Exempts Quitting?

Two rumors:

• Cmdr. Hargensheimer (spelling?), unhappy at being moved from Youth to 022, dropped his papers to leave;
• Cmdr. McNaughton, unhappy at being moved from 016 to 008, put in his papers to leave in short order.

Anyone have info?

Ouch

That tingles!

• A Marquette Park neighborhood man is expected to appear in court later today after he was accused of wresting a Taser from a Chicago police officer and using it on him Sunday night during a struggle on the city's Southwest Side, police said.

  The incident began with officers attempting to interview Dashawn James, 19, because they thought he had violated curfew in the 6500 block of South California Avenue, according to police.

  A fight broke out after officers followed James, who fled and became "combative," punching two officers and gaining control of one of their Tasers, according to a police report.

  James "deployed" the Taser several times striking an officer’s arm, according to the report. Another officer used his Taser to subdue James, who was arrested at about 10:40 p.m. Sunday.

Be careful out there.

Crime Down 20%

Everything is down. Except that silly homicide number:

• Ten days after Mayor Rahm Emanuel made a point to highlight Chicago went 24 hours without a homicide, he confronted a more sobering statistic on Monday: the murder rate is up 53.8 percent from the same period a year ago.

  Through mid-day Monday, Chicago had recorded 40 January homicides, compared to just 26 murders during the same period a year ago. The number of shooting incidents remained constant at 140 during both periods.

• McCarthy argued that Chicago’s overall crime rate is down 20 percent over the same period a year ago and that “every single [other] category of crime” is down.

Everything else is down, but the BIG stat is up almost 54%? Something isn't tracking here. And the number of shootings is exactly the same as last year, even though the weather is waaaaaay warmer? Can you smell the bullshit from here?

• He further noted increases in a host of “enforcement actions” by rank-and-file police officers: contact cards filed by police making stops (up 43 percent); administrative notices of violations (up 48 percent); gang dispersals (up 18 percent) and curfew violations (up 25 percent).

Ah, that explains it. CompStat is notorious for cooking the numbers. In fact, we believe that the book we've referenced the past couple of days exposes the number baking for what it is.

Missing the Point

Yesterday we posted this photo:

We made our regular sarcastic comments about "drinking being ok" again and made some backhanded reference to non-functional streetlights. Evidently, all the G-Mac fans came out of the closet to call us and our readers names, question our motivations and completely miss the point of the post:

• This post was not about going out and having a beer, but about having a beer and going out to sit in $1,200 seats. Did G-Mac accept a $1,200 gift that might cause problems down the road?
• It was also about a guy with some pretty big self control issues where alcohol is concerned. Do we really have to rehash the parking ticket fiasco that resulted in his arrest? His shooting out streetlights? The Unit Christmas party where beer muscles met beer muscles? The White Eagle event?
• We would also argue that we wanted to make fun of the prevailing attitude that for us to have a beer, we can only drink it in the privacy of our basements, with the windows closed tight, the curtains drawn and the phones off in case work calls.

We're not going to say we've never enjoyed a beer at a game or a bar or a barbecue - we'd be straight up liars first of all.

This post was more about the perception of impropriety. You'd better believe there's more than a little of that going around here.

Go Ahead, Break the Law

If you don't like the law, advocate for change. Write letters. Contribute money. Consult any PAC's you may belong to. Don't do something like this:

• Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy says he supports the video and audio recording of police officers who are on the job.

  McCarthy talked to ABC 7 Monday about his position on the state's eavesdropping law, which makes the recording the audio of officers without their knowledge a felony.

  McCarthy's comments come as a state representative works to change that law. Like many citizens, McCarthy did not know the specifics of the eavesdropping law.

  The superintendent learned -- much to his chagrin -- that the eavesdropping law in Illinois is much more restrictive than what he was used to back east. It is his job to enforce the law as it stands, but this is clearly a law he is not fond of, and his voice as the head man of the state's largest law enforcement agency carries significant weight in this debate.

You still have to enforce the law on the books and the existing law says, "No recording." If G-Mac doesn't want us enforcing the will of the legislature, then put pencil to paper and sign the order, but be prepared for the consequences.

Part Time Job Pays Well

Guess who's making a bunch of money for a part time gig?

• The salaries of Chicago’s aldermen rise — or even fall — with the city’s cost of living under a 2006 ordinance. But City Council members can forgo the raises and opt out of the cuts in any given year. As a result of those individual choices, aldermanic salaries now vary by as much as $11,000.

  How this played out: 19 aldermen who took all the increases on the table and also decided against taking a pay cut in 2010 are being paid $114,913 this year. The three aldermen who declined all the raises have a salary of $104,101. The rest fall somewhere between.

And there's a pension at the end, too.

No Hiring in Phoenix

You thought we had it bad?

• The Phoenix Police Department will extend its hiring freeze to 2015, which means the city would go 6½ years without a new officer recruited to the force.

  City officials have relied on attrition -- keeping positions unfilled as officers have left the department -- to avoid layoffs as a way to make up for lagging sales-tax collections dedicated to funding public safety.

Imagine being the low seniority guy in the last class of 2008/2009.

6 PM on Channel 5

Channel 5 is doing a story about the tremendous jump in homicide numbers for January. We'll provide a link when they get it up on the website.

Now if they'd just tie it into the numbers game know as CompStat.

Some basic investigative reporting might reveal a number of shady accounting of crime and the accompanying statistics.

UPDATE: Link is here.

Drinking is OK Again

Bulls game:

So were these tickets a gift? Because those seats are usually owned by ultra rich bigwigs and corporations. And the Ethics Test we're all required to take has pretty strict limits on gifts over $50.

We noticed a few extra streetlights seemed to be out on Madison Street the other night, too.

Almost Killer Convicted

Another victory in court:

• A former Chicago cop has been convicted of trying to kill four police officers even though he was shot 28 times by police during a West Side traffic stop.

  A jury Friday found Howard Morgan, 61, guilty on attempted murder charges — five years after a jury deadlocked on the same charges and acquitted him of others in connection with the 2005 incident.

  The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police praised the verdict, declaring “justice served” on its website Friday.

  But Morgan’s wife was outraged, and blasted the decision as “ludicrous” Saturday.

Ludicrous to someone who doesn't know the law.

And he was shot 28 times? And lived to go through two trials?

Carnage Continues

It's like the Energizer Bunny of Crime:

• Two people were wounded in an apparent drive-by shooting outside a grocery store on the South Side, officials said.

  The shooting happened shortly after 1 p.m. at 6504 S. Western Ave., police and fire officials said.

• At least three teens and two adults were wounded in separate shootings on the South and West sides Saturday night and Sunday morning, according to police.
  
  
• A 24-year-old man is hospitalized after being stabbed outside of a Wrigleyville dance bar early this morning by a man who seemingly was about to give the victim a hug , police said.

And a warm week ahead.

Illinois = Greece

A very interesting read:

• As the Greek default (and it is a default no matter what they end up calling it) is finalized this week, the consensus seems to be that failure to reach a deal would cause a global financial apocalypse.

  That may be true. And if it is, why aren’t we more worried about Illinois? It’s more or less the same size as Greece, its finances are in the same generally catastrophic shape, and its leaders are just as feckless and dishonest. It owes tens of billions of dollars to various investors and stakeholders and will clearly have to stiff many of them at some point. The following article captures the “failed state” dilemma perfectly...

The author then proceeds to break down debt by debt by overdue bill how boned Illinois truly is and makes this observation:

• How a state with a constitutional mandate to balance its budget can do this in the first place — and how an “unpaid bill” can be excluded from the annual budget — is a question for future prosecutors.

There are a whole passel of persons overdue for prison terms over this mess. Unfortunately, uneducated voters lead the pack.

Global Warming Officially Dead

Finally:

• The supposed ‘consensus’ on man-made global warming is facing an inconvenient challenge after the release of new temperature data showing the planet has not warmed for the past 15 years.
  
  The figures suggest that we could even be heading for a mini ice age to rival the 70-year temperature drop that saw frost fairs held on the Thames in the 17th Century.
  
  Based on readings from more than 30,000 measuring stations, the data was issued last week without fanfare by the Met Office and the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit. It confirms that the rising trend in world temperatures ended in 1997.

This is a "reevaluation" of previous data that "proved" global warming a number of years back. Now we're looking at sunspot minimums unseen in decades, perhaps dozens of decades.

Of course, that doesn't explain the ongoing mild winter. Four or five straight days of 40+ degrees this week? CompStat is shitting bricks.

More Biting?

What the heck:

• A Chicago police officer was slightly injured this morning after she was attacked by a woman who had broken into a South Side apartment after being evicted, officials said.

  Police were called to the 1600 block of West 81st Street at about 4 a.m. after a neighbor spotted a woman using a hammer to break open a door that had been boarded shut, said Chicago Police News Affairs [...].

  The police later learned that the woman had recently been evicted from the 1st floor apartment...

• As police tried to speak to the woman, she became agitated and challenged the officers to fight, Mirabelli said.

  The woman then began pushing furniture out of the way and threw liquid from a mop bucket at a 31-year-old female officer, Mirabelli said.

  As police were trying to put the woman into custody, the female officer was attacked. The officer was bitten in the hand and chest. She also was sustained scratches to her face and neck

So are bitings on the rise or is the media think this adds some element of news-worthiness to the story if an officer is actually wounded like this?

Bloody Friday

But hey, most of them didn't die!

• At least 12 people were wounded by gunfire in 11 separate incidents since about 8 p.m. Friday night on the city's South and West sides, according to Chicago police.

And Saturday isn't looking much better:

• A 15-year-old boy suffered a serious gunshot wound Saturday night, though few details about the shooting were immediately available.
• Two people were injured after a shooting occurred at a grocery store on the South Side, officials said.

And the truly warm weather starts up early next week.

Another Bright Idea

Someone has been watching too much CNN:

• In Egypt, cell phones, text messages and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter were such powerful protest organizing tools, they helped topple a government.

  Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd) wants to make certain the same tools are available to Chicago protesters during the May 19-21 NATO and G-8 summits.

  At the Feb. 15 City Council meeting, Munoz plans to introduce legislation that would prohibit the Chicago Police Department from attempting to cut off access to social networking sites and cell phone networks during the back-to-back summits at McCormick Place — even though Chicago Police say they have no such plans.

Newsflash for Munoz - Egypt was and continues to be a totalitarian regime. They can shut down networks and the infrastructure easily. Not so much here in the U.S. But hey, he wouldn't be a Crook County democrat if he wasn't trying to tell everyone exactly how to live their lives.

No More School Officers?

This comment appeared after the School Officers got bitten late last week:

• Last week the schools opted to remove officers all together here in 11 and the powers that be decided the schools that do have officers still do this... one inside officer and one officer outside in a squad car the outside Guy is to patrol the area and take jobs (not school jobs) close to the area
  Makes perfect sense to....wait Aw F it im going back to bed

We made a few calls and it appears to be true.

What seems to have happened is that the school principals were offered a choice:

1. Keep your assigned school officers or
2. give them up and we'll give you a portion of the money spent on their salaries.

Evidently, the CPS would reimburse the CPD for the salaries of officers assigned to the school. If the principals see dollar signs and can get a few grand to spend on their own pet projects, well....

And if a few officers get bit during the course of the day? Well, we'll be out of the school business shortly.

Businesses On Their Own

A few days ago, this was in the Sun Times:

• Stores on State Street and North Michigan Avenue should have security outside their doors during the NATO and G-8 Summits — and downtown companies should offer their employees the option of working from home — to avoid conflicts with thousands of protesters, a business leader warned Tuesday.

  Jerry Roper, president of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, said businesses need to plan ahead and prepare for the worst in the event the demonstrations turn ugly during the summits May 19-21.

And Andrew Breitbart's Big Government website links the Occupy people to this summer's events:

• While many laughed off Occupy Wall Street and predicted it would not last, the puppet masters have made their next move. We now have the evidence to prove that the early phase of the movement was nothing more than a staging period to build an infrastructure that will culminate in a massive occupation of Chicago this May. The strategy to descend upon Chicago’s NATO/G8 Summits has now been made loud and clear, as evidenced from a recent call to arms for revolutionaries around the world to flock to Chicago in May, as well as details regarding Occupy Chicago’s internal communications

The bad vibes just keep growing.

Exempt Training

According to someone who ought to know, guess how many exempts have attended the G8 Training? We're talking either the One Day Training or the Three Day Extravaganza.

Zero.

Just thought we'd put that one out there.

Crowd Dynamics

A timely and interesting read:

• The easy passage through city council of greater restrictions on public protest last week caused some consternation, and confusion: is the city government trying to stifle protest or prevent street violence? Does increasing bureaucratic layers and tightening rules actually prevent a protest from becoming a riot? The old but ever-present shadow of 1968 continues to loom in advance of the G8 and NATO summits.

Also, you'd think this article might provoke a response from the media instead of them making up lies about the blog:

• Jammers, pack your tents, muster up your courage and prepare for a big bang in Chicago this Spring. If we don’t stand up now and fight now for a different kind of future we may not have much of a future … so let’s live without dead time for a month in May and see what happens …

"big bang." "fight now." Seems at least as provocative as anything written here according to the media standards.

Gangs Have Computers!

Alert the media! Oh wait, J-Fled already did that:

• Chicago gangs are still spray-painting their graffiti on alley walls, train cars and viaducts — but they’re also using their smart phones and computers for “cyber-tagging,” according to the Chicago Crime Commission, which released an updated book on the city’s street gangs Thursday.

  They’re provoking their rivals with Internet graffiti and using social media to keep in touch with their associates, according to the commission.

  “They’re tagging websites with information that is provocative and incites violence,” said Jody Weis, former Chicago Police superintendent and president of the commission.

And they're posting pictures of themselves with guns, drugs, and representing for the gangs that their "parents" and friends insist they aren't a part of, proof of which has appeared here time and time again.

And this is a revelation to J-Fled and the media covering the release of the Chicago Crime Commission's latest publication. Of course, revealing how extensively the gang unit has been trolling and gathering intelligence won't have any effect on future endeavors, just like revealing how accurately "pinging" cell phones hasn't impacted long term investigations.

Morgue Overhaul

Step one - stop accepting dead bodies:

• Saying she was "disturbed and discouraged and disappointed," Cook County board president Toni Preckwinkle promised to "overhaul" the medical examiner's office -- and fire some workers -- because of crowded conditions in the morgue.
  
  "I've been as disturbed and discouraged and disappointed by the information that's come to my attention at the medical examiner's office as many of you," Preckwinkle said following a tour of the facility today. "I expect there will be some people that lose their jobs."

Lose their jobs? Did everyone see the pictures from the morgue?

The ME claims there are only 300 bodies on site. Workers at the morgue say it's closer to 500. We'll say that these pictures are ridiculous and we've haven't seen anything like this, even in 1995 when the morgue had refrigerated trucks on site.

This is a disgrace.

Officer Bitten

Not cool:

• A brawl that erupted in the lunchroom of an East Garfield Park neighborhood high school today left four female students under arrest and the Chicago Police officer who tried to break it up bitten in the hand.
  
  About 12:30 p.m. a bunch of students began fighting in the lunchroom at Al Raby School for Community and Environment, 3545 W. Fulton Blvd., according to Harrison District Police...

And guess what? Looks like a manpower issue:

• When the lone Chicago Police officer assigned to the school intervened to try to break it up, the dispute escalated and she was bitten in the right hand three times, allegedly by a 17-year-old girl who was involved in the fight...

Don't the schools have two officers? Or is this part of the rumored budget cutting in the CPS?

Verdict in Nathaniel Taylor Murder

Guilty on all counts.

CompStat Cooks the Books

Paging Investigative Reporters!

Oh wait, who are we kidding?

Paging Ben Joravsky!!!

A book has been published this week that blows the lid off of the CompStat smoke-and-mirrors game. From the press release:

• CRIMINOLOGISTS EXPOSE NYPD DISTORED POLICIES, MANAGEMENT ABUSE, AND STATISTICAL MANIPULATION January 25, 2012 In the mid-1990s, the NYPD created a performance management strategy known as Compstat. It consisted of computerized data, crime analysis, and advanced crime mapping coupled with middle management accountability and crime strategy meetings with high-ranking decision makers. While initially credited with a dramatic reduction in crime, questions quickly arose as to the reliability of the data.
  
  The Crime Numbers Game: Management by Manipulation brings together the work of two criminologists—John A. Eterno, Ph.D. Professor Molloy College and a former NYPD captain and Eli B. Silverman, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus John Jay College of Criminal Justice—who present the first in-depth empirical analysis of this management system—exposing the truth about crime statistic’s manipulation in the NYPD and the repercussions suffered by crime victims and those who blew the whistle on this corrupt practice.
  
  This is the first comprehensive scientific analysis which exposes a contorted management system that promotes manipulation of crime numbers, arrest and summons quotas, planting of drug evidence, illegal drug arrests, excessive and illegal stop and frisks and additional questionable police practices. Providing insider insight into a system shrouded in secrecy, this volume:
  • Documents and analyzes a wide array of data that definitively demonstrates the range of manipulation reflected in official New York City crime statistics
  • Explores how the consequences of unreliable crime statistics ripple throughout police organizations, affecting police, citizens, and victims
  • Documents the widening spell of police performance management throughout the world
  • Reviews current NYPD leadership approaches and offers alternatives
  • Analyzes the synchronicity of the media’s and the NYPD’s responses to the authors’ findings
  • Explores the implications of various theoretical approaches to Compstat
  • Offers a new approach based on organizational transparency

This is not light reading by any means. The NYPD brass has been running a full-out attack on the authors, one of whom is a former NYPD captain, in an effort to undermine the findings of this book, many of which relate directly to the ongoing tribulations at our very own 35th Street HQ.

CompStat is a numbers game, plain and simple, and this book exposes much of it for the disaster it is and continues to be.

Cops? We Don't Need No Cops

Wysinger speaks:

• Police First Deputy Supt. Al Wysinger says getting beat officers to know the community, and bringing in drug and gang units, are among the vital ways the department hopes to cut crime in the struggling Englewood and Harrison districts.
  
  But Wysinger says simply hiring more police officers is not the answer.

So....you'll move hundreds of officers into two districts that probably cost the city ten times in services that they'll ever produce in tax revenues, but you won't hire more officers to pick up the slack citywide?

Does anyone else see some flaws here?

Hiring Veterans for G8?

A reader sent this in from the Illinois State Crime Commission/Police Athletic League website. Interesting:

• Member companies of the Illinois State Crime Commission/Police Athletic League of Illinois have an urgent need to employ Iraq Afghanistan Veterans for security positions during the G-8 conference. These jobs will pay $20-$30 per hour and may lead to permanent full benefit employment. All must be prepared for security clearances including background check and drug testing.

So are these similar to independent security contractors? Are they filing side jobs that would normally be filled by off-duty cops (who will be doing 12-hour shifts in May)? And who's hiring for "permanent full benefit positions?"

GPS - Warrant Needed

Unless you're just using it to stalk your ex:

• The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that police cannot put a GPS device on a suspect's car to track his movements without a warrant, a test case that upholds basic privacy rights in the face of new surveillance technology.
  
  The high court ruling was a defeat for the Obama administration, which had argued that a warrant was not required to use global positioning system devices to monitor a vehicle on public streets.
  
  The justices unanimously upheld a precedent-setting ruling by a U.S. appeals court that the police must first obtain a warrant to use a GPS device for an extended period of time to covertly follow a suspect.

What if the police want to overtly follow a car on the public way for extended periods of time? Not the best use of resources we suppose, but restricted by the law?

CBS Libels the Blog

Once again, the media make a giant leap into the gutter and attribute nonexistent statements to the Second City Cop blog. First, for the CBS lawyers, a little Law 101:

• Defamation—also called calumny, vilification, traducement, slander (for transitory statements), and libel (for written, broadcast, or otherwise published words)—is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image. This can be also any disparaging statement made by one person about another, which is communicated or published. It is usually a requirement that this claim be false and that the publication is communicated to someone other than the person defamed (the claimant).

And the offending report from Mike Krauser at WBBM radio:

• There is a suggestion on a Chicago Police officer’s Web site for how officers can avoid citizen complaints during the expected street protests when the G8 and NATO summits come to town this spring.

  As WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports, the Second City Cop blog published a headline,, “Your new G8 best friend” above a picture of a roll of electrical tape and says, “Use as necessary,” going on to say, “It’s not for securing anything,” and “Hint – it covers things.”

  Those “things” include officers’ badges and nameplates. But an Oakland, Calif., police officer recently learned that was a bad idea when this video was shot during an Occupy demonstration

We just reviewed the post. Nowhere, and we mean NOT A SINGLE FUCKING INSTANCE, does the SCC blog advocate covering name tags with tape. In fact, in the 60-plus comments that are published in the post, not a single commentator advocates the use of tape in concealing the identity of officers. We found instances of the following:

• people saying it's not a good idea to cover tags/badges;
  
• numerous quotes about the Oakland PD incident;
• stories of name tags and stars being ripped off as "trophies;"
• using fake name tags that say, "McCarthy" or "Rahm;"

But try as we might, not a single instance of advocating rule breaking or disobeying general orders, Department policy or disregard for the law. As a matter of fact, we are well aware that a large portion of our readers happen to be people not on the job. For that reason, we were actually imagining the following use for tape:

And if we think back far enough in our careers, we remember during the Bulls riots seeing most of our squad cars looking like this:

Tape protects you from splintering glass. It keeps the pieces in a manageable mass in case of, oh, we don't know, bricks, bottles, and other heavy objects spontaneously falling through windshields. Not that that would happen at a peaceful event like the G-8 or NATO conferences:

• Psssst - here's a YouTube link to all the nifty videos showing how peaceful these events can be

Unfortunately, we can see this being the beginning of a smear campaign directed at the blog. We've made too many people uncomfortable with revelations of half-assed and inadequate training, equipment shortfalls, manpower issues, piss-poor leadership and a myriad of other things. We're still waiting for the media to look into reports that the Federal Reserve is shutting down in May in anticipation of the protests, that dozens upon dozens of merchants are closing and boarding up their stores prior to the event and other businesses are laying in Y2K-type supplies in the event they have to keep their employees in locked buildings for their own safety. We guess if the message is the problem, it's easier to follow the Liberal playbook and attack the messenger than to actually address the problems brought to light.

In the meantime, we're looking for full apology and retraction from WBBM "Newsradio" 780.

We're also interested in a legal opinion of a libel suit against CBS, WBBM Radio and Mike Krauser specifically. Our post is Exhibit A and Krauser's reporting is Exhibit B. It's pretty straightforward. It would have to be a pro-bono or contingency-based endeavor and any damages recovered we would donate to various police charities.

Trial Continues

Testimony:

• "He was a drug dealer," Sgt. Godfrey "Tom" Cronin testified in a matter-of-fact tone.

  Cronin said investigators found stashes of marijuana and cocaine, machines for sealing large plastic bags and tubs of a dietary supplement often used to mix with cocaine for sale on the street. They also found walkie-talkies, police scanners and a makeshift dog kennel in a downstairs basement where Cooper allegedly kept two Rottweilers for protection, according to trial testimony.

  In a dresser drawer in the master bedroom, police found a breadbox stuffed with thousands of dollars, according to testimony. There were also keys that led to two safe-deposit boxes with more than $250,000 in $50 and $100 bills, the court was told.

And a prayer vigil outside:

• Earlier Tuesday, hundreds of Chicago police officers gathered outside the Cook County Criminal Courts Building for a prayer vigil as Taylor's family listened to gruesome testimony about the officer's wounds. With dozens of police squad cars lining California Avenue, the Rev. Dan Brandt of the police chaplain's unit asked officers to pray that justice is done.

Amen.

Heroic Effort

This isn't a happy ending, but the effort by the sergeant and the tow truck operator deserve recognition:

• Two young children were killed in an early morning apartment fire on the Far South Side after one of them and a 6-year-old brother tried to warm up a pizza on top of the stove, officials say.
  
  The 6-year-old and his pregnant mother were able to make it out but "there was a problem with the door" and she couldn't get back in, Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said. A police sergeant and a tow truck driver tried to reach the children but couldn't, he said.
  
  
• The sergeant and the tow truck driver then forced their way into the apartment, Langford said.
  
  "The sergeant hurt his shoulder, apparently ramming the door," Langford said. "The tow truck driver had a fire extinguisher and tried to put the fire out."
  
  But heavy smoke and flames drove them back, he said.

The sergeant, a father of twins himself, and the tow driver suffered smoke inhalation and lord only knows what mental anguish in their immediate futures. They did everything humanly possible, but the deck was stacked against them. Both deserve high praise for their efforts. Many people wouldn't have even made it in the door.

Homicides Climb by One

But the shooting actually occurred in October of last year:

• Chicago police have launched a homicide investigation after a 27-year-old man who was shot in October was pronounced dead Monday evening, officials said today.

  Laurel Brown of the 6100 block of North Sheridan Road was pronounced dead at 10:35 p.m. at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

  An autopsy conducted today determined that Brown died of pneumonia and quadriplegia from a gunshot wound to his neck, officials said. The office ruled his death a homicide.

  Brown was found with a gunshot wound to his neck on Oct. 9 on the 5100 block of South Ada Street, according to Chicago Police News Affairs....

Still six days left in January and the numbers don't show any sign of slacking. Do we have a current count?

The Hand of Fate?

Or the hand of Rahm? Monday, this amusing instance of Chicago politics:

• Without mentioning Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) by name, Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday offered thinly veiled criticism of the South Side alderman for the legislative scholarship awarded to Beale’s daughter.

  A joint investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times and the Better Government Association disclosed this week that State Rep. Robert Rita (D-Blue Island) — a friend and political ally of Beale who employs the alderman’s wife — gave Beale’s daughter a four-year, tuition-free ride to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

  It’s the latest in a string of examples of coveted legislative scholarships benefitting the children of political insiders.

A typically crooked move by typically crooked politicians that voters still can't muster enough outrage to stop. A four year ride to the U of I runs how much? This is nothing but a bribe, plain and simple.

Tuesday, the Beale family is again the subject of a Sun Times spotlight:

• The wife of Ald. Anthony Beale is the subject of an ethics probe for undisclosed “job performance” issues, Secretary of State Jesse White’s office confirmed Tuesday.

  Dana Beale was hired by the secretary of state in 2000 and worked as an enforcement auditor in White’s securities division until last May, when she resigned from her $79,620-a-year post.

For the Machine to turn on its own, someone must have really stepped out of line.

Astroturf Protesting

So who's doing the paying?

• Always contentious hearings on whether to close failing Chicago schools have taken a bizarre twist this year with charges that cash-strapped residents were hired as “rent-a-protesters” and given pre-made signs and pre-crafted scripts to support school shakeups.

  Two men told the Chicago Sun-Times they showed up to apply for financial help with their energy bills at the Englewood office of the HOPE Organization headed by Rev. Roosevelt Watkins III, only to be offered money to attend school-related “rallies” held Jan. 6. Watkins denies they were paid to protest, saying money paid was for training.

The reverends are at it again:

• Watkins, pastor of Bethlehem Star M.B. Church and founder of Pastors United for Change, acknowledged he organized busloads of people to attend the Jan. 6 school closing hearings.

  Yellow buses delivered people from 69th and Halsted, where HOPE’s Englewood office is, to at least three closing hearings on that date. The hearings concerned Crane High, Guggenheim Elementary and Reed Elementary, hearing participants told the Sun-Times.

  Scott said he was offered $50 to speak at a hearing from what turned out to be scripted remarks.

Now tie the reverends to Rahm and the entire premise of community support for undermining teacher contracts and school consolidations takes a monstrous hit.

Cop Killer Trial

Continuing today:

• As Chicago police Officer Nathaniel Taylor Jr. approached a drug suspect sitting in a car to serve him with a search warrant, his partner heard the pop of two gunshots and saw the interior of the vehicle light up with the muzzle flashes.

  “It was like a Polaroid camera,” testified Officer Lemornet Miller about the night his partner was killed when his team of narcotics officers allegedly tried to serve suspect Lamar Cooper with a search warrant.

  Taylor fell to the ground with fatal wounds to his head and chest. Stunned, Officer Lemornet Miller said he drew his gun and began shooting back, unloading 10 rounds at suspect Lamar Cooper before calling for help on his radio and running over to check on his partner.

If you're at 26th Street, stop by. Word so far is the judge is allowing uncovered uniforms in the courtroom.

007, 011 in the Crosshairs

Two districts account for 25% of 2011's butcher bill. And so far in 2012, 33%. Here comes the cure!

• The commander of Chicago’s crime-ridden Englewood police district was kicked upstairs Monday — and replaced by respected gang enforcement commander Leo Schmitz — as part of a larger plan to stop the bleeding by targeting gangs and drug markets in the two most violent districts.

  Together, the Englewood and Harrison districts accounted for 25 percent of the murders and shootings last year and one-third of those incidents during the first two weeks of January.

  Police Supt. Garry McCarthy’s decision to replace Anthony Carothers as Englewood District commander comes as no surprise.

The only surprise was it took so long. Lord only knows what secrets Ike is keeping in the federal pokey. And now suddenly, Deputy Chiefs have XO's for their offices? Seriously? We thought McCarthy was streamlining the upper echelon?

• The laser-like focus will include: 48 gang enforcement officers, 24 in each of the two districts; 64 narcotics officers, 32 in each district; 96 patrol officers in the Harrison District currently assigned to the area and other district assignments and 70 patrol officers in the Englewood District.

We hope they have lockers for everyone.

Send Me a Cop to Fight

And Willowbrook obliges:

• A 38-year-old Willowbrook man accused of calling 911 and asking to fight a police officer faces felony battery and resisting arrest charges, police said on Monday.

  Police said John R. Pacella, of the 200 block of Stanhope Drive, was arrested after a 911 call from a man who “wanted to see an officer because he wanted to fight with them” about 4 a.m. on Jan. 19, police said.

  When officers arrived at Pacella’s home, he shoved the officers, according to a police report.

  Pacella was booked into DuPage County Jail, where he remains on $100,000 bail, according to jail records. He is charged with aggravated battery, resisting a police officer, and battery with intent to provoke or insult – all felonies – records indicate.

Wait a minute - all felony charges? What the....oh wait, DuPage County. Nevermind.

Firings

Reading the actual article, these firings are over the past four months, so the headline is a bit misleading:

• Police board fires seven officers

And the cases stretch back to 2004 (the SOS one).

Conspiracy theory time! So if the media (Frank Main) waits four more months to publish the next set of firings, that puts us squarely in the midst of G-8/NATO conferences and an expiring contract less than a month away.

Hey, it could happen.

Whoa, Is This True?

This would be incredible if actually true:

• The lying, liberal, weasel Rahm keeps telling the press that the G8 will not be a problem. Really?
  
  If it's not going to be a problem I wonder why the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank is actually planning on closing down for the entire week and moving their business operation to another midwestern city? Oops, that's still a secret and our great Chicago press hasn't stumbled on it yet.
  
  Shhhhhhhhs, don't tell them!

Rumors abound! Each better than the last.

Who Has Been Dumped?

We're hearing rumblings about movement/dumps today. Anyone with info?

Ares Armor Backpack

This was all over the citywides today and coming across the PDT every two to four hours:



That's actually kind of cool. Just under $300 for the carrier. We think the armor is sold separately.

For the Woman in Your Life

Nothing says "love" like a rifle:

Or the "kinder, gentler" police could carry this during G-8?

Survey Says....

From an e-mail:

• Had to pass this info along.
  
  A fellow dispatcher (police officer) had a friend tell her this: her son was issued a few citations on a traffic stop in 018 dist. Shortly afterward, her son received , in the mail, a letter from Supt McCarthy’s office requesting he fill out a survey online regarding the officer’s behavior that made the stop, ie..was he/she polite? Aggressive, etc. You are given a pin # and this is allegedly totally anonymous! These letters are currently being sent to citizens involved in accidents, traffic stops & dui stops. Unknown if mailed out to all or just a random few.
  
  The officer that shared this info with me today had already asked a few other pos …all were unaware. I passed it along to a few pos working today and they were unaware & shocked. Please let the troops know that the city is now letting the citizens compile your performance reviews. I just can’t imagine any citizen having anything good to say about an officer that just gave them a ticket!

Did we miss this somewhere? What's the point? Is this a fishing expedition for Complaint Register numbers or Verbal Abuse beefs? Does anyone really think that a citizen who just got a few hundred dollars worth of moving violations is going to tell anything resembling the truth?

And weren't cameras in the cars supposed to protect us from the types of that might be raised in these situations? Is the Department admitting cameras are a failure and we have to rely on paper and postage to get feedback from citizens?

"Fast and Furious" Debacle

The Fifth Amendment was placed into the Constitution in order to prevent persons from having to give incriminating statements regarding criminal matters they have taken an active role in.

So what does it say about the "Fast and Furious" scandal that the sitting Chief of the Criminal Investigations Division of the US Attorneys Office in Arizona announces he will be taking the Fifth Amendment when appearing before Congress? It means a bunch of people may be going to prison for letting over 2,000 guns "walk" over the border to Mexican drug cartels:

• The chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona is refusing to testify before Congress regarding Operation Fast and Furious, the federal gun-running scandal that sent U.S. weapons to Mexico.

  Patrick J. Cunningham informed the House Oversight Committee late Thursday through his attorney that he will use the Fifth Amendment protection.

  Cunningham was ordered Wednesday to appear before Chairman Darrell Issa and the House Oversight Committee regarding his role in the operation that sent more than 2,000 guns to the Sinaloa Cartel. Guns from the failed operation were found at the murder scene of Border Agent Brian Terry.

  The letter from Cunningham’s Washington DC attorney stunned congressional staff. Last week, Cunningham, the second highest ranking U.S. Attorney in Arizona, was scheduled to appear before Issa‘s committee voluntarily. Then, he declined and Issa issued a subpoena.

So the people supposedly upholding the law are declining to answer questions about their operations regarding the law. "Most transparent administration" our asses.

Battle of the Badges

Another fun event for worthy Police and Fire charities:

• The Chicago Police Department and the Chicago Fire Department are hosting the 10th annual BATTLE OF THE BADGES – the police versus fire boxing exhibition - on Friday, April 20, 2012 at De LaSalle - 3434 South Michigan. Doors open at 6 p.m. The main event is from 8 – 10 p.m. All proceeds benefit CPD & CFD Charities.
  
  SEEKING Police Officers who want to box and win! If you are interested in fighting email P.O. Katie Chiczewski (katie.chiczewski@chicagopolice.org) or to buy tickets.
  
  You can also get tickets at the Chicago Police Memorial Store in the Lobby at Headquarters on Fridays between 1300-1430. Please see John Fleming (CPD-retired). Tickets are $15 pre-sale, $20 at the door.

Always a good time and some fun rivalry between the First Responders.

Commander Kupczyk - RIP

It's seldom you run across a boss of whom there are no bad words said about them. Everyone has an axe to grind over something, real or imagined. But John Kupczyk was one of those bosses that almost everyone enjoyed working for.

We never worked for John, but our paths crossed a few times and he was always a fun guy, capable to a fault and always looking out for his people. The 008 District and the Chicago Police Department have suffered a tremendous loss today.

Remembrances only in this thread.

UPDATE: Post moved from 10:30PM last night

January Murders Climb

Every homicide is another nail in the CompStat coffin:

• An 18-year-old man shot in the head at a South Side gas station this week died of his wounds, the Cook County medical examiner's office said today.

But the Clearance Rate went up!

• The man wanted for questioning in the fatal shooting of a security guard at a River North Walgreens killed himself in Evanston hours after the murder, police in the north suburb said.

  And police are investigating whether the alleged gunman was also responsible for gunning down a Skokie teenager Friday.

Nine more days left in January. Anyone have last year's February totals?

Go Sit At The Desk

Can't wait for this to happen:

• McSuperstar at the COMPOST meeting said he is being told the Lt's are not sitting at the front desk as required when they are station supervisors. He told the bosses that if the station supervisor is not sitting at the front desk they are to be given a SPAR.

We've seen dozens of comments saying Lieutenants are pulling Sergeants in off the street to approve inventories, approve arrest reports, handle court notifications, medical incidents and pretty much do exactly what they've always been doing.

Has anyone reminded GMac that NYPD has desk sergeants?

Rahm Reopens Libraries

See? He has a heart after all:

• Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a plan today to keep the city's branch libraries open six days a week by rehiring union workers and relocating employees from the Harold Washington Library to the neighborhood outposts.

And how did he do it?

• Emanuel made the move without the cooperation of the library employees union, which has engaged in contentious negotiations with the mayor over the plan.

And guess what else?

• Because the union workers being rehired are part-time employees, not librarians, Emanuel can change their work schedules without union agreement.

So he's busting out the union anyway. Way to go Rahm! If a signed legal document isn't worth the paper it's printed on, well then, who really gives a rat's ass any more?

Other Media Notices BS

A nice find by a reader:

• There used to be wisdom among police officers that said something like this: Don't take credit for things when they are good unless you are ready to take the blame when things go bad. In the "Hooray for Hollywood" mode that Chicago has been since Rahm Emanuel's Grant Park inauguration in May 2011, however, even an act of God can be spun, at least temporarily, as the work of the mayor (and his "team"). So, as temperatures dropped in Chicago on January 18 and January 19, 2012, Rahm Emanuel announced, via the Office of the Mayor, in a press release, as follows:

We're not going to reprint the bullshit press release. Needless to say though, certain Department personnel had their tongues so far up Rahm's backside, it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. The story continues:

• This one ranks in the "You've got to be kidding" department. Every cop and every citizen knows that Chicago experiences fewer crimes when the weather gets bitter cold for two reasons. One, there are fewer people on the streets. Two, many of the crimes, gun and otherwise, are taking place indoors and aren't discovered until later.

  Rahm Emanuel has made a bigger and bigger joke of the relentless publicity stunts he has been touting since he took over as mayor in May. The place where the most ludicrous of these has been at Chicago Public Schools, where "The Outsiders", a team led by former Rochester Supt. Jean-Claude Brizard and The Wilmette Wonder Tim Cawley, have re- re- re-invented every wheel. But at the Chicago Police Department, under former Newark, New Jersey, top cop Garry McCarthy, the touting and stunting is almost as big. We don't know whether Garry warned Rahm that taking credit for less street crime in bitter cold weather was a bad idea, but we can't wait for next summer. Will Chicago's corporate media ask Rahm, as the hot weather moves through July and August, about how many "no gun violence days" he's responsible for then?

Unsaid in all this is that there were plenty of gun crimes during the time frame quoted. We responded to at least two calls ourselves that day - "Man with a Gun" and "Shots Fired." In both cases, no crime was observed, no scene was located, no offender or victim came forward. Does that mean it didn't happen? Maybe. But equally as likely is that the offender fled and no report was generated - 19Paul.

Taking credit means taking the blame at some point, and we're pretty sure everyone reading here knows that isn't going to happen.

Weather Isn't Going to Save This

Homicides for January of this year have already surpassed last year's January totals:

• Twenty-nine homicides have been logged so far this month. Police recorded 28 homicides in January 2011, RedEye data shows.

And if our readers aren't mistaken, this is the fifth straight month that homicides have shown an increase over the past year (September 2011 thru January 2012).

Eleven days to go.

So THAT'S How It Works

Creative accounting:

• Everyone keeps asking "where's all the money going?". Here's a little inside on that. The department is counting in ALL wages from the officers that go to training and taking it from the $56 million. This includes 1day training, 3day training, refresher training, as well as the salaries that they are paying the trainers for doing the training.
  From that $56 million kitty they are also subtracting Kirby and Stevie G's salary and ANY overtime and expenses related to training those two.They have both flown out of town for "meetings" and other g8 related stuff. That's right, all paid for out of the kitty. (Also anybody attending any sort of G8 related meeting)
  It's nothing but a way to siphon from the kitty and return unused budgeted salary money back to the city's general budget to be used as the mayor sees fit (ie Corp incentives for his friends)
  THAT'S why there isn't any money left for the equipment.

Makes sense to us. Another example is the millions the city got to hire "transit officers." The money is spent training up the current class of recruits, then upon graduation, the city opens up bidding to Mass Transit and sends the recruits to districts. Same basic concept.

Expired Equipment

We were taking an inventory of our personal gear and discovered what some of our readers have already noted in the comment sections:

• Gas mask filters have an expiration date

And we'll give you two guesses as to how many people we work with are noticing the exact same thing. Here's a hint:

• all of them

But there's no need to worry boys and girls. We also talked to a friend of ours who related that there are no plans to use OC or CS gas downtown at any point during the G-8/NATO event. One of the most potent riot control devices we have is completely off the table. The reason? It would look bad on TV and remind people of 1968.

Tommy Skilling Earns Another Medal

This is the spin:

• Police say on Wednesday, no shootings or homicides were reported in Chicago for a period of 24 hours, for the first time in nearly a year.

  In a statement, police Supt. Garry McCarthy credited the lack of violence to “the tremendous police work of the men and women of the Chicago Police Department.”

  He pointed out that since May of last year, the department has placed 1,000 officers back in districts from special units, and instituted the data-driven CompStat program to track and fight crime.

The reality is that the daytime temperature was under 20 degrees and the wind was bitingly cold. As we go to post time, the temperature is six-degrees and projected to drop even more.

Tommy Skilling deserves at least as much credit as CompStat, probably more.

More MFF Rumors

We're unable to confirm as we aren't available at the moment, but rumor has it that the Department removed the POWER Test requirement for the MFF eligibility list. That tells us one thing:

• Reverse seniority is about to be used

They can't draft you into an "assignment" and then have everyone who doesn't want to be there tank the test so they don't qualify for it.

Who the heck is doing the thinking on this one? Because they're looking like completely out-of-touch idiots at this point.

Someone Was Wondering...

...where's the promised equipment?

• When are the replacement shields coming in as promised? When are the new gas masks coming in as promised? When and where do I get my eye glass inserts? Why am I hearing that I have to pay for them? What about the insert for the helmet to stop the pee and poop or bleach from running down off my helmet into my eyes blinding me after jagoffs through this shit at me? Do we all get a shield? Are they supplying the front line officers with relief every other hour? How about water, gatorade, sandwiches? Porta Johns? Extra Mace? Extra Ammo? Flex Cuffs? Emergency first aid kits? I say call in the National Gaurd and put them througout the city in groups of 25 troops. Let the people know if shit goes postal, the military will do what needs to be done to restore order.

We were promised the same thing. After more than a few Bulls riots, we can barely see through the plastic shield.

Your New G-8 Best Friend

Use as necessary.

UPDATE: It's not for securing anything.

UPDATE: Hint - it covers things.

"Training" Shortfall

Once again, the main stream media playing catch up:

• More than 6,500 Chicago police officers have been trained in anticipation of the thousands of demonstrators, some of whom are expected to incite violence, that are expected in Chicago in May for the NATO/G8 summits.

  But just how well Chicago police officers are being trained is a question being raised by some.

  The great majority of officers have undergone an eight hour training session, which according to those who participated, consisted of watching a film for half the time and baton practice for the remainder.

  Officers said they are given a small 13-page pocket pamphlet with stick figures that outline various formations. It’s called Chicago Police Crowd Control Formations.

They ran out of pamphlets when we went, so we never even saw them.

Good for the FOP preparing the ground over which the next battle may be fought - the blame game if this turns into the disaster it has in every other city it was held. We fully expect that the supposed 12 hour days are going to turn into 14 hour ones in short order.

Read the Fine Print

From the comments:

• The department sent out another notice concerning MFF, this time they eliminated some of the wording. They took out, you will be assigned to your district and called out as necessary and replaced it with you may be called out if your on duty.
  
  Typical department thinking everyone below them is a moron.
  

They're just making this less and less desirable.

I Tripped

This will go down in history as one of the worst excuses ever, along with "Those ain't my pants" and "I just came outta the house"

• The captain of the Italian cruise ship gave a slapstick explanation of how he ended up safely in a lifeboat instead of going down with his ship, saying he tripped and fell into the boat as it was being lowered into the sea, Italian media reported today.

  "I had no intention of escaping," Francesco Schettino, 52, said during his first court hearing Tuesday, according to Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.

  "I was helping some passengers put the life boat to sea. At a certain point the mechanism for lowering it, blocked. We had to force it. Suddenly the system unblocked itself and I tripped and I found myself inside the life boat with a number of passengers."

This goof is so screwed.

Again

Please don't gamble your life, livelihood and freedom over alcohol:

• A Cook County jury on Wednesday found Chicago police officer Richard Bolling guilty of aggravated DUI and reckless homicide in connection with the death of a 13-year-old boy nearly three years ago.
  
  Trenton Booker, 13, was on his bike May 22, 2009 when he was struck while riding near 81st and Ashland. Bolling, now 42, was off-duty at the time.

We all know someone who tends to drink a bit much. We also know there are others more than willing to be designated drivers for those who wish to partake. When something like this happens, we all suffer.

We've said in the past that the star you carry opens a world no one else gets to see. But it also opens a hell should you screw up. If past sentencing is any indication, 10 years is the minimum being looked at.

Brilliant!

This is a great idea:

• Expect to see the junker cars in your district to disappear real soon.
  
  EMMD is compiling a list of crap vehicles, they plan on using the junkers during G8 in the hopes that vehicles will be damaged and claim damage and replacement by fed.
  
  McJersey is trying to put a spin on it that he is pulling crap cars from districts because he cares about the equipment that patrol needs to do their job. Only thing is he doesn't have any replacement vehicles right now, so expect to have to wait for cars coming out of roll call.

We heard about this method of thinking once. Something along the lines of "never let a crisis go to waste." This is inspired thinking. This is...

Oh wait a minute...damnit

As Close as it Gets

Someone ran the numbers by title code. This is what we have at the moment:

• 9161 Police Officer...............9,422
  9206 E.T.’s...............93
  9174 Police Agent...............21
  9170 PO-Armorer...............00
  9169 PO-Mounted...............25
  9168 PO-Marine...............38
  9164 PO-FTO...............67
  9163 PO-Fingerprint...............13
  9155 PO-Arbitration...............12
  9153 PO- Expl K9...............27
  9152 PO-K9...............24
  9151 PO-Traf Spec...............24
  9126 Police Tech...............8
  9165 PO-Detective...............971
  9213 PO-Firearm ID Tech I...............2
  9201 PO-Forensic Inv I...............19
  9166 PO-Superv Latent...............1
  9160 PO-Security Spec...............12
  9158 Explosive Tech I...............18
  9156 PO-Supv Sub Abuse Cns...............1
  9015 PO-Legal Officer I...............14
  9171 Sergeant...............1,117
  9202 PO-Forensic Inv II...............0
  9173 Lieutenant...............206
  9159 Expl Tech II...............0
  9016 PO-Legal Officer II...............5
  9175 Captain/XO...............43
  9157 Expl Tech III...............0
  9017 PO-Legal Officer III...............0
  9752 Commander...............46
  9796 ADS/Deputy Chief...............7
  9785 Chief...............9
  9781 1st Deputy...............1

That's supposed to add up to 12,236 total sworn as of a few weeks ago. We don't know how many are light/limited duty, medical, IOD, etc. We assume LOA isn't counted, but can't be sure. It's a snapshot. The trouble is we have nothing to compare it to from 5, 10 or even 20 years ago.

Once Again, Media Bias

Again at the Tribune.

Exhibit A: The Bridgeport Beating:

• Comments are closed in what appear to be a bunch of punks (Asian and a white kid) beating on a minority (Asian) teen. The YouTube video has gone viral, worldwide attention on Bridgeport and all its warts. Outrage is palpable on this one, though why it's treated differently from so many of the downtown "wilding" beatings, we can only imagine.

Exhibit B: Big money settlement to an autistic kid beaten by CPD:

• Comments are WIDE open. "Corrupt police." "Dirty pigs." "worse than gangs." "Take it out of their pensions." Etcetera, etcetera, ad nauseum.

But then again, what would anyone expect from the Tribune? We canceled our subscription a decade ago.

Less Government? Or Bad Idea?

On one hand, less government is better government. On the other, the potential for abuse or connected firms slipping through the cracks is, needless to say, almost expected in Chicago:

• Chicago retailers that sell pre-packaged foods and recently inspected restaurants with no history of foodborne illness would police themselves and send inspection reports to City Hall, under a “self-certification” plan advanced Tuesday to free inspectors to focus on “high-risk” establishments.

  Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan, approved by the City Council’s Committee on Budget and Government Operations, would apply to roughly 2,500 of the city’s 15,000 licensed food establishments.

  The group would include grocery stores, gas stations and other “low-risk” stores that primarily sell beverages and pre-packaged foods and engage in minimal handling or preparation of food.

  Self-certification would also be open to restaurants that have passed inspections in the prior year, have not been closed for food safety issues for 36 months and “not implicated as a source of food borne outbreak” in the past three years.

15,000 food establishments. Only 32 inspectors citywide.

We're going to go with the "less is better."

A Professor Said What?

Well would you look at this:

• A University of Chicago economist says Antarctica or Guam would be better places than Chicago for the upcoming G8 and NATO summits, now scheduled for mid-May in the Windy City.

  Economist Alan Sanderson often questions large scale government subsidies for sports venues like Soldier Field for the Bears and U.S. Cellular Field for the White Sox. In the case of the NATO and G8 summits, Sanderson says there’s a lot of downside for the city’s reputation and little upside in the way of economic development.

  “It’s just a potential disaster,” Sanderson said. “Again, I hope it’s not. I hope things go really well and the city gets a real positive spin from it, but if you were betting in Las Vegas, you’d bet that’s not going to be the outcome.”

So since we and our readers have been saying this for over a year now, are we all that much smarter than a University of Chicago economist professor?

And this is amusing:

• The city says security precautions will cost $65 million, to be picked up by private donors and the federal government.

"Private donors?"

If It Ain't Nailed Down...

...sell it:

• City officials are doing what frantic penny-pinchers have done for years: They’re searching every nook and cranny for old fax machines, abandoned SUVs, unsold sports banners and other surplus property to auction online.

  Their efforts, per Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s do-more-with-less edict, collected $3.6 million in winning bids in 2011 — double the $1.8 million take in 2010.

  City officials now aim to collect $4.6 million from the online auctions this year by finding even more junk to get rid of.

There's a lot of stuff lying around, collecting dust, waiting to be sold. Of course, we're sure quite a bit of it was bought at a pretty penny, enriching the chosen few who's hands the connected contracts passed through. And now the taxpayers get pennies on the dollar years later. Ah Chicago.

FOP Endorsements.

Has the FOP released a list of 2012 political endorsements yet?

We looked at the site and we're confused by all the bells-and-whistles.

Maybe we're missing it.

Pension Rip-Off Averted

So for every one they catch, how many slip through the cracks?

• Two weeks after former state Sen. William Marovitz settled federal insider-trading allegations last summer over his sale of Playboy stock, he gave up his work as an outside lawyer for two Chicago city pension funds — and applied for a city pension even though he wasn’t a city employee.

  Marovitz — a lawyer and longtime Democratic Party leader in Illinois who is separated from his wife, former Playboy chief executive officer Christie Hefner — already gets a government pension of $102,480 a year for the 20 years he served as a state legislator and member of the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

  He was seeking a second government pension — which would have paid an estimated $50,000 a year — for the 27 years he did legal work for two City Hall pension funds.

  One problem: He was never a city employee, just a lawyer in private practice whose clients included two city pension funds.

Arrogance gone wild.

Short Another 150?

Can anyone from Personnel confirm 150 people retired as of 15 January?

And that another few hundred are scheduled to go prior to 15 May?

And that around 480 recruits are processed and ready to go through the Academy this summer?

OK, we made up that last one - no one is scheduled to go through the Academy at all this year.

Got Hair?

Get ready to shave it:

• We're just over 2 months away form the 2012 St. Baldrick's event, you know, the one where you pledge to get your head shaved in solidarity with the kids who have cancer and lose their hair to chemo, while seeking pledges from friends and family on your head. This year's events will be on Friday, March 23rd from 0700-1700 hours.
  
  This year the CPD events should reach a total of over $500,000 raised to fight this terrible disease and we can't do it without you, the shavees and volunteers who make it possible.
  
  The events will be held at the Academy, Area 5 and new this year for the south-siders, the 22nd District instead of Area 2. Please go on line at www.stbaldricks.org and click on find an event, then type in Chicago Police and pick the event you want to attend. Once you register on line you'll get instructions as to how to best fund raise, as well as what to expect the day of the event.
  
  We look forward to seeing a lot of familiar faces and heads, and hope this year you can get your partner, a family member or a friend to join you. Women, don't forget if your hair is long enough and you don't want to lose it all, you can donate hair that is 10" or longer through a program with Pantene, or 12" or longer to "Locks of Love. Both of these groups use the hair to make wigs for the kids that lose it during chemo.
  
  Not sure about giving up your hair? No problem, volunteers can help with registration, distributing t-shirts and other items, sweeping up hair or if you are a licensed barber/hair stylist by cutting hair.
  
  All participants get a free t-shirt and lapel pin when you sign up on line before the event. Walk-ins are welcome but signing up on line is the only way to ensure there will be a t-shirt for you at the event.
  
  Thanks for reading and hopefully for your participation. Should you have any questions contact Bill O'Reilly, chromedome1269@sbcglobal.net for the Academy, Anne Zamzow, anne.zamzow@chicagopolice.org for Area 5, and Bill Murphy, 50murf@comcast.net for the 22nd District event.

A worthy cause and a favorite of many.

Well, It is the Northside

One of those nights evidently:

• A man who was wearing only his underwear and socks was charged with misdemeanor DUI after he struck a squad car Saturday morning on the city's Northwest Side.

  About 11 a.m., a concerned citizen alerted police to a possible drunk driver driving in an alley on the 2800 block of North Kostner Avenue...

• The man eventually drove the wrong way on a one-way street on the 2900 block of North Kilbourn Avenue in the Belmont Gardens neighborhood and crashed into a squad vehicle that was assisting in the call....

  After the crash, the man opened the door and fell out of the car wearing only underwear and socks

Minor injuries to the police. In the offender's defense though....

Ah, who are we kidding? There's no defense. Guilty as charged.

Jesse Loses Everything

Spending his last days sleeping on the floor of a homeless shelter.....what? It's a stunt? He didn't lose anything? Ah crap, we had high hopes:

• The Rev. Jesse Jackson planned to sleep in a bed in a shelter to put the spotlight on homelessness for Martin Luther King’s birthday, but said he will end up sleeping on the floor because all the beds were taken.

  Jackson spoke to reporters outside the Pacific Garden Mission on South Canal Street as homeless men lined up outside in the cold waiting to get in.

  “I’m not taking a bed,” Jackson said. “Instead I’ll be sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag because conditions are such that they need every bed.”

And now we're hearing it's a down-filled ultra warm top-of-the-line $499.99 sleeping bag special from some connected store. With an air mattress.

IPRA Reopening Closed Cases?

This rumor pops up every so often. It came up the other day, too:

• a po was just stripped for an allegation that was six yrs old and not sustained by ops six yrs ago- ipra opened it back up -rule 14 on a case given by the only person at the scene- watch out boys!

Anyone care to chime in with good info on this? Seems like something we'd all need to be concerned about if it was actually happening.