Update your Chicago tally to 11 killed, 34 injured in mass shootings within the past week due to gang violence spilling over into the rest of the city:
"Ten people were shot, two fatally, near the Chicago-State Red Line station and the nearby neighborhood on Thursday night. In a media statement, police said one person is in custody. The number of people injured and their conditions may change. Police are still unwinding what happened."
"Much of the shooting scene is just a couple of blocks west of the Magnificent Mile at an intersection that has long been a problem spot for the neighborhood. Gunfire struck the windows at McDonald’s, 10 East Chicago."
"Witnesses said the shooting erupted among a group of people who were arguing outside the restaurant."
"But there are other shooting scenes, too. Police also found blood, shell casings, and a bullet hole in a window on the 300 block of West Locust, a couple of blocks away. They found more blood at Oak and Orleans."[1]
I now have some interesting video footage courtesy of my wife, who was on a train home from a theatrical production when this happened. She was a few blocks south in the subway (and possibly under the Chicago River at the time) when the shooting happened and the cops locked down the area to try and nab a suspect and some evidence. The passengers on the train were forced to disembark from the train IN THE SUBWAY TUNNELS and walk to the next stop to get above ground so they could get home some other way. She got in around 1am last night.
The overall "narrative" here is that we have prosecutors who are unwilling to go after plaintiffs as aggressively as they should be, and judges who are letting criminals out of jail earlier than they should or setting bail too low:
"Chicago's top cop blamed a mass shooting in Back of the Yards on a convicted felon who was recently arrested on gun charges but was released on cash bond despite his violent record."
"Police Supt. David Brown told reporters Wednesday that Sergio Barron, 28, is behind much of the recent gang violence in the South Side neighborhood, where homicides are up 100% from a year ago and shootings are up 48%."
"'He's driving the retaliatory violence,' Brown said."
"Barron was released recently after serving eight years on gun charges and assaulting police. He was soon arrested again, in March, and charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. He was released from Cook County Jail the next day when his cousin put up $10,000."
"As he has often done in the past, Brown called on judges to be tougher on gun cases that involve people with a record of violent crime. 'There needs to be a better risk assessment by judges,' he said. 'The police did their job. That felon got a cash bond.'"
"Brown did not say exactly what role Barron is suspected of playing in the Back of the Yards shooting, which wounded five teens - killing one of them - around 4:30 p.m. when gunmen in a stolen red Mazda opened fire in the 4800 block of South Ada Street."[2]
Fortunately, it looks like some sanity is beginning to emerge:
"A Cook County judge Friday denied prosecutors' request that he reconsider the sentence he gave a man a decade ago under a new state law that gives prison inmates who have taken steps toward rehabilitation a chance to get out of prison early."
"Judge Stanley Sacks said he didn't believe 55-year-old convicted burglar Charles Miles had shown himself to be rehabilitated while in prison and expressed skepticism over whether the state's constitution would allow him to effectively commute the remainder of Miles' sentence if he wanted to."[3]
Given all this violence, the next mayor of Chicago will be the one who convinces voters that they have what it takes to squelch this violence. Residents are tired of it, the shootings are happening in areas that pull in tourists and outside visitors, and patience is about gone for all the progressive changes that were enacted after the Laquan McDonald shooting and 2020 George Floyd murder (and subsequent rioting and looting).
Most news seems to be biased in some fashion. Between that and the amount of speculation, which is not always labeled as such, consumers need a BS detector more than ever - even for video.
The Challenger disaster led to many weeks of management training for corporate nerds, like me, to combat group think. "Twelve Angry Men" was the basis for several hours of that training. I went through that at least three times.
Update your Chicago tally to 11 killed, 34 injured in mass shootings within the past week due to gang violence spilling over into the rest of the city:
"Ten people were shot, two fatally, near the Chicago-State Red Line station and the nearby neighborhood on Thursday night. In a media statement, police said one person is in custody. The number of people injured and their conditions may change. Police are still unwinding what happened."
"Much of the shooting scene is just a couple of blocks west of the Magnificent Mile at an intersection that has long been a problem spot for the neighborhood. Gunfire struck the windows at McDonald’s, 10 East Chicago."
"Witnesses said the shooting erupted among a group of people who were arguing outside the restaurant."
"But there are other shooting scenes, too. Police also found blood, shell casings, and a bullet hole in a window on the 300 block of West Locust, a couple of blocks away. They found more blood at Oak and Orleans."[1]
I now have some interesting video footage courtesy of my wife, who was on a train home from a theatrical production when this happened. She was a few blocks south in the subway (and possibly under the Chicago River at the time) when the shooting happened and the cops locked down the area to try and nab a suspect and some evidence. The passengers on the train were forced to disembark from the train IN THE SUBWAY TUNNELS and walk to the next stop to get above ground so they could get home some other way. She got in around 1am last night.
The overall "narrative" here is that we have prosecutors who are unwilling to go after plaintiffs as aggressively as they should be, and judges who are letting criminals out of jail earlier than they should or setting bail too low:
"Chicago's top cop blamed a mass shooting in Back of the Yards on a convicted felon who was recently arrested on gun charges but was released on cash bond despite his violent record."
"Police Supt. David Brown told reporters Wednesday that Sergio Barron, 28, is behind much of the recent gang violence in the South Side neighborhood, where homicides are up 100% from a year ago and shootings are up 48%."
"'He's driving the retaliatory violence,' Brown said."
"Barron was released recently after serving eight years on gun charges and assaulting police. He was soon arrested again, in March, and charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. He was released from Cook County Jail the next day when his cousin put up $10,000."
"As he has often done in the past, Brown called on judges to be tougher on gun cases that involve people with a record of violent crime. 'There needs to be a better risk assessment by judges,' he said. 'The police did their job. That felon got a cash bond.'"
"Brown did not say exactly what role Barron is suspected of playing in the Back of the Yards shooting, which wounded five teens - killing one of them - around 4:30 p.m. when gunmen in a stolen red Mazda opened fire in the 4800 block of South Ada Street."[2]
Fortunately, it looks like some sanity is beginning to emerge:
"A Cook County judge Friday denied prosecutors' request that he reconsider the sentence he gave a man a decade ago under a new state law that gives prison inmates who have taken steps toward rehabilitation a chance to get out of prison early."
"Judge Stanley Sacks said he didn't believe 55-year-old convicted burglar Charles Miles had shown himself to be rehabilitated while in prison and expressed skepticism over whether the state's constitution would allow him to effectively commute the remainder of Miles' sentence if he wanted to."[3]
Given all this violence, the next mayor of Chicago will be the one who convinces voters that they have what it takes to squelch this violence. Residents are tired of it, the shootings are happening in areas that pull in tourists and outside visitors, and patience is about gone for all the progressive changes that were enacted after the Laquan McDonald shooting and 2020 George Floyd murder (and subsequent rioting and looting).
[1] https://cwbchicago.com/2022/05/chaotic-shooting-leaves-at-least-2-dead-8-more-injured-on-near-north-side.html
[2] https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-shooting-back-of-the-yards-crime-south-side/11837864/
[3] https://abc7chicago.com/kim-foxx-chicago-crime-cook-county-inmate-gov-pritzker/11829280/
Allora
Allora
Most news seems to be biased in some fashion. Between that and the amount of speculation, which is not always labeled as such, consumers need a BS detector more than ever - even for video.
The Challenger disaster led to many weeks of management training for corporate nerds, like me, to combat group think. "Twelve Angry Men" was the basis for several hours of that training. I went through that at least three times.