Tag: mayhem

The picture says it all

Published by pvbella on October 21, 2021

The adage is a picture is worth a thousand words. The photo above is representative of Chicago politicians and the Chicago news media.

While violent crime is out of control in Chicago, most alderpeople are silent. If asked about violent crime in their wards, they give milquetoast answers, mumbling about working with the police in their areas, blah, blah, blah. Some, if challenged, angrily shout at and shut down their questioners.

Members of the Chicago City Council, like Mayor Lori Lightfoot, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, and Machine Boss Toni Preckwinkle, do not care about the rampant crime in all the neighborhoods. They have no pity, mercy, sympathy, or empathy. Hell, they are not even human as they display no humanity.

There is one thing they all are, depicted in the photo above—my apology to horses. If there are no consequences for criminality, criminals will continue their bloody rampages in neighborhoods. Innocent people, including children, will die. Survivors and families will be traumatized, some for life.

The police cannot do this alone. They need partners. They have no partner in the State’s Attorney’s office or the courts. The police cannot arrest us out of this crime pandemic if prosecutors and the courts refuse to do their jobs. Refusing to charge people with felonies, plea bargaining felonies down to misdemeanors, low or no bail, and the failing electronic monitoring system all contribute to the situation.

Boss Preckwinkle brags about the low jail population in her recently released campaign ad. Preckwinkle and Foxx are also represented in the above photo. Once again, my apologies to those noble animals.

Oh, look, those cops refused to get vaccinated or report their vaccine status—what a nice distraction. Columnists and editorial boards are outraged over the police for their resistance, yet not one word of outrage against the trio responsible for public safety, the Mayor, State’s Attorney, and Machine Boss. You better believe if one of their reporters, columnists, or high-paid news presenters were the victim of violent crime, there would be howls of outrage. If there were no prosecution or the criminal let out due to low or no bail, their hair would be on fire. Everyday people, meh.

The citizens should be outraged. They should not be questioning alderpeople. They should be demanding they do something, like hold the trio of horses’ a**es accountable. The citizens should hold their feet to the proverbial fire. Many alderpeople will be running for reelection to their six-figure part-time positions. If citizens do not get some results, they should elect someone else.

The same holds for the Lightfoot, Foxx, and Boss Preckwinkle. If they cannot curb the mayhem and keep us safe, they do not deserve another term in office. They should be tossed to the curb and swept away.

Public safety is the chief responsibility of elected officials. Our elected officials failed us on an epic scale. Any one of us could be an innocent victim of a violent crime. The politicians and news media keep touting police reform. What we need is political reform. Chicago needs people in office who care about public safety. People who have empathy for victims instead of sympathy for criminals. People who will act instead of tossing out cheap words or meaningless publicity stunt distractions.

We do not need horses a**es holding public office dishing out horse manure. We need people who care about public safety and have empathy for the victims of violent crime. We also need to hold the news media in this city accountable. They should be leading the charge instead of being partners in crime with the politicians. They, too, are horses’ a**es, dishing out horse manure daily.

What does it take to get angry and rise up against these total failures? How many more people, especially children must die? Are we that callous? Or, are we so dumb, that we do not hold the elected horses’ a**es accountable?

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.

Oh the beautiful lies they tell

Published by pvbella on October 4, 2021

“So that’s what they wanted: lies. Beautiful lies. That’s what they needed. People were fools. It was going to be easy for me.” (Charles Bukowski)

Chicagoans are not willing to deal with reality. Most citizens can’t handle the truth. The politicians, their spokes weasels, and the news media know this. They create soft language to protect us from the harsh reality of the ugly truth staring us in the face. These are called euphemisms.

Smug, overpaid spokes weasels, and wordsmiths create euphemisms to conceal our overlords’ sins of omission. When the spokes weasels and wordsmiths get stymied, they turn to academia. They seek experts with no expertise to create new language to hide the epic failures of our elected officials and their appointees.

Large urban areas were plagued with gangs. The gangs became racketeers. Their crimes became the rackets. Then, they changed the wording to crime syndicates, then organized crime. Organized crime morphed into organized criminal enterprises. Now, we have cartels.

Equality and inequality were bantered around for decades. The politicians finally woke up and realized humans are not all created equal and never will be. They now discuss equity. Equity is good. Inequity is bad. They no longer seek equality. They strive for equity. If they bring equity to the city, it will solve our problems.

Crime is no longer the result of human activity. It is part and parcel of systemic and intractable somethings or others. Crime should be understood in that context with a dose of nuance thrown in for good measure.

We no longer blame people for crimes. We blame their environment. Crime, like climate change, is now an environmental issue. I am sure that brings cold comfort to the victims, who the environment is victimizing.

Criminals, like the former physically and mentally handicapped, are referred to as challenged people. They have obstacles to overcome. Society must remove the obstacles that challenge them. I thought society elected people to do that.

Out-of-control violent crime in Chicago, especially gun violence, is not just an environmental issue. It is also a public health issue. It starts as a breakout, becomes an epidemic. Now, it is a pandemic, deadlier than COVID. All the city’s holistic treatments and measures failed. Chicago politicians hope the CDC and FDA can develop solutions, vaccines, and cures before we perish.

The Chicago Police Department is supposed to police the city. Yet, our masters tell us we cannot police our way out of the Olympic Games of Violence plaguing every neighborhood in Chicago. Go figure.

“We” must solve the decades-long systemic issues plaguing underserved communities. Once that major feat is accomplished, “we” can all breathe a collective sigh of relief. Who is this “we” “they” keep talking about?

There is another name for euphemisms, beautiful lies. Politicians and the news media tell us beautiful lies. We, the fools, believe them. It makes their job easier. They are terrified if we realize the ugly truth one day, and a pandemic of fear breaks out in Chicago. Fear leads to outrage. Outrage leads to unemployed politicians.

Politicians never admit they have no clue how to resolve issues. By the way, issues used to be called problems. Problems- a mathematical term- must be solved. They cannot solve problems. They changed the word to issues. Issues must be resolved. Resolved buys them time, even decades, to figure out solutions to the problems they will never solve.

There used to be numbers. Numbers turned into statistics. Statistics transmuted into data. In the age of technology, data is a sexier term. When politicians or appointees roll out data, the news media and citizens tingle and slobber like hormonally charged teenagers. When the sexiness of data wears off, the spokes weasels are ready. The next pornographic word is analytics. Data and analytics do not lie. Politicians use data and analytics to tell beautiful lies.

Politicians keep talking about accountability and transparency, sometimes in the same breath. Those two words replaced responsibility and truth. Elected officials are neither accountable nor transparent. We do not hold them responsible for their lies as we keep reelecting them or electing the same ilk. Politicians talk about change. The only thing they change is words. They are inept to change things. So, they change the vocabulary. Voila, ~~problems solved~~ issues resolved.

Don’t go out at night

Published by pvbella on August 29, 2021

This was updated. I found a video to download and it runs faster. See below.

Downtown Chicago used to be safe at night. From the Loop to River North, Gold Coast, and beyond, you could walk down State Street or Michigan Avenue in relative safety. You could even walk on the lakefront until closing hour.

The street lights, store windows, neon, and other attractions lent a romatintic atmosphere. The crowds were gone. People were out enjoying themselves. You could go to the movies, walk to dinner, then just wak. Maybe you would stop into a watering hole for a drink, or two or three. There were clubs with all kinds of entertainment.

During the Christmas season, there was a festive air. Christmas lights, street decorations, store window decorations, and Sal Army Santas ringing their bells. There was a festive athmosphere. People were in a happier mood.

No more.

Criminals own the night. Bands of violent criminals attack, and brutalize people for no reason, or violently rob them. No one steps in to stop them. No one steps in to help.

The video below shows two men attacked, brutally beaten, and robbed on the 400 block of Noth State Street.

https://vimeo.com/594283524

For over four minutes,, two men were robbed and brutalized while bystanders shot phone videos, celebrated, danced, and twerked. Motorists kept driving by, trying to avoid hitting anyone.

Nowhere is safe in this Mad Max era of Chicago. Michigan Avenue, River North, and the Gold Coast, are no longer safe at night. The romance and festivity turned into a nightmare. Even the parking lots are not safe.

People used to be able to go out to dinner, walk, stop in one or two places for a late-night drink or two or three. There are clubs for entertainment. Now, people are the entertainment for criminals and their bystander fans.

Downtown, North and South Michigan Avenue and River North turned into violent crime-ridden areas. There are roving bands of robbers, thieves, groups wilding, and other violent actors. Even during the day, bands of thieves invade designer stores, stealing thousands or tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. They will pummel anyone who tries to stop them.

Nighttime is the worst. The night is when there is no value for human life. The night is when you are most vulnerable. The night is when you could be beaten, shot, wounded, or killed. Areas once known for safety are now dangerous.

The revitalized gem, Grant Park turned into a staging ground for wildings, groups of young people running amok, terrorizing the area because they can. The Magnificent Mile is no longer magnificent. River North and River West are dangerous. The night turns these neighborhoods into the Wild West.

It is a pity our city came to this. The places we should be proud of are turning into violent,, crime-ridden battlegrounds at night. This criminality is not new and has been building up over the past few years. It started to get worse last year and is worsening this year.

The alderpersons representing the wards are complaining. Their complaints land on deaf ears. One alderperson was the victim of a battery while waiting for friends outside of a restaurant. Mayor Lightfoot is trying to please everyone and is pleasing no one. The citizens, news media, and City Council cannot figure out what she is doing.

Thanks to City Hall, an incompetent Superintendent of Police, a State’s Attorney who cares more about coddling criminals than prosecutions, and a court system that enables a revolving door of catch and release, the Loop, Mag Mile, and River North went from being attractive, safe places to visit or walk around to places to fear.

Nowhere is safe at night in those areas. The criminals know there are cameras all over the place. They do not care. They do not fear arrest or imprisonment if, by fat chance, they are prosecuted. This is not just criminality. It is a culture of violence. Violence is acceptable and expected behavior.

Criminals are waging war. There is no rhyme or reason for their actions. They do it because they can. They do it because they want to. They do it for fun. They do it because no one will stop them. They do it because they know there will be no consequences.

Don’t go out at night.

Who Speaks for the Dead

Published by pvbella on August 16, 2021

“We speak for the dead,” was a saying among homicide detectives and Forensic Services personnel on the Chicago Police Department. No one else speaks for the dead in Murder City.

The saying means they would move heaven and earth to get justice for murder victims. The mayors and alderpersons do not speak for the dead. The State’s Attorney’s Office does not speak for the dead. The courts do not speak for the dead. The local news media does not speak for the dead.

We are in the middle of August. As of yesterday, 270 victims were shot, 44 were killed. From Friday through Sunday, 47 victims were shot and 5 were killed, including two purported mass shootings.

On Sunday a 7-year-old child was murdered, in the Belmont Central neighborhood while sitting in a parked car. Her 6-year-old sister is fighting for her life. The death toll of children, down to toddlers and infants is heartbreaking.

Every single murder victim was a son, daughter, father, mother, brother, sister, niece, nephew, cousin, or grandparent. The families of the dead mourn, grieve and suffer the loss of a loved one. No matter their past or present transgressions, no one deserves to be murdered. Too many are innocent bystanders.

The dead and their families cry out for justice. Justice is denied. Detectives, forensic investigators, and street cops are stretched thin. They are overwhelmed. There are not enough of them to investigate, close cases, make arrests, and take them to trial.

Our elected officials sit on the sidelines offering nothing. There is no plan. There is failure after failure.

Communities live in fear of retaliation if they cooperate with the police. No one is safe. No neighborhood is safe. Good people want to help, but not at the expense of their lives or the lives of their loved ones.

How many more people must be killed before someone says enough is enough?

Forget about the root causes of crime, the systemic this or that, faulting parents, and other phony issues ginned up by alleged experts with no expertise or whack jobs on social media.

It is past time to change the conversation. It is past time for aldermen, especially aldermen whose wards are most affected by the violence to step up. They are as responsible as the mayor for public safety.

We need more people to speak for the dead. The Chicago Police Department needs more detectives and forensic specialists. We need a prosecutor who is willing to prosecute crimes instead of nit-picking detectives to provide more and more and more evidence.

We need the courts to stop releasing dangerous people out on low or recognizance bonds. Electronic monitoring is failing.

Chicago elected officials are losing credibility every day in this Summer of Violence. Talk is cheap. Phony raw emotions will not abate the murder and mayhem. We need people to speak for the dead, in the communities, in City Hall, in the State’s Attorney’s office, and in the courts.

Either be part of the solution or get the hell out of the way.