Author: pvbella

A legend in his own mind

Published by pvbella on October 15, 2021

I was a Chicago Police Officer for almost thirty years. The Chicago Police Department signed its first union contract in the early 1980s. I knew nearly every Fraternal Order of Police President, from John Dineen to Dean Angelo Sr. Each was a well-spoken polished gentleman.

The immediate past union president was a well-spoken bully in a cheap suit. The current president, John Catanzara, is an ignorant guttural base snipe. Both despise Mayor Lori Lightfoot and let it be known publicly every chance they could.

I do not understand Catanzara’s anti-vaccine stance. He is directing Chicago Police officers not to report their vaccine status to the city today, Today is the deadline for the city’s mandate that all employees be vaccinated and prove it. He is going to war over a public health crisis. Catanzara is not only misleading the members of his union, he is lying to them.

The courts have upheld vaccine mandates for over a century. There is no HIPPA violation in the city mandating officers prove their vaccination status in order to work. Governments on all levels have a great deal of latitude to impose mandates during public crises, including public health crises. COVID-19 is still considered a public health crisis. The city has a responsibility to keep its employees and the citizens safe. So do the unions.

Over 500 police officers nationwide died of COVID-19. Chicago Police officers died of the disease. Dean Angelo Sr. recently died of the disease. Flu season started and COVID-19 cases could start rising dramatically again.

During a public health crisis, mandates are not bargainable working conditions. Instead of making the health and welfare of his members his highest priority, Catanzara would instead pick another fight with Mayor Lightfoot, putting his members in jeopardy.

Catanzara’s only priority is to battle Lightfoot tooth and nail over inconsequential issues like his immediate predecessor. His distaste for the mayor is palpable. His no holds barred style is embarrassing. He is more of a street thug than a polished leader. He is now going to waste the union’s money in a legal fight he may welll lose.

For over a century, courts, including the SCOTUS, upheld vaccination mandates. There is no law against people providing proof of vaccination. It does not violate HIPPA. The city is not violating rights or limiting freedoms.

The city has the ultimate responsibility to ensure public health. It has a responsibility to protect employees and the citizens. Police officers have a responsibility to protect each other and the citizens, not to infect them.

How can citizens trust the police to protect them if they will not protect themselves or the public from a disease that killed so many and left others catastrophically damaged? If citizens cannot trust the police on a simple thing like this, how can they trust them at all?

What do we have to do? Call 911, and demand they only send officers who will provide proof of vaccination? This is what it may come to. The citizens of this city should be outraged at Catanzara. But there is no outrage in Chicago. Look at the citizens meekly tolerating the daily murder and mayhem on our streets.

John Catanzara does not care about the health and welfare of his members. He does not care about their rights, freedoms, or lack thereof. Catanzara does not care about the union contract.

John Catanzara only cares about one thing, and one thing only, battling Mayor Lightfoot while pretending to be a tough guy. That is what cowardly bullies do.

John Catanzara is a legend in his own mind.

Grouse hunting

Published by pvbella on October 14, 2021

This is the time of year I daydream about the northern woods of Minnesota and Ruffed Grouse. Bonasa umbellus, Ruffed Grouse, is native to many northern woodlands. They spend most of their time foraging on the ground for food. Legally, you must shoot grouse on the wing, that is they must flush, and you try to shoot them in the air. They are a challenge. You hear them flush before you see them. They flush fast and veer right or left. Most of the time, you are sky blasting or shooting tree branches. Shooting at them is like shooting trap or skeet with brains.

The second week of October was a two-week excursion to hunt the elusive ruffed grouse for about four years. I would drive to Minneapolis to meet my late friend John, and we would go further north to Moose Lake Lodge, 14 miles from Black Duck, a small town.

We had to bring our provisions, food, beer, booze, book bags, and cigars. John brought the dogs, Springer Spaniels. We rented a bungalow, one of four on the shore of Moose Lake. National forests surround the area.

The usual routine was getting up before dawn, checking the weather, and going for a long walk in the woods, together or alone with one or both dogs. Return to the cabin around noon, eat lunch, maybe nap, or read, then go back out until the sun starts to set. You did not want to be in the woods after dark. Up there, dark is darker than dark. Getting disoriented is easy, and the chances of hitting a deer on those unlit roads can be a danger..

Many years we were skunked, two weeks and few or no grouse. Feet hunt grouse. You must walk, sometimes miles, to even see or flush one. They are cagey and skittish. Many times, you hear them flush before you see them.

Sometimes, we would hunt the areas around the cabin. Others, we drove miles to different parts of the forests in search of those birds. Shooting grouse is an achievement. You are grateful. They are beautiful birds and taste good.

The walks in the woods were therapeutic. There is no hustle or bustle of city life: no traffic noise or other urban sounds. The sounds were only the wind in the trees, leaves rustling, and the sounds animals make going through the woods. The woods were pines, birch, maple trees, and aspen groves. Most of the grouse habitat is in the aspen groves, as they eat the buds.

Geese and ducks were plentiful, though we never hunted them. It was too easy. Grouse are a challenge.

John was scientific about the hunt. He would check the weather and barometric pressure. Grouse are affected by both. On the off days or when there was a possibility of rain, I would take road trips to nearby towns. I would visit the local merchants or eat lunch at the one restaurant in the town, usually what we call a diner.

The local people were welcoming and willing to talk to a visitor. Their concerns are foreign to urban dwellers. They do not talk about crime, noise, pollution, race, or any of the myriad things we are absorbed in. They ask but drift off to discuss the weather, crop and livestock prices, hunting, fishing, logging, and doses of gossip.

The politics are odd. Their ideologies are a mix of conservative, liberal, socialist, with doses of left or right extremism. Their politics are based on what directly affects their lives, strictly local or regional.

Once or twice during our stay, we would drive forty miles to Bemidji or Walker to restock our groceries, liquor, or other items we could not get in Black Duck. Sometimes, we would eat an early dinner. I would drive alone occasionally, park, and walk through the towns. I would imagine living there.

Eventually, after four years, life interfered, as it has a nasty habit of doing. I could no longer make the trek north and stay for two weeks. I used to say maybe next year, but next year came and went every time.

I miss those days. When I crossed the border into the Chicago area, I became frustrated. Living in an urban area, compared to the Northwoods, is night and day. I could never live up there permanently. Everything is too far away. You need good coping skills. I do miss those trips. The stress of urban living disappeared. There was beauty in the natural world. The people practiced what they call Minnesota Nice.

One fall season, before I turn into worm food, I will return. Not to hunt but to roam the woods, smell the pines, see the various woodland creatures, and witness the wonders of nature. At night, I would gaze at the stars and galaxies you never see in the city. I would lift a glass to my friend and the past memories.

Searching for the past

Published by pvbella on October 13, 2021

About two years ago, I submitted a DNA sample for genealogic analysis. The results came back as I expected, over 80% Southern Italian, 4% Greek, and the rest from other parts of the region. I did not know their sampling only went back to the 1600s.

Recently, I started doing genealogical research and assembling my family tree. I subscribed to a site that uses data from the Church of Latter-Day Saints, the largest and best repository of worldwide genealogy and records.

I submitted the DNA analysis from the other company to their site. Their genealogy sampling goes back 10,000 years, so the percentages were different.

The results:

Greek/Southern Italian- 77.6%
Sardinian- 10.1%
North African- 6.7%
Mideast- 4.8%
Nigerian- 0.8%

The surprise was having more Greek DNA than Southern Italian. But going back 10,000 years makes sense, as Sicily was part of the Greek Empire.

The rest was not. Historically, the Mediterranean region was an area of trade, conquering, and repopulation. The Phoenicians- Modern-day Lebanon and parts of Israel and Syria- conducted trade with and populated Sicily.

North African areas did the same as the Phoenicians or conquered parts of the island. Egypt was the highest percentage, though it was less than 1%.

Nigeria was the surprise. Who knows, I may be related to one of those billionaire Nigerian royals who keep sending me emails to help them move their money. I could email them back, “Hello, brother.”

Through record searches, I found my maternal grandfather had a brother we did not know existed. My paternal grandfather was denied citizenship in 1925 by the Labor Department* for “ignorance, refusing to learn,” whatever that meant. I find new information or records about my parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins every day. I found the names of my paternal great-grandparents, along with great aunts, uncles, and third, fourth, and fifth cousins.

The records available are sometimes overwhelming- draft notices, ship manifests, passport applications, news stories, yearbook pictures, wedding announcements, etc. The written government records are occasionally hard to read, as they were handwritten using fountain pens. This explains why many names, including the maternal side of my family, were misspelled.

I limit the research time because it is too easy to go down an hours-long rabbit hole searching records, census data, news items, and even yearbooks. The research gets addictive.

I discovered some minor discrepancies from what I was told about my family. My family tree is expanding. I lost contact with most of my cousins, but their information is out there.

If you have the time and the money- the genealogy sites charge subscription fees- you should search your past. If you submit DNA, make sure the companies go back thousands of years for more accuracy.

We concentrate too much on the real, perceived, or false sins of history in this era of victimhood and grievance. You should research your own. You learn where your people came from, where they settled, who they were, and who you are.

*The Department of Labor handled immigration and naturalization until the founding of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1933.

Wait til next year

Published by pvbella on October 12, 2021

Baseball is over for Chicago this year. The early season was promising for the Cubs and the Sox. Both teams were on top. There was speculation there might even be Crosstown Classic World Series. While the Sox battled on, sometimes winning ugly, the Cubs started to slide downhill.

After the Cubs traded Baez, Rizzo, and Bryant, the team imploded and went right into the toilet. The Sox kept battling it out. Now, like the Cubs fan’s mantra, it is wait til next year.

There will be plenty of criticism to go around, blaming players, Tony LaRussa, and team management. It is futile. Like all sports, baseball is an all-hands-on-deck team sport., more so in post-season. Ownership, management, coaches, players, and other assorted members must work in harmony, synced to the nth degree.

When the Sox won the World Series in 2005, even hardcore Cubs fans begrudgingly cheered with the rest of the city. When the Cubs won the Series in 2016, the same held. Maybe the Sox needed Billy Goat Tavern’s Sam Sianis goat to breathe some magic in the team since the animal took Sam’s uncle’s curse off the Cubs.

Baseball is a business, besides a sport. Sometimes the business gets in the way of the sport, as happened with the Cubs, though there is no way of knowing if keeping the three past World Series players would have stopped their slide. Baseball is also about fatigue, minor and major injuries, and mistakes. During the post-season mistakes, even minor ones, are more critical.

I am sure the “experts” will hold seances to dissect the Sox season and give us their reasons, excuses, or horse manure for why the White Sox blew it. It will be meaningless.

The season is over for both teams. Wait until next year and hope that next season will be better.

Why we stay

Published by pvbella on October 11, 2021

The fountain at Giddings Plaza/Image: PV Bella

Chicago is a city of neighborhoods. There are 77 geographic areas in Chicago. Neighborhoods are made up of communities that may consist of one or more blocks. Each neighborhood is distinct.

My first assignment on the Chicago Police Department was the 010 District, called Marquette. The district spanned part of Lawndale, the Little Village and Heart of Chicago neighborhoods. I spent most of my street training in Lawndale. I spent almost ten years working in those neighborhoods. Even though they overlapped, each was distinct.

Lawndale was one of the most impoverished and dangerous neighborhoods in the city. In the early 80s, a national newspaper cited the ten most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. Lawndale came in at number three. Number one and two were in New York City. Number four was Watts, in Los Angeles.

Lawndale was a place where hope died. If there was nothing left to steal, thieves stole your dreams. There were some middle and working-class people living there. One night, we responded to a burglary. The victims were a middle-aged African American couple. The gentleman was a driver for Coca-Cola. His wife was a public-school teacher. Both were well-paying jobs.

My African American partner asked them why they still lived in Lawndale, as they were people of means and could live any place they wanted. They said they were born and raised in the neighborhood. They met, married, and raised their children in the house they owned. Lawndale was home.

There is a big difference between a house and a home. A house is a shelter, the roof over your head. A home is where you make a life. It is your house, block, and neighborhood. A home is your nearby relatives and friends. It is where you worship if you are a person of faith. If you are a lifelong resident, it is where you were born, went to school, played sports, recreated, got married, and buried.

There were other people like that couple who made their lives in Lawndale. They owned homes or small apartment buildings. They stayed, raised their families, and retired, despite all the problems. Lawndale was home.

No matter the conditions, from danger to crippling property taxes, we stubbornly stay because we made the neighborhood our home. Where else are we going to go?
Now that the violence is spreading out to every neighborhood in Chicago, with no end in sight, many people are afraid to walk or drive the streets, especially at night. Many are threatening to leave the city. Frequently,

My neighborhood is my home. It is where I’ve lived for over fourteen years. Everything I need or want is in this neighborhood. I have good neighbors and friends. It is where I socialize. There are two large parks and a plaza to enjoy. It is convenient, as I can get anywhere in the city quickly on public transportation. If I did move, I would stay in the neighborhood. A condo, apartment, or house is only a roof over my head. The neighborhood is home.

This concept of home is what we need to understand. People put down roots in a neighborhood. No matter how bad things get, they stay. It is home. We cannot blame them for staying, even if they are crime victims.

Chicago is going through a rough time with citywide violent crime out of control. It is anarchy. That will not move most of us from our home neighborhoods. No matter what happens, most of us stay put.

My neighbors and I made our lives where we live. We are here for the long haul. We are staying put, no matter what happens. We are a neighborhood, a community. This is our home.

The favor bank crashed

Published by pvbella on October 10, 2021

“One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. ..” (The Lord of the Rings/JRR Tolkien)

A while back, I did a favor for someone. It was something for which I would typically get paid. That person expressed their gratitude. I reminded them it was a favor. Another deposit in the favor bank.

Whether it is politics or business, Chicago relies on the favor bank. Chicago politics lives on the favor bank. You scratch my back, and I scratch yours. That is how things get done in this city of tribal political warfare. Good politicians and business people know this.

The favor bank was never about who wants to be more powerful or thinks they are in control. It is not a one-way or dead-end street. It is part of the Chicago Way. The way things get accomplished. We get by with a little help from our friends.

The favor bank does not rely on love, liking, respect, or loathing people. It is based on mutual need and trust. Just like you trust the bank with your money, favors are based on the gold standard that they will be repaid when needed. No reminder of “Remember when I…” is required or demanded.

The favor bank in Chicago crashed. The proof is the battle between Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her nemeses, State’s Attorney, Kim Foxx, and Democratic Party Chair, and Cook County Board President, Toni Preckwinkle. The war is over who rules Chicago, who is the singular power. Preckwinkle wants to rule it all, the county and the city.

Toni Preckwinkle, the Chicago Machine Boss, AKA, the Godmother, understands power. She knows how and when to wield it. Preckwinkle is beloved by masses of gullible voters and the Chicago news media, who drank the Kool-Aid, believing Preckwinkle is a reformer, a goo-goo*. Preckwinkle is no reformer. She is no goo-goo.

Toni Preckwinkle is ruthless in her quest to control Chicago. Like Sauron, from the “Lord of the Rings,” she dispenses rings- favors- and demands more than a return. She demands total allegiance.

Lori Lightfoot was not supposed to be the mayor of Chicago. Toni Preckwinkle was the shining North Star. Lori Lightfoot did not only win the election. She crushed Preckwinkle, taking 49 out of fifty wards. It was a humiliating rout. A rout Preckwinkle will never forgive or forget.

Since her loss, Preckwinkle has done everything in her power to humiliate Lightfoot. She stays quiet behind the scenes while her minions who owe her do her bidding. All in the name of reform, whatever that means.

Preckwinkle’s chief minion is Cook County State’s Attorney, Kim Foxx. Preckwinkle created Foxx in her image, gave her marching orders, and the war was on. Foxx is no reformer, no goo-goo. She is a hard-edged opportunist. She knows the voters are gullible, and the news media is blissfully ignorant. Reform is a dog and pony show.

Their plan is to destroy the city and bring in a hero or heroine to save it. If you need proof, it is right before your eyes. The murder, mayhem, and bloodshed occurring every day in every neighborhood in Chicago. Preckwinkle and Foxx revel seeing Lightfoot twist in the wind while aiding and abetting the anarchy on the streets.

Kim Foxx is supposed to prosecute criminals. Under the guise of criminal justice reform, she continually refuses to charge criminals with felonies. She raised the bar so high that she created a revolving door for violent criminals to walk through to keep terrorizing the citizens. Foxx is Toni Preckwinkle’s Chief Anarchist in Charge.

Foxx is more telegenic and likable than Lightfoot. She is a media darling. She is focused on one thing and one thing only, doing the bidding of Toni Preckwinkle by destroying Chicago, thus destroying Lightfoot. Foxx is not alone. There are several alderpeople under Preckwinkle’s spell who do her bidding. They owe her too.

Lightfoot did Preckwinkle a solid by endorsing her nemesis, Kim Foxx, for reelection. That favor was not put in the bank. It was never meant to be returned. Foxx and Preckwinkle revel in seeing the deaths of innocents, especially children and the elderly. They are a blood cult. They do not care about lives. They care about power. All that matters is the dumb voters and the happy compliant press.

They drag out their secret weapons, social justice, and race when all else seems to fail. They toss out race and victimhood to create grievance and division. The mooks who vote believe the beautiful lies. The mamelukes in the press swallow this and churn it out, turning the beautiful lies into a deadly reality.

Mayor Lightfoot needs to learn the favor bank crashed. She owes no one. She will never get repaid. She is alone, fighting a battle with no allies. Toni Preckwinkle is succeeding in Lightfoot’s destruction. She stands silently behind the veil, letting others do her bidding. She wears the One Ring to rule, bring them all in and bind them in darkness.

The question is, how many dead bodies will it take before the citizens in Chicago and the news media realize the evil they created?

*Goo-goo is a political pejorative for a good government type.

Welcome to Deadwood

Published by pvbella on October 9, 2021

UPDATE: This piece was edited. I originally put the number of people murdered in Chicago versus the number shot This was corrected.

2-70 are the ages of two of the ten people shot between Friday night and Saturday morning. Another toddler and another older person. One starting life and another who lived a life.

Almost 800 people were shot in Chicago, plus over 185 people shot on the expressways.* With the rise of rolling shootouts, it appears the shootings will go on through the winter months. Predictions are that 1000 or more people will be wounded or die by gun violence in Chicago by year’s end.

Maybe we should change the name of Chicago to Deadwood, the historic town known for its violence and criminality. Change the Chicago logo to Aces and Eights, the Deadman’s Hand. Die the river red to commemorate all the bloodshed on the streets. Change the city flag to a body chalk figure with four bloody bullet holes.

Who is protecting us? Who is curbing or preventing the warfare on our streets? Where are the accountability and consequences for those arrested?

Day after day, weekend after weekend, and here we are with another three-day weekend with nice weather. How many people must die? How many families must mourn and grieve? How many people must suffer wounds, some catastrophic?

How many violent criminals must be let on the streets by our catch and release prosecutors and judges? Is criminality now sports fishing?

We refuse to hold anyone accountable. The people responsible for keeping us safe are squabbling like children. They get their backs up in righteous indignation, sometimes pretending to almost cry, and blame each other. The former SNL character, the Thespian, Jon Lovitz, had a word for this, ACTING!

There is no harsh criticism or outrage over the lack of public safety. The systems in place that are supposed to keep us safe are failing on an epic level. The news media reports the carnage, but their editorial boards are silent. The media may as well put Mr. Rogers and Barney in charge of its editorial boards.

Not one person, elected or appointed, will provide a solution to curb this out-of-control anarchy. There is a solution we can provide. Threaten the elected officials to bring things under control, or we will toss them to the curb, where they belong. Toni Preckwinkle, Lori Lightfoot, and Kim Foxx should get a clear message their jobs are at stake.

We no longer want to hear about systemic and intractable something or other, social issues, or equity. We do not want to see officials lie with data. We want to see the numbers of people shot driven down. We want to walk or drive down our streets without fear of being innocent victims of gun violence. We want to see the perpetrators of violence held accountable. We want criminals to know there will be consequences for their activity.

Contrary to what their spokes weasels say, our elected officials are not courageous fighters on behalf of the public. They are craven cowards. Their greatest fear is the unemployment line. Citizens should crank up the heat and put that fear into their hearts and keep it there until they do something besides talk and quarrel among themselves.

Lori Lightfoot made a big mistake meeting with Kim Foxx to iron out their political differences. She should have doubled and tripled down on her criticism. Lightfoot should have thrown Preckwinkle under the bus too. Instead, she decided to fold and play nice. When the people responsible for fueling and driving violence all over this city fail, there should be no nice. There should be constant and consistent harsh criticism.

Love them or hate them, former Chicago mayors Daley and Emanuel would never tolerate the level of incompetence and apathy of Preckwinkle and Foxx. Where are the alderpeople? They should be scorching Foxx and Preckwinkle. Where are the Cook County Commissioners who represent areas of Chicago? They should be standing up for the victims and potential victims.

As it stands, more people are killed by guns than COVID. COVID is still a pandemic. Violence is just another problem no one wants to solve. There is no political will because there is no political threat of consequences for failure.

Welcome to Deadwood.

*Expressway crimes are the jurisdiction of the Illinois State Police and are not reported in Chicago’s statistics, even though they happen within the city limits.

Shh it’s a secret

Published by pvbella on October 8, 2021

The driver pulled up to a nice house on the Southside. He escorted me to the large basement. It was dark, barely lit by candles. The Boss sat in front of a table. The committeemen sat in chairs on either side of me. My committeeman brought me before the Boss. On the table were a letter and a knife. The committeeman pricked my finger with the knife and smeared the bloody finger across the letter. He placed the folded letter in my hands and lit it on fire. The Boss recited the oath. “You are now a member of the Chicago Machine. When called, you will immediately respond, even if you are at your mother’s death bed. If you reveal the secrets of the machine, may your career burn in Hell as this letter in your hand.” I vowed to obey. She came from behind the desk and hugged me. Then all the committeemen, one by one, hugged me. I was now a made member of the Chicago Machine. (The Godmother)

“A Chicago Police Department spokesperson said the case report is restricted, and they are not authorized to look at it. Records show CPD classified the case as an aggravated assault of a police officer with a handgun. Another source said a Chicago police internal affairs unit that handles police-involved shootings joined violent crimes detectives at the scene.” (CWBChicago) (Empahsis mine)

CWBChicago scooped the politically compliant Chicago news media by reporting on a shooting incident in front of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s home last month. Allegedly, one of her bodyguards was sitting in a car, guarding her home. Someone tried to carjack him. The bodyguard fired shots. Nothing much is known except what Preckwinkle wants to be known.

But wait, there’s more. Unknown to all but God, another Preckwinkle bodyguard was robbed near her home in July. The offender took his firearm. Once again, CWBChicago scooped the friendly compliant Chicago news media.

So much for transparency from the notoriously secretive Toni Preckwinkle. Something stinks and stinks to high heaven. Preckwinkle did what she always does, bobbed, weaved, and dodged. And, as usual, she got away with it. The news media gave her a pass like they always do. She is beloved by them and their editorial boards. Noting to see here folks, just keep moving along.

The Chicago Machine has two things in common with the Mafia. It has a boss, and it is a secret organization. Toni Preckwinkle is the Boss, and everything is a secret. No hint or whiff of scandal shall be reported. She evaded accountability for the scandals of other county officials.

One would think with all the violent anarchy in Chicago and hitting so close to her person twice, Preckwinkle would have a response besides saying the incidents are under investigation by the Chicago Police Department.

Preckwinkle is directly responsible for the violent anarchy plaguing every neighborhood in Chicago. Her “reform” policies are fueling the murder and mayhem. She controls the State’s Attorney and the Courts. They do what they are told or else. If you disagree or editorialize, you are tarred and feathered as a racist. The truth is racism in Chicago.

Why didn’t Preckwinkle issue a press release or hold a press conference on these two incidents? Why all the secrecy around them? A stolen Sig-Saur pistol is on the streets of Chicago, and we are not supposed to know. It’s a secret. Even after being exposed, she is still using the veil of secrecy. The compliant news media is aiding and abetting her.

What other secrets is Preckwinkle hiding? These two incidents were not scandals. They were street robberies. Plainclothes and off-duty police officers can be crime victims, like the rest of us.

One would think these incidents would be major news in this city, considering the continuing Olympic Games of Violence affecting every neighborhood. One would think wrong. Secrets must be kept.

The Stroger Machine replaced the Daley Machine. Preckwinkle dethroned the Stroger’s. Now it is the Preckwinkle Machine. Nothing changes. There is no reform. There is no accountability or transparency. There are only secrets, just like the Mafia.

Silence is consent

Published by pvbella on October 7, 2021

I live in one of those nice, “quiet,” “safe” neighborhoods. There are old-growth trees, many birches, and maples lining the streets. There is a mix of people- families with small children, empty nesters, singles. The area is somewhat demographically diverse.

It is no longer quiet or safe. Over the past week, there were two rolling shootouts. There were other instances of gun violence. It begs the question; can we walk or drive down our streets without being innocent victims of uncontrolled anarchy in Chicago?

Some may say that anarchy is incorrect or inflammatory. What else do you call uncontrollable, unpredictable rampant violence and the brazenness of the people committing these crimes? The politicians and news media toss around words like systemic and intractable describing the “root” causes of crime. This spate of violence is systemic and intractable.

I spent almost 30 years as a Chicago Police Officer. I worked in two of the most violent areas of the city. When I was in a citywide unit, I worked in many neighborhoods across the city. Occasionally there were short spates of violence in the safest areas. I never witnessed or even imagined violence this widespread and uncontrollable citywide. There is no safe area in Chicago.

Except for the criminals, I no longer know who to blame for this anarchy. Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the alderpeople, State’s Attorney, Kim Foxx, Cook County Board President, Toni Preckwinkle, or Chicago’s warfare politics.

I would blame the friendly, inept editorial boards of our local news media for ignoring the violence. That would be a waste of mental energy. “The press has always been this country’s single greatest force for social change.” ((Andrew Vachss) The press is no longer a force for change. They are a force for complicity.

First, the politicians tell us beautiful lies because that is what we need to hear. Then they call each other liars because that is what they do. Lies, lies, and more damned lies.

I finally concluded that we, the citizens, and voters are to blame. We should be outraged. We should be demanding accountability and transparency. We should be shouting from the rooftops and marching in the streets. We are silent.

Our silence is consent. Our lack of action is consent.

We consent to murder and mayhem. We consent to children, especially infants and toddlers being killed. We consent to mass shootings. We consent to rolling shootouts. We consent to carjackings and armed robberies. We consent to prosecutors refusing to prosecute. We consent to the catch and release of violent criminals by the courts.

We consent to the epic public safety failure of our government systems.

Chicago is in a public safety crisis. If this goes on much longer, it will be a catastrophe. Some of the alderpeople are speaking out. We should be too. We should be ringing their phones off the hook or jamming their emails.

We do nothing. We are silent.

Chicago politics sucked since I have been alive. Never has it sucked this bad. Public safety is the top priority in governance. Our elected officials are failing and flailing.

There are as many political finger-pointers as there are people pointing guns. This anarchy results from gross political malfeasance across every level of governance- city, county, and state. Yet, we remain silent. How much longer will this go on before we stop consenting and break our silence?

If you want to see who is responsible for the violent anarchy in Chicago, look in the mirror.

Chicago celebrates Capone Days

Published by pvbella on October 5, 2021

Image: Chicago Dead Man’s Hand/ PV Bella

During the Capone era, rolling shootouts were common in Chicago. Over the past weeks, they returned. The Violent Olympic Games are closing with Capone Days, a series of events involving cars and guns, re-enacting those days of yore. This Olympic event involves excellent skills, including speed, race car driving skills, and spray and pray skills with firearms to hit human targets without being shot.

Killing a target wins a Gold Medal. Wounding is a Silver Medal. A Bronze Medal is awarded for bullet holes in vehicles.

The most recent event occurred Monday night around 10:50 PM on Irving Park Road, between Rockwell and Ashland. Two cars chased each other while firing guns. One car, a Jeep, crashed outside Lakeview High School. The driver ran off. The passenger was found dead, shot multiple times. Aside from the body and several shell casings, there were bullet holes in the school’s windows. The second car was described as a Dodge sedan. (CWB Chicago)

This was the second rolling shootout event on a similar stretch of Irving Park Road in a week. On Sunday, there was a rolling shootout that ended in the Division/Rush Street area. There was a multi-block rolling shootout in the West Town neighborhood last week. These events are occurring all over the city, including the expressways.

This phenomenon once again proves no one and no place is safe in Chicago. The violence in Chicago is more than brazen criminality. This continuing wave of violence is people who know they can get away with anything, anytime, and anyplace. There will be no repercussions, no accountability, no justice, and no punishment. It is mutual combat, even when innocent victims are murdered. For example, the retired teacher on the Dan Ryan Expressway was a case of mutual combat.

According to Cook County State’s Attorney, Kim Foxx, mutual combat is not grounds for charging people with murder or other felonies.

That is great! After Capone Days, we should bring back dueling at dawn in our parks and Old West mano-e-mano gunfights at high noon on our streets.

How about the Mutual Combat Games in Soldier Field with cheering fans. There could be cheerleaders, the Luvaguns. Marching bands could take the field before and in between events. There ought to be announcers for the play-by-play. Oh, and an organ player, every sports venue needs an organ player. Maybe a local songwriter can come up with snappy dirges.

They could sell memorabilia, clothing, and hats with bloody bullet holes printed on them. One of our local breweries could whip up a themed beer, Dead Eye Ale. Maybe bullet-shaped pretzels with blood-red-dyed salt to go with the beer. There could be a sportsbook for betting. We could televise the events—real live-action with real guns and other weapons of choice.

Early on Sunday mornings, we can close a mile or two long stretch of DuSable Drive and the lakefront for Rolling Shoot Out events. Due to the dangerous nature, they would have to be filmed, preferably by drones or helicopter.

Chicago is a sports town, and we need new sporting events. Those ancient Romans knew how to entertain their populace with exciting gory circuses. We could be the template for a whole new sports franchise, a league of our own.

Since there is no justice, no public outrage, no screaming editorials from the inept Chicago news media, and no empathy or mercy from our cold-hearted public officials or the citizens, why not create something new to justify the murder and mayhem?

Legalize mutual combat and make it a professional sport. It will provide a stream of needed income, jobs for facility and city workers, income for funeral directors, and hopefully rid us of at least half or more of the violent criminals in this city. It will also provide entertainment for the merciless cold-hearted people who elect ruthless cold-hearted politicians.

Cook County taxpayers could benefit. Since the State’s Attorney’s Office is useless, it can be eliminated from the county budget, saving us the money wasted on willful malfeasance.

Our politicians dealt us a Dead Man’s hand. We may as well take advantage of it.