Author: pvbella

“And if we are going to restore Chicago, somebody’s got to tell the truth. I said it, and when I’m elected as governor I’ll fix the problem and we will restore the greatness to Chicago.” (Darren Bailey on crime in Chicago/Chicago Tribune)

Who is this “we” Darren Bailey is talking about? If, and it is a big if, Bailey should somehow win the gubernatorial race, how will he and he alone “fix” the problem? Will he ride into town on a tractor, wearing his OshKosh B’Gosh and toting a shotgun? Is he going to storm City Hall? Will he wade in from Lake Michigan, storming the beaches wearing Speedos?

What does Darren Bailey know about Chicago? Not one damn thing. Chicago is a great city, a world-class city. Like all great cities, it has issues. Some are intractable. Chicago is not some postage stamp-sized rural village like Xenia, Illinois, where Bailey hails from.

Darren Bailey is delusional. He could not change a lightbulb, let alone “fix” Chicago’s crime problems. Maybe Bailey should read Civics for Dummies or the Idiot’s Guide to Civics. Hopefully, those are picture books so he can color the images with crayons.

The mayor of Chicago is responsible for public safety in Chicago, along with the State’s Attorney and the Cook County courts. Yes, they are failing because past elections had devastating consequences.

Bailey has no knowledge about urban issues or the socio-cultural drivers of urban crime. From all appearances, no one on his campaign team or political consultants does either. He knows nothing about urban policing or the criminal justice system. As far as I can tell, Bailey is a Know-Nothing. The Know-Nothings are rising from the sewer infecting local, state, and federal politics.

The governor of Illinois is not a dictator. They cannot arbitrarily do anything they want. There is a Democratic super majority in the state legislature. If Bailey proposes any “crime” legislation, it will be soundly defeated. Their executive powers are limited.

Bailey is the worst type of politician, a charlatan, and a fraud. All he does is spew fumes. There is no substance, just odorous flatulence. The Illinois GOP gubernatorial candidates are the worst bunch of goobers to run in the GOP primary and then against Governor Pritzker. If you are a Republican, your only choices are bad, worse, and worst, and swirling down the toilet.

Richard Irvin’s campaign is tanking, despite 50 million dollars from Ken Griffin. Bailey received 9 million dollars from entrepreneur Richard Uihlein. Uihlein also gave an independent expenditure group 8.1 million dollars to run ads to support Bailey and attack Irvin. We have the battle of the billionaires in Illinois. Pritzker, in the governor’s mansion, and two others trying to oust him.

Griffin and Uihlein burn money on losing causes. A more believable scenario is they are being scammed and conned by the GOP political consultant class in Illinois. The political consultants handsomely profit from political campaigns and the stupidity of donors. They are the best con artists in the state, and the scam is legal.

Darren Bailey is a dangerous demagogue. He is all talk and has no intelligence. As I was writing this in my local saloon yesterday, I saw a Bailey campaign ad on television. Bailey claimed he would ”Ban Abortion” in Illinois, in response to the recent SCOTUS ruling. No matter your opinion on the morality of abortion, his statement is dangerous and reckless. Bailey’s behavior is dictatorial. He is a tyrant in the making. He would disregard the legislature and use his “power” to ban things he does not agree with.

Bailey cannot ban laws the legislature passed. Abortion is legal in Illinois, like it or not. What else would he attempt to ban or initiate without the legislature? Would he ban other rights or privileges granted to us by the legislature or constitution because he does not agree with them, or they do not fit his extremely narrow religious perspective? Does he think he could be the next dear leader dictator, if, by minuscule chance, he is elected?

A vote for Darren Bailey is a vote for tyranny, idiocy, and dumbfu**ery. The evidence is clear since Donald Trump, the epitome of dumbfu**ery, endorsed him yesterday.

Cecilia Thomas, who was 5 months old, was in a car in the 7700 block of South South Shore Drive around 6:45 p.m. when another car approached and someone inside fired shots, according to Chicago police and Natalia Derevyanny, a spokeswoman for the Cook County medical examiner’s office. (Chicago Tribune)

In another example of failure is an option, 5-month-old Cecilia Thomas was murdered early last night in the South Shore neighborhood. There is not a peep from Mayor Lori Lightfoot or her failing Police Superintendent, David “Tex” Brown.

There was not a peep from any of the alderpeople. No other elected official uttered a word. There is not one scorching editorial from the blackguard news media in this city.

When is enough enough? How many children must be murdered in this city of cowardly scoundrels before elected officials do something? How many families must suffer the loss of a child, an infant? Our streets are out of control. There is no safe in Chicago. Public safety is a joke. Are you laughing yet, Chicago?

There will be no mass protests for Cecilia Thomas. There will be no citywide mourning. Not one tear will be shed, except by her family. Elections have consequences. In Chicago and Cook County, the consequences have been devastating.

I do not believe one-word Superintendent Brown says. I do not believe one word Mayor Lori Lightfoot utters. They proved their cowardice when they let Toni Preckwinkle and Kim Foxx shut them up and shut down all criticism of the State’s Attorney and court system.

Chicago is a city of cowardly scoundrels. Our politicians and their allies in the news media are rogues and scallywags. The citizens in this city are not much better. They are silent too. There will be no mass mourning for this 5-month-old child. There will be no hue and cry for change. Cecilia Thomas will be fish wrap and bird cage liner by the end of today. Her name will be forgotten like the names of all the other innocent children murdered over the past two years.

No one speaks for the children in Chicago and Cook County. There is a good reason for that. Children do not vote or contribute to political treasure chests. Children are useless to politicians and the handmaiden news media.

The Chicago Way is described as the corrupt political system in Chicago. The Chicago Way is also the high toleration of violence. The Chicago Way is a road paved with bodies, dead bodies.

How many more innocent people, especially children, must be killed before the citizens give a damn and demand change?

Summer officially arrived. City Hall is celebrating all the outdoor festivals, concerts, and other attractions. The mayor is promoting Chicago being fully open after COVID. All this joyful celebration is a smoke screen and a curtain. It hides the ugly truth. There is nothing to celebrate in Chicago. There is nothing to be joyful about. How can people celebrate when innocent children are being murdered?

Her name is Cecilia Thomas. She was five months old. She was murdered. No one in Chicago gives a damn.

Chicago is where I was born. This is where I live. I will die here. I worked for the city for almost thirty years. Like many, I love and hate my city. I am proud to call Chicago home and have every right to harshly criticize it.

Citadel CEO and financier, Ken Griffin, was born in Florida and relocated to Chicago to form and run his business enterprises. For over a year, Griffin has been complaining about issues in Chicago, including crime. It is apparent he does not know how things work.

Griffin kept blaming Governor J.B. Pritzker for not doing enough to keep Chicago safe. Unfortunately, Griffin was blaming the wrong elected official. The governor is not responsible for public safety in Chicago. The mayor is. Griffin should have been aiming his ire at Mayor Lori Lightfoot. He should have also aimed his anger at Cook County Board President, Toni Preckwinkle and State’s Attorney, Kim Foxx, for their failing criminal justice “reforms.”

Griffin threatened that if public safety did not improve, he would leave Chicago and take his business with him. He is making good on his threat. Griffin announced he is moving his headquarters and family to Florida. Griffin is originally from Florida, so he is going back to his real home. Griffin’s threat was hollow. His moving his headquarters out of Chicago will be a barely negative blip.

Ken Griffin wasted $45-$50 million dollars on GOP candidate Richard Irvin’s sinking primary campaign for governor. He should have held his powder and used his money to back challengers to Mayor Lightfoot and Cook County Board President, Toni Preckwinkle. And next year, Kim Foxx. They are responsible for driving criminality in Chicago.

Ken Griffin has used his billions to fund various non-profit cultural and educational institutions, as well as other charities. He should be lauded for that. But, if he wants to leave Chicago, it will be no great loss. Once he is finally gone, he will be a who. Ken Griffin who?

Griffin will be forgotten soon. His move will not harm businesses here and it will not impact local jobs. It is not like he is moving a major manufacturing plant and tossing workers to the street. He is keeping the Chicago office open. Florida can have his headquarters and Griffin. He proves you can go home again. Buh Bye. Don’t let the door hit you in the a$$ on the way out, Mr. Griffin.

Florida will welcome their prodigal son home, especially Governor Ron DeSantis, who received $5 million dollars in donations from Griffin. Griffin is moving to a state where he bought and owns the governor. If DeSantis runs for president, he will benefit from Griffin’s largesse.

Chicago will not be worse for Ken Griffin’s departure. We will plod on and do what we have always done throughout history. Face adversities and conquer them. Some take longer to conquer, but in the end, Chicago succeeds. We overcome challenges. Our stubborn civic pride pushes us forward.

The only people who will miss Griffin are the politicians, present and future, who rely on his money machine. The rest of us will slog on with our lives in our city with grudging pride.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot says Chicago cops have ‘incredible amount’ of time off, disputes criticism they’re overworked (Chicago Tribune)

Mayor Lori Lightfoot did it again. She suffers from a terminal case of foot-in-mouth disease*. Her dishonesty knows no bounds. It is true that police officers have a lot of time off “available” to them. However, if days off are canceled, so are all other types of time off. If officers cannot use their time, they do not have an ‘incredible amount of time off.”

The mayor put her foot in her mouth again after facing criticism that police officers are overworked. Aldermen at a recent City Council meeting spoke about the hardships police officers and their families are facing due to time off being canceled.

Lightfoot is still shilling for her incompetent Superintendent of Police, David Brown, and the equally incompetent First Deputy Superintendent, Eric Carter. Brown should have been fired long ago and they should demote Carter.

I talk to police officers. They are tired, dispirited, and angry. They know the mayor and superintendent do not care about their health, mental health, and welfare, or the welfare of their families. Canceling days off and forcing officers to work overtime is a recipe for disaster. It is dangerous. It poses dangers to the public and to the officers.

I don’t tweet much, but the audacity of this mayor to outright lie is unbelievable! My husband hasn’t had a day off in 11 days because he continues to be canceled, same for our neighbors, same across the board!! A few hours?!? My husband worked 10 hours on his day off yesterday. https://t.co/NojGRc5XmZ

— Lisa Carroll (@CarrollLR) June 22, 2022

It appears Alderperson Silvana Tabares has a solution, extreme as it may appear. Suspend Special Event Permits that require police manpower until the department comes up with a plan that does not require canceling days off or the applicants provide their own security.

It may be unpopular and it is extreme, but, someone has to force a change. What better way than to cancel events or forbid events going forward. This city is out of control because the leadership in City Hall and the Police Department are out of control. It appears no one knows what they are doing.

There ought to b a mighty public chorus to fire Brown and demote Carter and replace them with competent people. It is obvious Brown is way out of his league and Carter was promoted beyond his mere capabilities. It is past time for change. So extreme measures should be taken to force that change.

*Lightfoot should not be allowed into City Hall until she quarantines for ten days and can show proof of vaccination for foot-in-mouth disease.

Due to technology, customer service is appalling. It is almost nonexistent, quickly becoming an oxymoron.

I got rid of my car over ten years ago. When I need a car, I use Zipcar. I had plans for Father’s Day. I reserved a car days ahead for Sunday. I went to pick up the car at a parking garage across from Wrigley Field. There was no car. I waited a few minutes, thinking whoever had it was stuck in traffic. No car.

I called customer service. I was on hold for over one-half hour. Worse, they told me the previous driver could not get in the garage, so they directed them to another parking garage, about a mile away. I inquired how I was supposed to get there. My choice was to go pick up the car or cancel. Then I got the usual meaningless scripted apologies and a free hour added to my trip.

I hailed a cab. Due to the pending game, the taxi had to go north, then further east than the garage because of the Pride Festival. Time was not on my side. I had to pick up my daughter, and we had plans.

It only got worse. When I arrived at the other parking garage, it was locked. You needed a card or a parking ticket stub to scan. I tried calling customer service again and was put on hold. Several minutes later, a group of people arrived to retrieve their car and let me in. Now, I had to spend more time searching for my rental.

I found it. To add to my frustration and misery, I could not leave the garage without paying. After several minutes I found the parking stub the previous driver ever so courteously left behind. It cost me $38.00. The cab ride was $12.00. I am out fifty bucks due to a schmuck who could not figure out how to navigate Wrigleyville on a game day and lousy customer service. Plus, I was an hour late picking up my daughter.

We spent the rest of the afternoon together. When I had a chance in the evening, I called customer service again. After another half hour on hold, I expressed my grievance. Once again, I got the meaningless scripted apology and a $50.00 credit off my next rental. I told the person there might never be the next rental as I may unsubscribe from their service.

The next day I spent some time searching the company website to file a written grievance. They do not make it easy. After about 45 minutes, I found the link. I wrote out in detail what occurred and my dissatisfaction.

Yesterday I received not one but two surveys about my rental. They were all negative. I still have not received a reply to my written grievance.

I was not going to write about this, but after no response, I figure Zipcar deserves my public derision. If I do not hear from them by tomorrow, I will file a complaint with the city. If they can frustrate me and almost ruin Father’s Day, I can cause them some grief. They will have to spend time, which is money, to reply to the city promptly.

This is not the first time I had issues with tech companies’ customer service. It was the worst.

“Preckwinkle chuckled recently when asked whether she stood by her words — which she stressed were not an endorsement for defunding police… Of course I believe what I said, Preckwinkle, who’s been county board president since 2010, said in an interview with the Tribune… She then sought to make the case that America’s latest explosion of gun violence was mostly triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic… “It isn’t just us; it’s all across the country,” Preckwinkle said. “It’s just a really, really difficult moment, not just here in this country, but across the world. And I’m just hopeful that we’ll gradually work our way out of this.” (Chicago Tribune/Emphasis mine)

Politicians, like gangsters, should have nicknames. Chicago Machine Boss Toni Preckwinkle could be called Toni Chuckles. Chuckling while believing failure is success must be a laughing matter. People are being murdered and terrorized due to her policies. Preckwinkle chuckles.

What is funnier/chuckle/worthy? Preckwinkle is blaming the increasing yearly violence in Chicago on COVID. Should the Cook County Medical Examiner change the cause of death for all the murders from gunshots to COVID related? Should all the wounded people be changed to COVID-related injuries? Should all the robberies, carjackings, smash and grabs, and other violent crimes be classified as COViD-related?

I checked the FBI’s Unified Crime Report* classifications. I could not find a COVID violence classification.

There is little evidence that the spate of rampant violence over the past almost three years is caused by COVID-19. Politicians are like our supposed “educated” journalists. They cannot conceive humans are evil, so they make stuff up to create blame on things, like “gun violence.” The lazy copy and paste journalists, taking their clue from their PR client, Toni Chuckles, will now refer to criminality as COVID violence when people are killed, wounded, robbed, carjacked, or victims of other violent crimes. For gunfights, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx will classify them as mutual COVID related instead of mutual combat. No felonies to see here, folks, just disease.

All we will hear about is COVID violence this, COVID violence that, COVID violence here, there, and everywhere. There will be mass COVID shootings and COVID smash and grabs. COVID carjackings. COVID robberies. COVID rolling shootouts.

The Chicago news media got their signal and will follow their orders. Their faux editorial boards will demand Cook County create a COVID court to divert violent COVID criminals to COVID restorative justice with peace circles instead of prosecuting them.

There is plenty of evidence that one of the drivers of violence is directly related to not holding criminals accountable for their actions. Evidence shows that low or no bail for violent crimes drives the violence. Evidence shows that the violence, terrorizing, and looting are directly related to Toni Chuckles, Kim Foxx, and Chief Judge Tim Evans. The road to violent crime, murder, bloodshed, and terrorizing leads right to their office doorsteps.

Toni Preckwinkle does not believe in her unproven criminal justice reform theories. She knows little to nothing about criminal justice or the criminal justice system. She implemented those policies to save money and keep the county budget in line.

Preckwinkle lost her bid for the punishing soda tax. She had to balance her budget without raising other taxes. She put on her sensible reformer shoes, clicked her heels, and stripped the criminal justice system of funding. She became a hero to the fringe activist community and unleashed rampant violence on the City of Chicago and some suburbs.

Incarcerating people awaiting bail or on no bail costs vast amounts of money. The answer is to clear out the County Jail and keep it as little populated as possible.

Prosecuting felons costs money. The answer is, to prosecute as few felons as possible. Trials cost money. The answer, try as few cases as possible. Toni Preckwinkle is a driver of the murder and violence in Chicago. She chuckles and denies it. The obedient news media believes her.

Are you chuckling yet, Chicago? Toni Chuckles cut her budget with blood money. Yet, she chuckles over criticism of her failures, deeming them successful.

Preckwinkle ran as a reformer against the Democratic Machine. Then she became Da Boss of the Machine. In Chicago/Cook County politics, the only things that change are the names. The Machine lives on, and there will always be a Boss. Tony Chuckles lied then, and she is lying now. She chuckles over her lies. The joke is on you, the public.

The real problem is the voters in Chicago and parts of Cook County who believe Preckwinkle’s lies. They believe she is a reformer, a goo-goo, good government type. They believe the PR weasels in the news media who endorse her and sing her praises. They hype her failures as successes.

The naïve voters elected her twice as Cook County Board President and Boss of the Machine. They will probably do it again. Toni Chuckles has a lot to be smugly happy about. She knows the voters are gullible, naive, and stupid. They will recycle her into office.

Toni Chuckles will laugh all the way to another disastrous term.

*The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program compiles official data on crime in the United States, published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Law enforcement agencies across the nation submit data to the UCR. Though designed to analyze crime trends, the data have become one of the country’s leading social indicators.

“This is not about Lori Lightfoot. Seventy percent plus people do not vote in this city. This is a larger conversation we must have and we must get people reengaged with the political process,” Green said. “That means we must give them hope that there is someone who fights on behalf of the people…

…Green said he’s disappointed in the mayor for hiring non-Chicago residents to prominent posts, which he says hurts the city’s service.

“The disappointing factor as she came into office is her hiring from outside the city, folks that don’t understand Chicago, and the disconnectedness of City Hall from these neighborhoods is alarming,” Green said.” (Ja’mal Green/Chicago Tribune)

Activist and entrepreneur Ja’mal Green announced he is running against Lori Lightfoot for mayor of Chicago. While he is a long shot, his quotes tell an unfortunate truth about Lori Lightfoot’s leadership and the apathy of Chicago voters.

I do not know if Mr. Green’s 70% plus statistic is accurate, but I know the vote totals are much lower during certain election cycles. Citizens who do not vote do not care. They do not care about their city or county. They do not care about each other. They do not care about themselves.

Green is right about not hiring people from someplace else to work in the administration. It is a colossal mistake. They know nothing about the city, neighborhoods, people, or various issues impacting communities. They are disconnected because they do not understand how things work in Chicago. A stunning example is Superintendent of Police David “Tex” Brown. Brown proved he was an abject failure from day one and continues to do so daily. He should have been fired before his first year was up for his dismal leadership and performance.

Public safety should be the number one issue in the upcoming elections. All the other so-called issues are bread and circuses to distract voters from elected leaders’ failures to keep us safe and curb criminality.

Toni Preckwinkle is running in the upcoming primary on June 28. She will be running on her failed public safety policies, so-called criminal justice, and court reforms driving the violent crime in Chicago. She has a formidable Democratic opponent, Richard Boykin. Boykin knows Preckwinkle’s unproven political and social justice theories are not working.

“I’m running for board president because gun violence, carjacking, retail thefts, all of these things have combined to terrorize communities. Our children are literally dying in the streets; families are not getting justice. My No. 1 priority is to make sure that we have safe streets throughout Cook County,” he said. (Richard Boykin/CBS 2)

The Chicago mayoral election is in February 2023. Lori Lightfoot is running on her failed public safety policies, especially her failure to fire an incompetent police superintendent.

Besides Green, others are running against her. More will probably pile on to dilute the vote and force a run-off. Lightfoot is no longer popular. She leaves town to raise campaign funds, as the local big money spigot appears to be trickling.

Lightfoot managed to alienate people across Chicago. Many people I talk to do not have a good thing to say about her. When her name is mentioned, people respond with profanity or a pejorative.

Alderpersons are also running for election and reelection in 2023. If your alderperson has been silent about the horrific violence plaguing Chicago, get out and vote for their opponent. They have not earned reelection.

Only by voting incompetent incumbents out can we change course and hopefully have a safer city. Chicago desperately needs change. We went from the City That Works to a city of dysfunction, heading to dystopia.

We need a mayor and City Council who care about public safety. and are willing to stand up when county policies threaten public safety. We need people in police leadership who rose through the ranks, know this city’s neighborhoods, and how to curb crime. We need City Hall appointees who lived in Chicago versus mercenaries from elsewhere.

Lightfoot and Preckwinkle do not care. If they did, our streets would be safer, criminals would be held accountable, and crime would be curbed.

Early voting started this week. Get out and vote. Vote like your life and your family’s life depends on it because it does.

UPDATE: I apologize. I misspelled Mr. Griffin’s name.

Ken Griffin, Illinois’s wealthiest person, is spending $45 million to defeat Governor J.B. Pritzker and other candidates in the upcoming GOP primary election. He picked a personal feud with the governor over crime in Chicago, especially in his Gold Coast neighborhood. It is the Battle of the Billionaires.

Griffin does not know how things work. The governor is not responsible for crime in Chicago and can do little to curb crime. As many know-nothings suggest, sending in the National Guard for crime control would be irresponsible and useless.

Griffin lives in Chicago. He is right to be angry about the criminality, especially the violence. Due to his status and wealth, Griffin has a bully pulpit. He should be directing his ire at City Hall/County Building, not the governor’s mansion. City and county elected officials are solely responsible for public safety in Chicago. The mayor, alderpersons, Cook County State’s Attorney, and the Cook County criminal courts are responsible for keeping the public safe and ensuring criminals are held accountable for their crimes.

If Griffin were more intelligent, he would have funded a candidate to defeat Machine Boss, Toni Preckwinkle, in her primary run for another term as President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. It is her misguided failing criminal justice policies helping to drive crime in Chicago. Then, looking forward, he should be looking to replace Preckwinkle’s Mini-me Minion, Kim Foxx, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot when they run for reelection.

Instead, Griffin wastes millions of dollars on a candidate who cannot beat Pritzker. Richard Irvin is not ready for prime time, as he demonstrated during media appearances. None of the other GOP candidates are electable. They have no mass appeal, grasp, or real solutions to the state’s issues.

In my memory, only three Republican governors defied the math, James Thompson, Jim Edgar, and Bruce Rauner. In each case, voters were fed up with either corruption or ineffectiveness.

I am a cynic, a disillusioned idealist. I have a healthy mistrust of politicians, political parties, and candidates. Every election, I hold my nose when voting, hoping for the best. I am never surprised when I am disappointed.

What happens in Chicago affects the whole state. Chicago is Illinois’s economic engine. Chicago sends more tax money to Springfield than any other city or county in Illinois. Chicago’s reputation is being tarnished by bad policy decisions, bad governance, and a county government that cares more about criminals and the welfare of their families over the welfare of victims or their families.

The Chicago Police Department is overworked, understaffed, and demoralized. They are being led by a Police Superintendent, David Brown, who is so far out of his league that he is not even in the ballpark. He was a mistake from the beginning. He should have been fired after his first disastrous year.

Ken Griffin may be a financial whiz. He should stick to his knitting or hire a politico who knows what they are doing. Griffith would save himself from wasting his money.