Protest March Coming

Yes, we got the text messages. Yes, we got the e-mails. The rumor mill is shuddering under the winds of the latest and even the Tribune is picking up on it:

• Leaders of Chicago's police union are considering taking the growing acrimony over contract negotiations public at a most inopportune time for Mayor Daley -- picketing on the day International Olympic Committee evaluators arrive next week to see the city.
  
  Fraternal Order of Police President Mark Donahue acknowledged that a picket line of cops while Olympic officials are in town April 2-7 is "being discussed," but he said nothing has been decided by the union and declined to comment further.
  
  But multiple police sources familiar with union activities said that an "informational picket" is being planned for next Thursday, the day the IOC's 16-member evaluating commission is scheduled to arrive in Chicago. The sources expected the picketing to take place at City Hall, but the location is among issues still being discussed.

Why one day of pickets? Why not a few days worth? Why not a bus on standby for the "grand tour" and drive ahead of the IOC entourage to conduct "informational pickets" at each and every whistle-stop the convoy makes?

One day of picketing is a mosquito bite to Shortshanks. One week of being alongside his Olympic dream is a festering boil on Daley's ass.

019 Insanity

This is a joke, right?

• O.T. but what's with 019 grading the P.O.'s? Not sure if it's just on the 2nd watch but I've heard that the 2nd watch Watch Commander recently handed out letter grades to the P.O.'s on the watch. You got graded on your activity (or lack thereof). Not sure what affect it would have on the P.O.
  
  Is this the new evaluation system that the department has been promising to roll out?

Save the paper boys and girls. Save every scrap you can put your hands on and document who was in the room when the W/C handed it out.

Especially save it if the W/C is attempting to deny you Special Employment or Time Due based on your letter grade.

Re-Opening an Investigation

We've all heard that the "numbers game" is real, is bullshit, is reality, is fantasy. We certainly hope that it's BS. But way too much of this Department is numbers driven and not really "results oriented." Our 40% and dropping clearance rate is proof of that.

The Fox News piece only lends credence to the conspiracy side of the argument, especially when Fox has an Exempt Supervisor admitting the base has been reopened.

No More Parade

It just got too big and unmanageable:

• Let this release serve as notice that the South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee is not planning to stage a parade in its present form in March of 2010.

  This decision was not arrived at lightly. For 31 years, this parade was a staple of the Beverly/Morgan Park and Mt. Greenwood communities – a celebration of faith, family and heritage that was cherished by thousands. Founded in 1979 by the Hendry and Coakley families, it was intended to instill in this community an appreciation for the Irish heritage that so many of its residents share.

Unfortunately, the parade sort of contributed to a fulfillment of a number of Irish stereotypes, too, and that as much as anything resulted in its demise. Too big, too sloppy, too ridiculous. No telling how much pressure City Hall put on the organizers, but we imagine it was considerable.

Now, will that pressure be brought to bear on another set of "organizers" that drain police resources at the other end of the parade calendar? Because we are rapidly approaching the point where we will not be able to cover the manpower needs for a large scale event like that anymore.

Entrenadores despedidos

Clausura 2009, 7 fechas, 6 entrenadores renunciantes y 3 en la cornisa (Roberto Sensini de Newells, Claudio Vivas de Argentinos Júniors y Miguel Angel Russo de San Lorenzo).

Inaugurando el año de resciciones, Juan Manuel Llop se fue de Racing el 21 de febrero después de perder los 3 partidos jugados por el torneo y decir que debió renunciar en diciembre.
Gustavo Alfaro es despedido de Rosario Central el 1 de marzo después de una paupérrima campaña que terminó con 8 partidos sin victorias. Reinaldo Merlo, con tres fechas y dos goleadas, está a un punto de igualar su performance.
El 9 de marzo, Omar Labruna es despedido de Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy. Héctor Arzubialde toma el puesto y el lobo le hace 4 a Independiente y gana de visitante después de 25 intentos (Arg. Jrs 0-1).
El 11 de marzo renuncia Leonardo Astrada a Estudiantes. Había empezado bien, perdió la final de la Sudamericana con Inter (Porto Alegre) y se desinfló. Parece que la fosa empezó a abrirse cuando sacó a Angeleri de la concentración. Tomó el cargo Alejandro Sabella y Estudiantes, en 2 partidos, no perdió.
El 21 de marzo renuncia Pepé Santoro, después de comparecer en cada domingo, echar a la vieja Reinoso y no encontrarle la vuelta al equipo que gana y pierde como de pasos al caminar.
Jorge Burruchaga pegó el portazo en Bánfield atrás de Santoro por sentir que no tiene respaldo dirigencial. Su salida abre especulaciones en derredor de la calesita DT.

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Information Being Suppressed?

Someone mentioned this in a comment section:

• Is it just us or do the reports of shootings seem down?

We did an unscientific survey of a few of the media outlets listed on the right side and aside from the railroad copper killing the armed assailant (good job by the way), there weren't many shootings reported over the past few days. Not even in the "metro briefing" blurbs that take a paragraph or so.

It's doubly unusual because we've been on the scenes of at least two shootings in the past few days and heard of another seven that didn't make the news, including a triple wounding.

What reason could there be for keeping a lid on violent crime numbers? Is there some big even planned for the first week of April that would necessitate keeping hidden actual instances of Chicagoans trying to off each other?

And the media dances while Richie calls the tunes.

Common Sense Rejected

By Shortshanks no less:

• Mayor Daley is seething over a West Side legislator’s suggestion that children be educated about gun safety and gun use.
  
  State Rep. Annazette Collins (D-Chicago) said she believes that education is the key to gun safety, and said a hands-on approach is the key to taking away the mystery and allure of guns.
  
  “Downstate they teach you that guns are meant for hunting, for protection,” she said. “Here in the urban cities, all they see are guns on TV and they gun down people.”
  
  Opponents filled a town hall meeting Monday night in Garfield Park, and Mayor Daley is adding his voice to the outrage.
  
  “It’s the silliest position I’ve ever heard taken,” Daley said.

No, the silliest position is Illinois and Wisconsin being the last of the 50 states to legalize some form of concealed carry that has been proven time and time again to reduce violent crime.

But actually educating people, young people, as to basic safety principles regarding something that, despite all Shortshank's attempts to ban it, still manages to pop up with astonishing frequency. Notice how Daley twists the issue to his own anti-gun views:

• Daley said putting guns in the hands of more children is the last thing the city of Chicago needs.
  
  [...] Daley said there is already too much gun violence on Chicago’s West Side, and said he believed Collins’ proposal would only fuel it.
  
  “If (she thinks) more guns on the West Side is going to help those people, she is greatly mistaken,” Daley said.

Collins, of course, didn't say she wanted to put guns in anyone's hands or even more guns in a City that already bans them. She isn't advocating teaching these kids marksmanship, arming them, and sending them out to kill. But being aware of when a gun is loaded (always), what it's capable of (holes in paper, walls, people), and what they should do when they see one (tell the police) isn't a bad idea.