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About that deleted post…

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Illinois

* It’s gone. There was a math error that I corrected, but then I discovered, with the help of a commenter, a far bigger error. So, the whole thing is gone.

This is what I get when I know in my gut that something doesn’t look quite right and I post it anyway. Live and learn. Regret the errors. Etc. And thanks much to the commenters.

Here’s the rest of the post with the beginning taken out and slightly edited so it makes sense…

* Mayor Daley said yesterday that more money to hire more cops would be nice to fight crime, but he has no extra money lying around and wants tougher gun laws…

“This is all about guns — and that’s why the crusade is on. We hope to get their cooperation in Springfield.”

The cops have a lot of tools to arrest people already. More gun laws might help, but the ones on the books haven’t stopped a whole lot of criminals from breaking the law so far. What’s needed, besides for the communities in question to get their acts together, is more cops on those streets - far more than Daley’s police superintendent wants - and a much more sophisticated use of city resources.

* As for the National Guard idea, there is some misunderstanding of what the Guard does and who they are. The Guard has an MP unit based in Springfield. I embedded with the unit when I was in Iraq. Many of those soldiers are also police officers back home. They are impressively well-trained and they certainly know what they’re doing. This is not the Vietnam War-era Guard of untrained draft-avoiders we’re talking about. These folks are top notch. I watched them in some pretty intense situations and they performed wonderfully. They could definitely handle a Chicago patrol duty.

* Related…

* Surrender policy: Call Meeks : Meeks then contacts police and arranges a meeting place where the suspect can be handed over. He said police have told him that suspects should no longer fear police brutality, thanks to surveillance cameras in interrogation rooms. Meeks said fears remain. But he said suspects have other options.

* ‘Chicago has come a long way’: “Right now, what is lacking in the city is that people involved in violence prevention need to collaborate better.”

* Crime fight is up to us, not the National Guard

* I told you so

* National Guard Proposal Draws Mixed Reactions

* Congressman Davis Says Troops Not Necessary in Chicago

* A brash proposal

* Plea to deploy National Guard simply a cop out

* Quinn not sending National Guard to Chicago without Daley’s OK

* Quinn: Daley Must Request Guard Troops

* Daley: National Guard only a ‘Band-Aid’ solution to crime

* Daley cool to idea of National Guard troops on Chicago streets

* CHA link to Chatham mayhem?

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 2:24 pm

Comments

Sorry for the drive by regarding concealed conceled carry. April 9th you expressed a sliding interest in concealed carry laws. I endorse the idea myself. Just saying…

Comment by in absentia Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 2:27 pm
In reference to the deleted post:

I think the actual math works out like this Chicago is 227.2 square miles of land. 9% of that is about 20.5 square miles.

So that would be 1 new cop for every .205 square miles. Or 5 new cops for every square mile.

Or just over 1 new cop for every 4 block x 4 block grid section.

Comment by George Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 2:30 pm
Yeah, Mayor Daley, you stick with that. The city has been shedding police for years and you just keep repeating your tired mantra. Handguns have been illegal for years, including still being illegal as your law has yet to be overturned. And we now see a significant upturn in the murder rate. Please explain, Mayor, how that is? With only a few states left that have denied law abiding citizens the right to carry concealed weapons, and no wild increases in the murder rate in the 47 other states, how do you explain that, Mayor. The logic just isn’t there. The truth isn’t there. The kitty has left the building.

Comment by dupage dan Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 2:51 pm
How would this play out when taking into account shifts? Which shift will these 100 additional officers work? Should this force of 100 be divided into 3 when taking into account the # of watches that CPD works? If so, this only puts 33 additional officers, or 16 squad cars in teams of 2, on the streets at any given time to cover over 20 square miles. Looking at it from this perspective, is this a lot or a little for CPD to cover hot spots?

Comment by Shifts? Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 2:53 pm
How come the MSM never asks Mayor Daley why other major cities have a lower murder rate and less gun laws?

Comment by Steve Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 3:06 pm
The problem is that when a politician is given the opportunity to speak to the issue of violence in our streets, he has to ask himself, does he want to talk about the root causes, ie the break down of the family, young men who spent years in schools yet possess less marketable skills than a rural 5th grader, and of course drugs? Does the politician want to ask aloud why is it that rural whites, eventhough loaded to the teeth with firearms, are not going around shooting each other? Does the politician want to risk alienating an important voting block in urban politics? It does’nt take long for the politician to run those options through his head before he starts to speak. “The problem we have here is that people dont kill people, guns kill people.” Nobody to blame but the gun manufacturers. While problem is not solved, politically dicey situation is averted.

Comment by Cousin Ralph Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 3:15 pm
Apparently folks don’t want the Guard; don’t want to pay for more cops; don’t want to take handguns off the streets; don’t want to increase penalties for handgun violence.

And when the folks who say more family involvement, better schools, more jobs, etc. actually find ways to get this done, I’m happy.

Sooooo…..Just as soon as all these folks give a great solution, or ANY solution, to this problem; then I’ll be GLAD to listen.

Otherwise, I’m guessing they don’t LIVE with the problems; day after day after day. And, maybe they should try it for a while.

Just sayin’.

Comment by sal-says Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 3:30 pm
Did anyone specify the MP unit? I watched two Fritchey interviews and he never said anything more specific than just the National Guard. As you say, it makes a big difference if the people in question have training as police.

Comment by Thomas Westgard Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 4:03 pm
Rich, it’s not a question of training, or whether individual NG soldiers could “handle” street patrol in Chicago – it’s a question about what rules of engagement will be applied to their unit? Will they be expected to follow the same protocols as CPD? Will their actions be subject to the Police Review Board?

Comment by grand old partisan Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 4:39 pm
They may be wonderful combat troops but do they know how to outwit the drug trade. That’s the problem.

As a reporter pointed out on Chicago Tonight yesterday, a lot of these shootings are business decisions related to business/turf disputes in the drug trade.

Why are our pols so reluctant to talk about this publicly.

The lower level drug hierarchy will move out for a few days in the event of an “occupation,” and wait it out. The sales will go on somewhere else.
And they’ll be back.

Comment by cassandra Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 5:21 pm
time for the pols who represent the communities where the
shooting is happening to step up and say why it’s happening.
these are not random shootings. with the exception of domestic
violence incidents, these are all gang and drug related. go to
court when the cases get tried and watch all the relatives claim
that no one is in a gang, that their baby is a good boy. you
take from the underground economy, you get what goes with
it. step up and challenge it, draw the lines and call folks out.
otherwise, you could end up with the military surrounding
your community.

Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 5:31 pm
Having seen first hand how gun prosecutions work in the city of Chicago, remembering how guns were being bought down in MS by the gangs (using private citizens as a ‘cut out’) and then the gang members drove the guns back to Chicago, and how the city/federal task force was finally bringing federal cases in mid 2007 on gun violations which had occurred in early 2002, well, it’s not more gun laws that are needed.

We’ve got more than enough laws. The City of Chicago just needs to get serious - they talk a good show, but at least in the recent past (up to 2 years ago), their efforts appeared to be disorganized, at best.

What’s needed is to get serious on the prosecution side, and then locking up the gang members involved and throwing away the key.

Sounds harsh, but when you see it all up close and personal, you come out with a much different outlook on things (and “kinder & gentler” has no place).

Comment by Judgment Day Is On The Way Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 5:38 pm
Lock up all the gang members?

The drug trade generates billions. When that kind of money is stake, those gang members can and will always be replaced. The supply of “employees” is endless.

Comment by cassandra Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 5:43 pm
Legalize all drugs and end prohibition is the least harmful and least costly solution and it won’t result in militarization of urban neighborhoods. It will dramatically improve all neighborohoods the quickest

Comment by Illinois insider Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 6:28 pm
ZI have read in differnt articles that the chicago police are from 800-to 1500 officers short of budgeted strength. Maybe daley should go to each murder victims family and explain that he decieded that street planters and the attempts to get the olympics were more important than hiring police. Daley has cut the amount of police to save money so no the rest of the state should not be forced to pay for National guard to fix daleys blunder. The state cant afford the #5 value meal at Mcdonalds much less pick up the tab for dalys mismanagment.

Comment by fed up Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 6:33 pm
I’m a hunter and gun owner, but not a fan of handguns. when you get down to it, their only purpose is to threaten or kill people. not good.

Butthe Mayor’s ad nauseum recitations about guns is not helpful. The gun laws in this state are as restrictive as anywhere in the country. So law-abiding people are fee’d to death (especially in Chicago) and otherwise restricted. The criminals are not. Think they get FOIA cards?

Its a sad fact, but the only way to reduce gun violence is to enforce existing laws, stop parolling felons early (hear this PQ?), and keep the bad guys away from the good guys by whatever means possible. Time for Mr. Daley to start talking about these measures, instead of blaming the violence on an easy target like the gun lobby.

Comment by Park Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 6:36 pm
Oh and it will also save the city and state a fortune and generate enough taxable revenues to solve all the states fiscal woes

It’s too bad fritchey isn’t talking about this bold idea. What better time I’m Illinois history to make this change than now? The city that gave us Al Capone can lead the nation in common sense ending this dumb war on drugs. Al Capone taught us prohibition doesn’t work.

Comment by Illinois insider Tuesday, Apr 27, 10 @ 6:37 pm
Thanks for the comment on the national guard being well-trained and many of them having police backgrounds. I didn’t realize that. I remember the national guard and army/marine reserve units that I once served in back in the 1960s and 1970s. They would not be my first choice today to put on the streets of Chicago nor the Mexican or Canadian border to combat crime. All were good guys back then but woefully ill-trained to protect citizens from a criminal element. They would have just served as shooting “targets” for criminals or unintentionally served as “creators” of mayhem in Chicago. Sounds like much has changed in their training since the Viet Nam era. That makes me feel a lot better about them serving on our borders if it ever comes to that (aka. Arizona situation). Thanks for enlightening me.

Comment by Beowulf Wednesday, Apr 28, 10 @ 8:05 am
[…] Today, Capitol Fax Blog’s Rich Miller, a journalist who has to be called a liberal, not that he would mind, writes this revealing section: Here’s the rest of the post with the beginning taken out and slightly edited so it makes sense… […]

Pingback by McHenry County Blog | Shift on Gun Control Thoughts by Leading Liberal Journalist Wednesday, Apr 28, 10 @ 8:25 am
The founding fathers put the 2nd amendment in the Constitution so citizens could protect themselves from the Governement. It was a response to the British banning guns, but putting armed guards on the streets. Mayor Daley’s policies have failed just at King George’s did 230 years ago.

In 2009 about 150 troopd died in Iraq. 458 people were murdered in Chicago. Daley’s failed policies are killiing people at 3 times the pace of Al Qaeda in Iraq. Yea, I know there are more Americans in Chicgao, but NY a city with 3 times as many people had about the same number of murders. (471)

In short, Mayor Daley’s polcies have failed to perform the most essential government task, to protect it citizens. If you people in Chicago are ok with getting shot in the streets, keep electiing anti gun failures like Daley and Madigan. But don’t ask the rest of the state to start risking their lives because you are too dumb to see your leadears and gun control have failed you miserabley.

Comment by the Patriot Wednesday, Apr 28, 10 @ 8:56 am