murders
Chicago: 2 Dead, 11 Wounded In Shootings As Temp Soars To 91 Degrees
On Tuesday, the temperature at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago soared to 91 degrees.
Shootings predictably picked up as well.
From Rosemary Regina Sobol and Adam Sege on the Chicago Tribune website this morning:
Two men were killed and at least 11 people were wounded — one of them by police — in shootings from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning across Chicago, police said.
The Chicago Sun-Times wins the award for being more insightful, recognizing what appears to be a correlation here in the “Windy City” between rising temperatures and more shootings. From their website last night:
Two men were killed and at least 10 other people were wounded in gun violence across the city from Tuesday afternoon until early Wednesday.
The outbreak of shootings came after a two-week period of relative calm and, once again, coincided with an improvement in the weather, with Tuesday temperatures hovering in the upper 80s.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
The pick-up in gun-related violence may last for quite a bit longer now as the Weather Channel website is calling for at least 70 degree weather in Chicago until next Tuesday, reversing the unseasonably-colder temps Chicagoans were subjected to this spring.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Sources:
Sege, Adam and Sobol, Rosemary Regina. “2 dead, 11 wounded in shootings across Chicago.” Chicago Tribune. 15 May. 2013. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-2-men-shot-in-south-shore-neighborhood-20130514,0,3117824.story). 15 May 2013.
“2 dead, 10 injured in shootings across city.” Chicago Sun-Times. 14 May 2013. (http://www.suntimes.com/20116712-761/2-dead-10-injured-in-shootings-across-city.html). 15 May 2013.
Chicago Reporter Goes Off Anti-Gun Reservation
Anyone who’s read/listened to the work of Chicago-based reporters over a period of time might detect the anti-gun bias that many of them seem to have. So I was somewhat shocked when the following appeared on the Chicago Sun-Times website the other day. Steve Huntley wrote on May 9:
Amid the gun control debate following the Newtown killings, average Americans could be forgiven for thinking — as polling shows most do — that gun violence is higher than 20 years ago. The truth is exactly the opposite — both the number and rate of gun murders have plunged since 1993.
In what can only be interpreted as a setback to the gun control crusade, two new studies document a remarkable trend in firearm crime. Gun-related homicides in 2011 numbered 11,101, down from 18,253 in 1993 — a 39 percent decline, according to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics. And the number of non-fatal firearm victims in the same period fell by more than two-thirds, from 1.5 million in 1993 to 467,300 in 2011. Separately, the Pew Research Center found that the nation’s gun homicide rate had fallen 49 percent between 1993 and 2010.
These declines came as the population of the United States increased, gun sales soared, and concealed-carry laws multiplied. Yes, the decline came as overall violent crime fell, guns account for 70 percent of murders, and major cities like Chicago are plagued by violence. But the bottom line is firearm violence has fallen to the point that most gun deaths aren’t murders — six in 10 of them are suicides.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Huntley added later in the piece:
I’ve never owned a firearm and support reasonable gun legislation, but given the facts, has the legislative emphasis after Sandy Hook been focused too much on guns and not enough on the violently mentally ill?
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Nice to see some in the so-called “Fourth Estate” still asking thought-provoking questions. And reporting the facts. And checking their biases in at the door.
After penning this article, brave Mr. Huntley might want to be on the lookout for the following:
1. A bayonet being shoved up his butt by a former Chicago mayor
2. A dead fish being mailed to him by the current Chicago mayor
3. Being wire-tapped (plenty o’ stories going around about that this week- choose your own search engine)
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Source:
Huntley, Steve. “Gun deaths are down as debate rages.” Chicago Sun-Times. 9 May 2013. (http://www.suntimes.com/news/huntley/20001555-452/gun-deaths-are-down-as-debate-rages.html). 13 May 2013.
Chicago, Cook County Residents To Be Discriminated Against On Right To Carry In Illinois?
Following the local news as I do, I’ve been made aware of a push to discriminate against Chicago and Cook County residents from the rest of Illinois concerning the coming right to carry concealed firearms in the state. It seems to have some teeth to it, judging from what appeared on the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action website yesterday:
Illinois: Legislature Under Pressure to Compromise on Shall-Issue Right to Carry Legislation
Legislators in both the state Senate and House are under extreme pressure to exempt Chicago and Cook County from any “shall-issue” mandate in the concealed carry law that a federal court has ordered to be adopted by June 9. Such an exemption would allow Chicago and Cook County authorities to deny a concealed carry permit to an applicant even if that person meets all of the statutory requirements used to judge eligibility in the rest of the state. Any exemption for Chicago and Cook County could easily deny 40% of Illinois’ population “shall-issue” right to carry, and put gun owners state-wide at risk of felony prosecution if they happen to travel across Cook County or Chicago lines.
Further, in anticipation of the June 9 deadline, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is trying to force an ordinance that would allow him to approve and reject licenses for concealed carry in Cook County, and force applicants to cough up a clearly discriminatory $300 fee just for a license to legally exercise their right to self-defense. Please contact your state Senator and Representative TODAY and urge them to support equal right to carry laws for ALL Illinois residents.
Any semblance of an argument for more restrictive gun control laws in Chicago and Cook County falls apart when faced with facts: at a time when gun ownership throughout the country is at an all-time high, the nation’s murder rate has fallen to a near all-time low. Additionally, Chicago has had a long history with the inverse relationship of increased gun control laws and public safety. Chicago imposed a handgun registration requirement in 1968, with no effect on the city’s rising handgun homicide numbers or the percentages that handgun homicides comprised of total homicides. In April 1982, a law prohibiting possession of handguns not previously registered with the police took effect in Chicago. Annual handgun homicide numbers and percentages of total homicides fluctuated, and then rose sharply.
The bottom line is that criminals do not obey the law – but the law-abiding people in Illinois, regardless of where they might live, or what their economic standing may be, have a natural, fundamental, and constitutionally protected right to defend themselves. Any Right to Carry law passed by the legislature in compliance with the federal court ruling MUST recognize this. Given the high violent crime rates in Chicago and Cook County, law-abiding residents of these municipalities have a great need to carry a firearm for self-defense since they are likely to be victims of violent crime, and their local government officials refuse to deal effectively with violent criminals there. It is time for Chicago politicians to face the facts – their ideological crusade against guns has only ensured that criminals are armed and the law-abiding are defenseless victims.
Contact your state Senator and Representative immediately. Urge them to oppose any legislation or amendment that would discriminate among the residents of Illinois, recognizing the rights of some, but not others. Our constitutional right to keep and bear arms and inherent right to self-defense protect all Americans, not just some in a particular state, city or county.
Contact information for your state legislators can be found here.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
NRA News Examines Chicago’s Gun Violence
“It’s disgusting. I was proud to be a Chicagoan. And now, it’s like, you see it crumbling. It’s terrible. And I see no hope for it. I don’t see anything getting better. It’s just dying.”
-Jim Arceo, retired Chicago Police officer
Now featuring on the NRA News website (hat tip Chicago police blog Second City Cop):
Special Report: America’s Deadliest City
From Investigative Journalist Ginny Simone
While politicians continue to push for tougher gun laws, more innocent lives are lost on the streets of Chicago. In this exclusive from investigative reporter Ginny Simone, she speaks with gang members and retired Chicago police officers who reveal that enforcing current laws, pushing tougher sentencing for crimes and enacting concealed carry legislation would help reduce gun violence.
“Special Report: America’s Deadliest City”
NRA News Video
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Deadly Chicago Weekend
As I type this late Monday night, it’s being reported that 3 people are dead and 140 injured from the Boston Marathon Terror Attack.
Compare this to last weekend here in my hometown of Chicago, were gunfire claimed 4 lives and wounded 21.
Sadly, such violent weekends have become all too common here in the “Windy City.”
And as the weather warms up…
Mark my words: Chicago will surpass that carnage out in Boston in no time. Give it just a couple of weeks.
And try to avoid being a victim in the meantime.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Restraining Order Fails To Protect Victim In Illinois
Just wanted to share with you a recent incident here in northern Illinois concerning an order of protection- and how it failed miserably against a determined individual. Ruth Fuller reported on the Chicago Tribune website on March 15:
Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said that a Mundelein man killed his ex-girlfriend on the street in front of her father’s Antioch home this morning, then escaped to a nearby trailer where he committed suicide.
Curran identified the victim as Diane Kephart, 57, of Vernon Hills, and said that she recently had taken out and renewed an order of protection against her ex-boyfriend Paul Neff, 57, of the 1900 block of West Lakeview Avenue in Mundelein.
Neff had been charged with aggravated battery in a Feb. 17 incident involving Kephart, Curran said. Two days later, she filed an order of protection, according to the sheriff. That order expired March 12, he said, the same day Kephart filed to have it renewed for another two years.
It was reported that Ms. Kephart suffered a knife wound to the neck.
Just one more sad example of how a restraining order isn’t too effective in protecting its recipient from violent acts of a determined individual.
I wonder if the outcome wouldn’t have been different if the victim hadn’t relied solely on a piece of paper for her personal safety.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Source:
Fuller, Ruth. “Sheriff: Woman killed by ex-boyfriend in Antioch despite protection order.” Chicago Tribune. 15. Mar. 2013. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-person-dead-barricade-situation-in-antioch-20130315,0,183437.story). 19 Mar. 2013.
Chicago Murders Down Last Month Due To More Cops On The Streets?
Here in Chicago, the news media is making a big deal about the historically-low number of murders here in February. It seems a correlation is trying to be made between the few homicides and the Chicago Police Department paying cops overtime to saturate the problem areas of the city. Jon Seidel reported on the Chicago Sun-Times website yesterday:
The Chicago Police Department is considering the expansion of the “hot zone” crime-fighting strategy highlighted by Supt. Garry McCarthy this week as the city recorded a historically low number of murders in February.
McCarthy is paying overtime to 200 officers for nightly patrols of 10 areas identified in a three-year and one-year analysis of murders, shootings and robberies across the city.
It will be interesting to see if murders decline over time while this crime-fighting strategy is pursued. Personally, I think the saturation had some effect on last month’s homicides. However, I suspect the cold, snowy weather also had a lot to do with the low numbers. When spring-like temperatures finally arrive here, look for the bodies to start stacking up again.
If a correlation is found between more cops in the “hot zone” and less murders, funding this crime-fighting strategy through overtime pay isn’t going to cut it if City Hall is serious about fighting violent crime and beating-back our growing reputation as the “Deadliest Global City.” Hiring new beat cops will be needed. Even a correlation isn’t found, for that matter. Consider what Fran Spielman of the Sun-Times wrote yesterday about Chicago Police Department manpower issues:
Emanuel campaigned on a promise to add 1,000 police officers not now on the street. Instead, he has reassigned 1,019 police officers to beat patrol, half of whom already had been on the street in now-disbanded specialized units.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported in late December that, as of Oct. 15, a total of 6,638 rank-and-file officers were assigned to police beats citywide, down from 6,746 beat cops at the start of 2011.
The reason is simple: For every newly hired officer assigned to a beat during the past two years, six other sworn officers have retired. And because about 1,200 retirements have sharply depleted the payroll, rank-and-file police staffing even in some high-crime areas where new officers were added last year is again declining, the Sun-Times found.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Like I said, overtime isn’t going to cut it. More beat cops need to be hired, trained, and deployed yesterday to make progress in the ongoing fight against violent crime and the city’s growing reputation as a war zone.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Sources:
Seidel, Jon. “Supt. McCarthy considers expanding ‘hot zone’ crime-fighting strategy.” Chicago Sun-Times. 4 Mar. 2013. (http://www.suntimes.com/18628475-761/supt-mccarthy-considers-expanding-hot-zone-crime-fighting-strategy.html). 5 Mar. 2013.
Spielman, Fran. “Suit: Chicago Police Department washes out cops’ relatives as recruits.” Chicago Sun-Times. 4 Mar. 2013. (www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/18630237-418/suit-chicago-police-department-washes-out-cops-relatives-as-recruits.html). 5 Mar. 2013.
Massad Ayoob, Rob Pincus Defend Semi-Auto, Military-Pattern Rifles And “High-Capacity” Magazines
How many readers have heard this uttered during the latest push for more gun “control” in America?:
Americans don’t need “fast-firing” guns with “high-capacity” magazines to protect themselves. Stopping a bad guy doesn’t require all those bullets.
Such dribble often reveals two things:
1. The individual saying this watches way too much television and/or movies.
2. That person fails to comprehend that sometimes there’s more than one aggressor involved.
This last point has been made exceedingly-clear to me these past couple of years in my observations of crime “south of the border.”
Any readers remember my July 2011 post about a gang of criminals carrying out a violent home invasion against an American couple residing in Ixtapa, Mexico? Pretty graphic story, huh?
And then there’s Fernando Aguirre of Surviving In Argentina blog-fame, who has mentioned multiple incidents involving more than one aggressor in his home country of Argentina. One story in particular stands out in my mind. From his survival-themed book The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving The Economic Collapse:
I also remember a forensic doctor that used to live in my neighborhood, who got ambushed by five or six men when he exited a restaurant. They did kill him, but he managed to kill four of them and he severely wounded another.
This doctor used to practice with his Glock .40 S&W at my local shooting range. I don’t remember exactly how many rounds he fired during the attack, but I remember that it at least doubled the capacity of most revolvers.
“Home Invaders Shot in Self Defense”
(Security cameras catch armed Tucson resident thwarting home invasion)
YouTube Video
Recently, two well-known firearm and personal defense experts- Massad Ayoob and Rob Pincus- have come out in support of semi-automatic military-pattern rifles and so-called “high-capacity” ammunition magazines. Here are some comments from them in their defense of the guns and magazines which others are so desperately trying to ban/take away:
I can certainly imagine scenarios where I would need to have a lot of rounds. I can certainly imagine scenarios where I would need to have the capability of controlling those rounds through a semi-automatic rifle where I can fire those rounds quickly and accurately. Multiple person home invasions would be an easy example that could obviously happen to any home in any part of the country.
-Rob Pincus of I.C.E. Training, in an interview published on the WND.com website on February 27, 2013
In a world where the Good People With Guns often have to deliver several hits to neutralize even one Bad Person With Deadly Weapons, and in which there is often more than one attacker, anyone applying logical thinking can only end up shouting one three-word mantra:
DO THE MATH!!
-Massad Ayoob of Massad Ayoob Group, in a January 31, 2013, post on the Massad Ayoob on Guns blog on the website of Backwoods Home magazine
The cops are the experts on the current criminal trends. If they have determined that a “high capacity” semiautomatic pistol and a .223 semiautomatic rifle with 30-round magazines are the best firearms for them to use to protect people like me and my family, they are obviously the best things for us to use to protect ourselves and our families.
-Massad Ayoob again, in a December 29, 2012, post on the Massad Ayoob on Guns blog
When it comes to firearms and self-defense, these guys know what they’re talking about.
More so than others who would have you “just fire the shotgun through the door” in an ill-advised attempt at protecting the home.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Illinois State Rep Tells Chicago Don’t Blame Rest Of Us For Your ‘Runaway Gun Problem’
This week, Illinois politicians clashed over gun rights in the state capital of Springfield. State Representative Jim Sacia, a Republican from Pecatonica and former FBI agent, added his two cents during a concealed-carry debate on Tuesday, February 26:
Here’s the problem in Illinois. I love you folks in Chicago. You’re the ones that have the problem. You have a runaway gun problem. Don’t blame the rest of us. This isn’t about Democrats. It’s not about Republicans. It’s because Chicago wants a warm fuzzy. Let’s pass a bill that will eliminate assault rifles. Last year there were more people killed with hammers than with assault rifles.
And then the State Representative went on to make an analogy about taking away the semi-automatic rifles to, ahem, castration…
“Jim Sacia, castration and IL gun laws.mp4”
YouTube Video
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Repeat Of The 1992 Los Angeles Riots Coming This Summer?
Following up on last night’s post abut urban warfare training exercises in U.S. cities, I noted how one Midwest-based writer recently claimed that an unnamed “high-ranking, military source” in the Department of Homeland Security says the military exercises, conducted jointly with local law enforcement, are being conducted to desensitize urban dwellers in preparation for mass civil unrest in American cities. This is supposedly being done out of fear a currency devaluation, astronomical gas prices, and resistance to more gun “control” which will combine to produce civil strife in America’s urban areas this summer.
Like I wrote yesterday, “take it or leave it” concerning the credibility of this claim. But let’s just suppose for an instant the above is true and these really are the reasons for the exercises.
If that’s the case, then the powers-that-be may have overlooked one more potential flashpoint:
The trial of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin that’s set to begin on June 10.
Yamiche Alcindor reported on the USA TODAY website on February 5:
Trayvon Martin would have turned 18 Tuesday.
Instead, lawyers for George Zimmerman, the man accused of murdering the teen, and prosecutors were back in court, where a judge denied a motion to delay the June 10 trial date and heard arguments about evidence…
In court Tuesday, Judge Debra Nelson denied a motion by Zimmerman lawyer Mark O’Mara to delay the trial date. O’Mara argued that the prosecution has been slow to turn over evidence and that he does not have enough time to prepare his case…
“We’re four months away from trial,” Nelson said. “The court has no reason to continue the case.”
If George Zimmerman is found innocent of the teen’s death, will one or more American urban centers experience rioting not unlike what took place in Los Angeles in 1992 in the wake of the Rodney King trial verdicts?
By itself, I think it’s possible. In conjunction with other miseries, even more so.
And just to remind everyone of just how bad the 1992 Los Angeles riots really were:
• 53 deaths
• 2,000 injured
• 3,600 fires
• 1,100 buildings destroyed
• Up to $1 billion in material losses
And don’t forget the looting…
“1992 LA Riots – Defenseless Store Owner Confront Rioters with Hammer”
YouTube Video
Let justice take its course, but it might be a good idea to keep an eye on that trial and when it’s going to be wrapping up. Especially for the city-dwellers out there.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Source:
Alcindor, Yamiche. “Judge denies request for delay in Zimmerman trial.” USA TODAY. 5 Feb. 2013. (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/05/trayvon-martin-hearing-birthday/1892419/). 23 Feb. 2013.
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