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* At least 12 wounded, 3 dead in Chicago shootings: The shootings started Sunday afternoon and continued into Monday morning on the South, Southwest, West and North Sides.

* Boy, 16, shot while taking out trash in South Shore

* [Cook] County solves only 36% of homicides

* Tribune fails again to get Bankruptcy Court OK to begin plan vote

* Alderman among few to get historic tax break

That’s thanks in large measure to something called the state Property Tax Assessment Freeze Program, which offers a financial incentive in the form of a break on property taxes to owners of historic homes and homes in designated historic districts across Illinois, to put money into rehabilitating the houses and condos.

The Smiths’ home is among only about 3,200 houses and condos statewide that have been accepted into the tax-freeze program since 1985, state officials say, with most of the homes in Chicago that are in the program clustered in pockets along the lakefront.

* Aldermen: Ban red-light cams installed by Ariz. company

* Amid recession, Decatur-area population decline slowest of decade

* High bacteria levels in lake prompt advisory from CWLP

* Schoenburg: Williamson eyes full term in ‘harder’ job

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jun 1, 10 @ 8:56 am

Comments

Well lets see. the beat goes on. Violence in Chicago, which will not be fixed. Someone yelling about the Arizona immigration law. Good to see we are turning over new leafs on this tuesday.

Comment by Living in Oklahoma Tuesday, Jun 1, 10 @ 9:13 am
I’d like to congratulate Rep. Mark Walker for his dual Senate candidate background appearances in the ABC7 coverage of the “Kirk was not the Intelligence Officer of the Year” story. You can’t see it very well in this version, but in a differently edited version of this story that ran on the 10:00 p.m. news last night - Walker could be seen standing behind Kirk and then about 5 seconds later also shaking hands with Giannoulias.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7470813

That guy does manage to get in nearly every tv shot I see. He’s like the Jesse Jackson of the NW Burbs.

Comment by Siriusly Tuesday, Jun 1, 10 @ 9:31 am
The Trib story continues to amaze. The historic voice of Midwestern conservatism is looking to walk away from $3.6 billion in debt because of reckless financial razzle dazzle.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jun 1, 10 @ 9:40 am
Those clearance stats for Chicago police are quite fascinating.

I would guess that the 36 percent of homicides they do solve are the really low hanging fruit, mainly, when the motive is obvious and the perpetrator confesses early on. If more perpetrators lawyered up early on, the clearance rate would be even lower.

The folks who run the multibillion dollar illegal drug trade in Chicago are smart–and they have the money to buy off witnesses. Many unsolved homicides are connected to the drug trade. Local politicians are remarkably quiet about the massive illegal Chicago drug trade, though. I wonder why.

The issue isn’t just hiring more cops. It’s hiring more smart cops and more scientists who specialize in investigating crime.

Chicagoans are getting poor value for the billions they pay for their police department.
Unfortunately, it’s Illinois and it’s Chicago.
Quality is not a priority for Chicago taxpayers,
and so quality is not given.

Comment by cassandra Tuesday, Jun 1, 10 @ 9:53 am
Wordslinger:
The Trib trash gets better.
Here is how they describe the federal investigation into their Blagoof activities:
“Another subject allegedly captured on tape involved a proposal to help the Tribune, which then owned the Chicago Cubs, obtain state financing for renovations at Wrigley Field. As a price, Blagojevich allegedly demanded the firing of editorial writers whom Blagojevich blamed for critical editorials about him….”

At no point does the Trib report that they ran to the USA to report what was either their bribe attempt or rat out the Blagoof’s extortion try….Hmmmm

Of course they are still under the microscope for the phony ESOP scam too.
Nice cover-up guys NoTaxBill will be proud.

Comment by CircularFiringSquad Tuesday, Jun 1, 10 @ 9:55 am
cassandra, you have some good points, but police have a difficult time geting around bought off witnesses and victims
who refuse to say who shot them, some even as they are dying.
the no snitching thing is literally killing Chicago.

what about the drug trade, those who buy the product? I would
legalize marijuana in a heartbeat, but til drugs are legal, taking
illegal drugs fuels the drug gangs. pure and simple. and
drives down the percent for the clearance stats.

Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Jun 1, 10 @ 1:52 pm
The declining homicide clearance rate is interesting. The article presumes that better forensic technology ought naturally lead to clearing more cases. But one can imagine the opposite, also: the lab boys are excluding suspects who the police might previously have implicated. If we are, in fact, prosecuting fewer people who are actually innocent, that would be a good thing.

Comment by Ivory-billed Woodpecker Tuesday, Jun 1, 10 @ 2:59 pm