Happy New Year

Stay safe tonight. Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year to one and all.

Something is Missing Here

Crime way up north in the nominally "safe" area of the city:

• Police are investigating whether the same men bound two women and ransacked their Northwest Side homes.
  
  One of the incidents happened around 7:30 p.m. Monday and the other around 11:30 p.m. Friday, according to police. The home are three miles apart.
  
  In the first incident, in the 5200 block of North Mobile Avenue in the Jefferson Park neighborhood, a woman heard a knock and, assuming it was her husband, opened her door. Two men pushed their way inside but the woman later told police she heard three different voices.
  
  The men tied her with a cord they found in the home and put her in the back of the house while they ransacked rooms and stole money and electronics, police said.
  
  In the second incident, a 67-year-old woman was hit in the face after two men broke into her home in the 3700 block of North Oconto Avenue in the Belmont Heights neighborhood. The woman freed herself from the restraints and ran to a neighbor's home. The neighbor called 911.

The article goes on to interview eye-and-ear-witnesses but seems to leave out some very important information. Can you guess what it is? It's the Tribune after all, and the comments are closed:

• Something like a fucking description of the offenders maybe?

The seeBS article is only slightly more helpful, describing what may be an identifiable M.O.:

• “There were two men, but I guess about a half an hour before they came, two girls rang her door bell and she opened the door for them and they asked if someone named Anna lived there. She said, ‘No, no. There’s nobody here by that name.’ They left, walked north down the street and then a half an hour later, these guys showed up.”

So how about a description of the suspected accomplices?  Nope. Not even a hint. So if you see any nondescript individuals of either gender wandering around the north side, keep a sharp eye on them.

Rauner - Tool of the Machine

And tool of Rahm if you're paying attention:

• In a new ad, GOP gubernatorial contender Bruce Rauner talks about the benefits of charter schools in Illinois, merit-based pay for teachers and his role as an education reformer.
  
  “There’s no excuse for failing schools. Zero. None. Period,” Rauner says in the TV ad, which was shot inside a school. “I got so fed up, I helped start charter schools like this one.”
  
  But when it came to choosing a school for his daughter, Rauner didn’t go the route of a charter. Instead, he chose an elite public high school in Chicago.
  
  According to a CPS source, an investigation by the Chicago Public Schools inspector general indicated that Rauner called the office of then-Schools CEO Arne Duncan about his daughter’s chances of getting into Walter Payton College Prep, and she was admitted after a top Duncan aide called Payton’s principal.
  
  At the time, the daughter had not made the list of students accepted based on a strict formula involving test scores and other academic factors, the source said.

This guy is in so tight with the Machine, you can smell the oil and grease. He's a big Obama fan, travels with Rahm and is one of those "I know what's best for you little people" types that irritate actual thinking people. He is Rahm's choice for Springfield, which ought to work against him, but that hasn't really hit the voters yet. Hopefully, Brady and Rutherford can start getting some recognition statewide.

Quinn needs to lose, but Rauner is like Senator Kirk - RINO all the way.

Another Pension Problem - Overestimation

Remember all those "budgets" Shortshanks, and now Rahm, issue annually? And how they always rely on "estimated" streams of revenue, none of which ever manage to meet expectations?

Guess who "estimates" rates-of-return in unrealistic terms?

• Amid controversy over a new state law that seeks to rein in Illinois’ huge public pension debt, a report issued Tuesday by the state auditor general is questioning the projected investment returns from the state’s largest public retirement systems.
  
  Auditor General William Holland issued the 236-page report on behalf of the firm hired as the state’s actuary, Cheiron, which urged that state pension systems for teachers outside Chicago, public university employees and state workers all lower their annual estimated rate of return on investments.
  
  The report marked the second year in a row in which the actuarial consulting firm recommended that the three pension systems consider lowering the annual growth rate. None of the boards reduced the rate the last time. Concern over unreasonably high investment expectations has been fueled by the precarious situation for Illinois public pension systems, the worst funded in the nation.

How comforting that progress is being made....not.

Another Asinine Statement

Can you believe this bullshit from McStreetlightAssassin?

• We’ve reported extensively about Chicago’s problem with gun violence.
  
  Now Chicago police said they have seized more than 6,500 illegal guns this year. That’s 130 illegal weapons each week.
  
  Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy says that’s more than any major city and he says if you can reduce weapons you will reduce crime.
  
  “Carrying a loaded firearm is the gateway crime to committing a murder,” McCarthy said.

Seriously? Does this ass not realize that thousands of police officers carry loaded firearms, not only on duty, but off? Does he know that hundreds of thousands of persons in 49 other states all carry loaded firearms and somehow stop themselves from committing murder on a daily basis?

And not to put to fine a point on it, how many aldercreatures are packing heat right now and manage to keep their greasy little fingers off the triggers? Of course, they're probably committing other forms of graft, corruption and assorted white-collar felonies, but they aren't truly rising to homicide as far as we know.

This tool really needs to stop tonguing Rahm's asshole.

This is Just....Something

It starts out as a tragic story - 17-year mom-to-be found shot in the head. Valiant efforts by the medical personnel save her unborn child, but she succumbs to her wounds.  Then the story takes a turn that just leaves you shaking your head:

• Casara was picked up by the three suspects on Christmas afternoon and told family members she would be right back, authorities said. Casara had arranged to meet a person at 152nd Street and Dorchester Avenue whom the three intended to rob, according to Assistant State's Attorney Christina Kye.
  
  The person drove up, and Casara and Coakley got in the vehicle's back seat, Kye said. The driver ordered Coakley out of the car after exchanging words, Kye said. He got out and tried to open the driver's side door, Kye said.
  
  Coakley and someone else then opened fire on the car as the driver started to drive away and Casara was hit in the head, authorities said. The driver continued his escape, only realizing Casara was still in the car when he and his passenger heard "gurgling" sounds, Kye said.
  
  He dumped the dying Casara a few blocks away and drove to Hammond, Ind., according to Kye.

She was actually setting up a robbery of the dope dealer with her boyfriend and two others. And when the dealer sensed something wasn't right, he fled as the boyfriend and his brother lit up the car, hitting his own girlfriend in the head. She isn't attending parenting classes or attending showers or decorating a nursery - she's out there in the burbs setting up the weed guy to get robbed and manages to catch a bullet while pretty much being a hood rat.

You can't make this shit up.

Oh No! Snow Again?

You'd think it was winter or something:

• A snowstorm moving into the Chicago area just in time for New Year’s Eve could cover us with 3 or more inches of snow, forecasters said.
  
  “There might be slightly lesser amounts in the southern suburbs, but generally speaking, pretty much the metro area is going to end up with 3 to 5 inches,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Gino Izzi said.
  
  The first flakes should arrive early Tuesday evening — possibly in time for the evening commute — and continue through Wednesday morning, the peak period when holiday revelers are venturing outside.
  
  Drivers should be prepared for snow-covered roads, limited visibility and difficult travel, the weather service said.
  

Of course, part of that "difficult travel" is the complete lack of plows and salt trucks clearing streets....until they aren't paying OT to the drivers.

Once Again, Second Class Citizens

There is (or soon will be) not a single person in the State of Illinois who has to register a firearm anymore.

Unless you're a Chicago Police Officer.

Read the linked order here, right on page two:

• H. Sworn members will register all duty and nonduty firearms with the Department.

Once again, we now have less rights than the other citizens of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. We've been warning guys and gals for years now that something like this was on the horizon. That once Concealed Carry passed, without the support of the FOP, that we as officers would regret it for not supporting something that a majority of the citizens wanted and that the courts were going to grant. In fact, the disgraced ex-president of the FOP publicly berated the blog for daring to support citizen Rights.

Now what? Who speaks up for us? There is no purpose in this rule change aside from screwing with Officers. We'll guarantee Dick Mell isn't going to have to register any of his weapons, the weapons that Shortshanks changed city ordinance to allow for a loophole when Mell forgot to register his guns one year.

This is going to make an interesting Constitutional argument one day. And we predict it's going to cost Chicago taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A Moment of Silence

Did that suck or what?

Final Farewell

At Holy Name Cathedral yesterday:

• Cook County said goodbye Saturday to officer Cuauhtemoc Estrada, the sheriff's investigator and Marine Corps veteran who was shot and killed Dec. 20 while protecting his daughter and her boyfriend from armed robbers.
  
  In Holy Name Cathedral, Estrada was celebrated as a dedicated officer who cared deeply about his family and his community. He died serving both, and law enforcement officials from all over Cook County and beyond filled the pews at the Near North Side church to pay their respects.
  
  “He was just a good, strong person with a lot of love for our family,” said Felipe Gallegos, a nephew, who gave the eulogy. “He'd give out the best helping hand he could give to you.”

RIP Officer.

Gold Coast Wounding

Even the rich liberal elderly aren't safe:

• A 70-year-old man shot during an armed robbery in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood was one of three people shot within 30 minutes Friday and one of at least nine people shot across the city overnight.
  
  The elderly man was in the 1500 block of North Astor Street around 7:30 p.m. Friday when an armed offender robbed the man of his cell phone, police said.
  
  During the course of the robbery, the victim was shot in the foot, according to authorities. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Jose Estrada said.

Any idea when VRI and foot patrols are going to start up there?

Packers Favored

The Packers are badly beat up after last week and their QB is back after more than a few weeks off courtesy of the last time he played the Bears. Vegas still has them favored by 3.

The last time the Bears were 3 point dogs, they lost by 43.

We're sitting this one out.

Progress, Not Success

At least that's what McJersey says, completely disregarding the statistical manipulation:

• Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy checks his cellphone every morning for the latest crime notifications. The news almost always is grim.
  
  Despite averaging 1.1 murders a day, Chicago Police reported a 17 percent decrease in killings from 2012 and the fewest murders in the city since 1965. But McCarthy isn’t celebrating. “This is progress, not success,” he said, “We still have way too much gun violence in this city.”
  
  Despite a drop in murder that has hit nearly a 50-year low, countless family members and friends of the 2013 Chicago murder victims don’t get to reset their losses Jan. 1.

A fifty year low. Sounds impressive. Of course, if you look at a graph, 2013 falls into line with the previous declining totals from 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. 2012 was the aberration.

If you count the "death investigations" that will be reclassified as homicides later next year when no one is looking, you'll have a few more numbers to count. And if you add in the "mutual combatant" numbers, you might even see an upward tick from 2011.

Of course, the real number that matters is the rate of homicides, and seeing as how Chicago was nearly a million persons larger in 1965, one has to think the rate moved downward at all. 400 homicides per 3.5 million looks a lot better than 400 homicides per 2.7 million.

Sgt Exam Part II Restrictions

An unenforceable provision? Or is this really going to be an issue?

• o/t- In reading the notice to report email regarding the Sgt exam did anyone pick up on the exact clothing prohibitions for part two. Aside from the obvious I noticed added restrictions including specifically "Hooded clothing or clothing with pockets of any type are not permitted. These items will NOT be allowed in the testing room. "
  
  I've yet to call on this and I am afraid to assume what clothing this pertains to. Clothing with no pockets, really? What clothing doesn't have pockets? My jock even has a pocket. Wtf? Funny to think of 5000 coppers sitting ass naked taking their Sgt exam. Who the fuck proofreads this shit before sending it out?

Hopefully, there isn't a run on spandex and yoga pants in the hard to fit categories. We'd hate to miss part II of the exam.

Winter Wilding Season

News coverage?

• Off topic, please excuse.
  
  I was at North Riverside Mall theater last night at 600pm,
  
  When the wilding started in the mall. I would have estimated about a 500 hundred Amish thugs fighting and running like savages. Store locked their doors and security waited until about 25 squad cars from the surrounding areas came and cleared the mall.
  
  One security guard pointed out a large sign that prohibited teens from under 17 being in the mall without a guardian!
  Like he said, what good a sign if they can't read!
  
  Nothing on an news coverage.

No, there wouldn't be news coverage. Can't let on that there's an issue with that sort of thing.

Money Wasted Again

This is amusing - sort of:

• SCC,
  
  You ain't going to believe this shit.
  
  The department spent who knows how many thousands of dollars installing a brand new set of lock boxes outside of the 011 District lockup. The existing lock boxes inside the sally-port haven't had keys in decades, so they installed these new ones.
  
  There are two sets of keys, one in the door of the box and one in the DSS office. But the MASTER KEYS? The ones that open all 12 boxes? It seems the installers handed those off to the civilian maintenance personnel and they haven't been seen since, running onto a few days now, more than enough time top make any number of copies that can be used to........well, your imagination can run wild with that.
  
  How long until guns start disappearing and if these master keys are keyed to any other stations' lock boxes, someone has just created a pretty big security nightmare.

This was from a week or two ago. Any word if the keys turned up? Or if the Department is going to re-key all the boxes?

Still Remembered

His tour of duty never ended from twenty-five years ago:

• A Chicago police officer who was injured in the line of duty 25 years ago got a special Christmas Day surprise.
  
  Fellow officers stepped away from their own families to honor Officer Bernie Domagala.
  
  "I would like to present to you the Pipes and Drums of the Chicago Police Department," said Officer Steve Martinez.
  
  "Oh my God. It's the Drums, the Chicago Police Department," said Domagala's wife, Denise Domagala.
  
  Domagala's smile said it all – retired officer Bernie Domagala was serenaded with is wife and son by his side.
  
  "This was amazing to have the brotherhood, the police department here to support him. The music was, just always, always touching, said Denise Domagala.
  
  And emotional.

It certainly is. God bless you and your family Officer.

Madigan Patsy Withdraws

Ever wonder why Mike Madigan runs almost unopposed and wins handily all the time? It's because he has his patronage army run around and gather signatures for his hand-picked "republican" opponent, who then doesn't even campaign for office, leaving the path open for Mike to roll up huge margins.

But it seems like his precinct captains outsmarted themselves recently:

• Chicago GOP Victory: Madigan Hand-Picked "Opponent" Withdraws Candidacy.
  
  An hour before Madigan operatives would have been required to testify under oath today, Terrence Goggin, House Speaker Mike Madigan's "Republican" opponent, withdrew his candidacy.
  
  The Chicago Republican Party had challenged Goggin's petitions alleging that they contained several fraudulent signatures. Entire households appeared to have the same handwriting.
  
  The Chicago GOP won the right before a Chicago Board of Elections hearing officer to subpoena Goggin circulators and have them testify under oath about the fraud. Goggin attorney Scott Erdman filed a last-minute motion to quash the subpoenas, but the hearing officer denied the motion. This, apparently, was too much for Mike Madigan, who decided to pull his candidate rather than face such scrutiny.
  
  "He was scared of what his operatives might say under oath," said Chris Cleveland, Vice Chairman of the Chicago GOP. "Why else would he withdraw an hour before the hearing?"
  
  "This isn't over," said Cleveland. "Not only did we find signatures on petitions with similar handwriting, we also found voter registration cards with the same problem. This is a much more serious matter. We're looking into it now."

Voter fraud? In Chicago? Yow.

And the "amusing" fact that no one in the Chicago GOP organization has ever met Goggin, there are no photographs of Goggin in their files, he has run no fundraisers and doesn't seem to do campaign mailings either. It's almost like he was manufactured for the sole purpose of giving Madigan an easy win.

Hide Tommy Hide!

Poor Tommy:

Any media types even going to look into these shenanigans?

Dart Silences Media (UPDATES)

Hey CBS and Mike Krauser? How does it feel to be Dart's bitch? He calls your bosses and you take down an entire article? Did he claim that the threats endangered him and his family, so you caved? Of course, you come from a long line of bullshit artists, like Dan Rather passing off forged documents as "news," so we aren't really surprised.

Thank goodness GoogleCache lives forever. Here's a capture of the article CBS and Dart don't want you to see:

• CLICK HERE

Again, we doubt that Dart was threatened by anyone credible. Ed Burke wasn't, but he still has a gun, too. One set of rules for them, and another for the serfs.

UPDATE: CBS put the article back up around 2:04 this afternoon. They added a paragraph about how Dart has supposedly carried a gun for 7 years, but wouldn't admit it when it was pointed out no one has seen him with a gun during that time frame.

The article also calls Dart a "former lawmaker," meaning he has little (if any) law enforcement experience, but carries a gun simply because he's a sheriff - like an aldercreature who can carry a gun by dint of being an elected official - but possibly without completing the mandatory firearms courses.

And all you peons who want a gun under the Second Amendment and Concealed Carry laws, well, you aren't nearly as qualified as a politician says Dart.

UPDATE II: Guess why the post went back up?

• I called CBS Chicago about this. Seriously. I'm not joking about this. After an awkward pause after my initial question, the guy said "we realized the story was no longer timely and relevant." He stuck to this explanation even after I told him that I know how the Chicago machine works. What a bunch of bullshit!

The leftist media hates getting caught by playing footsie with the leftist politicians. It gives them hives.

UPDATE III: Does anyone have a case report specifying the "threats" Dart received? We can't find anything in the Chicago Data Warehouse with Dart listed as victim. And seeing as how the Sheriff's Office is in the 50 W. Washington building, there would most likely be a CPD RD# attached to any threats, correct? Does he reside in the burbs or the city?

Merry Chris....Dude, Where's Your Head?

This one was making the rounds of the roll calls all day:

• Police have launched a homicide investigation after officers found a grisly scene in an apartment in the Northwest Side's Belmont Gardens neighborhood early Christmas morning.
  
  Police were called to the 2500 block of North Kildare Avenue about 2:05 a.m. by someone who reported a homicide, Chicago Police Department News Affairs [...] said.
  
  Officers found a decapitated body in a basement apartment there, police said. The body was that of a 41-year-old adult male, police said.
  
  The Cook County medical examiner's office confirmed the death this morning but listed the man's name and age as unknown.
  
  An 18-year-old was taken into custody outside the building "without incident," [...]. Police also recovered a knife, she said.

A heart-warming Christmas tale for the tavern church ice cream social.

Funny People

Just had to move this one to the main page:

• Jingle bells Chicago style
  
  Blasting through the snow; In a big black escalade
  Shooters on the run; Knowing that they're made
  The witnesses won't sing; They lie all through the night
  Oh what fun this city is; With people full of fright
  
  Oh, crime is down; Crime is down; Crime's down all the way
  Oh what fun that crime is down; That's what our leaders say
  Oh, crime is down; Crime is down; Crime's down all the way
  Oh what fun that crime is down; That's what our leaders say
  
  A day or two ago; I thought I'd take a ride
  And then this great big thug; Was seated by my side
  He took my brand new phone; And hit me in the head
  Our public transportation sucks; I'm lucky I'm not dead
  
  Oh, crime is down; Crime is down; Crime's down all the way
  Oh what fun that crime is down; That's what our leaders say
  Oh, crime is down; Crime is down; Crime's down all the way
  Oh what fun that crime is down; That's what our leaders say
  
  So listen boys and girls; Don't be afraid tonight
  Police will watch your house; Until the morning light
  So if you hear some shots; Gangbangers might get whacked
  Don't be concerned our chopper's up; So Santa won't get jacked!
  
  Oh, crime is down; Crime is down ;Crime's down all the way
  Oh what fun that crime is down; That's what our leaders say
  Oh, crime is down; Crime is down; Crime's down all the way
  Oh what fun that crime is down; That's what our leaders say
  
  Merry Christmas and a safe 2014!
  God Bless you all.
  Retired

Thank you sir.

Sheriff Dart - Hypocrite

What a jackass this guy is:

• It is not unusual for a sheriff to be carrying a gun.  In fact, it would be expected in some places.
  
  But when Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart recently started carrying one on his belt, it was a bit unusual. So WBBM [...] asked him about it.
  
  Dart – a former state lawmaker known for policy as much as anything else — said he’s been getting some unwanted attention, unfortunately.
  
  The sheriff has had his life threatened.
  
  “It’s been impressed upon me that I have five little kids, and I need to be around a bit,” Dart says. “So, I can’t just cavalierly just blow everything off.”
  
  “It’s a little bit of a wake-up call, unfortunately,” he added. “I have no delusions of my abilities.”
  
  The gun goes with the job, he says.

Really? "...no delusions of [your] abilities"? So a gun is an equalizer? You're going to use it to protect yourself and your loved ones should some of these "threats" manifest themselves in some way, shape or form? But regular citizens shouldn't be able to have that same protection, many of whom don't have drivers or bodyguards and happen to work in/travel through/reside in neighborhoods that are far less safe than anything Dart has experienced. What makes you so special Tommy?

Not that we believe there has been a threat - this stinks of Ed Burke Disease. Have you ever carried one before Tommy? You disgust us - one set of rules for you, one for all the unconnected people.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of our readers. As always, if you are lucky enough to have the day off, enjoy the blessings of the day. If you are working, be safe and make it home to enjoy an off-hour dinner, presents and the company of those who missed you while you were away.

Light posting as usual.

The Lists

30 Sergeants to start on 30 December:

• Alvarez, A 009
• Alvarez, R 012
• Anderson, M 116
• Davis, M 006
• Delaney, A 022
• Doherty R 620
• Durst, D 019
• Elizondo, X 193
• Forberg, B 620
• Gonzalez, L 015
• Gutierrez, F 010
• Hindman, D 124
• Iza, D 017
• Joyce, E 019
• Kasput, M 006
• Kennedy, S 121
• Konagel, C 022
• Kontil, P 020/211
• Martin, C 620
• McCarthy, J 114/541
• Mullins, J 608
• Olson, K 610/606
• Pellonari, R 059
• Smith, J 312
• Uldrych (Kane), M 001
• Vanek, A 018
• Vanek, M 393
• Vanthof, S 025
• Williams, S 004/124
• Young, A 610

And 16 Lieutenants starting on  06 January:

• Betz, D 193
• Cline, M 193
• Clucas Jr, W 024
• Fine, M 020
• Gyrion, K 001
• Hanna, G 120
• Helwink-Masters, D 015
• Johnson, K 123
• Jozefowicz, H 012
• Kennedy, T 001
• Partipilo, M 124
• Roman, M 189
• Sam, C 051
• Simon, D 022
• Vucko, J 009
• Wiberg, W 018

Congratulations.

Suspect Apprehended

Up in Cheese-land:

• A suspect in a string of weekend carjackings, including one that ended in a crash that killed an 11-year-old boy, was arrested this morning after U.S. marshals in SUVs pinned him in at a McDonald's drive-thru in Milwaukee, authorities said.
  
  Rockie Douglas, 34, was waiting for food at the McDonald's on the northwest side of the city when deputy marshals pulled in front and back of him around 11:30 a.m., according to Ed Farrell, supervisory inspector of the task force. A woman in the car with him was not injured.
  
  "He attempted to use the female passenger as a human shield, briefly," said Douglas Bachert, supervisory deputy U.S. marshal in Milwaukee.

Nice job.

Promotions on a Tuesday?

Rumors of a list coming over the fax machines. 

Sergeants and Lieutenants.

Merry Christmas indeed.

Funeral Arrangements

Services are as follows:

• WAKE: Friday,27DEC2013
  1500hrs-2100hrs
  Russo's Chapel (4500 Roosevelt, Hillside, Il)
  
  Mass: Saturday, 28DEC2013
  1000 hrs
  Holy Name Cathedral
  (735 N. State St.)

In the meantime, no bail for the accused assholes. Lengthy records as speculated. Plenty of evidence recovered, footprints in the snow leading to the subjects and a decent video tape of the incident. It should be a slam dunk conviction, but that's not much comfort to the family this Christmas season.

Ex-Comptroller Pleads Guilty

And no one in Rahm's administration managed to see this on the horizon:

• Former City of Chicago Comptroller Amer Ahmad pleaded guilty Monday to being part of a large kickback and money-laundering scheme when he was Ohio’s deputy state treasurer — crimes for which he’ll face up to 15 years in prison.
  
  Ahmad also agreed pay $3.2 million in restitution, according to his plea agreement, which he entered during a 45-minute hearing in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati.
  
  Ahmad, 38, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and bribery for using his Ohio government position to secure “lucrative state business” for his high school classmate and financial adviser, Douglas Hampton, “in exchange for payments” to himself and others, according to his plea agreement.
  
  Those crimes occurred before Ahmad joined Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration in April 2011. An investigation by an outside law firm hired by City Hall to review Ahmad’s conduct here revealed no criminal wrongdoing by Ahmad or his staff.

It's not like this investigation just "popped up" out of nowhere. We suppose everyone in Rahm's cabinet just assumed what Ahmad was doing was business-as-usual in Chicago, so how could it be wrong anywhere else.

21 Shot Since Friday

Nice to see the weather isn't hampering the bloodletting leading up to Christmas:

• Four men were killed and at least 17 other people were injured in shootings across the city since Friday afternoon.
  
  The most recent fatal shooting happened about midnight Monday in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood on the South Side.

Easily maintaining the rate of over one person killed per day in December.

Police Shooting

Two teens shot in Roseland by police:

• Two teenage boys were shot during an exchange of gunfire with Chicago Police on Sunday evening in the Roseland neighborhood, authorities said.
  
  Police released few details about the shooting about 5:05 p.m. near 95th and La Salle. The teens were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

"...exchange of gunfire..." That would seem to imply that the assailants were armed and firing at police, right? Momma doesn't seem to care about that part though:

• Sandra Collins said at the scene that police shot her son, who is a student at Kennedy King College.
  
  “I’m not saying my son was the best, but he was the best to me, and the police shot him down in cold blood. My tears are so dried up,” she said.

"...in cold blood..."? He was shooting a gun at police officers, you ignorant bitch. In some countries, he'd simply disappear and society would be better for it. But we happen to be a country of laws, so that doesn't go on here. Sister is ignorant along the lines of mommy dearest:

• Her daughter Gabriella Collins, 28, said she and her mother had tried in vain to get information from police at the scene.
  
  “Where’s the answers? They’re hurrying up to get their stories straight,” Gabriella Collins said.
  
  “Someone needs to explain. Somebody shot my brother,” she said. “Where’s my brother? Where’s my brother?”

Your brother was attempting to murder a number of police officers. He's lucky he isn't at the morgue. And the media gives these people a forum to spout their ignorance and bullshit for all the rest of the ignorant populace to read.

Manhunt for a Carjacker/Killer

This one has a bad feeling around it - be very aware if you run across this asshole:

• A manhunt was underway Sunday night for a suspect who police say carjacked three vehicles over the weekend, with one leading to a crash on the South Side that killed an 11-year-old boy.
  
  The Illinois State Police said they were working with Chicago police and federal law enforcement officials in the search for 34-year-old Rockie Douglas, last known to live in Beach Park.
  
  Douglas' carjackings began around 11:20 a.m. Friday, State Police said, when he forced a driver out of a green minivan in the 800 block of West Irving Park Road. The next day around noon, officers attempted to pull Douglas over in the first stolen vehicle, which police say he crashed into a Chevy Suburban in the 5500 block of South Halsted.
  
  That crash killed 11-year-old Donovan Turnage and injured his father. Douglas fled and carjacked another vehicle nearby. That vehicle broke down on a ramp from Interstate 294 to westbound Interstate 88, police said. A concerned motorist tried to help Douglas, police said, who then forced his way into that person's vehicle, a 2007 Honda Accord. Douglas may be driving that light blue, 4-door Honda bearing Illinois license plate X144777, Chicago Police said in a news release.
  
  Douglas, whom police said had displayed a blue steel handgun during at least one of the carjackings and is wanted in a series of crimes from Chicago into Wisconsin, was last seen fleeing in the Honda westbound on I-88. Douglas is a white man, standing about 6-foot-3 and weighing about 275 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. His last known address was in the 12700 block of Major Avenue in Beach Park.

Most likely, he's still on the move headed west, but who knows with a nut-job like this? He looking at never being free again, so what does he have to lose. Be careful.

Suspects in Custody for CCSO Murder

Good news:

• Several suspects were in custody Sunday morning in connection with the shooting death of an off-duty sheriff’s officer, authorities confirmed.
  
  No charges had been filed as of 7 p.m. Sunday and few details were available about the arrests in the fatal shooting of Cuauhtemoc Estrada, who was gunned down outside a family holiday party Friday night while trying to stop an attempted armed robbery in Bellwood.

We'll post details at some point. We certainly hope that this isn't another case of people who should be in prison somehow being paroled.

Also, we'll try to get funeral arrangements when available.