Want $1,000?

Shaved has this up on behalf of Sgt. Northen. We'll summarize it here, but the full text and particulars are over at Shaved's site:

• Many unnamed persons have forwarded an eMail to me in which the first line reads: "The Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the City of Chicago is accused of cowardice by a man once regarded as the department's chief LUNATIC." (CAPS mine)
  
  Trust me. It's NOT a bruised ego. In recent days, I have contacted editors of newspapers as well as the producers of local electronic media to expose this COWARD for what he truly is. While I believe that essentially local media is in the hip pocket of Mayor Richard M. Daley, media has declined covering the story any further using the unspoken pretext that I am INSANE. In effect, those who have circulated this trash may well have "cut their own throats" if they believe that Weis should resign or be fired.
  
  I herein offer a reward of $10,000.00 to the first person who contacts me with information that would result in a conclusion that I am clinically insane. I'm not. Far from it. As some have said, Northen is "as crazy as a fox." I will never know if libelous rumors influenced local media to not pursue the story of a COWARD who is also "top cop".
  
  Consider me highly litigious and unamused by the author of "lunatic" as well as those who have circulated this false statement. Indeed, I herein offer a $1,000.00 reward for conclusive evidence of the identity of the author and original publisher of the "lunatic" statement.
  
  
• If you have any questions or claims to my posted rewards, contact me via eMail at this address. eau5@yahoo.com
  
  (Sgt.) John Northen (Ret.)
  Chicago Police Department
  AKA: "NorthSide"

We have a feeling someone is more than a little uncomfortable about now.

Again With the Guard

Why not just hire more police instead of trying to do things on the cheap?

• Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis today spoke out against a request for the Illinois National Guard to be to deployed on Chicago’s streets to help tackle gun violence.

  Stopping just short of outright rejecting the request from state lawmakers Rep. John Fritchey and Rep. LaShawn Ford, Weis said “I don't think the National Guard is the solution.”

• Noting that the military does not operate under the same constitutional constraints as the police, he questioned how Chicago residents would react to soldiers raiding homes without warrants, and said that in his 25 years of law enforcement experience, he had never seen an example of military personnel working under local civilian command.

  “The National Guard is very useful if we had a big earthquake or huge flood or a catastrophe like that, where we simply had to control folks,” he said, “But the problems we’re facing are illegal weapons, narcotics and gangs. And while I will always look out for as much help as we can, I don't think the National Guard is the solution.”

Of course, the puppet-master must be acknowledged:

• While Weis came out against the suggestion Sunday, he did add that he had yet to discuss it with the mayor and that is something he was willing to “explore.”

  “I’d have to see what the mayor’s position on this is,” he said. “If he’s open to it, you know, of course, I’d be open to it. I have certain concerns, based on my time in law enforcement and the United States military.”

So J-Fled admits he's pretty much a tool of Shortshanks. Nice to see some truths are still out there.

Happy Retirement!

Supposedly, the new big thing in cakes:

They can't keep them in stock.

Clausura 2010: fecha 16 - TAPA nº 150

DESÁBATO - ORTEGA: ¿QUÉ TE PASA BORRACHO?
ORTEGA - DESÁBATO: PLANCHAZO
ESTUDIANTES 1 RIVER 0: CRONICA Y GOLES
RACING 2 BANFIELD 0: GOLES
LA CHILENA DE MAXI LÓPEZ
RABONA DE DI MARIA: BENFICA 3 OLHANENSE 0
GLASGOW RANGERS CAMPEÓN DE ESCOCIA POR 53º VEZ.
.

Police Shooting

Cops reportedly OK:

• A 19-year-old man was shot and seriously wounded in an incident Saturday night that preliminary information indicated might have involved an exchange of gunfire with police.
  
  Chicago Fire Department paramedics were sent to the scene of a shooting in the 6100 block of South Prairie Avenue at about 10:25 p.m., said fire spokesman [...]
  
  The 19-year-old man was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition with two apparent bullet wounds, he said. It was not clear how the man was shot, but initial information said there had been an exchange of gunfire involving the Police Department...

Nothing further at the moment.

UPDATE: Once again, a scumbag out on bail for a previous weapon charge who manages to get his hands on another weapon. A big thanks to Anita and the Cook County State's Attorneys! You suck!

End of Sanctuaries

We hope this Arizona law is the start of a trend:

• The new law, which will take effect in late July or early August, was cheered by many, including Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose tough crackdowns have made him a hero in the anti-illegal immigration community. He said it gives him new authority to detain undocumented migrants who aren't accused of committing any other crimes.
  
  "Now if we show they're illegal, we can actually arrest them and put them in our jails," Arpaio said.
  
  Current law in Arizona and most states doesn't require police to ask about the immigration status of those they come across, and many departments prohibit officers from inquiring out of fear immigrants won't report crime or cooperate in other investigations.
  
  Now, police departments seen as weak on illegal immigration could face lawsuits. The new measure also toughens restrictions on hiring illegal immigrants for day labor and knowingly transporting them.

You'll never guess where the most outrage is being expressed:

• Chicago Democrat Luis Gutierrez, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has been especially vocal as the measure -- which will require local police officers to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are illegal immigrants-- wound its way through the Arizona Legislature.

  The law makes it "open season on the Latino community in Arizona," Gutierrez said, describing it as "an insult to American justice and one of the harshest assaults on basic civil rights in recent American history."

• Gutierrez plans to attend a rally in Phoenix on Sunday to "let the people of Arizona know that they are not alone in fighting against bigotry and hatred."

Um, Luis? Doesn't part of your District fall into that "9%" J-Fled was talking about? Aren't there more pressing local issues for you to be dealing with, rather than Arizona's?

And it isn't "open season" on anyone Luis - these people are illegal, and it certainly isn't just Latinos as you allege. They broke the law. They should be jailed and then deported. Constitutional protections apply to citizens. Illegals can still be treated humanely and properly within the bounds of United States law, but calling it an "assault on basic civil rights" completely stands on it's head what civil rights actually are.

If you're looking to assist your local ICE agents, you can contact them at 101 West Congress Parkway, Suite 4000, Chicago, Illinois 60605, (312) 347-2400.

Violent Crime Rising?

Only the bean counters can tell for sure, but we're seeing a lot more reports like these popping up:

• As the exchange student and her 24-year-old friend were returning to the friend's Bucktown neighborhood home early Friday after a night out celebrating, they were attacked from behind and struck on the back of their heads by a robber wielding a baseball bat, police said.

  The attacker escaped with their purses, but one woman was able to give police a description of him before she fell unconscious, police [...] said. There could have been a second attacker, police said.

  The student was listed in critical condition at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center on Friday, while her friend, a financial adviser, was listed in serious condition at the same hospital, a spokeswoman said.

• A man jogging on the Chicago Riverwalk this morning was critically stabbed just east of the Michigan Avenue bridge, officials said.

  About 5:52 a.m., a person called 911 and said a man was stabbed on the riverfront jogging path about 50 feet east of the bridge, said Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli.

  The man, a 63-year-old, was taken in critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with multiple stab wounds, according to police and fire officials.

Remember, Daley doesn't care what the actual crime total are. He could give a rat's ass about 50 shot in a warm weekend with seven dead. All he does is look at the addresses and writes it off as "business as usual."

What truly matters is the perception of crime - the appearance that certain areas of the city are safe, inviolate, protected.

And when you think of it, this is running hand-in-hand with J-Fled's recent implementation of the perception of more police on the streets than their actually are.

AND (we're on a roll here), with Shortshanks' fascination with blue-light cameras that assist in the perception that everything is being watched all the time by the police.

The trouble with perception though, is when it runs into cold hard reality - that there aren't enough police to watch formerly safe neighborhoods, that seeing squad car lights doesn't mean there are cops only a short ride away, that no one is watching the cameras and probably 33% of them don't even work properly. Expect more headlines.