life in January, a lawsuit claims. The suit filed Monday [4/25/2022] against the Latin School of Chicago alleges administrators at the private college prep school — which charges more than $40,000 annually in tuition — committed "willful failure" to stop the incessant bullying, the Chicago Tribune reported. The Cook County filing named the school, several employees and parents of the alleged bullies as defendants. [Video clip] Texas is success and Illinois is failure. Since I was born four Illinois governors, three Democrats and one Republican, have served time in federal prison. No Texas governors have suffered that indignity. Last month, Michael Madigan, who was Illinois' most powerful politician until he was ousted as Illinois speaker of the House in 2021, was indicted on a whole slew of racketeering charges. Madigan, except for two years in the 1990s, served as House speaker beginning in 1981. From 1998 until 2021 Madigan was also chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party. Overlooked in the rundown of Boss Madigan's career by journalists after his indictment is this ironic nugget: his predecessor as speaker was George H. Ryan, a Republican, who is one of Illinois' felon governors. The Chicago Thinker Staged a Media Regime Takedown This Week. This week, the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics (IOP) and The Atlantic magazine hosted a "Disinformation and the Erosion of Democracy" conference, and we have to hand it to IOP Director David Axlerod for bringing in true experts on the subject. The conference featured some of America's greatest purveyors of disinformation, such as Barack Obama, Brian Stelter, Anne Applebaum, and a few token conservatives, including Jonah Goldberg and Adam Kinzinger. The media, government, and academia elites speaking at the conference weren't expecting to be challenged as they self-righteously spewed more lies — but our team at the Chicago Thinker was prepared to hold them accountable. Student journalists from the Chicago Thinker respectfully listened, asked honest questions, and reported. Our efforts soon went viral, garnering millions of views on social media. We successfully turned the IOP's "Disinformation Conference" on its head and sparked a national conversation about the corporate media's disinformation. "Disinformation" conference proves Trump is right, the media is the enemy of the people. Last year, in his farewell column, longtime Chicago journalist Phil Kadner spoke of his praises, and he indeed deserved his own pats on the back. Kadner mostly covered the generally overlooked, but corrupt, south suburbs of Chicago. I grew up there, they are a rat-hole of graft. A creature of the left, who called for President Trump's impeachment in 2019, Kadner discussed in that final column, his anger after Trump said the media was "the enemy of the people." Is Kadner an enemy of the people? No. But with a few exceptions, most of the media is. The latest example of why that is true took place at the University of Chicago, which hosted along with the Atlantic, the Disinformation and the Erosion of Democracy conference. A quick look at the speakers at the event betrays what kind of conference it was, there were no conservative panelists. Only the self-appointed "cool kids" are allowed in the tree house. In Chicago, an imperial federal government wants to destroy its neighbors to feel more secure. Chicago, the city that invented the skyscraper and whose central business district is a living museum of the history of tall buildings drawing visitors from all over the world, is on the verge of losing two historic early twentieth-century office towers. The two towers, designed by architects renowned for advancing skyscraper design, are imperiled because federal employees don't feel safe with neighboring office towers just across an alley from their own skyscraper. Chicago judges keep sending felony suspects home and they keep trying to kill people. Judge Charles Beach handed down a little wisdom to 20-year-old Keyon Hayes at the end of his November bail hearing on felony gun charges. Consider it unheeded. [...] Hayes is the 12th person charged with killing or shooting someone, or attempting to, in Chicago this year while awaiting trial on at least one felony charge. The alleged crimes have involved at least 21 victims, five of whom have died, authorities said. The saga began in early November, when Chicago police allegedly saw Hayes carrying a black satchel with an extended magazine sticking out of it and arrested him. So far, so good. But then bond court Judge Beach ruled Hayes could go home on a 7 p.m.-to-7 a.m. curfew by posting a deposit of $300 on a $3,000 bail, which Hayes could not raise. Two months later, Judge Peggy Chiampas released Hayes on his own recognizance with a 24-hour curfew, according to court records. Nothing is free. Madness Inside Chicago Restaurant As An All-Out Ghetto Battle Royale Breaks Out. Police responded to a knock-down, drag-out, table and chair-tossing, full-on brawl Saturday night inside Dinner and a Movie, the beleaguered restaurant and bar at 2500 North Ashland in Lincoln Park. Video posted to Facebook shows men and women hurling chairs and tables during the fight around 10:45 p.m. Witnesses told officers that one man displayed a gun before Chicago police arrived. [Video clip] Chicago eyed as potential host for 2024 Democratic National Convention. Democrats are eyeing Chicago as a city of interest to host the party's 2024 convention and the mayor, the governor and a key U.S. senator are coordinating on a plan to make it happen, the firm helping with a potential bid confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday [3/30/2022]. While the discussions are early and informal, some national Democrats already see the Midwestern city as an appealing contender, in part for its heartland geography — touching key swing states like Wisconsin and Michigan — but also because of the comfort that would come with holding a marquee political event in a tried-and-true blue state, a source who has taken part in early discussions with national Democrats said. WTTW cuts off health coverage for striking workers. A strike pitting WTTW-Channel 11 against members of the electricians union took a bitter turn Tuesday, with the public television station serving notice that it is cutting off the workers' health insurance. The members of Local 1220 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers said they received notice from WTTW saying their employer-subsidized insurance will end as of Friday, April 1. No talks have taken place since the strike began March 16. The workers can continue health coverage by enrolling in the federal COBRA program, which carries high premiums because there is no employer subsidy. Brett Lyons, business representative for Local 1220, said the union is exploring ways to help the workers, who are not getting strike pay. Woke Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has secret unit of 70 cops protecting her. One-time Defund the Police advocate Mayor Lori Lightfoot has a secret group of Chicago cops known as Unit 544 protecting her alongside her bodyguards, it has been revealed. The unit of 65 officers, five sergeants and a lieutenant are provide round-the-clock protection for the city's mayor, together with her bodyguard detail of about 20 men, The Chicago Sun Times has revealed, citing city records. The revelation comes as crime in the Windy City has surged to frightening new rates not seen in half a decade, and after Lightfoot proposed slashing a whopping $80 million from the Chicago Police Department budget in 2020 during the Defund the Police protests. Dozens of Chicago cops guard mayor and family in below-the-radar security unit created in 2020. Nearly two years ago, the Chicago Police Department quietly created a special unit to protect Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home and City Hall and oversee her personal bodyguard detail. Unit 544 began with a handful of officers and has grown, as of March 21, to a roster of 65 officers, five sergeants and a lieutenant, city records show. Like previous Chicago mayors, Lightfoot also has a separate personal bodyguard detail, which includes about 20 officers, the records show. Anything that isn't nailed down. Three teenagers charged with carjacking in Chicago. Three teenagers were charged with carjacking an older man's vehicle on Chicago's West Side. The three teenagers, ages 12, 13, and 14, were arrested on Saturday for stealing a vehicle from a 50-year-old man, according to police. Chicago crime: 3 young teens charged with carjacking man in North Lawndale, police say. The 12-year-old has been charged with two felony counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking with a weapon, one felony count of possessing a lost credit or debit card and one felony count of forgery possession with intent to deliver, police said. The 13-year-old has also been charged with two felony counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking with a weapon, police said. The 14-year-old has been charged with one felony count of aggravated vehicular hijacking with a weapon and one misdemeanor count of criminal trespassing. Kim Foxx begins early release program for prisoners with a home invader, an aggravated robber, and a burglar, all with lengthy records. Kim Foxx, the Soros-supported top prosecutor in Cook County, Illinois, is taking advantage of a new law in that state that allows prosecutors to identify prisoners whose further incarceration "no longer advances the interests of justice." Like other Soros prosecutors, she is a critic of "mass incarceration," and has big plans, as Patrick Smith of WBEZ writes: ["]Three Cook County prosecutors are assigned to work on resentencing motions, but they will only be working on the initiative part time. Foxx said her goal is to expand the program so there are dedicated staffers assigned and she said she eventually wants to loosen the criteria for eligibility. She said she did not know how many prisoners might fit the current criteria, but estimated a potential pool of 'thousands' of people.["] She just announced the first convicts to be freed, and, curiously, they have relatively little time left behind bars, anyway. But they are also career criminals, as CWB Chicago reports: [...] Chicago Mayor warns cops and city workers they'll be put on no-pay status if they don't get first dose of Covid vaccine by Sunday. Chicago city workers who don't have their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, a group that includes about 2,800 cops, will be placed on nondisciplinary no-pay status on Sunday after the city won another court battle over its mandate last week. The city will consider disciplining workers on a case-by-base basis, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday [3/11/2022]. 'All city employees, including Chicago police officers, who fail to comply may also face disciplinary action, up to and including termination. These decisions will be addressed at an individual and department level, and are being undertaken in a manner that will not impact public safety or the continuity of everyday government operations,' the mayor said. The corrupt Madigan Enterprise and the Illinois Democratic Party. Last week, [...] Boss Michael Madigan was indicted on 22 corruption counts. I was a common assumption that Madigan never used email — after all, the feds might be reading those messages. But the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois, led by a Donald Trump appointee, John Lausch, got the job done[.] Coded language didn't work. Madigan cronies, in secretly recorded conversations, would avoid Madigan's name, referring to him as "our friend" or "a friend of ours." Ironically, the mafia name for themselves is "La Cosa Nostra," which roughly translates from Italian into "our thing" or "this thing of ours." I've written about Madigan many times at Da Tech Guy. In short, he's the man who destroyed Illinois. [...] Corruption is rampant in Illinois. And Illinois faces a millstone with Madigan's dirty fingerprints all over it, unfunded state pension obligations, among the worst among the fifty states. Madigan was more interested in rewarding his public-sector union pals than properly funding their pension plans. Chicago Mayor Lightfoot Insults Italians in Epic, Obscene Rant. A former Chicago Park District Attorney is seeking damages from Mayor Lori Lightfoot after an obscene, insulting rant against the attorney and the Chicago Italian-American community came to light. The Park District was responsible for the statue of Christopher Columbus in Arrigo Park that Lightfoot had ordered removed during protests in 2020. They were negotiating with the Joint Civic Committee of Italian-Americans to have the Columbus statue displayed during the annual Columbus Day parade. [...] Lightfoot is in political trouble thanks mostly to Chicago becoming unlivable during her tenure. Former Illinois Democrat Speaker Michael Madigan has been indicted. On Wednesday [3/2/2022], the federal government filed a RICO claim against Michael Madigan, the former Illinois House Speaker. The 106-page indictment accuses Madigan of engaging in bribery, extortion, and racketeering, all with an eye to maintaining Madigan's power and rewarding his political allies, workers, and associates, and to generate income for everyone involved in these criminal activities. Considering how powerful Madigan was, I'd like to say this strikes a devastating blow against corruption in Illinois politics, but no one would believe me if I said that. Michael Madigan came up in Chicago's political ranks as a protegee of Mayor Richard J. Daley and a friend of Daley's son, Richard M. Daley. In 1969, by the time he was 27, Madigan was a ward precinct committeeman, at which time (according to Wikipedia), he controlled the "most disciplined" ward organization in Chicago. Guaranteed income pilot program will use lottery to pick 5,000 recipients of $500 monthly checks. With demand for the $500 monthly payments expected to outstrip the $31.5 million in available cash, Chicago will hold a lottery to pick 5,000 participants in what Mayor Lori Lightfoot has touted as the nation's largest universal basic income program. Four months after the City Council agreed to use a chunk of federal pandemic relief money to provide the no-strings-attached cash assistance, the year-long test period finally may be getting off the ground. On Thursday, Lightfoot marked the two-year anniversary of her war on poverty by announcing the city will launch the lottery for the program in April. Keywords: Machine, corruption, politics, microcosm. 6-time felon is charged with dumping $6,300 worth of heroin from a Lexus owned by CPD's head of internal affairs. A six-time convicted felon with a pending felony drug case was charged earlier this month with throwing a bag containing $6,300 worth of individually-packaged heroin from a Lexus that belongs to the Chicago Police Department's Chief of Internal Affairs, officials confirmed Wednesday [2/16/2022]. Chief Yolanda Talley had loaned her car to her niece and the accused man, Kenneth Miles, is the niece's boyfriend. Cops released Talley's niece and allowed her to drive Talley's car away. Officials said that Chicago's Office of the Inspector General is investigating the situation. Loyola student robbed Metra conductor at gunpoint to get lunch money, defense attorney says. A Loyola University student on his way to school robbed a Metra conductor at gunpoint Tuesday afternoon because he was hungry and needed money to get some food before class — and that's according to his defense attorney. Zion Brown, 18, was arrested later that night after his mother recognized him in news coverage of the robbery and drove him to the Calumet City police department to surrender, prosecutors said. According to the allegations, the Metra Electric Line train had just arrived at the Van Buren Street Station in Grant Park when Brown pulled out a gun and pointed it at the train conductor's stomach around 2:07 p.m. He allegedly took $110 from the conductor's pockets on the platform and left the station. Where is his father? Chicago courts finally find an accused perp to deny bail to. The courts in Cook County, Illinois that serve Chicago are notorious for allowing dangerous suspects out in low or no bail. Part of the problem lies with the office of State's Attorney Kim Foxx, which often does not seek high bail or fully present the risks to a judge. Part of the problem is Illinois's bail reform law. And part of the problem is that some (not all) judges err on the side of letting the accused go, even those with long rap sheets. Chicago Thieves Are Using Stolen Backhoes To Steal ATM Machines. A piece of stolen construction equipment was used to break into an ATM in the Rogers Park neighborhood Friday morning [2/18/2022]. Chicago police said the construction backhoe was stolen from a site near 90th Street and Constance Avenue in Calumet Heights. [Video clip]
Chicago teenager, 16, wearing an ankle monitor carjacked a Lyft and murdered 15-year-old boy by shooting him in the head. Chicago Prosecutors say a 16-year-old on an electronic monitor carjacked a Lyft and then murdered 15-year-old boy walking home from school only hours after appearing before judge on weapons charge. On Tuesday, 16-year-old Anthony Brown went on a crime spree after appearing before a judge for a December weapons charge while wearing a GPS monitoring bracelet as part of his release on a pending juvenile charge, the Cook County State's Attorney's office said. After leaving the virtual hearing Brown ordered a Lyft and was picked up at 2:15 pm and after only being driven several blocks, he pulled a gun and held it to the Lyft driver's head, ordering him to get out of the car and to leave his two cellphones and wallet behind, prosecutors said. Chicago's Public Schools Are a Threat to Children's Lives. The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system is failing our children from every conceivable angle, while the Chicago Teachers' Union (CTU) voted again in January to work from home due to the omicron COVID variant. This vote left hundreds of thousands of students in limbo. [...] Data show that CPS students lost over two years of "education," not to mention the mental and emotional trauma created by the constant fear-mongering about a virus, masks and push to get vaccinated and boosted. Children continue to have a 99.995 percent chance of survival if they contract COVID. Young people have a better chance of dying from suicide, car accidents, and the experimental vaccine than from the virus. However, CPS's newly appointed chief executive officer, Pedro Martinez, has continued to push the experimental vaccine, touting it as safe and effective protection from COVID. Chicago Mayor Lightfoot Attributes Carjacking Crimes To Remote Learning. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is blaming the spike in car robberies in the city on remote learning. During a recent press briefing, the Democrat argued the increase in vehicle thefts in 2020 was linked to students being kept away from classrooms. [Tweet] Lightfoot suggested many of the kids who had no prior involvement in the criminal justice system were partly driven to commit crime by pure boredom. Her remarks came after Chicago authorities reported more than 1,400 car jackings in each of the past two years, which is a significant increase from just over 600 in 2019. The Editor says... Catholic school principal placed on leave, believes he'll be fired after making masks optional. Parents protested the reported firing of a South Side Catholic school principal after he chose not to enforce the Archdiocese's masking policy. Queen of Martyrs Catholic School principal Doc Mathius later told WGN News that while he hasn't officially been fired, he is currently on paid leave and doesn't anticipate being brought back. Speaking to WGN News in a phone interview Tuesday [2/8/2022], Mathius said he didn't make his decision lightly. "I just thought the time has come. Somebody has to do something," Mathius said. "In my little tiny corner of the world, I never imagined that it would create this kind of a stir." Alleged 'ringleader' in recent high-end smash-and-grabs, retail thefts arrested. The alleged "ringleader" of at least two high-end smash-and-grabs and several retail thefts was arrested Monday evening [2/7/2022]. Tacarre Harper, 27, of Maywood, is facing charges related to smash-and-grabs from November through January. Police believe Harper organized two heists at a Burberry store in the 600 block of North Michigan Avenue. In those heists, police believe Harper and his crew stole an estimated $150,000 worth of merchandise. Cops say they saw a 10-time felon trying to steal a catalytic converter. Prosecutors refuse to charge him with a felony. Chicago police officers who responded to a 911 call say they saw a 10-time felon trying to steal a catalytic converter from a car after he successfully stole one from another vehicle nearby. But prosecutors refused to charge the man with a felony, according to CPD records. Officers went to the 2100 block of West Roscoe in Roscoe Village around 2:05 a.m. on January 12 after a witness reported seeing someone using a green saw to cut a catalytic converter from a black 2014 Prius, according to a CPD report. When the cops got there, they saw Dexter Williams, 35, trying to steal a catalytic converter from a different Prius, the report said. Williams ran into an alley, and officers said they found him hiding next to a garage. The cops seized a green power saw and a car jack that was hoisting the second Prius into the air, according to CPD records. Chicago schools training says sex 'not rooted in biology,' tells teachers to hide gender pronouns from parents. Chicago Public Schools mandated a teacher training program that declared sex a social construct and threatened punishment if faculty didn't use students' preferred pronouns, multiple teachers told Fox News Digital. A 104-slide PowerPoint presentation echoed a number of left-leaning talking points that have surfaced in trainings across the country. Titled "Supporting Transgender, Nonbinary, and Gender Nonconforming Students" the presentation argued that "everyone has multiple, overlapping identities" and that sex is assigned at birth. "Gender & sex are socially constructed, meaning they've been created and enforced by the people in a society," one slide from the presentation reads. The notes claim that "the concepts of Gender and Sex are actually not rooted in biology. Instead, they are socially constructed, which means they have been created and enforced by people in a society." Jonathan Jackson, son of Rev. Jesse Jackson, jumps in crowded primary for Rep. Bobby Rush seat. Jonathan Jackson, son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, on Friday afternoon announced a run for the seat being vacated by Rep. Bobby Rush, becoming at least the 13th candidate so far in the Democratic primary in the 1st Congressional District. Jackson launches his congressional bid with a running start provided by his father, a civil rights leader, two-time presidential candidate and founder of Rainbow PUSH Coalition. The younger Jackson is familiar with his father's extensive national fundraising and political network. Police Stop A Car Full Of Armed Carjackers & Things Got Wild Pretty Fast. Illinois is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States but lately, reminds us of our hard past in the wild West where street shooting is a daily routine! Security camera footage captured a wild shootout as Chicago police officers stopped a trio of carjackers in a stolen car, wounding one of the suspects. According to Cook County prosecutors, Perez was sitting in the passenger seat of a stolen vehicle Wednesday evening [1/26/2022] that was being driven by 20-year-old Noel Centeno. A third man, 21-year-old Jesse Sanchez was sitting in the back seat. The men were allegedly driving on Lower Wacker Drive near Columbus Avenue at around 8:48 p.m., when officers in a nearby squad car were notified by a license plate reader that the vehicle the men were driving had been reported stolen in a carjacking. 11-year-old charged in armed carjacking in Mount Greenwood. An 11-year-old boy was charged in connection with an armed carjacking last November in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood on the Far Southwest Side. The boy, who has not been identified because he is a minor, was accused of taking a car at gunpoint from two women on Nov. 19, 2021 in the 1100 block of South Harding Street, police said. During the investigation, the 11-year-old was spotted inside another vehicle that was reported stolen from the Lawndale neighborhood on Nov. 13, 2021, police said. The boy was arrested Wednesday by the Vehicular Hijacking Task Force in the West Englewood neighborhood. Chicago: Authorities Seize 130 Fake Vaccination Cards as 22 Shot over Weekend. U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authorities in Chicago seized two parcels of counterfeit vaccination cards bound to the greater Detroit area from Moldova. In a tweet Wednesday morning [1/26/2022], CBP Chicago announced it had intercepted the packages, one containing 100 false vaccination cards and the other carrying 30 phony cards. According to CBP Chicago, the cards were headed to two separate addresses in Livonia, Michigan, and were sent from the Eastern European country of Moldova. In a separate incident in upstate New York this month, a couple allegedly presented falsified vaccination cards to enter a Buffalo Bills playoff game on January 15, Breitbart News reports. They were arraigned Tuesday and could face up to seven years in prison if convicted. Chicago firefighters find baby abandoned in duffel bag in below-freezing snow, police say. Chicago firefighters found an abandoned baby boy dead in a duffel bag outside their firehouse Saturday, according to authorities. They had gone outside to shovel snow around 5 a.m. and found the bag beneath it. Chicago police said early Monday evening that detectives were still investigating and that they had not taken any suspects into custody. All 50 states have "Safe Haven" or "Baby Moses" laws that allow parents to give up their newborn children at safe, designated locations — usually firehouses, police stations and hospitals. But the laws require the parent to hand their child over to a staff member — not just leave them out in the cold. A dystopian and real 48 hours to commit crimes in Chicago. [Scroll down] In Chicago and suburban Cook County we have a different kind of 48 Hours. "When someone goes missing with home-monitoring — when they leave the house unauthorized," state Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove) said on this weekend's Flannery Fired Up on Fox Chicago, "they have to be gone for 48 hours before they can be charged now." "We've had stories, several stories," Curran told the host Mike Flannery, "about people on home-monitoring committing additional acts of violent crime when they go missing." "And any violation [of electronic-monitoring] should bring an immediate charge — not a 48-hour window," Curran added. What type of people are on home-monitoring in Cook County? "Seventy-five to 80 percent of my people on home monitoring are charged with a violent offense," Cook County sheriff Tom Dart revealed in an online discussion last week. "I have about 100 people on home-monitoring who are charged with murder." This is Chicago! Train Gets Robbed of TVs, Mattresses and More in Broad Daylight. If you're wondering why it might be hard to find some products in Chicago, take a look at this train being robbed of all its goodies in broad daylight as it's stopped. TVs, mattresses and a plethora of other large objects can be seen being taken from the box cars by individuals standing and waiting in line for something they may like. All of the people filmed on camera will more than likely not be charged for theft since Democrats in big cities across the USA have basically said crime is acceptable and cops are evil for doing thier jobs. Unless of course people show up to Democrats blocks, then suddenly it's an issue that must be dealt with ASAP. [Video clip] Chicago Teachers Union Accepts Deal to Return Students to Classrooms. The Chicago Teachers Union accepted a deal to continue in-person learning at city schools, following a five-day teacher walkout protesting the district's Covid policies. The deal passed with support of 56 percent of union members in favor, in an unusually close vote for the organization, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Students had already returned to school buildings on Wednesday, after Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the tentative deal to reopen schools on Monday. Under the terms of the deal, Chicago Public Schools and the union agreed to close school buildings if at least 30 percent of teachers in a given building are absent for over two days because of quarantine or positive Covid diagnoses, the Sun-Times reported. Schools will also close if 40 percent or more of the student body is in quarantine for Covid-related reasons. Save the Children, Fire the Teachers Unions. It started in Chicago, where an incredible 91% of union teachers voted to go on strike and refused to do what they get paid to do, which is teach. Then the union walkouts spread to Maryland, New Jersey and California. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a liberal Democrat, has attacked the Chicago teachers unions for "holding kids hostage." She is right. Why doesn't she call a state of emergency and disband the union to save the children from the union terrorists? Or tear up the contract because the unions have violated it? If she did, she would be a hero. President Joe Biden keeps talking about how much he and his fellow Democrats in Washington care about "the children." Uh-huh. He has correctly stated that there is no health reason for closing schools. But in this latest episode of union child abuse waged against our school-age children, he does nothing. Maybe that is because more than 90% of the tens of millions of campaign dollars donated by the teacher unions go to Democrats. Chicago Teachers Union delegate vows to 'report' members who show up for work. A Chicago Teachers Union delegate has vowed to "report" union employees who show up to work at their school. Alex Forgue, a physics teacher at the Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville, commented on a post inside a "CTU Members Only Facebook Group," stating that he would be reporting members who go into work. "As a delegate, I will be reporting the names of members who go in," he commented on a post asking members if the Chicago Teachers Union is posting a "scab" list. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Calls Out Teachers' Union Over Latest Stunt. Teachers' unions have consistently put the needs of America's children last since the beginning of the pandemic, and even Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is getting sick of their nonsense. In Chicago, a vote among members of the teachers' union on Tuesday showed staunch support for remote learning amid record coronavirus case numbers, but Chicago Public Schools decided to cancel classes outright for Wednesday and Thursday to fight back. As for Friday [1/7/2022], some schools have already decided to cancel, and a district-wide announcement is expected Thursday night. The district's administration referred to the union's stunt as an "illegal work stoppage." Chicago Public Schools Close as Teachers' Union Votes to Strike against In-Person Teaching. Chicago Public Schools will cancel in-person classes Wednesday after the Chicago Teachers' Union voted Tuesday to strike against in-person schooling and conduct remote instruction until the Omicron spike subsides. With 73 percent in favor, the union's 22,000 members voted to take a "remote work action" starting Wednesday [1/5/2021]. General membership was asked to make a final decision on the proposal after the House of Delegates, CTU's governing body, voted 555 [to] 77, with 88 percent in favor, to advance the item earlier Tuesday. The suspension of in-person teaching could continue until January 18 or until the virus-infection rate in the district hits below the threshold set last year. The Chicago Teachers Union. Reason is no longer a viable tactic against the union cabal. It's time for some brutal honesty, and honestly speaking, the Chicago Teachers Union is nothing more than the mafia dressed up as an advocacy group. The difference is that the traditional mafia didn't take hits out on children; that was the one group of people that were off limits, because even the traditional mafia has some type of principle. The teachers unions are completely devoid of principles at this point. They are willing to take out an entire generation just to satisfy their own greed. These criminals voted in the dead of night — on a school night — to cancel classes... immediately. Unsuspecting parents woke up to the news that there would be no school for their children on Wednesday. Talk about a punch to the gut. 340,000 students left in limbo after teachers union votes to not show up for classes. The Chicago teachers union on Tuesday [1/4/2022] voted that it would not enter school for in-person classes, leading the city's public schools to cancel all classes on Wednesday. The union said that amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, existing mitigation measures were not sufficient to protect the health and safety of the teachers, a contention that the school district has rejected, according to the Chicago Tribune. The district's 340,658 students had returned Monday from their Christmas vacation.
Chicago is # 1 — and we mean homicides. Up in Chicago, the news about homicides is not good. [...] A Chicago friend told me that the crime is primarily in one part of town. What he meant to say is that most people in Chicago are not impacted by these weekend massacres. No matter what, it raises two questions: When is the mayor going to do something? When is the governor going to get involved? Furthermore, where is President Biden? How can the President of the U.S. allow for a major city to be overrun by crime, especially the weekly murders in the African American community? I guess that these black lives don't matter. Chicago's prosecutors keep dangerous criminals on the streets. Chicago, at 2.75 million people, is roughly twice as large as Dallas, with 1.3 million people. However, while Dallas had only 220 murders last year, a 13% drop from the previous year, Chicago had 797 murders, a rate twice as high as that in Dallas. Two stories about crime in those cities help explain the differences. The Dallas Morning News ended 2020 with a profile of Chief Eddie Garcia's success in bringing all sorts of crime down in that city. [...] Chicago has a different approach to dealing with crime, which is to make it pay. CWB Chicago tells the story of Damien Stewart, a career criminal who was recently arrested for his seventh felony gun conviction. Amazingly, with each arrest and conviction, Stewart's sentences, rather than increasing, decreased! [...] And of course, Stewart never seems to have served the full time on any of those convictions. But it was for Stewart's sixth conviction, in 2019, that things really went off the rails. When there aren't enough cops available 'to serve and protect'. A highly regarded Chicago Police Department dispatcher named Keith Thornton has spoken out on the inadequate staffing hindering police response to even dire calls, following resignations, retirements, and now firings over the COVID vaccine mandate. Even worse, he contends, Chicagoans are being lied to about it by Mayor Lori Lightfoot. In a nearly 30-minute Facebook video (view it here) Thornton offered firsthand evidence.He speaks in measured, calm tones — exactly what you'd hope for in a police dsipatcher [sic] who has to deal with chaos and mayhem. City Of Chicago Employee Tries To Cash Pay Check, Bank Tells Her City Of Chicago Is Broke. Imagine you have insufficient funds for a City employee paycheck when you have a budget of $16.7 billion. That seems to be what's happening in this video as the bank teller tells the woman trying to cash her last check before Christmas is told the city has no funds to give her cash. [Video clip] Inside the Chicago Democrat Machine: How Precinct Captains Kept It Alive So Long. For all its chronic corruption, patronage, and nepotism, the Chicago Democratic political machine has always interested me as an example of legendary political success. By 2030, its now-frayed and fractious dominance of the country's second, now third-largest city will be a century-old. Like everywhere Chicago's politics are changing now, of course, riven by the same drugs, crime, incoherent violence, relentless poverty, and myriad competing interests that have fractured virtually all of the country's largest cities, most of them governed forever by Democrats. Lori Lightfoot and her wife are ridiculed for wishing Chicago a 'joyous Kwanzaa'. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was slammed on Twitter after she and her wife, Amy Eshleman, posted a video wishing a 'joyous Kwanzaa' to all who celebrate. 'Joyous Kwanzaa, Chicago!' Lightfoot said in a video shared online. 'The seven principles of Kwanzaa guide us to unity and cooperation as we work to uplift and protect our neighbors.' [...] The pair, who also used the holiday video as an opportunity to promote COVID-19 vaccinations, were criticized by Twitter users who cited the crime wave ravaging Chicago and Lightfoot's alleged failures as leader. Shooting at Mall Near Chicago Results in at Least Four Injured. We saw a shooting turn deadly in California after the smash and grab robberies that have been happening in some Democratic cities, killing a former officer who was defending a news crew from being robbed after they went to cover a smash and grab story. Now, violence may have happened again, this time in Oakbrook Center Mall in Oak Brook, Illinois, which is a suburb near Chicago. 'Bail reform' costs 25 Chicagoans their lives, so far this year. Another day, another dead person, another beneficiary of the George Soros chaos masterplan of "bail reform." [...] The woman killed was one of 25 murder victims who can't speak up about this "bail reform." She's also one of 93 victims who've been victims of such attacks, the non-dead ones likely recovering in hospitals for gunshot wounds or still taking the flashbacks of terror at what might have happened. Sixty-one of these thugs have been "beneficiaries" of bail reform, which means no or low cash bail, meaning that they were permitted to await their trial dates in complete freedom, giving them the time to even the score with their hate targets ahead of their date with the judge and jury. This fiend was one of them. Bail reform has been a plague for years now, enabling violent criminals to walk free ahead of their trials. The Soros left and its allies have been calling it a matter of economic justice, given that many thugs don't have the same kind of money as people with productive jobs[.] Chicago Imposes Harsh Consumer Vaccine Mandates. Mandates are stupid in general, but Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot seems to think COVID is on a different level. People ages five and up must provide vaccine proof at certain places along with photo ID. [...] So I guess COVID will only infect you at the dining parts of grocery stores and not the rest of the store. You are also safe from COVID in church, at the airport, at a store, and in an office building. You also do not have to show your papers if you "enter a location to participate in a school or after-school activity." Some artists and professional athletes have an exemption. Lightfoot respects religious exemptions IF you can provide a negative COVD test. Um, lady, a virus doesn't care if you're in a place for only a few minutes or a famous athlete. A virus is gonna virus. If you're unvaccinated Lightfoot hates you. She is doing this on purpose so you fall into line and do her bidding! Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot pleads with AG Merrick Garland to send ATF agents to city after more than 760 murders this year. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot pleaded with Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday to send Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents to the city for six months after the city reaches a 25-year high in the number of murders. The woke mayor announced at a news conference in Garfield Park on Monday that she made a formal request to Garland to send ATF agents to Chicago for six months, a well as more federal prosecutors and federal marshals to help get illegal guns off the streets. This comes after the democrat proposed slashing $80 million from the Chicago Police Department budget in 2020 during 'defund the police' protests. The Editor says... Chicago mayor who pushed $80M defund of cops now pleads for feds to save city. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot — who last year proposed cutting $80 million from her city's police budget — publicly pleaded with the feds on Monday [12/20/2021] to bolster the ranks of her city's cops amid a surge in shootings and homicides. Lightfoot called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to send agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to the Windy City for a six-month crackdown on illegal guns. "We cannot continue to endure the level of violence that we are now experiencing," Lightfoot said during a 40-minute speech. "I feel the urgency every day." The desperation move made Lightfoot — who's said she opposes the "defund the police" movement — the second big-city Democratic mayor in days to announce dramatic steps to restore law and order as crime spirals out of control. The Editor says... Drivers Shut Down Eisenhower Expressway To Perform Dangerous Stunts — Where Were Illinois State Police? Imagine hopping on the Ike, only to come to a complete stop — not because of rush hour, an accident, or an emergency — but because some people decided to shut the expressway down. On Monday night, a close look at the pavement still reveals some tire marks left behind from a crew of car enthusiasts who took over the Eisenhower Expressway. Video shows people with their phones in hand standing in the middle of the expressway on Saturday night. People used their cars and blocked all the outbound lanes of traffic to take video of a crew doing dangerous stunts. Kim Foxx lied about contacts with Jussie Smollett's sister, violated legal ethics, investigation finds. Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx repeatedly told the public that she cut off communications with Jussie Smollett's sister when she was told that the actor became a suspect, but she continued communicating with her several days after, according to the special prosecutor's report. The report, released Monday [12/20/2021] by special prosecutor Daniel Webb, cites multiple examples from March 2019 and at the end of May 2019 in which Foxx told the media that she stopped communicating with Smollett's sister. However, the report says she sent five text messages to her and talked with her on the phone another three times through Feb. 13, 2019, five days after she claimed she cut off communication. The wasteful and futile $412 million 'crime-fighting' program for Lori Lightfoot's Chicago. A lot of "community groups" are going to get grant money, so I suppose that's a political accomplishment for Chicago's Mayor Lori Lightfoot. But when it comes to actually combatting the wave of violent crime that is ruining Chicago, her lavishly funded "Our City, Our Safety Plan" is mostly futile. It's focus on the "root causes" renders it as inapposite as Vice President Kamala Harris's "root causes" effort to stem the flood of illegal immigrants across our southern border. Gunfire in one of Chicago's deadliest neighborhoods kills aspiring videographer. Sometime around dawn Tuesday, Sheridan Freeman was inside a home in West Pullman when there was gunfire and the 23-year-old was shot dead, becoming the 800th homicide victim recorded in Chicago this year. Crossing that deadly mark was common in the 1990s but has been rare since then. Murders have been increasing in the city for two straight years now, and shootings have been rising at an even faster rate, according to Sun-Times data. Freeman was killed on a block where there had been a shooting just the day before, in a neighborhood that is among the deadliest in Chicago despite being targeted for extra resources by City Hall. Chicago teen who murdered 15-year-old Elias Valdez in drug deal given probation. A Chicago teenager who pleaded guilty to murdering a 15-year-old boy in a bad drug deal was given a wrist-slap sentence of three-years probation this week. The 17-year-old defendant, who hasn't been publicly named, was sentenced on Monday [12/13/2021] in the fatal stabbing of Elias Valdez in the suburb of Glenview in August 2020. He was given probation, 100 hours of community service and ordered to undergo counseling in exchange for pleading guilty to second-degree murder, the Daily Herald reported. Police said the stabbing unfolded after Valdez, who was a member of his high school wrestling team, tried to buy marijuana from the defendant. Here Are the Facts About Spikes in Crime That Sen. Dick Durbin Didn't Want Me to Share. It's no secret that Chicago, like many major U.S. cities, has suffered from an unprecedented spike in homicides and non-fatal shootings over the last two years. Despite seeing record low homicide rates between 2004 and 2015, Chicago residents are now experiencing violent crime at levels unseen in decades — including truly horrific surges in gun violence during 2020 and 2021. One important factor driving this violence is the failed leadership of Chicago's mayor and city council, particularly their general lack of support for the Chicago Police Department. Chicago's progressive prosecutors have exacerbated this problem by routinely allowing violent offenders to run amok without any meaningful consequences. And yet, when I attempted to diagnose this problem at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence in Chicago held earlier this week, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., twice interrupted my testimony. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin Interrupts Testimony On Democrat Failures In Chicago. Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin interrupted Heritage Foundation legal fellow Amy Swearer during her opening statement at a recent hearing titled "Combating Gun Trafficking and Reducing Violence in Chicago," where she attempted to highlight the failures of liberal prosecutors to address violent crime. [Video clip] The Whitewashing of Black Crime. The media's willingness to play along with progressives in their effort to mask black-on-black crime reveals artful deception. To date in 2021, in Chicago, over seven hundred people have been murdered by gun-toting assailants, an increase of more than fifty percent over the previous year. The victims are disproportionately black at a rate of 8 to 1 against all other races and ethnicities combined, with most of the shootings occurring in majority-black neighborhoods and attributed to known street gangs and their affiliates. In their 2020 annual crime report, the Chicago Police Department released information on the race and ethnicity of almost five hundred homicide victims but excluded that information for the more than two hundred known assailants, also a media practice more woke than informative in their day-to-day reporting of each individual shooting. A brutal murder highlights what leftists are doing to America. Chicago has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country. It also has some of the worst gun crime in the country. However, if you needed a reminder that it's people, not guns, who kill, on Saturday night, two thugs killed a man the old-fashioned way: they beat him to death. [...] The only thing we can say with certainty is that, in Lori Lightfoot's Chicago, no one is safe. There's a complete breakdown in law and order, thanks to defunding the police, attacking the police, electing a prosecutor who refuses to prosecute, disarming law-abiding citizens, and using racist condescension to give a pass to minorities for the crimes they commit. All of these factors add up to a toxic soup of crime and dysfunction. Battlefield Chicago: Dude Gets Beaten, Gets up and Shoots [his assailant] Several Times. The city of Chicago has turned into an all out battlezone as leftist Mayor Lori Lightfoot continues to gaslight the public and blame everyone but herself for the complete and utter collapse of civil society in her city, mainly do to her own policies that handicap police from actively doing their jobs. Watch as a man who was beaten into submission gets up, pulls out his gun, and unloads several shots at point blank range, killing the man who just beat him during a one on one. [Video clip] Smash-and-Grab Thieves Steal Millions in Jewelry From [a] Gold Coast Rolls Royce Dealership. Smash-and-grab thieves robbed a Rolls Royce dealership in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood on Saturday afternoon in broad daylight and made off with millions in luxury watches. According to police, the two thieves entered the Rolls Royce dealership on North Rush near Mag Mile just after 12 noon. One man in a mask and hoodie used a hammer to break the glass case and grabbed several luxury watches valued at over $2 million while another man armed with a gun stood by the front door. Two salesmen ran after the thieves with their own guns drawn, but the robbers got away. Man smashes glass case at Chicago Lamborghini showroom, runs out with $1 million in watches. Another day, another brazen robbery at a business in Chicago's pricey Near North Side neighborhood. This time, the target was the ritzy Gold Coast Auto Gallery. On Saturday afternoon [12/11/2021], two people came to rob this showroom for Lamborghinis and Bentleys. One stayed by the door with a gun. The other used a hammer to smash a display case and grabbed a million dollars worth of watches. Ten customers including children were in the showroom at the time. "He was smart enough not to raise the gun, because my people had guns," said dealership owner Joe Petito. "If he raised that gun, he would have been shot, we'd probably be in court defending ourselves." [Video clip] Lightfoot under fire for suggesting retail stores increase security to prevent smash-and-grabs. The smash-and-grabs in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs seems to be a weekly occurrence. But now, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is under fire for her comments, saying stores aren't doing enough. The comments were made by Lightfoot on Monday [12/6/2021] and the fallout has continued ever since. Mayor Beetlejuice Blames Retailers For The Citywide Pandemic Of Smash And Grabs. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blamed retailers for not making safety a priority amid a string of smash-and-grab thefts at retail stores in recent months. "We still have retailers that won't institute plans like having security officers in their stores, making sure that they've got cameras that are actually operational, locking up their merchandise at night, chaining high-end bags. These purses can be something that is attracting a lot of organized retail theft units," Lightfoot said Monday [12/6/2021]. Rob Karr, the president and CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, said Chicago businesses need the "fingerprinting among leadership to stop." [Video clip] Chaos and the Threat to Democracy. [Scroll down] No revolution takes place without elites. The men and women running through the streets with guns are only instruments. Somewhere an out elite provided the ideological justification and weapons for revolt, and before that they sowed chaos in various ways. And this, oddly enough, brings us to a shootout in broad daylight in Chicago between two gangs. When the shooting stopped, one person was dead and two were wounded. Five gang members allegedly involved in the shootout were arrested. Yet Chicago's controversial states attorney, Kim Foxx, refused to prosecute them. "Mutual combatants was cited as the reason for the rejection," according to a Chicago Police Department report. As long as both sides willingly participated in combat on Chicago's streets, no crime was committed, was the CPD's interpretation of Foxx's decision. Chicago Mayor blatantly lies about crime in her city. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot held a press conference yesterday in the Windy City. Setting the stage for the current topic of discussion, she announced that Chicago Police Officers should expect to have some of their days off canceled in the coming days and weeks. One reporter asked her to comment on the fact that the number of murders in Chicago is about to pass 800, a level not seen in a generation. And there are still more than three weeks left to go in 2021. The Mayor's response left a lot of people rolling their eyes. After initially admitting that the city was facing "challenging times," she went on to claim that the rates of all other crimes (presumably besides murder) are "at 25-year lows." As CWB Chicago was quick to point out, that statement is indisputably not true. Teen Shot, Massive Fights Breakout, 21 Arrested Outside of Millennium Park. 21 people were arrested around 9PM yesterday after a shooting that sent a 15-year old boy to the hospital. The teen was shot in the arm with a handgun after bumping into another teen. The boy was taken to Lurie Children's Hospital in stable condition. [Video clip] Downtown chaos: Chicago police arrest 21 juveniles, two officers are injured, bus driver attacked. A gunshot wound, 21 juveniles arrested, two officers injured, one bus driver attacked, nine curfew citations: It was a busy Saturday night for Chicago police in the downtown area. Chicago police arrested 21 juveniles downtown on Saturday night after calls came in of a large group. An additional nine juveniles were cited for curfew violations. Police said one juvenile had a gunshot wound to the arm and was taken to the hospital. Two officers were injured, including one who had a broken arm. Two replica guns were recovered. A Pack Of Wild Youths Go On Rampage In Chicago, Beat Bus Driver Senseless, One Boy Shot, 20 Arrested. A 15-year-old was shot, a CTA bus driver was beaten, and about 20 juveniles were taken into custody as a "large group incident" unfolded in the Loop on Saturday evening, according to police and initial information from sources. Acting on intelligence gathered through social media and other sources that hundreds of young people planned to gather downtown, CPD leaders deployed extra resources to the area late Saturday afternoon. Among the more serious incidents: A CTA bus driver was beaten on the 100 block of North Michigan when he stopped his vehicle to inspect it for damage after he heard a loud noise around 8:50 p.m., according to a CPD statement. [Video clip] Chicago is what happens when a culture loses its moral grounding. Chicago's Loop encompasses the city's central business district, which is also the second-largest commercial business district in America (or so Wikipedia tells me), filled with restaurants, offices, retail stores, hotels, and historic attractions. It lies at the heart of Cook County, the same county that elected Kim Foxx, the Soros-designated district attorney who doesn't believe in prosecuting crime. When you couple Foxx's aversion to enforcing the law with generations of people who have grown up without any moral grounding, you get a weekend in the loop complete with beatings, a shooting, and general misbehavior. Chicago trying to surpass San Francisco in a race toward lawless anarchy. Monica Showalter covered the descent of the City by the Bay yesterday in her piece titled "The Fall of San Francisco." Today it is Chicago's turn, and even though I have lived in the San Francisco area for over three decades, I must say that Chicago is making an impressive sprint toward hell, leaving San Francisco in a cloud of bloody dust. When it comes to retail theft, both cities have seen their premier shopping districts, North Michigan Avenue and Union Square, devastated by looters. In fact, while S.F. has recently seen storefronts boarded up, as Monica reported yesterday, over a quarter of all retail space downtown is now vacant, and on Michigan Avenue, where looting was extensive in the George Floyd memorial riots, lots of prominent retail space is going begging. Not that the retail pillaging is over there. Shoplifters heisted 13 grand over the weekend from two beauty parlors. But it is the realm of homicide where Chicago makes its case for pre-eminence. In what the corporate media would trumpet as a "grim milestone" if Republicans somehow could be blamed, Cook County yesterday surpassed 1,000 homicides for the year. That's in a county with 5.15 million people. San Francisco's much smaller population of 875,000 has generated only 41 homicides this year so far. If it were to match Cook County's rate, it would have to more than quadruple the death toll. Why are Police Officers Refusing the Vax? Chicago is the perfect place to examine this issue. Under a directive by Chicago's mayor, every city employee had until Oct. 15 to report their vaccination status or choose to undergo regular COVID-19 testing instead. Then police unions legally challenged the mandate and a judge suspended the date for members of the force to be fully vaccinated, offering that the case needed to go through arbitration. Other unions representing city workers are also now seeking the same type of ruling. So far, more than 73 Chicago police employees and 67 Chicago Fire Department staffers have been placed on no-pay status since the Oct. 15 deadline has passed. They were also sent home for refusing to report their vaccination status. However, many later complied, and now only 35 police and 26 Fire Department workers were on no-pay status. So what is the reason that cops are saying no to the jab in Chicago and other cities? The same reason everyone else is: they question the efficacy of the jab and believe that public health officials and other government officials have simply gone too far. 28 Photos Show Just How Horrible Christmas Is in San Francisco This Year. [Scroll down] San Francisco is far from the only city experiencing skyrocketing crime. Chicago, another city run by leftists, is also having significant problems. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, 617 people had been killed and at least 3,768 wounded by gunshot in the city as of Oct. 23. The outlet said Chicago was "on target for what's likely to be one of its deadliest years since the mid-1990s." Both of these Democrat-run cities have strict gun control laws, yet crime continues to spike. It seems clear that leftist policies that are cut against law and order are the real culprits. Products of the public schools: Two Armored Car Security Guards Shot, One Killed, During Robbery While Loading ATM In West Chatham. Two armored car guards were shot Monday morning, and one of them was killed, during a robbery while they were loading an ATM in the West Chatham neighborhood. As CBS 2's Marie Saavedra reported, the guards were doing a routine part of their job — which can be very dangerous anytime. In this case, it was deadly. Chicago Tribune Throws Gas on 'Racism' Fire. [Scroll down] [The] "World's Greatest Newspaper" slogan later disappeared from the front page [of the Chicago Tribune] on December 31, 1976. Had it not, this week would have prompted its immediate removal, as the 2021 lame version of the Tribune foisted an incendiary and poorly-sourced news item on readers with the headline "Study shows any contact with police may be detrimental to health, well-being of Black youth." Call me crazy, but it seems to me that in a city that is already the undisputed Murder Capital Of America (thanks, Lori Lightfoot) and which this week actually saw demonstrators picketing and demanding the removal of the CEO of McDonald's for the "microaggression" of implying gangbangers may not make good parents... a newspaper throwing gasoline on the "racism" fire is probably the last thing any responsible publication would do. [...] The entire basis of this article is a "study" printed in September in the Journal Of The American Medical Association's Pediatrics Review... not exactly a voice of reason. Democrat-Run Chicago Braces for Rittenhouse Riots. "The Chicago Police Department has canceled regularly scheduled days off starting Friday and through the weekend in apparent anticipation of civil unrest in the event that Kyle Rittenhouse is acquitted," the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Allow me to translate that for you. Because Chicago is run by Democrats, because the corporate media have been shamelessly lying about the truth of what's been revealed in the Rittenhouse trial, Chicago police know that if Rittenhouse is acquitted (as he should be), the left-wing terrorists in Antifa and Black Lives Matter, these dangerous babies who can't deal with things not going their way, are almost certain to take to the streets to loot and burn in the name of social justice or something. Rash of violence in Chicago's wealthy areas overlooked, have 'too much wealth': Lawmaker. An Illinois lawmaker is highlighting shootings and other violence in parts of the Chicago known as being wealthier areas and says those neighborhoods are being overlooked or deemed ineligible for state and federal violence prevention grants for having "too much wealth." Rep. Jaime Andrade, a Democrat representing the 40th District, took to Twitter earlier this week to highlight violent conditions in an area he compared to the "Wild Wild West": Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood, where he says he and his constituents are faced with concerns for their safety amid gunfire and gang violence day and night. "It's just out of control," the assistant majority leader told Fox News Digital on Tuesday [11/2/2021]. "We're trying to maintain that sense of safety, but I have people now that are getting carjacked during the day, during the day. We have store fronts of businesses that are been shot and bullets going through them during the day," he later added. Meet the new Chicago bail court judge that frees perps on recognizance and restrains victims. In the race among blue cities toward dystopia, Chicago is a contender for the lead. Its streets are dangerous, and when accused street crime perps are arrested, they often get out of jail on recognizance, with no cash bail. CWB Chicago, the invaluable chronicler of Chicago's descent, profiles a new bail court judge who goes beyond freeing very sketchy accused perps on recognizance. Judge Blocks Chicago Police Vaccination Mandate, Deadline for End of Year Vaccination Removed. A major win for police union members in the Chicago area. Citing an irrevocable harm that has no possibility for reversal if enacted, a judge has blocked the City of Chicago from enforcing a vaccine mandate for unionized police members. A judge has suspended Chicago's COVID-19 vaccination requirement for police officers. A Cook County judge on Monday [11/1/2021] suspended the city of Chicago's policy requiring that all of its police officers be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of the year. The ruling is a major victory for police unions, who have held that the city's COVID-19 vaccine mandate violates their collective bargaining agreements. Judge Raymond Mitchell ruled Monday that the mandate should be halted for police officers until those complaints can be settled in arbitration. Mitchell's ruling does not impact other city workers, or other parts of the policy. That means city employees who are not represented by any of the four police unions will still have to be vaccinated by Dec. 31, 2021. And all police officers are still required to report their vaccination status and get tested twice a week if they're not vaccinated. Judge: Chicago Can't Enforce Vaccine Mandate On Police Officers. A Cook County judge on Monday told Chicago leaders that they cannot force police officers to be vaccinated by year end, emphasizing that you can't "undo a vaccine" and "meaningful arbitration" must commence. In a suit challenging the city's vaccination mandate, Judge Raymond Mitchell told Chicago Police Department's labor unions and city leaders to continue to negotiate an agreement on COVID requirements and restrictions, while staying the December 31 vaccination deadline for officers. There are "two competing public interests, but one interest need not be scuttled in favor of another," Judge Raymond Mitchell wrote in his ruling, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Mitchell said it was okay for the city to require officers to report their vaccination status and undergo testing for COVID but said that forcing the vaccination before continued arbitration is a no-go. Brazen Shoplifter Steals Racks Of Cigarettes In A Chicago Walgreens, 5th Store Hit. A team of Chicago police officers have arrested a Belmont Cragin man for questioning in connection with recent thefts of cigarettes from Walgreens stores across the North Side and downtown, according to a source. For nearly two months, Walgreens stores across the city have lost tens of thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes to two men who've conducted similar thefts. The man, identified as 33-year-old Kendrick Archibald, has not yet been charged with any wrongdoing. He is, however, on bail while awaiting trial for burglary charges for allegedly stealing cigarettes from behind the counter of a Walgreens in Grundy County. Grundy County records show Archibald and another man, Lance Harris, face felony burglary charges for allegedly loading cigarettes into black trash bags during a daytime raid at a Morris, Illinois, Walgreens in July 2020. [Video clip] Judge suspends City of Chicago's order that all cops be vaccinated by the end of the year. Chicago's police unions won a big, but still only partial victory yesterday as Judge Raymond W. Mitchell issued an order suspending enforcement of the city's mandate that police officers be vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of the year. The city's police unions, led by Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7's head John Catanzara, had been involved in a bitter public dispute with Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Judge Mitchell's ruling to suspend the mandate made a key point about the vaccine mandate: that once carried out, it cannot be undone. It also affirmed that the mandate is covered by the collective bargaining agreement between the city and the unions, and that the contractual arbitration process must move forward to provide resolution to the dispute. Chicago Union Betrays Lightfoot, Gives Smug Mayor the Reception She Deserves. Although the Democratic Party has long presented itself as the party of the blue-collar, working-class man, this image has been crumbling in recent years. [...] Yet the last year's far-reaching COVID tyranny, which is causing deep rifts between Democratic leadership and public sector union workers, has made this disconnect that much more apparent. Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was confronted with this fraught relationship head-on this week as she was loudly booed at a fundraiser for a plumbers' union that endorsed her in 2019. As Lightfoot was introduced on stage at the event for Plumbers Union Local 130, loud boos filled the room according to reports and videos posted to social media in which the outburst of disapproval can clearly be heard. Of course, to hear the Chicago Sun-Times tell it, there was likely only a small smattering of faint boos. Suspect In Wheelchair Grabs Deputy's Gun, Too Bad For Him, The Other Officer Had A Gun As Well. Illinois State Police have released surveillance footage showing the officer-involved shooting at the Jefferson County Courthouse. In accordance with the ISP Division of Criminal Investigation's commitment to integrity and transparency, video of the event is being made available to the public. Members of Goss' family have been afforded the opportunity to view the video prior to this release. [Video clip] Jury awards more than $25 million to man wrongfully convicted in 1994 South Side double murder. A federal jury on Friday [10/29/2021] awarded more than $25 million to a man who sued the city of Chicago and two police detectives after being wrongfully convicted of murder and spending nearly 23 years in jail. Eddie Bolden was freed from prison in 2016, two years after an appellate court found his trial attorney was ineffective. The Cook County State's Attorney's office dropped the case rather than put Bolden on trial again and he was granted a certificate of innocence, allowing him to receive state payment for his time in prison. But attorneys for the city and detectives argued during the federal trial that Bolden's criminal trial was fair and that he's guilty of the 1994 murders. Chicago Vaccine Mandate: Police Union Boss No Longer Banned From Speaking Out Against Policy, Judge Rules. Chicago police union head John Catanzara is no longer prohibited from publicly encouraging his members to disobey the city's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which expired Monday after a judge refused to extend it. Cook County Judge Cecilia Horan denied city attorneys' request for the order to be extended and expanded in a written ruling, saying the situation since the first injunction had "materially changed." City attorneys wanted the order extended to include other union leaders in addition to Fraternal Order of Police president, Catanzara, accusing him of continuing to speak out or having other union officials do so in his place. First female mayor of Illinois village sparks outrage after hiring registered child sex offender who spent 24 years in prison for brutal gang rape. The new mayor of a village in a Chicago suburb unleashed a firestorm after it has emerged that she hired a registered child sex offender who worked on her campaign to be the town's code enforcement officer — a job that requires him to inspect inside homes and businesses. Trustees in the Village of Dolton — a community of 23,000 located just south of Chicago — say they are appalled that Mayor Tiffany Henyard offered Lavelle Redmond a municipal job without consulting them. Despite facing backlash from village leaders and residents, Heynard has defended her hiring decision, saying she believes in 'second chances' for ex-convicts who had repaid their debts to society. The Editor says... Bottega Veneta store on Chicago's Magnificent Mile is ransacked by robbers for the Second time in three weeks. Video footage captured the moment the Bottega Veneta store on Chicago's Magnificent Mile being robbed for the second time in three weeks — after the city's AG stopped pursuing shoplifters who steal less than $1,000. One robber was seen letting his pal into the Italian designer store, scaring a terrified shop assistant in the process, before they began clearing its shelves of luxury leather goods, which retail for up to $6,200. The thieves had left the scene with luxury merchandise that cost tens of thousands of dollars, exactly 21 days after a prior robbery saw 35 bags lifted on September 20. Illinois Sheriffs Say They Will Not Help Cover Chicago Police Shortage Due to Vaccine Mandate. Sheriff's offices surrounding the metropolitan area of Chicago are stating they will not send their officers to cover the shortfall in city police officers as an outcome of the vaccine mandate. Keep in mind the elected county sheriff is the highest constitutional officer inside each region. Chicago Mayor Lightfoot has released all the city officers who refused the vaccine mandate. Factually it makes no sense according to DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, who points out that his office does not have mandatory vaccines and as a result could only be providing assistance with officers who may or may not be vaccinated. "It doesn't make sense to say, 'I only want my residents touching vaccinated people, but I'm going to send all these potentially unvaccinated people from other municipalities to replace them,'" Mendrick said. Indiana Recruits Chicago Police Officers Unhappy With Vaccine Mandate. As thousands of police officers in Chicago refuse to comply with Mayor Lori Lightfoot's COVID vaccine mandate, officials in nearby Indiana are actively recruiting the cops to join the force. "Hey Chicago Police Officers, we're hiring! No vaccine mandate. Apply today at http://statetrooper.com Lower taxes, great schools, welcoming communities," posted a leader with the Indiana State Police. Chicago's Magnificent Mile is dying from an increasingly familiar cause. The "Magnificent Mile" in downtown Chicago has long been a popular tourist destination and a prime source of revenue for the city, featuring nearly all of the major chain outlets as well as exclusive boutiques. Or at least it used to be, anyway. By the time the BLM protests/riots were finished, the places that weren't burned down and/or looted were boarded up. The problem is that the famed shopping district still hasn't made a comeback more than a year later. As CBS Chicago reports this week, many of the biggest, high-profile stores like Disney and Macy's have left permanently and no new employers have attempted to move in and replace them. The reason is the same that we've seen in other cities since the riots began. Decriminalization of "smaller" crimes like theft, lax enforcement, and bail reform laws have led to an endless series of organized shoplifting and robbery sprees. Chicago Mayor says police union is trying to 'induce an insurrection'. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot recently said the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police were trying to "induce an insurrection" by pushing back against vaccine mandates. Au contraire. It is Mayor Lightfoot that is trying to subvert the Constitution, take away personal autonomy and — ironically — institute a police state. Tyrannical Democrats — and there don't appear to be many that don't fit that description today — are now accusing any group of people standing up for their inherent rights of fomenting an "insurrection." A few hundred people walking through the Capitol wearing MAGA hats or Viking horns? Insurrection! A handful of parents vociferously disagreeing with a school board's attempt to shamelessly indoctrinate their kids? Insurrection! A union of public safety officers publicly stating that they own their own bodies? Insurrection! Forget to put your car license tabs on by the expiration date? Insurrection! For the same reasons, Democrats and their media sycophants now label anything with which they disagree "misinformation." This is the most dangerous time in American history since the Civil War. Judge says Chicago police union not allowed to discourage members from getting vaccinated for covid. Cook County Circuit Judge Cecilia A. Horan has ordered Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara to stop discouraging the city's police force from taking the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) "vaccine." In Horan's opinion, Catanzara does not have any First Amendment rights when it comes to telling his police officers that getting injected might not be in their best interests. On Oct. 15 following a lengthy emergency hearing on a request for injunctive relief that was filed by the city early in the day, Horan proclaimed that Catanzara must immediately stop trying to help police officers avoid the deadly clot shot, which stands a good chance of killing them. Last week, Catanzara urged Chicago police officers to not comply with the city's mandate requiring them to tell the government whether or not they got injected with one of Donald "father of the vaccine" Trump's "Operation Warp Speed" injections. Kane, DuPage sheriffs: Chicago police shortage due to vaccine mandate isn't an emergency for us. At least two suburban county sheriffs say they will send their deputies to help the Chicago Police Department only if city officers are in distress or under duress. So they say they will not respond if Chicago is short-staffed because it has suspended officers in a dispute about a COVID-19 vaccination mandate. "ILEAS (the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System) typically responds to emergency situations where there is no opportunity for planning," Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain said Tuesday. "This situation to me is much different." "It's like a preplanned police shortage," DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick said. "The lack of logic is the thing that astounds me." Chicago restricts cops from taking time off as department threatens to ax up to half of its 13,000 officers. Chicago's top cop is warning police officers that their benefits could hang in the balance if they refuse to comply with the city's COVID vaccination policy, while the mayor has accused the union head of trying to 'induce an insurrection.' Police Superintendent David Brown is warning that officers who don't comply with the city's vaccination policy could be fired and lose their retirement benefits. About half of the city's 13,000 cops could be terminated under the rule if they don't disclose their status. Meanwhile, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday that the city has already stopped the pay of a 'very small number' of officers who refused to cooperate with the mandate. She said they'll now go through a disciplinary process. Chicago cops' union resisting vax mandate in a city on the brink of domination by armed criminals. Civil order already is crumbling in Chicago, with its horrendous toll of murders, carjackings, and looting of stores spreading into downtown and affluent neighborhoods from, the ghetto strongholds where lawlessness has been rampant for years. The one thing Chicago cannot afford to do is lose a substantial number of cops, yet the actions of Mayor Lori Lightfoot threaten to do that, pushing ahead with a vaccine mandate, whose deadline for reporting vax status has just expired at midnight Friday night [10/15/2021]. Biden and Chicago mayor Lightfoot go out maskless in public. Of course, the entire charade of masking is stupid, because the size of viral particles is smaller than all but the expensive (and hard to fit) N95 masks. The cloth or paper chin diapers are pretty worthless except as symbols of submission. But once political leaders try to force them on the rest of us to make the point that they are in charge and to encourage fear of a virus that is 99.7% survivable for all but the elderly or seriously comorbid, they do have an obligation to lead by example. To do otherwise invites contempt, which, I confess, I feel a lot of these days. [...] People have been attending college football games without masks with no "super-spreader events," so once again, the issue isn't safety. It is hypocrisy. Chicago's Art Institute Fires All of Its Docents: Too Many Wealthy White Ladies. The Art Institute of Chicago fired all of its roughly 100 volunteer museum guides, or docents, in September because too many of them were wealthy, white women. The news of the mass firing has only trickled out slowly, partly because the institute asked docents not to speak to the media, and because the left-leaning Chicago media showed little interest in covering the issue. Chicago officers defying Mayor Lightfoot's vaccine mandate: 'Everybody up in arms across the board'. John Catanzara, president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, said Friday [10/15/2021] Chicago Mayor Lightfoot's vaccine mandate is "absolutely wrong" and instructed other officers not to comply. The mandate takes effect Friday and requires all police officers to be vaccinated or get tested for COVID-19 twice a week. Police are required to provide their vaccination status to the city by the end of the day. On "Fox & Friends," Catanzara estimated about half of his officers have been vaccinated, but he said even those who have received the vaccine agree that a mandate is wrong. CPD officer explains why many officers are concerned about sharing vaccine status. More murders, more shootings and downtown looting. That's what a Chicago police officer says could happen this weekend, if the mayor does not repeal her vaccine mandate for the city's police department. In a FOX 32 exclusive, we learn why many officers are concerned about providing the city with their vaccine status. In just about 24 hours, the city will reach its vaccine mandate deadline. Come Friday [10/15/2021] at midnight, half of the police force could be sent home. The officer we spoke with said police understand the risk, but also believe the alternative could put their personal safety at risk. Chicago Police Union Chief Tells Officers to Defy City's Vaccine Mandate. In blunt terms, John Catanzara, head of Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police, urged his members to ignore Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's vaccine mandate in a video on Tuesday night. He said that her demand violated personal rights as well as the union agreement under which the officers work. If she doesn't relent, he said, he's prepared to file suit. Back in August, Lightfoot rolled out her vaccine mandate ordering every city employee, including police officers, to report their COVID vaccination status by Friday, October 15, or risk being put on unpaid leave. Employees may apply for medical or religious exemptions. This was too much for Catanzara: [Video clip] Lightfoot is already getting pressure to reverse her decision from aldermen who fear that Catanzara's threat is real. Chicago student, security guard shot outside Wendell Phillips Academy High School. A 14-year-old girl and a security guard were seriously wounded when a gunman standing outside a high school on Chicago's South Side opened fire as the guard was opening a door to let students out. Shortly after 3 p.m. [10/12/2021], gunfire erupted outside Wendell Phillips Academy High School in the Bronzeville neighborhood. The Chicago Fire Department confirms a 45-year-old security guard and 14-year-old female student were both shot. The student and guard were both in serious condition. Chicago Police Union Warns Of Workforce Shortage, Threatens Suit. The chief of the union that represents rank-and-file Chicago police officers warned that the force could be at half-strength over the weekend as a result of a City Hall mandate that officers must be either vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested regularly for the coronavirus. Saying the mayor's office has refused to bargain in good faith, John Catanzara, head of Chicago Lodge 7 of the Fraternal Order of Police, or FOP, said the union planned to file a class action lawsuit if city officials follow through on a promise to place police officers into "no-paid" status for refusing to participate in the city's vaccination portal. "All I can tell you is, if, [as] we suspect, the numbers are true, and we get a large number of our members to stand firm on their beliefs, that this is an overreach, and they're not going to provide the information in the portal or submit to testing, then it's safe to say that the city of Chicago will have a police force at 50 percent or less for this weekend coming up," Catanzara said Tuesday in a video message. Volunteers at the Art Institute of Chicago fired for being mostly white. The Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) has fired all 122 of its unpaid volunteer docents because they happen to be mostly white. [...] Note that the institute had made a sincere effort in recent years to encourage minorities to volunteer, all to no avail. The racial make-up of its docent volunteers was thus entirely voluntarily and natural. No discrimination was occurring. No one was excluding anyone, especially minorities. Minorities were either just not interested or did not have the spare time to volunteer. No matter! The equal rights of whites no longer count. Bad Water Bills Aren't Chicago's Only Problem — Many Residents Are Drinking Lead-Laced Water. If there's one thing our Getting Hosed series has taught us, it's that Chicagoans are paying thousands of dollars for bad water bills. [Video clip] But these billing gaffes aren't Chicago's only problem — it has nearly 400 thousand lead service lines resulting in lead contamination. Yet, Mayor Lori Lighfoot insists the water is safe. [...] The program promised to replace 600 lines by the end of the year. To date, the city has replaced six — a mere one percent of its year-end goal. And there are still 387,090 lines to go. Thugs Loot A Chicago Mall Including A Louis Vuitton Store In Broad Daylight. Chicago's historic crime wave appears to be creeping into the suburbs as two high-end retailers were hit by groups of thieves this week. Fox 32 Chicago reported that seven to eight men stole several purses from a Bloomingdale's store in the Westfield Old Orchard mall in Skokie, located roughly 15 miles north of Chicago. Cellphone footage captured the incident, showing hooded individuals sprinting towards the exit with the merchandise. They were gone by the time police arrived. [Video clip] Decriminalizing gang bangers, Soros prosecutor Kim Foxx declines to charge five arrested in fatal gang shootout, citing 'mutual combatants'. Chicago now is like Dodge City before Marshal Dillon arrived: a fatal shootout on its streets is no crime because both sides were shooting. The Windy City already is world famous for shootouts on its streets, with an astounding 3,625 shootings so far this year, 623 of them fatal. (That death toll would be higher save for the city's superb medical care for gunshot victims, made possible by all the practice its trauma surgeons receive.) But how many more shooting matches will start now that the word is going out that you can escape charges in a gang shootout — even if someone is killed — if both sides are shooting? An escalating number of shootouts is the inescapable implication of the decision of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office to release all five suspects arrested in a fatal shootout between rival gangs in the city's Southside Austin neighborhood, not too far from the Obama Monument. The head of that office, Kim Foxx, was elected with considerable financial support from George Soros, who has help elect many soft-on-crime prosecutors across the US. 1,606 People [were] Shot June thru August in Mayor Lightfoot's Chicago. Over 1,600 people were shot June 2021 through August 2021 in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D) Chicago. CNN reported 1,606 were shot, with 261 of the shooting victims dying from their wounds. They noted 770 people were killed in Chicago throughout all of 2020 and the city is on track to surpass that number. John Lausch, U.S. Attorney for the North District of Illinois noted that one of the reasons for the shootings is that offenders do not fear consequences. Lausch said, "People are emboldened, our violent offenders are, they're not afraid of getting caught and they're not afraid of the consequences of when they're caught." CNN points out black victims are predominant, "As of mid-June, the homicide rate for Black Chicagoans was nine times higher than for any other demographic." Chicago to mount bleeding control kits throughout city to help adapt to new 'environment'. Democrat-controlled Chicago has come up with at least a partial solution, albeit sad and weak, to the epidemic of deadly gun crime that turns almost every weekend into a municipal bloodbath. Officials are installing 400-plus, wall-mounted bleeding control kits in nearly 300 public buildings in the Windy City as well as at medical clinics, senior facilities, and possibly subway stations and parks. The kits are evidently meant to be used as a stopgap measure before EMTs arrive to render treatment to victims. "Each of the kits contain enough supplies to treat eight victims, with tourniquets, gauze, shears, gloves and an instruction manual," NBC Chicago reported about the initiative. The Editor says... Chicago puts a BandAID on its gun violence problem. It's come to this, according to NBC Chicago: ["]The City of Chicago is installing hundreds of kits in city buildings to treat bleeding gunshot victims under a new program officials say could help save lives in an emergency. Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications announced earlier this month that the city has begun installing 426 wall mounted "Bleeding Control Kits" in 269 buildings across the city.["] [...] Here's more about them: ["]Each of the kits contain enough supplies to treat eight victims, with tourniquets, gauze, shears, gloves and an instruction manual. "The box has eight tourniquets and also gauze, so it's basically to stop the bleeding," Guidice said. The city purchased the kits for $500 apiece through the federal Urban Areas Security Initiative grant, which was large enough that more will likely be installed in CTA stations and park district sites, according to OEMC.["] [...] But it still doesn't look like $500 worth of stuff to me. It looks like maybe someone got a nice inflated contract. Chicago installs hundreds of medical kits across city for shooting victims. The city of Chicago is taking a more hands-on approach to treat gunshot victims. The Office of Emergency Management is installing more than 400 wall-mounted "bleeding control" kits in buildings across the city. The emergency medical kit locations include City Hall, public libraries, medical clinics and more. Each kit has enough supplies to treat eight victims. Ten people were killed and 58 others were wounded in Chicago shootings over the weekend. Brazen shoplifting gang storms Chicago Ulta Beauty store and fill bags with designer makeup. A gang of shoplifters was filmed brazenly ransacking a Chicago beauty store as it was revealed three organized gangs of thieves are targeting the city's stores. The clip was shot at an UIta Beauty store in the Windy City's Norridge suburb over the weekend, and showed a gang of three hooded thieves emptying its shelves of expensive Christian Dior and Armani makeup into black trash bags. It was shared on social media Monday, with the shocked cameraman, who hasn't been named, saying: 'Look at this, this is insane,' as he films the theft unfolding before his eyes. Robbery of Ulta Beauty store in Norridge captured on video by shopper. An Ulta Beauty store in Northern Illinois was robbed in broad daylight over the weekend and a stupefied customer caught the whole thing on video. The video shows at least three culprits wearing masks as they stuff beauty products into black bags. A man filming the heist on his phone is clearly shocked at the scene unfolding before him. Obama breaks ground on presidential library in Chicago. Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama broke ground on the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Tuesday [9/28/2021], beginning one of the final steps in the long delayed project. During an event at the center's construction site on Chicago's South Side, the former President spoke about his desire to make the center more than just a "static museum," but for it to strengthen democratic ideas at a time when Americans are "seeing more division and increasingly bitter conflict." The Editor says... Fulton Market eyed for new Metra station. The booming Fulton Market area may be getting something new to go along with its fast-growing number of corporate headquarters and other business outposts: its own Metra station. Metra and city officials have scheduled a virtual meeting for mid-October to talk about opening a new station that would be available to the 80,000 riders a day who commute on Metra's west, northwest and southwest lines. [Paywall] When will Chicago or Illinois lift its mask mandate? Just 29 people are hospitalized with COVID-related illness in Chicago, a city with a population of 2.7 million people. Despite the fact that just .001 percent of Chicago residents are hospitalized with COVID-19, the city's indoor mask mandate remains, with no word on what specific circumstances will trigger its demise. The indoor mask mandate went into effect on August 20 in Chicago. Health officials said it was because the average number of new daily cases surpassed 400. The Editor says... Police [are] fighting back as Chicago crime spills into Indiana. Chicago criminals are targeting Indiana and police there say they are fighting back. "We've seen a lot of vehicles being stolen in Illinois or Chicago, crossing into the Indiana state line, committing other crimes, drive-by shootings, homicides, burglaries," said Lake County Indiana Sheriff Oscar Martinez, Jr. From fast cars to new technology, his department is using every means possible to catch up to criminals. "They think if they get to the Illinois state line or Chicago that the Lake County Sheriff's Department will not chase them. Well, that's incorrect," Sheriff Martinez said. To keep up with criminals, the department purchased nine high-performance vehicles. Flight with dozens of unaccompanied Afghan minors arrives in Chicago. A flight carrying about 75 unaccompanied Afghan children who fled the country during the U.S. withdrawal arrived in Chicago on Wednesday, according to city officials and local media reports. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the flight's arrival from Qatar, where many Afghan refugees have been held prior to their resettlement, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. A Chicago city official said about 75 unaccompanied minors were on board the flight. A spokesman for Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said city officials would work to "ensure the well-being of these children." Chicago woman posed as relative of homicide victims for tax refunds. A "career con artist" in Chicago stole the identities of young homicide victims to collect thousands of dollars in tax refunds and COVID-19 stimulus payments, federal prosecutors allege. Katrina Pierce, 50, was charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in a 34-page complaint made public Thursday [9/16/2021]. Prosecutors claim her fraud scheme was first discovered in late 2019 by the Cook County Vital Records Bureau, which noticed Pierce had requested four death certificates in one day while claiming to be the sister of each victim, despite them having different surnames. A subsequent records check revealed that Pierce had requested 37 death certificates in 2019, obtaining at least 26 of them, according to the complaint. Skyrocketing Cook County property tax bill sends Palatine garden center out of business. A third-generation family business is now vacant after a change in how they are assessed for property taxes, they said has ruined them. "We were supposed to be here, I thought for forever," said Ken Kinsch, a former owner of the Kinsch Florist and Garden Center. Rubble is what's left of the suburban greenhouse and flower farm after more than 80 years in business. At least 64 people [were] shot in Chicago over [the] weekend. At least 64 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, including a 12-year-old boy killed by his mother, and an off-duty firefighter and his 15-year-old niece wounded in one of two mass shootings in the city, according to police. At nine killed, the weekend was deadlier than the extended Labor Day holiday weekend, when 67 people were shot, six of them fatally. 60 [people were] Shot During [the past] Weekend in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's Chicago. Sixty people were shot, seven of them fatally, over the weekend in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D) Chicago. Breitbart News noted that more than 30 were shot Friday into Saturday night alone in Chicago, and three of those shooting victims succumbed to their wounds: By Monday morning [9/13/2021], the number of shooting victims had doubled, with ABC 7/Chicago Sun-Times reporting 60 shooting victims and seven shooting fatalities. The shooting fatalities included a 12-year-old boy who was discovered unresponsive Saturday morning with a gunshot wound to the head. 3 Chicago 'Anti-Violence Activists' Facing Felony Gun Charges While Out On Bail for Other Felony Gun Charges. The criminal justice system in the city of Chicago might as well be called the "criminal's" justice system. With prosecutors who don't prosecute and judges who don't hold violent criminal predators accountable, it's no wonder the city's moniker is Murder City, USA. How bad is it in the Windy City? It's bad. It's so bad that three of Mayor Lori Lightfoot's "anti-violence workers" were arrested in a single week on fresh felony gun charges, while out on bail for other felony gun arrests. Including one so-called anti-violence worker who allegedly shot at two people and then recently, allegedly on video, threatened to shoot another. Chicago's rising violent crime: How to hold politicians and judges accountable? Over the Labor Day weekend, the people of Chicago will have two things on their minds: What to grill. And how not to get killed. Like that Sox fan driving home from a baseball game, getting caught between street gang crossfires on the expressway, with more than 150 expressway shootings already this year, more than double since last year. Or they might get shot off their porch. Or stabbed in the neck in a bank lobby downtown or perhaps, murdered by some repeat violent offender waiting trial, out now on low or no bail or electronic home monitoring because the politicians showed him mercy. Not mercy for you. No mercy for the public. But mercy for repeat violent offenders. That's where we are now, facing the consequences of those good liberal Democratic intentions that have helped pave Chicago's Road to violent crime hell. Violent crime is the number one issue in Chicago. There is no other issue. Hwy. 169 shooting suspect charged with 2nd-degree murder. Authorities have charged a suspect in the fatal shooting of a motorist on a Plymouth highway with second-degree murder, according to charges unsealed Friday evening by a Hennepin County judge. Police Chief Erik Fadden announced an arrest in the case Thursday and on Friday provided more details about the events of July 6, when gunfire from a Chevy Suburban killed 56-year-old Jay Boughton on Hwy. 169 near the Rockford Road exit. According to charges unsealed late Friday, authorities arrested 33-year-old Jamal L. Smith on Aug. 24 in Decatur, Ill., about 180 miles south of his hometown of Chicago. He remains jailed there pending extradition to Hennepin County. Before the unsealing, Fadden said the sealing was necessary because Boughton's death remains under "open and active investigation."
Massive School Bus Driver Shortage At CPS Had Family Spending $36 For Student's 9-Mile Lyft Ride Home. On Tuesday, Chicago Public Schools bus drivers and riders will load up bright and early for day two of the 2021-2022 school year — and both groups hope it goes much more smoothly than it did on Monday [8/30/2021]. A massive bus driver shortage is creating confusion and stress for parents. CBS 2's Charlie De Mar talked Monday to one of the thousands of families who had to scramble to find a ride. There are, of course, are always nerves and jitters on the first day of school. But this year, classes for CPS students and parents got off to a very rough start — as CPS is about 500 drivers short, and the driver shortage is being experienced across the country. Two
The Editor says... Chicago Judge Strips Mother Of Parental Rights Because She Is Unvaccianted! A Chicago mother says a Cook County judge has taken away her parental rights after learning that she is not vaccinated against COVID-19. In what all parties agree is a very unusual and perhaps unprecedented step, a judge at Chicago's Daley Center has stripped Rebecca Firlit of custody because she refuses to get a vaccination shot. [Video clip] Cook County judge strips mother of parental rights over vaccination status. A Chicago mother says a Cook County judge has taken away her parental rights after learning that she is not vaccinated against COVID-19. In what all parties agree is a very unusual and perhaps unprecedented step, a judge at Chicago's Daley Center has stripped Rebecca Firlit of custody because she refuses to get a vaccination shot. Panicked Democrats switch from 'defund' to 'refund' the police. The Democratic Party's quest to defund police forces, an act in which it kowtowed to its hard-left-wing base, has come to a very bitter end. The resulting surge in violent crime has produced a massive public backlash that threatens the careers of elected Democrats throughout the nation. Naturally, the endangered species is trying to distance itself swiftly from the wreckage that "defund the police" has left behind. The mayors of Portland and Seattle, who respectively slashed police funding by $15 million and $7.5 million last year, are now moving to restore those budgets amid spikes in violent crime made worse because police officers are choosing to retire rather than stay where their work is scorned by their employers. Something similar is happening in Chicago, where last year, Mayor Lori Lightfoot demanded that the police force leave vacant positions unfilled as part of a broader drive to cut police budgets. Lightfoot now faces a 60% increase in murders since 2019, and suddenly, she sees the light — the police are not expendable, and the thin blue line between chaos and order cannot be allowed to get any thinner. Pritzker Warns of 'Significantly Greater Mitigations' If COVID Metrics Don't Decline. Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned Tuesday [8/24/2021] that if Illinois' COVID metrics don't decline, "significantly greater mitigations" could be imposed in the state. "We're consistently looking at the menu of options that we may need to impose in order to bring down the numbers," Pritzker said during a press conference. "I will remind you that if we are not able to bring these numbers down, if hospitals continue to fill, if the hospital beds and ICUs get full like they are in Kentucky — that's just next door to Illinois — if that happens, we're going to have to impose significantly greater mitigations." As of Tuesday, 37 Illinois counties and Chicago were at a "warning level" for intensive care unit bed availability, according to data from the state health department. Random Woman Is Brutally Beaten By Mob Of Teens In Chicago, Mob Beat Several Random People. A woman was begging for her attackers to stop, but they just kept swinging — punching her in the face. The woman and her boyfriend were on their way to the Chicago Transit Authority Red Line subway at State Street and Jackson Boulevard Saturday night. They were waiting for the elevator at ground level to go down to the platform. [Video clip] Random shootings of seniors and children put city on edge. Motive. That's what's missing. Why did two Black males clothed like Ninjas gun down a 70-year-old white woman in Hegewisch at 4:30 a.m. Monday? What is that about? It isn't like Yvonne Ruzich stood a chance against two armed men. According to what police told reporters, Ruzich was seated in her car speaking with someone in another car before reporting to work at Baltimore Food & Liquor Store in the 13300 block of South Baltimore Avenue when one of the shooters walked up to the driver's side and fired. Ruzich managed to drive off but hit a stop sign a short distance away. The shooters chased her in their car and shot at her multiple times, according to news reports. Revenge? Money? An attempted carjacking? Hate? Why would these men chase down a senior citizen and shoot her dead? Chicago weekend shootings leave 52 wounded, 9 dead, including 7-year-old girl gunned down in parked car. There were 52 people wounded, and nine killed, in the more than three dozen shootings reported throughout Chicago over the weekend, authorities announced Monday, as exasperated police brass say "senseless gun violence" has claimed the lives of "too many young people." Chicago Police Department (CPD) reported 38 shootings citywide from 6 p.m. Friday to 11:59 p.m. Sunday. The murder victims include a 7-year-old girl who was fatally shot as she sat in a parked car next to her younger sister, police said. The child was in the stopped vehicle in the city's Belmont Central section, located in the northwest part of Chicago, around 2:50 p.m. Sunday when she and her 6-year-old sister were both wounded. The Editor says... America the Violent. Another horrific instance of violence in America occurred August 7: the killing of Chicago police officer Ella French and the shooting of her partner. The two brothers arrested in this case include 21-year-old Emonte Morgan, who received a sentence of probation in 2019 for robbery in lieu of jail time. His brother, Eric Morgan, was also on probation. Mayor Lori Lightfoot's tepid response to the killing was a statement that it's "time for us to come together as a city." When Lightfoot visited the hospitalized officer, dozens of Chicago police officers reportedly turned their backs on her, and she was "scolded" by the officer's father. She dismissed the incident by posting that "in a time of tragedy, emotions run high." No, the officer's father was not "running high," and the idea that "guns" were responsible is ridiculous. Ella French died and her partner was seriously wounded because of the evil of violent criminals, because those criminals had been let out on the streets with no jail time at all, and because criminals have been emboldened by politicians who are too quick to attack and call for defunding the police. Mother Of Chicago Cop Killers Gets Arrested At Hospital While Attacking Police Officers On Duty. Two people have been charged in the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Officer Ella French who was killed during a traffic stop in West Englewood Saturday night. Her partner remains in the hospital after being shot. Emonte Morgan, 21, is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, according to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. Eric Morgan, 22, is charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, and obstruction of justice, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office said. The mother of two brothers charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Chicago Police Officer Ella French was arrested Tuesday after she tried to gain access to the hospital room in which her son was staying and attacked multiple police officers, according to authorities. 203 cases of COVID-19 linked to Chicago's Lollapalooza. Chicago health officials on Thursday reported 203 cases of COVID-19 connected to Lollapalooza, casting it as a number that was anticipated and not yet linked to any hospitalizations or deaths. "Nothing unexpected here," Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said at a news conference. "No sign of a 'superspreader event'. But clearly with hundreds of thousands of people attending Lollapalooza we would expect to see some cases." Brothers charged in killing of Chicago cop were on probation for felonies. The two tattooed brothers arrested in the fatal shooting of a Chicago cop are both felons — with the 21-year-old alleged shooter on probation for felony robbery and his sibling for theft. Emonte Morgan was busted on a charge of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Officer Ella French on Saturday night. His 22-year-old brother Eric Morgan was charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and obstruction of justice. The alleged shooter also pleaded guilty to robbing a man in the Windy City in August 2019, CWB Chicago reported. He had arranged to meet the 36-year-old victim to buy his $900 iPhone, but when the two men met, Morgan snatched the phone and fled, according to the report. Two brothers aged 21 and 22 are charged over murder of Chicago police officer. Two brothers have been charged over the shooting murder of Chicago police officer Ella French as the city's police clash with its mayor over the horrific killing. Emonte Morgan, 21, is charged with first-degree murder of a peace officer, attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. His brother, Eric Morgan, 22, is charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, and obstruction of justice. Mayor Lori Lightfoot Blames 'Guns' After Chicago Officer's Death. Hours after Chicago police officer Ella French was killed during a traffic stop, Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) blamed "guns," describing them as "a common enemy." Breitbart News reports that French was working a traffic stop Saturday night just after 9 p.m. when at least one suspect opened fire on her and the male officer who was her partner. The gunfire proved fatal for French and left the male officer in critical condition. There were three suspects in the car from which the gunfire came: two males and a female. CNN notes that all three suspects are in custody. The Predators Among Us. As I read the demographics of victims of Chicago's gang violence, I wonder, as have others, if there are predators out there hunting people for sport the way game hunters wantonly kill for sport. There are simply too many women and children, too many innocents, on the victims list. I stumbled upon this notion when, during the George Floyd riots, carloads of young blacks descended on my exurban community and smashed their way into the upscale shopping mall. Armed police stood in place as the vandals looted the stores and unnecessarily damaged showcases and fixtures while helping themselves to whatever they desired. Having successfully looted the stores as police looked on, the vandals loaded up their vehicles and drove toward the freeway. As one car veered out of the shopping area, someone fired a random shot into a group of shoppers. There was no reason for this. This was totally both a wanton and unnecessary act designed to inflict death or injury on some random shopper. As it turned out, a young black woman was hit in the arm by the bullet, and a local police officer ran over to comfort her and call the paramedics. This was not a stray bullet. The shooter was not aiming at anyone in particular. He just saw a group of people and shot in their direction. Any victim would have sufficed. The Editor says... Female Chicago cop, 29, becomes the first officer shot and killed in the city since 2018. A 29-year-old female Chicago police officer was killed and her partner was seriously wounded during an armed confrontation with three suspects on the city's South Side. Ella French has just returned from maternity leave, and leaves behind a two-month-old daughter. The two officers were fired upon after a vehicle carrying two men and a woman had been pulled over at 9 pm, said Eric Carter, Chicago police first deputy superintendent, at a news conference early Sunday. A Chicago police officer is dead and another is fighting for his life following a shooting during a traffic stop. A Chicago police officer has died, and another officer is fighting for his life following a traffic stop Saturday night [8/7/2021] that ended in gunfire, officials said. Two suspects are in custody, said Eric Carter, First Deputy Superintendent of Police, during a news briefing early Sunday. Well-Known Chicago Thug Escapes From His Ankle Monitor, Police Respond, Wild Shootout Ensues. The Civilian Police Office of Police Accountability has released police dashboard camera and body camera video footage of the deadly police shooting of 34-year-old Klevontaye White last month in West Garfield Park. Three Chicago Police officers and a U.S. Marshal shot and killed White on July 9, after surrounding a Jeep on the 100 block of South Kilpatrick Avenue, while serving a fugitive arrest warrant. White was wanted on an outstanding warrant on 15 counts of aggravated sexual assault, and another warrant for escape from electronic monitoring after he'd cut off his ankle monitor, according to police. [Video clip] North Korean defector Yeonmi Park reveals she was mugged in Chicago by three black women. A woman who defected from North Korea and came to the US says she was mugged by three black women outside a Saks Fifth Avenue store in Chicago last year but was prevented from calling the police by white bystanders because doing so was 'racist.' Yeonmi Park, the Columbia University student who along with her mother was sold into slavery by human traffickers after fleeing North Korea when she was just 13, alleges the incident took place during last summer's looting in the Windy City. Park alleged that police and prosecutors declined to charge the thief, but public records indicate that 29-year-old Lecretia Harris was sentenced to two years in prison after her arrest in connection with the incident. The headline says it all: 'Over 1,000 victims, 126 dead, just 2 convictions: 6 years of mass shootings in Chicago'. Parts of Chicago no longer are governed by the rule of law. In place of ordered civilization, criminal gangs operate with impunity, the residents living in a state of terror, afraid to tell police anything that would aid in capturing the criminals. The true exercise of power is in the hands of those who would be called warlords in other contexts, but (at least for now), the term is too harsh for most ears. The Chicago Sun-Times has produced a stunning story capturing the extent of lawlessness today, with both granular detail and an overview. Electronic monitoring for violent criminals in Chicago and Cook County is a failure. The far-left has taken over many elected prosecutor's offices, including Chesa Boudin in San Francisco, George Gascon in Los Angeles County, Marilyn Mosby in Baltimore, and Kim Foxx in Cook County, where Chicago is the county seat. As I sadly live in Crook County I'm going focus on Foxx, Cook County's state's attorney and Jussie Smollett's protector, who among other things, refuses to prosecute shoplifters with a felony unless they are accused of stealing merchandise worth more than $1,000. Foxx is also a huge supporter of electronic monitoring of criminal suspects. Small-time crooks often move on to bigger crimes. The "broken-windows" practice of policing that Rudy Giuliani put into place during his eight years as mayor of New York — his cops aggressively cracked down on petty criminals — led to a major decrease in violent crime. [...] The soft-on-crime approach of Foxx has been a disaster for Cook County residents, particular minorities who Foxx claims to champion. Armed men rob 14 people in less than an hour downtown. It took less than 45 minutes for a team of armed assailants to rob ten people in seven separate incidents across River North, Old Town, and the Near North Side on Thursday evening [7/29/2021], police said. The offenders appear to be the same crew that struck the same area five times in under an hour on Tuesday evening. [...] This week's crime sprees resemble a similar wave of hold-ups that swept across the Loop and Streeterville on June 26. On that night, an armed robbery crew left one man shot, a driver carjacked, and at least five other people robbed. Lollapalooza to require masks in indoor spaces at Grant Park beginning Saturday. Lollapalooza officials announced masks will be required by all patrons in any indoor spaces at Grant Park beginning Saturday [7/31/2021], based on advice from the Chicago Department of Public Health. The requirement is in place for all attendees regardless of vaccination status, and the festival will continue to require vaccination cards or proof of a negative COVID-19 test for admission each day. Chicago's top cop blames current wave of deadly gun violence on courts letting out violent offenders from jail too quickly. Chicago's top officer once again took aim at the city's court system by saying judges released violent offenders into the street amid a wave of gun violence in the city during a press conference on Monday [7/26/2021]. Police Superintendent David Brown said the city could not risk having violent criminals in the streets after last week's mayhem, which left at least 12 people dead and 70 injured across the Windy City. 'What we can do different is challenge the courts to render Chicago safe,' Brown said in the televised conference. 'Holding offenders in jail longer, not releasing murderers back into our community. That's what we can do different.' Chicago mayor defends granting interviews only to reporters of color. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has reportedly defended her controversial decision to grant interview requests only to minority journalists — calling the number of non-whites covering her "unacceptable." "I would absolutely do it again. I'm unapologetic about it because it spurred a very important conversation, a conversation that needed to happen, that should have happened a long time ago," Lightfoot told the New York Times' "Sway" host Kara Swisher on Monday of the temporary May declaration. As she marked her two-year anniversary in office in May, the Democrat — whose city is in the midst of a plague of gun violence and is on track to surpass last year's total of 48 mass shootings — assailed the "overwhelming whiteness" of the Windy City's media and announced that she'd grant one-on-one interviews only to minority members, Fox News reported. Chicago Expressway Shootings Continue To Surge Despite $12.5M Grant, Federal Intervention. Chicago expressway shootings continue to surge, as authorities search for answers following the latest two incidents on the same day at different areas across the city last week. In the first expressway shooting Thursday, according to Illinois State Police, an unidentified male driver crawling along morning traffic on I-290 witnessed a robbery taking place on the Chicago Transit Authority platform. That driver pulled over to the shoulder, exited the vehicle and opened fire. [...] There have been 137 shootings on Chicago-area expressways so far this year as of Sunday, Illinois State Police confirmed to Fox News. There were 128 expressway shootings in Chicago in all of 2020, and 52 in all of 2019. Dan Ryan Expressway, which runs from Circle Interchange with I-290 near downtown through the South Side, is perhaps the most dangerous highway in Chicago. Chicago has most of the tools already to fight violent crime without additional federal help. Another federal crackdown on guns in Chicago is coming. Just like in 2017 when the Chicago Crime Gun Strike Force was created by the federal government. Obviously it didn't work well — because here we are in 2021 coping with out of control violent crime in America's third-largest city. Justice Department launches gun 'strike forces' in five major cities. The Biden Justice Department deployed gun trafficking "strike forces" to Washington and four other major cities this week as part of a push to combat a recent national surge in violent crime. Attorney General Merrick Garland visited Chicago on Thursday to launch that city's administration-backed strike force. Units will also be set up in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. "Leveraging existing resources, the regional strike forces will better ensure sustained and focused coordination across jurisdictions and help stem the supply of illegally trafficked firearms from source cities, through other communities, and into five key market regions," the department said in a press release. Teacher fired for criticizing deadly riots in Chicago files civil rights lawsuit. A Chicago-area teacher has filed a civil rights lawsuit against her former school district, which fired her after she criticized deadly Black Lives Matter riots in Chicago last year on her personal Facebook page. Jeanne Hedgepeth, who taught for roughly 20 years at Palatine High School in Illinois, commented on the violent Black Lives Matter riots that occurred across the country after George Floyd, a Black man, died while in police custody in Minneapolis. In Chicago, 82 people were shot, and 19 died over that weekend. Mental health clinicians will start answering some 911 calls in Chicago — instead of cops. For the first time in Chicago, some 911 calls for mental health emergencies won't be answered by police officers but by mental health professionals paired with paramedics. In one pilot program starting this fall, a paramedic will be dispatched with a mental health clinician for "behavioral health calls." In another, a paramedic will work with a "recovery specialist" on calls involving substance abuse. Mental health clinicians will be on hand at the 911 center to monitor situations, but questions remain how well these new responders will be able to de-escalate violence that can erupt during such calls. The "alternative response" programs are being launched amid continuing debate over the role of police after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer last spring. Chicago-area lawsuit blows up media defenses of critical race theory. Just about everything wrong with critical race theory and the badly misnamed "anti-racism" movement is summarized in one lawsuit filed late last month against the public school system of Evanston, Illinois. It is no overstatement to say the school system's practices are vile. Not only does the suit, along with findings by the Department of Education, detail CRT's usual litany of racially divisive indoctrination activities, but it also confirms that school officials use the "fighting racism" excuse as cover for teaching that individualism and meritocracy are oppressive, that the ideal of "equality" and even the nuclear family itself are both racist, and that true anti-racists will question "the very foundations of the liberal order, including equality theory, legal reasoning, Enlightenment rationalism, and principles of constitutional law." In sum, this claptrap isn't designed to combat racism at all, at least not as that idea is traditionally understood. Instead, it is intended to indoctrinate teachers and students in service of an internal revolution against the entire edifice of Western society. Chicago gang members outnumber cops 9 to 1 amid record retirement. Gang members in Chicago outnumber law enforcement officers about 9 to 1 — as officers are on track to retire in record numbers this year, police said Wednesday [7/7/2021]. Police Superintendent David Brown estimated last year that there are about 117,000 gang associates, who are part of the city's 55 known gangs. The number greatly exceeds the city's police force, which employs around 13,000 officers. The disparity may be even worse due to the droves of cops retiring this year, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Between January and June, there were 363 officers that left the department, according to police pension board figures. Chicago's Puerto Rican Day parade shooter suspect captured by US marshals. The suspect in the high-profile case of a Chicago shooting last month during the Puerto Rican People's Day Parade has finally been apprehended by authorities. What Fox32 Chicago said started because of a minor car accident escalated into the death of 25-year-old Yasmin Perez and execution of 24-year-old Gyovanni Arzuaga. Daily Mail describes suspect Anthony Lorenzi as a "career criminal" given his "26 felony arrests and seven convictions." The 34-year-old fled to San Diego the day after the shooting, and US marshals apprehended him at a parking lot at an apartment complex last Friday. Rapper gunned down outside Chicago jail, shot 64 times. A Chicago rapper was gunned down in a hail of bullets moments after he walked out of jail and had been fitted for an ankle bracelet, reports said. When 31-year-old Londre Sylvester left Cook County Jail just before 9 p.m. Saturday [7/10/2021], gunmen got out of two parked cars and shot him 64 times, according to a police report obtained by the Chicago Tribune. Two women were also injured in the ambush — a 60-year old woman who'd just posted Sylvester's bond and a 35-year-old woman who worked at the jail, CWBChicago said. 40 shot, 11 fatally over the weekend in Chicago. Over the weekend, 40 people were shot and subsequently 11 people died in Chicago. The city is just coming off of it deadliest weekend so far this year from the weekend before according to ABC Chicago. A drive-by gunman shot two men on Saturday afternoon [7/10/2021] while they stood outside [a] gas station. Both men, one age 33 the other age 20, died from their wounds. Two women and one man were walking on the street just before 9:00 PM when a gunman got out of a car and opened fire on all of them. The man died while the women walked away with injuries. This Is The Warzone Chicago Cops Have To Deal With Every Night. A Chicago police officer fired at a man who had just shot two people in Gresham, but the man got away after barricading himself in a home, authorities said. Officers on patrol had seen the man shooting from an alley into a garage in the 8300 block of South Kerfoot Avenue around 12:30 a.m. One officer fired once at the man, but it was not known if he was hit. They discovered two men in the garage who had been shot by the suspect. One man, 60, was struck in his thigh, and a man in his 50s was struck in the leg. Both were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where the 60-year-old was in good condition and the younger man in serious condition. [Video clip] This Chicago Rapper, Who Taunted Gang Members To Come After Him, Was Shot 64 Times As He Walked Out Of Prison. Three people were shot, including a man who died after he suffered dozens of bullet wounds, during an apparent ambush as he was released from the Cook County Jail on electronic monitoring Saturday night, according to Chicago police. Fifty-nine shell casings littered the 2700 block of West 27th Street in Little Village — across the street from the jail — around 8:50 p.m. The 31-year-old man was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:25 p.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner's office. [Video clip] Fugitive arrested after couple killed in 'execution' at Puerto Rican Day Parade. A fugitive on the run has been arrested after a couple was gunned down in an "execution-style" killing at a Puerto Rican Day Parade. Yasmin Perez, 25, and her partner Gyovanny Arzuaga, 24, were ambushed following the celebrations in Chicago last month. Gang Thugs Have A Shootout With Littel Children Caught In The Crossfire In Chicago. This was the horrific moment a couple of armed thugs started shooting at each other in Altgeld Gardens, Chicago, while little children covered their ears and ducked in the crossfire. Chicago police say at least 101 people have been shot, 16 fatally, in shootings across the city over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. [Video clip] 61 People Arrested After Descending Onto Downtown Chicago, Wreaking Havoc. Chicago police arrested 61 people Sunday night after the group took over the street, danced on cop cars and set off fireworks, among other raucous behavior, according to multiple reports. More than 100 people took to the streets and sidewalks in the Chicago area known as the Loop late Sunday, according to Fox 32. A police spokesman confirmed to the local outlet that 61 people were arrested, with most being young adults, along with some minors. Charges ranged from battery, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, according to the report. Police began receiving calls around 6:30 p.m., when some members of the crowd started launching fireworks. Chicago's most violent weekend of 2021: 104 shot, 19 of them killed. 13 kids among the wounded. In the deadliest and most violent weekend this year in Chicago, over 100 people were shot over the long Fourth of July weekend, 19 of them killed. Among the wounded were at least 13 children and two Chicago police supervisors. Five of the kids were shot within nine hours Sunday evening through early Monday [7/5/2021]. Both the number of fatal shootings and the number of shootings overall are highs for 2021, according to a Chicago Sun-Times database of shootings. Through July 4, the most recent city data available, 2,019 people have been shot in Chicago this year, an increase of almost 13 percent compared to the year before, and a 58 percent increase in shootings compared with 2019. Friends Remember University of Chicago Student Killed by Stray Bullet on CTA Train. A University of Chicago student who died three days after a stray bullet struck him while on a CTA train is being remembered by friends and classmates as a gentle and caring person. Max Lewis, 20, was shot in the neck while riding a CTA Green Line train in Washington Park on the South Side Thursday [6/30/2021]. He was initially transported in critical condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center, police said. A bullet apparently crashed through the window of the train, striking Lewis. He was not the intended target, law enforcement said. At least 74 Chicagoans injured and 14 killed in shootings over July 4 weekend. Chicago suffered another violent weekend over the Independence Day holiday, with at least 88 people shot since Friday, 14 of whom were killed, according to new reports. Among the 74 people injured through Monday were children, including a five-year-old girl who was shot in the leg and a six-year-old girl, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. A Chicago police commander and a sergeant were also shot while dispersing a crowd, with the commander struck in the foot and the sergeant shot in the leg, according to the outlet. Both were reportedly transported to Stronger Hospital, where their condition is not known. Lori Lightfoot Gives Perhaps Her Dumbest Response Ever When Asked About Her Critics' Motivations. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, and many consider her the worst mayor in America (I personally think a very convincing case could be made). But one thing Lightfoot does have going for her is that she's got her critics all figured out. Or at least she thinks she does. During an interview she did last week, Lightfoot was asked a question by a WTTW reporter on whether she believed the criticisms leveled at her during her time as mayor had anything to do with the fact that she was a woman, "and specifically, a black woman." It was a purposely leading question from a supposedly unbiased "journalist," and naturally, Lightfoot took the ball and ran with it: [...] Video Footage Of Mass Shooting In Chicago Released, 7 Shot Including A One Month Old Baby Shot In Head. Englewood neighborhood activist Charles McKenzie's 1-month-old niece continues to fight for her life after she and a half-dozen others were hit by gunfire in Englewood Thursday [7/1/2021]. "It hurts when you get a call. You out here fighting against gun violence every single day, yourself," McKenzie said before he was overcome by emotion. [Video clip] Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot sparks outrage by claiming '99% of her critics are racist and sexist'. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has blasted her critics as sexist and racist — just six weeks after she sparked fury by refusing to be interviewed by white journalists. Her comments came in an interview with WTTW, a local PBS station, when she was discussing the city's recent spike in violence as well as critiques of her approach to handling it. Phil Ponce, of WTTW, said, 'In recent months, there have been questions raised about your temperament and your reaction to criticism — a (Chicago) Tribune editorial used the term irascible — how much of this do you think might have to do with the fact that you're a woman and specifically a black woman?' In response, Lightfoot said, '99 percent of it.' This May Sound Like ISIS Controlled Anbar Province But It's Actually Chicago. A video gone viral this week featuring the audio of insane gun battles between rival gangs in Chicago at night. Shootings in Chicago have become an epidemic as 78 were shot just this weekend and another 10 shot just this Wednesday. [Video clip] Add to Chicago's problems our defensive, irascible mayor. Chicago voters knew they were getting someone tough in Lori Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor and early 2018 entrant to the mayor's race. She yearned to take on Rahm Emanuel — his record, his backers, his money, his power. It wasn't until he made the surprise announcement he would not seek reelection that the field of candidates blew open with the less brave — a half-dozen other mayoral hopefuls who jumped in only when the well-financed incumbent jumped out. What voters didn't know is that they also were getting in Lori Lightfoot someone with a tendency toward the thin-skinned, the defensive, the short-tempered. And no, those aren't personality quirks assigned to female leaders that would be treasured in a man. They are traits that interfere with advancing the goals of any politician, boss, CEO. Lightfoot would have more wins on her policy agenda if she could better manage relationships. Lori Lightfoot Claims Racism Is To Blame For 99% Of Her Temperament's Criticism. Democrat Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday [6/29/2021] that racism is to blame for 99% of the criticism about her temperament, according to the Chicago Tribune. During an interview, Lightfoot was asked about comments people have made about her temperament. The interviewer asked the mayor how much of the criticism she thinks is due to her race. "About 99%," said Lightfoot in response, according to the Chicago Tribune. [...] The turnover rate within Lightfoot's administration has been high during her two years in office. A dozen staff members have resigned or stated their intention to leave since late last year, according to the Chicago Tribune. Lightfoot's current and former advisors claim the mayor is difficult to approach and does not listen to advice. Last May, she emailed three of her advisors a photo of destroyed documents. In January, she emailed her scheduler complaining that she doesn't get enough time in the office. In the email, she aggressively repeated many sentences, one of which was written 16 times, according to the Chicago Tribune. Top 10 Examples of Leftist and Democratic Racism. [#9] Chicago Mayor Lightfoot granting interviews with 'black and brown reporters' — This was the logical next step. If a group of people are constantly being demonized simply because of their race, at some point members of that race need to be punished. It was the same logic that infiltrated early-1930s Germany. Initially there was some pushback from members of the media against Lori Lightfoot, but they quickly fell in line. Once you start agreeing with leftist racism, it's difficult to turn back. It's a slippery slope. The only question is, who will be the next politician to follow suit and will they up the ante? Doctoral Candidate Who Wanted To Prove Justice System Was Racist Against Blacks Is Stabbed To Death By Black Man In Chicago. Anat Kimchi, a 31-year-old Israeli-born doctoral candidate and scholar at the University of Maryland, wrote a paper published in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology in 2019 attempting to prove America's criminal justice system was racist against "young black offenders" and "black drug offenders." While visiting Chicago over the weekend, Kimchi was ambushed and stabbed in the back and neck while walking near a homeless encampment at 401 South Wacker at around 3:35 p.m. [Video clip] Insane dashcam vid shows Chicago gunman spraying fully automatic rifle with 100-round drum mag in midday traffic. The magazine fell out of the rifle after the first fully auto burst, then the dude pulled out a pistol and kept firing! [Video clip] It Gets Tense When Reporter Blasts Lightfoot Over Chicago Murder Rate. I don't know whether to call the recent confrontation between a Newsmax reporter and embattled Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot a gory trainwreck or a beautiful sight to behold. Truth? It was a bit of both — and both parts were equally awesome. Either way, you can't make it up — even though Lightfoot tried [...] to do so. As Fox 32 in Chicago reported, Newsmax reporter William Kelly took Lightfoot to task on Friday during a heated exchange over the city's ongoing, record-setting murder rate. To call Chicago's bloody Southside a veritable war zone would not be an exaggeration. As reported by the Sun-Times on Monday, 78 people were shot in the Windy City over the weekend — a third of them in four mass shootings. Chicago violence: 6 killed, 74 injured in weekend shootings, police say. Police in Chicago responded to dozens of shootings across the city that resulted in at least six fatalities and 74 injuries, according to a police. There were 46 shootings reported throughout the Windy City from 6 p.m. Friday to 11:59 p.m. Sunday [6/27/2021], Chicago Police Department said in statistics released Monday morning. On Sunday night, police responded to a mass shooting that resulted in one fatality and four injuries, a report said. Chicago has a street gang problem not a gun problem. Last week President Joe Biden and attorney general Merrick Garland announced the latest get-tough on illegal gun sales effort. Unless I missed it, there was no mention from either men of the major underlying reason for most murders in big cities such as Chicago: out of control street gangs. While it's America's third-largest city Chicago, with about 2.7 residents, has more gang members than any other — about 100,000. I'm having a [difficult] time finding recent statistics on the percentage of shootings in Chicago that are gang-related — so my guess is that they are no longer being tabulated. Perhaps that has something to do with the monumentally stupid deciscion by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to eliminate Chicago's gang crimes unit in 2012. His successor, leftist ideologue Lori Lightfoot, is unlikely to bring it back. Fortunately for decent Chicagoans there are less than two years left in her term. Chicago Tribune downsizes their star columnist. As the newspaper business collapses, even its stars — the kind of writers that people buy a newspaper specifically to read their work — are getting downsized. And it's happened to John Kass, one of the best columnists in America, in the wake of his newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, being acquired by a hedge fund that is attempting to downsize its way to viability. Joe Biden's Chicago plan for crime set to be another big loser. In Chicago, the murder rate is skyrocketing — and splintering off into some sickening new directions. [...] These are far from the gang-on-gang violence reports in bad areas where lowlife and drug-dealing have the run of the streets. This is the kind of crime that's spilling into law-abiding areas with non-criminal victims with each instance having the knock-on effect of spreading terror. What's Joe Biden's solution? Not to stop criminals, who clearly have zero fear of the law in the current climate. He's planning to spend COVID cash to target guns and gun dealers. Chicago's Lake Shore Drive renamed for Jean Baptiste Point DuSable. Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Lake Shore Drive it is. Or rather, will soon be. Two years after a South Side alderman introduced an ordinance to rebrand the landmark Chicago Lake Shore Drive to honor DuSable because he was upset he didn't hear the Black founder of Chicago mentioned during a river boat tour, the City Council on Friday [6/25/2021] ended months of racially charged debate by adopting a compromise to make it so. Two Men Exit Vehicle During Chicago Traffic, Pull Out Weapons And Shoot Into Another Car. Chicago police have launched an investigation following a startling incident in which two gunmen opened while in the middle of traffic Thursday morning in the city's Chatham neighborhood. Dash camera video of the daylight encounter shows two men, who appear to be armed, exit a vehicle stopped at a traffic light near East 86th Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway. [Video clip] Gun Violence Is a Result of Our Broken Culture. [Scroll down] Let's take Chicago — which didn't even make CNN's list — as an example. A Puerto Rican couple, Gyovanny Arzuaga and Yasmin Perez, were dragged out of their car in the city's Humboldt Park neighborhood Saturday night and shot at point-blank range. No apparent reason. Both died, leaving behind two small children. Arzuaga and Perez were among 10 people killed in Chicago over the holiday weekend, with another 65 gunshot victims who survived. On Monday [6/21/2021], another seven people were shot and killed in Chicago. Nearly 1,500 people have been shot in the city so far this year, of which nearly 300 died. More than a third of all Chicago's gunshot victims are young Black males. Ever-larger numbers of these gunshot victims are children. And a disturbing number of the shooters are themselves teens or young adults. An article from 2016 about gun violence in Chicago was blunt. "The numbers are horrifying," author Devin Foley wrote. Seventy-five percent of the homicide victims and 71% of the murderers in Chicago that year were Black. Things have not improved. 22 Chicago Aldermen Send Lightfoot Letter on City Council Rules After Meeting Devolves Into Chaos. Twenty-two members of Chicago City Council sent a letter to Mayor Lori Lightfoot Thursday [6/24/2021] asking her to "honor and consistently follow" the body's rules of order after a meeting the day before devolved into chaos before abruptly adjourning. [...] The aldermen sent the letter one day after a City Council meeting devolved into chaos before ending abruptly, delaying both the confirmation of Lightfoot's nominee as corporation counsel and a contentious vote to rename a portion of Lake Shore Drive. The bizarre meeting ended not long after several disruptions, beginning with a move to stall the confirmation of Celia Meza as the mayor's top lawyer. Why Are They Woke? There are lots of reasons why wokeism spread like wildfire once America lost its collective mind during the pandemic, quarantine, self-induced recession, and rioting of 2020. Wokeism was never really about racism, sexism, or other -isms. Instead, for some, it illustrated a psychological pathology of projection: fobbing one's own concrete prejudices onto others in order to alleviate or mask them. [...] Barack and Michelle Obama occasionally venture out of either their multimillion-dollar Washington, D.C. mansion or their Martha's Vineyard estate to lecture the country on its systemic racism. They express worry over the dangers that apparently white people pose to the very safety of their own daughters. Does such sermonizing square the circle that the Obamas have no desire to return to their Chicago home — a city where nearly 700 African-American males were murdered in 2020, the vast majority by other black men? So far, Chicago in 2021 is on a trajectory to suffer over 30 percent more murder victims than last year. Cook County officials project $121 million shortfall in 2022. A year ago, as the U.S.' coronavirus pandemic-spurred recession seemingly spared no local government, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle warned "everything is on the table" when she laid out a $410 million budget gap for the 2021 fiscal year. On Wednesday [6/23/2021], Preckwinkle's administration forecast much sunnier days ahead, projecting a $121 million budget deficit for next year that she said would be far easier to plug — and likely without requiring new levies, tax hikes, layoffs or fees. Security Guard Shoots Man Who Pulled Gun When Asked To Pay For Snacks At West Englewood Gas Station. Chicago police say around midnight [6/19/2021], a 40-year-old man went into a Clark station in the 6100 block of South Ashland Avenue and began eating things without paying. When the 58-year-old security guard on duty told him to pay, that man pulled out a gun instead. The security guard then drew his own gun and fired, hitting the man in the abdomen. Urban Criminal Gangs in the Civil War to Come. Chicago is still the third largest city in the US and the home base of past President Barack Obama. Votes counted in Chicago have played decisive roles in past Presidential elections as well. "Chicago Rules" are a byword for determining political outcomes through fraud, bribery, and violence. Chicago has actually reverted to gang rule in the last twenty years. Although murders in Chicago seemed to level off in the 2005-2010 period, the percentage of murders attributable to gangs actually went up significantly. Nearly two thirds of murders in Chicago are committed by gang members. This has happened because of the close working relationship between gang leaders and many Chicago aldermen and City Hall functionaries. Major gangs have enjoyed substantial if not complete official protection from the Chicago police and prosecutors for at least twenty years. Chicago Gangs. Chicago gangs have been infamous over the previous hundred years. The tough streets of Chicago has produced some of the most notorious gangsters in American History. Today, the Gangster Disciples, Black Disciples, and Latin Kings street gangs are operating in Chicago's South and West Sides. Postal Worker [says] Staffing Issues Due To Federal Leave, Prioritization Of Package Delivery Are In Part To Blame For Persistent Mail Problems. Through fall, winter, spring, and now summer, mail delivery issues continue to plague the Chicago area. "It's ridiculous how they let this go on," the postal worker said. And, he said, it is for reasons most customers don't even realize. "Eighteen routes — five people come to work," he said. The carrier, who wants to remain anonymous, believes the severe USPS staffing shortage is partially due to the emergency federal employee leave enacted this year — which gives postal workers up to 600 hours of paid leave for COVID-related reasons. That's right, 600 hours — roughly four months of paid time off if employees qualify. "There's rumors that people that's using that COVID leave don't need it," the carrier said. And that's not all. The carrier said his supervisor told him package delivery is now a priority over first-class mail. Chicago shows the existential danger behind the Democrats' policies. A brutal, race-based execution on a major Chicago street highlights where Democrat policies are taking us. Their obsessive focus on race, coupled with their attacks on moral law, criminal justice, and social norms, will turn all of America into Chicago unless we refuse to go along with a program that affects every facet of American life, from the federal government down to the smallest school board. [...] Democrats instantly invoked gun control, but it's clear watching the slaughter that this crowd would as readily have executed Arzuago and Perez with knives or simply beaten them to death. What we are seeing here is a return to stone-age savagery. It is a reminder that human beings have only the thinnest veneer of civilization. Puerto Rican Couple Is Pulled Out Of Car In Chicago Park, Shot, Man Dies, Woman In Critical Condition On Father's Day. A man was killed, and a woman was critically wounded in a shooting Saturday night in Humboldt Park on the Northwest Side. About 9:15 p.m., the man and woman, 24 and 25, were in the 3200 block of West Division Street, when they were ambushed by up to three males who fired shots at them, Chicago police said. The man, Gyovanny Arzuaga, was rushed to Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. [Video clip] Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blasts Bears football team over relocating rumors. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot threw some major shade at the Chicago Bears on Friday, just one day after the organization announced it made a bid for land in Arlington Heights with plans to possibly build a new stadium there. Lightfoot, a self-declared "longtime" fan, issued a statement slamming the announcement as just "noise." "The Bears are locked into a lease at Soldier Field until 2033. In addition, this announcement from the Bears comes in the midst of negotiations for improvements at Soldier Field. This is clearly a negotiating tactic that the Bears have used before," Lighttfoot's statement read. Gang life, not racism, is responsible for Chicago's violence, alderman says. Alderman Raymond Lopez described the violence plaguing his constituents in the city's 15th Ward and beyond, slamming Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot, whose law enforcement policies and focus on systemic racism, he said, are doing little to stop the mostly gang-related violence. "Generational gang life isn't just something that's encouraged. It's almost revered in some neighborhoods," Lopez, whose constituents are about 67% Latino and 22% black, told the Washington Examiner in an interview. "If you really want to get to what is at the heart of a lot of this, it is gangs, and it is the borderline collapse of the family unit in many of our neighborhoods ... [Lightfoot] has avoided calling out gangs in our community as a source of violence in our city." Chicago Mayor Wants Feds To Clean Up Her Mess. If you want to know how to be a successful mayor of a large city, the answer is actually pretty easy. All you have to do is take credit for everything good that happens and blame everything bad on the federal government. That's what Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot does. Mayor Lightfoot Declares Racism A Public Health Crisis in Chicago. Racism against black Chicago residents constitutes a public health crisis within the city, Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared on Thursday [6/17/2021]. Lightfoot said in a press conference that it is "way past time that as a city" made the declaration, which followed the publication of a Tuesday report by the Chicago Department of Public Health reporting the difference in life expectancy between black and non-black residents is 9.2 years. The Editor says... Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is slammed for repeating same sentence 16 TIMES in 'deranged' e-mail to staffer. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been slammed for sending a 'deranged' email to one of her female staffers berating her for failing to scheduled enough 'office time'. The condescending message was sent by Lightfoot to her then-scheduler Taylor Lewis on January 28, but was only obtained by the Chicago Tribune this week. The paper was investigating reports of high staff turnover at City Hall when they uncovered the 'unhinged' email. The message included sentences which Lightfoot repeated more than a dozen times — apparently in order to really get her point across. Member of the US Commission on Civil Rights blasts Lori Lightfoot's anti-white policy. Peter Kirsanow, a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, blasted Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's policy that barred white reporters from interviewing her in a letter Monday [6/14/2021]. The Daily Caller News Foundation and Judicial Watch sued Lightfoot after she announced her policy on Twitter May 19. Thomas Catenacci, a foundation reporter, was denied an interview after repeated attempts to secure one. Four dead and four wounded after argument on Chicago's South Side. Four people are dead and four people are wounded following an argument at a house on Chicago's South Side early Tuesday morning [6/15/2021]. Gunfire erupted at around 5:42 a.m. in Englewood, and all of the deceased victims were women, according to law enforcement. Two men were also shot in the back of the head, a 23-year-old male took a bullet to the back, and the fourth victim, a woman, was hit with gunfire in an unspecified location. A 2-year-old was removed from the residence and transported to a local hospital, though she did not have any reported injuries. 43 [people were] Shot During [the past] Weekend in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's Chicago. Forty-three people were shot, three of them fatally, over the weekend in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D) Chicago. Breitbart News noted 32 people were shot Friday into Sunday morning alone in the Windy City, and those shooting victims included the three fatalities for the weekend. ABC 7 / Chicago Sun-Times reports the total number of shooting victims increased to 43 by Monday morning [6/14/2021]. USA Today observed shooting victims included nine that were wounded wounded when "two men who opened fire in a South Side neighborhood at around 2 a.m. local time Saturday." One the weekend's fatalities also occurred in that shooting. Chicago police returning to extended shifts and no time off. For Chicago police officers, the return to normal schedules will be short-lived. The ABC7 I-Team has learned that police citywide will be back on 12-hour shifts and have their regular days off cancelled next weekend. Expressway Shootings [are] A Crisis In Chicago Area. Expressway shootings are becoming so common around Chicago that there are now more than 10 a month on average. One of those bullets narrowly missed a northwest suburban man. He spoke exclusively to CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov about what saved his life. 55 Shot During Weekend in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's Chicago. Fifty-five people were shot, five fatally, during the weekend in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D) Chicago. Breitbart News reported over 40 people were shot Friday into Sunday morning alone in the Windy City. Five of those shooting victims succumbed to their wounds. On Monday morning [6/78/2021] ABC 7 noted the total number of shooting victims for the weekend reached 55. One of the shooting victims was an 11-year-old girl who was shot in the back Sunday night around 9 p.m. The shooting occurred in the West Pullman neighborhood, and the gunman who shot the girl was riding in a passing vehicle when he opened fire. Mass Shooting In Chicago Leaves 8 Shot, 40 Shot Over Weekend In Total, 5 Dead. At least five people were killed and 40 others were wounded during gun violence incidents this weekend in Chicago. There is no one in custody for each of the five fatal shooting incidents, according to the Chicago Police Department (CPD). [Video clip] Boystown,
the nickname dropped by business leaders in Chicago's premier gay neighborhood last year, is still going
strong. You could be forgiven for thinking this neighborhood is called Boystown. Up until a few days ago,
the banners lining the main north-south artery, Halsted Street, still blared the catchy nickname of Chicago's signature LGBTQ
neighborhood. The rainbow-colored bike racks on the sidewalk say Boystown. Pausing in his work at a local doggy
day care to answer a reporter's questions, Carlos Negrete, 40, put his hand to his heart. "It's always going to be
Boystown to me," he said.
TWlnaHQgYXMgd2VsbCBjYWxsIGl0IFNvZG9teXRvd24u Racist Mayor: Lori Lightfoot. The chief political executive of the hell hole called Chicago is Lori Lightfoot, the latest in an unbroken, 90-year line of exclusively Democrat mayors extending all the way back to 1931. Under Lightfoot's stewardship, homicides in Chicago increased by an astonishing 40 percent from 2019 to 2020 — a pattern that was seen in a host of Democrat-run cities after George Floyd's death a year ago. And Chicago's stratospheric homicide rate has continued well into 2021. In light of the fact that violent death has become a way of life in Lightfoot's Chicago, it was nothing short of remarkable to hear her recently announce that "on the occasion of the two-year anniversary of my inauguration as mayor of this great city," she would be "prioritizing media requests from POC reporters," an acronym meaning "people of color" — rather than prioritizing the urgent need to get the city's murder rate under control. Chicago political reporter Mary Ann Ahern confirmed that according to the mayor's spokeswoman, "Lightfoot is granting 1 on 1 interviews only to Black or Brown journalists." Lightfoot was more than eager to defend her clearly articulated intent to separate reporters into two separate classes, the preferred (nonwhite) and the non-preferred (white). Like the Black Lives Matter racists who felt wholly justified in terrorizing hundreds of American cities and towns last year, Lightfoot is more than proud to display her own particular brand of racism like a badge of honor. Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot is SUED by white reporter from Daily Caller. Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot is now on the receiving end of a lawsuit following backlash for her declaration that she would only give interviews to journalists of color. Lightfoot, who assumed office in May 2019, announced last Tuesday that she would only grant one-on-one interviews to 'black and brown' reporters to mark her two-year anniversary in office. Her announcement about the temporary policy sparked anger from reporters of all colors, but Lightfoot doubled down on her decision the next day, insisting it was part of her lifelong battle for diversity and inclusion. Skin in the game: Judicial Watch Files Civil Rights Lawsuit for Daily Caller News Foundation and Reporter against Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot for Racial Discrimination. Judicial Watch today filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Daily Caller News Foundation and reporter Thomas Catenacci against Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot for violating their First Amendment Rights and Catenacci's right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment (Catenacci et al v. Lightfoot (No. 1:21-cv-02852)). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. On May 18, 2021, Mayor Lightfoot's office informed multiple reporters that she would grant one-on-one interviews, "only to Black or Brown journalists." The next day, the mayor released a letter doubling down on her discriminatory policy. Since that time, the Mayor has granted at least one interview request from a self-identified Latino reporter and none to white reporters. After Chicago's Deadliest Weekend of 2021, Mayor Lightfoot Proposes an Alcohol Curfew, Alleging, "Quality of Life" Issues. Mayor Lori Lightfoot is inserting her heavy-hand into your personal consumption of alcohol. [...] But it's not just about infringing on certain freedoms, but infringing on the profit margin of already struggling small businesses. Why not 9 pm? Why not 5 pm? The coronavirus is an all-purpose excuse for various forms of low-level tyranny. 'Equity' is just racial discrimination by another name. Lori Lightfoot, the mayor of Chicago, provides the latest example of a Democratic politician deploying 'equity' to reward some racial groups and punish others. Last week she said she would not conduct interviews with white reporters. 'I will be exclusively providing one-on-one interviews with journalists of colour', she said. Lightfoot said this is a protest against 'the overwhelming whiteness and maleness of Chicago media outlets, editorial boards, the political press corps, and yes, the City Hall press corps specifically'. Politicians granting access to favoured journalists is nothing new. But granting access to particular racial groups is something else entirely. What if a white politician announced that he was only going to talk to white journalists? All hell would break loose, and rightly so. It is repellent to think that skin colour should be the basis of how we treat people in society and professional life. But thanks to the Democrats' promotion of 'equity', racial discrimination is making a comeback. A much different type of diversity in journalism is needed than what Lori Lightfoot is looking for. Last week, Chicago's mayor, Lori Lightfoot, to mark the second anniversary of her inauguration, said that on that day she would only grant one-on-one interviews to black or brown journalists to protest the "overwhelmingly white" City Hall press corps. She was immediately attacked by journalists of all colors for this boneheaded move. [...] In the past two years Chicago's murder rate has soared, it has been hit with two rounds of widespread looting and rioting, which that media has deemed instead "civil unrest," and she hasn't confronted Chicago's millstone, the billions of unfunded public-worker pension obligations created largely by the indifference of longtime mayor Richard M. Daley. Her predecessor, Rahm Emanuel, at least made baby-step efforts to tackle the pension problem. Of course Lightfoot will blame the COVID-19 pandemic for most of these problems. Her overbearing and pedantic press conferences on COVID probably lead most people to tune her out, which is a sound idea. Chicago Mayor Lori [is] claiming she's delighted with vote of no confidence by police union. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she wears the Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police unanimous vote of no-confidence as a 'badge of honor.' The controversial city leader defended herself after being blasted by union president John Catanzara. Lightfoot, who hit the headlines earlier this week for refusing to do one-on-one interviews with white journalists, said: 'Getting a vote of no confidence from that guy is a badge of honor, and I accept it, [...]' 17 shot in 5 hours overnight in Chicago, shootings now up 36% over last year. Three people were killed and 14 others were wounded by gun violence in Chicago over five hours Thursday night into Friday morning, with shootings now up 36% over last year. The violent night comes as the Chicago Police Department prepares for the traditional summer surge in violence. Last weekend had the most shooting victims so far this year. While shootings are up 36% from the same period last year, homicides are up 19%, according to data kept by the Chicago Sun-Times. At least 1,244 people have been shot this year and there have been at least 244 homicides. Chicago has sunk a lot since our first visit there. Back in 1967, our family lived in Wisconsin and drove to Chicago two or three times a year. Our destination was a Cuban store where my parents bought foodstuffs, books, LPs, and a birthday present for whoever was celebrating soon. I will never forget the Cuban who owned the store telling my father over coffee that Chicago's Mayor Daley was like Batista, the Cuban strongman of the 1950s. He said Daley protects your streets, lets you make money, and is nasty to troublemakers. I don't know if that was a good comparison, but we got his point about an orderly city. That was then, and this is now. My father's friend would not recognize the city today or understand how the voters could continue to elect such incompetent leaders like the current mayor. Waiting for Democrats to Condemn Lightfoot's Racism, and Hearing Only Crickets. Is anyone truly surprised by the racist interview policy from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot? As she reaches the midway point in her term, she decided that she would not be interviewed by white reporters. She will sit down and talk to white reporters in the future. But the damage is done. Lightfoot stands at the intersection of the Chicago Way and the Woke Freeway that bisects the nation. And to paraphrase the late Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, if it is true that local governments are the laboratories of democracy, then what's coming out of the Chicago laboratory, to be carried on the Woke Freeway to Washington, will be profoundly toxic to the health of our republic. Tulsi Gabbard calls on Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to resign for 'anti-Whiteness'. Former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard accused Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Friday of harboring anti-White racism and called for her to step down over her remarks this week about the city's media landscape. In a tweet, Gabbard, a one-time Democratic presidential candidate from Hawaii, also called on President Joe Biden and other leaders to join her. "Mayor Lightfoot's blatant anti-white racism is abhorrent," she wrote. "I call upon President Biden, Kamala Harris, and other leaders of our county — of all races — to join me in calling for Mayor Lightfoot's resignation. Our leaders must condemn all racism, including anti-white." Why Aren't Media Calling Lori Lightfoot a Racist? Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot isn't just a disastrous mayor. She's also a virulent racist. So why isn't she being universally and unequivocally called one? Lightfoot made an announcement about the one-on-one interviews she'll conduct on the second anniversary of her inauguration. In the name of equity, diversity, and inclusion, Lightfoot pulled a bigoted publicity stunt: she will only allow minority reporters to interview her. Instead of being judged on the quality of your coverage, it's your skin color that matters. Instead of calling out the racism, some in Chicago media used it to fake deep conversations on race — the kinds they learned about in White Fragility. In other words, they were too terrified to be honest about what the mayor was doing. It's not woke to call out a black lesbian mayor, is it? Why are
Mayor Lightfoot's Racial Quotas for Interviews Any Worse than Affirmative Action? Chicago's Mayor Lightfoot announced that she was taking
a brief break from running the city into ground to limit interviews to "black and brown reporters". The media has rightfully condemned the move,
but I have to ask, "Why?" Lightfoot's move is a cynical culture war distraction. Obviously. But she's doing something racist that has
become routine in American life.
13 shot, 3 fatally, in Chicago Wednesday. Three people were killed and 10 others wounded in shootings across Chicago Wednesday [5/19/2021], including a 16-year-old boy and an innocent bystander who died in an exchange of gunfire at a South Shore store. Chicago Mayor Refuses To Be Interviewed By White Reporters. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot released a two-page letter on May 19 declaring that she will not grant any one-on-one interviews to white reporters on the subject of her second anniversary in office. She claims treating people differently according to their race is a statement against racism, calling out the "overwhelming whiteness and maleness of Chicago media outlets, editorial boards, the political press corps, and yes, the City Hall press corps specifically." She further argues that the predominance of white men among Chicago reporters forces her to "take on the labor of educating" them against their "implicit bias." Latino Reporter Ditches Chicago Mayor Interview, Says Pols Can't 'Choose Who Covers Them'. A "Latino Reporter" from the Chicago Tribune abruptly canceled a granted interview with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot; saying politicians should not be able to "choose who covers them," particularly based on skin color. "I am a Latino reporter @chicagotribune whose interview request was granted for today. However, I asked the mayor's office to lift its condition on others and when they said no, we respectfully canceled. Politicians don't get to choose who covers them," posted Gregory Pratt on Twitter. 'Intentional': Chicago mayor refuses to do interviews with white reporters. A Latino reporter canceled a scheduled interview with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot after her office refused to lift a moratorium on interviews with white reporters. The Chicago Tribune's Gregory Pratt said on Twitter that he had asked the mayor's office to lift the condition. "Politicians don't get to choose who covers them," he said. Lightfoot's policy of accepting interview requests only from black or brown reporters was reported Tuesday by NBC reporter Mary Ann Ahern, who cited the mayor's spokeswoman. Chicago Tribune Cancels Lori Lightfoot Interview over Anti-white Policy. The Chicago Tribune canceled an interview with Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday [5/19/2021] in protest at her decision to exclude white reporters from one-on-one interviews on the occasion of her second anniversary in office, reporter Gregory Pratt noted. Pratt, who is Latino, noted that he had been granted an interview under Lightfoot's racially exclusionary policy, which was revealed Tuesday, but had used that opportunity to ask her to end that policy. When she refused, the Tribune canceled the interview. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Defends Excluding White Journalists: 'Systemic Racism' in Media. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot attempted to defend her racist interview policy on Wednesday, explaining why she would only give interviews to "journalists of color" and exclude white journalists on the occasion of her two-year anniversary in office. In a letter to news organizations, and in a series of tweets, Lightfoot claimed there was a racial "imbalance" in the news media, especially in the City Hall press corps, and that she wanted to use her position to force journalism to become more diverse. The Editor says... Chicago's Mayor Lightfoot proclaims open discrimination against white journalists. Lori Lightfoot is even stupider than I had thought. She has sparked a well deserved uproar by letting local reporters know she will grant one-on-one interviews only to "Black and Brown journalists." [Tweets] Other local reporters quickly confirmed they had been told the same thing: [More tweets] [...] Apparently, she realized that the usage "Black and Brown" excludes Asians and Native Americans, and so she tightened her focus to exclude only Caucasian reporters. [...] The fact that Lightfoot believes she can openly discriminate against Caucasians is a troubling sign of how far the racism that calls itself "anti-racist" has influenced public opinion away from the views of Martin Luther King and actual anti-racists. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will grant interviews only to 'Black or Brown journalists,' local reporters say. Reporters out of Chicago are alleging that Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot is now granting interviews only to journalists of color. NBC 5 Chicago political reporter Mary Ann Ahern took to Twitter on Tuesday to mark the "midway point" of Lightfoot's first term in office and apparently acknowledged her failed effort to land an interview. "As @chicagosmayor reaches her two year midway point as mayor, her spokeswoman says Lightfoot is granting 1 on 1 interviews — only to Black or Brown journalists," Ahern tweeted. Latino reporter to Lightfoot: We're canceling our interview until you stop discriminating. Well, this is quite the story twist. Lori Lightfoot must have thought that "Black and Brown journalists" would toss hosannas at her feet for excluding all others from interviewing her. Chicago Tribune reporter and Latino journalist Gregory Pratt flipped the script on Lightfoot, however, canceling his already-approved one-on-one interview to show solidarity with his fellow reporters: [Tweet] Also posted under black racism. Lori Lightfoot Steps on a Rake Explaining Her Racist Policy of Excluding White Reporters From Interviews. When Lori Lightfoot decides to double down on the stupid, she does so with a bang. As evidence, on Monday the Chicago mayor informed MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle that after a year of "trusting the science" on CDC recommendations about mask-wearing and social distancing that she was now questioning the science behind the CDC updating its guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals and would be encouraging Chicagoans to continue masking and social distancing as she says she will. And just yesterday, we learned from multiple Chicago area reporters that Lightfoot was implementing what could only be described as a racist policy on who she would allow to interview her on the topic of her two year anniversary as the Windy City's mayor. 2-year-old girl among 37 shot in Chicago since Friday evening. At least five people have been killed, and 32 others wounded in shootings across Chicago since Friday evening, including a 2-year-old girl who was shot in Little Village on the Southwest Side. The girl was in the back seat of a car being driven by a male about 6:55 p.m. Friday in the 2800 block of West 26th Street when another vehicle drove up alongside them and someone inside that vehicle started shooting, Chicago police said. One Year After Chicago Looting, Most Suspects Draw Probation Over Jail. They were troubling images: marauding gangs of looters roaming Chicago and the suburbs, smashing windows, stealing merchandise and wreaking havoc with little regard for who might be watching. But a year later, an analysis of court records by NBC 5 Investigates indicates only a few dozen cases have made it through the courts, and only a handful have drawn terms in prison. In the absence of cartoonish personification, rats and mice aren't cute. Systemic Racism, Chicago-Style. The "Windy City" has a black population of just over 30 percent and is deadly dangerous. Chicago and Illinois both have some of the strongest gun control laws in the country, with more on the way — do you think it's possible that the criminals might not be obeying those laws? [...] In Chicago, there were 2,240 shootings and 440 homicides from January through July 2020. The numbers are way up again in 2021. Back in 2015, Chicago's homicide rate had already risen to 18.6 per 100,000. By 2016, Chicago had recorded more homicides and shooting victims than New York City and Los Angeles combined. Chicago's biggest criminal justice challenges have changed little over the last 50 years, and statistically reside with homicide, armed robbery, gang violence, and aggravated battery. Chicago is considered one of the most gang-infested cities in the United States, with an estimated population of over 100,000 active members from nearly 60 different factions. Gang warfare and retaliation are quite common in Chicago. It is estimated that gangs are responsible for 60 percent of the homicides in Chicago. One thing stands out — almost every shooter and homicide victim (97.7 percent) are black. But Black Lives Matter and Chicago's Democratic politicians continue to blame "police and systemic racism." A slow-motion genocide in Chicago. In the first three months of this year, 762 people were shot in Chicago. There were 144 homicides. Eighty-three percent of the victims, or 120 people, were black. Since 2009, there have been 6,732 murders in Chicago. Day after day, month after month, good year after bad year, 1.6 people per day on average are murdered in Chicago. The majority are young black men. Society knows how to stop the killing. New York became one of the safest cities in the world by getting serious about gun crime. Using COMSTAT, a crime tracking system, New York deployed more officers to high-crime areas. Officers were free to use "stop and frisk" tactics, whereby police would stop and frisk individuals engaged in suspicious behavior. [...] One would think Chicago would copy what worked in New York City. It hasn't happened. Chicago's Feel Good Hypocrisy: Renaming Lake Shore Drive. Have you heard? Chicago is set to rename its legendary Lake Shore Drive to DuSable Drive, in honor of Jean Baptiste Point duSable. DuSable, an African American, is credited with being Chicago's first permanent settler. The move, of course, reflects feel good, do-nothing hypocrisy at its worst. For starters, DuSable no more "founded" Chicago than Christopher Columbus "discovered" America. In both cases Native Americans were here long before. In fact, "Chicago" is an Indian word that means — I kid you not — stinky onion. Also, neither DuSable nor Columbus stuck around after their "discoveries." In DuSable's case, he eventually high-tailed it for Missouri. Man bites off parts of victims' ears in horrific random attack, Chicago police say. A man allegedly bit off parts of his victims' ears in a horrific random attack described by a judge as sounding like a "horror movie." Police say 28-year-old Elijah Rule Hill Prince attacked a man and then turned on the man's wife when she came to his aid on Saturday [5/1/2021]. The victim was cleaning the alley with a shovel behind his mother-in-law's home when police say Prince asked him to buy something and he refused. The man told police Prince attacked him with his own shovel. Man Allegedly Bit Off Chunks of Couple's Ears, Telling Cops He Was Covered in 'Blood of Peasants'. A 28-year-old Chicagoland man didn't just attack a couple over a perceived slight, he took it to a horrific extreme: biting off pieces of their ears, gouging their eyes out, and spitting into their mouths, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. When police arrested Elijah Rule Hill Prince on Monday, he allegedly told cops that the blood covering his mouth, face, and elbows wasn't his, but rather, the "blood of peasants." The brutal attack apparently began after Rule Hill Prince "tried selling the man something," but got turned down, prosecutors say. That's when Rule Hill Prince went ballistic, biting off pieces of the man's ears, shattering his orbital bone, shoving a three-inch wooden block into his eye, and spitting in his mouth, according to authorities.
CPS aims to help teens get COVID-19 shots. The teachers union wants a student vaccine goal met before fall classes start. Troubled by what leaders say is a lack of a central plan, the Chicago Teachers Union wants the Board of Education to set a goal for vaccinating students 16 and over before the start of the new school year. CTU President Jesse Sharkey told the board Wednesday that while he is "not an epidemiologist or public health expert," it is critical that the school board establish a targeted student vaccine benchmark. "I'm not suggesting I know exactly what that should be," Sharkey said. "But I think you have to be clear and say something like, 'CPS intends to get 90% of eligible students vaccinated as we prepare to return in the fall.' " Some Ride Share Trips Now Cost Chicagoans Over $50 For 2.5 Miles. Across the Chicago area, viewers have reported extreme price surges during all hours of the day. Some receipts sent to NBC 5 show a more than $50 price tag for a 2.5-mile ride. A trip from Lake View East to near downtown Chicago shows rates pushing $30. Pre-pandemic, it was common for riders to pay the same amount, but for nearly 15-mile trip from downtown Chicago to O'Hare airport. With increasing prices, some downtown workers are finding other modes of transportation to get to work. Another Day, Another Brawl At Chicago O'Hare Airport. Chicago's O'hare airport was an eventful place yesterday as not just one, but two incidents of fist-to-cuffs were recorded. It's unclear what began the fights, but it certainly made for a chaotic scene as people punched one another while onlookers shouted from below. [Video clip] New York City Passes Chicago For Number Of Weekend Shootings. New York City experienced more shootings than Chicago this past weekend as gun violence continues to surge in the Big Apple. A total of 31 people were wounded in the 28 separate shooting incidents that took place in New York from Friday through Sunday, FOX News reported. Six people were murdered, according to the news outlet. Call it what you will, but this is a vaccine passport. School cops won't return to CPS high schools this spring, district says. Uniformed Chicago police officers won't return to patrolling the city's public high schools for the rest of this academic year, Chicago Public Schools officials said Friday [4/23/2021]. The removal of school cops is temporary until the fall but is being welcomed as a good first step by students who for years have advocated for police-free schools. It comes as about one-third of CPS high school students returned for in-person learning this week for the first time since the pandemic began. "With less than two months remaining in the school year and reduced daily in-person attendance, we feel that the presence of full-time SROs is not necessary at this time," CPS chief of security Jadine Chou wrote in an email to families. Stress-induced drug use during pandemic is reason to de-criminalize harder drugs: Foxx. Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx on Thursday pointed to stress-induced drug abuse during the pandemic as the impetus to get moving on her plan to wipe clean the record of convicted marijuana dealers and expunge offenses for heroin and cocaine possession. "Especially in this last year with COVID — overdose deaths were at a high. Those people weren't criminals. They were people who were suffering. Whether that was cocaine or heroin or Fentanyl or prescription drugs, I'm not making value judgements on which person used what type of drug to say that's a disorder," Foxx told the Sun-Times. "We have an issue here of people who are dying of drug overdoses, people who are suffering with addiction and don't have the resources to treat it. And we should go as far and as wide as we can to make sure that peoples' needs are met so we can stop losing so many people to substance use disorder." Chicago mayor wants cops to ask permission from a supervisor before chasing a suspect on foot. Mayor Lori Lightfoot is considering a momentous change to a Chicago police procedure, stating she wants a revised policy in place before summer. According to reports, the change in policy will require an officer to get a supervisor's permission before beginning a foot chase. The issue gained new urgency after an officer reportedly chased and fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo. Lightfoot said: Since the fatal shooting, rewriting police policy on all foot chases has no become a hot topic at City Hall, with Lightfoot promising to announce details of a new policy "soon." Alderman Brian Hopkins said that an official in the mayor's office told him officers could soon be required prior to a foot chase to do what is now required before a vehicle chase, which is getting permission from a supervisor. The Editor says... 'They just shot my baby,' says father, moments after 7-year-old daughter killed at McDonald's in Homan Square. A 7-year-old girl was killed and her father was seriously wounded in a shooting Sunday afternoon as they were getting food at a McDonald's drive-thru in the Homan Square neighborhood. [...] Police said the shooting was believed to be gang-related, and less than three hours later, two people were shot in their car at a Popeyes in Humboldt Park, which investigators believe is connected to the McDonald's shooting. If You Care About the Tragic Death of Adam Toledo, You Can Care About the 28 People Shot in Chicago Last Weekend. [Scroll down] The reporter spent almost a minute describing events events that the officer experienced in fractions of a second. You will see this video analyzed endlessly — frame by frame, moment by moment, with commentary telling us what the officer was thinking, what Toledo was thinking. What we should think. Perhaps we should also be thinking about the 3 people killed and 28 people shot in a bloody few days in Chicago last weekend. [...] Just in the last 24 hours, a 17-year-old girl was riding in a car when she was shot in the head, killing her instantly. Four young people — all under the age of 25 — were standing around in the Humboldt Park neighborhood when a hail of bullets felled them. From 5:00 a.m. Thursday until 5:00 a.m. Friday, 7 Chicagoans were shot — most of them young people. Where is the outrage about that? I suppose since the events can't be twisted to serve a political agenda, they have become "nonevents" — they never happened. Young people are dropping dead all over the city — day after day, week after week — but that's different. At Family's Request, COPA Won't 'Immediately Release' Video, Other Materials in Adam Toledo Shooting. At the request of Adam Toledo's family, Chicago's Civilian Office of Police Accountability will "not immediately release" video showing the fatal shooting of the 13-year-old boy by a Chicago police officer late last month. Toledo's family was shown video footage of the shooting on Tuesday night, and at the family's request, they will not release the footage, or other materials like 911 calls and witness statements, to the public at this time, COPA officials said. "At the request of the Toledo family, today COPA will not immediately release video and other materials as the family continues to grieve their loss," the office said in a statement. 60 Expressway Shootings in Mayor Lightfoot's Chicago. There have been 60 shootings on expressways in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D) Chicago so far this year. Fox News notes this puts the city on pace to top the 128 shootings witnessed in all of 2020, and it already surpasses the 52 such shootings which took place in 2019. Illinois State Police are responding to the gun violence surge by spending $12.5 million on cameras with which to monitor the expressways. Local Expressway Shootings At Crisis Level With 59 So Far This Year. There has been yet another shooting on Interstate 57. The latest shooting happened at 11:06 a.m. on northbound I-57 at Halsted Street, according to Illinois State Police. Troopers said they found a victim inside his car with life-threatening injuries, but did not immediately provide further details. The driver's side door of the car was left riddled with bullet holes. All northbound lanes on I-57 were closed for hours, but they have since reopened. Meanwhile, if it feels like we're seeing and hearing about more and more expressway shootings in the Chicago area lately, then your hunch is right. Democrats J.B. Pritzker, Lori Lightfoot jeered at Chicago White Sox home opener. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot were jeered Thursday night at the White Sox home opener against the Kansas City Royals. Mr. Pritzker and Ms. Lightfoot were welcomed with resounding boos and a smattering of profanities as they were introduced at Guaranteed Rate Field, according to multiple videos shared on social media. The Democrats received even louder boos from White Sox Fans than the rival team, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. How Chicago's affordable housing system perpetuates city's long history of segregation. Government-backed affordable housing in Chicago has largely been confined to majority-Black neighborhoods with high concentrations of poverty over the last two decades, a design that has perpetuated the city's long history of segregation. As the neighborhoods faced rising divestment, gun violence and food deserts, the lack of affordable housing in other parts of the city restricted many people of color from leaving. But now, using its largest pot of federal housing funding, Chicago wants to chart a corrective path by aggressively pushing for more affordable homes in high-income, well-resourced areas, which housing experts say would unlock previously unavailable opportunities for communities of color. The Editor says... Policing American judges. We have a serious problem in our country with judicial malfeasance issues and it is high time that we finally address it. The data show thousands of judges have been charged with breaking laws or violating oaths without any consequences. Instead, in secret proceedings that see their peers sit in judgment, too many get nothing more than a simple slap on the wrist for egregious misconducts that would seem to warrant disbarment or even jail time. It would be naïve to think that case fixing is not going on in the state and federal courts across the country. [...] One of the most famous examples of judicial corruption was Operation Greylord, a federal sting operation in the 1980s that investigated the Chicago courts. Ultimately, 17 judges were indicted and 15 were convicted. Unfortunately, since Greylord, federal sting operations have been few and far between, and judicial corruption continues. 8 shot, 1 fatally, at overnight party on South Side. A man was killed and at least seven others injured after gunfire broke out at a "pop-up party" early Friday [3/26/2021] in the Wrightwood neighborhood on the South Side. It was the second mass shooting at a "pop-up party" this month. On March 15, a shooting wounded 15 people, 2 fatally, at a party in the Park Manor neighborhood. In Friday's shooting, at least two men opened fire shortly after midnight at a gathering in the 2500 block of West 79th Street, Chicago police said in a statement. At least six of the victims were men in their 20s and 30s, police said. One victim was a woman. Several handguns were found at the scene of the shooting, police said. No one was in custody. Time to Stand Up for the Second Amendment More Than Ever. [Scroll down] But closer to home, I've always wondered why Chicago, with some of the most stringent gun laws in the country, almost always has the most gun violence. Their homicide rate skyrocketed in 2020 with 769 deaths. Similarly, Paris, with even more stringent gun laws, has had yet more calamitous attacks, including on the offices of the newspaper Charlie Hebdo and the 2015 Bataclan Theater massacre when 130 people were killed and and a staggering 416 more injured. Of course, those were jihadists. That never happens in the United States. [...] Well, it never happens if you hide when it does as quickly as possible. Chicago police officer and security worker shot on the Southwest Side, authorities say. Suspect is dead. A shoplifting suspect who got into a shootout with Chicago police is dead, and a police officer and a security worker were hospitalized in a confrontation Thursday afternoon [3/25/2021] at a store on the city's Southwest Side, authorities said. The officer is the fourth Chicago cop to be shot in less than two weeks. "I get questioned all of the time, 'what is the department doing about the violence, the shootings and the homicides?' What we're doing is risking our lives every day to protect this city," Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said at a news conference outside Mount Sinai Hospital, where police said the officer was treated for a gunshot wound to the shoulder and underwent surgery before being released later Thursday. 15 Shot, 2 Fatally at Party in Park Manor, Police Say. At least 15 people were shot, two fatally, at a party in Chicago's Park Manor neighborhood early Sunday morning, according to fire officials. At approximately 4:41 a.m. Sunday, a disturbance occurred at a party on the 6798 South Chicago Avenue, police said. Authorities said a total of 15 people with ages ranging from 20 to 44 years old were struck by gunfire, two of whom were pronounced dead at the scene. According to officials, four guns were found at the scene. Welcome to Chiraq: Barstool Sports Reviews Pizza and Witnesses a Carjacking in Chicago. Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy went to Chicago to settle a dispute about deep-dish pizza versus thin crust (which he got all wrong, by the way) and while he was in the middle of the review, his cameraman witnessed what appeared to be a live carjacking and hit-and-run accident. [Video clip] Chicago suburb set to be first in U.S. to pay reparations to black residents. A Chicago suburb is set to become the first municipality in the U.S. to pay reparations for its black residents, pledging to pay out $10 million over the next decade. The city of Evanston set up a fund in 2019 to pay for housing inequities by using a 3% tax on recreational marijuana sales. The fund will help black residents with mortgage assistance and funding to complete home improvements. Evanston officials are expected to vote March 22 on the distribution of the first $400,000 from the fund. To qualify, residents must have lived in Evanston between 1919 [and] 1969. But they can also qualify if they are the direct descendant of a black person who lived there during that period of time. The Editor says... Jill Biden, the Meghan Markle in the WH, is egregiously guilty of elder abuse. [Scroll down] Every poll, even those rigged by leftists, shows that Americans do not support the violence perpetrated by Antifa and BLM. They do not support defunding the police in any state or city. Sure, those anti-White racists do support those groups and policies, but they are a minority. Ask any Black mother trying to keep her sons alive beyond the age of fifteen in Chicago or Baltimore. America's Last Machine Boss Goes Down. The Chicago machine turned out some of the most notorious names in American public corruption, including Anton Cermak, Richard J. Daley, and Ed Kelly. The machine also turned out Mike Madigan, who ruled over Illinois politics for 50 years, 36 of which he spent calling the shots as House speaker. Most people thought Madigan would only leave office in handcuffs or a casket. Most people were wrong. For the first time since 1970, "the Velvet Hammer" is not representing Chicago's southwest side in the state capitol: Madigan announced his resignation on Feb. 18, just weeks after losing his spot as House speaker when his Democratic caucus abandoned him. Madigan is the most skilled politician you've never heard of and the most powerful state-level official in American history. Well-deserved pushback against Chicago Monuments Project [is] underway. Last week in my DTG post I wrote about the Chicago Monuments Project, Mayor Lori Lightfoot's response to last summer's riot surrounding the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park south of downtown. The committee for the project earlier this month identified 41 monuments, mostly statues but also plaques, reliefs, and one painting. Five of the monuments are statues of Abraham Lincoln. Yes, that guy, the one who led the Union during the Civil War, which led to ending slavery in America. Illinois is the Land of Lincoln, that slogan has been emblazoned on every Illinois license plate for decades. His face is on all standard Illinois license plates. On every Illinois driver's license and state ID card is Lincoln's countenance — and automobile titles too. Other monuments "under review" by the project include statues of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Leif Erikson, Ulysses S. Grant, William McKinley, several pieces honoring Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet, and works featuring anonymous Native Americans. That's okay, the tourism industry was already dead. The Editor says... 2 who killed Chicago cops paroled after decades in prison. Two men convicted of killing Chicago police officers in separate incidents decades ago were paroled Thursday [2/25/2021], drawing the ire of officials who opposed the move and believe it "sends a troubling message[.]" Johnny Veal was 17 when he and another man killed Sgt. James Severin and Officer Anthony Rizzato in 1970 as they walked across a field in the Cabrini-Green public housing complex. Veal, 68, and the now 74-year-old George Knights were convicted of the murders and sentenced to 100 to 199 years. Knights remains in prison. Also paroled by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board was Joseph Hurst, 77, who was convicted of killing Officer Herman Stallworth and wounding his partner after being pulled over for speeding in 1967. At Least 17 Shot, Four Killed, Friday into Sunday Across Lori Lightfoot's Chicago. At least 17 people were shot, four fatally, Friday into Sunday in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D) Chicago. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the first fatality occurred at 8:45 p.m. Friday, following an argument in an apartment. A 16-year-old boy was allegedly beaten as a result of the dispute, and when he fled the scene he was pursued, shot, and fatally wounded. 'Grand Theft Auto' ban? IL representative proposes banning popular video game, says it contributes to Chicago-area carjackings. An Illinois lawmaker has a new response to the recent surge in carjackings around the Chicago area — banning a popular video game. State Rep. Marcus Evans said during a press conference Monday morning [2/22/2021] in south suburban Olympia Fields that video games are contributing to the carjacking surge across the area. "Grand Theft Auto," which had its first installment released back in 1997, is the main issue, he said. Evans said he plans to introduce a bill to ban sales of the game in Illinois. If you're worried about ending cash bail, you're fearmongering, Pritzker says. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law Monday [2/22/2021] a bill that will eliminate cash bail in Illinois, allow for anonymous complaints against police officers in disciplinary hearings and overhaul law enforcement protocols to be more hands off when apprehending suspects. Some of the material in the 700-page bill passed last month is laudable and worth exploring, as we've said previously. But it's undeniable that nearly every law enforcement agency and prosecutorial association in the state is ringing alarm bells about the changes, which were shoved through the legislature with little debate in the middle of the night — by design. Illinois bans cash bail. One of the constants in Chicago is the escalating crime rate over the past year, with many of the crimes committed by people who are out on bail, including "affordable" bail. This concept is meant to give poor people the same ability as rich people to be free while awaiting trial. Illinois is now set to follow suit: Starting in 2023, there won't be any bail in Illinois at all thanks to a new crime bill that will, among other things, end cash bail. Since affordable bail has already given carte blanche to Chicago's criminals, we can pretty much guess how this will end. Biden Fires Chicago U.S. Attorney Hot on the Trail of Democratic Corruption. You've probably never heard of Chicago's U.S. attorney John Lausch. For the last two years, he has been going after some of the biggest, most powerful Democrats in the state of Illinois. [...] In fact, it's believed Lausch has targeted some other high-profile Democratic politicians in other investigations. It's a target-rich environment and Democrats in Illinois have gotten extremely nervous about who Lausch will go after next. Now it appears, that bringing down corrupt Democratic politicians will be the job of the next U.S. attorney. Along with 56 other U.S. attorneys named by former president Trump, Lausch will lose his job — fired by Joe Biden. "It's tradition," said Biden supporters. This is true. But it's also "tradition" to keep prosecutors in place who were pursuing high-profile cases. Lausch certainly qualified under that criteria. Biden's firing hasn't gone down well in Illinois. Chicago: Mayor Reportedly Used $281M in CoVID Relief Cash to Pay Underfunded Police Dept.. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot found herself the center of a growing backlash this week after reportedly using CoVID relief funds to help finance her city's underfunded police department. "Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot reportedly used $281.5 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to pay personnel in the Chicago Police Department," reports the Daily Caller. Report: Lightfoot Used $281.5 Million In COVID-19 Relief Funds To Pay Chicago Police. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot reportedly used $281.5 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to pay personnel in the Chicago Police Department. The use of coronavirus relief funds to pay police department personnel sparked outrage from many community members after a summer of anti-police protests, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday. Alderman Daniel La Spata told the mayor Wednesday that "the last thing people wanted" was to send more money to the police. Boy Jumps Out After Car Stolen With Him Inside on Chicago's Northwest Side. An 8-year-old boy jumped out of a vehicle Saturday afternoon on Chicago's Northwest Side after a woman stole the car with the child inside, according to police. At approximately 1:25 p.m., a 36-year-old woman was in a parking lot near her vehicle with the boy still inside. An unknown female suspect then approached the vehicle and got in the driver's seat, police stated. The victim tried to regain control of the vehicle, at which point the offender drove off with the boy inside. The 8-year-old ended up jumping out at the intersection of Belmont and Kimball avenues. He was uninjured, police said. In the fight between Chicago teacher unions and the mayor, unions win. According to news reports, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot is blaming President Trump for the state of affairs in the local schools. What's new? Isn't everything Trump's fault? Well, someone please tell Mayor Lightfoot that the teachers' unions own the Democrats, and that's why they don't [care] what she or any other blue-city mayor thinks. How much money are we talking about? This is a report via Fox News: ["]Biden's campaign raked in just over $232,000 from teachers unions during the 2020 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics' 'Open Secrets' website. The site says the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) 'account for practically all' political spending from teachers unions.["] Chicago woman shocked to be carjacked by 14-year-old. The Windy City is enduring a crime wave like none other in recent memory and it's lasted for nearly a year. In addition to the looting and property destruction, one of the most common forms of crime these days is carjacking. Chicago's gangs have been on a rampage, with armed thefts of vehicles idling at stoplights increasingly taking place in broad daylight. More than 150 carjackings were reported in just the month of January. One woman who recently lost her car in this fashion told CBS News in Chicago that the thief was just fourteen years old. Armed children are roaming the streets and engaging in carjacking "as if it's a game." 2020 Chicago Crime Spike: Carjackings More Than Double, Homicides Up More Than 50%. Attempted carjackings in Chicago have skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching a 20-year high in 2020. That's one statistic the Chicago Police Department seemed to brush by in its end of year crime report, which boasts an overall reduction in crime. Specifically the report notes a drop in burglaries and robberies, but 2020 brought highs in violent crime in Chicago. Homicides were up more than 50%, and shootings continued to be a problem just minutes into the new year. Two people in South Chicago welcomed the new year as victims of gunfire, just 12 minutes into 2021. As they sat in their living room, a man was struck in the head and a woman was grazed in the head when someone shot from outside. It is unfortunately a familiar scene from 2020. Last year saw more than 3,200 shootings in Chicago and more than 4,000 victims. That was up 50% from the year before. Murders were also up 50%. At Least 20 Shot over Weekend in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's Chicago. At least 20 people were shot, two fatally, over the weekend in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D) Chicago. Breitbart News reported 18 were shot, one person fatally, Friday into Sunday morning. Then Sunday autopsy results from a Saturday expressway crash revealed another fatal shooting victim, bringing the weekend shooting death total to two. Chicago Teachers Union vs. Biden. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) this weekend vetoed Joe Biden's plan to reopen schools during his first 100 days by voting to continue remote learning indefinitely. The union is taking kids hostage to extract more money from Congress with no guarantee that it will release them if it does. Chicago's Board of Education had required K-8 teachers to show up at schools on Monday to prepare for a return to in-person instruction on Feb. 1. The union doesn't care. Seventy-one percent of CTU voting members rejected a return to in-person learning until schools are "safe" — meaning whenever teachers feel like going back. Chicago Teachers Union releases interpretive dance video as part of objection over returning to work. As the standoff between city government officials and the Chicago Teachers Union over reopening the Windy City's public school system has now reached the White House, the CTU released a video over the weekend that has received pushback. The video features six of the Chicago public school system's dance teachers, expressively depicting their yearning for safety as they are being pressured to return to work. The performance, shot in various locations, is entitled "The Moment We're Safe." Mayor Lightfoot and CDPH announce plan to ensure equity in vaccine distribution. Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Department of Public Health officials announced new initiatives Monday to ensure racial equity in distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, after initial data shows low vaccination rates in Black and Latinx communities. Lightfoot and public health officials released the plan Monday in conjunction with the state moving into Phase 1B of its vaccine distribution, in which an estimated 3.2 million people statewide are eligible for inoculation. 'Protect Chicago' has been the primary plan in Chicago's response to the pandemic, including vaccine distribution. Chicago Teachers Union votes to defy order to return to classrooms: Teachers have 'have chosen safety'. The Chicago Teachers Union "overwhelmingly" voted to remain working from home due to concerns over the coronavirus, which defies the Chicago Public Schools' reopening plans. "So what does this mean? It means the overwhelming majority of you have chosen safety," the union wrote. "CPS did everything possible to divide us by instilling fear though threats of retaliation, but you still chose unity, solidarity and to collectively act as one." All in, about 86% of the 25,000 members voted on the resolution, with 71% voting in support of working from home. The district planned to bring 70,000 elementary students back into classrooms beginning Feb. 1 and wanted teachers back in classrooms to plan for their return. At Least 20 Shot Friday into Sunday Morning in Mayor Lightfoot's Chicago. At least 20 people were shot, five fatally, Friday into Sunday morning [1/24/2021] in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D) Chicago. The Chicago Sun-Times reports the weekend's first fatality occurred at 8:55 p.m. Friday, when a 26-year-old male was shot in the head "in the 6500 block of South Kenneth Avenue." The weekend's second fatality was discovered about an hour later, when the body of a woman was found in an alley "in the 100 block of East 118th Place." The woman had been shot in the head. Police Supt. David Brown Says There Have Been 144 Carjackings In Chicago Since Beginning Of January. Police Supt. David Brown said Thursday there had been 144 vehicular hijackings in Chicago in the first 21 days of January — placing the city on track to record 2,000 carjackings this year if the trend continues. Brown said police have arrested 104 offenders. "The spike in vehicular hijackings are a regional and national issue that both urban and suburban cities are experiencing across the country," Brown said. "Motives include joyriding and to facilitate anonymity while committing other crimes that include robbery and shootings." Brown said while Chicago Police have made several arrests in carjacking cases, many of the offenders are working in crews of sometimes two, three, or four people. This means not only arresting the person who stole the car, but the getaway driver any anyone else involved. Cook County Plans To Resume Jury Trials In February, But Will Jurors Show Up? The leaders of Cook County's criminal justice system are planning on resuming jury trials in February, after months of courts being in a near-total shutdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The shutdown has deprived accused offenders of their right to a speedy trial and left victims waiting for justice. But the proposed reopening worries court employees who believe leaders are rushing the process and jeopardizing their health. "People have been locked up, their liberation has been at stake since the coronavirus hit early last year," said Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans. "We'd like to be able to resume jury trials and bench trials where we can institute social distancing, where we can provide adequate [personal protective equipment], where we can show the potential jurors how safe they would be." Sources say leaders are aiming to have the first jury selection happen on Feb. 16. And they say questionnaires were being sent out Friday to potential jurors asking about underlying health issues and other COVID-19 related concerns. 'A Stain': Chicago Alderman Wants Trump Tower Sign Removed From City's Skyline. A Chicago alderman said he wants the Trump Tower sign removed from the city's skyline and has announced plans to bring the issue to City Council following the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol. Ald. Gilbert Villegas, who serves as Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's floor leader in City Council, said Tuesday that he plans to introduce an ordinance aimed at forcing the removal of the tower's Trump lettering. Under the proposed ordinance, if someone is found guilty of treason, sedition, or subversive activities, their permit will be either denied or revoked in Chicago. A second proposal would also bar anyone convicted of such crimes from doing business in the city. The Editor says... Illinois Lawmakers Pass 'Transformational' Criminal Justice Legislation In 11th Hour Of Lame Duck Session. Illinois lawmakers on Wednesday [1/13/2021] used the final hours of the general assembly's lame duck session to pass a sweeping and controversial criminal justice reform bill that would eliminate cash bail, make it easier to ban officers from working at police departments across the state and allow for anonymous complaints against cops. The legislation, passed Wednesday morning after hours of late night bargaining, was a legislative priority of the Black legislative caucus. It was drafted as the legislature's answer to the months of policing-related protests this summer.
Jason Nightengale Posted Disturbing Social Media Videos And Had Extensive Record. CBS 2 News has learned that Jason Nightengale, the man who police say killed three people and injured four on a shooting spree that spanned the city this weekend before he was shot dead by Evanston officers, has a criminal history spanning more than a decade. Meanwhile, as CBS 2's Steven Graves reported Sunday night, social media posts show disturbing and troubled moments before the shooting spree on Saturday [1/9/2021]. Nightengale, 32, is accused of killing three people on Chicago's South Side on Saturday. For Chicago Homeowners, It's All Pain, Little Gain. Early in 2019, a real-estate website predicted that Chicago's housing market would be one of the nation's worst over the next year. Chicago-area home prices, among the slowest to recover from the 2009 housing recession, were being suppressed by various factors, including escalating property taxes. Now it's clear from a new study just how much of a burden those taxes have become. Over the past 20 years, they've risen about four times faster than the rate of local inflation and more than twice as fast as Chicago-area wages, eating up more and more of the average homeowner's disposable income. And there's more to come, thanks to Mayor Lori Lightfoot's latest budget, which raises Chicago property taxes again. Much of that money, moreover, isn't targeted to better services but simply to pay off the city's and Chicago school system's enormous debt. Teachers Union Leader Encouraged Strikes to 'Stay Safe' From COVID, Then She Got Caught in a Compromising Position. Is there any profession that has taken a bigger hit in the credibility department over the course of the COVID pandemic than teaching? That's unfortunate given the fact that many teachers simply wanted to get back in the classroom as soon as possible, recognizing the dangers prolonged lockdowns represented to students. Yet, there have been so many high profile cases of teachers and their union leaders ignoring science for their own personal gain and laziness that it has unfairly tarnished everyone. One of the most recent cases involves a woman named Sarah Chambers from Chicago (because of course she's from Chicago). Chambers, a member of the Chicago Teachers Union Board, was encouraging teachers to stay home because it was supposedly unsafe to return to work. But it was what she had posted a few hours later that got her caught in a compromising position. Hey, Northwestern students, choose your own grade point average!. As faculty members at Northwestern, and as officers in the campus chapter of the American Association of University Professors, we worry that a surprise grade change policy announced earlier this fall shamelessly eviscerates Northwestern's educational mission. In doing so, we believe, it bolsters the claim by the retired lecturer, Joseph Epstein, that the university lacks standards. This fall, Northwestern University Provost Kathleen Hagerty announced that students now can choose "Credit" instead of a letter grade — after those letter grades have been awarded and seen by the students — for up to one third of their courses in the current school year. This is true even for courses currently not eligible for "Pass/No Pass" options. Speed camera tickets starting at 6 mph above the limit part of Mayor Lori Lightfoot's 2021 revenue packages. With 2021 upon us, Mayor Lori Lightfoot will soon end Chicago motorists' carefree days of driving up to 9 miles per hour over the posted speed limit. The city will start issuing tickets in the new year to people automated speed cameras catch driving between 6 and 9 mph too fast. Lightfoot is counting on millions of dollars in new revenue in 2021 from the $35 tickets to help close a $1.2 billion deficit. But city officials are so far offering few specifics on when and how the stricter enforcement will be rolled out, beyond saying speeders will receive a written warning in the mail after the first time a camera catches them exceeding the new threshold, before tickets for subsequent violations. Is it any wonder liberal states are shrinking? For an entire human lifetime, the state of Illinois has been a laggard in population growth. It has lost eight congressional districts since the 1950s. But new census estimates released last week show that this decade, something very special has happened. The state, affectionately referred to by many as either the "Deadbeat State" (for its practice of handing out IOUs in place of payments to vendors) or "Madiganstan" (after the powerful speaker-for-life of its state House), has actually been losing population every year since 2013. In fact, the land of Lincoln has lost a net 308,000 residents over the last seven years and a quarter million since the last decennial census. Both numbers are larger than the population of any city in Illinois except for the megalopolis of Chicago. And Hundreds of Cook County Health Care, Sheriff's Office Employees Strike. Hundreds of essential workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic in Cook County hit the picket line for a one-day strike on Tuesday [12/22/2020]. SEIU Local 73 — the union representing Cook County health technicians, service and maintenance workers, as well as employees of the clerk's office and sheriff's office — said in a statement Friday that its members would be holding a one-day strike, alleging that county officials have "refused to set bargaining dates... and walked out on negotiations" for nearly three months. "Our members have put their lives on the line to keep Cook County functioning," SEIU Local 73 President Dian Palmer said. "The complete lack of respect by Toni Preckwinkle and the managers under her supervision is shocking." Chicago mayor Lightfoot's status as a fraud solidified in her response to police raid on wrong home. [Lori] Lightfoot's victory in last year's election was a fluke. She and Toni "Taxwinkle" Preckwinkle, the president of the Cook County Board emerged as the top two candidates after a 14-candidate first round of balloting — she collected only 17-percent of the vote. Lightfoot, used her endorsement by the Chicago Sun-Times and her time as chair of the Chicago Police Department Office of Professional Standards to fashion herself as the reform candidate. Her predecessor, Rahm Emanuel, decided not to run for a third term; it's widely believed his blocking the release of a video until after his 2015 reelection of the shameful deadly police shooting of Laquan McDonald led to his bowing out. Now there is a another video. Late in Emanuel's second term Chicago police officers raided the apartment of social worker Anjanette Young. But they busted into the wrong home. Guns were drawn and Young was handuffed naked while she screamed. "You've got the wrong place." She said that 43 times. Lightfoot's campaign slogan was "Let There Be Light" and this was her opportunity to be transparent in a time of crisis. She wasn't. Public Schools Are Losing Their Captive Audience of Children. Insisting that "the push to reopen schools is rooted in sexism, racism and misogyny," the Chicago Teachers Union is fighting plans to return children to the city's public school classrooms. Not only is the union seeking an injunction to keep kids at home, but it says "all options are going to be on the table" — an implied threat of a strike in an already chaotic year — if it's not happy with the school board's decision. Amidst a multitude of such battles across the country, it's no wonder that families weary of being held hostage to other people's decisions are abandoning government schools to enroll their kids in private institutions or to teach them at home. That shift is likely to permanently transform education in the United States in a way that lets children experience diverse approaches and viewpoints. School and union officials in Chicago differ over their reading of public opinion tea leaves. Chicago mayor changes story about botched raid. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday [12/17/2020] that her staff informed her in November 2019 about a botched police raid that happened nine months earlier — thus revising her office's Tuesday claim that she hadn't learned about the February 2019 raid until this week. The mayor stood by her claim that she hadn't viewed video of the raid until this week but said she had no recollection of the November 2019 briefing from her staff when she spoke at a news conference Wednesday, Chicago's WBBM-TV reported. An Innocent Naked Woman Whose Home Was Wrongly Raided By Police Had To FOIA For The Evidence. Recently released police body camera footage shows officers with guns drawn handcuffing an innocent naked woman during a raid of the wrong home in early 2019, a local CBS affiliate reported Monday [12/14/2020]. Anjanette Young had to file a Freedom of Information Act Request with the Chicago Police Department (CPD) to obtain the body camera footage of officers wrongly entering her home and handcuffing her on Feb. 21, 2019, CBSN Chicago reported. A court order required the CPD to provide Young with the footage as part of an ongoing lawsuit against the department. "I feel like they didn't want us to have this video because they knew how bad it was," Young said, CBSN reported. "They knew they had done something wrong. They knew that the way they treated me was not right," Young added, CBSN reported. Restaurant 'speakeasies' flourish in sea of lockdown hypocrisy in Democrat-run Chicago. Add former president Barack Hussein Obama's Democrat-controlled city of Chicago to the ever-growing list of government entities controlled by Democrats whose Democratic Party politicians live by freedom for me but not for thee; do as I say, ignore what I do, such as violating my own diktats. For example, Chicago's black, female, lesbian mayor, Lori Lightfoot (whom I admire), closed down beauty salons and barber shops, but, like Rep Nancy Pelosi (D-wealthy Californians), thought it perfectly fine for a hairdresser to come to her home to do her hair because, after all, she appears in public. Alderperson Tom Tunney (D), who also owns a highly regarded Scandinavian-themed restaurant, Ann Sather, apparently decided that if the mayor can ignore her own decrees, so can he. Weekend Violence Leaves 40 People Shot, 6 Killed in Lori Lightfoot's Chicago. Residents in the country's third largest city continued to witness a brutal spike in crime over the weekend, when 40 people were shot and 6 murdered in less than 48 hours in Chicago. "At least 40 people were wounded and six killed in shootings across Chicago over the weekend. A person was shot and killed Sunday [12/6/2020] in Austin on the West Side, police said. A male was in the 4900-block of West Hubbard Street when three people approached him and one of them opened fire, Chicago police said," reports ABC Chicago. Ald. Tom Tunney Admits Allowing Regular Customers To Dine Inside Ann Sather Restaurant; 'This Was An Error In Judgment'. Despite indoor dining at restaurants being prohibited for more than a month, Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) on Monday [12/7/2020] acknowledged an "error in judgment" when his Ann Sather Restaurants allowed regular customers to eat inside in recent days. "On a sporadic basis, we have allowed a very limited number of our regular diners to eat inside the restaurant while observing social distancing and mask-wearing rules. This was error in judgement and won't happen again," Tunney said in a statement. The alderman did not specify how many customers he has allowed to dine indoors or how often. A spokesman for the city's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection said the city is investigating. Chicago Teachers' Union: Expecting Us to Teach Kids is Sexist and Racist. Ever since the pandemic, teachers' unions have been coming up with excuses not to teach, and the Democrats they have in their back pocket helped them. But the rebellion has very clearly arrived with even the leftiest parents utterly sick and tired of this state of affairs. That led Mayor Bill de Blasio, a guy who spends all his time pricking his ears up to hear lefty whistles, to backtrack on closing schools. But in Chicago, the teachers' union decided to go to the mattresses. Retired firefighter killed while exchanging gunfire with would-be carjackers on Far South Side. A retired Chicago firefighter was fatally shot during an exchange of gunfire with would-be carjackers Thursday afternoon [12/3/2020] in Morgan Park on the Far South Side, police said. Dwain Williams, 65, had left a popcorn shop, Lets Get Poppin', at 11758 S. Western Ave., and walked to his vehicle when a dark-colored sedan pulled up and four men got out, authorities said. There was an exchange of gunfire, and Williams, who lived in the Longwood Manor neighborhood, was shot in the abdomen, authorities said. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy ruled his death a homicide. Homicides spike in Cook County, top 900 mark in 2020. The county that includes Chicago has seen more than 900 homicides thus far this year compared to 675 in all of last year. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office says that 2020 is the first year since 2016 and just the second time since 1996 that there have been at least 900 homicides. The vast majority of those killings occurred in Chicago, where the police department reports that as of the end of November there have been 716 homicides in the city. Rules for thee not for me: Chicago mayor's security team gets traffic fines dismissed. We already knew Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot doesn't like her own rules. She was one of the first elected officials to fall victim to lockdown hypocrisy after getting her hair done shortly after she recorded a PSA urging Chicagoans to follow Illinois' restrictions on nonessential businesses, including not getting their hair done. [...] It turns out it's not just lockdown rules she thinks are worth breaking, either. According to a Monday report in the Chicago Tribune, Lightfoot's security detail got a pass on multiple traffic violations, with city officials dismissing them. Lightfoot became mayor of Chicago in May 2019. Since then, her security detail has been issued 13 citations. Ten of those tickets, all involving speed and red-light camera infractions, were dismissed by city officials. THANKSKILLING: 42 Shot in Chicago, 15 in Philly, 19 in Milwaukee. If you like your police defunding, you can move into a private compound with your own security, flee to a red state, or pray that the thugs set loose don't come for you. Here's what Thanksgiving was like in Chicago. ["]At least 42 people were shot this Thanksgiving holiday weekend between Wednesday night and Monday morning; 11 of them were killed.["] And on to Philly, where the Soros DA keeps making sure that crime is legal. ["]It's been a violent weekend so far in Philadelphia. Police are investigating at least 10 shootings that have left at least 15 people hurt, including teenagers.["] Democrats, scared straight by election results, poised to oust political boss of the nation's most corrupt state. One of the most significant emerging Democrat defeats appears to be underway in Illinois, where donkey state legislators — pols that escaped with their seats — are scared of voters' wrath over their party's boss of bosses. The man who has run that state for decades — a far more powerful than any governor — may be losing his perch. Skyrocketing Expressway Shootings [is] a Uniquely Chicago Problem, Investigators Say. Just a few years ago, a shooting on a Chicago-area expressway would be a major event, the type of tragedy that would lead every newscast in the city. Now they happen with such shocking frequency that road crews have standard procedures for blocking the highways so police can search for evidence. And drivers see them mostly as frustrating incidents that wreak havoc with their morning commutes. And that's wrong. Because it's an escalation of Chicago's violence, endangering the lives of thousands of innocent people. Chicago COVID-19 : Coronavirus surging, worse than 1st peak in spring, health officials say. Chicago COVID-19 cases are surging in a way the city has not ever seen before, in an outbreak that is worse than the first coronavirus peak in April and May. Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady emphasized Thursday that all Chicagoans needed to immediately take steps to contain the spread of COVID-19, including wearing masks, avoiding gatherings, washing hands and staying home. Counties in Illinois approve nonbinding resolution to create new state. Several counties in Illinois on Tuesday passed nonbinding resolutions by wide margins to create a new state, separate from Chicago and Cook County. Questions posed to voters in various counties asked if they should join with others outside of Cook County to create a new state. In Clay County, nearly 80 percent of voters approved the question. Nearly 73 percent of Shelby County voters approved, while 63 percent of Christian County voters did so and in Crawford County, nearly 76 percent of the voters said yes. A group tracking the movement, called Red State Secession, counted 24 counties that approved it, with most votes being between 70 percent [and] 80 percent in favor. This Is What Happens When Burger King Hires Chicago Thug-Life. This woman was in for a rude awakening at this Chicago Burger King drive-thru when she tries to redeem her coupons. The drive-thru thug refuses to accept her coupons and even threatens to knock the phone out of her hand. The punk even proclaims he doesn't [care] about the job. [Video clip] Victory by Fraud. During this presidential campaign, Republicans have vigorously charged that the Democrats are trying to win the election by the using fraudulent mail-in ballots. As these charges and counter charges are hotly disputed, some pundits refer to the 1960 presidential election that pitted Richard Nixon against John Kennedy where Republicans claimed that the Democrat had won the contest by fraud. These allegations on behalf of Kennedy primarily focused on the voting in Illinois and Texas. In the former, Chicago mayor Richard Daley ran Kennedy's statewide campaign. Even before ballots were cast, Republicans asserted that there was going to be fraud, and immediately after the election, they attacked Daley for stuffing ballot boxes to assure his candidate's victory. Chicago unveils Election Day security plan spanning 10 days. Chicago city leaders unveiled a 10-day Election Day preparedness plan Friday, after a summer of unrest, surges in violent crime and lockdowns amid the coronavirus pandemic. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city had been planning since the late summer, which she said was at times "humbling" but also "instructive." "We've been focused on two issues when it comes to Election Day," Lightfoot told reporters. "First is election integrity. The second, of course, is public safety." Hours after Lightfoot announces new COVID-19 restrictions, Birx warns during Chicago visit that closing public spaces won't be enough. Just hours after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced new restrictions on businesses in response to rising COVID-19 cases, White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx cautioned that closing public spaces won't be enough to stop the illness's spread. Birx said it's possible some of the recent spread is happening in people's homes, during family gatherings, as the weather gets colder.
Chicago Public Schools Says Teachers Union 'Refuses to Even Discuss' Returning to In-Person Classes. Chicago Public Schools on Friday pushed back against the Chicago Teachers Union, which filed an unfair labor practice charge last week accusing the city's school district of illegally refusing to negotiate with the union on how to safely resume in-person classes amid health concerns. The union has "refused to even discuss" returning to in-person classes, school district spokeswoman Emily Bolton said in a statement. "We are disheartened that CTU continues to obstruct and mislead the public about the necessary planning measures needed to prepare for a potential return to safe in-person learning," Bolton said. "While the district is doing everything in its power to plan for all possible scenarios, the CTU refuses to even discuss a return to in-person learning, even as hundreds of private schools in Chicago are open." Democrats Run America's Rathole Cities. [Scroll down] In Chicago, rated as the rattiest city in the country six times in a row, 83% of residents, dead or alive, legal or illegal, human or rat, voted for Hillary. The last time Chicago had a Republican mayor was 1931 and the ratty city has no official Republican members on its city council. It does however have multiple socialist city council members. Despite promises by Democrat officials, the city's rat problem only keeps getting worse. In May, rat complaints nearly doubled even as officials insisted that there were no more rats. "It doesn't mean that there's a lot more rats. People are seeing them, and they are calling," Josie Cruz, the Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Rodent Control, argued. Mayor Rahm Emanuel had created the bureau with 120 employees and a $10 million budget. Cruz has been on this job for at least two decades and tens of thousands of rat complaints keep coming in. 24 shot, 6 fatally, in Chicago weekend gun violence. Six people were killed and 17 others injured in shootings across Chicago over the weekend. In the weekend's last fatal shooting Sunday evening [10/25/2020], a man was found with a gunshot wound to the head on the West Side. The 25-year-old was found under train tracks about 7:30 p.m. in the 1900 block of South St. Louis Avenue, Chicago police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Chicago Will Start Ticketing Motorists For Going 6 MPH Over Speed Limit. Here in Middle America, there are small towns where going a couple of miles per hour over the speed limit will get you stopped by the town's lone police officer. These "speed traps" are dotted throughout the region as, many times, a significant portion of a town's revenue comes from issuing these tickets. Now, the entire city of Chicago will become one, gigantic speed trap. Mayor Lori Lightfoot is going to rig traffic cameras to automatically issue tickets for residents going just 6 MPH over the posted speed limit. Mayor Unveils 2-Week 'Business Curfew,' Shops to Close at 10PM, Liquor at 9PM. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled a mysterious two-week "business curfew" for non-essential businesses starting Friday to slow the spread of CoVID-19 in the nation's third largest metropolis. "Starting Friday October 23 at 6:00 a.m., all non-essential businesses will be closed to the public from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. And all liquor sales will stop after 9:00 p.m. Essential businesses like grocery stores, pharmacies and restaurants with take-out delivery services are exempt. Lightfoot said she would not hesitate to roll the city back into Phase 3 or a stay-on-place if things get worse," reports CBS News Chicago. Lightfoot sets curfew for non-essential businesses, eliminates indoor bar service. Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Thursday a new curfew will be put in place for non-essential businesses beginning Friday and the elimination of indoor bar service as COVID-19 cases surge in the second wave. The curfew will take place from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and will not affect essential businesses such as grocery stores, pharmacies and food delivery. Some Small Landlords Say Renters Haven't Been Paying Since Before Pandemic Started And Are Now Getting A Pass. Some mom-and-pop landlords want Gov. JB Pritzker to let them evict tenants who were set to be tossed out before the start of the coronavirus pandemic. On Sunday [10/18/2020], the governor extended the eviction moratorium for another 30 days without offering any relief to the landlords. CBS 2's Jeremy Ross spoke to property owners who said it is allowing deadbeat tenants to live rent-free. Linda Villareal's Jefferson Park property provides rental income. But Jefferson said the tenants haven't paid rent since the fall of last year. Chicago ranks 'rattiest' city for sixth year in a row. For the sixth time in a row, Chicago has been deemed the 'rattiest' city in the United States. Pest control company Orkin issued a press release last week that said Chicago had the greatest number of new rodent treatments performed from Sept. 1, 2019, to Aug. 31, 2020, including both residential and commercial treatments. "Rats have taken to the streets of Chicago, yet again," Orkin wrote. "In an unprecedented year, the visibility of rodents has increased, creating concern for homeowners and business owners alike," the pest control company continued. "As reported in the Spring, the pandemic-driven closure of restaurants forced rodents to find new food sources. Without food waste to consume, these pests were seen scavenging new areas and exhibiting unusual or aggressive behavior." 14-year-old among 7 fatally shot in Chicago this weekend. Seven people were killed and 26 others were injured in shootings across Chicago over the weekend. One teenager is among the dead, while three other teens were wounded between 5 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday [10/19/2020]. Last weekend saw five people killed and 48 others wounded in citywide gun violence. Chicago Teachers Union disagrees with some students' possible return to classroom next quarter. Chicago Public Schools started the year fully remote, but a new plan might change that, and teachers want to make sure the district knows they do not approve of the idea. CPS confirmed Friday morning that the district plans to begin the second quarter remotely, with a goal of bringing back students in pre-K and those with special needs later in the quarter. However, the Chicago Teachers Union is pushing back against that, calling it a "dangerous strategy." Chicago on track to have highest murder total in more than two decades. Chicago's murder rate is currently about 50% above what it was at this time last year according to data released by the Chicago Police Department. [...] [A]s of Oct. 10 Chicago has seen 605 murders, more than this point in any recent year. Prior to 2020, Chicago's last biggest surge in murders happened in 2016. At the time, 2016 was the highest number of murders the city had seen in 19 years. Chicago Violence: 5 Dead, at Least 47 Wounded in Weekend Shootings. Chicago police say five people have been killed and at least 47 others wounded in shootings across the city over the weekend so far. The city's most recent deadly shooting occurred at approximately 9:55 p.m. Sunday [10/11/2020] when a 25-year-old man was a passenger in a vehicle in the 8600 block of South State. A blue sedan approached and began shooting into the vehicle, then drove northbound on State. The man was taken to the University of Chicago Hospital in critical condition, where he was later pronounced dead. Insane Scene As Suspect Rams 3 Cops Cars, Tries To Kill 3 Cops In Chicago. A woman allegedly hit three Chicago police officers with her SUV Wednesday while intervening in a South Side traffic stop. Shortly after officers stopped a driver at 11 a.m., Dawn Moore pulled up in an SUV and told officers she knew the man demanded they release him, Chicago police spokeswoman Kellie Bartoli said in an email. [Video clip] With Some Restrictions, Trick-Or-Treating Will Be Allowed For Halloween In Chicago. Kids in Chicago will be able to go trick-or-treating this Halloween, but there are restrictions for those getting candy and those giving candy. And forget about house parties. "You can only meet in groups of six or less. And you have to stay moving. We must simply avoid congregating in front of houses on streets. Keep it moving folks," Lightfoot said. "People passing out candy are also asked to try to maintain social distancing. That means no parties and traditional haunted houses, simply cannot be allowed for Halloween in Chicago. We really want to give our kids, something to look forward to." Dr. Allison Arwady of the Chicago Department of Public Health said everyone who's participating must wear a mask, and not the costume kind. The Editor says... Government-sponsored food boxes include a letter from Trump, and some Chicago food pantries are removing it. Food pantries for months have relied on a government-sponsored food box program to serve a spike in needy families during the pandemic. But the latest batch of boxes includes an item some find unpalatable as the election nears: a letter signed by President Donald Trump. The letter, printed in both English and Spanish on White House letterhead, highlights the Farmers to Families Food Box program and includes general safety information for preventing COVID-19 transmission. It does not mention the Nov. 3 election, but some local food pantries say it's inappropriate and plan to remove the letter before distributing the boxes to families. Crisis response team — without cops — would be sent to mental health emergencies under proposal. Community health advocates and some aldermen called Tuesday [9/29/2020] for creation of a crisis response team that excludes police officers to help people experiencing mental health emergencies. "Currently, the city's response to crises has been done and managed exclusively by the city's police department," said Arturo Carrillo, lead organizer for the Collaborative for Community Wellness, a citywide coalition of community groups. "As a result, the largest mental health provider in this city and this country is Cook County Jail." The Editor says... Over 3,100 Shooting Victims in Mayor Lightfoot's Chicago this Year. Over 3,100 people have been shot in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D) Chicago thus far in 2020. The Chicago Tribune reports the exact number of shooting victims at 3,132, and that includes the fatally wounded as well as those who survived. The Tribune reports the number of homicides January 1, 2020, through September 28, 2020, at 576[.] CNN reported fewer than 500 for all of 2019. At Least 49 Shot over Weekend in Mayor Lorri Lightfoot's Chicago. At least 49 people were shot, seven fatally, over the weekend in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D) Chicago. Breitbart News reported at least 24 people were shot Friday through Saturday alone in Chicago, and five of those shooting victims succumbed to their wounds. Illinois Tollway shows how political promises are easily broken. "Toll free in '73." That was the campaign slogan over five decades ago that promised tolls on Illinois interstates would be a temporary revenue sources. Today, the tolls are higher and the tollway authority is more permanent than ever. Lawmakers promised tolls would help fund 186 miles of interstate construction and would be removed when the roads were paid off. After that, highway maintenance would be funded by the gas tax. In 1968, the General Assembly made the Illinois Toll Highway Authority permanent. What started at just 10 cents at the exits and 25 cents at the plazas has grown to cost drivers $1.50 for each I-Pass scan. Since 2009, the Illinois Tollway has hiked toll fares four times. It's also become an easy way to employ the politically connected and hand out patronage jobs. Chicago postal workers threaten to stop delivering mail after multiple employees [were] shot on the job. United States Postal workers who deliver mail in some of Chicago's more violent neighborhoods are threatening to halt their services after a mail carrier was shot in the city's South Side earlier this month. The carrier, a 24-year-old woman, was left critically and injured after being shot multiple times at 91st Street and Ellis Avenue while delivering mail on September 10. Police said the worker did not appear to be the target and had been caught in the crossfire during a drive-by. Bad Crank Hits The Streets Of Chicago, Video Shows Many Overdoses On 79th. Junkies started dropping like flies on Bad 79th & Halsted as some bad dope made its round in Chicago. Police were on the scene to attempt to resuscitate. [Video clip - Narration unintelligible throughout.] An Apology is Owed in Chicago. On June 11, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot held a news conference with new Chief of Police David Brown. She was livid. She announced that she had been contacted by the office of Congressman Bobby Rush and presented with videos recorded on a night of rioting following anti-police protests at the end of May over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The videos revealed thirteen policemen in Rush's office, two dozing, others making coffee and preparing popcorn. Bobby Rush, indignant and upset, spoke as well. He castigated the officers for their having had "unmitigated gall" to make themselves coffee and popcorn, "my popcorn in my microwave." The mayor accused these police officers of lounging in Rush's office as their colleagues were being pelted with rocks while trying to prevent vandalism and looting. She demanded that the unidentified officers come forward for reprimand. She lamented that such police behavior confirms the impression that officers didn't care about looting on the lower-income South Side, but only about the more affluent or high-profile locations. [...] And even if the Police Department had been called to the scene, was it a good use of thirteen personnel members to deploy them for hours to one office? Goodbye, Illinois. I won't let the crushing debt hit me on the way out. I'm leaving Chicago and Illinois for what I hope are greener pastures. I have mixed emotions but also feel the change is long overdue. I'm tired of Illinois' multiple levels of corrupt government and out-of-control spending. People here scream for change but vote the same people into office time and time again. The people of Chicago and Illinois used to be salt of the earth, moderate Midwestern people. Now they inhabit a tax-happy safe space that has no tolerance for people who don't think as they do. Since my vote won't count to change anything, the only thing I have left is to vote with my feet. Cook County Democrats Dump Judge Who Ordered Smollett Case Probe. The Cook County Democratic Party on Monday voted not to endorse the judge who ordered a special prosecutor to investigate how State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office prosecuted charges that actor Jussie Smollett staged a hate crime against himself. The Tribune reported Cook County Democrats led by Foxx's former boss, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, voted to not endorse Toomin, citing an investigation of his record on overseeing the juvenile justice division, and not the Smollett case. Toomin cited "unprecedented irregularities" in Foxx's handling of the Smollett case. He appointed former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb as a special prosecutor to investigate. Webb found Foxx and her office abused its prosecutorial discretion and lied to the public, but didn't commit crimes. Off-Duty Cook County Corrections Officer Shoots Armed Robber Who Was Trying To Carjack Him, Officials Say. An off-duty Cook County Sheriff's corrections officer shot and wounded a man who was trying to carjack him along with two others in South Chicago early Thursday morning [9/3/2020], officials said. Around 2:30 a.m., the off-duty corrections officer was getting out of his car in the 7900 block of South Essex Avenue when three men walked up and tried to steal his car, according to the Sheriff's office. Park Manor robbery: Man shot, killed while trying to rob South Side gas station, Chicago police say. A man trying to rob a gas station in Park Manor on the South Side Thursday night was shot and killed in the process, Chicago police said. The man tried to rob the gas station in the 6700-block of South Cottage Grove Avenue about 9:50 p.m. with a shotgun, police said. But another individual shot the would-be robber in the back and face before the shooter left the store, according to police. [...] The shooter has not yet been found, police said. U of Chicago English Dept Won't Accept Anyone Unless They're in Black Studies. The cultural revolution decimating academia and turning it into a hollow shell for radical indoctrination only grows more crudely shameless with each cycle. It's not enough to just jettison Shakespeare or rename buildings. No, you will only be allowed to work with Black Studies. A memo from what used to be the University of Chicago English Department. ["]For the 2020-2021 graduate admissions cycle, the University of Chicago English Department is accepting only applicants interested in working in and with Black Studies.["] Chicago shootings: 54 shot, 10 fatally in weekend violence. Chicago weekend shootings have left more than 50 people shot, 10 fatally, police said. From 6 p.m. on Friday until midnight Sunday [9/13/2020], a total of 54 people were shot, police said, including two Chicago police officers and a 15-year-old boy, police said. Despite the number of victims, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said Monday that murders are down 50% from the previous six weeks following his reorganization of the department to create citywide teams. Overall crime is also down 19% this year, according to Brown. "Our clearance rate for homicides is 40%. We have some room to improve, but that's still a significant improvement," Brown said. The alarming downward spiral of downtown Chicago. Is a comeback possible? When Navy Pier opened as a re-imagined tourist attraction in 1995, it was a white elephant project 50 years stalled. Several mayors and many City Hall department heads had tried but failed to make retail use of the half-mile jut into Lake Michigan. When Navy Pier finally opened, its face-lift was behind schedule and over budget. Of course it was. Love or despise its current personality — the gaudy signage, pricey thingamajigs, perpetual wafts of roasted nuts — Navy Pier is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Midwest and Chicago's top attraction. Families flock to the pier for shopping and dining, and breathtaking views of the city's striking skyline. That would be in a normal summer, in a normal tourist season, in a normal year. But nothing about 2020 has been normal. Navy Pier, like much of downtown, has been closed on and off, its lights dimmed and Ferris wheel still. The coronavirus pandemic and the civic unrest that tore through the city in multiple waves this summer took a phenomenal toll on the once-sturdy retail infrastructure of downtown. In just a few months, equally as breathtaking in its swiftness, Chicago feels defeated. It looks it. Chicago Gun Store Looter Released, Murders Walgreens Clerk. Perhaps some bad news can at least result in a lesson being learned, though in this case, it comes too late for one Chicago sales clerk. Last week, prosecutors report that 18-year-old Sincere Williams had robbed three stores in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, including the local Walgreens. Apparently not satisfied with his take from those robberies, Williams returned to the Walgreens last Sunday with more on his mind than simple theft. Armed with either one or two knives, Williams proceeded to stab store clerk Olga Marie Calderon nearly a dozen times before calmly walking out of the store covered in blood, leaving Calderon to die on the floor of the shop.
City Rolls Out Plan to Slowly Replace Lead Service Lines Shown to Contaminate Tap Water in Homes. Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday unveiled a plan to replace the lead service lines responsible for contaminating the tap water in thousands of Chicago homes "over multiple decades" that relies on federal and state funds. Lightfoot's voluntary plan lays out a timeline that would take more than 500 years to replace the lead service lines that connect approximately 400,000 Chicago homes with water mains buried under Chicago streets. The metal can leach a brain-damaging chemical into drinking water. The plan is designed to "chip away" at Chicago's problem of lead service lines — "a steep and costly mountain to climb," Lightfoot said. 40 Shot, 6 Killed, Friday into Monday Morning Across Mayor Lightfoot's Chicago. Forty people were shot, six fatally, Friday into Monday morning across Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D) Chicago. Breitbart News reported at least 16 were shot, two fatally, Friday [9/4/2020] through Saturday afternoon alone.
Chicago police release video of suspects in fatal pancake house shooting. Chicago police released new video footage of the suspects wanted in connection with a shooting at a pancake house that killed one person and wounded four others. The Chicago Police Department shared a video compilation of clips late Wednesday showing five people who are believed to have been involved in the shooting on Sunday afternoon at Lumes Pancake House in the city's Morgan Park neighborhood. Bar betting on violence in Chicago [and] New York is investigated. Authorities are investigating a Long Island bar that posted on Instagram that it was taking bets on whether Chicago or New York City would see more shootings over Labor Day weekend. The Cliffton, a bar in Patchogue, New York, shared photos of a paper grid hung in the bar with patrons placing bets on the number of shootings in the two cities, Newsday reported Tuesday. The winner would take home an unspecified cash prize. The betting is "not only sickening, but also appears illegal under the Alcoholic Beverage Control law," the State Liquor Authority said in a statement to the newspaper. Open Season on Police as St. Louis Cop Killed and 2 Chicago Officers Wounded. A 19-year-old man, Jeffon Williams, was arrested and is facing several charges for shooting and wounding two Chicago police officers during a traffic stop. Criminal Court Judge John F. Lyke Jr. said Williams showed "utter disregard for any person, any human being." He set bail at $10 million, but Williams will not be released because he violated the terms of previous bonds. Teachers Unions Support Guillotines, Strikes & Closures Over Children's Welfare. Americans are sometimes accused of ignorance over history and geography beyond their own shores. It was no different last week after the Chicago Teachers Union tweeted support for a protest outside Jeff Bezos' home, where an effigy was placed in a guillotine. However, any history teachers among them might have pointed out that the French Revolution ended up turning on its leaders. The protestors, who were virtue signaling for a $30 minimum wage outside the house of a man who reputedly earns $4,000 a second, clearly had violence on their minds. Beetlejuice's Chicago: Heartless Thug Brutally Mugs 85 Year Old Woman. An 85-year-old woman in Chicago was hospitalized Wednesday after a brutal robbery was caught on surveillance showing the suspect approaching her from behind and slamming her to the ground, a report said. The woman can be seen walking to her apartment building in the city's posh Magnificent Mile and, while she enters, the suspect appears to grab hold of her purse and pulled her to the floor, according to a video first obtained by CWB Chicago. [Video clip] Chicago Projects $2 Billion Deficit Through 2021 on Pandemic. Chicago faces a 2021 budget deficit of $1.2 billion as the coronavirus pandemic decimates the city's revenue with businesses shut down due to social distancing while recent unrest hurt reopening efforts. Next year's projected gap comes on top of a 2020 deficit of nearly $800 million for its corporate fund, which accounts for many of the services the city provides, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Monday. That's up from a June forecast of $700 million because rising virus cases have hampered the city's recovery. Lightfoot called for additional federal stimulus for states and cities and stressed in prepared remarks that Chicago is struggling with "a catastrophic collapse of our local and national economy." Revenue losses spurred by the pandemic are the biggest factor hobbling city finances in 2020 and 2021, she said. To make up for the gaps this year and next, Lightfoot's administration will likely need to cut headcount, control spending, refinance debt, borrow and ask for more federal aid. The city has not ruled out raising property taxes and is also looking at a personal property levy on computer leases, which may help raise money as telework expands. Chicago passes 500 homicides, on track for one of the most violent years in decades. Barely a month into his job as Chicago's top cop, David Brown described his "moonshot": a year when there would be fewer than 300 homicides in the city. When Brown took the podium Monday [8/31/2020] for his usual news conference on weekend violence, the city had recorded more than 500 homicides this year, putting it on pace with 2016 when Chicago was hit with a spike of violence not seen in decades. After laying off no city workers during lockdown, Lightfoot complains of Chicago's revenue shortfall. Mayor Lori Lightfoot will go down as the worst mayor in Chicago's history. Crime is out of control. Chicago's cash cow, the downtown area, accounts for 70 percent of the city's economic activity. This section of what is for now America's third-largest city was hit by two rounds of widespread looting this year. Now Lightfoot says Chicago faces massive budget shortfalls. Mayor Beetlejuice was one of the most enthusiastic mayors in America enforcing — over enforcing that is — the COVID-19 lockdown. Let's say she was right about the threat of the coronavirus — which she wasn't — but let's just say she was for now. All Chicago restaurants were closed for over two months this spring. Why not lay off all of Chicago's health inspectors? Air travel way down. How many municipal employees were furloughed this spring? What about the teachers in Chicago's schools who weren't teaching? None, I repeat, none were laid off. FBI says dozens of Chicago street gangs formed 'pact' to kill any cop seen drawing weapon on suspect — report. The FBI has issued an alert to Chicago police warning that nearly three dozen street gangs may have struck an agreement to shoot any officer seen with their gun drawn in public "on-site," according to a local news report. FBI officials in Chicago recently issued a "situational information report" to Chicago law enforcement, pointing to a possible multi-gang pact to gun down officers in the streets, a local ABC affiliate reported on Monday [8/31/2020]. "Members of these gang factions have been actively searching for, and filming, police officers in performance of their official duties," the FBI alert said. Biden Supporters Shoot 55 People in Chicago, Killing 10. Biden supporters shot 55 people in Chicago over the weekend, killing 10. Two Chicago police officers and a 15-year-old boy were among the wounded. At least six of the more than one dozen incidents reported by the Chicago police were drive-by shootings. Among those drive-by shootings was one that may have been gang-related. As five people ate lunch under a tent at a Morgan Park restaurant on Saturday, an SUV pulled up near the group and started shooting. A 31-year-old-man, who police believe was the intended target, was shot multiple times and killed. Another man and three women in the group were shot and wounded. Affluent Chicagoans Fleeing Due to Leadership Inability to Calm BLM Violence. Many people, including President Trump himself, noted during their Republican National Convention speeches that Democratic-run cities are experiencing violence and looting, as the leaders whose policies are to blame are safely hidden in privileged areas. However, areas like Chicago have become so bad, affluent neighborhoods are no longer safe and citizens are getting out of dodge. Activists urge Pritzker to send National Guard to Chicago, claim Lightfoot 'can't control the city'. A group of community activists implored Gov. J.B. Pritzker to declare a state of emergency and have the Illinois National Guard deployed to Chicago on Sunday, just two days after Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her allies stymied a similar push during a special City Council meeting. In calling for the assistance, the activists pointed to the city's surging summer gun violence as they urged both members of the City Council and Congress to rally behind police officers they claim have been outnumbered and attacked at recent protests. "This mayor, Lori Lightfoot, she can't control the city. It's out of hand," Raul Montes Jr., a former candidate for City Council and the state Senate, said during a news conference in Little Village. "We need the National Guard to help out the police." Helpful tip: Using the grammar of a six-year-old hillbilly doesn't advance your cause. 66 shot, 5 fatally, this weekend in Chicago. Five people were killed and 61 others, including three teenage boys, were injured in shootings across Chicago this weekend. Surging summer gun violence has prompted activists to call for Gov. J.B. Pritzker to declare a state of emergency and have the National Guard deployed to the city. Last weekend saw 64 people shot across Chicago, seven of them fatally. A 12-year-old boy and six teenagers were among those wounded. The Editor says... Chicago Mayor Now Blaming Mississippi For Rise In Shootings. Lori Lightfoot seems to be pathologically incapable of accepting any responsibility for the staggering increase in shootings and homicides in the city of Chicago. For months she's been blaming the surge in shootings and homicides on "lax gun laws" in the state of Indiana, and now she's including the state of Mississippi in her blame game. [...] Lightfoot's excuses about what's driving the violent crime in Chicago conveniently lets her off the hook for what's happening in neighborhoods throughout the city. It's not her fault, it's that we simply don't have enough gun laws on the books. That, of course, is nonsense, but it's the go-to rationale for gun control advocates when they're asked to explain why their laws aren't making people any safer. The mayor has been demanding more federal gun control laws be put in place as well, but there's very little evidence that sweeping federal legislation would make a difference. After the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968, for example, violent crime continued to rise throughout the U.S. for more than two decades before it began declining in 1991. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has a superiority complex. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot must have very low self-esteem. She must be fully aware of how badly her reign over Chicago has been the last two years and is greatly ashamed by it. She should be, but that's not the point. She has a superiority complex which prohibits her from showing remorse for her actions. In fact, it drives her to do what she announced yesterday [8/20/2020] by banning protesters from coming on her block. She claims it's about "safety" but, as part of her superiority complex, she must put her own safety above the safety of others. That's how these things work. As rioters were destroying parts of her city — twice — she held police back from engaging. Why? Because it wasn't her property or person that was in danger. In other words, she just didn't care. Chicago City Council Members Call For State Of Emergency Declaration, Request National Guard. A group of Chicago City Council members requested that Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker immediately declare a state of emergency in Chicago and deploy the national guard in light of ongoing rioting and looting in the city. The City Council held a special meeting Friday [8/21/2020] to consider the resolution. The governor was asked to deploy the national guard for a period of 4 months to assist local law enforcement in quelling the unrest. The council members also asked for monthly public safety hearings and "reports regarding the collective and unified efforts to address the rioting, looting, destruction, and most importantly, the safety of all Chicagoans." Chicago Police Ban Protests on Mayor Lightfoot's Block. The modern left-wing tactic of protesting at the private homes of their targets in an effort to intimidate them into doing what they want won't work with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The police say they've banned protests from the mayor's block and will arrest anyone who doesn't leave. Lightfoot just isn't radical enough for Black Lives Matter. She won't defund the police (she didn't just escape from a mental institution, after all) and refuses to condemn the officers for trying to keep order. I wonder if the fact that Lightfoot enjoys police protection 24-7 has anything to do with her reluctance to criticize the cops too harshly. Suspected Chicago looter busted trying to sell $2,700 sweater to undercover cops. Undercover cops busted a suspected looter in Chicago, after he tried to sell them a $2,700 designer sweater, according to a report. Melvin Banks, 29, advertised the Brunello Cucinelli swag for sale online, which was seen by a staffer at the Italian luxury brand's looted Windy City store, prosecutors said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Banks was arrested after undercover cops arranged to pay $800 for the stolen item — one that clearly impressed the judge at his first court hearing Wednesday [8/19/2020], the paper noted. "I don't know how a $2,000 sweater feels, but it must be immaculate," Cook County Judge John Lyke Jr. told the hearing, according to the report. BLM Leader Gets Treatment He Deserves From Fox News Host After Refusing To Condemn Chicago Looting. [Scroll down] Why Fox News continues to invite BLM leaders on for interviews is a mystery to me. Other networks, like NBC News, invite them on in an effort to help them spread the propaganda without much if any pushback. But when they get pushback during Fox News interviews — as [Hawk] Newsome did here with [Martha] MacCallum, they continuously talk over the people interviewing them as if they don't care about the questions and are just using the opportunity to spread "the message" to a larger audience. The only solution here is for them to either stop inviting them on or continue to cut mics until they decide they want to answer questions. Family talks about woman who was killed by SUV driver who hit her, then circled and hit her again. Last week, [Zoraleigh] Ryan celebrated her youngest daughter Shannon turning 20 with a dinner at a steakhouse in downtown Chicago. The two left the restaurant and were walking down Hubbard Street about 11 p.m. Aug. 10 when an SUV drove straight at them, struck them, circled the block and hit Ryan a second time, killing her. "It is gut-wrenching," Logue said. "You can't possibly imagine what would possess this person to just say, 'Hey, let me just try to kill these two people on this corner.' All they were doing was standing outside waiting on an Uber, that's the only reason they were standing right there." Boys, 13 and 14, in critical condition after separate overnight shootings, police say. A 14-year-old boy was shot in the head and a 13-year-old boy was shot in the chest Monday night [8/17/2020] in separate shootings within two hours of each other, according to Chicago police. Both of the boys are in hospitals in critical condition, police said. Chicago's Terror Cells. Last week in Chicago saw the most major of American cities in the Midwest descend into chaos and mayhem as looters and rioters took to the city's downtown streets and unleashed a reign of destruction and nihilistic terror. [...] More than 100 people were arrested between Sunday night and Monday morning after an overnight spate of violence that seems to have begun with a 20-year-old man who, unprovoked, opened fire at police officers. Thirteen officers were injured in displays of violence around the city. Police Superintendent David Brown on Monday [8/17/2020] described the incident not as peaceful protests, but as incidents of pure criminality. On Monday evening, the looters, rioters and anarchists again struck the wealthy section of downtown Chicago's Gold Coast region, looting and destroying designer stores including Ralph Lauren, Jimmy Choo, and Geneva Seal. U-Haul trucks were seen waiting on the sides of roads to deposit the burglarized property from the city's prime real estate area. A Black Lives Matter Chicago organizer said Monday that the mobs who vandalized and looted downtown businesses the night before did nothing wrong, calling it "reparations" for Black suffering. So many crawly things behind Chicago's looting. A couple years ago, I was struck by a long article that ran in Chicago Magazine in 2011, describing how Chicago's Democratic politicians are working hand in glove with Chicago's gangs. The fact that the police could never touch them based on their connections to Democratic political power was why Chicago's violence was so high. [...] Gangs performed the muscle tasks to bring in votes once done by political machines and supplied Democratic pols with drugs on the side, while politicians gave gangs complete immunity from police enforcement. It was why Chicago was so violent, why Democrats needed to be held to account. Scroll to June and August this year. We now have mass lootings of certain areas of Chicago in the name of Black Lives Matter, in what its mayor, Lori Lightfoot, has quite persuasively called "organized criminal activity." It's getting worse than it used to be. It's happening repeatedly and more brazenly. And all signs out there that it will happen again. Chicago Cracks Down: Cops Swoop In, End Unrest, Arrest Dozens During Downtown Demonstration. Chicago police were ready for a massive protest in the city's downtown that quickly went out of control Saturday night, arresting at least two dozen demonstrators who, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said, came prepared for a fight. Chicago police officers were following a large protest, hosted by several "anti-racism" and "anti-police brutality groups" — though not Chicago's chapter of Black Lives Matter — that began on the city's lakefront and then threatened to move north toward the city's "Magnificent Mile" shopping district, which is still reeling from looting and rioting early last week. Chicago Rioter May Win Award for Dumbest Looter Action. Now, no one every said that leftist rioters were smart. If they were, they wouldn't be leftist rioters. But let's just say a rioter takes it to another level of unwise when he actually livestreams himself while in the process of committing the crime, and smiles full face into the camera while doing it. And not just any crime, like graffiti or some disorderly person's thing, a nice hefty little felony, trying to break into an ATM during the massive rioting and looting in Chicago last week. 20 year old Aaron Neal is accused of being the braintrust behind the livestream video, according to the police. [Video clip, language warning (of course).] 24 people arrested, 17 officers injured during demonstrations in Chicago. What began as a day of peaceful protests slowly devolved into violence Saturday and culminated in the arrest of 24 demonstrators, four on felony charges, and injuries to 17 officers in Chicago. Police did not release numbers on how many protesters had been injured, WLS reported. Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said a march that started at noon was peaceful but another demonstration separated from it and became violent, resulting in the arrests and injuries. Young Black Man Assaults Random Elderly White Man Pickup Up Trash In Chicago. [Video clip] Poor Governance Fuels the Illinois Exodus. Illinois has a population problem: Our population has been shrinking faster than any other state (except one). The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board and others call this the Illinois Exodus. Population changes are a measure of governance quality. We are free to choose where to live, and the United States offers 50 different states and thousands of different localities, each governed in different ways. People consider many factors when choosing where to live, and how a state is governed can be a significant factor in that decision. Over time, people migrate toward places that are governed well and away from areas that are governed poorly. When Authority Vanishes. The sacking of Chicago's North Side was more than a tactical failure. For months, key officials — the state's attorney responsible for prosecution, the mayor, and the governor — have failed to condemn criminals sufficiently or act with necessary force against such violence. They have contributed to a culture of impunity that tolerates mobs and hoodlums. Kim Foxx, the state's attorney for Cook County, [...] has dismissed felony cases brought by the police at a rate 35 percent higher than her predecessor. She raised the threshold for felony shoplifting from $300 to $1,000 — and as a result, thieves steal brazenly in broad daylight as well as under cover of darkness. Chicago police chief David Brown suggested that Foxx's failure to prosecute looters from the previous sacking of the city in June was partly responsible for emboldening the current round of looting. 'A Thousand Cops': Chicago Announces Plans To Curb Looting, Protect Neighborhoods. Chicago police will deploy 1,000 officers to the city's central shopping district, the "Magnificent Mile," and into neighborhoods being targeted by rioters and looters in an effort to curb the violence plaguing local businesses. In a press conference held late Thursday [8/13/2020], Chicago's police superintendent David Brown said that the city would add 1,000 more officer shifts over three days, Friday through Sunday. This is similar to a deployment the department undertook several weeks ago, sending 1,200 additional officers into south and west side neighborhoods where gang violence has been on the upswing. Chicago business owner who spent $300,000 to repair his store after it was looted in May riots will sue the city after it was ransacked AGAIN last week. A Chicago businessman says he's going to sue the city after police failed to respond when his convenience store was looted for the second time since May. Walid Mouhammad's store was destroyed Monday, when the city experienced widespread looting. He said he watched the looters in real time on surveillance cameras as they ripped out the new steel security door that he'd recently installed, after spending $300,000 to repair the damage done when his store was first looted in May. Chicago Spent $66 Million on Hospital That Treated 38 Coronavirus Patients. Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D.) decision to renovate a local convention center into a makeshift coronavirus hospital cost taxpayers nearly $66 million — though only 38 patients received treatment at the facility, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on Friday [8/14/2020]. The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the agency Lightfoot tasked with overseeing the project, overlooked a bid from a construction company that offered to waive fees or donate them to coronavirus pandemic relief organizations. Instead, officials gave the bid to Walsh Construction, a politically connected contractor, which billed the city $65.9 million to renovate the McCormick Place convention center. The decision cost taxpayers more than $1.7 million per patient. In contrast, the city spent $50 million total to equip three other centers in the Chicago area. Downtown Residents Worry As Crime Soars. "This is never something I've seen before in the four years that I've lived here," he said. "Those incidents are coming here downtown, and they are happening right here in the neighborhood." Recently, Hebding watched in horror as a group of men attempted to carjack an Uber driver in front of a Wacker Drive hotel. "This happened at 12 o'clock p.m. in broad daylight on a Monday," he said. "Something you would have never expected to happen here before." The increased crime downtown has the area's estimated 100,000 residents alarmed. Many say they see the tranquil oasis they moved into, rapidly slipping away. Chicago looters smash Ronald McDonald House with terrified sick kids inside. Sick kids and their families cowered in fear inside a Chicago Ronald McDonald House as looters smashed the front door while trying to get inside this week, according to staff. The charity says more than 30 families, as well as some sick children with them, were left "frightened" by those who smashed windows as they ransacked the Windy City during Monday's chaotic crime spree. "[They were] very concerned there was a lot of activity right in front of the house, people making choices that could put them at risk and put our families at risk, so the staff was frightened," Ronald McDonald House Charities' Lisa Mitchell told ABC7. The attacked site houses families so they and their children can be close to Lurie Children's Hospital, which should be an easy and safe trip just five blocks away. What Happened in Chicago and What May Be Next, Explained. [Scroll down] They formed caravans, they brought U-Haul rental trucks, and they began to repeat the looting and the rioting that went on after the death of George Floyd that we saw back at the end of June and into July, and that continued into the wee hours of the morning. The police were overwhelmed. The city did what it's now done many times, which has raised the bridges, cut off the on-ramps and off-ramps to try to prevent the traffic from coming into the central business district. But nevertheless, the damage was done, and we had another incident of massive rioting up and down Michigan Avenue, which is obviously very unfortunate for people who are struggling to try to restart their business, not just from the previous riots, but obviously from the coronavirus problems. It's just an ongoing example of people who have hijacked what is a reasonable discussion about civil rights and the racial situation in the country and turning it into and exploiting it as an opportunity to create mayhem. Chicago: You Know, Someone Should Hold These Looters Accountable. We finally know what it takes for Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to give up the ghost and declare the rioting and looting to be, well... rioting and looting. It was the ransacking of the Magnificent Mile which is, as Allahpundit noted, Chicago's answer to 5th Avenue in New York or Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. There was no pretense of anyone calling for justice for George Floyd or racial tolerance or whatever the latest watchword of the day might be. People were literally showing up with U-Haul trucks and emptying out all of the high-end, luxury goods stores. So how did the Mayor respond? She described it as "straight-up, felony criminal conduct" and "an assault on our city." Okay then. Now that we've established that you have a crime wave going on and not some sort of First Amendment issue, what do you plan to do about it? It looks like the Mayor huddled with the Chicago PD and they've decided to launch an investigation. What a brilliant plan. I wonder why nobody thought of that before? The True Victims of the Chicago Riots. The riots rocking American cities have received less coverage lately, but they never really stopped. On Sunday, Chicago, Illinois suffered another rampage that left 13 police officers injured and entire city blocks in ruins. Coordinated via social media, a large group of looters converged in downtown Chicago around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday morning and began smashing windows and ransacking storefronts. The looters initially focused on high-end stores such as Tesla, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Coach, as the criminals made their way through Chicago's "Magnificent Mile" shopping district. But soon enough, the marauding spread to shops like Walgreens and Old Navy. U-Hauls were spotted being loaded with spoils and multiple shootings broke out. 'It Was a Planned Attack.' Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Says Looting Was Organized. A day after looters smashed-in retailer's windows, carried away loads of high-end merchandise and overwhelmed police officers in downtown Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the violence was an organized raid and not a demonstration of angry protest. "When people showed up on Michigan Avenue in the downtown area with U-Haul trucks and cargo vans, and sophisticated equipment used to cut metal, and the methods that were used, and how quickly it got spun up... that wasn't any spontaneous reaction," Lightfoot told TIME in her fifth-floor offices at Chicago's City Hall on Tuesday [8/11/2020]. The chaos that unfolded Sunday night, and into the predawn hours Monday, was initially blamed on a police shooting in the city's southside Englewood neighborhood. News of the incident — along with misinformation that a minor had been shot — pinballed on social media, resulting in "caravans" of cars headed north downtown, Lightfoot says. Wow: Chicago neighborhood ejects BLM protesters at police station. Englewood may set the tone for dealing with rioters for the rest of the summer. After the organized pillaging this weekend on the Magnificent Mile, the city of Chicago toughened up their security stance. Black Lives Matter protesters and others set their sights on the Englewood neighborhood's police precinct, but residents there pushed them out — literally. [...] [T]he Englewood neighborhood simply gave these protesters exactly what they want — mob rule. BLM Chicago practically celebrated mob rule in their statement Monday, claiming that the pillaging of the Magnificent Mile was a legitimate response to corporate exploitation. Well, this is what happens with mob rule: competing mobs. This time, the competition was peaceful, but in Fort Collins, Colorado, it wasn't, and the "abolish the police" crowd lost that time, too. One story from the night of looting in Chicago that doesn't fit the approved narrative. [Scroll down] [Demisck] Lomax, 25, was charged with aggravated battery of a police officer. Prosecutors say he has previous narcotics convictions. You might expect him to sit in jail until trial. And you'd be right, in that Chicago of old. [...] Cook County Judge Mary Marubio set his bail at $5,000. Lomax only had to come up with $500. I first read about this fascinating story on the Twitter feed of CWB Chicago, which covers a lot of crime news. Chicago Ald. Brendan Reilly, who represents much of the looted area, was furious with the bond for Lomax. So I confirmed the CWB account with law enforcement, then called Reilly. "It has to change and change fast," said Reilly. "What we're seeing here with all the violence in Chicago is the result of a series of bad policy decisions, including the push for low bond and the criminal justice revolving door.["] "I don't want people in jail for nonviolent crimes, but now, there aren't any consequences for committing any crime. Police catch a lot of the bad guys, but bond court is a joke, with prosecutors and judges releasing violent offenders.["] Looters are looters no matter what the circumstances. Sunday night's [8/9/2020] assault on downtown businesses was a brazen display of criminal behavior, pure and simple. An estimated 100 people were arrested, two people were shot and 13 police officers were injured in what appears to be a coordinated effort to pillage Chicago's premier shopping district. The people who smashed their way into luxe boutiques didn't do it because they were fed up with police shootings, or because they are out of work and desperate. They did it because they saw an opportunity to steal stuff they couldn't afford to buy and because they have no respect for the rule of law. That same attitude was recently on public display when a video surfaced of a group of young black men on bikes carjacking an elderly white man's vehicle at gunpoint. In Chicago, the brazen looting and property damage didn't start in the aftermath of George Floyd's death. Chicago in Chaos. It started with a false story on social media about police shooting a black "child." Within minutes, hundreds of young black men and women filled the streets, targeting businesses along the Magnificent Mile, in River North, and in the Central Business District. This was the scene playing out in Chicago on Sunday, August 9th and continued through the early part of Monday morning [8/10/2020]. People sat in idling cars as looters calmly brought them merchandise. The thieves cleaned out high-end stores like Gucci, Dior, and Hermes, taking everything, including the mannequins. A woman livestreamed a video of herself running through a department store muttering that she couldn't find a tool to detach expensive garments from their racks. "I can't breathe!" she exclaimed, either in protest or fatigue. Others set their sights on the police tasked to protect businesses and the city. By daybreak, the city had tallied more than 100 arrests, 13 officers injured, two shot, and countless businesses looted. "Th Ronald McDonald House Near Lurie Children's Hospital Was Among Looters' Targets. The Ronald McDonald House in Streeterville was among the establishments targeted during looting in Chicago early Monday morning [8/10/2020]. The facility provides a home and resources to families while a child receives treatment at local hospitals. Vandals struck the facility at 211 E. Grand Ave. near Lurie Children's Hospital as families were sleeping inside. Several windows were smashed, and the front door had to be boarded up. For a while, residents were placed on lockdown while the commotion was happening right outside. MSNBC skips coverage of Chicago riots during prime time, CNN airs less than 3 minutes. Mass destruction took place in the heart of Chicago in the early hours on Monday morning as looters raided the shopping district and other stores across the city, but MSNBC and CNN offered little to no coverage of the unrest during their network's most-watched shows. Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said as of Monday morning responding units had arrested more than 100 people on charges ranging from disorderly conduct to battery against police. He added that 13 officers were hurt in the unrest, including a sergeant struck in the face with a bottle and an officer who had his nose broken while scuffling with a group of looters. "This was not an organized protest. Rather, this was an incident of pure criminality," Brown told reporters. "This was an act of violence against our police officers and against our city." The Editor says... 16 Minutes of INSANE Footage From Last Night in Chicago as Hundreds of People Looted Dozens of Stores. Videos circulating online show widespread looting and clashes with police across Chicago's Magnificent Mile shopping district early Monday, sparked by a police-involved shooting hours earlier that left a young man wounded. Social media users posted videos of hundreds of people looting stores such as Nordstrom, Walgreens, Macy's, Coach, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. Some exchanged gunfire with police at one point, although no officers were injured. [Video clip] Downtown Chicago Looks Like A Bomb Hit After Night Of Looting And Rioting. Police clashed with crowds overnight in downtown Chicago as looting and vandalism erupted in the retail district. Chicago police say crowds began to gather around midnight. [Video clip] Looting in Chicago was a long time coming, some experts say. Shattered glass and other debris from looted stores was still being cleaned up Tuesday after a wave of violence tore through the city's upscale shopping districts. To some experts, the unrest — in which more than 100 people were arrested and 13 police officers were injured — represents long-simmering frustrations finally boiling over. Others say the violence was opportunistic in nature, criminality spilling into the streets. LOW IQ Thug Actually Robs Chicago ATM While On Facebook Live. During mass looting and rioting late Sunday night in Chicago's Magnificent Mile and Gold Coast areas, this moron thought it would be really 'gangsta' to live-stream himself breaking into an ATM machine. The brazen thug didn't even bother to cover his face. [Video clip] Report: 'Pure Criminality': Sunday Was Chicago's Worst Night Of Unrest Since May. Chicago had the worst night of unrest Sunday since May, the Chicago Tribune reported. "We just wanted to give y'all a heads-up that we got a call from an anonymous individual that there's gonna be looting going on at 87th and the Dan Ryan," a police dispatcher told officers at 11:07 PM Sunday night, according to the Tribune. That signaled the beginning of the most chaotic night of looting and vandalism since the demonstrations began. More than 100 people were arrested and 13 officers where injured throughout the night, Police Superintendent David Brown said according to the report. Rather than some sort of organized protest, Brown called the violence "pure criminality." Chicago BLM Organizer Defends Looting: 'That Is Reparations'. Black Lives Matter activists in Chicago held a rally Monday evening to stand in solidarity with the dozens of individuals who were arrested after a night of mass looting and criminal activity, with one organizer brazenly defending looting as a form of reparations. Activists gathered at the South Loop police station on Monday to stand in solidarity with over 100 people who were arrested after a night of violence, destruction, and mass looting erupted within the city. As Breitbart News reported, the looting began after midnight and lasted hours. Ariel Atkins, a Black Lives Matter organizer who spoke at the rally, said looting is not an issue and defended the criminal practice. The Editor says... Black Lives Matter holds rally in Chicago to support those arrested after looting, unrest. Black Lives Matter members in Chicago held a rally on Monday to support the more than 100 arrested last night following widespread looting and rioting that caused at least $60 million in property damage and saw 13 police officers injured, according to a report. The rally was organized by Black Lives Matter Chicago and was held at a police station in the South Loop where organizers say individuals are currently being held in custody. At least one organizer called the looting tantamount to "reparations." "I don't care if someone decides to loot a Gucci or a Macy's or a Nike store, because that makes sure that person eats," said Ariel Atkins, a BLM organizer, according to NBC Chicago. "That makes sure that person has clothes." Paper: Chicago Prosecutor Kim Foxx Has Dropped 25,183 Felony Cases. Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx has dropped over 25,000 felony cases, including charges of murder and the alleged hate crime hoax from former Empire star Jussie Smollett, according to an analysis released by the Chicago Tribune on Monday [8/10/2020]. Revealed: Top Chicago prosecutor Kim Foxx's office has dismissed more than 25,000 felony cases including murders, shootings, sexual assaults. Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx has dismissed more than 25,000 felony cases — including many involving charges of murder and other serious crimes — in her first three years on the job, a new report shows. Foxx gained notoriety last year when she dropped felony charges against Jussie Smollett, the Empire actor accused of staging a racist, homophobic attack on himself in January 2019. The Chicago Tribune on Monday published an analysis of Foxx's overall record on dropping charges, revealing that she has done so at a rate that's 35 percent higher than her predecessor. Left-Wing Prosecutors, Many Backed By Soros Cash, Implement Soft-On-Crime Policies Across America. Left-wing prosecutors have implemented soft-on-crime approaches to criminal justice across America, in some instances making it a matter of policy in major cities not to prosecute specific crimes, a Daily Caller News Foundation review found. A common, though not universal, feature of prominent left-wing district attorneys is the backing of political organizations funded by left-wing billionaire George Soros. The New York Times has credited Soros with pioneering the "push to overhaul prosecutors' offices" across the country. Cook County, Illinois, State's Attorney Kimberly Foxx, whose jurisdiction includes Chicago, took office in 2017 after winning her election with the help of a Soros-funded super PAC. Soros poured more than $400,000 into Illinois Justice & Public Safety PAC in 2016, Illinois State Board of Elections records show. Foxx was the only candidate that the PAC supported in 2016, those records show. Mayor Lori Lightfoot Says [the] National Guard [is] Not Needed After Looters Ransack Downtown Chicago. A security guard was shot in Chicago as widespread violent rioting and looting overwhelmed the city. The rioting began on Sunday evening in response to a black man who was shot by police after reportedly shooting at them first. The guard, who has not yet been identified, is said to be in stable condition. 'Don't bait us': Chicago mayor snaps at reporter who asked about city officials going 'too easy on the looters'. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot snapped at a reporter who questioned whether city officials went too easy on looters from protests in recent months. The exchange took place Monday after widespread violence and looting took place downtown in the early morning hours following a police-involved shooting that left a man injured. More than 100 arrests were made, and 13 officers were hurt during the unrest, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said during a press conference Monday morning [8/10/2020]. Chicago police return fire as looters hit Mag Mile, smashing windows and confronting officers. Hundreds of people swept through the Magnificent Mile and other parts of downtown Chicago early Monday, smashing windows, looting stores, confronting police and at one point exchanging gunfire with officers, authorities said. More than 100 people were arrested as of 9 a.m., according to Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown. Thirteen officers were injured during the unrest, including a sergeant who was hit by a bottle. A civilian and private security guard were shot and wounded. Corrupt Democrat Chicago mayor, police hold press conference after crime strikes downtown and looting rules. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot holds a news conference following a night of looting and rioting in Downtown Chicago. The unrest was reportedly due to a police-involved shooting in Englewood, a neighborhood in Chicago. [Video clip] William Barr's truth bombs about media's 'peaceful protester' narrative MUST be heard. Antifa and Black Lives Matter "peaceful protesters" are generally neither peaceful nor protesting. They are rioting, looting, vandalizing, burning, destroying, and generally being menaces to the lawful society we crave, the lawful society we had achieved before this whole 2020 series of unfortunate events occurred. Now, they are seizing on the opportunity to promote their agenda and mainstream media is falling in line with the supporting narratives. What happened in Chicago last night is not the result of a righteous protest or serious grievance. A Black teen shot at police officers. If that's supposed to be acceptable and worth burning down a city over, then it's clear the narrative has been lost. Now is the time to take that narrative back, and it begins by listening or watching this important show. Massive Rioting And Looting Rocks Chicago After Police-Involved Shooting. There are now videos circulating online that show widespread rioting, looting, and other forms of violence erupting all throughout the city of Chicago in light of a police-involved shooting that left a young man wounded. Social media users on various platforms posted up videos of people in the city looting Walgreens, Macy's, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, among many other stores. There was even an exchange of gunfire between looters and police at some point during the evening. No officers were harmed. Did Chicago Really Think this would Stay in the Black Neighborhoods? When I visited Chicago a few years ago I asked the resident of the suburbs that I stayed with about the danger in the city and how they managed it. I was told that the worst of it was confined to certain areas and as long as you avoided those areas you were generally safe. Not anymore. [...] Closing thought: The last republican Mayor in Chicago left office in 1931. Magnificent Mile Riots, Looting Hit Democrat-Run Chicago. "Hundreds of people swept through the Magnificent Mile and other parts of downtown Chicago early Monday, smashing windows, looting stores," reports the Chicago Tribune. There was also gunfire and violence against police officers. As of this writing, downtown Chicago is all but closed to those trying to get to work on a Monday morning. BLM rioters loot a Walgreens in Chicago tonight. [Video clip] Widespread violence and looting in Chicago. Media reports showing widespread looting in Chicago on Sunday night [8/10/2020]. The Chicago Tribune reported that it observed people carrying shopping bags full of merchandise in the areas where the looting was happening and at least one U-Haul van was seen pulling up. The Chicago Transit Authority also tweeted that all bus and train service going into the city's downtown areas was "temporarily suspended at the request of public safety officials." Widespread damage reported throughout Chicago after night of looting. Chicago's top cop said about 100 people were arrested and 13 police officers were injured after a night of looting in downtown Chicago. Widespread damage was reported throughout Chicago after looting and rioting began around midnight Monday [8/10/2020]. Witnesses reported hundreds of people smashing their way into stores throughout Michigan Avenue, areas in the South Loop and the near North Side. Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said the looting started as a result of misinformation following a police-involved shooting in Englewood. Chicago rocked by widespread looting caught on video after police-involved shooting. Videos circulating online show widespread looting and clashes with police across Chicago's Magnificent Mile shopping district early Monday [8/10/2020], sparked by an officer-involved shooting hours earlier that left a 20-year-old man wounded. Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said as of Monday morning, responding units have arrested more than 100 people so far on charges ranging from disorderly conduct to battery against police. He added that 13 officers were hurt in the unrest, including a sergeant struck in the face with a bottle and an officer who had his nose broken while scuffling with a group of looters. "This was not an organized protest. Rather, this was an incident of pure criminality," Brown told reporters. "This was an act of violence against our police officers and against our city." Chicago teachers follow up a historic 2019 strike with a 2020 ultimatum: schools won't open in person. Last Monday, teachers across the country rallied in a national day of action to protest plans to reopen schools for in-person learning amid rising coronavirus cases. [...] Days later, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot reversed the city's plan to move forward with a hybrid reopening — meaning half-in person, half-remote. She said Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will now start remotely on September 8, and daily distanced learning will continue until the start of the second quarter, November 9, at the earliest. Lightfoot made the decision against the backdrop of a potential strike by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) to prevent in-person reopening. The CTU has sparred with the city for much of the last decade, and has won numerous concessions. In fact, it did so shortly after Lightfoot took office just last year, in one of the biggest strikes in recent Chicago history. To leftists like Lori Lightfoot they are not people they are automatons. President Donald J. Trump isn't the only public official prone to Twitter rants. Yesterday after a trip to Chicago's lakefront on a hot and humid day, the city's mayor, Lori Lightfoot, let loose on her constituents. "It's called a pandemic, people," she Tweeted. "This reckless behavior on Montrose Beach is what will cause us to shut down the parks and lakefront. Don't make us take steps backwards." That "reckless behavior" consisted of people gathering at the beach. Chicago's 18-miles of lakefront parks were closed — they were guarded by Chicago police officers for most of the spring and much of this summer. The cops remained posted at these parks during the riots and looting in May — by people presumably spreading the COVID-19 virus. Riots of course are now, by the liberals, viewed as free speech. After the Lake Michigan parks opened, Lightfoot dispatched an army of "social distance ambassadors" to enforce safe-distancing. Mayor Lightfoot Blasts Crowd Near Montrose Beach. While Chicago's beaches remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, dozens of people gathered in an area near the city's Montrose Beach Saturday, prompting criticism from Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Lightfoot posted a social media showing several individuals, many of them who appeared to not be abiding by social distancing guidelines, in a grassy area near boat docks. "It's called a pandemic, people," the mayor tweeted. "This reckless behavior on Montrose Beach is what will cause us to shut down the parks and lakefront. Don't make us take steps backwards." The Editor says... Protests Preceded Biggest Chicago Murder Wave in Decades. Over 100 homicides made July Chicago's most violent month in decades, extending the rising tide of crime that, police data show, began at the same time as anti-police protests spawned by the death of George Floyd. With 105 deaths, July was the city's deadliest month since 1992, but still only slightly more deadly than June's 92. The weeks since Floyd's death, in fact, are some of the most violent in 20 years of official data. Challenging popular media presentation of the post-Floyd protests as largely peaceful, the first week of protests coincided with the highest counts of arson, burglary, homicide, gun violence, and public disorder incidents on record. Liberals, Secession, and "The Other". Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (affectionately known here as Beetle juice) has blamed the state of Indiana for all the murders in Chicago. That's right, Chicagoan's are killing each other because of truckloads of guns brought in by Hoosiers. Previously, she said, "we had a law enforcement first [policy] and it wasn't working." Dubious, either that that was her policy, or that it wasn't working — because it wasn't being allowed to work. But now? "The fact that you can cross the border," she said, "go into Indiana and purchase military-grade weapons at any number with no background check is a terrible thing, not only for a city but look at the devastation that gun violence is wreaking every single day in our community." She's not alone in blaming outsiders for her own city's problems. The Editor says... Teen Activist Who Rallied to Defund Police and Remove Police from Schools Is Shot Dead in Chicago. A teen activist in Chicago who rallied to defund police and remove police from schools was shot dead on Friday [8/31/2020]. Caleb Reed was found shot in the head. No suspect has been named in the shooting. Traffic Court Notices In Chicago Have Been A Mess, The Court Clerk Says It's Racist To Ask Why. Cook County, IL includes the city of Chicago and has a population of more than 5 million people. It's a big job to manage all of the court dates for the county and that's especially true in the midst of a pandemic. Traffic cases in the county have been moved entirely online in the form of Zoom meetings, but many people aren't getting the message. In fact, some people are getting the wrong message in the form of court date notifications telling them to show up at the courthouse. But when they get there they find themselves waiting for hours in a line that stretches for several blocks. When they finally get to the front of the line they are informed that traffic cases are handled online and while they were waiting in the line, they missed their online court dates. 9 dead, 25 wounded in Chicago weekend shootings. A series of shootings over the weekend in Chicago has left nine people dead and 25 wounded, closing out a violent July in which murders there more than doubled compared to the same month last year, reports say. Tragedy first struck Friday evening when Janari Ricks, a 9-year-old who was playing with a group of friends, died after being hit in the chest by a gunman who walked up and started opening fire, investigators say. Chicago Police Department Chief of Operations Brian McDermott told the Sun-Times newspaper that Ricks "was an unintended target," and now a $4,000 reward is being offered for information about the person who pulled the trigger. Parking meter deal Chicagoans love to hate gets worse — again. The stay-at-home shutdown triggered by the coronavirus turned the streets of downtown Chicago into a virtual ghost town. But private investors who leased Chicago's parking meters had plenty of cushion to absorb the blow. Chicago's parking meter system raked in another $138.7 million in 2019, allowing private investors to recoup their entire $1.16 billion investment and then some with more than 60 years to go on the 75-year lease. Four underground city-owned parking garages took in $34.8 million in 2019, while the privatized Chicago Skyway generated just under $92 million in cash, separate audits of those assets show. Not a penny of those revenues went to ease the burden on Chicago taxpayers that will almost certainly get worse to fill a $700 million hole in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's $11.6 billion 2020 budget and plug a $1 billion gap next year. Chicago's deadliest summer in 19 years. Overall citywide crime has decreased by 9 percent compared to the same time period in 2019," the Chicago Police Department said in a statement today [8/1/2020]. "This category includes murder, criminal sexual assault, robbery, aggravated battery, burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft. These reductions in overall crime were driven by a 26 percent decline in theft, and a 19 percent decline in criminal sexual assault through July 31, compared to the same year-to-date period in 2019." The University of Chicago Crime Lab data from June and July suggests homicides are at their highest level since 2001, and that seven months into the year, the city is not far from passing 2019's homicide total. Chicago homicides increase 50 percent in 2020, 139 percent in July alone, data shows. Chicago saw a dramatic increase in homicides and shootings in the first seven months of 2020 and a particularly remarkable increase in July, reflecting a growing trend in the U.S. that raised questions about potential police reform in major cities. Data released on Saturday [8/1/2020] showed that Chicago saw 440 homicides between January 2020 through the end of June, a 52 percent increase from the same time period last year (which saw 290 homicides). Shooting victims similarly increased by 51 percent (1,480 to 2,240) and shooting incidents themselves rose 47 percent (from 1,210 to 1,783). Chicago Shooting Suspect At Large After Killing 9-Year-Old. Chicago police are searching for a suspect in the fatal shooting of a 9-year-old boy. The shooter allegedly opened fire on the young victim and several others in Chicago's North Side on Friday night [7/31/2020]. The 9-year-old was reportedly playing in a parking lot at the time of the incident and was not the intended target. No one else was injured in the incident. The boy was pronounced dead shortly after being admitted to a nearby children's hospital. Chicago sees 139% jump in murders, uptick in shootings in July 2020: police. Murders and shootings reported last month in Chicago increased drastically from July 2019, but overall crime in the city decreased, according to data released by Chicago police. The 105 murders reported in July mark a nearly 139% increase from the 44 reported in July 2019, while the 406 shooting incidents are a 75% increase from the 232 last July, according to figures in a statement from police Saturday [8/1/2020]. The Sun-Times has counted 106 homicides throughout Chicago in July 2020 and a total of 430 for the year through the end of July. So far this year, murders are up 51% compared to the period from January through July 2019, along with a 47% increase in shootings, police said. Courthouse confusion continues: Court clerk claims it's 'racist' to ask 'why?'. For weeks now, people have been showing up to the Daley Center in downtown Chicago for appearances in traffic court that are being handled entirely online or over the phone. Angelica Velez was among them. She received several citations after being involved in a traffic accident. "I was told to get in the line and then they gave us a paper that says to do it over the phone," she said. "I could've stayed in bed to do this." Some have waited for several hours only to learn their online hearing took place while they were waiting in an actual line outside the courthouse. Chicago mayor pulls out of roundtable to avoid being on same stage with Minneapolis mayor, sources say. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot pulled out of a virtual roundtable hosted by Crain's Chicago Business to avoid appearing on the same digital stage as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who has been a lightning rod for criticism after the police killing of George Floyd, sources told The Chicago Tribune. Lightfoot had been scheduled to join political consultant David Axelrod "and the mayors of two Midwest cities on Wednesday [7/29/2020] to discuss how COVID-19 and recent civil unrest will define the future of our nation's cities," according to a since-deleted Crain's Facebook post. Three Chicago Cops Shot by Handcuffed Carjacking Suspect. A violent handcuffed carjacking suspect opened fire on Chicago police officers when they opened the doors of a police wagon outside a local police station Thursday morning, wounding three officers, one of them critically, the New York Post reported. "They were bringing him to the station when the offender was able to fire shots at the officers and they returned fire," Chicago Police spokesman Tom Ahern said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives said it is tracing the gun to see if it there are records of its use in other crimes. An only-in-Illinois story: ComEd bribery scheme hearing is run by daughter-in-law of alleged key player in the case. Nearly two weeks after admitting to a bombshell bribery charge, ComEd executives outlined their ethics reform plan to a panel of state regulators led by the relative of an alleged player in the criminal plot. Illinois Commerce Commission Chairwoman Carrie Zalewski, whose agency oversees utility rates and safety practices, opened Wednesday's meeting with demands for "transparency" and "accountability" in light of federal court records that allege ComEd engaged in a "yearslong bribery scheme" involving jobs, contracts and payments to allies of House Speaker Michael Madigan. One of the Madigan associates that prosecutors say got such a job? Carrie Zalewski's father-in-law, former 23rd Ward Ald. Michael Zalewski. Several [Black] Men Riding Divvy Bikes Carjack 82-Year-Old [White] Man in Streeterville. In a brazen crime caught on camera early Sunday morning [7/26/2020], a group of men riding Divvy bikes surrounded an elderly man's car in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood, pulled the driver out and stole his vehicle. Video of the incident shows approximately 12 men on bikes circling the victim's car at around 10 a.m. Sunday on Grand Avenue just west of Columbus Drive. As the group blocks the driver, an 82-year-old man, from leaving, one man opens the door and begins to pull the victim out by his arm. [Video clip] 62 shot, 3 fatally in Chicago weekend violence. There were 62 people shot, three of them fatally, from Friday afternoon to Monday morning, according to Chicago police. The weekend wasn't as deadly as last weekend, when 71 were shot, 12 fatally, according to data kept by the Tribune, or see as many shootings as any of the weekends in the last month. Still, another shooting occurred in the downtown area during overnight hours following a fatal shooting in the Near North neighborhood last week. 3 face weapons charges in first Chicago federal prosecutions under 'Operation Legend'. Three men charged with illegally possessing guns and ammunition are the first in Chicago prosecuted under Operation Legend, officials announced Friday [7/24/2020]. Darryl Collins, 30, of Dolton, is charged with one count of illegal possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. Romeo Holloway, 21, is charged with illegal possession of a firearm by felon. And Darryl Phillips 22, is charged with illegal possession of a machine gun, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois. Chicago and the Thing No One Wants to Talk About. Chicago's crime stats are downright horrific. For the calendar year 2020, shootings in the Democrat-run city are up 46%, and homicides have risen 48%. As of July 19, 402 murders have been recorded. To make matters worse, children are dying at a heartbreaking rate. Just since Memorial Day, 111 kids ages 12-17 have been murdered, and another 20 under the age of 11 have been killed. These data expose an apparent connection between the George Floyd killing — which occurred on May 25 — and the escalation of civil unrest in Black Lives Matter's efforts to defund the police. Calculating the death dates in the Windy City in conjunction with the race of these homicides reveals an alarming number. The statistics show that since May 25, 147 blacks in Chicago have been killed; the number of murdered black males is nothing short of staggering — an entire generation of black men is being wiped out. Christopher Columbus statue taken down hours after Lightfoot ordered its removal. The controversial Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park was taken down under cover of darkness early Friday [7/24/2020], hours after Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered its removal. Two cranes pulled up to the statue just before 2 a.m. Friday, after protesters and supporters of the statue argued and yelled at each other. Supporters included John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7. The decision to remove the statue came after violent clashes between police and protesters broke out last week when activists tried but failed to take it down. Chicago Mayor Surrenders to Mob Over Columbus Statues. Two statues of Christopher Columbus fell victim to the cancel culture mob sweeping America early Friday morning after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered their removal, wrongly believing it would ease tensions in the city. "This action was taken after consultation with various stakeholders," her office said in a statement. Protesters gather in front of Mayor Lightfoot's home. A group of roughly 1,000 protesters marched to Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home Thursday evening [7/23/2020]. The group started their protest and rally in Logan Square with calls to defund the Chicago Police Department. Most Chicago homicide victims over the past decade are Black, police data show. As gun violence in Chicago increased exponentially over the past decade, African Americans were overwhelmingly impacted. Local leaders continue to grapple with how to combat the spike while opposing plans by the Trump administration to deploy federal agents to the city. From Jan. 1, 2010 through July 8 of this year, Black homicide victims accounted for 4,374 of the city's murders, according to figures provided by the Chicago Police Department to Fox News. The second-largest group impacted by gun violence — Hispanics and Black Hispanics — totaled 785 murder victims over the same period. The murder rate of Black victims held steady, never surpassing 400 annually until 2016. That year, 607 Black people were killed, according to police. From Jan. 1 through July 8, the city reported 291 Black people killed. White people had significantly lower homicide numbers followed by people of Asian descent and Native Americans. Trump, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot agree to deployment of federal agents. President Trump called Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday evening to confirm his plans to send 200 federal agents to the city to combat "a rampage of violence." In a statement obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, the mayor's office said Trump "reached out to Mayor Lightfoot this evening to confirm that he plans to send federal resources to Chicago to supplement ongoing federal investigations pertaining to violent crime." "The conversation was brief and straightforward," the statement said. Chicago Driver Barely Survives Attack by [black] Teens w/Pitchfork. Are the police defunded enough yet? [...] If only there was some sort of mechanism for the police to detain and lock up huge violent gangs roaming the streets? They used to call them prisons. They worked surprisingly well in the 80s and 90s, but now a whole bunch of Ava DuVernay documentaries on Netflix tell us that's a terrible idea and it's much better to bury a dozen people every weekend in Chicago instead. About All That Violence in Chicago. Yes: Black people care just as much about "Black-on-Black violence" (or, more accurately, are likely more focused on and concerned with "Black-on-Black crime") as we are with police misconduct. And no: the vast majority of African-Americans do not confound police misconduct with professional and ethical police work (especially since roughly 13% of police forces overall are Black, meaning that many of us have family members that are police officers). Necessary-yet-tough police work is not the same as unnecessary-and-covered-up police misconduct. Yes: Black people (and other dedicated Americans) actually organize, protest, and volunteer every day to eradicate the scourge of criminality and the aftermath of fear and devastation that rocks urban communities. (How do I know? I have participated in many such activities — including in the roughest parts of Chicago and other cities — and even the marches do not always have television cameras involved). And no: eroding trust and efforts any further with demeaning comments such as tweets about scaling up the unconstitutional tactic of stop-and-frisk due to a "ghetto civil war" simply do not help the situation. Chicago Police: Group of Kids as Young as 10 Are on Carjacking Rampage. Chicago police have linked a group of armed children to at least 16 carjackings since the end of June in the city's South Side neighborhood. The children, said to be ages 10 to 17, committed their first carjacking June 23, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. "In all of these incidents, 4-6 armed offenders approached citizens while they parked their vehicles or pulled into gas stations. They then demanded their vehicles and property," a Sunday community alert from the Chicago Police Department read. New Chicago police video displays chaotic scene as 2 gunmen on Wabash Avenue Bridge appear to fatally shoot man, injure woman. The video, a little more than three minutes long, begins with several people strolling back and forth across the bridge about 2:25 a.m. Sunday in the 300 block of North Wabash Avenue. Bright blue lights of a few police cars twinkle on a street nearby. A cluster of about 10 young men walk to one end of the bridge and off camera and then appear back on screen. A few in the group then seem to begin pacing, peering off the bridge and into the street, as one man dressed in black pants and a black T-shirt is seen pulling a gun and holding it in his right hand, its barrel to the ground. Shortly after that, another man several yards behind him is highlighted by police in the video as a gunman. Fraternal Order of Police president says 'childish' Chicago mayor is 'running the Titanic into an iceberg intentionally'. Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara said Tuesday [7/21/2020] that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) is "unprofessional," "childish," and "pathetic." In an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham, Catanzara addressed the news of a mass shooting that took place outside a Chicago funeral home. A gunman opened fire Tuesday night on a funeral home, injuring as many as 15 people who were attending a funeral at the facility. Brown Responds to Questions Over Police Response After Activists Say They Warned of Funeral Shooting. Amid reports that Chicago activists may have warned police that a shooting was possible at a funeral where 15 people were wounded in the city's Gresham neighborhood Tuesday [7/21/2020], Supt. David Brown said the department did have a presence in the area prior to the shootout. According to Brown, two squad cars were stationed at the funeral home and an additional tact team was deployed to the area - standard protocol, he said, for funerals involving victims with potential gang ties. Chicago alderman says city 'too afraid' to ask Trump for help to stop violence. A Chicago alderman suggested Democrats are "too afraid" to ask President Trump for help to address rampant violent crime. Alderman Anthony Napolitano, a former police officer, joined Fox & Friends Monday morning [7/20/2020] and said the city is desperate for assistance after Chicago officials reported at least 63 shootings and 12 deaths over the weekend. "People are too afraid right now to ask the president for help because if it does work, they're going to make the president look like a success. And it's a political move," Napolitano said. 60 shot, 7 fatally, in Chicago so far this weekend. Ten people were killed and 60 others, including 10 minors, were wounded in shootings across Chicago over the weekend. The numbers surpassed those of the same weekend last year, when 43 people were shot, three of them fatally. Last weekend, 64 people were shot across the city, 13 of them fatally. Six of those victims were teenagers and one teen was killed. Armed kids as young as 10 carjack more than a dozen people, police say, including CPS teacher left 'traumatized' in Calumet Heights. Alyssa Blanchard was so traumatized after being carjacked at gunpoint last week outside her Calumet Heights home that she's now scared to go outside. Chicago police say a group of children, ages 10 to 17, carjacked Blanchard and at least 15 other people since late June — wreaking havoc on Blanchard's generally peaceful South Side neighborhood. [...] Blanchard was carjacked July 14 while returning home in the early evening. As she pulled into her alley garage on South Kingston Avenue, she noticed a vehicle and three or four children come toward her. Two children armed with handguns pointed them to her head and ordered her out of her BMW, she said. One child looked as young as 11, she said. The Editor says... Expressway shootings surge in Chicago area. Illinois State Police say they need license plate scanners, despite privacy concerns. Expressway shootings have surged in the Chicago area this year, already surpassing what is normally seen in an entire year and increasing pressure for the installation of better cameras as well as scanners that read license plates. The Illinois State Police have recorded 61 expressway shootings in Cook County this year. That compares with 52 for all of 2019, 43 in 2018, 51 in 2017 and 54 in 2016, a year when gun violence in Chicago hit levels not seen since the 1990s. More than half the shootings this year — 40 — have been on the Dan Ryan Expressway and Interstate 57, according to numbers provided by the state police. The Editor says... Chicago Police Statistics Destroy Black Lives Matter Narrative. Last week in Chicago, a protest of sorts obediently marched to the tune of hackneyed charges of systemic injustice. The tired narrative droned on about bad policing, police targeting of the black community, and too much jail or prison time. This kept the crowd from considering alternatives to their afternoon work, such as offering a token of gratitude to thankless peacekeepers in their own backyard, the murder capital of America. One wonders if they know that out of the 560 homicides, 475 victims were black, killed not by the police or whites, but by other blacks. By all means, protest. But when people complain about the system being rigged, they need to remember they voted for their system, and they've been voting for the same system for quite a while. The mayoral offices have been run by Democrats since before the Great Depression, which means only about 2 million out of 350 million total Americans were alive the last time the city voted for a Republican. Most recently, Obama acolyte Rahm Emanuel helmed the city between 2011 and 2019, and currently a woman by the name of Lori Lightfoot, whose sole victory in the role comes from being the first openly gay, black mayor of the town, presides over the carnage. Chaos in Chicago: 18 officers injured, 1000 protesters riot, attempt to tear down Columbus statue. At least 18 Chicago Police Department officers were injured and some taken to nearby hospitals for treatment Friday night after a mob of 1,000 left-wing extremists showed up at Grant Park in hopes of tearing down a statue of Christopher Columbus. Watch scenes of the extremists surrounding the statue, attacking police officers and also grabbing a journalist's camera from her hands. [Video clip] Amid weekend shootings, violent protests take cops away from South, West sides: CPD. Chicago Police Department leadership on Monday sought to highlight the attacks on officers during a violent confrontation at the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park. After showing six minutes of video footage captured during the clash Friday, Supt. David Brown repeatedly stressed violent protests force the department to divert resources from the South and West sides, where shootings are most prevalent. Seventy people were shot over the weekend, 10 fatally, according to a log maintained by the Chicago Sun-Times. Ten minors were hit by gunfire, keeping with an alarming recent trend in which young children have been shot throughout the city. The murder rate is out of control in Chicago, but the mayor is worried about masks and six-foot spacing. Homeland Security Planning To Deploy 150 Agents To Chicago This Week. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is making plans to deploy around 150 federal agents to Chicago this week, according to the Chicago Tribune, amid controversy over the actions of federal agents at protests in Portland, Oregon, and President Trump's calls for federal force in other cities. [...] On Saturday [7/18/2020], the president of Chicago's police union wrote a letter asking Trump for federal assistance in controlling the violence in the city. The letter criticized Mayor Lightfoot, who later responded, calling it a "political stunt." Chicago has experienced one of its most violent years in recent history so far in 2020, with tensions rising exponentially since the May 25 death of George Floyd. Homicides in Chicago were up 48% through July 12 and shootings were up by 46% from the same period last year. Homeland Security plans to deploy 150 agents in Chicago this week, with scope of duty unknown. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is crafting plans to deploy about 150 federal agents to Chicago this week, the Chicago Tribune has learned, a move that would come amid growing controversy nationally about federal force being used in American cities. The Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, agents are set to assist other federal law enforcement and Chicago police in crime-fighting efforts, according to sources familiar with the matter, though a specific plan on what the agents will be doing had not been made public. One city official said the city was aware of the plan but not any specifics. The Chicago Police Department had no immediate comment. Warfare In Grant Park. Last night Communist and Anarchist rioters attacked the statue of Christopher Columbus in Grant Park, Chicago. Police tried to guard the statue, and a pitched battle ensued, with 18 police officers injured and a dozen rioters — nowhere near enough — arrested. The rioters gained temporary ascendancy over the police, got control over the statue and attempted to pull it down, but without success — unlike the vandals who tore down the statue of Columbus on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol. [Video clip] Chicago police, protesters clash near Columbus statue in Grant Park. A protest near the Christopher Columbus statue in Chicago's Grant Park turned violent Friday night, as the crowd started hurling objects at police officers who were guarding the statue, according to reports. As conditions worsened, dozens of police officers arrived from across the city, FOX 32 of Chicago reported. A total of 18 police officers were injured at the scene, the report said. Some required treatment at hospitals. At least a dozen rioters were taken into custody, FOX 32 reported. Chicago threatens to bulldoze churches, lawyer says. The lawyer representing two churches in Chicago fighting the city's coronavirus guidelines said he never thought he'd see the day when city leaders would threaten to bulldoze a church for allowing its congregation to worship. That day has arrived. Matt Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, said Wednesday that churches that he represents have received letters from the city's Board of Health that declared them "public nuisances." Chicago shootings: 64 shot, 11 fatally in weekend violence. Weekends in Chicago have been plagued by violence this summer. Chicago police said 64 people were shot, 11 fatally, between 6:00 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday [7/12/2020]. That follows a deadly weekend over the 4th of July when 87 people were shot. The weekend before that, there were 63 shooting victims. Enough excuses, governor. The unemployment mess deserved your early attention. The emails continue to pour in. Thousands of workers furloughed or laid off due to COVID-19 shutdowns still have not received unemployment help from the state of Illinois, to which they are entitled. "I applied for benefits two months ago. I have $0 and am completely out of options," Alexis wrote to us over the weekend. [...] The Tribune Editorial Board is not identifying by full names those who've emailed us because a data breach at the state employment agency — the same one now incapable of processing timely claims — in May allowed public access to the personal data, Social Security numbers and private information of unemployed Illinoisans who had used the recommended online portal to apply. 23-Month-Old Boy Dies After Being Repeatedly Punched in the Face by Attacker in Chicago. A Chicago toddler is dead after being severely beaten by a person who battered the 23-month-old kid's face, and a suspect has been brought into custody for the heinous crime. Michael Robinson, 23, has been charged with first-degree murder following the death of 23-month-old Antwun Gayden. Following his injuries, Gayden was transferred to the Comer Children's Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving. "It's bad enough that there's kids getting shot, now we got kids being beat," neighbor Lance Lee said to WGN 9. "I don't know what's going on." Lori Lightfoot Blames City's Historic Murder Rate on Lack of 'Federal Strategy'. Embattled Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot continued to deflect criticism of her administration's response to the city's spiraling gun violence this week; blaming a lack of "federal strategy" to curb the shootings. Man found dead in Grant Park with multiple stab wounds after woman sees him on ground for 2 days. A 58-year-old man was found dead Thursday morning in Grant Park with stab wounds to the neck and back, after a woman called police when she saw him on the ground in the same spot for a third day in a row, according to police. Around 9 a.m. Thursday [7/9/2020], Chicago police responded to a call of a man found unresponsive in the 1100 Block of South Michigan Avenue, near the south end of Grant Park. The man was pronounced dead on the scene around 9:30 am according to officials. Chicago police have since updated the incident to a homicide. Chicago air is dirtier in July than smog-choked Los Angeles. More bad air is forecast. After missing out on cleaner air during the coronavirus lockdown, the Chicago area just suffered its longest streak of high-pollution days in more than a decade. Eight consecutive days of bad air swept through the region amid an emerging scientific link between exposure to pollution and COVID-19 death rates. Low-income, predominantly Black and Latino communities are being hit the hardest. Air quality has been so poor, the entire Chicago area ended up dirtier than notoriously smog-choked Los Angeles during the beginning of the month, according to a Chicago Tribune review of federal data. Press Now Plumbs Its Own Depths Of Depravity. On the July 4 weekend, Chicago had 87 shootings resulting in 17 deaths, New York City 64 shootings and 10 deaths, Atlanta 31 shootings and five deaths, and the crime rate in New York City since the city council voted to reduce the annual police budget by a billion dollars has increased 130% over the corresponding figure in 2019. The anti-Trump media have said almost nothing about this. Alderman says home vandalized, arson attempted in overnight attack. A vandal threw a brick through the window of Ald. Ray Lopez's (15th) home early Thursday before coming back an hour later and setting a nearby garage on fire. Lopez believes that what happened overnight at his home was a direct result of an experience that he had with FOX 32 News about six blocks away from his home earlier in the day. Lopez was giving an interview to FOX 32's Dane Placko when he says that a number of gang members told him that he does not control what happens in the neighborhood, they control what happens in the neighborhood. Three cheers for the Chicago Blackhawks. The Chicago Blackhawks this week responded to critics who say they must change their name and logo with a resounding, "Nah." A spokesman for the hockey team said Tuesday that the organization, named for the U.S. 86th Infantry Division, which was itself nicknamed in honor of the Sauk Nation war chief Black Hawk, will not rebrand over complaints that its name and logo perpetuate racist stereotypes. The Black Lives Matter Effect is Killing Black Children. Eight children under the age of 10 have been shot in Chicago in the past few weeks. The cause of these shootings is an upsurge in crime from the Black Lives Matter riots that have devastated the country. The Black Lives Matter riots are killing black people, and particularly black children, in two ways. Chicago murders are up 83% in June, while arrests fell 55%, street stops 74%, and traffic stops 86%. If you want to see what defunding the police looks like, just stop by Chicago and bring a bulletproof vest. John Catanzara, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police, blames a new Ferguson Effect in the George Floyd era where officers, "pause and say: 'I want to go home today safe. I want to make sure I keep my job. And I want to make sure I don't go to jail.'" Mayor Lightfoot argues that it's due to the police being tied up by the Black Lives Matter protests. And they're both right. The BLM Effect has a dual function. The protests are tying up large numbers of cops, leaving gang members free to fight their battles, and the dismantling of proactive policing and the scapegoating of cops makes the police less proactive. 'Blackhawks' name honors Native American leader, say Chicago. The NHL's Chicago Blackhawks said on Tuesday they will not change their name or logo despite growing pressure on U.S. sports teams with Native American names and symbols to do so amid a push to eliminate racially insensitive material. What is behind the violent shootings in Chicago? Independence Day weekend marked another bloody weekend in Chicago, with at least 67 people shot — 18 fatally, including four children — as high homicide rates continue to blight the Windy City. The week prior, five children were caught in the crossfire, in which three died. And over Memorial Day weekend, Chicago endured its bloodiest day in over six decades — 18 people were killed and 45 wounded in a 24-hour period. According to statistics issued by the Chicago Police Department last week, shootings and murders jumped 75 percent in June compared to the same time in 2019, with 425 shootings this year compared to 242 last June. Six Weeks, Six Cities, 600 Murders. The single most important issue, affecting some of the largest swaths of populations in America, is the scandal the media ignores even as it explodes in our faces. In only six weeks, city after city operated by entrenched Democrats have seen a massive expansion in lawlessness, violence, and murder. Stunningly, many news outlets seem gobsmacked and mystified at how or why such an explosion of lawlessness has occurred. For the sake of brevity, let's sample six of the nation's largest cities, including all of the top three. [...] [Example #3] Chicago: Year-to-date shootings have eclipsed 1,508 for 2020, putting them 350 ahead of 2019. To date homicides sit at 254, placing them ahead of 2019. Important to note that the Cook County board voted in favor of defunding police. Eleven city alderman raced to the fore to demand that not a single penny of $333 million in federal dollars not go to police, and various proposals are being considered to cut current funding by more than $30 million in current spending. Chicago Mayor Lightfoot: 'We're Making Progress' After 13 Bodies Lie Dead in the Street. [Scroll down] If 67 people were hit by bullets, how many shots were actually fired? The gunfire on Chicago's streets must sound to those who served like they were back in Baghdad or Mogadishu. [...] I can remember when 8 people getting shot in the same incident made national headlines. But two separate incidents of mass casualties in one weekend? [I]t's just another night in Chicago. 79 shot, 15 fatally, over Fourth of July weekend in Chicago. Fifteen people were killed and 64 others wounded in shootings across Chicago over the Fourth of July weekend. [...] Eleven of the weekend's victims were minors, and two of the children died from their injuries. A 14-year-old boy was among four people killed in a shooting that wounded four others Saturday night in Englewood on the South Side. With murders up nearly 80% in Chicago last month, Lori Lightfoot blames guns. Shootings and homicides in Chicago increased sharply in June compared to the same time last year. Police data show that shootings in Chicago increased by 75% in June of 2020 compared to June 2019, and murders in the city rose by 78%, according to NBC 5 Chicago. In June of this year, 424 people were shot, and 89 were murdered — compared to 242 shootings and 50 murders during the same month last year. With murders up nearly 80% in Chicago last month, Lori Lightfoot blames guns. Shootings and homicides in Chicago increased sharply in June compared to the same time last year. Police data show that shootings in Chicago increased by 75% in June of 2020 compared to June 2019, and murders in the city rose by 78%, according to NBC 5 Chicago. In June of this year, 424 people were shot, and 89 were murdered — compared to 242 shootings and 50 murders during the same month last year. Last weekend alone, gun violence killed more than a dozen people, including three children. Twelve people were killed on Father's Day weekend, including a 3-year-old. Mayor Lightfoot's Chicago: 75 Percent Increase in Shootings in June. Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D) Chicago saw a 75 percent increase in shootings in June 2020 versus the number of shootings in June 2019. NBC 5 reported that murder subsequently rose too, with 78 percent more murders in June 2020 versus June 2019. Looking at the first six months of 2020, Mayor Lightfoot's Chicago witnessed a 42 percent increase in shootings and a 34 percent increased in homicides. WGN 9 reported that Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown plans to put 1,200 extra officers on patrol over the coming Fourth of July weekend in hopes of staving off a spike in violence. Breitbart News reported that over 60 were shot, at least 16 fatally, in Chicago last weekend. Breakdown. [Scroll down] In Chicago, 18 people were killed and 47 wounded in drive- and walk-by shootings last weekend. The fatalities included a one-year-old boy riding in a car with his mother (the gunman drove up alongside and emptied his gun into the vehicle) and a 10-year-old girl struck in the head inside her home; a group of youth on the street outside her house had started shooting at another group of youth nearby. The previous weekend in Chicago, 104 people were shot, 15 fatally. The deceased included a three-year-old boy riding in a car with his father on Father's Day — his gangbanger father was the intended victim — and a 13-year-old girl shot in her head in her home. [...] The victims in these shootings are overwhelmingly black. So far this year, 78 percent of all homicide victims in Chicago are black, though blacks are less than a third of the population. But the defund-the-police advocates and the Democratic establishment have said nothing about the growing loss of black lives. [...] While 307 people have been murdered this year in Chicago, the Chicago police have killed three suspects, all armed and dangerous. Brit Hume Rips Black Lives Matter And 'Stomach-Turning' Corporate Support. Fox News correspondent Brit Hume criticized Black Lives Matter during a Tuesday night [6/30/2020] "Tucker Carlson Tonight" analysis segment. "Let's be clear about what the Black Lives Matter movement stands for," Hume told Fox News host Tucker Carlson. "It isn't about protecting or saving black lives. It's about protecting and saving some black lives. Which is to say, it's a number that is dwarfed by those who are lost in the kind of urban violence that you describe in Chicago, New York and other cities." Chicago in particular has experienced a surge in gun violence the past several weeks, with 320 homicides in 2020 alone, including six children shot and killed in just one week. In New Message, Lightfoot Accuses Trump of Targeting Cities With Female Mayors. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot accused President Donald Trump of targeting Democratic, female mayors in larger U.S. cities with "misogynistic and racist rants" after the president wrote a letter to her on the city's increasing violence. "What's abundantly clear over this last month in particular, there's some obvious dots to connect as part of his regular rotation of criticisms," Lightfoot said during an unrelated press conference Monday. "He has started attacking and trying to undermine every big city Democratic mayor, especially the women." At Least 20 People Shot, 7 Fatally, During 24 Hours in Mayor Lightfoot's Chicago. At least 20 people were shot, seven fatally, during a 24-hour timeframe this weekend in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D) Chicago. [...] At least 100 people were shot in Mayor Lightfoot's Chicago last weekend, which was Father's Day Weekend, 14 of whom succumbed to their injuries. 18 dead, 47 wounded in Chicago weekend shootings. Four children were among 65 people shot across Chicago this weekend, 18 of them fatally. Three of the children were killed. The weekend gun violence brought Chicago past 300 homicides so far this year, the benchmark that Supt. David Brown challenged the police department to stay under in April. Last year, the city didn't break 300 homicides until early August, according to Sun-Times data. A 10-year-old girl was fatally shot Saturday night when a stray bullet hit her inside a Logan Square home on the Northwest Side. She was inside the apartment about 9:40 p.m. in the 3500 block of West Dickens Avenue when the bullet came through a window and struck her in the head, Chicago police said. She was taken to Stroger Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Unsanctioned Pride parade draws thousands in Chicago. Thousands of LGBT activists are gathering at an unsanctioned Pride parade in Chicago. The city's parade was canceled because of fears of the spread of the coronavirus, but activists gathered on Sunday anyway at the "Reclaim Pride March," which partnered the causes of Pride and the Black Lives Matter movement. Alexis Abarca, an activist who attended the march, told ABC 7 that the two movements are both advocating for an end to police brutality and racial injustice. Chicago man killed 2 teens after they asked how tall he was, police say. A Chicago man is accused of killing two teenagers at a convenience store this month after they asked how tall he was, authorities said on Thursday [6/25/2020]. Laroy Battle, 19, reportedly opened fire on Jasean Francis, 17, and Charles Riley, 16, in a back ally around 5 p.m. on June 20 after they and a friend walked home from buying candy at the store — following a brief encounter with the suspect. "The victims commented, because, since Battle is quite tall, and they asked him how tall he was and you know, hoped to be that tall someday," Deputy Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan told Chicago's WLS-TV. "And unfortunately, obviously we'll never see the full growth of these poor children." Zoos reopen in Chicago, but they now require reservations. Zoos in Chicago got the green light this week to reopen under new capacity limits, even as coronavirus infections in the U.S hit an all-time high. To get in, though, guests will need to reserve a spot. That's among a slate of changes in store at the Lincoln Park Zoo, Brookfield Zoo and Shedd Aquarium. The sites will only admit 25 percent of their usual capacity, indoor habitats will remain closed, and most guests will be required to wear face masks. Trump says Democrat cities like Baltimore and Oakland are so lawless it's like 'living in hell' and claims Chicago is 'worse than Afghanistan'. President Donald Trump compared some U.S. cities to Afghanistan as he blasted protesters attempting to pull down statues as 'troublemakers' and 'anarchists'. Speaking in a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity on Thursday night, the president claimed that living in cites like Chicago, Detroit, Oakland and Baltimore was 'like living in hell' as he called for stop and frisk tactics to be used to cut down crime. 'It's not a racist statement,' Trump said. 'Black people come up to me and say "thank you". They want help.' At Least 100 Shot over Father's Day Weekend in Mayor Lightfoot's Chicago. At least 100 people were shot, 14 fatally, in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (D) Chicago over Father's Day Weekend 2020. The Chicago Sun-Times reports the first non-fatal shooting of the weekend occurred around 6:30 p.m. Friday, when a vehicle pulled up near a 35-year-old woman and the occupants opened fire. The woman was transported to hospital with gunshot wounds to her arm. Amid protests, Chicago's streets turned violent. 'Defund the police' critics say it's a warning. Over Memorial Day weekend, Chicago experienced its most violent day in 60 years, with 18 people killed and more than 45 others shot in 24 hours. The tragic weekend, which occurred in the midst of massive citywide protests against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, was quickly seized on by several critics of the "defund the police" movement, who used the shootings as an example of what would happen if police budgets and manpower are cut. "It is beyond comprehension that Democrats' response to this trend would be to reduce police protection," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tweeted. Chicago shootings: At least 70 shot, 10 fatally,including 4 children, in violence weekend. Ten people were killed, including four children, and at least 60 others wounded in shootings across Chicago over the weekend, police said. The youngest of those killed this weekend was 3-year-old Mekhi James. The little boy had just gotten haircut with his stepdad in the 600-block of North Central Avenue at about 6:25 p.m. Saturday [6/20/2020] when police said a vehicle pulled up next to them in traffic on the West Side and someone started shooting from inside. James died an hour later. Faith leaders are now offering close to $10,000 to find his killer. Chicago fraudulent unemployment claims spike. As with most states, Illinois has seen a massive increase in unemployment claims since the lockdowns began and business were forced to close and send their workers home. This was particularly true in the densely populated city of Chicago. The system was quickly overwhelmed, with newly unemployed workers complaining that they couldn't get through either the online system or by phone to submit a claim. Because of the massive backlog, the government essentially abandoned its normal verification process and began approving claims as soon as they were submitted in an effort to clear the backlog. Can any of you guess what happened next? Incidents of unemployment fraud quickly shot through the roof. And that's only the ones they've managed to identify so far. America's Choice: Chicago or MAGA Country. As societal unrest and economic anxiety grip our land, the ascendant and increasingly aggressive leftists seek a wholesale transformation of America into the harsh realities of Chicago, a place afflicted by violence, bereft of opportunity, and committed to stifling statism. [...] In fact, during the height of the recent protests and looting, Chicago suffered the deadliest single day in its modern history, with 18 people murdered on May 31, prompting the Chicago Sun-Times cover headline "Bloody Sunday." But well before recent unrest, Chicago's street carnage had grown so intense in recent years, that the U.S. military sends medics to city hospitals to train in gunshot wound treatment before overseas deployments to battle zones. COVID Madness — Chicago Ministry of COVID Compliance Introduces "Social Distancing Ambassadors". Comrade Lightfoot explains why the Chicago Ministry of COVID Compliance needed to cancel the days-off for all police officers, and extend all shifts to 12 hrs per day. According to the Chicago Mayor, the city will be deploying "Social Distancing Ambassadors" to help citizens accept their social responsibility. The monitors will assist the public remaining disengaged from human contact as the Ministry begins permitting citizens to exit the confines of their homes. Drone enforcement could likely assist. [...] The ministry has determined Blue state residents are safe at distances exceeding 6 feet. However, inside that zone, at 4 or 5 feet or less, the virus creates a rapid death spiral and attacks with increased ferocity. It is currently unknown why the proximity strain of the virus responds differently in Red states. Chicago Officials Support 'Defund Police' Movement But Cancel Police Day's Off and Require 12-hour Extended Shifts. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has previously down-played the violence, looting and riots in the city; while simultaneously telling city aldermen they were over-hyping the problems and issues within the city. Oddly enough Mayor Lightfoot said this while begging the looted merchants not to abandon the city, so that was always an odd juxtaposition. Today [6/14/2020], the contradiction gets even more weird as the entire Chicago police department; you know, those horrid people Lightfoot previously disparaged and said were unneeded; are now required to work their day's-off and extend to 12 hour shifts. Chicago Mayor Blasts City Council For Illegally Recording Profane Phone Call About Riots. Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot blasted an unnamed city council member for "illegally" recording a phone call between the mayor and a number of the city's aldermen over ongoing riots and unrest that destroyed hundreds of Chicago businesses and left some of the city's wards helpless. The mayor and Alderman Raymond Lopez, who represents areas on the city's south and near west sides, got into a profane exchange of words on the call, with Lopez accusing Lightfoot of using police resources to protect downtown stores from looting while leaving poorer and residential neighborhoods to fend for themselves, according to local media. Where Black Lives Don't Matter. Milwaukee and every other big blue city in America have been marked by a decades-long murder merry-go-round that has nothing to do with the police. The overwhelming majority of the murdered — and the murderers — in America's cities are young black men who were cheated out of a decent education by the inexcusably substandard Democrat-run public schools they had no choice but to attend. Because many were functionally illiterate and afflicted with arrested psychological development, they lacked the skills to hold down even the most basic entry-level job. So what did these frustrated and angry young men do? Most turned to a life of drugs and crime, with many ending up dead or in prison before reaching their 20th birthdays. For generations on end, black-on-black homicides in Democrat-run cities have been an ongoing calamity for the black community. On May 31, Chicago experienced a record 18 homicides in a single day. Year to date, the city has chalked up 264 murders, with young black men a solid majority of the victims, which raises the question: are those black lives any less important than George Floyd's, any less deserving of our outrage? Chicago is the poster child for urban carnage, but every big blue city in America has overseen a breeding ground for black-on-black havoc, and they've done it for the last half-century. Why Don't These #BlackLivesMatter? Black Lives Matter is a political advocacy group, "[f]ounded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's murderer," according to the group's website. Never mind that the George Zimmerman trial was a complete fraud, as Joel Gilbert brilliantly explained in his recent book and movie, "The Trayvon Hoax: Unmasking the Witness Fraud that Divided America." BLM is a self-described global network, which explains why protests and riots sprang up seemingly spontaneously all over the world after George Floyd's death. [...] Do the lives of Gregory Lewis, Teyonna Lofton, or Angelo Bronson matter? These are not and never will be household names like George Floyd. [...] These poor souls were victims of another weekend in the killing fields of Chicago. As the Chicago Sun Times reported: "18 murders in 24 hours: Inside the most violent day in 60 years in Chicago." This was last weekend while millions were proclaiming around the world that black lives matter. Mayor Says Chicago Projecting $700 MILLION Deficit, Tax Hikes 'On the Table'. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot told residents the city is projecting a $700 million budget deficit this year as businesses struggle to survive during the Coronavirus shutdown. "With tax revenue plummeting due to most Chicago businesses being closed for nearly three months, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city is facing an estimated $700 million budget deficit this year alone," reports CBS Chicago. Chicago Announces Fund to Pay Undocumented Immigrants, Others Left Out of Federal Coronavirus Relief. Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Wednesday [6/10/2020] a new fund that will give $1,000 per household to Chicago residents — including undocumented immigrants, college students and more — who were excluded from federal coronavirus relief payments that were distributed earlier this year. Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the federal government in mid-April began making payments of $1,200 to millions of Americans who have a social security number and earned less than $75,000 per year based on their 2019 tax filing. Millions of undocumented immigrants, many who pay taxes using what's known as a taxpayer identification number, were among those excluded from this relief program. Lessons from Chicago. On May 31, 19 Chicago residents were killed. This was the single deadliest day in Chicago in six decades, according to the University of Chicago Crime Lab. The lab's data doesn't go back further than 1961. From 7 p.m. Friday, May 29, through 11 p.m. Sunday, May 31, 25 people were killed in the city[.] An additional 85 were wounded by gunfire, according to data maintained by the Chicago Sun-Times. According to Chicago's mayor Lori Lightfoot, on May 31 Chicago's 911 emergency center received 65,000 calls for all types of service — 50,000 more than on a usual day. The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a radical activist and pal of the infamous Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's one-time pastor, complained that it was "open season" last weekend in his neighborhood and others on the South and West sides. Isn't that what badges represent? Remarkable Hubris — Chicago Mayor Asks Looted Businesses Not to Abandon The City. This is one of those transparently predictable outcomes from allowing "space to destroy" via chaos, riots, looting and arson happening without law enforcement empowered to stop it. Few of the looted and destroyed businesses in Baltimore ever reopened, creating a worse situation for those who now have to travel to find a grocery store or pharmacy. The same Chicago mayor who blocked police and law enforcement from curtailing the chaos, is now pleading with the looted businesses not to leave the city. Looters now trying to sell stolen goods on social media; FBI investigating. As if looting wasn't bad enough, now the thieves are allegedly bragging about looting and trying to sell the goods on social media. CBS 2 received several videos from users on Facebook who were admitting to taking the items during a protest and now wanted to sell them. That's when CBS 2 sent the photos and videos over to the Chicago Police Department (CPD). Now it turns out that the Chicago police have detectives reviewing all information and the FBI is also investigating. The CPD made a call for evidence, either videos or photos, of people looting so they could investigate and perhaps prosecute anyone they could identify committing the crime. The people responded with plenty of evidence, but of course, processing it and properly identifying criminals will take quite a while. People Found Admitting Out Loud To Looting, Selling Stolen Goods On Facebook. Selling looted goods on Facebook — CBS 2 found it's happening right now, with several videos and photos sent our way. We sent the evidence to Chicago Police, and on Monday night [6/8/2020], CBS 2's Tara Molina looked into what will happen next — with the CPD and the FBI investigating. There was a call for photos and videos of looting last week. The FBI asking anyone with information on unlawful activity to submit it — information the CPD is taking in too. Chicago Politicians Shout Profanity At Each Other After Most Violent Weekend In 60 Years. Chicago saw seven murders between May 29-30, bringing the weekend total 25 making it the deadliest weekend in the city's modern history, which had already struggled to shed an international reputation for its rampant crime, according to the Sun-Times. As lawmakers confronted its latest epidemic of violence to grip the community, leaked audio from a May 31 conference call between the mayor and 50 alderman shows the meeting escalated into a profanity-laced shouting match. One alderman demanded answers on how the city was caught so unprepared and responded so poorly to riots, allowing businesses to go up in flames. Distraught Chicago officials heard on tape fuming over looting, riots. Distraught Chicago officials complained to Mayor Lori Lightfoot — as looting and rioting in response to George Floyd's death swept through the Windy City — pleading for help and warning that the vulnerable had lost access to food and medicine. According to a tape obtained by WTTW News of an online conference call among the city's 50 aldermen and the mayor, one alderman could be heard weeping while others angrily decried what was going on in the city. Black Woman Has a Meltdown... Over Not Being Able to Loot Neighborhood Stores. A black woman in Chicago filmed a Facebook live video of armed citizens defending local businesses. According to the woman, people should be allowed to loot stores because they're already insured. [Profanity-saturated quote omitted.] The woman said she planned to call her cousin who is a homicide detective because she wanted to know if it was legal for the men to stand outside the stores with firearms. [Another quote omitted for the same reasons.] The woman went on a tirade, saying the men outside are from Morocco and aren't legal citizens. The Editor says... Epic video rant by black woman unable to loot cell phone store because it's guarded by 'Ayrabs'. A Chicago woman, evidently frustrated by armed guards at a local cell phone preventing her acquisition of new equipment during the recent rioting, tells us a lot about the state of thinking in the riot-American community. She's not showing a lot of intersectional solidarity with Muslim immigrants, whom she denounces as not real Africans because they are from Morocco (she says), and at one point repeatedly yells, "Burn them, Allah!" as she drives by, circling around to extend the harrangue. It's unfair, you see, because the black lives she thinks they will take are not insured, though she presumes the store is. Chicago Mayor Now Pleading With Walmart And Other Companies Not To Leave The City. After the recent riots which saw multiple large stores looted, some retailers are having second thoughts about remaining in certain cities. In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been talking to these retailers and asking them not to leave the city. Not only do these companies make it possible for residents to get the things they need, they pay tons of taxes which the city relies on. Alderman, activists call for Chicago to cut CPD funding. Calls for police reform are growing after the death of George Floyd sparked protests in Chicago and across the country. The push to cut police funding and shift resources to community-based services is gaining momentum. On Sunday [6/7/2020], a majority of the Minneapolis City Council vowed to disband the city's police department. Northwest Side Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez said she's in favor of defunding the Chicago Police Department. 18 murders in 24 hours: Inside Chicago's deadliest day in 60 years. Eighteen people were killed in Chicago in a 24-hour span last month — the deadliest day in the Windy City in roughly six decades, according to a report. The slayings — including a high school student and a college freshman who aspired to become a correctional officer — occurred on May 31 as the city grappled with ongoing civil unrest in the aftermath of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis police custody, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The grim tally made May 31 the single most violent day Chicago has endured in roughly 60 years, according to data provided to the newspaper by the University of Chicago Crime Lab. Measure to create Chicago Reparations Commission advances to City Council. Amid winds of change as America confronts its race issue, a reparations resolution dismissed by many as the stuff of dreams was unanimously passed by a Chicago City Council committee Friday [6/5/2020] and is scheduled to go before the full council June 17. The resolution would establish a "Chicago Citizens of African Descent Reparations Commission" to investigate how one of the most segregated cities in the nation could best make amends for the impact of slavery. The Editor says... Why not just forego the façade and denounce white men in general? Chicago Opening Grant Park and Union Park For Protesters To Gather This Weekend. Grant Park and Union Park will be designated spots for demonstrators to gather this weekend, as part of a plan announced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot Friday [6/5/2020]. But Chicago just entered Phase 3 of the governor's reopen plan, and groups of 10 or more are still prohibited. Or are they? The city expects hundreds if not thousands to gather peacefully this weekend. In addition to opening up Grant and Union parks, portions of Lake Shore Drive will also be shut down to deal with the crowds. The Editor says... Chicago riots wipe out most grocery sources for minority residents. As in many cities this week, the riots and destruction in Chicago overnight were considerably subdued compared to what we saw over the weekend. Perhaps that was because Kanye West showed up to march with the protesters and demand that the city's public schools cancel final exams. Let's hope the trend continues in that direction. But even as some business owners and residents begin trying to clean up the mess, the reality of what's left of their neighborhoods was just starting to sink in. Just as we saw with so many other cities, the looting and rioting were severe in Chicago, particularly in the already economically challenged South Side neighborhoods with primarily minority populations. Fires burned many structures and stores had their windows broken out and their contents looted. Residents have now realized that there are no longer any grocery stores in some neighborhoods. This area was already considered a "food desert" in terms of the availability of fresh food for home cooking, but now it's a food wasteland. Chicago-area patients struggle to get medications as pharmacies close amid George Floyd unrest. Many Chicagoans are scrambling to get essential medications because of pharmacy closures amid unrest over the death of George Floyd, and the problem is particularly acute on the city's South Side. At least 60 Chicago-area pharmacies have been damaged or closed in recent days, according to one estimate from the Illinois Pharmacists Association. CVS Health said at least 42 of its Chicago-area stores were closed in recent days, though that number was down to 30 by Wednesday. Many of them are in the Loop and South Side. Walgreens spokesman Phil Caruso did not disclose how many stores have been damaged or closed. But community members and leaders report widespread closures of Walgreens on the South Side. Chicago hospitals cancel appointments after weekend unrest. Several Chicago-area health systems canceled patient appointments Monday [6/1/2020] following a violent weekend and disruptions to public transit schedules. University of Chicago Medicine closed all of its outpatient centers Monday, including those in Orland Park, the South Loop, River East, River North, South Shore and the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine in Hyde Park. The system also canceled all elective surgeries and closed curbside testing for COVID-19 at its Orland Park and Hyde Park locations for the day. Lootings spread into neighborhoods as Chicago sees one of its most violent weekends with more than 80 shot. After two straight nights of looting in Chicago, the scene almost seemed normal. A man waited across the street as officers sped down Division Street and scattered looters from a Target store that had its glass doors shattered. After the last unmarked police SUV drove away around midnight Sunday, the man walked into the Wicker Park Target and spent several minutes inside. He came out with just one box of beer and passed it around to a handful of others standing outside. Chicago Pastor Says Mayor 'Militarized' Police to Block Church Parking Lot. The pastor of Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church in Chicago told "The Todd Starnes Show" on Monday that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot "militarized" the city police department to prevent worship at his church amid the coronavirus outbreak. Cristian Ionescu, the pastor, laid out the ways he said the city tried to intimidate his congregation prior to last Sunday's service. He said about three days before the Sunday, city police put up fliers on the blocks around his the church to inform churchgoers and nearby residents that they would not be able to park there on Sunday. George Floyd fallout in Chicago: Downtown locked down, unrest spreads to South, West sides and some suburbs. As Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot called in the Illinois National Guard to prevent a second night of downtown violence and looting, the chaos spilled into some city neighborhoods and continued to overshadow the urgent message conveyed during peaceful protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. [...] In Little Village, hammer-wielding looters smashed their way into Fresh Kicks shoe store an hour after it opened and stole merchandise as terrified employees hid. The police arrived about 10 minutes later, but it was unclear if they took anyone into custody, store manager Lack Chong said. How Chicago racked up a $662 million police misconduct bill. In this city's troubled history of police misconduct, Eric Caine's case may be unrivaled: It took more than 25 years and $10 million to resolve. For decades, he maintained he didn't brutally kill an elderly couple. The police, he said, beat him into a false confession. Locked up at age 20, he was freed at 46, bewildered by a world he no longer recognized. Caine ultimately was declared innocent, sued the city and settled for $10 million. No lockdown on murder. Many human activities were curtailed in America during Memorial Day weekend due to the Wuhan coronavirus. However, murder in Baltimore, Chicago, and Washington D.C. weren't among them. In Baltimore, there were eight killings over the weekend, even though residents were under orders to stay home due to the pandemic. Four additional people were injured in the shootings. According to police, several of the victims had previously been convicted of attempted murder. In a properly functioning justice system, these victims would have been incarcerated. Chicago topped Baltimore. It suffered nine killings, with 27 more wounded, over the weekend. This was Chicago's deadliest Memorial Day weekend since 2015. Washington, D.C. got off easy. Only three people were shot to death over the weekend. Police Break Up Rally Protesting Stay-At-Home Order At Buckingham Fountain. A Memorial Day rally calling for an end to the Illinois stay-at-home order was broken up early by Chicago Police. Organizers on Monday [5/25/2020] gathered at Buckingham Fountain, calling the order to fight the coronavirus pandemic unconstitutional and demanding a reopening. Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police both said they respect First Amendment rights, but the rally posed a public health risk. Chicago records deadliest Memorial Day weekend in five years despite stay-at-home order. Chicago saw its deadliest Memorial Day weekend in years, even as people hunker down under Illinois's stay-at-home order to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Police said 10 people were shot and killed in the city, the highest total since 2015. At least 42 others were injured in shootings. Chicago Mayor Launches Police Raid to Shut Down Black Church's Sunday Services. On Sunday [5/24/2020], Chicago's first openly gay mayor, Lori Lightfoot, mounted a raid on a black South Side church for holding services in defiance of her coronavirus lockdown orders. Lightfoot reportedly sent three marked squad cars and two unmarked cars full of officers to the Chicago Cornerstone Baptist Church in the South Side's Woodlawn neighborhood. Woodlawn is just south of Hyde Park, the area in which the Obamas lived for a short time before Barack became president. Insane News Tidbits. There are other news tidbits about politicians drunk with power that we Americans have given them. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot told city residents who disobeyed her stay-at-home order: "We will arrest you and we will take you to jail. Period. We're not playing games." Meanwhile, in violation of her own stay-at-home order, Lightfoot slipped out and got her hair done. She explained her decision, "I take my personal hygiene very seriously." Ventura County, California, health director Dr. Robert Levin said that his department would forcibly remove COVID-19 infected people from their own homes and put them "into other kinds of housing that we have available." Facing stiff criticism, Levin later explained: "I either misspoke or it was misinterpreted. I'll take the blame of having misspoke." The biggest casualty from the COVID-19 pandemic has nothing to do with the disease. It's the power we've given to politicians and bureaucrats. The question is how we recover our freedoms. End of 'sanctuary' in Chicago: Armed cops storm black church service. On Sunday [5/24/2020], Chicago's mayor, Lori Lightfoot, launched a police raid to shut down a black church's Sunday services. [...] Hard to believe, but these Democrats are certainly loving this post-pandemic power, aren't they? It reminds me of another Chicago story a few years ago. You may recall that Elvira Arellano, an illegal alien, took refuge in a church in Chicago back in 2007. As you may recall, even the president of Mexico got involved in the story. Mexico backed the young mother hiding in a church! Chicago's local leadership warned ICE and federal officials from charging into a church. Chicago Sees Deadliest Memorial Day Weekend In Years Amid Coronavirus Lockdown. Chicago saw its deadliest Memorial Day weekend in years this weekend, even though a coronavirus-related lockdown is still in effect and will continue to be in effect until the end of May. Gun violence typically ticks up in the city as the weather warms up, and Memorial Day weekend is often the start of a brutal and violent summer, tinged with gang violence on Chicago's south and west sides. This year has been no exception; according to public television station WTTW, homicides and gun violence are on the upswing in the city, even though most of the city's recreational activities are shut down to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus and the city's residents are under a strict stay-at-home order. Chicago restaurants react as Mayor Lightfoot says city won't be ready for outdoor dining by May 29. Some Chicago restaurants owners have expressed disappointment after Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the city will not be ready for outdoor dining on May 29 as Illinois eases restrictions in Phase 3 of Governor JB Pritzker's reopening plan. Mayor Lightfoot will hold a press conference Friday afternoon [5/22/2020] to provide an update to her reopening plan for the city. Lightfoot said the city is not ready for the next reopening phase and she did not give a specific date on when things will move forward, but it won't be next Friday. Chicago Mayor, Lori "Beetlejuice' Lightfoot, Only Hires People Who Pledge Allegiance To The New World Order. This video clip speaks for itself. This comment may have been taken out of context, but what mitigating context could there be? Report: Chicago Mayor sent Police to Tow Cars, Block Church Parking Lot. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot dispatched police officers to shut down parking lots and tow the cars of Christians attending Sunday services at a Romanian church, a religious liberty law firm alleges. Liberty Counsel tells The Todd Starnes Radio Show that the mayor posted "no parking" notices around the neighborhood and around the church and "sent the police out to tow cars of residents." "The church has leased the parking lot of a bank across the street for 18 years," Liberty Counsel said. "Mayor Lightfoot had the police block the lot so churchgoers couldn't park there." Chicago Thuggery Directed at Romanian Churches. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has engaged in mob-like thuggery against the Romanian churches that have begun to meet in-person. Even though these churches have their own private parking, and their members don't park on the street, the mayor ordered "No Parking" signs along the streets for nine blocks around the churches. On Sunday [5/17/2020], Mayor Lightfoot blocked off nine blocks around the churches posting "No Parking" signs, hoping she would get the neighbors mad at the church. However, the churches are not using street parking with their limited services. The aldermen sent letters to the neighbors of the churches instructing them not to park on the street from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The letters stated the reason for the "No Parking" signs was due to the Romanian churches holding limited services. Why Illinois Is In Trouble — 109,881 Public Employees With $100,000+ Paychecks Cost Taxpayers $14B. Illinois could soon be the first state in history to have its bonds rated as "junk." Last month, both Moody's MCO and Standard & Poor's downgraded Illinois debt to just one notch above junk status. Last week, the Illinois State Senate President Don Harmon (D-Chicago) wrote a letter to Congress requesting a $41.6 billion bailout. Critics balked. In many ways, Illinois may have already crossed the Rubicon. Our analysis at OpenTheBooks.com shows that an Illinois family of four now owes more in unfunded pension liabilities ($76,000) than they earn in household income ($63,585). Because of the city's HUGE budget surplus... Chicago Mayor Who Violated Her Own Lockdown Order Threatens Non-Compliers With Jail. hicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who infamously unapologetically took a haircut while shutting down the entire city, decided to go full-on dictator while warning residents about hosting house parties, flouting her stay-at-home fiat. "We are never getting out of this," Lightfoot said, if people don't cooperate with social distancing rules. Pritzker and Lightfoot — Illinois's Hypocritical Tyrants. As the bailout-seeking billionaire Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker resists lawsuits saying his lockdown order extension exceeds his authority and is unconstitutional, his wife jets to their estate in opened-up Florida to enjoy life without being arrested for leaving the house. Meanwhile Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot keeps barbershops and hair salons closed under penalty of imprisonment as she visits her own hair stylist on the grounds she is "the public face of Illinois" and must look her best. Both deem themselves more important than the people they represent. Laws are for the little people. It's good to be king and queen[.] Chicago Mayor Declares War on Party-goers. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot became enraged Saturday [5/2/2020] declared war on citizens who are hosting large parties and gatherings. "You absolutely must stay at your home," the mayor declared during a rage-filled press conference. "We will shut you down. We will cite you. And if we need to we will arrest you and we will take you to jail. Period." Chicago Mayor: Quarantine Scofflaws "Will be Arrested and Taken to Jail, Period". Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced on Saturday that she is instructing the police superintendent to cite, arrest and jail all non-compliant residents who permit gatherings and parties in their residence. Failing to comply with the stay-at-home orders and maintain social distancing will no longer be met with a warning. Police are authorized to deliver citations, conduct immediate arrests and potentially jail any non-compliant resident in the city of Chicago. Why Illinois Is In Trouble — 109,881 Public Employees With $100,000+ Paychecks Cost Taxpayers $14B. Illinois could soon be the first state in history to have its bonds rated as "junk." [...] In many ways, Illinois may have already crossed the Rubicon. Our analysis at OpenTheBooks.com shows that an Illinois family of four now owes more in unfunded pension liabilities ($76,000) than they earn in household income ($63,585). In a state of 13 million residents, every man, woman, and child owes $19,000 — on an estimated $251 billion pension liability. Our auditors discovered 110,000 public employees and retirees who earned more than $100,000 last year. Chicago Tribune blasts Illinois Senate's 'rotten' request for $41.6B federal bailout as 'shameless'. The editorial board of the Chicago Tribune has repeatedly slammed the Illinois Senate's request for a whopping $41.6 billion federal bailout as the state's financial troubles continue to grow amid the coronavirus outbreak. At least $200 million budget gap could hit Cook County government as sales, hotel tax revenue dry up, official says. Cook County government could suffer at least a $200 million budget shortfall this year due to lost tax revenue amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Friday projection. Starting in May, Cook County's forecasted net revenue is expected to begin dropping and spark a substantial budget gap for the 2020 fiscal year, according to a projection from chief financial officer Ammar Rizki. Plummeting sales tax revenue from restaurants and other sources could spell long-term damage to the budget as shopping and tourism numbers deflate amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Mayor Lightfoot Says Stay-At-Home Order Could Go Into June; Gov. Pritzker Has Not Given Specifics About Reopening. Tuesday [4/21/2020] marked one month since the stay-at-home order to fight the novel coronavirus went into effect in Illinois. Now, there are indications from both Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot that the order might be extended. Gang Violence Continues Even Under Coronavirus. While the authorities are cracking down on miscreants attending drive-in church services or surfing in the ocean, urban gangs are practicing social distancing by shooting their victims from passing cars. With 4 dead and 19 wounded over the weekend, Chicago's gangs made it clear that they weren't staying home. Either that or they thought that shooting rival drug dealers was an essential activity. And for them it probably is. While local media broadcast pictures of a deserted Windy City, the shootings paralleled those of previous years. Orders to stay at home, like most laws, don't apply to criminals. Coronavirus Racial Disparities Miss the Bigger Picture. [Scroll down] [M]any of the same politicians and race activists who are now so incensed by coronavirus deaths have been virtually silent for years about far greater disparities in black-white fatality rates: those that result from urban crime. Black New Yorkers may be 27.5 percent of known coronavirus deaths, but they were 62.6 percent of murder and non-negligent manslaughter victims in the city in 2018. The percentage of black coronavirus fatalities in Chicago may be "shocking," in [Mayor Lori] Lightfoot's words, but she should be more shocked by blacks' 83 percent share of Chicago's homicide victim totals from April 7, 2019 through April 7, 2020, the day of the mayor's remarks. As April 7 progressed, seven more people were killed in Chicago during a 24-hour shooting spree that claimed 28 victims, including a five-year-old girl. Man Shoots A Customer. At approximately 11:40 p.m. in the 7900 block of South State Street, an 18-year-old man was inside of a gas station when he was shot by another man during a verbal altercation. Police say the man was shot in the hand, hip and leg, and is listed in fair condition at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Father of Marine pushed in front of Red Line train and killed speaks out. The father of a Marine who was purposely pushed onto the Red Line train tracks in Chicago and died is sharing his son's story. The father of Mamadou Balde says a group of people shoved his son onto the tracks after an altercation. [...] Balde was waiting to catch a train heading southbound at the Jackson Red Line stop at around 5:13 p.m. Tuesday when a group of three men approached him and one of them pushed Balde in front of a moving train. 21 shot, 7 killed Tuesday in most violent day of 2020 in Chicago. Seven people were killed and 14 more were wounded Tuesday in shootings across Chicago, making it the most violent day of 2020 so far as temperatures reached summer-like levels for the first time this year. Man killed Chicago liquor store clerk after he refused to sell him beer: prosecutors. A Garfield Ridge man allegedly stabbed a liquor store clerk to death Saturday after he was turned away from buying a case of beer in Brighton Park, prosecutors say. Moises Morales didn't have an ID and was turned away twice before allegedly pulling out a 4-to-6-inch knife and repeatedly stabbing 56-year-old cashier Christ Douvlis, Cook County prosecutors said Monday. Chicago Mayor Signs Executive Order Giving Coronavirus Benefits To Illegal Aliens. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday signed an executive order ensuring that all immigrants and refugees — including illegal aliens — are eligible to receive the city's coronavirus benefits. The city of Chicago has launched several programs in order to help residents cope with the financial challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Such initiatives include a coronavirus Housing Assistance Grant program, an online resources program for students through the city's public schools, and a $100 million Chicago Small Business Resiliency Fund to help small businesses that are struggling. Lightfoot's order Tuesday [4/7/2020]will allow illegal aliens to tap into all of these programs. Because all violent crime is completely under control... The Editor says... Lightfoot threatens to shut down parks, lakefront, Riverwalk. Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday made an extraordinary threat — to shut down Chicago parks, Millennium Park, the downtown Riverwalk and the entire lakefront — if residents and visitors continue to thumb their noses at the statewide stay-at-home order aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Lightfoot instructed Chicago Police officers to shut down large gatherings and threatened to use what she called "every lever at my disposal" to compel compliance. Should A Coyote Be Indicted? One of Chicago's most notorious criminals was recently captured: the limping coyote. A six-year-old boy was attacked and bitten by a coyote while walking with his caretaker. A concerned citizen chased away the coyote with a tree branch. [...] It was decided that this animal would not be euthanized because it was not aggressive after capture. (Of course, it was not tested near children.) The coyote, now named "Mercy," was placed in a "permanent educational setting." [...] Fortunately, no one was killed by the Chicago coyote. But what message should be sent once an animal attacks and is very publicly apprehended? What would best deter the public from feeding the animals and therefore endangering people and animals? Is the sacrificing of some animals the best way to save human life and to prevent more widespread purgation of animals later? Why do laws call for the euthanizing of a bear that attacks a man, but not for a coyote that attacks a child? Crooked Kim Foxx Wins Democrat Primary Election for Cook County State's Attorney in Chicago. Hollywood "washed up" actor Jussie Smollett was let off by the corrupt Cook County State's Attorney's office last year after his vicious stunt to smear Trump supporters as homophobic, racists backfired. Smollett, also referred to as French actor Juicy Smolliet, was later re-charged with six counts related to the alleged hate hoax in February 2020. In April 2019 Chicago authorities released text messages from corrupt State's Attorney Kim Foxx. The messages revealed that Kim Foxx continued to intervene in the case in support of Smollett after she recused herself. Chicago reporter Charlie De Mar posted the messages on his Twitter feed. Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's race for reelection has faced Smollett criticism, opponent with deeper pockets. She has made the rounds at some of Chicago's historic churches, asking congregants for their votes. She's hosted nearly a dozen campaign rallies in Cook County, attended conversations with families directly affected by gun violence and tapped her allies to both endorse and publicly advocate for her — moves that would be considered typical for someone seeking reelection. Nevertheless, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's bid for a second term as the county's top prosecutor has been atypical. Man shot, off-duty Chicago cop returns fire in Gage Park, police say. A man was shot, and an off-duty Chicago police officer who was with him returned fire Friday night in the Gage Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. About 8 p.m., the 41-year-old man and off-duty Chicago police officer were sitting inside a vehicle in the 5100 block of South Washtenaw Avenue when an unknown black vehicle pulled up, according to Chicago police. Someone from the black vehicle opened fire at them and grazed the 41-year-old with a bullet in the calf, police said. Soros Spends Big to Help Prosecutor Who Dropped Jussie Smollett Charges. George Soros and other liberal billionaires are pushing large sums of cash into Chicago to back the far-left prosecutor whose office dropped charges against Jussie Smollett, the actor who staged a "hate crime" he attributed to Trump supporters. The reelection efforts of Kim Foxx, state's attorney for Cook County, Ill., received a boost from the Illinois Justice & Public Safety PAC. The committee, founded to support Foxx, has spent six figures on media productions and direct mail backing Foxx's candidacy, state records show, making it Foxx's largest backer so far. The PAC received its entire $2 million budget from a group created and funded by Soros. Judge Rules Chicago Can't Ban Christian Students From Evangelizing. When people ask Jeremy Chong about his Friday night plans, they don't get the typical college sophomore response. He and his friends usually head to downtown Chicago. But the point isn't to party — it's to evangelize. And thanks to a federal judge, the group of Wheaton students can finally resume that without harassment. For months, students like Chong and Matthew Swart would pass out gospel tracts at Millennium Park. They were just simple threefold pamphlets telling people about faith in Jesus Christ. "[We were] passing those out to anyone who would take [them] and having conversations when we were approached." Simple enough, right? Wrong. The park's security team saw what was happening and stopped them — not once, but again and again. By the fifth time, the students had enough. Chicago Mayor Tries to Justify Refusing to Cooperate with ICE after Illegal Rapes Child. Chicago's leftist, gay mayor is attempting to justify her refusal to work with immigration officials after an illegal alien was caught raping a three-year-old child. The Chicago Police accused Christopher Puente, 34, of sexually molesting a three-year-old child in the bathroom of a downtown McDonald's restaurant. The suspect had previously been deported, officials said, but he was in the city again because Chicago did not turn him over to ICE last year after an arrest for theft. Because of that he was wandering free in the Windy City. Indigenous Peoples' Day to replace Christopher Columbus Day at Chicago Public Schools. Chicago Public Schools will no longer observe Columbus Day. The Board of Education voted to change the name to Indigenous Peoples Day as other cities and school districts have done. The board's vote on the issue was 5-2. The school holiday will be on Oct. 12 this year. CPS is working to develop new curriculum to more accurately tell the history of Native American cultures. The Editor says... Sheriffs association, Republican lawmakers blast state policy limiting Department of Corrections coordination with ICE when undocumented felons are released. The Illinois Sheriffs' Association and Republican lawmakers on Tuesday [2/25/2020] blasted what they said is a state policy change to stop coordinating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when undocumented immigrants are released from state custody after completing felony sentences. Before the change, the Kankakee County sheriff's office transported undocumented felons who were leaving an Illinois Department of Corrections facility but still had a federal immigration detainer to the Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee, under a contract with ICE, Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey said. Downey said he was notified Jan. 30 that the state was canceling the process "indefinitely, upon the advice of legal counsel." U-46 may spend $1.4 million on iPads and Chromebooks for preK-4 students and a digital learning management system. A proposal to purchase 1,700 iPad tablets and 1,100 Chromebook laptops would mean nearly every U-46 student in preschool through fourth grade would have access to a computer, district officials told the school board Monday [2/24/2020]. The nearly $1.4vmillion expenditure would also include the purchase of a new Instructure digital learning management system, which would allow content and resources used by teachers and students throughout the district to be consolidated, officials said. The Editor says... 62-year-old man cut by woman he bumped into on Blue Line train in Loop, police say. A woman cut a man with a knife late Wednesday evening [2/26/2020] on the Blue Line train in the Loop. About 11:50 p.m., the 62-year-old man accidentally bumped into the woman, 50, on a Blue Line train in the 300 block of South Dearborn Street, according to Chicago police. The woman then flashed a knife and punctured his thumb, police said. She was arrested by responding officers. Cook County Official Patrick Doherty Indicted On Bribery Charges In Red Light Camera Probe. Patrick Doherty, a high-ranking Cook County official, has been indicted on federal bribery charges accusing him of conspiring to pay bribes to a relative of an Oak Lawn village trustee in order to install new red light cameras in the southwest suburb. Doherty, 64, who serves as chief of staff to Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski, is charged with two counts of bribery and one count of conspiracy to defraud. Tobolski is not named in the indictment and has not been charged with a crime. Six children, ages 7 to 15, are wounded in 3 separate shootings on cold night in Chicago. At least six children were wounded at the beginning of a long, celebratory weekend in Chicago, in three separate shootings on the West and South sides, according to Chicago police. Chicago subway video captures man being attacked by 11 teens. The brutal beating of a 68-year-old man by 11 teens on a passenger train here Monday [2/3/2020] was captured in a disturbing, graphic video obtained by Fox News. The Chicago Police Department told Fox News the beating is under investigation, but no one is in custody because the victim "was unable to identify his attacker(s) due to his injuries." A police source told Fox that the Cook County State's Attorney's Office "wouldn't touch" the case if the victim can't identify those accused or is unable to cooperate. America's Opinion Journalists Ranked: The Good, The Bad, and The Worst. John Kass (Chicago Tribune). Writing from the most corrupt big city in the United States, John Kass employs biting sarcasm and artful wit to great effect in all his columns, especially those about Chicago. His coverage of the Jussie Smollett travesty provides a good example. Illinois corruption investigation breaks wide open with guilty plea of state senator for bribery over red-light cameras and more. Last Sunday in this space I wrote about the need to ban red-light cameras in Illinois — and nationwide. One of the reasons I gave was that the easy cash collected from these "safety devices" fosters corruption. Oh, as far as safety, I mentioned in that post that the record on safety involving red-light cameras is at best mixed. They may even cause automobile accidents. On Tuesday former Illinois state senator Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago), who has close ties to longtime state House speaker Michael Madigan — who also is the chairman of the state Democratic Party — pleaded guilty to bribery, tax evasion, and extortion charges in federal court. Sandoval is now cooperating with the feds. Sandoval is the former chairman of the senate Transportation Committee. Ethics reform in Illinois? Go after party leaders or go home. Almost a decade has passed since questions over lobbying influence erupted into fisticuffs on the floor of the Illinois Senate. In 2011, a senator who questioned a conflict of interest between a lobbyist and a lawmaker — a father-son duo — got punched in the chest and admonished. How dare the senator question the grease that eased the bill's passage, out loud. [...] Fast-forward to now: Even as federal investigations swirl through city and state governments, the playbook is the same: A scandal stokes embarrassment among politicians, leading to a task force, leading to a weak piece of legislation, leading to an inconsequential tweak of state law, leading to elected officials finding a way around their mess. We're on Step 3 currently as lawmakers and ethics boards around the state examine laws regulating lobbyist and lawmaker relationships. Why? Because the latest corruption scandals involving cozy relationships are making politicians jumpy. Illinois red-light camera probe provides convincing evidence why they should be banned. There is a lot of red-light camera news in Illinois. As part of an overall corruption investigation in the state, federal authorities are into looking into the activities of Chicago firm, SafeSpeed, LLC, which installs red-light cameras in some Chicago suburbs. Last week the mayor of west suburban Oakbrook Terrace, Tony Ragucci, resigned. He is part of that SafeSpeed probe. Federal agents have also have raided the municipal offices of the villages of McCook, Summit, and Lyons in conjunction with this investigation. A state senator who is part of the red-light camera probe, Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) has since resigned. Last year federal authorities seized $60,000 from Ragucci's home, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, and $51,000 from a safe from Cook County Commissioner Jeffrey Tobolski's residence. Tobolski is also the mayor of McCook. Robberies up sharply in Chicago's swanky Near North Side, raising residents' concerns. A few hundred concerned citizens huddled in a gymnasium in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood hoping for answers from police about a recent spate of robberies in the downtown area and other parts of the Near North Side. Police sought to bring a sense of calm while appealing for help from the standing room-only crowd that overflowed into the lobby of the Lake Shore Park field house. "We are having people sitting in their cars targeting people and drive around. You see the same car drive around four or five times. That is something that we need to know," Chicago police Cmdr. Daniel O'Shea, who heads the Near North patrol district, said in a raised voice. "Please do not hesitate to call 911." No bail for 2nd man charged in mass shooting at Englewood memorial house party. A second man charged in connection with a mass shooting that left 13 people injured last month at a house party in Englewood on the South Side was ordered held without bail. Keilon Jones, 25, is charged with one felony count each of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm for the Dec. 22 shooting in the 5700 block of South May Street, according to Chicago police. 3 juveniles, 2 adults shot at West Side barbershop. The shooting took place around 6 p.m. [1/16/2020] at a barbershop called Gotcha Faded located in the 200 block of North Pulaski Road in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. Chicago police said two men entered the barbershop, looked around, exited the shop and then began firing into the doorway. Illinois Sanctuary County Frees 1K Criminal Illegal Aliens into U.S. in 2019. The sanctuary county of Cook County, Illinois, released more than 1,000 criminal illegal aliens back into American communities in fiscal year 2019, federal data finds. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials revealed this week that Cook County — which has shielded criminal illegal aliens from deportation since at least September 2011 — freed about 1,070 criminal illegal aliens back into neighboring communities in fiscal year 2019. The New Bigotry. Chicago was a destination point on the Illinois Central for blacks fleeing the Jim Crow South. After WWII, thousands came each day. Their increasing numbers threatened the political dominance of the Irish Catholic political machine. Through redlining and massive public housing construction, the Democratic Machine hoped to confine Blacks to "super blocks" in certain wards. This was designed to keep the city white and dilute black political power. Meeting opposition on the South and Southwest side, Blacks found Jewish neighborhoods like Lawndale were the path of least resistance. But in contrast to the textbook analysis of neighborhood change, initially there was almost no white flight. Neither the Interstate highway nor the FHA had much to do with eventual white flight from working-class communities like Jewish Lawndale. Man Bitten by Coyote Marks Second Attack in Chicago in 1 Day. A second person was attacked by a coyote in Chicago just hours after a young boy was hospitalized after being bitten on the city's North Side, officials say. The second incident took place in the evening hours on Wednesday in the 700 block of North Fairbanks Court in the city's Streeterville neighborhood, according to Chicago police. Authorities said a 32-year-old man walked into Northwestern Memorial Hospital and said he had been walking on the sidewalk in the area when a coyote came from behind and bit him in the buttocks. Under-incarceration allowing scary frequently arrested predator to roam the streets of Chicago looking for more victims. Scary people are roaming the streets of many big cities, thanks to Democrats, who believe that innocent black people are arrested convicted by our purportedly racist justice system. Under the rubric of "bail reform," even chronic offenders can be back on the streets the same day they are arrested. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was recently so embarrassed by the catch and release of Tiffany Harris after back-to-back arrests for violent attacks on orthodox Jews accompanied by hateful rhetoric that he personally intervened with the court to get her locked up on psychiatric grounds. But the policies that led to her release remain in place in New York. Equally problematic is Chicago, where "bail reform" has been in place since 2017. In addition, probation is liberally granted, leading to this scary fellow now walking the streets after four recent arrests, and one conviction (so far) in just a few months. How The Media Frames Inconvenient Shootings. As Cam reported yesterday [12/23/2019], a shooting that left 13 people injured took place over the weekend in Chicago, one of the most dangerous cities in the nation. [...] As writer Emily Zanotti notes, Chicago has some of the most strict gun control laws in the nation governing it. For 13 people to be shot would illustrate a complete failure of gun control laws and that's something the mainstream media simply can't abide. Instead, they frame the deceased as a victim of gun violence when he was shot in self-defense, then ignore the fact that a shooting took place that conforms to their preferred definition of mass shooting so they don't have to discuss how all those gun control laws failed completely. Over a dozen shot at Chicago memorial for victim of gun violence. A memorial for a Chicago man shot dead earlier this year turned into a bloodbath early Sunday with at least 13 people getting shot, according to authorities. The house party just days before Christmas was to honor the birthday of Lonell Irvin, a 22-year-old man fatally shot during an attempted carjacking in April, sources told the Chicago Tribune. Effective Jan. 1, marijuana found by airport security won't be confiscated: Chicago police. Chicago police do not plan on confiscating small amounts of marijuana found on adults traveling out of the city's airports once Illinois legalizes recreational pot next month. Federal and local officials discussed enforcement during a press conference held Friday [12/20/2019] ahead of the state's new recreational marijuana law taking effect January 1, 2020. Gun Control Did Nothing To Save Boy, 9, from Gang Execution - Thugs Given 155 Years in Prison. As someone who's written about gun and gang violence in Chicago for some time, it's pretty easy to become inured to it. Even for the most hard-hearted of writers, however, the death of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee had to be an exception. Two gang members will almost certainly be spending the rest of their natural lives behind bars for the execution-style murder of the young boy back in 2015 — a murder which was retaliation for a gang attack allegedly carried out by his father weeks earlier. Cook County Christmas shopping, Kim Foxx style. When state's attorney Kim Foxx announced no prosecution for shoplifting under a thousand dollars, the results were fully predictable. Chicago and Cook County, Illinois are leading the headlong American rush toward lawlessness and the loss of civil order. The election of Kim Foxx as Cook County state's attorney, with hundreds of thousands of dollars in backing by George Soros, has been a further disaster — with not just the scandalously lenient treatment of Jussie Smollett after convulsing Chicago and the entire country with a fake hate crime caper, but the virtual abolition of laws against felony shoplifting under one thousand dollars. Illinois town posts job opening, for Democrats only. If you happen to live in or around Joliet Township in Illinois, located a bit to the southwest of Chicago, and you happen to be looking for work, there's some good news coming your way. The Township is looking to hire a new clerk. If you're interested, the job will entail many of the tasks you'd likely expect, including answering phones, filing and making copies. There is one special requirement, however. You have to be a Democrat to apply. Corruption probe roils Illinois political machine. A sprawling federal investigation into lobbying, patronage and alleged corruption threatens to upend Illinois's powerful Democratic machine as agents raid offices and interrogate witnesses from Chicago to Springfield. Federal agents have conducted searches of at least nine homes and offices in connection to a probe of Commonwealth Edison, the state's largest utility, and the political operation run by state House Speaker Mike Madigan, the most powerful Democrat in Illinois. Those agents have been asking questions about Madigan, his associates and his political operation, according to two people who have sat for interviews with law enforcement. A drop in people, a $1 billion rise in property taxes. Property tax collections by local governments in Illinois increased nearly $1 billion between 2017 and 2018 even as the state lost thousands of residents over that year. Combined, 6,042 local governments received $31.8 billion in property taxes last year, according to Illinois Department of Revenue reports. That was $944 million more than what was collected in 2017 by those agencies. Lawsuit alleges McDonald's in Chicago puts employees at daily risk of physical attack from dangerous customers. McDonald's Corp employees on Thursday [11/21/2019] sued the fast food giant and several of its franchisees in Chicago over a store redesign that staffers say has made it easier for angry customers to leap over the counter and attack them. A group of employees from 13 McDonald's restaurants in the Windy City filed a lawsuit alleging that the company's drive for profits puts workers at 'daily risk' of physical attack by dangerous customers. In the lawsuit filed in Cook County court, the 17 workers say McDonald's has failed to protect them from what they say is a 'citywide and nationwide' pattern of violence and that police respond to more than 20 [twenty] 911 calls every day regarding Chicago McDonald's restaurants. Chicago: 75% of Murdered Are Black, 71% of Murderers Are Black. Simply put, Chicago has a massive Black-on-Black murder problem. [...] The data on offenders also tells a troubling story: Young, Black males are overwhelmingly committing most of the murders. Based on the data on the victims, that means young, Black males are primarily killing other young, Black males. What a terrible situation. Now, we can and should debate about the causes, but let us just say that it's hard to believe that racism is the root of it. Yes, some will argue that systemic racism traps Blacks in poverty, but does that explain why Blacks would seem to target other Blacks with such overwhelming violence and frequency compared to any other race? Gun from Chicago buy-back program found near dead gang member in police shooting. According to an AGG report, William Stewart Boyd traded his father's old .38 caliber Smith & Wesson snub nose for less than $100 in a gun buyback in 2004. It was supposed to be destroyed, but somehow the same handgun with serial number J515268 was found next to a dead body involved in a police shooting eight years later. Violence in Chicago proves black lives don't matter to liberal politicians. [President] Trump has been criticizing Chicago leadership since 2016 for allowing the violence to become one of the worst in the world, earning the title in 2015 as America's mass-shooting capital, and he continued to highlight Chicago's problems during the conference. In response, Chicago's mayor suggested Trump focus on his issues in DC, and the liberal press touted the decrease in violence in Chicago in some apparent attempt to prove how out of touch Trump is. The decrease? Through the end of October, there have been 2,242 shooting victims and 424 murders in Chicago. Last year, we had 2,462 shooting victims and 478 murders over the same period. In my reporting for Fox News, the people I have spoken with feel so under siege by the gun violence that this tiny drop doesn't even register to them, and any talk from a politician who mentions the reduction in murders is a smack in their face because going on their front porch could be a death sentence. Man Threw Bananas At People, Slashed Someone At River North 7-11, Police Say. A man first began throwing bananas at people, and then slashed someone in the face, at a 7-11 store in River North early Saturday [11/2/2019], police said. The attack happened around 3 a.m. at the 7-11 at 45 E. Chicago Ave., police said. A complainant told police that the man became combative and began throwing bananas at the clerk and customers. When a witness intervened, the man took out a knife and caused a laceration, police said. Teen ordered held on charges of shooting 7-year-old trick-or-treater. A judge has ordered a teenager jailed on charges of shooting and critically wounding a 7-year-old girl who was trick-or-treating along a busy Little Village neighborhood street on Halloween night. The 15-year-old boy appeared in Cook County juvenile court Saturday, facing two counts of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm for the Thursday night attack, according to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. The shooting also wounded a 32-year-old man who police say was the intended target. Teen gangbanger busted in shooting of 7-year-old Chicago trick-or-treater. A 15-year-old boy was hit with an attempted murder charge for shooting a 7-year-old girl in the neck and chest while she was trick-or-treating on Halloween in Chicago, a report said Friday [11/1/2019]. The teen gunman, who was not identified, was also charged with two counts of aggravated battery for the shooting on city's west side, the Chicago Tribune reported. He allegedly opened fire at about 5:30 p.m. on Thursday while aiming at a 32-year-old man, according to the report. 7-Year-Old Trick-or-Treater in Critical Condition After Chicago Shooting. A seven-year-old girl is reported in critical condition after being shot while trick-or-treating on Chicago's West Side. The Chicago Teacher Union vs. Charter Schools. This is the second week of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike. It's the second CTU strike in less than 10 years, and it's having wide and far-ranging repercussions. Even worse, if the strike persists for a few more days, thousands of CPS students will not be able to participate in the upcoming Illinois high school playoffs. This is especially unfortunate because these postseason athletic tournaments are prime opportunities for CPS students to showcase their athletic abilities and receive scholarship offers from college scouts and recruiters, who routinely attend such athletic extravaganzas. Another huge consequence of the current strike is a death blow to charter schools in the Windy City. When Sanctuary Policies Win, America's Children Lose. Sanctuary policies have become a pox on America and weakened the nation in a growing number of areas. The most obvious area is preventable crime — and the number of innocent Americans killed and injured by illegal aliens is a national disgrace. Less known is the degree to which unchecked and illegal mass migration into the country has strained our school system and reduced the quality of our children's education. The city of Chicago is Exhibit A. This CTU strike has betrayed Chicago's children. There are about 300,000 children in Chicago who have missed nearly two weeks of classroom instruction and after-school activities. There are high schoolers who have fallen behind on college application preparations. Athletes who lost the chance to participate in postseason playoffs and tournaments. And there are children from every community who counted on school as a sanctuary. For thousands of those children, school essentially was their only place of learning, emotional support and consistency. Democrats ignore mass shootings of blacks in Chicago. Despite Chicago's horrible track record of failing to protect the lives of blacks, the police chief of Chicago, Eddie Johnson, boycotted a national police convention in Chicago supposedly because of Trump's bad values. [...] To put that in perspective, from 2016 to 2018, a total of 48 Americans died in Afghanistan. The number of Americans wounded in that same period isn't readily available; however, the ratio of killed to wounded in Afghanistan was about 1 to 10 from 2001 to 2014, so a reasonable estimate would be roughly 500 Americans wounded in the same three years in Afghanistan. That means that in the last three years in Chicago, there have been 11.8 murders for every American soldier killed in Afghanistan. Chicago Mayor Learning that Eventually, You Run Out of Other People's Money. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is dealing with a 12-day-old teachers strike that features a contest between the most radical union in the U.S. and one of the nation's most radical mayors. It's not going to end well for her. When the strike began she told the teachers "there is no more money." All that did was whet the appetite for battle by the teachers who are now almost certainly going to get almost all of what they want. Lightfoot is being hit over the head by reality. Chicago Teachers Union rejects latest offer as students miss eighth day of classes. Chicago Public Schools students missed an eighth day of classes as the teachers union rejected the city's latest offer to end the longest teachers strike in more than 30 years in the city. Chicago Public Schools said it had made a $500 million offer, but the union said the two sides are still $38 million apart. "In addition to double-digit raises for all staff, our offer included another 110M to provide a nurse and social worker for every school and prioritized support for high-need schools," the school system tweeted Sunday [10/27/2019]. Why Chicago teachers won't take 'yes' for an answer. Here's what should infuriate Chicagoans: This strike is about power and relevancy for leaders of the Chicago Teachers Union. It always has been. How else do you explain this walkout even as Lightfoot continues to offer a generous pay and benefits package while committing to the union's demands for additional support staff, smaller class sizes and a social worker and nurse in every school? The parameters of those arrangements are in writing. Lightfoot bent to most of CTU's key demands. Yet teachers still were marching on sidewalks and street corners Thursday [10/24/2019] instead of teaching in classrooms. Police Block Marching Teachers from Entering Lake Shore Drive. Marching teachers in downtown Chicago were blocked by police as they tried to enter Lake Shore Drive during rush hour Friday afternoon on the seventh day of canceled classes in the city. The teachers began with a rally near Buckingham Fountain before marching down city streets, prompting closures as they went. From Woke to Broke. "The fact is there is no more money. Period," says Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot. She's talking about the teachers' strike that has paralyzed her city's public schools — enrollment 360,000 — for the past week. The public employee union is demanding more: more money for salaries (only eight states pay teachers more than Illinois), more support staff (Illinois ranks first in spending on administrators), more teachers per student. Their cause has attracted national attention. Elizabeth Warren joined the picket line. Which is ironic. Lightfoot is not some stingy Republican. Nor is she a centrist Democrat like her predecessor Rahm Emanuel. She's as progressive as you can get. But she now finds herself in the same position as many of her political brethren: facing criticism for failing to reconcile the contradictions in the left's agenda. It's Day 5 of the Chicago teachers' strike, and 25,000 educators are swarming City Hall with their demands. The city insists "there is no more money" to offer the union, but teachers say they won't back down until they get more support staff, higher raises and class-size limits in the country's third biggest school district. "We're willing to strike until we get the job done," CTU President Jesse Sharkey said. "We are not giving up this fight until we get what is just and what is right." Chicago Teachers: Stop Holding the City Hostage. The streets of downtown Chicago were packed last week with more than 30,000 teachers protesting for pay increases and other benefits like affordable housing, smaller class sizes and more nurses and social workers on campus. Talks continued over the weekend, and the strike has entered another week, leaving more than 360,000 students stranded with no place to go. To the teachers and union, I say shame on you for holding the city of Chicago hostage. It's time to stop whining and get back to work. Mayor Lori Lightfoot proposes doubling city's tax on food and drinks at restaurants. Mayor Lori Lightfoot will propose a tax hike on all food and drinks sold in Chicago restaurants to help shrink a massive estimated $838 million shortfall in the 2020 budget. The proposal would double the current .25% tax on food and drinks sold at retail establishments and restaurants, the mayor's office said. Aldermen will need to approve the increase, which would kick in Jan. 1. Lightfoot anticipates the increase brings in an extra $20 million in 2020, according to her administration. The Editor says... Chicago Teachers Union puts the squeeze on Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and taxed-out taxpayers. As Chicago teachers marched into Week Two of their strike Monday, Chicago Teachers Union leaders pursued their strategy of moving the goal posts. One indicator: Contract demands that started with pay now include rent control, a policy the state legislature has been debating. Rent control policy has no place in a teacher contract negotiation. Nor does affordability of housing. Nor does presidential politics. But in the spaghetti-throwing exercise CTU has employed for months, issues that fall outside the parameters of a labor agreement keep getting tossed at the wall. What will stick? How about free yoga classes at 31st Street Beach? Can CTU get that in the contract? The longer the negotiations crawl, the more expensive the contract risks getting for taxpayers, and the more classroom time shrinks for students. Chicago teachers demand smaller class size by striking, but enrollment is already declining. Chicago Teachers Union members are on strike again, 300,000 students and their parents have to reshuffle their weekday routines. In Chicago and many other big cities, school is more than being an educational institution. Three quarters of Chicago Public Schools students qualify for government paid-for or subsidized lunches, many also qualify for breakfasts under similar circumstances. Or maybe schools in Chicago are less than being an educational institution as barely one-in-four students read at grade level, despite most schools having "College Predatory" [sic] and "Excellence" in their names. But CPS schools serve, even when there isn't a strike, sadly as day center centers. Right to Work Legal: Chicago Teachers Have 'Right to Rebuff' Union Demands. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation (NRTW) has issued a special legal notice to the more than 20,000 teachers affected by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike order. The notice informs Chicago teachers they have a right to refuse to leave their students and to continue to provide for their families during the planned strike. Additionally, the notice offers teachers links to resources to help them exercise their rights without fear of retaliation from union leaders. Chicago teachers: for themselves, not the children. Teachers in Chicago, where the median pay for educators, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures, comes in around $75,000, have called for a strike for more money, lower health care costs, smaller class sizes and to bring about the hiring of thousands of support staffers and the construction of 55 new schools — and are calling it a strike for "justice," to boot. All while leaving 300,000 district school children in limbo. This is not about "justice." This is not about the students. This is about teachers, guided by the promptings of union heads, getting more for themselves. Chicago Orders its Cops: Do Not Cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security on Illegal Immigration. In late September, Chicago cops were told how it is on immigration enforcement. The directive had a distinctive separatist vibe: Don't cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security where illegal immigration is concerned. Fox News obtained a memo sent out in late September ordering the men and women in blue to press Pause and wait for a supervisor before any assistance to DHS. Chicago police instructs officers to not cooperate with DHS, memo shows. The Chicago Police Department advised officers not to cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security, particularly in situations involving immigration arrests, according to an internal department memo obtained by Fox News. Instead of assisting DHS upon request, officers are instructed to wait for their supervisor to arrive, the memo said. Once the supervisor arrives, "if the request is to assist with an immigration arrest or detention, CPD personnel will leave the scene as directed by the CPD supervisor," according to the memo. For the Second Time in Four Years, Chicago Teachers Vote to Strike. It's contract time again for teachers in Chicago and that means one thing: Strike! The teachers want more pay for less work — a lot more pay. They are demanding a 15 percent increase in salary over three years. They are also demanding more union members be hired by schools. [...] Chicago teachers are already earning more than teachers in any other big city. Chicagoland mall 'terrorist' did obsessive research before attack: prosecutors. The driver of an SUV that plowed through a Chicagoland mall obsessively researched the center online prior to the mayhem that sparked more than 100 terrified calls to 911, prosecutors said. Javier Garcia, 22, has been charged with terrorism and held without bond for the Sept. 20 carnage that was caught on a now-viral video viewed more than 10 million times. In the day before his attack, Garcia conducted 124 internet searches on Woodfield Mall in suburban Schaumburg, including the stores inside and street and aerial views, prosecutors said in Leighton Criminal Court on Sunday [9/29/2019]. Illinois man indicted on state terrorism charge after driving van into suburban Chicago mall. A man accused of driving an SUV through a suburban Chicago shopping mall is facing a state terrorism charge, authorities announced Sunday [9/29/2019]. [...] Under Illinois law, the Class X felony of terrorism can apply if the suspect is believed to have caused more than $100,000 in damage to any building containing five or more businesses, according to a statement issued by Schaumburg Police Sergeant Karen McCarthy. Concealed-carry holder, robber both killed in shootout in Roseland. A concealed-carry permit holder and a man attempting to rob a business were each killed in a shootout Saturday night [9/21/2019] in Roseland on the Far South Side. Derrick Gholston, 43, was standing about 7:15 p.m. outside of a business in the first block of East 112th Place when he was approached by two men who flashed a handgun and demanded his property, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner's office. After Gholston complied, the two suspects entered the business and announced another robbery, police said. Gholston, who was a concealed-carry permit holder, then pulled out his own gun and confronted the robbers, leading to an exchange of gunfire. Chicago Teachers Union Members Vote to Authorize Strike. Chicago Teachers Union members have voted to authorize a strike, union leaders announced Thursday night, setting the stage for more than 25,000 teachers and staff to walk off the job in the nation's third-largest school district. CTU President Jesse Sharkey said the union eclipsed the 75 percent threshold needed to authorize a strike at approximately 9:15 p.m. Thursday. Sharkey said that 94 percent of the votes tallied by Thursday evening [9/26/2019] were in favor of authorizing a strike. Media Silent After Violent Weekend in 'Gun Free' Chicago. Chicago, a city with strict gun control laws, suffered a violent weekend, yet the mainstream media outlets like CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times and others offered no blanket coverage similar to when a lone shooter in other cities sparks Democratic calls for gun control. Only in Illinois: Wife of indicted political boss will hold highest judicial post in the state. Illinois Supreme Court Justices chose Anne Burke as their chief on Sept. 10. One could almost hear the gears turning on the Chicago machine, a hobbled but still functioning apparatus now in the sights of federal investigators. Burke's appointment to the highest judicial post in the state is a shameless act in a state sorely lacking trust in its government. Anne Burke is an accomplished lawyer. She helped start the Special Olympics. These facts should not prevent criticism arising from her 50-plus year marriage to a 50-year Chicago political boss: Ed Burke. Will Chicago Be the Largest U.S. City to Declare Bankruptcy? The city of Chicago is in dire fiscal and financial straits with an almost billion dollar budget deficit, bonds rated at junk status or below, numerous extremely costly legal judgments, a shrinking tax base, and unfunded public pension liabilities to the tune of an astonishing $42 billion. [...] From my 40-year observations of the Chicago political scene, I have my doubts whether Mayor Lightfoot could do what needs to be done. The powers that be are just too entrenched. It's not only politicians, it's bloodsucking businessmen, organized crime, and now street gangs who also get a cut of the action. This is the way the "City that works" has worked for more than 90 years. Chicagoans aren't born cynics. We've just had it beaten into us from birth with stories like this one. Is there anything more Chicago Way than the story about power couple Anne and Ed Burke? No. He's the old-timey Chicago alderman under federal indictment for, guess what, corruption. And just the other day, she was named chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. If Burke goes to trial, he'll stand before a federal judge dressed in a saintly black robe. If he's convicted, he'll be expected to beg mercy and a few blocks away, his wife will be wearing her own saintly black robe as the chief justice of the state Supreme Court. Watchdog accuses County Clerk Karen Yarbrough of running 'illegal patronage' operation, wants court oversight. Less than a year into office, Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough faces potential federal court oversight of hiring amid a watchdog's accusations that she's "running an illegal patronage employment system." Veteran anti-patronage attorney Michael Shakman said in a new legal filing that Yarbrough has put the politically connected into jobs that are supposed to be free from such influence, asked her employees for campaign contributions on their private cellphones and transferred certain supervisors to far-flung offices in hopes they'll quit. Judge finds Toni Preckwinkle's son not guilty of assault. Congratulations are in order for Kyle Preckwinkle, the 38-year-old son of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Yesterday [9/4/2019], he was acquitted of misdemeanor assault in a bench trial. It's the second time a judge has found the younger Preckwinkle not guilty of a criminal charge since 2013. On May 3, a 65-year-old man who lives in the same building as Kyle Preckwinkle called police and reported that Preckwinkle had assaulted him. Chicago: A hellhole for parole, free bail, and jailbreak for violent gun felons. Why aren't Republicans pounding the lectern with righteous indignation about violent gun felons being let off easy by the judicial system the same way Democrats engage in cerebral gyrations over guns? Democrats have sob stories for their gun control agenda. Republicans need to look no farther than Chicago as the poster child for criminal control. [...] Well, thanks to the goal among both parties to reduce the prison population at all costs, things have only gotten worse over the past two years. You see, while politicians tell the public they want to keep people safe, Gov. Rauner also made it his goal to cut the prison population by 25 percent. Is Chicago A Gun Crime Sanctuary City? In her confrontation with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz over guns used in Chicago crimes, which, as Cruz pointed out in response to the Dayton and El Paso shootings, occur in a city which has its own mass murder equivalent virtually every weekend, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blamed guns brought in from Republican-controlled states: [...] Hypocrisy has a new poster child for what Lightfoot fails to note is that what is important is not where the weapons came from, but what happened to the gun criminals and gangbangers afterword, if apprehended at all, which in Lightfoot's Chicago has been virtually nothing. Lori Lightfoot blames Chicago's violence on guns from Texas. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lashed out at Texas Sen. Ted Cruz this week — along with the Lone Star state as a whole — for contributing to the city's gun crimes. The Democrat was none too thrilled with Mr. Cruz on Monday [9/2/2019] for pointing out the impotency of Chicago's gun control efforts, and she let him know it with a direct order: "Keep our name out of your mouth." [...] "Gun control doesn't work. Look at Chicago. Disarming law-abiding citizens isn't the answer," the Republican tweeted while sharing a story about 25 individuals shot in Chicago during the first half of Labor Day weekend. Hurricane of Lead Hits Chicago Over Labor Day, 43 Shot, Eight Dead. The criminal element worked over Labor Day weekend in the City of the Big Shoulders. Police in the gun-controlled city counted 43 people shot, eight fatally. Depending on which newspaper one believes, between 1,400 and 1,800 people have been shot this year in Chicago, more than 300 fatally. On a brighter note, fewer people died in the hail of bullets that flew this August compared to last year. Police have seized thousands of illegal guns to no avail. After 41 Shot In Chicago Over Weekend, Democratic Mayor Blames... Republicans?!. Over the three-day Labor Day weekend, 41 people were shot in Chicago, seven fatally. Davantae Jackson, 15, was supposed to start high school on Tuesday. Instead, he's dead. Chicago has among the most restrictive gun-control laws, but Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) took to Twitter to point out that "disarming law-abiding citizens isn't the answer." Chicago's bloody Labor Day weekend sees at least 35 shot, 7 of them killed. Chicago is experiencing a violent Labor Day weekend with at least 35 people shot and seven of them killed, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday [9/2/2019]. Two deadly shootings unfolded Sunday within just over 20 minutes. 25 Shot, 7 Killed, During First Half of Labor Day Weekend in Chicago. At least 25 people were shot, seven fatally, during the first half of Labor Day Weekend in Democrat-controlled Chicago. Off-duty cop involved in shootout in Burnside. [Three males] approached the officer's vehicle and at least one of them pointed a handgun. The officer then displayed his weapon, and one of the males fired shots, police said. The officer returned fire, but no one was struck. The Editor says... American And Chinese Cities Lead The World In Spying On People. It is no longer speculation, American law enforcement has been lying to the public about the expansion of CCTV camera surveillance. A recent report released by CompariTech confirmed what I have been warning people about for years: American law enforcement has become a world leader in spying on its citizens. [...] CompariTech measured the amount of CCTV cameras per 1,000 people in a city and two U.S. cities made the Top 20. "Atlanta has 7,800 cameras for 501,178 people or 15.56 cameras per 1,000 people and Chicago has 35,000 cameras for 2,679,044 people or 13.06 cameras per 1,000 people." But that only scratches the surface of American police surveillance. The Editor says... Chicago Weekend: 29 People Shot, 6 Dead — 1,800 Shot This Year. Over the weekend, six people were killed and 29 people were wounded by gunfire in Chicago, according to local media there. In addition, the Chicago Tribune reports that 1,800 people have been shot in Chicago since Jan. 1, 2019. Man tried to rob woman in Chicago; he didn't know she was a boxer. The ring inside Unanimous Boxing Gym is where Claire Quinn regularly throws punches. And they're powerful. "I would spar her and she would stop me in my tracks with her right hand," Quinn's trainer Lalo Beas said. Sunday morning [8/18/2019], a would-be thief found out exactly what it feels like to be on the other side of Quinn's right hook. Chicago mayor takes vacation after blasting a top cop for doing the same. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is enjoying a late summer vacation with her family in Maine. Normally that wouldn't be newsworthy, except for the fact the mayor previously ordered police brass to cancel summer travel plans, and blasted the department's No. 2 in command for failing to do so. In June, Mayor Lightfoot called it "incredibly disappointing" when she learned Chicago Police First Deputy Supt. Anthony Riccio had failed to follow her directive to command staff to cancel travel plans and remain in Chicago to combat a surge in summer violence. 28 Shot, 5 Fatally, over Weekend in Democrat-Controlled Chicago. NBC Chicago reports the first of the weekend's fatalities was a double murder that occurred in a shooting around 4 pm Friday. The fatality occurred Sunday evening, when a 41-year-old man was shot twice and killed on South Crilly. [...] Breitbart News reported that 47 people were shot, four fatality, in Chicago over the weekend of August 9-11, 2019. Fifty-three individuals were shot, seven killed, in Democrat-controlled Chicago during the first weekend of August and 48 were shot, nine fatally, during the last weekend of July. 6 teens tried to rob a house, police say. After the homeowner shot and killed 1, the others were charged with murder. Police near Chicago say six teenagers were trying to break into a house when the elderly homeowner told them to leave and fired a gun after they refused. The youngest of the group, 14, was shot and killed. Now the other five, including four under 18, have been charged with first-degree murder as adults, the Lake County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Facebook. One is legally an adult, 18-year-old Diamond C. Davis, the sheriff's statement says. Three are 17. One is 16. Authorities did not name the minors.
Everything They're Telling You About Mass Shootings Is Wrong. What are the facts? Fact: There were 387 deaths from mass shootings in the United States in 2018 (defined as four or more shot — not necessarily killed — at one time). Of those, most were regular criminals as we expect to see in gang-related drive-bys, bar fights, and a strangely large number of shootings at parties. About 100 deaths were the result of the random, psycho-killer shootings that dominated news coverage for days and weeks at a time. Mercifully, those are quite rare. But that's not the impression we are given by the news coverage. Fact: There are more privately owned guns in the United States than ever before and the number of murders has been declining for decades and has been at or near a multigenerational low for several years. More guns, less crime. Fact: There were 660 murders in Chicago in 2017. That's nearly twice the number from mass shootings in the whole country and six or seven times the number murdered by random psychos mass-shooters. Chicago has some of the strictest gun control in the country. Maybe it's not the guns. Media Not Interested in 47 People Shot in Chicago Over the Weekend. Sorry, these are not the shootings we're interested in. They don't create the right sort of national dialogue. So we're not discussing them. Not even when 47 people get shot over the weekend. After all there's no manifesto. Now in charge, Pritzker, Lightfoot on the hot seat for Chicago violence. A year ago this week, then-candidate for governor J.B. Pritzker heaped blame on then-Gov. Bruce Rauner for an uptick in Chicago violence. Stalemate over the state budget had reduced funding for social service programs, resulting in increased violence across the city, Pritzker alleged. If Pritzker were in charge, he would speed resources to violence interruption programs, he said at the time. It was August and more than 70 people had been shot with 12 killed over a single weekend. Rauner was ultimately in charge. What about now? Is Rauner, or President Donald Trump for that matter, to blame for the city's chronic violence epidemic? At least 55 people in Chicago were shot and seven died from their wounds over the weekend. According to the Chicago Police Department, nearly 1,000 people have been shot since the beginning of the year, with the homicide total 236 through June 30. Weaponizing the dead of El Paso and Dayton. Those angry loner white boys with guns, this time in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, have again erupted on the body politic. And those with eyes to see are reminded that the American culture is ill. But what of the mass shootings in Chicago, the 55 people shot over the weekend, with seven hit near a park and then eight more not far away? You might think these are "mass shootings" too, but, in political/media terms, they're not treated as such. The victims, and in all likelihood the shooters, are black. And Democratic politicians find no political advantage in weaponizing the victims of everyday street violence in a Democratic town. 49 shot, 6 fatally in Chicago weekend shootings. Shootings across the city of Chicago this past weekend have left seven people dead and another 44 people wounded. City leaders and community activists have planned to address the deadly and violent past couple of days. Two Chicago anti-gun campaigning moms are shot dead in a drive-by at street corner they were trying to reclaim from gangs. Chantell Grant, 26, and Andrea Stoudemire, 36, who volunteered with Mothers/Men Against Senseless Killings (MASK), were shot in the city's Auburn Gresham neighborhood on July 26, the organization said in a Facebook post. The women were standing at the corner of West 75th Street and South Stewart Avenue, an area that is often occupied by members of MASK to check on children. Chicago Police Department told DailyMail.com that a blue SUV pulled up to the area, where MASK volunteers often gather, and someone inside opened fire into a group of people just before 10 pm on Friday [7/26/2019]. Commentary about Baltimore and Chicago. [Chicago is] a town that has a homicide clearance rate (that is, percentage of fatal shootings for which someone got caught) this year of nine percent. You literally have a 90% chance of getting away with shooting someone in Chicago. In addition among those shootings where we know the race of the assailant just 5% — a literal one — was white. 15 were black and 4 Hispanic. Yet the city has an approximate 32% white population with the same, roughly, being black and about 28% Hispanic. In other words both black and Hispanic people are ridiculously over-represented when it comes to both shooting victims and perpetrators. That's not racist, it's factual. Do you see what the top ten cities have in common? In suburbs, spiral of decline becomes homeowners' burden. Tucked on the outer edges of southern Cook County, suburban Park Forest was built to help answer a housing shortage in the 1940s as GIs flooded home from World War II. Before long, it became a model of suburban living, featuring enviable public schools and an attractive downtown shopping center anchored by a Marshall Field's.&nbs |
