Taggers nail multimillion dollar Gold Coast home

Graffiti artists, for those inclined to call spray-painters something other than vandals, turned a 50-foot brick wall of a Gold Coast house into their canvas.

The taggers, who left at least three monikers, are believed to have scaled a fence at a construction site in the wee hours Monday, said the builder and neighbors. The street artists defaced the coach house in the 900 block of North Clark Street behind the protective cover of a tarp and then tore it off when they left to unveil their work.

Builders have been working on the multimillion-dollar, Architectural Digest-worthy site for two years. The original structure was built in the early 1900s as a ComEd substation. Two stories were added later to repurpose it as a home, along with the coach house that abuts the street.

from the Tribune

ARA call-out against Chicago White Pride World Wide rally

On March 21st, 2010 the Illinois National Socialist Front is planning to march in Chicago for what they call “White Pride World Wide.” South Side Anti-Racist Action is making plans to confront the march to let them know that they are not welcome in our city. ....

The INSF’s intention to march in Chicago shows that they are growing bolder and aren’t go away unless we take a stand.

South Side Chicago Anti-Racist Action is calling out for other groups inside and outside of Chicago to stand with us against fascism. Join us to confront the National Socialist Front’s march on March 21st!

Given some revious events and SSARA's targeting of several Chicago WP happenings, antifa momentum seems to be gaining power. The Chicago Branch of the Imaginary Party offers an analysis of these occurances and some possibilities for antifascism, however, they cryptically conclude that "anti-fascism may be doomed to run aground the same rocks as identity politics and single-issue struggles." Unfortunately, the CBIP doesn't follow this claim further.

Other endorsers of the call include the Four Star Anarchist Organization, a platformist group; News & Letters, a weird Marxist group; and the Gay Liberation Network, the largest and most activist gay rights organization in Chicago. We fondly remember the legacy of Chicago ARA, arguably one of the fiercest antfia crews among the Midwest ARA sections, themselves arguably the fiercest region during the 90s and early 2000s.

Whether this incarnation of Southside ARA can fulfill itself in the streets is yet to be seen; the company kept (within and without) is a strong symbol to others about what can be expected, whether they can be trusted, whether they can be strategic. Without the INSF having revealed its plans yet, a strategy of public head-to-head confrontation (with police in between) can only continue to seek supporters and then respond when the specific terrain is selected; the one location that can be assured is the political terrain.

The CBIP essay argues the strength of the Phoenix action lay in its framing of the discourse: "Anarchist/Fascist" rather than "Democracy/Fascism." It also recognizes the limitation of this discourse: the waging of private hositilities. Their suggestion is that the tactics of antifascism can be applied elsewhere, and this can generalize the struggle. Yet, we see this as an inversion -- to us, this is the logic of single-issue applied outward. Instead, generalization would mean the application of communizing tactics to the single-issue, such that it dissolves as a single-issue and cannot be resolved as such.

Can't stop chaos.

read Callout to Confront the INSF

Lowercase squat facing eviction

The Lowercase Collective has existed for over three years now. It has been a public squat for two years, and opened its doors to countless people, projects, and events. One would be hard pressed to find an anarchist who has travelled through Chicago without ever spending time in this space. When a place becomes so integral to the collective ethos of a community, as Lowercase has in Chicago, its destruction can be simply debilitating.

On December 18th, we received an eviction notice for our landlord, who is in all likelihood a fictitious entity. Shortly thereafter, we proved to the state that we ourselves have been responsible for paying the bills for the past years, making repairs, etc. Unfortunately, our attempts were only able to buy us a few more weeks, as the eviction notice for all occupants
came like a cold wind. Despite the machinations of the Federal National Mortgage Association, or any other partial owners, we have no intention of leaving this space without a fight.

Social tension has been percolating throughout our neighborhood for some time now. There is a general hatred of the police, all the more so with the existence of gangs on our street. Within a two-block radius, three other families have already been evicted in the past few months. A month ago, a black man just riding his bicycle was knocked off it by the police, beat up, and left without his bike in front of the watching eyes of the neighborhood. With all of this occurring in the context of our neighbors reproducing capital and themselves on the daily, this situation could prove explosive, as we look to push those tensions to the breaking point.

As the legal situation surrounding the house crystallizes, we will be announcing the time in which we want to invite our friends, in Chicago, the Midwest, and elsewhere, to join us for the most crucial aspect of solidarity: collective action on the day of eviction. We hope to create something truly wild around the very place we eat, sleep, fuck, dream, and share ourselves with each other. We hope for solidarity actions from friends who can’t make it here, but are more hopeful to see your faces.

Defending space in which we live, share, and combat capital is integral to revolutionary movements. Our past has connected us to so many different trajectories, and in the near future, perhaps together through our actions we can give ourselves the time and space to create so many more.

from Occupy CA

see also: Chicago Indymedia

Employee steals $20,000 in jeans

A former store employee is suspected of taking 47 pairs of jeans -- worth $450 each -- from an Aurora outlet store and selling them on eBay, police said.

Police started investigating whether the former worker took the $20,000 worth of jeans from Diesel outlet store at the Chicago Premium Outlets mall in Aurora after they got a tip about the jeans being sold on eBay, officials said.

from the Sun-Times

Bomb threat empties suburban WalMart

Officials are still investigating a bomb threat that led to evacuating about 200 people from Wal-Mart on Sunday morning in north suburban Antioch.

An unidentified male called the store at 475 E. Route 173 around 11 a.m. and threatened to blow up the 200,000-square-foot building, said Antioch police Cmdr. Jim Ruth.

Police and fire departments responded immediately and evacuated the building -- with 200 customers and store personnel inside -- in about 20 minutes.

Investigators conducted a search, were unable to find anything suspicious and allowed people to re-enter the building three hours later, Ruth said.

He said this was the first bomb threat made to this Wal-Mart since the store opened in October 2004.

from the Sun-Times

West Side woman kills abusive boyfriend

A 24-year-old West Side woman, charged with fatally stabbing her live-in boyfriend, was only defending herself when he became “enraged” and tried to attack her, the woman’s attorney said this afternoon.

Edrinna Bryant, who was ordered held in lieu of $350,000 bail today, even drove Levile Hardy to Mount Sinai Hospital after he was injured in their apartment in the 1600 block of South California late Friday, Bryant’s lawyer Mark Kusatzky said.

On their way to the hospital, Hardy placed a phone call to his mother and admitted to her he was the “aggressor,” Kusatzky added.

But Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Antara Nath said hospital personnel had initially noticed Bryant did not have any injuries when she first came to the emergency room. But, when she came back after moving her car, they noticed she had “obvious self-inflicted stab wounds to her hand,” Nath said.

Neighbors had heard the couple arguing inside their apartment building and then later saw Bryant outside, standing over Hardy, 30, with a large butcher knife in one hand and two knives in the other hand, Nath said.

Hardy was stabbed in the chest bicep, shoulder and hand.

Bryant, a receptionist at the Metropolitan Club, had been trying to leave the apartment, which made Hardy angry, Kusatzky said. The lawyer said Hardy came after Bryant with a knife when she ran inside the bathroom to escape.

from the Trib

Priest accused of abuse plunges from church balcony

A Shorewood Catholic priest who parishioners described as a "very holy man" apparently tried to kill himself by jumping from the balcony of a shuttered downtown Joliet church Wednesday as Kane county investigators began looking into allegations he molested a 13-year-old boy, authorities said.

from the Trib

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.