Month: June 2012

CPS To Raise Property Taxes The Maximum

For the second year in a row, Chicago Public School officials under Mayor Rahm Emanuel will raise property taxes for schools to the maximum allowed by law, yielding the cash-strapped system $41 million.

The 1.5 percent increase should cost the average homeowner $28 a year, school officials said Wednesday.

via Chicago Sun-Times.

Well isn’t this interesting.  We’ll see if CPS teachers, a/k/a the CTU, want to strike this year.  I suppose homeowners won’t be getting their second installment of their tax bills until after the election (it always works that way.)  So they won’t see just how much money goes to CTU CPS from their outrageous property taxes unless the strike goes into November.  … Dare to dream.

Obama Must Speak Out on Chicago Carnage

Headline:

Obama Must Speak Out on Chicago Carnage That Kills Too Many Kids

via The Daily Beast.

The story in generally not worth reading.

But my comment is:

  1. Chicago has the most restrictive gun control laws in the country. What’s needed is not any new laws but enforcement of the current laws. Find me one — any one single — murder committed in Chicago with a legally held firearm. You can’t!! Enforce the laws already on the books and violence will decrease.

  2. Chicago has not elected a single Republican in over 40 years. There is no way that the NRA or the GOP is in any way responsible for the gun violence in Chicago. The violence in Chicago is the direct result of 60 years of unchecked modern liberalism. First Detroit, then Chicago, then Oakland, then … 


The people voted for Chicago politics in Obama. They got what they voted for.

Muslims Attack Christians in Dearborn MI

Very bizarre behavior on the part of the young Muslims.

Very bizarre behavior on the part of the local police.

The whole thing is very disturbing.  I frankly don’t know what to make of it.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnJBW49afzg?rel=0]

Bankrupt Stockton Chicago

Yesterday’s news:

Officials in Stockton said Tuesday that mediation with creditors has failed, meaning the Central California city is set to become the largest American city ever to declare bankruptcy.  …

The river port city of 290,000 in Central California has seen its property taxes and other revenues decline, while expensive investments and generous retiree benefits drained city coffers.

via NY Daily News.

Tell me something I don’t know, right?

Stockton, with 300,000 residents and $700 million in debt, would be one of the largest cities ever to file for Chapter 9 protection, according to municipal finance experts and bankruptcy officials.

via WSJ.com.

Humm…. ok.  Let’s compare that to Chicago.

Calling local government debt “staggering,” Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas announced Tuesday that the $108 billion debt tab across various governing bodies in the county translates to $63,525 per Chicago household and nearly $33,000 per suburban household.

via Chicago Sun-Times. (Sept 29, 2011 — we now know the number to be higher.)

Math (not new math, the old fashioned kinda math.)

Stockton:
$700M / 290,000 residents = $2,413.80 of debt for every man woman and child in Stockton.

Chicago:
$63,525 * 1,033,022 households = $65,622,722,550 in total debt;
$65,622,722,550 / 2,695,598 people in the city = $24,344.40 of debt for every man woman and child in Chicago.

In order for the situation to be comparable, the dazzling urbanites of Chicago would have to earn 10 x as much as the poor downtrodden folks of Stockton.

Back to the Census:

Chicago Per Capita Money Income in Past 12 Months — $27,148

Stockton Per Capita Money Income in Past 12 Months — $20,176

So the average joker in Stockton has to work for about a month and a half (2413 / 20176 *365 = 44 days) to pay off their portion of the debt.

The average joker in Chicago has to work for nearly a year (24344 / 27148 * 365 = 327 days) to pay off their portion of the debt.

And so I ask you which one of these municipalities should really be filing for bankruptcy?  Which is in worse financial shape?  Who’s employee’s should be more worried about their pensions?  Who’s politicians are doing the right thing by dealing with the issue square-on and not trying to pawn it off on future generations?

I’m just asking.

Hat Tip to Anthony Curran for the concept of this post.

More Bad News on the Pension Crisis

If I was Rahm I would so totally throw Daley under the bus on this issue.

The debt from 10 Chicago-area pension plans swelled more than 600 percent to $27.4 billion between 2001 and 2010, according to a study released Monday by the nonpartisan Civic Federation. That’s $8,993 for each man, woman and child in Chicago, according to the report.

The shortfall comes on top of more than $83 billion in unfunded pension liabilities at the state level, driving the cost up to nearly $15,000 per Chicagoan, the report shows.

via chicagotribune.com.

Shear insanity.

 

Police Boss: No Emergency = No Police

As Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy tries to streamline the way his department fights violent crime, he is stepping up his potentially controversial plan to reduce his officers’ load of 911 calls.

Facing heat over a surge in homicides as he enters his second year in Chicago, McCarthy has expressed frustration over the pace of making the logistical and policy shift necessary to free up officers from what he considers nonessential responsibilities.

“I’ve been told we handle more types of calls for services than any other place in the country,” McCarthy said.

He wants to keep officers from wasting their time with what he labeled the “my son won’t eat his peas” type of call.

“We would set the policy. We’re not responding to calls for A, B and C,” McCarthy said, noting that he hasn’t yet defined “what standard would we apply.”

via chicagotribune.com.

Now that I’ve written about Comstat we all understand the manipulation of crime statistics.  Comstat was Plan A.  This is Plan B.

Imagine the ability to set crime statistics by simply listening to a 911 call and right there without any other information saying what qualifies a police response.  And we already know that in Chicago no report means no crime.  By simply choosing to not send police to the scene of a crime it is nearly assured that no report will be created and thus no crime will be reported.

When this is implemented McCarthy and Rahm are going to oversee the greatest crime reduction is city history.  Of course blood will still be flowing in the streets, thousands of cars will be stolen, drugs will be available everywhere, homes will be broken into hourly, and tourist beatings on Michigan Ave will continue.

Compstat

I can’t believe that I have not already written a post on Compstat but I can’t find anything.  Grrrrrr!!

Ok so, for those that don’t know Compstat is a system of policing accountability which originated in New York with the NYPD.  And in case you don’t know Garry McCarthy, the current Chicago Police Superintendent, is from the NYPD and eats, sleeps, sh__s, and wipes Compstat.  If Compstat was a person (woman or man) Garry McCarthy would marry it.  When McCarthy came to Chicago he brought Compstat with him.  You can find many articles about this at the Tribune, SunTimes, etc.

So what?  Well here’s the rub:  It’s a fraud.

No Superintendent of any police department wants to oversee an increase in crime.  No politician wants to be in office when there is an increase in crime.  So what happens is that the politicians beat down on the Superintendent who beats down on the Deputy Chiefs who beat down the Commanders who beat down on the Captains who beat down on the Lieutenants who beat down on the Sargents who beat down on the beat cops.  And just like magic, the beat cops make sure that there is less crime.  How?

I’ve already written about how CPD brass is telling us crime is down crime is down but 911 calls to the OEMC is off the charts.  In Chicago no report = no crime.  So when police are busy and can’t get to you, your crime goes unreported, therefore there was no crime.  In Chicago we have a severe shortage of police officers.  Fewer officers means longer response times means fewer crimes are reported.  Consider this, the way that Chicago tracks crime if there were no police there would be no crime.

Back to Compstat.  Compstat’s fraud is in addition to the crimes that actually unreported.  Compstat coerces police of all ranks to reclassify crimes in order to create the appearance of less crime.  e.g.  Instead of arresting someone for burglary (a felony) they get written-up for trespass (a misdemeanor.)  Fewer felonies means less crime.

You don’t think it happens?  Think again.

February 2010

There’s something very big here. If you look at the repercussions, this stats program does for police what the Leave No Child Behind program for schools does to teachers– encourages them to shape the data. In this case, it may be putting us all at risk by fudging crime stats.

A new survey of over 100 retired NYPD captains and senior officers found that they believed that statistics were manipulated to portray lower crime rates for the compsat program that calculates crime rates..

The survey suggests that police have distorted crime reporting, dropping value of stolen goods so the theft is categorized as misdemeanor instead of felony. They drop categorization of crimes from felony to misdemeanor if suspects can’t be found.

via HuffPo.

This story forced the NYPD to clamp-down on officers who were talking about the fraud.  It took some time but two years later the NYPD forced a lawsuit by an officer who was pressured to downgrade crimes.  It was written about here, and here, and here.  A quick search will reveal other stories as well.

So… what’s important to understand here is that you cannot trust the crime numbers put out by the police department.  It’s 100% pure manipulated hogwash.  You know that CPD is losing control of the city.  You know that your friends don’t feel as safe after Cubs games as they used to.  You see there are more street fights outside of bars.  You read in the paper that more people are getting shot than ever before.

The difference between the truth and what the CPD reports is Compstat.

 

UPDATE 06/30/2012:  Silly me had “comstat” instead of “compstat”.  I need an editor.

Robber Armed with 2-by-4 on West Side (Rahm demands lumber registry)

A police alert warns Lawndale residents about a robber who threatens and beats his victims with a 2-by-4.  …

The robber was described as a black man with a dark complexion, between 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-11, weighing 150 to 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a dark-colored baseball hat and a dark top, police said.via chicagotribune.com.

Rahm immediately called for a lumber registry.  “What we need are common sense lumber laws to make sure these sorts of crimes don’t happen again.” the Mayor said at an unrelated press conference.  He followed-up saying, “No one is trying to ban lumber. That’s extremist language by the extremist National Lumber Association.”

Emanuel Plans Changes to City’s Gun Law

A few days ago…

Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to rewrite Chicago’s firearm ordinance in response to a ruling by a federal judge who struck down a section of the city’s law he called vague and unconstitutional.  …

Last week, U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan called that regulation “indiscriminate and arbitrary.””There is something incongruent about a nonviolent person, who is not a felon but who is convicted of a misdemeanor offense of simple possession of a firearm, being forever barred from exercising his constitutional right to defend himself in his own home in Chicago against felons or violent criminals,” Der-Yeghiayan wrote.  …

Having strong gun laws is part of the city’s overall approach to stemming violent crime, Emanuel said at an unrelated news conference.”Sensible, smart, targeted gun laws keep guns out of the hands of gangbangers and drug dealers,” Emanuel said, calling such laws “key to a strategy of reducing violence.”

via chicagotribune.com.

How’s that again Rahm?  You have the nation’s most restrictive gun law.  It’s failing miserably by any standard.  You have failed to ‘keep guns out of the hands of gangbangers and drug dealers.’  You have also failed to create any ‘strategy of reducing violence.’

Rahm:  You should start by enforcing the existing state and federal laws already on the books.  First show that they are somehow inadequate before creating a whole new system of bureaucracy to harass law abiding citizens.

Get a real Cook County State’s Attorney.  Get a real Illinois Attorney General.  If these prosecutors would charge crimes already on the books (e.g. felons with guns do federal time) you would not need any new laws to lock-up gangbangers and drug dealers.

Fighting Crime The Chicago Way!

CeaseFire Illinois, a group that works against violence, is being recruited by the city of Chicago as part of a pilot program to help reduce crime in two police districts, one on the West Side and the other on the South Side.  …

The city will give the group a one-year grant for $1 million to hire 40 “interrupters” who will mediate conflicts in the Ogden and Grand Crossing districts, where gun violence has spiked.  …

This is the first time CeaseFire has received funding from the City of Chicago. Previously, it was largely funded through state and county sources.

via Chicago Tribune.

So says the Tribune.  The SunTimes story is similar.  Both FAIL to mention what CeaseFire really is… the public relations arm of coordinated Chicago street gangs.

In this city known for rampant corruption and cronyism the politicians know what to do with the money they extort from taxpayers! Whenever possible taxes here are only used to support thieves, thugs and liars.  …

Chicago’s politicians have agreed to hand over $1,000,000.00 to a group calling themselves, “Cease Fire”. They were founded simply to take city tax money and pretend they’re working on violence reduction. Of course Cease Fire will be working in “secret negations” to make Chicago safer. I’m sure the time and money will be easy to audit that way.

Cease Fire is a group of, not so retired ghetto gangsters with significant rap sheets that are supposed to convince their pals not to kill each other, or innocent civilians.

via CRIME, GUNS, AND VIDEOTAPE.

This is insanity.  The gang bangers are going to completely fabricate the number of “interruptions” in violence.  McCarthy will permit it because it creates the appearance that the money was well spent.

Shouldn’t the city counsel have to weigh-in on this sort of spending?  Where’s the Alderman (and Aldermen) stand on this?