Tag: Toni Preckwinkle

Shame on them

Published by pvbella on May 27, 2022

The Cook County Board approved a 10% raise for themselves and an annual 3% increase in perpetuity. They already make high salaries for what is legally a part-time job. There are no prohibitions from having other employment, professions, or businesses. Many of them do.

This is a perfect reason to toss out of office anyone who voted for these raises, including Machine Boss Toni Preckwinkle. Over the past decades, most local public employees only received 2.5% to 3% raises. Yet, the greedy members of the board want more—a higher raise than the people who toil under them.

Board members currently make $85,000.00 per year. The 10% hike will raise their salaries to $93,500. This is outrageous. We are coming out of a pandemic that devastated the local economy. We are entering into a recession, with the cost of everyday goods and services rising. Yet, in their smugness, greed, and tone-deafness, the Cook County Board gave themselves a hefty pay raise to enrich themselves.

We, the suffering taxpayers, will foot the bill for this inanity. Many people in this county, especially in Chicago, barely make ends meet. They wonder if they can stretch their dollars to the end of every month.

It is past time for a change. Legislation should make all elected city and county officials full-time positions. They should spend forty hours a week in their respective positions reporting to City Hall or the County Building, like the rest of the employees. They should get the same raises as the employees. They should also get the same benefits with no perks.

The Cook County Board of Commissioners sent a powerful message to the serfs and peons, the voters. Suck it up. We rule. We will take what and how much we want. You will get the peanuts and pay for our salaries with them.

If they passed a 3% annual raise, the same raises employees get, there would be no issue. But ten percent cream on the top is beyond the pale. Unlike Chicago alderpersons, no one knows what Cook County Commissioners do. At least the alderpersons are in the news frequently touting their activities. The Cook County Board rarely is in the news. It is almost like a secret society.

Toni Preckwinkle runs the Cook County Board of Commissioners like another Tony-Tony Accardo, who ran the Chicago Outfit- silently, out of sight. She is rarely in the media and says little to nothing when she is. Yet, the media fawns all over her like hormonal teenagers over a celebrity idol. Preckwinkle is, “She who can do no wrong.” The kindly schoolmarm in sensible shoes.

I waited a few days to see if there would be editorials in the so-called Chicago or suburban news media. Not a peep. Chicago journalism is dead. They are the public relations weasels for the political Machine. They do not care about the taxpayers, municipal, or county employees.

We, the public, are being robbed by slick criminals. To paraphrase the “Godfather,” “Politicians can steal more money with an election than a gun.”

Chicago/Cook County politics is nothing more than a con game, a Ponzi scheme. I have no pity for their ten years with no raise. County Board Commissioners make $85,000.00 a year. How much more do they need? This is not about need. It is about greed, and the ability to get away with it. Citizens are docile and blind to the thievery being committed in their names.

It is the Chicago way. Get as much as you can, as fast as possible, hold on as long as possible, and get more. Obey the Eleventh and Twelfth Commandments, “Thou shalt not get caught” and ”Thou shalt not talk.” Not talking or getting caught is a snap with a docile public and no dedicated journalism in Chicago.

The Crook County Pirates

Published by pvbella on March 18, 2022

**This should be the new Cook County Fla**g

Man, you have to love those inauthentic, low-frequency lame piles of redundant protoplasm, the Cook County Board of Commissioners, AKA the Cook County Board of Omissioners. Their leader, Machine Boss, Toni Preckwinkle, finds ways to prioritize the most trivial and irrelevant issues.

What is their latest act of wastrel stupidity? Choosing a new design for the Cook County flag. Why? What is wrong with the current flag? It is perfectly acceptable. It is simple and reflects the simpletons running the county and our city into the ground while taxing us to death for their perfidy.

They had a contest among high school students to design the new flag. The finalists are ready to be considered.

In celebration and recognition of more than 190 years since the founding of Cook County, Commissioners will choose a new flag that is an inclusive representation of Cook County, the rich diversity of its residents, the beauty of its landscape, the innovation of its institutions, and the pride of its history. (Cook County Government)

I have a design. The Jolly Roger, AKA, the pirate flag. It is fitting since Cook County is being run by pirates, who rape, pillage, and loot the populace with high taxes in return for poor service. They are led by a pirate queen, Chicago Machine Boss Toni Preckwinkle.

The Jolly Roger is historically and culturally appropriate because thanks to Cook County Government, Chicago is being victimized by murderers, shootings, armed robberies, carjackings, ~~looting~~ oops, smash and grabs. Can’t offend the over tender sensitivities of looters, can we?

I do not know what innovation of its institutions or pride of its history means. The only innovative institutions in Cook County are in Chicago. The only notable and rich history is Chicago history. The county itself is not known for anything worth writing about or commemorating.

Chicago’s flag represents the city’s rich history. The current Cook County flag represents its bland, almost non-existent history.

Cook County is doing a great disservice to the people of Chicago. Under the guise of criminal justice reform- whatever that means- criminals are let out on low or now bail, felonies are rarely prosecuted. If you are a celebrity, you get the red-carpet treatment by our star-struck prosecutor.

Criminal justice reform is anything but. It is budget reform. The county is paring down costs by keeping the jail as empty as possible and not prosecuting cases. This is Machine Boss Preckwinkle’s- AKA Theftwinkle- revenge for the drubbing she took over her ridiculous soft drink tax for “public health purposes.” She would create havoc and chaos on our streets if she could not loot our pockets just like pirates did on the high seas.

Here is another design idea. A plain white flag of surrender with four bright red bloody handprints. Each would represent Toni Preckwinkle, Kim Foxx, Tom Dart, and Tim Evans. They have blood on their hands, and it should be commemorated. Their innovations killed, wounded, and terrorized the citizens of this county. They surrendered to the criminal element.

The people should have a vote on this stupid idea instead of the Crook County Board of Commissioners. We are paying the price for their pillaging our pockets. We pay the price in blood, lives, and terror for their “reforms.” We are paying the price because the Cook County Board of Assessors still uses Tarot Cards and Ouija Boards to make property tax assessments.

Here is a novel idea. How about we vote out each and every county elected official in the next election. But that will not happen. It is the reason I gave up on the human species in Chicago. The voters of this city are chromosomal defects. They are zombie cultlike, uneducated, unlearned, and devoid of intelligence. They march on the polls on election day and keep voting for the people who are killing them softly with their policies and robbing them blind.

We should officially change the name of Cook County to Crook County. It is historically and culturally appropriate to celebrate their innovative institutional and historical thievery through taxation and other financial scams.

The Chicago Way Awards

Published by pvbella on February 26, 2022

Mayor Lori Lightfoot gave an emotional and impassioned award-winning statement on the situation in Ukraine. She rarely gives passionate, emotional statements over the almost daily murders of innocent victims, especially children, in Chicago. She cares more about a country half a world away than her own city. Dead people no longer vote in Chicago. Why waste the art of rhetorical emotion and passion on them?

Lightfoot is a nominee for the Chicago Way Award (CWA) for Best Actress from the Chicago Way Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Chicago Way Award is the most prestigious political award in the nation. The Chicago Way Academy of Arts and Sciences was established in 1977. The award ceremony takes place in a location in the city known only to members of the Academy and the nominees. The ceremony’s location changes yearly. The event is a formal invitation-only gala.

Lightfoot is not alone in contention for the CWA, a gold statuette in the form of the middle finger. State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is a contender for the Best Actress Award. Her impassioned and emotional acts when accused of cheerfully and willingly failing to do her job are stunning performances. You could see the tears and hear the sobs from her fans, the Chicago news media.

Chief Judge Timothy Evans is in contention for the Best Comedy Award for his performances, especially for his hilarious joke about undeveloped brains in Chicago’s murders. It was one of the best jokes on this city.

Superintendent of Police David Brown is up for two awards. One for his portrayal as a s**t kicking cowboy gunslinger in the big city. The other for his comedic ability portraying an incompetent, bumbling, mumbling, and ineffectual police superintendent ala the famed Barney Fife. Disclaimer: No horses were injured during his portrayals.

In the Fantasy category, Toni Preckwinkle is the hands-down favorite for her portrayal as a puppeteer, the invisible hands pulling and manipulating the strings of the Chicago Way. She is also in contention for an award as a producer and director. She produced and directed the Punch and Judy style show, with Kim Foxx as Punch, punching down Judy, portrayed by Lori Lightfoot.

Alderman Ed Burke is in contention for the Best Drama Award for his portrayal in the Old Man and the Sea, vigorously fighting the elements to land the Big Tuna. Burke was also nominated for a Lifetime Achievement Award for his dramatic and comedic performances and his contributions to the Chicago Way craft over the decades.

The CWA after-parties are some of the most coveted invitations in the city. The most lavish and coveted is thrown by Gregoire Sorostov, an enigmatic oligarch and financier whose goal is to shape governments to the ideals of his Closed Society Foundation. Sorostov finances some of the local political campaigns in Chicago and Cook County. Those who took his ~~bribes~~ campaign donations are achieving his Closed Society ideals by implementing and executing them.

This year’s ceremony will be held on April 1^st, in honor of the Chicago voters who support the Chicago Way, keeping Academy members employed.

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?

Chicago is a city of scoundrels

Published by pvbella on October 17, 2021

“When will there be justice in Athens? There will be justice in Athens when those who are not injured are as outraged as those who are.” (Thucydides)

When will there be justice in Chicago? When will there be anger over the daily carnage on our streets? Every day the death toll mounts. Every day people are wounded. Where is the outrage that leads to justice?

The criminal justice system in Chicago is dysfunctional. The warfare between the police, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, and the courts is a disgrace.

The politics in this city is the root cause of violent crime. Criminals know there will be few, if any consequences, for their actions. Justice is a revolving door. It is worse now than when corruption and bribery ruled over the system.

Cui bono? Who benefits? Who profits? The answer is the politicians. They get to keep their jobs because the voters in this city refuse to hold their feet to the fire over their epic failure to protect the public. In effect, voters voted against their self-interest, public safety.

They reelected Machine Boss Toni Preckwinkle and her minion, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. They will probably reelect them. Mayor Lori Lightfoot is twisting in the wind, which is where Preckwinkle wants her. It is a good bet Preckwinkle already picked Lightfoot’s replacement. Lightfoot will not win 49 wards next time. She burned too many bridges.

We are witnessing machine politics at its worst. People are dying, including children, and the three frenemies pretend to make nice. This is not and never was about progressive ideas, social justice, or correcting wrongs. This is pure machine politics. And you, the voters, believe the lies. So does the aiding and abetting news media in this city of scoundrels.

So-called reform politicians love the words accountability and transparency. They toss them around like kids pitching pennies. Yet, there is no accountability or transparency. It does not exist. The proof is the dead and wounded. Over 3700 people have been shot in Chicago so far this year, 641 fatally. Those figures do not include people shot on the expressways*.

The State’s Attorney’s office refuses to approve felony charges in many cases, blaming the police for shoddy investigations. Worse, they plea bargain too many felonies down to misdemeanors. Toni Preckwinkle’s lenient bail bond initiative allows criminals to return to the streets. The electronic monitoring system is a joke.

Violent crime in Chicago reached pandemic levels over the summer. It is precisely what Preckwinkle and Foxx want. Lightfoot cannot fight back. She always caves into the devilish duo. Lightfoot makes nice while they plot her demise. She, too, bears the blame. She hired an incompetent Superintendent of Police.

If Chicago had a real news media, as we did in the past, Preckwinkle and Foxx would never get reelected. David Brown would be back in Texas. The editorial boards are either cowardly, gullible or willfully blind to the deception.

No one is standing up for the victims. No one is speaking for the dead. No one is speaking for the families in their grief and mourning.

It is not only the injured or their families who must speak out. The vast majority in this city is up to those who are not suffering to express our outrage. We deserve better than this political Ponzi scheme perpetrated on us.

People, you are not helpless. You have voices. Let them be heard.

By the way, where is Superintendent of Police, David “Tex” Brown? Is he on vacation, missing, AWOL? Should we put his picture on milk cartons?

*The Illinois State Police have jurisdiction over the expressways. Their figures are not included in the City of Chicago reporting.

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.

In Chicago only the criminals get compassion

Published by pvbella on September 19, 2021

Another mass shooting, five people were shot in Austin. Another toddler was shot Saturday. There were multiple shootings citywide over a twelve-hour period Friday. On Saturday, multiple people were shot over a four-hour period. There were robberies and stabbings too.

Ho-hum, just another typical bloody Chicago weekend. The Summer Olympics of Violence is leading into the Fall Gun Games. The silent apathy in this city is deafening. It is appalling. What does it take for people to get angry? What does it take for people to demand change?

The city is failing miserably. Yet, the citizens and friendly news media editorial boards are mute. No matter where you live in Chicago, you are not safe. You have a higher chance of getting shot and killed, or being the victim of a violent crime than catching COVID.

Where did this mass apathy come from? Why do most people think something cannot happen to them? Why are we not demanding better?

So-called criminal justice reform is failing. We are being lied to by elected officials, the activists they are in bed with, and the news media through their silence. Mayor Lori Lightfoot is lying, Kimm Foxx is lying, the Chief Judge is lying, Chicago Machine Boss, Toni Preckwinkle is lying, Superintendent of Police David Brown is lying, the friendly news media is aiding and abetting their lies.

The only truth is in the numbers, and the numbers keep rising. We will smash records this year in shootings and murders. According to HeyJackass!:

September to date- 50 souls shot and killed. 54 total homicides.
Last week- 22 souls shot and killed. 24 total homicides.
Year to date- 575 souls shot and killed. 2800 shot and wounded. Total shot, 3375. Total homicides- 608.
A victim is shot almost every two minutes in Chicago.
A victim is murdered just over every ten minutes in Chicago.
The cause of death by homicide is 94.9%.

Chicago should be nominated for entry into The Gun Violence Hall of Fame. The hall of fame is as imaginary as reform or the plans, strategies, and precision deployments from the leadership of this city and Cook County. We only see the boring itemized list of guns recovered or people arrested Tex Brown puts out during his press conferences.

Years ago, back when Chicago cared, there would be collective outrage over infants and children being shot or shot and killed. There would be a collective demand for justice.

Now, there is a callous apathy in this town without pity. Only the criminals get justice, and the justice is a slap on the wrist. It is not justice. They get mercy.

Maybe we should change the name. Instead of the Criminal Justice System. We should call it the Criminal Mercy System. We could replace the prosecutors and judges with nuns. The Sisters of Clemency, led by Sister Mary Hilarius*. We could turn the Cook County Jail into The Home for Wayward Felons. Why not? Since the criminals get more compassion than the victims. We all know that compassion reforms murderous criminals, don’t we?

*There is a Saint Hilarius, a former Pope.