Black Lives Matter is a very effective slogan that elicits sympathy and empathy. It suggests many people outside the black community don’t believe black lives matter. While I agree with that assumption, I have a very different opinion about who the uncaring culprits might be.
<a href="https://blacklivesmatter.com/transparency/#bod">BLM’s vision statement</a> says: 
<blockquote>&#8220;Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation imagines a world where Black people across the diaspora thrive, experience joy, and are not defined by their struggles. By achieving liberation, we envision a future that is fully divested from police, prisons, and all punishment paradigms to be replaced with investment into justice, joy, and culture.&#8221;</blockquote>
Sounds like a noble mission. But that mission becomes confusing when you recall the violent protests we all watched leading up to the 2020 election. In some cases they were looting and rioting while calling for the murder of police officers.
It becomes even more confusing when you read the organization’s <a href="https://blacklivesmatter.com/blm-demands/">list of demands</a> on the same website:
<ol>
<li>Convict and ban Trump from future political office</li>
<li>Expel Republican members of Congress who attempted to overturn the election and incited a white supremacist attack</li>
<li>Launch a full investigation into the ties between white supremacy and the Capitol Police, law enforcement, and the military</li>
<li>Permanently ban Trump from all digital media platforms</li>
<li>Defund the police</li>
<li>Don’t let the coup be used as an excuse to crack down on our movement</li>
<li>Pass the BREATHE Act</li>
</ol>
So, BLM has identified Donald Trump, the racist police, and other &#8216;white supremacists&#8217; as the imminent threat to black lives in our country. Those villains line up nicely and not by accident with President Biden’s April, 2021, proclamation that white supremacy “is the most lethal threat to the homeland today.&#8221; 
It’s not climate change, the threat of nuclear war, not the thousands of unvetted, unvaccinated people illegally pouring into our country, or the Mexican drug cartels funneling deadly amounts of fentanyl and other drugs over our open border — killing over 100,000 Americans a year.
It’s also not the mentally ill and violent criminals living in tents on your streets, or the rising tide of violent crime and failing education.
It’s not even out-of-control inflation, the 31 trillion in national debt, or reckless government spending.
No, it’s none of that. It’s &#8216;white supremacy&#8217; that threatens our lives, but most especially black lives.
During my police career with the NYPD, I was involved in the investigation of hundreds of homicide cases. The majority of those cases involved the tragic death of a young black or Hispanic man murdered by another young black or Hispanic man. That is a fact. Not one of them involved a white supremacist.
I worked with and for hundreds of police officers of all different ethnicities. I’ve never met a white supremacist. I don’t know anyone who is a white supremacist. I don’t even know someone who knows someone who’s a white supremacist.
In 2018, the leading cause of death among black males from age 1-44 was homicide. In line with my own experience, the suspects in the majority of those cases were other young black men. That is a sad and tragic statistic and a national disgrace.
The data is readily available for those who choose to see it, though it might not comport with the white supremacist narrative our woeful president and dishonest BLM leaders are trying to feed you.
Every week the headlines scream at us:
“38 shot, 6 killed during weekend in Mayor Lightfoot’s Chicago.”
“New York City weekend bloodshed leaves 31 people shot, 6 killed…”
Why is this allowed to go on? Why do the people who support BLM ignore what is clearly the biggest threat to black lives in this moment — a threat happening right before our eyes, every single day?
Last night, tonight, and tomorrow night, as sure as the sun rises and sets, dozens more young black and brown men will be slaughtered on the streets of our cities by other young black and brown men. It’s no mystery where, why or how these killings are happening.
For the most part it’s in the same economically challenged, minority populated areas, where liberal democrat politicians have been in control for decades making empty promises and delivering nothing.
Where is the outrage about this daily massacre? Perhaps these political hacks are too busy screaming for bail reform, defunding the police or emptying our prisons — which inevitably leads to the loss of many more black lives.
To me, and the people I served with, every homicide victim’s life mattered. Regardless of the circumstances, every one of them was someone’s son or daughter, brother or sister, mother or father. The hearts of those families break like any other hearts.
Why isn’t this being treated like the national emergency it is? Why do the corrupt media, politicians and celebrities across the entertainment and sports world want you to believe the real threat is systemic racism inside police forces? Why do they say police officers are running amok, murdering unarmed young black men and women everyday when, with very few exceptions, there is no evidence to support it?
The CDC reports there were <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm">24,576 homicides in America in 2020</a>. Roughly 10,000 of those victims were African American or black. On average, police fatally shoot about 1,000 people per year. That number includes people who were using deadly force against the police or someone else when they were killed. About 6% of those <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/">police shootings</a> involve an unarmed suspect.  A very small fraction of those involved some accusation of misconduct by the police officer.
In a country with a general population of over <a href="https://www.census.gov/popclock/">333,000,000</a>, that doesn’t seem like an epidemic. But it is among these few cases that the race hustlers and their partners in the propaganda media find their ammunition to create and peddle this dangerous false narrative of white supremacy.
The New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles police departments are the <a href="https://policeteststudyguide.com/largest-police-departments-in-the-united-states/">three largest departments</a> in the country. They each serve a very significant minority population.
According to 2021 Census figures, of the <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/about/about-nypd/about-nypd-landing.page">36,000 plus members of the NYPD</a>, 43% are White, 31% Hispanic, <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/ccrb/policy/data-transparency-initiative-mos.page">16% Black, 10% Asian</a>.
In Chicago’s <a href="https://informationportal.igchicago.org/chicago-police-department-active-sworn-officer-overview/">11,000 plus member department</a>, 45% of the officers are White, 31% Hispanic, 20% Black and 3% Asian.
And of the roughly <a href="https://www.lapdonline.org/">10,000 officers serving in the LAPD</a>, 50% are Hispanic, 30% White, 9% Black, 8% Asian, 2% Filipino and .3% Native American — hardly a bastion of white supremacy.
Having done the job for over 2 decades in New York City, in a very violent era, I can’t think of a worse job for a white supremacist. Not only are you likely to be working side by side with or for a minority colleague, the vast majority of your duties are risking your life in dangerous neighborhoods while serving, protecting and coming to the aid of mostly minority residents.
In 1994, when Republican NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani came into office, the city would suffer <a href="https://www.disastercenter.com/crime/nycrime.htm">more than 2,000 homicides that year</a>. He implemented smart, sensible strategies that helped the men and women of the NYPD save tens of thousands of mostly black lives over the next two decades, in many cases risking and sometimes giving their own lives to do so.
After giving their blood sweat and tears to make the city a safe place, I can think of no greater insult than to be labeled a racist or white supremacist.
If BLM, the clueless social justice warriors like LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, and the lemmings who blindly support them truly believed black lives matter, their fight for justice and equity would be away from the cameras. They would be on the violent, inner city street corners standing side-by-side with the police calling out the real problems, imploring these young people to stop killing each other, uniting not dividing. They would demand the crony politicians fix the failing schools and make the streets safe for the good people who live there. But don’t hold your breath.
BLM was founded by self proclaimed Marxists who have long ago forgotten the spirit of their optimistic mission statement. And as long as these phonies continue to peddle the false narrative that police departments are full of white supremacists and not well intentioned, honest, hard working police officers, many more black lives will be lost and that should matter to everyone.
John Dove is a retired NYPD Detective Lieutenant and the former co-executive producer of CSI-NY.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Funeral Held For NYPD Detective Killed During Attempted Robbery In Queens

‘I Can’t Think Of A Worse Job For A White Supremacist’: Career NYPD Cop Breaks Down BLM Claims

Black Lives Matter

Chicago Police

LAPD

NYPD

Readers Pass

After drag racers terrorized residents of Chicago, speeding through intersections — with one reportedly killing a 40-year-old woman visiting the city —  they pelted Chicago police with rocks and bricks as Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blamed social media for the behavior.
On Sunday, Shawman Meireis, 40, was standing in the crosswalk near Midway Airport the day before her birthday when she was hit by a speeding car. She was later pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Also on Sunday in the Pilsen area, “an angry crowd attacked police with bricks, a road sign, a tree and rocks as a police vehicle drove toward the crowd,” The Chicago Tribune <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/chaotic-drag-races-street-takeovers-231700125.html">reported</a>.
Meanwhile Lightfoot blamed social media for the drag races, snapping, “Their failure to be proactive in addressing these issues to work proactively with law enforcement is an absolute abomination.”
Lightfoot was asked at a press conference on Monday, “What roles do the TikToks and the Instagrams that are posting all these videos do? These [drag races] are clear violations of the law. If these [videos] are taken down because people are watching them, then what’s the attraction of them? It’s diminished, right? Should the police department be working with them to try to take these things down?”
“You’re trying to trigger me, aren’t you?” Lightfoot responded, adding, “I’m being somewhat facetious.”
Then she launched into her attack on social media companies: “I think the lack of responsibility on the part of social media companies, who absolutely know exactly the kind of things that are being posted, their failure to be proactive in addressing these issues to work proactively with law enforcement is an absolute abomination.”
Lightfoot called for federal intervention to censor social media, declaring, “I’m one who believes that the federal government has to step up and regulate every single one of these platforms, whether it’s selling guns on social media, brazenly and openly, and nothing’s being done about it. Whether it’s this kind of thing, advertising things that clearly threaten public safety, whether it’s violence against women, whether it’s child pornography, there is a whole marketplace of illegal activity that is going on every single day on social media.”
“And these social media companies absolutely have the ability to regulate what’s happening on their platforms,” she continued. “This isn’t a question of First Amendment rights; this is a question of public safety for our kids and for our communities, and if these social media companies continue to frankly, stiff-arm us and not own their responsibility, it’s gonna be an even worse problem.”
“Many of the things we see with young people ending in gunfire and violence, you know where they start? The start on social media,” she asserted.
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Chicago Drag Racers Kill Woman, Pelt Police With Rocks. Mayor Lightfoot Blames Social Media.

Chicago Drag Racers Kill Woman, Pelt Police With Rocks. Lightfoot Blames Social Media. 

Chicago

drag racers

Lori Lightfoot

A police commander in Chicago went around prosecutors to approve murder charges in order to keep a man behind bars. The man in question allegedly admitted to murdering a person with a hammer, per law enforcement sources and legal records, as CWB Chicago <a href="https://cwbchicago.com/2022/04/chicago-police-commander-approved-murder-charges-in-hammer-attack-because-prosecutors-refused-to-do-it-records-show.html">reported</a>. 
The state’s attorney’s felony review division “was going with possible self-defense but they wanted the hammer processed to find [Stamps’] prints or DNA even though he admitted to killing the guy with [the] hammer,” a source told the outlet. “They’re just looking for any reason to deny charges.”
The alleged assailant is Gregory Stamps, who allegedly met David Castile (42) at an LGBTQ bar, who then said he could give Stamps a ride home.
“The medical examiner said there were 20 to 30 skull defects,” Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy told Judge Kelly McCarthy on Tuesday afternoon, per CWB. “That’s 20 to 30 shots to the head that this defendant gave over and over and over again with that hammer.”
On Sunday morning, Stamps allegedly hit Castile in the head 20 to 30 times with a hammer in his bedroom, and proceeded to haul his naked body down multiple flights of stairs and outside to the alley, per Murphy. He then allegedly threw the victim’s clothing in a dumpster and returned, but never dialed 911, Murphy said. 
A witness saw Stamps walking in the hall and then spotted blood going towards the back door. The person called 911 “several times” and waited for law enforcement. 
When the police arrived, they found Castile, who was still barely alive and they “tried lifesaving measures,” per Murphy, but Castile later died at the University of Chicago Hospital.
Investigators came into contact with Stamps in the hallway of the first floor early Sunday morning. They noticed he had blood on his hand, clothing, and shoe, per Murphy. They detained him and allegedly discovered he had Castile’s wallet in his pocket. 
He was questioned about why he had blood all over him, and he allegedly responded by saying that he had fallen down the stairs and landed in it. However, a few minutes later, he changed his story, allegedly telling the officers he was going to “be honest,” claiming, “He was just trying to rape me.”
Law enforcement read him his Miranda rights, but he continued to talk and reportedly again said he killed Castile with a hammer and explained it had taken place in his bedroom. The officers’ body cameras reportedly recorded what he said. 
The police went to the bedroom, and allegedly discovered walls with blood on them, blood on a mattress, and a hammer, seeming to back up Stamps’ own story.
Murphy claimed that Stamps told law enforcement he “beat [Castile’s] a**,” and was hoping that Castile had died. However, he had no reason for why he had Castile&#8217;s wallet, or why he took the victim&#8217;s body outside, or why he threw Castile&#8217;s clothing in the garbage, Murphy added.
Murphy said the injuries on the victim show “That is not self-defense. That is first-degree murder. And I would point out there are no injuries on this defendant. None.”
“He doesn’t call police. Doesn’t call 911. What he does is he tries to get rid of the body,” Murphy continued. “The first thing he says is ‘I fell down the stairs,’ not ‘he tried to rape me.’”
Court records reportedly show that Detective Commander Brown approved murder charges that prosecutors wouldn’t sign off on as Stamps neared his 44th hour in police custody. Police typically have 48 hours to bring charges against someone after he or she is arrested. If they fail to do so, that person is let go.
Stamps’ defense attorney noted that self-defense might be a potential route against the murder allegation, per CWB. 
Judge McCarthy had ordered Stamps to be detained without bail. The Illinois Department of Corrections is reportedly considering his parole status, per court records.
Stamps has a criminal record. He was on parole since May 2018 after serving a little more than five years of his six-year sentence for attempted murder, along with a three-year sentence for domestic battery. According to Murphy, he also said that crime was done in self-defense, but later pleaded guilty to stabbing the person.
Stamps was also arrested last month at a nightclub. He allegedly assaulting a bouncer after threatening an ex-boyfriend, and was issued charges of misdemeanor counts of battery and assault.

Police handcuffs,shackle

Prosecutors Wouldn’t Approve A Murder Charge After Confession, So The Police Commander Stepped In: Report

Crime

Murder

Violent Crime

Keith Thornton Jr. — a Chicago police dispatcher who was once <a href="https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/08/09/chicago-police-dispatcher-keith-thornton-ella-smith-officer-killed/">praised</a> by Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) for his quick thinking and heroic work while on the job  — has now released a video slamming Lightfoot and other city officials such as the Superintendent of Police David Brown for allowing Chicago to become a &#8220;death zone&#8221; due in part to understaffing and lack of police in certain areas.
In a Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KATTJR/videos/274234451354849/">video</a> posted late Thursday night last week, Thornton ripped Lightfoot for not caring about Chicago police officers and failing to protect Chicago residents, specifically in the 16th district of the city otherwise known as the Jefferson Park district.
&#8220;Today we&#8217;re talking about the northwest side of Chicago, and this was brought to my attention by several of my officers who have texted me, &#8216;OK&#8217; and said that they were scared,&#8221; Thornton said via a Facebook live. &#8220;They&#8217;re tired of this nonsense. They have no backing and they&#8217;re scared of being out there by themselves, working in the 16th District. We&#8217;re talking about the 16th District.&#8221;
CWBChicago <a href="https://cwbchicago.com/2021/12/cpd-dispatcher-fumes-over-lack-of-police-resources-cpd-is-short-manpower-and-you-are-being-lied-to-by-the-mayor.html">reported</a> that, &#8220;The Jefferson Park district was staffed by 268 officers when Brown became superintendent in April 2020. There are 229 assigned to the district this month, according to the Chicago Office of Inspector General.&#8221;
&#8220;And I&#8217;m going to tell you right now, 16th District is so shorthanded with officers that when you call 9-1-1, you&#8217;re not getting a quick response like many other parts of the city,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Officers are not coming to you. And why? Because they can&#8217;t be assigned cars to go to you because we have very few officers within these neighborhoods. And it&#8217;s nonsense.&#8221;
&#8220;And I&#8217;m not talking about a dog running or barking or a car alarm going off or, &#8216;Hey, this guy&#8217;s parked in my handicapped spot,'&#8221; he continued.
&#8220;I&#8217;m talking about females being beaten. Shootings — a shooting came up a few days ago and we couldn&#8217;t even get a unit over there. A unit could not even get to that scene until 10 plus minutes later because there was no one,&#8221; he claimed.
Thornton&#8217;s video came the same day that the Chicago Tribune <a href="https://archive.is/mG5Bi#selection-861.299-871.248">reported</a> an increase in violence in areas of the city that are not known for being dangerous areas:
<blockquote>Carjackings continued to increase around the city. Children, seniors and even transit workers found themselves victims in areas that are not known for violence.</blockquote>
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<blockquote>A review of the two years that coincide with the COVID-19 pandemic reveals a dramatic uptick in both homicides and shootings across the city, with a more-than-60% increase in both categories that increased pressure on policymakers to find answers.</blockquote>
As for why Lightfoot is allowing crime to happen, Thornton claimed that Lightfoot simply did not care about areas like the 16th district and also only cared about herself.
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&#8220;I&#8217;m hot about it because this mayor does not care about Chicago police officers, period. She doesn&#8217;t care about any first responders. She does not care about the d*** city. It doesn&#8217;t matter if you&#8217;re white, black, Asian, Hispanic, other, straight, gay, Democrat, or Republican. She don&#8217;t even care about her city workers. All that lady cares about is her f***ing self.&#8221;
&#8220;And I pray you&#8217;re watching this because you&#8217;re a disgrace and I&#8217;m tired of it,&#8221; he said toward Lightfoot. &#8220;And your city is tired of it. Matter of fact, it&#8217;s not your city. The city of Chicago is tired of it.&#8221;
&#8220;And I know you don&#8217;t like me, and that&#8217;s OK, because I love you,&#8221; he said pointedly, &#8220;but I&#8217;m tired of you because you&#8217;re an absolute disgrace to everyone within the city.&#8221;
&#8220;This city is burning. And either I can let it burn,&#8221; Thornton said at one point.&#8221; Either you guys can let it burn or we can stand up, do something about it, and get burned for it.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;ve got to come together,&#8221; Thornton concluded, offering to speak with anybody who would help solve the problem of violence, including Lightfoot. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got to come together for our area because this is bull s***. Good night.&#8221;
The full video can be seen here:
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Chicago Police Dispatcher Slams Lori Lightfoot Over Rising Crime: ‘You’re A Disgrace And I’m Tired Of It’

As police officers and labor unions across the nation continue to fight vaccine mandates, many law enforcement officials are preparing to lose their jobs.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/police-officers-across-nation-fight-vaccine-mandates">The Daily Wire reported</a> Wednesday:
<blockquote>City employees in Chicago were required to report their vaccination status to the city on Friday, but more than 3,200 Chicago police officers were refusing to do so as of Monday, according to the police union. Chicago police officials warned last week that officers who refuse to comply with the vaccine mandate may face being disciplined or fired.</blockquote>
In response to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s mandate, Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorBraun/status/1450588518888136704">stated</a> earlier this week that Chicago police officers who are at odds with the city’s order are welcome to serve Indiana. He followed up with a tweet Thursday, sharing an article from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/indiana-invites-chicago-cops-to-move-to-state-were-hiring">The Daily Wire</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorBraun/status/1451261736644927492">stating</a>, “My office has already heard from many Chicago police interested in serving Hoosiers.<a href="https://twitter.com/charlibond_"> @charlibond_</a><a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire"> @realDailyWire</a>”.
With thousands of Chicago police officers refusing to comply with Lightfoot’s mandate, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy shared similar sentiments as Sen. Braun in response to a headline from <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-vaccine-mandate-memo-fraternal-order-of-police-chicago-20211018-wmzako7jyzbuvdhn3bqdekguwu-story.html">Chicago Tribune</a>. The article reported on the city’s no-pay order for officers who are unwilling to disclose their vaccination status.
Gov. Dunleavy shared the article Wednesday and<a href="https://twitter.com/GovDunleavy"> tweeted</a>, “Across the country, members of law enforcement are being targeted &amp; even fired for refusing to either get vaccinated or disclose if they have been. Alaska&#8217;s law enforcement community invites you to consider the 49th state where we back the blue.”  
Gov. Dunleavy has stated he will not impose vaccine mandates for state employees, which could generate interest from troopers who are unwilling to comply with regulations in other states. According to <a href="https://www.adn.com/politics/2021/10/21/law-enforcement-officers-fired-under-lower-48-covid-19-vaccination-rules-are-welcomed-to-alaska/">Anchorage Daily News</a>:
<blockquote>Austin McDaniel, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Public Safety, said the agency has seen an increase in ‘lateral trooper applications’ this year. Those are police officers in other departments who are interested in becoming troopers. He said it isn’t clear whether that’s because of vaccination mandates, but new statistics could be available by early December. He also confirmed that the department isn’t specifically targeting fired officers for recruitment but is willing to take their applications.</blockquote>
While Alaska and Indiana offer refuge to discharged cops from cities like Chicago — where reported incidents of violent crime are 149% <a href="https://www.areavibes.com/chicago-il/crime/">higher</a> than the national average — many officers may choose to leave the force entirely.
Media outlets are scoffing at the dilemma police officers are facing, with some <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-police-e2-80-99s-farcical-war-on-vaccine-mandates/ar-AAPQ3DW">calling</a> it “farcical”, but many law enforcement agents who have dedicated their lives to serving and protecting their cities have to make a painful decision to either get the jab or hang up their badges.
Former Police Sergeant David Gutierrez made that decision in September. He served nearly 30 years in the San Jose police department, but he resigned due to the vaccine requirement for all city employees. In an interview with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI9kOw4K6is">Fox News,</a> he stated, &#8220;I just want to thank God for giving me the strength to step out of my comfort zone.&#8221; He said the choice was “emotional” and “very difficult, especially after serving for that many years and putting on the uniform so many times.&#8221;

Chicago police shooting leaves at least 3 officers and suspect injured, authorities say

Alaska Now Welcomes Police Officers Who Defy Vaccine Mandates: ‘We Back The Blue’

COVID

Police

Vaccine Mandate

Two more Illinois sheriff&#8217;s departments have refused to provide assistance to the city of Chicago, as the city faces the potential of a police shortage due to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s vaccine mandate. 
James Mendrick, the sheriff of DuPage County, Illinois, as well as Kendall County Sheriff Dwight Baird, have both rejected the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System’s request for suburban police departments to help the city of Chicago respond to emergencies. 
&#8220;It&#8217;s like a preplanned police shortage,&#8221; DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, whose department is already dealing with a 12-man shortage, told the <a href="https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20211019/kane-dupage-sheriffs-chicago-police-shortage-due-to-vaccine-mandate-isnt-an-emergency-for-us">Daily Herald</a>. &#8220;The lack of logic is the thing that astounds me.&#8221; 
Mendrick said that the usual calls for assistance involve SWAT teams, but they could also include patrols, K-9 units, drones, or other assistance. He illustrated his point with an anecdote about the Chicago Bears football team being suspended, and another team playing in their place. 
“The players wouldn&#8217;t know the coaches or the playbook,” he said, so in the case of an emergency &#8220;put [Chicago police] back in the game.&#8221; 
Baird also refused to send his deputies to aid Chicago, citing concerns about the treatment his officers would receive from Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx if an incident should occur, according to the <a href="https://policetribune.com/illinois-sheriffs-say-they-wont-send-deputies-to-help-fill-gap-created-by-chicagos-vaccine-mandate/">Police Tribune</a>.  
“It sounds like Mayor Lightfoot is creating her own emergency with the decisions she’s making with her police force and I don’t feel that ILEAS assistance in this situation would be warranted,” said Baird. “I would help an officer out if they were distressed. But she’s bringing this upon herself.”
Their refusal comes on the heels of Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain refusing to honor the ILEAS’s request. As previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/suburban-chicago-police-asked-to-chicago-in-case-of-police-walkout-over-vaccine-mandate">reported</a> by The Daily Wire, Hain refused to send his deputies to the city because of the city’s progressive political agenda, as well as the vaccine mandate, which neither Hain nor Mendrick has imposed on their deputies.
 “I believe the polarization between the community and police is only reinforced by current Chicago politics,” said Hain in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kanesheriff/posts/244075987766709">statement</a>. “I will not send my personnel to Chicago unless an officer is under direct duress because I cannot support this slanted agenda.” 
“I also will not allow my deputies to be subjected to use force in the city and be under the prosecutorial jurisdiction of the Cook County State’s Attorney. The Chicago Police Department has a dedicated force of professional humans who deserve all of the support the nation can offer. The solution is simple; allow Chicago Police to be the police, support their human resources, and operate treatment and vocational support programs led by people in uniform. This is how Chicago can halt crime and build bridges with the community like we’ve done here in Kane.”  
The city of Chicago is bracing itself for a police shortage amid a showdown between the city’s police union and Mayor Lightfoot over the mayor’s vaccine mandate. 
As The Daily Wire previously reported, the mandate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-police-union-president-tells-officers-to-resist-city-vaccine-mandate-requirements-hold-the-line">ordered</a> all city employees to declare their vaccination status by Oct. 15, or face unpaid leave, and recently only 64 <a href="https://wgntv.com/news/coronavirus/city-data-64-of-chicago-police-employees-reported-vaccination-status/">percent</a> of police department employees had actually turned in their vaccination records. The head of the Chicago police union previously warned that Chicago could see as much as a 50% drawdown because of the mandate, and has told his officers to “hold the line” in opposing the mandate. The union and the city are currently involved in competing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-mayor-lightfoot-and-police-unions-sue-each-other-over-vaccine-mandate">lawsuits</a> over the vaccine rules.
Lightfoot is adamant that contingency plans are in place, but already she has stripped <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-mayor-lightfoot-and-police-unions-sue-each-other-over-vaccine-mandate">21 officers</a> of their police powers and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-police-restrict-time-off-for-cops-as-mayor-threatens-to-put-half-the-force-on-unpaid-leave-over-vaccine-mandate">restricted</a> time off requests in the wake of the shortage.

More Illinois Sheriffs Departments Refuse Request To Staff Chicago Streets During Possible Police Shortage

Indiana officials are encouraging Chicago police officers to move one state to the east in light of the city’s recent vaccine mandates.
Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) told Fox News in a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sen-braun-welcomes-chicago-police-officers-fired-vaccine-mandate-indiana-you-deserve-respect">statement</a> this week, &#8220;Our police do the hardest job in the world, and they deserve respect — not losing their pay or being fired for refusing to comply with a ridiculous vaccine mandate.”
Braun is encouraging the &#8220;3,000 Chicago cops defying this government overreach&#8221; to go to his state of Indiana.
&#8220;Indiana’s police departments are hiring now and will welcome you with the respect you deserve,&#8221; Braun told the outlet.
&#8220;My office stands ready to help connect Chicago police officers to an Indiana police department that is hiring now and doesn’t have a vaccine mandate,&#8221; Braun said. &#8220;Welcome to Indiana!”
Steve Scheckel, chief of police in Munster, Indiana, made a similar statement in an interview with Fox, saying there is a &#8220;brighter future right over the border.”
Fox News reported: 
<blockquote>
“We&#8217;ve been seeing more and more Chicago police officers when we do an emergency hire, which is basically a lateral transfer. They already have the academy&#8221; Scheckel said, adding that he is &#8220;absolutely&#8221; open to the idea of working alongside those &#8220;looking for a better quality of life for their family&#8221; who may have been ousted from their jobs.
</blockquote>
&#8220;Here in northwest Indiana, in Munster, we have one of the top-rated school systems in the state,&#8221; Scheckel said.
&#8220;[Officers] can send their kids to public school. It&#8217;s a low-crime community. Even though we&#8217;re 30 minutes from Chicago, we&#8217;re rated one of the 10 safest cities in the state of Indiana. So, it&#8217;s really just a step across the state line to a better life for the officer.”
“From the governor on down, in Indiana, we support our law enforcement,&#8221; said Scheckel. &#8220;I think there&#8217;s a clear contrast between what&#8217;s going on in the city of Chicago right now and what&#8217;s happening in the state of Indiana.”
On Tuesday, Sergeant. Glen Fifield, per an official Twitter account for an Indiana state police district reiterated the support in a <a href="https://twitter.com/ISPLowell2/status/1450657263241269251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1450657263241269251%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/were-hiring-indiana-officials-recruit-chicago-cops-fed-up-with-vaccine-mandate">tweet</a>, writing, “Hey Chicago Police Officers, we’re hiring!  No vaccine mandate. Apply today […] Lower taxes, great schools, welcoming communities.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Hey Chicago Police Officers, we’re hiring! No vaccine mandate. Apply today at <a href="https://t.co/lTkLS6Jc9V">https://t.co/lTkLS6Jc9V</a> Lower taxes, great schools, welcoming communities. <a href="https://t.co/u6ggZoxbcU">pic.twitter.com/u6ggZoxbcU</a>
&mdash; Sgt. Glen Fifield (@ISPLowell2) <a href="https://twitter.com/ISPLowell2/status/1450657263241269251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Fox News reported on additional police departments in the state that do not have a vaccine requirement, noting, that, “according to Braun&#8217;s team, [those] include Schererville Police Department and Merrillville Police Department, as well as the Lake County Sheriff&#8217;s Office.”
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-mayor-lightfoot-and-police-unions-sue-each-other-over-vaccine-mandate">reported</a> by The Daily Wire, the Democratic Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot has been in a back-and-forth battle with Chicago police and its main union over the city’s vaccine mandate. The city and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) have taken the matter to court in combatting lawsuits over the city’s vaccine mandate requirements. 
The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/police-officers-across-nation-fight-vaccine-mandates">reported</a>, “City employees in Chicago were required to report their vaccination status to the city on Friday, but more than 3,200 Chicago police officers were refusing to do so as of Monday, according to the police union. Chicago police officials warned last week that officers who refuse to comply with the vaccine mandate may face being disciplined or fired.” 
Last week, Chicago FOP President John Catanzara put out a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWPl--cAG7I&amp;t=7s">video</a> in which he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lori-lightfoot-accuses-fraternal-order-of-police-leader-of-trying-to-induce-an-insurrection-over-vaccine-mandate">said</a>, “Do not fill out the portal information. … I’ve made my status very clear as far as the vaccine, but I do not believe the city has the authority to mandate that to anybody — let alone that information about your medical history.” 
He continued, “I can guarantee you that no-pay status will not last more than 30 days. There’s no way they’re going to be able to sustain a police department workforce at 50% capacity or less for more than seven days without something budging.”  
On Monday, Lightfoot discussed the situation, saying, “What we’ve seen from the Fraternal Order Police, and particularly the leadership, is a lot of misinformation, a lot of half-truths, and frankly flat-out lies, in order to induce an insurrection.”
She added, “And we’re not having that. So we want to make it very, very clear that the law’s on our side. We feel very confident about it and what he said even after, what I heard that he said even after the lawsuit was filed and we notified them, is urging members of the department to ignore their chain of command.”

4A161BA2-FCD3-41F1-8F43-30E6989D698A_1_201_a

Indiana Invites Chicago Cops To Move To State: ‘We’re Hiring’

Indiana

On Monday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot accused members of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) of trying to “induce an insurrection” for protesting the vaccine mandate that went into effect last Friday.
“The city&#8217;s vaccine mandate will place officers who do not submit proof of vaccination by the deadline on a ‘no pay’ status. The police union is preparing a lawsuit against the city of Chicago,” <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/chicago-police-union-chief-calls-officers-ignore-vaccine-mandate">The Washington Examiner</a> reported on October 13.
Last week, Chicago FOP President John Catanzara issued a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWPl--cAG7I&amp;t=7s">video</a> in which he stated, “Do not fill out the portal information. … I’ve made my status very clear as far as the vaccine, but I do not believe the city has the authority to mandate that to anybody — let alone that information about your medical history.” He continued, “I can guarantee you that no-pay status will not last more than 30 days. There’s no way they’re going to be able to sustain a police department workforce at 50% capacity or less for more than seven days without something budging.”
A reporter asked Lightfoot on Monday, “The big question is why legal action, but can I also put it this way, there is a different tone from CPS [Chicago Public Schools], from Pedro Martinez; he was asked what&#8217;s going to happen to those who don&#8217;t have their vaccines, and he said the other day, ‘We&#8217;re going to work with them. We&#8217;re going to talk to them. We&#8217;re going to make sure, try to understand what&#8217;s going on.’ So why a different tone for CPS than the police?”
“Well, I don&#8217;t think there is a different tone for one versus the other,” Lightfoot answered. “CEO Martinez has indicated that, and again, in agreement with the union, so that is one circumstantial difference, that every adult in the system has to be vaccinated. And that agreement was reached months ago and they&#8217;ve been working very hard to execute on that agreement reached with all the collective bargaining agencies that employ folks at CPS. So it&#8217;s a very different set of circumstances and I think he believes it&#8217;s going to be very small group that remains either unvaccinated or not signing up. And so he understands though that accountability is important, as do we.”
“You asked the question of why the lawsuit,” she continued. “Because we believe that the FOP leadership is trying to foment an illegal work stoppage, a strike. Pure and simple. We&#8217;ve laid that out in the materials. And we&#8217;re not having that. The contract is clear and it&#8217;s been known for a long time, the police unions are not authorized to strike. It&#8217;s in their collective bargaining agreement. It&#8217;s a matter of state law.”
“What we&#8217;ve seen from the Fraternal Order Police, and particularly the leadership, is a lot of misinformation, a lot of half-truths, and frankly flat-out lies, in order to induce an insurrection,” she charged. “And we&#8217;re not having that. So we want to make it very, very clear that the law&#8217;s on our side. We feel very confident about it and what he said even after, what I heard that he said even after the lawsuit was filed and we notified them, is urging members of the department to ignore their chain of command.”
“And let me be very clear about this: John Catanzara has destroyed his police career,” she threatened. “Destroyed it. He&#8217;s not fit and he&#8217;s never going to go back to the department in any kind of active position. I don&#8217;t want him to lead these young officers astray and have them destroy their careers like he&#8217;s destroyed his. If you ignore a directive of your supervisor or worse, a direct order that&#8217;s lawfully given, you&#8217;re going to destroy your career. That is going to follow you forever. Over what? Going to a website. Clicking yes or no. And if no, saying that you&#8217;re going to sign up for testing? Really? That&#8217;s worth it? I don&#8217;t think it is.”
“And I don&#8217;t think people are going to follow him over that cliff,” she predicted, adding:
<blockquote>But we&#8217;re going to make sure that he and the leadership of the FOP get a very clear message: we are not allowing them to jeopardize the public safety of our city, our residents, by making it seem as if he is in charge of the Chicago Police Department and he alone can determine staffing and whether or not officers come to work. The other thing that has to be clear: Officers swear an oath to abide by the U.S. Constitution, the state constitution and the laws of this city. That is a sacred oath. That separates them from civilian employees everywhere. It&#8217;s a sacred oath and we expect them to abide by it.
We can&#8217;t expect them and residents that hold them with any degree of legitimacy if those who are sworn to uphold the law, act as if they&#8217;re above the law. We&#8217;re not going to tolerate that. That&#8217;s not acceptable and I think what we&#8217;re going to see is that a lot of officers are going to abide by the mandate and fill out their information. Very simple, straight forward, on the portal.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot accuses the Fraternal Order of Police of trying to &quot;induce an insurrection&quot; in opposition to mandates. <a href="https://t.co/TJuxgIsdlq">pic.twitter.com/TJuxgIsdlq</a>
&mdash; Forbes (@Forbes) <a href="https://twitter.com/Forbes/status/1450172020268965896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Local Politicians Kick Off Pride Month In Chicago

Lori Lightfoot Accuses Fraternal Order Of Police Leader Of Trying To ‘Induce An Insurrection’ Over Vaccine Mandate

Illinois State Police and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency have instructed a number of police departments in the suburbs of Chicago to contribute officers in case of a shortage of police officers, according to a report from Chicago’s WGN9 TV.
According to the <a href="https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/if-needed-suburban-police-asked-to-volunteer-to-help-chicago/">report</a>, an Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS) coordinator sent emails to a number of suburban police departments asking them to volunteer the services of their specialist units, and what their response times would be. 
From Chicago&#8217;s WGN:
<blockquote>WGN Investigates has learned a coordinator from the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS) sent an email to a dozen police officials from Kankakee to Barrington asking them to ask members of their specialized units whether they would be willing to respond to critical situations in Chicago – and how quickly they could get there.
“To be clear, if members of the ILEAS Special Teams programs are requested, it would be for emergency situations, NOT for routine police assistance and the answering of calls for service within the city limits.  Illinois State Police and Cook County Sheriff’s Office would be tasked with the patrol needs,” the email read…
The Cook County Sheriff’s department already works with Chicago police in some targeted high crime neighborhoods. 
However, Cook County only has 300 sworn officers so their presence wouldn’t come close to filling the void that could be created if Mayor Lightfoot follows through on her threat to suspend the thousands of Chicago officers who had still not reported their vaccination status as of Monday afternoon.  </blockquote>
One department has already refused. 
Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain told WGN he would not send his deputies to the city because of the political agendas of Mayor Lightfoot and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. 
“I will not send my personnel to Chicago unless an officer is under direct duress because I cannot support this slanted agenda,” he said. “I also will not allow my deputies to be subjected to use of force in the City and be under the prosecutorial jurisdiction of the Cook County State’s Attorney.”
The city of Chicago is in danger of a significant police shortage as the city’s police union clashes with Mayor Lightfoot over the city’s vaccine mandate. 
All city workers were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-police-union-president-tells-officers-to-resist-city-vaccine-mandate-requirements-hold-the-line">ordered</a> to submit their vaccination status by Oct. 15, and unvaccinated workers were ordered to submit to twice-weekly COVID testing, on their own time and at their own expense, until December 31, when all city workers would be ordered to be fully vaccinated. Failure to submit vaccination records and failure to submit to testing would result in the individual being placed on unpaid leave. 
To date, only 64% of the Chicago Police Department, around 8200 people out of 12,700 total, have <a href="https://wgntv.com/news/coronavirus/city-data-64-of-chicago-police-employees-reported-vaccination-status/">submitted</a> their vaccination status to the city. Of those, just under 6900 reported that they were vaccinated, just over half the total number of employees, while some 1300 were not vaccinated. 
The President of the Chicago Police Union, John Catanzara, has told officers to “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-police-union-president-tells-officers-to-resist-city-vaccine-mandate-requirements-hold-the-line">hold the line</a>,” saying he believes the city has no authority to mandate medical records or vaccination. The city and its police union are currently in the process of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-mayor-lightfoot-and-police-unions-sue-each-other-over-vaccine-mandate">suing</a> each other over the vaccine mandate. 
Lightfoot was adamant that the number of non-compliant officers was low and that the city had contingency plans in place. 
“I don’t engage in a lot of hypotheticals. Obviously, we have contingency plans in place for some time,” she said. “What we’re seeing is the number of folks who are after being given the opportunities and direct order saying no is very small. I’m not seeing that there is going to be any disruption in our ability to keep our neighborhoods safe, we have to keep plugging away at this that will play itself out over the next couple days.
But to date, the mayor has already <a href="https://wgntv.com/news/19-chicago-cops-stripped-of-police-powers-for-not-complying-with-vaccine-reporting-mandate/">stripped</a> 19 officers of their police powers and has cut back on officers&#8217; ability to take <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-police-restrict-time-off-for-cops-as-mayor-threatens-to-put-half-the-force-on-unpaid-leave-over-vaccine-mandate">time off</a> in the wake of the expected shortage, which according to Catanzara, could be as much as 50% of the force.

Protests Across Chicago For and  Against Police

Suburban Chicago Police Asked To Go To Chicago In Case Of Police Walkout Over Vaccine Mandate

COVID-19 Vaccine

The Chicago Police Department announced on Saturday that officers will be restricted from taking &#8220;elective time off&#8221; until further notice.
Although no reason was given for the decision in the memo to officers, the news comes amid twin crises for the Chicago Police Department: a skyrocketing rate of violence and a showdown between officers and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot over the city&#8217;s vaccine mandate.
&#8220;A memo issued Saturday said elective time off for officers will be restricted, and will require the approval of a supervisor with a rank of deputy chief of higher within the officer’s chain of command,&#8221; CBS Chicago reported over the weekend. &#8220;A statement to be read at officer roll calls did not specify the reason for the restriction. But it comes amid a standoff between City Hall and the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police over the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.&#8221;
The city&#8217;s teachers union and Chicago city workers have also asked for a relaxation of the city&#8217;s COVID-19 vaccination requirement for all municipal employees, according to the <a href="https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2021/10/13/22725283/chicago-public-schools-relax-employee-covid-vaccine-mandate">teaching news site, ChalkBeat</a>. So far, though, the mayor&#8217;s office will agree only to postpone the vaccine deadline until the end of 2021, and those city employees who choose not to receive the vaccine before then must be tested for COVID-19 twice weekly until they get the shot.
City workers, though, were required to reveal their vaccination status to the city of Chicago by last Thursday at midnight, using an online portal. Chicago&#8217;s FOP and the city have sued each other over the mandate and the reporting requirement, and Chicago&#8217;s police union president, John Catanzara, has encouraged officers not to report their vaccination status.
&#8220;Friday morning, the city filed a complaint against the FOP and Catanzara, for supporting a &#8216;work stoppage or strike regarding the vaccine mandate.&#8217; Both state law and the FOP contract with the city prohibit officers from going on strike,&#8221; CBS Chicago noted. &#8220;Hours later, the FOP filed its own lawsuit against the city, Lightfoot, and Chicago Police Supt. David Brown, accusing them of failing to properly negotiate with the union over the vaccine mandate.&#8221;
A Chicago judge issued a temporary restraining order on Friday barring the FOP and Catanzara from making any public statements discouraging officers from complying with the city&#8217;s vaccine regulations until the court is able to hold a first hearing on the subject in late October.
Catanzara and the FOP say they have not discouraged officers from making personal decisions about the COVID-19 vaccine, but they feel the city does not have the authority to force officers to receive the vaccine, nor to turn over medical information to other city officials.
The conflict has the potential to make a major impact on crime in the city. Members of the Chicago police who fail to report their vaccination status to the city risk being put on unpaid leave &#8212; a policy that, it is estimated, could affect up to half the force, according to Catanzara.
&#8220;If we suspect the numbers are true and we get a large number of our members who stand firm on their beliefs that this is an overreach, and they&#8217;re not going to supply the information in the portal or submit to testing, then it&#8217;s safe to say the city of Chicago will have a police force at 50% or less for this weekend coming up,&#8221; Catanzara told officers in a recorded message, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/14/us/chicago-police-vaccine/index.html">per CNN</a>. &#8220;That is not because of the FOP, that is 100% because of the mayor&#8217;s unwillingness to budge from her hard line. So whatever happens because of the manpower issue, that falls at the mayor&#8217;s doorstep.&#8221;
Chicago is, as The Daily Wire has previously reported, in the midst of a crime wave. The city just recorded its deadliest September in decades, <a href="https://news.wttw.com/2021/10/01/chicago-records-deadliest-september-early-1990s-police-data-shows">according to numbers released by CPD</a>.

Chicago Police Restrict Time Off For Cops As Mayor Threatens To Put Half The Force On Unpaid Leave Over Vaccine Mandate

Cook County State&#8217;s Attorney Kim Foxx&#8217;s office refused to charge five men arrested in connection with a gang-related gunfight that left at least one person dead and two wounded, even though police requested a number of felony charges for each individual suspect because the five men were &#8220;mutual combatants.&#8221;
The five men were released, leaving Chicago officials, including mayor Lori Lightfoot, incensed.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the men &#8220;linked to a deadly gang-related shootout Friday in Austin were released from custody after prosecutors declined to charge each of them with a pair of felonies, including first-degree murder,&#8221; even though &#8220;police sought to charge all five suspects with murder and aggravated battery.&#8221;
&#8220;The brazen mid-morning gunfight, which left one shooter dead and two of the suspects wounded, stemmed from an internal dispute between two factions of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang, according to an internal police report and a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation,&#8221; the outlet noted.
All five suspects were &#8220;released without charges&#8221; on Sunday because, according to the State&#8217;s Attorney&#8217;s office, they were targeting each other.
A spokeswoman first claimed that prosecutors had “determined that the evidence was insufficient to meet our burden of proof to approve felony charges,&#8221; without specifying what evidence might be necessary to bring charges the Chicago Police Department felt were warranted. A later said noted that “[m]utual combatants was cited as the reason for the rejection,&#8221; a designation the Sun-Times noted refers to &#8220;a fight or struggle that two parties willingly engage in.&#8221;
The Cook County prosecutor released another individual from custody last week for the same reason, despite indications that they were engaging in gang violence.
One source that spoke to Chicago media said prosecutors&#8217; recent decision not to charge suspected gang members when they target each other would only lead to more violence.
“It’s just like the Wild West,” the source told the Sun-Times.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot who, like Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown, is a frequent critic of Foxx&#8217;s office, largely over Foxx&#8217;s lenient bail policies, which often let even violent offenders stay out of jail pending trial, warned that Foxx&#8217;s decision could send the city &#8220;into chaos.&#8221; Chicago is already looking at a record number of homicides and shootings in 2021, and according to <a href="https://cwbchicago.com/2021/09/45-man-beat-shot-at-his-pregnant-girlfriend-while-free-on-felony-case-prosecutors-say.html">CWB Chicago, at least 45</a> of those incidents involved individuals out on bond.
“If they do not feel like the criminal justice system is going to hold them accountable, we’re going to see a level of brazenness that will send this city into chaos,” she said of suspected gang members. “And we cannot let that happen.”
“It’s complicated, for sure, but we really urge the state’s attorney herself to get personally involved, look at the evidence,” Lightfoot told media at a press conference on a separate issue. “And I believe that there are charges that can be brought at a minimum against the individuals who initiated the gunfire. We can’t live in a world where there’s no accountability.”
Foxx fired back that she doesn&#8217;t &#8220;play politics.&#8221;
“The mayor, as a former prosecutor, knows of the ethical obligations of the prosecutor, which is to only bring forth charges where the evidence and the law support it,” Foxx told reporters.
“I don’t play politics,” she continued. “We do prosecutions. And it’s why we do our best to not engage in public conversations about cases because we recognize that as tragic and horrific as these incidents are, that if we want to see criminal justice and accountability, we do that in the courtroom.”

Multiple Shooting On Chicago’s South Side Kills One, Injures Others

‘Like The Wild West’: Chicago Prosecutor Refuses To Charge, Releases Suspects In Gang-Related Gunfight

Chicago is on pace for a record-setting number of murders, and the city&#8217;s mayor, Lori Lightfoot, has struggled to address the spike in violence, focusing, largely, on issues like illegal gun trafficking and income inequality &#8212; issues that predate the 15% rise in shootings the city has seen over 2020, a year of similarly record-breaking violence.
On Tuesday, Lightfoot announced a new approach to curbing what appears to be a burgeoning gang war: an ordinance that would &#8220;allow the city to file lawsuits and go after gang members&#8217; and leaders&#8217; assets,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-mayor-introduces-ordinance-that-would-allow-city-to-sue-gang-members/2612226/">Chicago&#8217;s NBC affiliate</a>.
&#8220;The ordinance, which the Chicago Tribune reports could allow fines as high as $10,000 for each offense and give courts the ability to seize &#8216;any property that is directly or indirectly used or intended for use in any manner to facilitate street gang-related activity,&#8217; was introduced during a City Council meeting,&#8221; the outlet noted.
The idea is to &#8220;deprive the gangs of funds&#8221; by targeting gang leaders, Lightfoot said, when questioned whether the law would unfairly target low-income people of color living in gang-infested neighborhoods on the city&#8217;s south and west sides.
“We have an opportunity to bring these violent street gangs into civil court, out of the shadows, expose them for what they are,&#8221; Lightfoot said in a press conference announcing the measure. “And if we’re successful, and I think we will be, take their assets and the profit motive for killing our babies.”
There are already questions as to whether the law will even be effective, particularly given that a similar law, the Illinois Street Gang Prevention Act, has been in use in the Chicago suburbs for years with few results.
The American Civil Liberties Union told Chicago media that it is concerned that communities of color will be targeted and deprived of resources, given that the Chicago Police Department&#8217;s gang database contains the names of &#8220;thousands of people&#8221; who were unfairly labeled as gang members.
&#8220;It is astonishing to hear the Mayor and law enforcement officials pretend that this power would be used solely in a targeted fashion against gang members,&#8221; the ACLU said in a statement. &#8220;The City had to scrap use of its flawed gang database because it included thousands people without who had no history of gang membership or criminal involvement. It is hard to see how their capacity about who to target has improved since that time.&#8221;
Lightfoot and Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown, though, are under pressure to do something about the near-record number of shootings. On Wednesday alone, <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/9/16/22677156/3-killed-13-shot-wednesday-in-chicago-including-16-year-old-boy">the Chicago Sun-Times</a> reported, 3 people were killed and 14 wounded in violent incidents across the city.
&#8220;According to newly-released crime statistics for the month of July, murders in the city were nearly the same as the number reported last year, but shootings increased by 15% and the number of people shot in the city rose by nearly 10% year-over-year,&#8221; NBC Chicago said in a separate report.
The numbers are somewhat misleading given that 2020 was a record year for violence in Chicago. Both 2020 and 2021&#8217;s numbers are &#8220;significantly higher than those recorded in 2019 when 290 people were killed in the first seven months of the year.&#8221; The current 2021 tally represents a &#8220;53.4% increase&#8221; over 2019.
As of Tuesday, gun violence was a greater threat to children in Chicago than COVID-19, according to the New York Post.
&#8220;The Windy City’s seen 261 kids shot in 2021, 41 fatally. Yet the entire state’s seen just 25 under-18s die with COVID, per the Illinois Department of Public Health,&#8221; the Post&#8217;s editorial board noted. &#8220;Nationwide, that count is 214 fatalities — and it only means they’d tested positive, not that the coronavirus was the cause of death.&#8221;
A previous version of this article stated Chicago has had a 15% rise in murders. It&#8217;s had a 15% rise in shootings.

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