Brian Carey, 28, a firefighter with the Homewood Fire Department for less than two months, had dreamed of being a fireman since he was a boy. On Tuesday, he was the first in a line of firefighters to rush into a burning house to save a paralyzed, elderly man, family said -- the first time that he had confronted a fire "of that magnitude."
"He was your typical redheaded South Side Irish-Catholic kid who wanted to be a fireman. Everyone was so proud of him when he became one," said Jim Duffy, a close family friend and retired battalion chief from Oak Park who used to bring Carey as a boy to the firehouse to let him slide down the fire pole and try on helmets.
mercredi 31 mars 2010
Suburban Firefighter Killed
Power Struggles
- Completely off topic: Any truth from Headquarters Dugan got the riot act from Bartender Bea? Heard a rumor that the two have been in a huge power struggle since the Lopez debacle and Masters sided with Cuello. Are they trying to force Dugan to retire when J-Failure leaves..
Todos los estadios de Sudáfrica 2010.
Last Chance to Vote
NBC did a nice piece on the Coles and hopefully it will sustain the momentum that's been propelling this event since February.
Go HERE and vote today.
UPDATE: We have been watching the votes for the last 20 minutes and the second-place contestants are getting around 5 votes every 30 seconds or so. If you haven't voted yet, go to the link above and vote. Tell your friends. Tell your family. There is about a 2000-vote difference right now.
Post updated to move to top of the blog.
Champions League 2010: Arsenal 2 Barcelona 2
A Study in Stupidity
- In less than a decade, residents have seen hundreds of POD cameras or police operational devices go up in Chicago neighborhoods. But what impact have they had on fighting crime?
The highly-respected Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. has come out with the first comprehensive analysis of the cameras. The group wanted an in depth look at how police use cameras to fight crime in Washington, Baltimore and Chicago. The first two cities remain a work in progress.
For Chicago, the study's architect says, the early results are quite positive.
- The Urban Institute set out to study the effectiveness of the cameras as a crime-fighting tool. Using a sophisticated model, and three years of data, researchers sought to find - do the cameras lesson [sic] crime? Do they just move it? Is there a cost benefit to their use?
- Dr. Nancy LaVigne led the study which focused on two neighborhoods - Humboldt Park and West Garfield Park. Each has a fairly high concentration of cameras.
In Humboldt, the conclusion is that the cameras have had a real impact. Drug, robbery, weapons offenses, and overall crime dropped significantly after cameras arrived.
The same, however, is not true in West Garfield where there was no signficiant [sic] change pre and post camera.
So why would they have an impact in one neighborhood and not in another? There are a number of possible explanations, but the short answer is researchers don't know. What they can say, however, is that if you combine the numbers from the two neighborhoods, the cameras still have a significant impact on crime.
West Garfield Park is a disaster zone. It has been for over 50 years. It's overwhelmingly Black, suffered through the King riots, decades of urban neglect and decay, the Crack Wars, and a series of crooked politicians who took mere pennies to use the entire area as a dumping ground for millions of tons of contaminated construction debris.
Humboldt Park is a former Puerto Rican stronghold that has morphed into a gentrified neighborhood that could rightfully be called a turnaround of miraculous proportions. The shops, stores and loft buildings that occupy former flop houses, abandoned structures and decrepit factories now entertain thousands of yuppie residents. A thriving art, club and music scene provides entertainment to suburban tourists. The site of many riots back in the 1970's, the area has since rebounded and priced out lower income families along with much of the criminal element.
In short, a comparison of West Garfield and Humboldt Parks is a study in opposites. And claiming POD cameras had anything to do with it is to ignore the realities on the ground. And these quotes just make our stomachs turn:
Fewer crimes means you spend less on investigation, less on the court system and less on victims of crime.
"We found that for every dollar spent on cameras, there was over a $2 savings in terms of the money that was averted for the crimes that were prevented," said Dr. LaVigne.
How about this - let your Detective Division dwindle by 700 or 800 Detectives - voila! - fewer crimes. Instruct your States Attorney to deny felony charges in most cases, "CI" the other cases, accept quick misdemeanor guilty pleas for forcible felonies and guess what? Less investigation and less court time!
We could go on, but the cops reading already get it. The question is - does anybody else?
El gol de Braña de mitad de cancha.
mardi 30 mars 2010
Militia Nutjobs
- An undercover FBI agent and a cooperating witness were involved in an investigation that led to the arrests of nine people, accused of being law enforcement-hating militiamen who plotted to kill police officers in Michigan.
A government filing in the case indicates an undercover FBI agent as well as an unidentified cooperating witness helped provide intelligence to a federal grand jury about at least one of the alleged members of the group -- Thomas Piatek, who delivers steel drums for a South Side company. - ... When militia members allegedly set an April date to carry out their attack, they crossed the line from "just fantasy," she said. "
We won't get into the piss-poor reporting done on this story, nor the media smear jobs twisting this into something it obviously isn't. Violence against the police and government isn't the exclusive domain of either political wing, but it has been advocated and exercised far more often by the leftists than the right.
A Day at the Academy
- Participants in a media training day Tuesday at the Chicago Police Academy learned that it takes a lot of training and hard work for police recruits to become Chicago police officers.
Every weekday, as the sun and the flag rise at the Chicago Police Academy training headquarters, about 90 recruits hear a name of a fallen officer - a reminder of what is at stake. Most of the men and women will pass their 1,000 hours of training but it's not easy.
"It's a rigorous training we go through, everything from physical fitness to education, training us to what life's like when we hit the streets," said Fred Coletta, Chicago Police Department recruit.
Coletta left looming layoffs in corporate America to become an officer. And what he will learn in 30 weeks, participants in a media training day Tuesday tried to absorb in six hours.
And it's more than a little disturbing to see reporters get blasted by AirSoft wielding bad guys and them laughing it off, completely forgetting that these "real-life scenarios" are reenactments of coppers getting killed in the line of duty.
Warm Weather
- Tuesday's sun whispered of spring. And across the city, Chicagoans were counting on the rest of the week to scream of it, with plans to shed their winter wear, ready their rakes and eat under the stars.
Be careful out there.
Armed Offender Expires
- Chicago police said today that there didn't appear to be any wrongdoing on the part of an officer who shot and killed a Broadview man after he allegedly brandished a gun at officers on the Northwest Side.
But family and friends of William Hardy described the 27-year-old as nonconfrontational and criticized the actions taken Monday night by police.
"They shot him, and they didn't even have to," said Corey Lofton, a close friend who said he was with Hardy when he was shot about 9:15 p.m. Monday in the North Austin neighborhood.
The cops responded to a call of "shots fired," and 'lo and behold, there's a gun on the scene. Do people really think that this is a coincidence? Cops just happen to show up and there's a gun right there? Oh wait, we forgot - drop guns. Every cop is issued two or three drop guns a night and then spend the rest of the shift looking for people to kill.
Again, excellent job by the coppers.
Two Seasons
With a congestion-free Congress Street Bridge as a backdrop, state and local transportation officials issued a warning Monday to motorists: Be prepared for big-time delays beginning this week.
Repairing the aging bridge -- built in 1956 and slowly rusting away -- is one of four major projects in and around Chicago that will likely frustrate motorists in the short-term.
Champions League 2010: Bayern Munich 2 Manchester Utd. 1
.
Los vaticinios de Zidane.
lundi 29 mars 2010
Police Shooting
- A 25-year-old man was critically wounded tonight in a shooting involving Chicago police in the city's North Austin neighborhood.
No officers were injured in the incident which occurred at 9:16 p.m. in the 1400 block of North Mayfield Avenue, according to the Independent Police Review Authority.
The man was taken to Loyola University Hospital in Maywood in "very critical" condition, a fire department spokesman said. He didn't know the victim's age or gender.
UPDATE: Post corrected for proper lion/lamb reference. Thanks.
More Guns = Less Deaths?
- In the 1980s and ’90s, as the concealed-carry movement gained steam, Americans were killed by others with guns at the rate of about 5.66 per 100,000 population. In this decade, the rate has fallen to just over 4.07 per 100,000, a 28 percent drop. The decline follows a fivefold increase in the number of “shall-issue” and unrestricted concealed-carry states from 1986 to 2006.
The highest gun homicide rate is in Washington, D.C., which has had the nation’s strictest gun-control laws for years and bans concealed carry: 20.50 deaths per 100,000 population, five times the general rate. The lowest rate, 1.12, is in Utah, which has such a liberal concealed weapons policy that most American adults can get a permit to carry a gun in Utah without even visiting the state.
The decline in gun homicides also comes as U.S. firearm sales are skyrocketing, according to federal background checks that are required for most gun sales. After holding stable at 8.5 to 9 million checks from 1999 to 2005, the FBI reported a surge to 10 million in 2006, 11 million in 2007, nearly 13 million in 2008 and more than 14 million last year, a 55 percent increase in just four years.
We offer this advice - regular practice, sight alignment, smooth trigger pull. Results may vary.
No Money?
Humbert began working for the City of Chicago in 1967 in the first of a series of construction and maintenance jobs, records show.
In 1993, at age 56, he took early retirement from his janitorial job with the Chicago Board of Education and began collecting his city pension.
After that, he went to work for Cook County as an operating engineer.
Then, in 2001, Humbert heard about a job at McPier.
- By that time, he had been working in government for about 35 years. That made him eligible for a McPier "reciprocity" program "in which vacation credits are given for prior government service," according to Stacey White, a McPier auditor. In other words, McPier would pay him for vacation days he didn't earn at McPier.
Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. It's about time for a slaughter.
Rogelio Funes Mori
No podemos decir que le falta actitud a Ríver. No le falta actitud, ni ingenuidad, ni inconexión, e imprecisión. ¡Mi puesto por una brújula! Puede bramar Astrada.
Boca 2010
dimanche 28 mars 2010
Fed Up Yet Chicago?

Yes, that's a photo enforcement Stop Sign. Click for a full size pic. Another shot:
The sender tells us this is on the far northwest side, where people have jobs and actually pay bills, fines and fees. We have no idea if or when these went active, but we heard they had been testing some in 008 on 63rd Street? Anyone have the scoop?UPDATE: Read the post please. We state the following:
- "We have no idea if or when these went active..."
Area 4 Scandals?
- ...any one hear anything about The Weisel going off on Area 4 and their Overtime. Hear he wanted to indict everyone there.
And this one is just really really dumb:
- a little birdy friend in IAD retiring next month let me in on the next A4 embarrasment....seems IAD cameras were put in a certain district supplies room to catch pos stealing. the good news? no pos stealing. the bad news? 2 pos bumping uglys. investigation put on backburner cuz of pennys case, but hammers ready to drop on this now. pos looking at some hefty time off. maybe they can take the time off together and screw away from the job to. jealous soon to be ex spouse got wind of it and dropped da dime. OUCH.
Summer Preview?
- Multiple gunshots in Chicago Friday night left four dead and three injured in the hospital.
What no one is sure of is how many people might just get fed up and decide to go. That's the big variable.
Excuses Excuses
- A career-burglar picked the wrong house to steal from when he targeted the home of a Chicago cop’s family Friday morning, prosecutors allege.
Lamont Ferdinand, 21, hobbled into court Sunday morning bare-chested and bandaged, after a bullet recovered from his body was matched to the officer’s gun.
[...] Though Ferdinand claimed he was shot in a drive-by shooting, the recovered bullet matched the officer’s gun and Ferdinand’s jacket was recovered from near the officer’s home, the report says.Ferdinand, who has three prior felony convictions and was on parole at the time of the alleged offense, is charged with aggravated assault to a peace officer and residential burglary.
Turco Mohamed, el Fergusson de Colón.
A Republican, eh?
- It appears J-fed got to chop the heads off two hispanic bosses, Capt Morado sent to 007th district and Lt Garrido sent to 21
Updating Graft and Corruption
- In an effort to streamline unethical practices and boost illegal profiteering, Mayor Richard M. Daley announced sweeping new plans Monday to overhaul his city's "antiquated" system of graft.
According to Daley, Chicago's once-great fraudulent institutions have grown obsolete, and City Hall is no longer bilking taxpayers out of as much money as it once did.
"It's been business as usual for too long in Chicago, and now it's time to find more efficient ways to misuse authority for personal gain," said Daley, who has served as Chicago's mayor since 1989. "We must modernize our illegitimate activities right now, today, before it becomes impossible for public officials to act in my best self-interests."
CPS Cuts
- Chicago Public School officials on Saturday confirmed a major transition of the administration, affecting 280 jobs through layoffs and closure of vacant positions.
The layoffs began last week and will continue through Monday. They are part of a broader wave of major cuts at the central office that new schools chief Ron Huberman has undertaken.
The layoffs come amid the high-profile resignation of David Pickens, a top aide for former schools chief Arne Duncan. Last week the Tribune revealed that Duncan's office kept lists of people -- many politically connected -- who dialed up the office seeking help in landing a seat at a top school.
Perhaps instead of J-Failure and crew telling everyone to "police smarter," they ought to start a course called "manage better."
samedi 27 mars 2010
Rácing 1 Newells 0
PD: para ver más cómodamente el post clickear en el título de la entrada.
Volvió Demichelis
Se calculaba su regreso al fútbol en un plazo de 5 semanas pero se adelantó: "Tuve cinco fracturas y me pusieron cinco placas. Una debajo de la nariz, otra entre la ceja y el ojo derecho, y tres más por la fractura del malar. Además se me rompió parte de la mandíbula, por lo que me aplicaron varios puntos en las encías".
vendredi 26 mars 2010
FOP Wins FTO Lawsuit
- In September 2008, the Department changed the Training Districts and required all FTOs assigned to other districts to either, transfer to the new Training Districts, or resign their FTO position and give up the D2 pay.
The Lodge filed an Unfair Labor Practice Charge with the Illinois Labor Board. The Board conducted a hearing and today, March 26, 2010, the Administrative Law Judge issued an order requiring the Department to rescind all the changes made in the FTO program.
This means the new Training Districts go back to the old Training Districts. The forced reassignments and resignations are rescinded and the Department must pay those FTOs who resigned back pay with 7% interest on the D2 pay they lost.
The City has 30 days to appeal, and we fully expect they will. We will notify the membership as soon as we hear more.
The FTO program, what should be the most important part of training up new officers to be the police, has been beaten, battered, bruised, abused and pretty much treated like shit since its inception. Attempts at making it "legit" were (and still are) undercut at every opportunity by exempts who refuse to allow FTO's to fail or retread recruits. Expectations of surrendering working relationships with partners, forced exoduses from watches and the elimination of legitimate training districts turned this entire experiment into a joke.
Off Duty Police Shooting
An off-duty Chicago police officer shot a burglar who broke into his South Side residence this morning, law enforcement sources said.
The officer, who was inside the home when burglars entered the house in the 7600 block of South Vernon Avenue about 9 a.m., shot one of the suspects, the sources said.
Shortly after the shooting, a man with a gunshot wound went to St. Bernard Hospital, and detectives were working this morning to confirm whether that man was the burglar who broke into the officer's home.
Look for J-Failure and Shortshanks to credit CAPS or more "effective" policing for the double-digit drop in property crime for the second half of 2010.
Surprise! Shortshanks Unhappy
Mayor Daley warned Friday that Chicago would kiss its middle class goodbye by allowing teachers — or any other public employees — to live outside the city.
One day after the state Senate voted 40-to-7 to lift the residency requirement for teachers in the Chicago Public Schools, Daley lambasted the idea as the beginning of the end.
"Go to Detroit, St. Louis, the rest of ‘em. When they allow government employees to live outside the city, they lose all their middle-class," the mayor told reporters after a City Council meeting.
Government jobs shouldn't be the only middle class jobs in a healthy economy. And in an economy like this one? It's a slow death sentence.
TRES AÑOS
P-Diddy y Jay-Z en el fútbol inglés.
jeudi 25 mars 2010
Yet Another Police Shooting
Charges have been filed after a police involved shooting Wednesday in the Lawndale neighborhood on the Near Southwest Side -- the sixth police involved shooting since Sunday -- in an incident that sent three Chicago Police officers to a hospital with minor injuries, police said.
Officers tried to stop the vehicle at 3146 W. 15th Pl. when Dorado allegedly used the SUV to hit and injure three police officers and also hit three police vehicles and a light pole -- before fleeing at a high rate of speed, the report said.
After Dorado allegedly struck them with the SUV police fired at least one shot but did not hit Dorado, police said.
The Door Opens...
Teachers at Chicago Public Schools would be able to live outside the city limits under a measure that won approval today in the state Senate.
Sponsoring Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, said the legislation would expand the hiring pool, perhaps bringing in more quality instructors.
"The quality of the teacher first and foremost really indicates how well that child is going to do," Steans said. "I think making sure that we can draw on the broadest employment pool for teachers in the city is good educational policy."
The measure passed 40-7, with nine voting present.
Opportunity
- A diverse group of House lawmakers today threw their support behind Rep. Art Turner to be Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s running mate and warned the governor could suffer politically if he doesn’t go along.
And even better:
- Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn made an about-face on his choice for a running mate and plans to unveil Sheila Simon, the daughter of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, as his preferred candidate for lieutenant governor, sources familiar with the selection said tonight.
Boca 2 Ríver 0
En un tedio previsible de 80 minutos, gracias a San Pedro, Boca venció sin dudas a Ríver 2-0. Tardó diez minutos en hacerse de la pelota y el terreno (hasta entonces el juego era un ríspido fútbol tenis en el mediocampo) hasta que en el minuto 13 Riquelme pifia un tiro libre que sale de rastrón y tres hombres de Boca llegaron para conectar en el área chica mientras la defensa de Ríver seguía esperando el centro: Gary Medel adelantó el pie y puso el 1-0.





























