Police shut down illegal warehouse party

Party over.

Nine guns were recovered, three people were arrested and more than a half dozen others were cited early Sunday morning when police officers broke up an illegal night club on the West Side.

The warehouse, unbeknownst to the owners, had been transformed into an elaborate lounge with $5 drinks, pulsating music, crowd control stanchions, velvet ropes, rugs and industrial spot lights beaming down on a party advertisement, authorities said today.

As patrons waited to join the 300 revelers packed in the building, Dwayne Troupe, 22, and Ambrosio Silva, 28, allegedly patted them down. Both men were wearing soft body armor and had handguns, police said.

Officers with the department's Mobile Strike Force also recovered a gun from 28-year-old Zenobia Mills when they searched the building, in the 4400 block of Fifth Avenue, police said.

All three Chicago residents were charged with felony weapons violations.

Others were cited performing as a disk jockey without a license and serving alcohol without a license.

Bernard Harrison, 26, of Oakbrook Terrace, allegedly organized the party and was cited for numerous violations, including operating a public place of amusement without a license.

The owners had leased the space for storage and an office and had no idea of the raucous activities inside, their attorney, George Hodges, said.

Police had been called to the scene at least once before for similar complaints, Hodges said.

“Whoever was allowed in there had no right to be there,” he said.

from the Trib

Milwaukee couple steals for fun

A doctor and his wife arrested for shoplifting at a Macy's store near Milwaukee told police they did it for the thrill. The doctor, who told officers he makes more than $150,000 a year, said his wife suggested they take what they wanted. So they took turns serving as a lookout while the other took items -- more than $1,500 worth -- from just about every department in the store, police say.

from the Sentinel Journal

Man punches meter maid for issuing ticket

A Chinatown restaurant owner allegedly hit a meter maid in the face after she issued him parking ticket outside his eatery Friday afternoon on the Near the South Side, police.

Tie Lee, 38, of the 3200 block of South Hamilton Avenue, was arrested at 1:25 p.m. Friday outside a restaurant at 2162 S. Archer Ave. shortly after he allegedly hit a parking enforcement employee. Lee was later charged with felony aggravated battery to a government employee, according to police.

from the Sun-Times

Car burglar wrote how-to guide

A suspect who was burglarizing a Jeep Cherokee and found with an apparently self-written “how to” guide for breaking into vehicles early Friday on the North Side has been charged, police said.

At 3:30 a.m. in the 5100 block of North Oakley Avenue, police on routine patrol saw and recognized Barringer apparently burglarizing a Jeep Cherokee parked on the street, according to Barker who was one of the officers who saw him.

Barker gave chase on foot when Barringer began running and apprehended him. Barringer was allegedly trying to steal a pair of gloves and what looked like a business folder or clipboard, according to the sergeant.

He was placed under arrest and one of the things police found as they were going through items he had on him was a “notebook or how-to guide on how to break into cars,’’ according to Barker who said it appeared he had written it himself.

Some of the “tips” he had written in the guide included, “Keep looking around for five seconds. Run through gangways. Be carfule [sic]. If you hear squealing brakes it may be a cop coming, so look behind you.’’ according to Barker.

from the Sun-Times

Striking teachers cancel classes

Officials from the Prairie Hills Elementary School District 144 which serves more than 3,000 students in the south suburbs have canceled classes after teachers voted to strike late Wednesday after they could not agree on salary issues, officials said.

In a statement issued on its Web site, officials from the Board of Education said classes and extracurricular activities have been canceled beginning Thursday morning and until further notice. Officials warned parents not to bring their children to school.

from the Trib

Ravenswood church vandalized

A Ravenswood church was damaged when a stained-glass window was broken, then a garden hose was put through it and turned on, flooding part of the building, Chicago police said Sunday.

The damage happened between about 4 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday, when a worker at All Saints Episcopal Church, 4550 N. Hermitage Ave., arrived and found much of the sanctuary floor in about 4 inches of water, said Bonnie Perry, the church's rector.

Signs of the damage Sunday were hardly noticeable, Perry said, though much of the water seeped into the basement.

from the Trib

David Irving talk disrupted on NW side

Updated: A speech by Holocaust denier David Irving at the Edelweiss restaurant, 7650 W Irving Park, was disrupted and shut down by antifascists Monday night. Our rumors have it that 5-7 black-clad thugs stormed into the restaurant, throwing chairs and aggressively engaging the crowd of mostly elderly men. Irving was moved to safety, and some damage was done to the restaurant.

Several individuals were arrested shortly afterward. Everyone's outta jail with disorderly conduct charges.

Arson suspected in school fire

A fire that caused more than $100,000 damage at Naperville's Scott Elementary School is being investigated as an arson, police said Monday.

Cmdr. Mike Anders said investigators have interviewed several students and staff members at the school at 500 Warwick Drive.

He said the initial probe was handled by a joint team of police officers and firefighters, but police took over once it was determined a crime was involved.

Scott students and faculty had to be evacuated about 9:30 a.m. Friday after a fire began in the boys washroom and destroyed a toilet paper dispenser and stall partition.

No one was injured, but smoke spread throughout the building and caused extensive damage.

from the Daily Herald

Underground immigration ring busted

Ten people with Chicago connections have been indicted on federal charges of running a marriage fraud scheme that paid American citizens thousands of dollars to marry immigrants in an effort to skirt immigration laws, the U.S. attorney's office said today.

Federal authorities allege Maria Cruz, 49, and her co-defendants arranged up to 15 "sham marriages" in which non-U.S. citizens -- many of them Filipinos -- offered to pay Cruz $3,000 to arrange marriages with American citizens.

According to an indictment unsealed today, Cruz paid a fee for referrals to U.S. citizens willing to enter into the fake marriages. She allegedly promised them they would be paid about $3,000 up front for the marriage and $300 to $350 for each month until the non-citizen got citizenship.

The indictment alleges that between 2003 and 2009 Cruz would drive people to their purported weddings and take pictures before and after to make it appear that real ceremonies had taken place. She would also advise participants in the scam on how to make their marriages seem real to immigration officials, federal authorities allege.

from the Trib

Cop skims $600k from police association

A statewide police association will check its financial books after learning one of its board members -- a Chicago Police sergeant -- was charged with skimming $600,000 from the Chicago Police Sergeants' Association.

Sgt. John Pallohusky, a detective and president of the Chicago sergeants' association, also serves as financial secretary for the Springfield-based Police Benevolent & Protective Association of Illinois.

On Friday, Cook County prosecutors charged Pallohusky, 53, with stealing from the Chicago Police Sergeants' Association and spending the money on a home, an online stock brokerage, gambling trips, hotels and steak dinners.

from the Sun-Times

Man plants fake bombs downtown

A West Side man faces felony charges after he was arrested on suspicion of planting fake bombs near the headquarters of the Boeing Co. and One Prudential Plaza, police said.

Chicago police foot patrol officers arrested Roosevelt Billups, 42, in the 100 block of North State Street about 5 p.m. Wednesday, police said.

Someone who saw Billups in the area called police after recognizing him as a suspect in three incidents involving fake bombs, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Gabrielle Lesniak.

Billups is suspected of planting hoax bombs outside 100 N. Riverside Plaza -- which is the Boeing headquarters -- and One Prudential Plaza, a police source said.

from the Trib

Suspicious cans shut down courthouse garage

Authorities shut down the parking garage across the street from the Cook County Criminal Courts Building for about a half hour today after a law enforcement officer found two suspicious canisters attached to his vehicle.

The officer was leaving the garage at about 1:15 p.m. when he heard a rattling sound coming from his vehicle, according to Cook County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Patterson.

"The officer got out of his vehicle and found two rattling canisters adhered to his car," Patterson said.

The officer called for assistance. The investigation is being handled by members of the Chicago Police Bomb and Arson unit, Patterson said.

from the Trib

Twin Cities activists defy Iowa Grand Jury subpoena

The federal government's Green Scare campaign took another depressing turn Tuesday morning as a federal district judge in Iowa ordered the detainment of Twin Cities activists Scott DeMuth and Carrie Feldman at a contempt hearing. DeMuth and Feldman were subpoenaed to a grand jury in Davenport, Iowa, compelling them to testify regarding a animal rights-related vandalism incident at the University of Iowa. These are the first reports from Iowa:

Feldman and Scott spoke to the local press and 30 to 40 supporters at a rally beforehand in Davenport, then refused to testify. At the contempt hearing, the judge offered both immunity, but they still refused to talk, and were taken away. The judge believes they will remain in jail until they comply or the jury ends (likely in 11 months).

from Twin Cities IndyMedia

Cabrini Green anti-eviction blockade announced

We are kicking off the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaing this Tuesday with an eviction blockade to stop Lenise Forrest and her family from being evicted from Cabrini Green for owing back rent. She had a payment plan under previous management but the new management has refused to recognize it and is trying to put her out on the street. She is appealing the eviction but the Sheriff is still scheduled to evict her Tuesday morning.

from Chicago IndyMedia

UIUC grad students on strike

University of Illinois graduate student instructors plan to continue striking Tuesday after an estimated "several hundred" classes were canceled Monday, organizers said.

Carrying umbrellas and strike signs, instructors picketed outside four major classroom buildings in the Urbana-Champaign campus while undergraduates worried about missing class time, the due dates for assignments and their grades if the strike continues.

from the Trib

Witnesses held in contempt still won't testify at murder trial

Three witnesses who refuse to testify in a gang-related murder trial will remain in jail until at least Dec. 7, when the judge presiding over the trial returns from vacation.

Raul Galarza, Jeffrey Pawlak and Carlos Roa all refused once again to testify Monday at the Cook County Courthouse in Maywood despite being granted immunity. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Tucker found they remained in contempt of court and sent them back to jail. If they persist, all three could face more than a year in prison.

from the Trib

Shoplifter slashes security guard

A shoplifter who allegedly tried to steal Theraflu cut a Walgreens security guard with a box cutter -- causing him to have to get 20 stitches Monday night in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side.

About 7 p.m. police responded to a battery at a Walgreens on the 3400 block of West Roosevelt Road, according to an Ogden District police lieutenant.

Officers arrived and found a security guard who was outside the store holding his right hand, which was dripping with blood, according to the lieutenant.

The guard told police that a 44-year-old man had allegedly just cut him with a box-cutter during an argument that ensued when the man was trying to leave the store without paying for two packages of Theraflu, the lieutenant said.

Employees witnessed the 44-year-old man placing two packages of the medicine in his coat pocket. As he walked past cash registers without paying, the guard tried to question him outside.

The arrestee allegedly told the guard, “Get the fuck away from me,’’ and he slashed the guard with a box cutter, he said.

from the Sun-Times

Vandals flatten tires on 32 school buses

Service was delayed on a number of north suburban Zion-Benton Township High School bus routes Monday morning because of flat tires on 32 buses.

School authorities got vendors to help re-inflate the tires. One or more tires were deflated on each of the buses.

from the Sun-Times

BofA windows smashed

Broken Windows

This week, three large windows were smashed on a Bank of America branch in Chicago. You can probably guess why. Spooky shit like this has been happening more and more often. If you're not creeped out yet, just you wait. See you soon!

In solidarity with whoever wants it,

The Monster Squad, Cell of Shattered Glass

from Chicago IndyMedia

Veteran cop steals from sick cop

In an unusual theft case, a veteran Chicago police officer has been charged with stealing $800 -- from another officer who was undergoing treatment for cancer, authorities said Thursday.

Police and prosecutors said Officer George Porter had agreed to buy groceries for the ill co-worker with her bank card but instead made four $200 withdrawals from ATMs over the next three days and pocketed the cash.

from the Trib

Bad cop really bad

A Dolton cop caught on camera allegedly breaking a 15-year-old special needs student's nose for failing to tuck in his shirt has a troubling history that includes killing a man in a case of disputed self-defense and is now in an Indiana jail on an unrelated rape charge.

Christopher Lloyd, 38, was identified Thursday by his father Charles Lloyd and Dolton Mayor Ronnie Lewis as the officer who in May was recorded by a school security camera scuffling with 15-year-old, 140-pound Marshawn Pitts at the Academy for Learning in Dolton.

An attorney hired by Pitts' parents released the video this week, calling the incident an "unprovoked attack" on a vulnerable child. The video, which has no audio, appears to show the officer slamming Pitts against a locker, wrestling him to the ground and pinning him.

But speaking Thursday, Charles Lloyd said he had seen the video and discussed the incident with his son, who he said was "just trying to do his job as a police officer and is completely innocent."

from the Trib

Bomb scare causes theater evacuation

Chicago police evacuated the Bank of America Theatre downtown tonight, interrupting a popular musical after two suspicious boxes with notes were discovered in the alley behind the theater.

Police were alerted at about 8:58 p.m. when two boxes -- each with a note -- were found behind the theater at 18 W. Monroe St.

One letter read: "This is not a bomb" while the second note read: "This is not going to end good," Chicago Police Lt. Charles Flynn said.

Authorities immediately evacuated the theater, which was showcasing the Tony-winning musical "Jersey Boys."

Police were treating the incident as a bomb scare and closed off several surrounding streets as police Bomb and Arson detectives and fire officials secured the scene, Flynn said.

from the Trib

Video disputes police arrest claim

The attorney representing nearly two dozen people who have filed federal civil lawsuits against a Chicago police officer they allege has made false DUI arrests and has harassed gays and people with disabilities revealed a video today that disputes at least one of the officer's police reports.

The video, which was mounted in Chicago police officer Richard Fiorito's squad car, shows Michael Vaughn, who was pulled over for suspicion of drunken driving in June, walking in a straight line with his arms at his side as part of a field sobriety test. But Fiorito said in a police report that Vaughn couldn't keep his balance and raised his arms more than six inches.

from the Trib

Retribution Against Daily Life; Bank Attacked in Chicago

...seven windows were broken at Chicago Community Bank on the near south side. One for each of those arrested, and one more for the bid.

On Tuesday night, the state arrested six individuals and charged them with felonies in connection to anti-Olympic hooliganism. This persecution is completely unacceptable.

To extend revolutionary solidarity, seven windows were broken at Chicago Community Bank on the near south side. One for each of those arrested, and one more for the bid. In the joyful wake of this criminal-becoming, three windows were done away with on an unmarked police cruiser. This was done because, well-- You know.

While this was done in the dead of night this past evening, in the future there will be opportunities for more inclusive forms of violence. Hopefully this gesture resonates with others who refuse containment and the misery of capitalist hell.

- No Games Chicago Cell of Revolutionary Conspiracy

from Chicago IndyMedia

50 vehicles vandalized

At least 50 vehicles parked at CFC International, 500 State St., were damaged with spray paint on Sept. 3.

from the Sun-Times

Orland BMWs attacked

Two BMWs had their rear passenger windows broken between Sept. 12 and Sept. 14 at BMW of Orland, 8470 W. 159th St.,

from the Sun-Times

Chicago Olympics banner vandalized

Six people were arrested this evening after they yanked an Olympic banner from the Daley Center's Picasso statue and tossed it into the nearby "eternal" flame, police said.

The suspects, arrested just after 7:30 p.m., weren't believed to be a part of an anti-Olympics bid rally that took place in front of City Hall this afternoon, police said.

After gathering in the Daley Center, the six vandals pulled down a banner -- valued at thousands of dollars -- from the statue and damaged a portion of it in the flame dedicated to veterans, Chicago Police Lt. Charles Flynn said.

The alleged vandals then got into a physical confrontation with responding police officers, who took all six into custody. Authorities were meeting with prosecutors seeking felony charges including damage to property and possibly aggravated battery to a police officer, Flynn said.

from the Trib

video here

Glenn Beck was right

A year of gesture. Our memory of the election is chaos in St. Paul. For Christmas and New Years, we were shared gifts and kisses with Greece. Iranians told us what they thought of their lives. We were attracted to the Parisians too, as always: we're not nostalgic for 68, but we figure they've been at it for a while so they know what they are doing.

Everyone agrees, it's about to explode

An off-duty Chicago firefighter has been charged with assaulting a police officer Sunday evening near Soldier Field after the Bears game, officials said today.

Scott Holland, 42, of the 2800 block of South Wood Street, was charged with one count of aggravated battery to a peace officer and one count of resisting arrest, police said.

At Holland's bond hearing this morning, Assistant State's Atty. Erin Antonietti said the unformed officer was riding a bicycle after the Bears game and approached Holland from behind and off to one side.

Holland, for unexplained reasons, shoved the officer into a fence and punched him in the face, she said.

Holland's bail was set at $65,000.

Holland was arrested in the 1800 block of South Calumet Avenue shortly after the Bears game ended. Police earlier had said the attack occurred on a pedestrian bridge near Soldier Field.

-from the Sun-Times

Taking a page from Twin Cities police, anarchists make pre-emptive G20 strike?

Sources indicate nails and screws were forced into the tires on at least a dozen marked and unmarked police cars as well as a number of private cars.

Pittsburgh Police sources say at least a dozen police cars and a number of private cars were vandalized.

Sources also confirm police investigators have substantial information to believe the crime was committed by anarchists in town for the G-20 Summit.

Police detectives took photographs and looked for evidence in the parking lot of police headquarters Thursday afternoon.

The damage was done to the cars' tires.

Sources indicate nails and screws were forced into the tires on at least a dozen marked and unmarked police cars as well as a number of private cars.

Sources indicate it is believed a number of suspected anarchists came to police headquarters late Wednesday night and damaged as many cars as possible.

Police indicate the tires cannot be plugged and must be replaced because the cars have to operate at high speeds.

Damage estimates at this time are running in the thousands of dollars.

Sources indicate the suspected anarchists came to prove to police they can do damage whenever and wherever they want.

There was no official comment regarding the incident.

KDKA's Marty Griffin has been told the mayor, police chief and public safety director are outraged by the brazen nature of the attack.

There will also be increased security in the parking lot starting Thursday night.

video from YouTube

Chicago pig attacks bus driver

An off-duty Chicago police officer allegedly beat a CTA bus driver so badly Saturday night that the driver was left unconscious, a representative from the driver's union said Wednesday.

"There is a belief on our part that [the driver] was unconscious for a while," said Darrell Jefferson, president of Amalgamated Transit Union 241.

Jefferson said two union representatives who have seen CTA video surveillance of the alleged incident remarked that the driver doesn't move after he's punched, and "he's not feeling for his glasses -- he's not doing anything," said Jefferson, who had not seen the video surveillance Wednesday.

The incident is being investigated by Area 3 detectives and the Independent Police Review Authority. At the time of the incident, the officer already had been relieved of his police powers for an "unrelated matter," a Chicago Police spokesman said, without elaborating.

The alleged beating occurred Saturday night in the Loop. At the time, the officer was riding a bicycle, and then allegedly boarded the bus, accusing the driver of trying to cut him off.

Jefferson said video surveillance shows the police officer repeatedly punching the driver, leaving the bus, and then returning to punch the driver some more.

from the Sun-Times

Chicagoans ignoring laws, citations, fines

At a time when Mayor Daley has laid off 431 city employees and forced those still on the payroll to take unpaid days off, $61.3 million has slipped through the city's fingers in the last 19 months alone.

That's because an alarming number of people cited for violating city laws still are blowing off their administrative hearings or ignoring the judgments that hearing officers render.

from the Sun-Times

An evening with Liam Sionnach

What's better than the late '90s hardcore scene and early '00s anti-globalization activists traveling through your town and eating all the garbage at your so-called collective house?

IEF insurrectuals making it fucking rain.

“Social Justice or Social War?”
Friday | September 11 | 7pm
UWM Union | room 280

from the Institute for Experimental Freedom

String of trash bin fires hits Northwest Side

At least six fires were started overnight in trash receptacles in the Logan Square and Humboldt Park neighborhoods--with some of them spreading to nearby garages--and authorities are investigating to see if they are connected.

"The fires were quickly put out, but not without some damage," said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Kevin MacGregor. "Some [garages] were more than scorched."

The first of the fires was reported shortly after midnight and alarms continued to come in for the next two hours or so.

A witness said a fire on the 1900 block of North Fairfield Avenue had severely damaged a garage and damaged two cars inside. "The windshields were melted, the walls were burned through," he said.

Another fire on the 3300 block of West Wrightwood Avenue burned through the wall and roof of a garage housing a vehicle. The windshield and tail lights of the car were melted, according to the fire department. In addition, power lines in the alley caught fire and were lying on the ground. There were no reports of a power outage.

from the Trib

Downtown ATM stolen

Someone made off with an entire automated teller machine in Millennium Park, police said Friday morning.

Police were notified at 7 a.m. that the ATM was taken from 11 N. Michigan Ave. in Millennium Park near the Bean, according to a Central District police lieutenant.

Police were reviewing video surveillance of the area to see who last used the machine but it appeared someone was able to get into the vestibule of the building, that is locked but accessible by swiping an ATM card, according to the lieutenant.

“They took the entire machine,’’ the lieutenant said.

No alarms went off at the building, which was closed at the time and the lieutenant said money could be retrieved from machine, though it is difficult.

No windows were broken on the building and as of 10:15 a.m. no one was arrested.

from the Sun-Times

Teens tag Chicago police memorial

Four teenagers are in custody after they spray-painted graffiti on a memorial near Soldier Field honoring slain Chicago police officers and their families, authorities said.

Police arrested three 17-year-olds -- two females and one male -- and a 15-year-old boy, said Chicago News Affairs Officer Michael Fitzpatrick.

The teens were arrested at about 3:05 a.m. after police on routine patrol saw them running from the Gold Star Families Memorial and Park, Fitzpatrick said.

The teens used red spray paint to write words on the north end of the memorial in the 1400 block of South Museum Campus Drive, just east of Soldier Field on Chicago Park District land, police said. The tagging was neither gang-related nor anti-police, Fitzpatrick said.

A wall in a nearby tunnel had also been spray-painted by the teens, Fitzpatrick said.

from the Trib

Denver Democratic HQ smashed up; anarchist arrested

Ariel Attack, Denver based anarchist and Bash Back member, was arrested on Monday night. She is facing felony charges for allegedly participating in property destruction of the Denver Democratic Party Headquarters.

She is being charged with Felony Criminal Mischief. She has court tomorrow (Wednesday Aug. 26th) at 10 am in courtroom 12T. Please come and support her in court tomorrow if you can!

Denver Anarchist Black Cross is asking for folks to donate to her bail and legal defense and will make details public as soon as possible and as soon as it makes sense to.

If you can help, please contact us at denverabc@rocketmail.com

here

Update: Ariel is out of jail.

Teamsters local 743 on strike

Workers at SK Hand Tools in Chicago (3535 W. 47th St.) and McCook (9500 W. 55th St.) voted unanimously to STRIKE as of Tuesday, August 25, 2009 due to the company’s unilateral
withdrawal of the workers’ health insurance without notice!

Strike support will be needed on a 24/7 basis at both locations – please contact the Teamsters Local 743 union hall at (773) 254-7460 for more information.

more at Teamsters 743

Bank robbed in yuppie-hipster central

FBI agents remain on the scene of a bank robbery that happened Friday morning at a Bank of America branch in the Wicker Park neighborhood.

No one was hurt but at 10:30 a.m. when a suspect entered a Bank of America branch at 1585 N. Milwaukee Ave., displayed a weapon, took an unidentified amount of money and fled, according to police News Affairs Officer JoAnn Taylor.

There was no dye pack, according to the officer.

FBI spokesman Ross Rice said at 1 p.m. agents remained on the scene interviewing witnesses. He confirmed there were no injuries and no arrests made.

from the Sun-Times

Suspicious package found outside Oprah's Harpo TV studio

A suspicious package did not blow up Friday morning after is was found outside Harpo Productions Inc. on the Near West Side, police said.

The item did not explode and no one was hurt, according to a Monroe District police officer at 8:52 a.m., who said police were clearing the scene.

About 6:20 a.m., a security guard found a dark-colored backpack with wires hanging out of it in a flowerbed outside the studio at 110 N. Carpenter St., according to police News Affairs Officer JoAnn Taylor, who was citing preliminary information.

The district officer did not immediately know whether the backpack had the capacity to explode and police said studio was not evacuated.

The police Bomb & Arson Unit was sent to the scene but a detective did not have further information.

The studio is where Oprah Winfrey records her television show.

from Sun-Times

Street signs honor slain officers

Almost 39 years to the day after two Chicago police officers were gunned down while on foot patrol in the Cabrini-Green housing project, the street outside the nearby police station was dedicated to their memory Saturday.

Street signs bearing the names of Anthony Rizzato and James Severin were unveiled at a ceremony attended by Police Supt. Jody Weis, members of their families and a crowd of former colleagues.

Mary Schlaak, Severin's niece, told attendees outside the station at 1160 N. Larrabee Ave. that the memorial will make it clear the deaths still matter.

"Thank you for understanding that 39 years later this loss of two 18th District cops who died in the line of duty, it's still meaningful and still relevant," Schlaak said.

Rizzato and Severin were on patrol near Seward Park on July 17, 1970, as part of the department's "Walk & Talk" program they volunteered for, when shots rang out from a nearby high rise, fatally injuring both.

Two men were sentenced to 199 years for the murders and are still in prison.

Weis said the two officers were heroes and that Chicagopolice remain targets now.

"It's not that different today," Weis said at the ceremony. "People try to murder our officers. I don't know what that says about society, but it says our mission isn't done."

A memorial to Rizzato and Severin stood on the spot where they were shot, but had to be moved recently because of a construction project, according to Near North District Cmdr. Steve Georgas.

Retired Chicago Police tactical Sgt. Ed Wodnicki remembered the two as extremely brave officers at a time the Near North District was a dangerous place.

"It was a combat zone, and they were combatants," Wodnicki said.

from the Trib

Two cops shot in leg while executing warrant

Two narcotics officers were shot, both in the leg, while executing a search warrant on the Far South Side early this afternoon, officials said.

The officers were shot by someone inside the home near East 112th Place and South State Street where they were serving the warrant, a source said, adding that both officers are doing fine.

They were taken in good condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

No other details were immediately available.

from the Trib

Absenteeism and class struggle in Streets & San

"The one-laborer truck was born out of necessity. It was something we developed because I can't afford to budget for 30 percent relief. If we did, it would cost the city $19 million to have two men on every truck to cover that relief."

An interesting article from the Sun-Times highlights how everyday absenteeism cuts into workplace productivity and management planning; in a sense -- class struggle pushing forward capitalist innovation.

On the one hand, Laborers negotiated disciplinary amnesty for its workers, which is a really interesting concession. On the other, it looks like they will be complicit in enforcing new workplace rules:

At a news conference with Mayor Daley called to warn of 431 layoffs affecting two hold-out unions, Phillips said he and Byrne had agreed to work together to implement "some new work rules that I'm very excited" about.

One can only hope the workers will be as excited and respond in kind.

City booting more cars

When Chicago's City Council decided to lower the threshold for slapping a metal boot on cars, you had to know there would be an influx of cash going into city coffers. After all, that was half the point.

An investigation by the Sun-Times shows the program has been a huge success, as far as city accountants are concerned. Since April 22, the city has mailed a whopping 183,293 seizure notices and booted nearly 3,500 cars.

Good news for the city; bad news for you.

Now, to get the boot, all you need are two unpaid tickets older than a year to get the boot. The city has even put $1.5 million behind new technology to bolster their booting abilities. They now have 26 vans equipped with electronically controlled cameras that can check 900 license plates per hour, searching for bootable cars.

If your car is booted, you'll have to pay all unpaid parking violations and fines to get it removed. And if your car also gets towed, you'll also have to pay those pesky towing and storage fees.

A Revenue Department spokesman said they're out to "maximize collections" for the city.

from NBC

I'm unsure of the success rate, this pamphlet claims to have information on how to beat the boot. In particular, this suggestion sounds enticing:

That means, of course, that an anarchist thug with a penchant for trouble-making (or a wily hustler with an eye for a quick profit) could easily dismantle and remove the boot from some poor innocent scofflaw's illegally parked car, take the thing home, bust the lock off and pay a less-than-scrupulous locksmith to make up a new key -- a key that would instantly unlock every boot in the city.

Prison escapees still at large

Authorities believe the three inmates escaped Sunday from the maximum-security prison in Michigan City through underground tunnels and pipe chases.

Grand Beach Police Chief Dan Schroeder said authorities were maintaining a heavy presence in the town because they don't know if the escapees still are in the area.

"This is a large area and there's all different kinds of places they can hide," Schroeder said about the heavily wooded community.

The escapees could conceal themselves in the woods, in the tops of trees, in a ditch or a creek, behind homes or on the beach, Schroeder said. "Hiding (in Grand Beach) is really not that much of a trick actually," Schroeder said.

Many residents of Grand Beach -- including those who commute from Chicago for weekend and summer stays -- said they weren't scared. They continued to keep their doors unlocked and taking walks up and down the quiet streets. Many residents use golf carts to get around.

from the Trib

Suburban teens go on vandalism spree

Mount Prospect police today announced the arrest of one person in a string of vandalism incidents on the north side of the village, and said more arrests are possible.

Sean M. Dudczak, 22, of the 1100 block of Boxwood Drive in Mount Prospect was arrested Thursday and charged with four counts of criminal defacement to property, police said.

Those four charges involve graffiti to a Jewel grocery store, Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, AMC movie theater and a Steak and Shake restaurant, according to a news release from the Mount Prospect Police Department..

The department has been investigating dozens of criminal defacement to property cases over the past month, mainly on the north side of the village, and anticipates making further arrests, Police Chief John Dahlberg said in the release.

Dudczak faces an Aug. 3 court date in Rolling Meadows court on the four charges, which are Class A misdemeanors, police said.

from the Trib

Damn

Tenant charged with killing landlord and burning his body

A Chicago man accused of using garden tools, an ice scraper, a BB gun and a pipe to allegedly beat his landlord to death before setting his body on fire, is eligible for the death penalty, Cook County prosecutors said Sunday.

Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil denied bail for Martin Vega, 27, who was renting an apartment from William Hallin, 67, in the two-story home Hallin owned in the 5000 block of South Talman Avenue in Chicago's Gage Park community. Vega is charged with first-degree murder.

Around 6 p.m. Friday, Hallin went to collect rent, and Vega didn't pay up, Assistant Cook County State's Atty. Emily Stevens said. Hallin then noticed Vega had a dog in his apartment, which was not allowed, officials said. Hallin told Vega he would have to move out, and a bloody fight ensued, officials said.

Vega allegedly pushed Hallin down stairs then delivered blows to Hallin's head and body with various weapons and tools, Stevens said in court. Vega allegedly took Hallin to the basement, where Hallin began to cry and beg for his life, Stevens said. To shut Hallin up, Vega put a shirt in his landlord's mouth, then beat his skull with a lamp, Stevens said.

Vega then choked Hallin with a rope and put him on a rug in the basement, Stevens said. He threw gasoline from a lawn mower on the rug and on Hallin, then lit the rug on fire, Stevens alleged.

from the Trib

Four more cars torched on North Side

Four cars were torched in a Lincoln Square parking lot early this morning, Chicago police said. It was the second time multiple cars were set on fire in the city over the last eight days, but the two incidents did not appear related.

At 3:40 a.m., a woman heard her dogs barking and looked outside to see four vehicles aflame across her rear alley in a parking lot in the 5600 block of North Western Avenue, Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak said.

There were no known injuries and the fires were contained to the four vehicles, which included a Jeep, a Pontiac Grand Am, a Ford Contour and a Buick. It was not known if there were other cars in the parking lot at the time, Kubiak said.

The Chicago Police Bomb and Arson Unit is investigating.

from the Trib

Police from 68 DNC protests to hold reunion

eThe reunion, the policeman's son said, was simply for Chicago cops who worked together some 40 years ago -- something he wanted to do for his father and his father's friends.

But the span of four decades has not been long enough to eradicate the searing memories of the 1968 demonstrations during the Democratic National Convention. And when "Chicago Riot Cops Reunion" organizers wrote on their Web site that "the only thing that stood between Marxist street thugs and public order was a thin blue line of dedicated, tough Chicago police officers," the fight was back on.

"Are these guys nuts?" asked Marilyn Katz, a protester at the 1968 convention in Chicago and now a president of a communications firm here. "Do they think it's really good PR for them?"

Chicago Copwatch, an activist organization that tries to document police misconduct, swiftly organized a counter-rally at Ashland Avenue and Lake Street at 6 p.m. Friday, the same night as the reunion. They plan to a march to the Fraternal Order of Police lodge, where the reunion is being held.

from the Trib
see also Copwatch

Police officer robs benevolent association

A 10-year Cicero police veteran was charged with theft today after allegedly stealing more than $70,000 from the department's benevolent association, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said.

Gerald Bossolono, 46, was arrested as he showed up for work today by investigators with the Cook County State's Attorney's office, Alvarez said in a press release. He served as treasurer of the Cicero police benevolent association.

from the Trib