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Monday was the deadliest day in Chicago in 13 years, and 10-year-old Tavon Tanner got caught in the worst of the gun violence as he played with his twin sister on the porch of his Lawndale home. […]
Tavon was among 19 people shot Monday in Chicago. Nine of them were killed, marking the most homicides in a single day in the city since July 5, 2003, when 10 homicides were recorded, according to a Tribune analysis of police data.
The toll included Loreal Lucas, 61, killed on the porch of his South Side home in front of his 3-year-old great-nephew; a 24-year-old man killed as he drove a Lexus on the Southwest Side; a 44-year-old man shot dead as he stood with two friends on the South Side.
More than 2,500 people have been shot in the city so far this year, a pace of gun violence not seen here since the late 1990s. There have been at least 426 homicides.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 9:47 am
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I rarely hear in the media about people doing these careless murders being caught and prosecuted. Does anyone know the arrest and conviction rate for these gangbanger murderers?
Comment by illinois Bob Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 9:50 am
Catch them.
Release them.
Push inane gun laws that will have no effect on gang-bangers.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Comment by DGD Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 9:54 am
Found it interesting how much attention a murdered Google employee out east got vs what happened Monday.
Comment by OneMan Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 9:56 am
Guns don’t kill. They just make it easier
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 9:56 am
I don’t know what the answer is, but something has to change in Chicago. Current ordinances and laws are not helping, and I don’t believe any new ones will make the violence end either. More gun laws just make gun owners into criminals, and don’t get guns out of the hands of those who intend to commit crime in the first place.
More aggressive law enforcement tactics only leads to more distrust and animosity towards those entrusted with keping the peace.
Maybe CPD can get NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton to come over next month when he leaves the big apple.
Comment by Something must change Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 9:57 am
What did we do in the late 1990’s that lowered the the pace of gun violence.
Comment by Groucho Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 9:57 am
Bob, I would guess that the arrest rate is sky high but the conviction rate is practically zero. You have one of these shootings, probably retaliatory for a previous shooting. Police can check social media, follow leads, etc to find out who had motive or who was bragging about it. Say the cops arrest this person - what proof do the prosecutors have? These gang members, after they commit a shooting, they just dump the gun used into Lake Michigan or the Chicago River - heck, even a random storm drain. Unless the cops find the gun used (or something like fibers, hairs, dna) the prosecutor cannot show means, and they can all bring witnesses to court to argue the guy was somewhere else at the time of the shooting - thus, no opportunity. Reasonable doubt, blah blah blah, the guy walks. The gangs then send another straw buyer to a gun show in Indiana or wherever to buy another handgun to replace the one they tossed.
Comment by Lester Holt's Mustache Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 10:01 am
==Bob, I would guess that the arrest rate is sky high==
No.
The Chicago Police clear fewer than 25% of homicides. Rates are lower still for the majority of shootings, which do not result in death.
Comment by crazybleedingheart Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 10:05 am
The carnage will not end as a result of stricter control laws and/or enhanced law enforcement initiatives. This is a cultural issue and until the culture changes for the better, which is highly unlikely, the carnage will continue.
Comment by to the point Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 10:05 am
They’re happy you think the problem is with people being presumed innocent, not their investigative techniques and community rapport, though.
Comment by crazybleedingheart Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 10:06 am
==The Chicago Police clear fewer than 25% of homicides. Rates are lower still for the majority of shootings, which do not result in death.==
Just because the detectives can’t clear the file doesn’t mean they do not know who committed the act. It means they don’t have enough evidence to forward it to the Asst. DA for prosecution. Officers and detectives of CPD are not dumb or lazy, their hands are just tied.
Comment by Lester Holt's Mustache Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 10:09 am
Please consider that prohibition makes the illegal drugs more valuable than they would be. CVS and Walgreens are not killing each other for turf.
Comment by Don/legend Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 10:12 am
@Lester Holt
=These gang members, after they commit a shooting, they just dump the gun used into Lake Michigan or the Chicago River=
Actually, I’ve heard that that is not the case in Chicago gangs as it is in most other cities. I understand that shooters are expected to hold on to the gun for re-use, and if they lose it they get the tar beaten out of them.
I suspect that one of the reasons that the capture rate is so low is that there aren’t enough cops on patrol in these neighborhoods to get to the site quickly and intercept the shooters.
Remember, it’s VERY rare that police actually PROTECT a citizen from a criminal in the act of committing a crime. They just investigate after the corpse is cold. That’s why letting citizens arm themselves is really the only means of protection in these war zones….
I hate to say this, but the only way to deal with this may be to have well organized militias in these neighborhoods with certain powers to protect the people, with training, financial and logistical support from the government. Not ideal , but it’s clear that CPD can’t, or won’t, deal with this problem.
Comment by illinois bob Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 10:17 am
I don’t think blame can be placed on BLM, trust between police and the AA community has been terrible for decades - not only in Chicago, but in every city in America. Crazybleedingheart has a point on CPD rapport with the community - everyone knows who did the shooting, but none of them trust the cops enough to talk to them about it. They also know that even if they did agree to testify as a witness against these guys, CPD doesn’t have the resources or the manpower to protect them from being killed before the trial. Not enough evidence, no witnesses = no prosecution.
Comment by Lester Holt's Mustache Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 10:18 am
“Reasonable doubt, blah blah blah”
Did you just “blah blah blah” the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution?
– MrJM
Comment by @MisterJayEm Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 10:20 am
CPD officer count is very low. Plus, neighbors never want to rat-out someone. Considering both of these issues, I can imagine that they’re not clearing these homicides.
I live in one of the Districts (13th and 12th) that was combined to save money. After losing 44 officers this past month, the officer count is equal to what the old 12th District employed.
An officer once told me that no matter what time of the day something happens, there is always someone who sees it. They just prefer to not tell anyone.
Some force needs to take hold of this and get people the understand what they are doing. But, I cannot imagine what that would be?
Comment by Belle Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 10:26 am
==Actually, I’ve heard that that is not the case in Chicago gangs as it is in most other cities. I understand that shooters are expected to hold on to the gun for re-use, and if they lose it they get the tar beaten out of them==
Perhaps, but that seems unlikely. The higher ups know that if the shooter is busted, more of a chance they will roll on them. Considering the amount of $$ they make from drug sales, having them lose the gun and purchasing a new weapon would be a relatively cheap way to ensure they don’t have to worry about it
Comment by Lester Holt's Mustache Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 10:30 am
“Crisis creates opportunity. Crisis creates leverage to change … and we’ve got to use that leverage of the crisis to force structural change,” said Rauner, borrowing from a political philosophy famously coined by his friend Rahm Emanuel that “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-bruce-rauner-statewide-tour-met-0407-20150406-story.html
Dr. Rauner: “Bruce doesn’t have a social agenda. He has an economic and education agenda.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kM7NvQTUDU
With the realization that there are working groups working on subjects such as criminal justice reform and education funding reform in Illinois, there is also the reality of social service providers STILL not being paid because of the “re-evaluation” of their need in the Rauner administration’s grand plan for re-forming Illinois. You cannot JUST have an economic agenda, or JUST have an educational agenda without social component(s). It will probably be years before the entire damage done by the contract freezes in 2015 is known. But I would bet that some of that premeditated leveraging has not helped the situation in Chicago.
http://ww2.kqed.org/education/2015/03/06/gun-violence/ - watch the video done by Youth Radio on “The Bullet in the Bedroom”
http://www.cwla.org/the-impact-of-gun-violence-on-children-families-communities/
Comment by Anon221 Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 10:35 am
Ferguson Effect.
Comment by phocion Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 10:37 am
I would encourage certain posters to become much more informed before touching subjects like these. A hint: If you begin a sentence with “I don’t know but I would guess…” Stop.
Comment by AlfondoGonz Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 10:58 am
every shooting. every victim. analysis. empathy can come from the portrait of some victims. but other victims are not so sympathetic. what may move action is the cost. especially of health care. for all kinds of victims. it is literally a cost to all of us, no matter where we live.
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 11:00 am
A so-called “Ferguson Effect” does not and cannot explain why murder is up in Chicago but down in New York City.
– MrJM
Comment by @MisterJayEm Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 11:01 am
== Did you just “blah blah blah” the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution?==
I did! C’mon, it’s IllinoisBob. Do you really think it would help if I completely laid out every step of that process? The discussion so far hasn’t involved teacher’s unions.
Comment by Lester Holt's Mustache Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 11:08 am
Higher taxes, pending teachers strike and Chicago being, sadly, a combat zone this is how I picture Rham at any presser…
All is well!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDT_IBk7hAA
Comment by Big Muddy Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 11:12 am
A young lady in one of my classes, last year, told me her grandmother lived on the same block that I grew-up on - on the south-side of Chicago. I told her I had not seen the house in 50 plus years. I left at 17 and joined the army. I asked her to take a picture of the house - I’d like to see it 50 plus years later. A few classes later I asked he if she had a chance to take a picture. She replied, “Oh professor I can’t go down there - there shooting down there. I was stunned.
Comment by The Professor Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 11:14 am
Totally incorrect and the city suffered 16 murders a couple summers back. It’s called decit and playing with stats and classification of shootings . More to come and the worst stats are yet to come
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 11:25 am
Mr. JM,
I disagree with your dismissal of the Ferguson effect, as do others. It is real and supported by empirical data. Excerpt below is from Real Clear Politics (May 20, 2016)
University of Missouri at St. Louis criminologist Richard Rosenfeld has had “second thoughts.” Like many academic criminologists, he had pooh-poohed charges that skyrocketing murder rates in many cities in 2015 and 2016 result from a “Ferguson effect” — a skittering back from proactive policing for fear of accusations of racism like those that followed the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014.
Now, after looking over 2015 data from 56 large cities, he’s changed his mind. Homicides in those cities were up 17 percent from 2014. And 10 cities, all with large black populations, saw homicides up 33 percent on average.
“These aren’t flukes or blips, this is a real increase,” Rosenfeld said. “The only explanation that gets the timing right is a version of the Ferguson effect.”
Rosenfeld thus parts company with the liberal Brennan Center, whose analysts argued that the 2015 homicide increase in large cities was not a “national pandemic.” He parts company also with FiveThirtyEight analyst Carl Bialik, who dismissed a 16 percent homicide increase in 59 of the 60 largest cities in 2014 and 2015 as “a less dire picture than the one painted by reports in several large media outlets.”
But a 16 or 17 percent increase in homicides in major cities that account for a large share of the national murder toll is, in historical perspective, very dire indeed. The most accurate word is “unprecedented.” The only double-digit increases in national murder statistics going back to 1960 are 13 percent (in 1968), 11 percent (in 1966, 1967 and 1971) and 10 percent (in 1979)…
Comment by phocion Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 11:27 am
A so-called “Ferguson Effect” does not and cannot explain why murder is up in Chicago but down in New York City.
Chicago has hollowed out its black neighborhoods, while in new york theyre gentrify. Plus ny has a broad base immigrants arriving and willing to live in “bad” areas while chicago has relied on mexico and central america which has being undergoing a slow down. The black neighborhoods are nothing more than isolated bantustans where lawlessness and cultural collapse prevails.
Comment by atsuishin Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 11:32 am
Again I ask that if gun violence was nearly this bad in the late 1990’s what did we do to lower it. Because it was lowered somehow?
Comment by Groucho Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 11:32 am
The right thing to do is always the hardest thing to do. We need to fashion better people. Better laws and better policemen even better guns will not stop people from selling poison to their neighbors or shooting up crowded neighborhoods over the turf rights to make those sales. There was a French philosopher who said something to the effect that we act better when our honor keeps us from acting badly than when we are constrained by laws.
Comment by Matt Vernau Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 11:55 am
===I ask that if gun violence was nearly this bad in the late 1990’s what did we do to lower it. Because it was lowered somehow?===
It is hard to say what causes gun violence to increase or decrease. There is very little research or funding for research into the subject and zero funding from the federal government, the major funder of many types of research in the US.
Comment by Hit or Miss Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 12:00 pm
Political leaders have shown little leadership on this issue, other than the usual rhetoric. There isn’t a real incentive to do what is needed. The folks living in these devastated and impacted areas just keep voting for the same politicians, anyway.
Comment by Apocalypse Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 12:34 pm
we have cut social services and anti ciolence programs; several just completely eliminated. Now violence is increasing. perhaps we should refocus on restoring services
Comment by Ghost Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 12:34 pm
Groucho @ 11:32:
Things were really bad in Chicago in the 1990’s, I believe, due to those awful human warehouses known as (massive) public housing projects. Murder was really rampant then. Sniper fire from tall CHA buildings felled toddlers, Chicago Police Officers, the whole spectrum. Compacting tens of thousands of desperate people in a small area did not work, and complexes like Cabrini Green and Robert Taylor Homes have been demolished. In 1992, not even the height of it all, saw 943 people murdered in Chicago. The population of Chicago then was about 2,783,000. Today, the population is about 60,000 less.
Interesting to note that in 1960, when the population was over 3,550,000, there were fewer than 400 murders in Chicago, which is fewer than the current year-to-date figure.
Officials wanted to stop compacting people needing public housing and change the culture of gun violence to reduce the crime rate back then. They accomplished one, and it wasn’t good enough.
Comment by Stumpy's bunker Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 12:38 pm
Can you people please stop playing pin the tail on the donkey? It’s a pretty serious subject.
It’s not amenable to wild theories springing from Archie Bunker’s armchair.
Comment by crazybleedingheart Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 12:44 pm
One of the youngest victims…
https://www.facebook.com/cbschicago/videos/vb.27510768337/10154469474583338/?type=2&theater
Comment by Anon221 Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 12:51 pm
** Can you people please stop playing pin the tail on the donkey? **
This is a discussion, and with discussion comes opinion - we aren’t creating public policy here and not everyone has hours and hours to research a subject before posting.
Comment by Archie Bunker Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 1:02 pm
On the “Ferguson Effect”
http://www.salon.com/2016/05/27/the_war_on_police_is_a_myth_new_data_throroughly_debunk_a_noxious_right_wing_talking_point_partner/
http://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2015/09/there-is-no-ferguson-effect/403132/
Just sayin
Comment by Honeybear Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 1:12 pm
I’ve got news for you: 99% of the people making public policy on the topic haven’t benefited from hours and hours of research, either.
Comment by crazybleedingheart Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 1:12 pm
Discussion involves opinions tied to a shared set of facts.
A collection of people sharing pet “facts” at random without specifying whether they’re a) true or b) actually related to the question, is not a discussion.
Like pin the tail on the donkey, it is a moderately entertaining parlor game for children.
Comment by crazybleedingheart Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 1:25 pm
An article written by Heather MacDonald titled,” Stone cold silence” appeared in the Chicago Tribune a number of years ago. The crux of the article was that few people really want to talk about the underlying causes of violence, especially youth violence in the city of Chicago. To quote a excerpt,” as long as the norm is black communities is for boys and men to father children with raising them ,the killing will continue”. The article was relevant to the issue then and is relevant to the issue now.
Comment by to the point Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 1:27 pm
This is a complete degradation of values within a specific geographic area. But,
I do feel great sadness for the individual families that lose innocents.
Comment by cdog Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 1:30 pm
@ Groucho.
Many things brought the violence of 90’s down. Crack’s decreasing popularity, mandatory minimums, incarceration of Gang Leaders and increased police presence. Now however gangs don’t have that same organizational structure so you can no longer identify the head to cut off to kill body.
Comment by Generation X Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 1:38 pm
I am a believer in the concept of national service for all young people.
As a Navy veteran, who was a tad bit wild during high school and experienced the benefits of military service, the structure of the military might have turned around many of these killers.
Comment by cdog Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 1:43 pm
So everyone is operating from that same set of shared facts, “to the point” is citing the work of Heather MacDonald, Manhattan Institute, author of “The War on Cops: How the new attack on law and order makes everyone less safe,” recipient of the Quill & Badge Award for Excellence in Communication from the International Union of Police Associations.
Comment by crazybleedingheart Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 1:43 pm
cdog- Saying that “this is a complete degradation of values within a specific geographical area” seems to painting far too broad a brush stroke. People are trying to make differences in these areas. Don’t lump them all together with those who are prefer violence over community.
http://www.worldsportchicago.org/programs/playstreets/
http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/making-a-difference/WEB-430P-PKG-MAD-PLAY-STREETS_Chicago-388707531.html
Comment by Anon221 Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 1:47 pm
GenX: No.
https://www.brennancenter.org/publication/what-caused-crime-decline
Comment by crazybleedingheart Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 1:48 pm
==the structure of the military might have turned around many of these killers.==
In other words, your pet theory is that combat experience would be a good way to treat the PTSD epidemic on the South and West sides.
Next.
Comment by crazybleedingheart Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 1:52 pm
Bleeding Heart
Mandatory minimums are not mass incarceration. You can argue against their fairness, but that is a different discussion. Your study believes Cracks decrease probably played a role, undoubtedly the demise of prominent gang leaders helped. Whatever the case Chicago has no implemented the changes your study suggests or they dont work because the violence has rebooted
Comment by Generation X Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 1:59 pm
And four shot in Evanston on Tuesday.
“There’s something happening here. What it is ain’t exactly clear.”
Comment by Cook County Commoner Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 2:00 pm
Honeybear,
With respect, posting links to two incredibly left-leaning publications is hardly a refutation of empirical data that support the existence of the Ferguson Effect. It is real. It is just not convenient to the narrative of some who wish to demonize police yet expect them to somehow protect black lives that are in danger from violent criminals.
Comment by phocion Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 2:11 pm
Military service does not guarantee combat and PTSD.
To participate in the defense of our country is not a bad thing.
The self-discipline, self-esteem, self-respect, etc., that a rotation on the military provides young people would positively be helpful in this situation.
Many countries have compulsory service. It’s a great place for a teenage brain to be. Much better than the streets of Chicago with a smart phone, a gun, and no purpose in life.
Comment by cdog Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 2:15 pm
Killers in Chicago have confused freedom to believe in a religion with freedom to beleive in the laws. Erosion of membership in organized religion has been a long trend. Fair enough - old news. But when government leaders give the impression of being agnostic about laws and those who enforce them, you have killers with no fear of god or the law.
Comment by License to ILL Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 2:19 pm
When it is more personally beneficial to deal drugs or guns than it is to get a diploma and job, what would one expect the choice to be? A lot of drugs and guns on the street and you cannot expect law and order to prevail. This dilemma goes far, far into the base problem or purpose in life. So many of those on the streets with guns feel no purpose, don’t know what long term goals are and don’t know what long term means: today is enough.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 2:30 pm
Let’s support the Police and not the criminals!!!!!
Comment by All Knowing Oz Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 2:39 pm
@Lester Holt
=I did! C’mon, it’s IllinoisBob. Do you really think it would help if I completely laid out every step of that process? The discussion so far hasn’t involved teacher’s unions.=
Not necessary. Most of us who were well educated understand due process and equal protection under the law, even if we WERE taught by union teachers!LOL Sorry, I couldn’t help taking the bait….
Comment by Illinois Bob Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 3:32 pm
IllinoisBob equals tiresome
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 4:09 pm
Still amazed at the level of segregation in this City. IF you came to visit and new left the loop, north, or near west side, you’d have no idea that the bedrock of the City is literally crumbling. The schools are in hopeless debt and performing poorly (CTU not helping). The State is broke, so it can’t afford to fund social services that might help this problem. The City Council does practically nothing. The State legislature does practically nothing.
At the end of the day, it’s sad to say, but people in the good neighborhoods just don’t care what happens in the bad neighborhoods.
Comment by BK Bro Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 4:20 pm
ugh, this problem! those who accuse that Heather MacDonald is the only fuel for thought on one side best hope that others don’t start quoting Cornell West or someone of that off the rails ilk on matters cause you might just be in a weird box too! everyone get out of a box!
I start from the premise that some people are bad cause bad things are happening, and that we have to keep them from the good people. And I don’t think that we can take the long time to wait for the long work to actually work. while we wait for education/ jobs etc, we have to act now and arrest and keep the bad people from the good people by putting them away. and by keeping guns out of their hands.
there are actual dead bodies, actual women (it’s mostly women) who are sexually assaulted. those people deserve justice. we hire cops to take care of that. unfortunately, for many reasons, this violence is happening more in some places than in others. everyone deserves justice. that’s where I’m at.
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 4:23 pm
There is a creeping fear in many parts of Chicago. Parts of Uptown are no go areas late at night, as are certain streets in Rogers Park. Really that is not new. The situation is not limited to the lowest income areas of Chicago.
As we know from an excellent article in the Sun Times on who gets killed in Chicago
http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/who-gets-killed-in-chicago-analysis-watchdogs/ most are poor and most have gang associations. None the less people, and children, the innocents are being killed as collateral damage right now and there are very unnerved people in many communities.
Comment by Rod Wednesday, Aug 10, 16 @ 4:56 pm