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Sen. Napoleon Harris’ brother-in-law murdered in Chicago

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Illinois

* Another senseless death…

The brother-in-law of State Senator Napoleon Harris was murdered on Chicago’s South Side Thursday night.

Police say someone fired several shots at Andre Bunton as he sat in his car in the South Loop.

At least one hit him in the chest, killing him.

Friends say Bunton was driving a brand-new Mustang, and someone may have tried to carjack him.

* Sun-Times…

Sean Rogers, 36, Bunton’s friend for about 15 years, and Jonathan Harris said Bunton had been in Chicago visiting friends. He’d had dinner near where he was shot, both men said. Just before he was shot, Bunton was on the phone and the person he was speaking with heard a commotion and then the sound of gunfire, Jonathan Harris and Rogers said.

Jonathan Harris said Bunton had a brand new Mustang convertible and had the top down to enjoy the summer night.

“We think maybe somebody just tried to carjack him,” Jonathan Harris, 31, said. “He wasn’t the type of guy to be getting into it with people.”

Friends and family said they were shocked by what they called “senseless violence” and the death of a man soon to be a new father.

“Now you can’t even feel comfortable and safe anywhere,” Jonathan Harris said

It’s just heartbreaking.

* Luckily, nobody was seriously hurt during a Michigan Ave robbery….

Two visitors to Chicago received a rude welcome to the city Friday when one was robbed by a group of city teens and the other was punched while trying to help, officials said.

The two visitors – a 15-year-old Florida girl and a 51-year-old Michigan woman – were both walking on the Mag Mile Friday evening when the older woman was robbed of her iPhone by a group of eight juveniles, officials said. […]

They were about 15 feet behind when they noticed three boys “creeping toward” the women, and one of the boys appeared to gesture to someone else, said the 15-year-old Florida girl.

“All of a sudden seven more teens came and got close to the women,'’ she said.

Then she noticed one of the boys ripping an iPhone from a pocket of one of the three women, so forcefully that the victim said: “Give it back,'’ but they denied they had it, said the girl.

“The rest of them swarmed around her to disorient her,'’ and began to become more physical and push the women against a small metal fence around some shrubs, the girl said.

With a rush of adrenaline, the Florida girl said she decided to step in, against her mother’s wishes.”

* Meanwhile, Sen. Kirk backed off his mass arrest proposal…

Illinois U.S. Sen. Kirk made headlines at the end of May when he proposed arresting 18,000 members of the gangster disciples.

Representative Bobby Rush responded by telling the Chicago Sun-Times Kirk’s idea was “headline grabbing” and an “upper-middle-class, elitist white boy solution to a problem he knows nothing about.”

In the wake of the heated exchange of words, Kirk and Rush met and Kirk has pulled away from his anti-gang proposal.

“Bobby Rush has been somewhat correct in his criticism of me that a mass arrest all at once is not actually that practical,” Kirk said Thursday in an interview with WBEZ.

* Related…

* 4 dead, 9 wounded in city shootings

* The data behind Chicago’s gun crimes: While automatic and assault rifles have been the focus of federal legislative efforts, Chicago largely has a handgun problem. And that handgun problem goes well beyond the homicide numbers. Last year’s homicides totaled 516, with 441 of those resulting in a death by gunshot. There were still 11,886 gun related crimes in Chicago that didn’t end in a homicide.

* Some Municipalities Race To Pass Gun Bans As Deadline Looms

* By deadline, few Illinois towns pass assault weapons bans

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 10:04 am

Comments

Sen. Harris, so sorry for your loss of family, friend, and co worker Andre Bunton.

Comment by Amalia Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 10:07 am
Terrible that there are people who think killing over a car or other possession is ok…

As for the 15 YO Girl (tourist) I have to ask, where are all the men in this town? I mean a 15 year old girl steps in, but there are no grown men on the street to help out? Or have they all been conditioned to the point that they ignore this stuff and not help? Maybe out of fear of getting in trouble themselves?

Comment by RonOglesby Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 10:14 am
- William j Kelly -

Bad form …

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 10:29 am
Senator Kirk woke up and realized that the U.S. Constitution was still around in some peoples mind.

Comment by Steve Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 10:30 am
Ron, that’s a little over the top, given the few facts, don’t you think?

There was a story on the 4th about a man chasing down a purse snatcher at the fireworks and holding him for a couple of minutes until the cops swarmed.

Morons, robbing I-phones on North Michigan Avenue. You’ll note the story said they were arrested within two-to-three minutes.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 10:36 am
The Michigan Ave. incident is just one of this type last summer, and this summer. what is going on?

Comment by Amalia Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 10:39 am
I work just off the Mag Mile and I’m not sure if crime has escalated or if it’s just being noticed more.

Comment by Chavez-respecting Obamist Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 10:43 am
@CRObamist, so there have been mobs of kids taking iPhones and other cell phones from people since, when? I’ve only heard of this for the past two summers.

Comment by Amalia Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 10:49 am
I really like senator kirk-this is stunning news to so many of you-but there’s a filter that needs to be there for some stuff.

To Rahm’s credit, he the jewish mayor from wilmette has been the only remotely visible elected official in the city on these crime and murder issues. Fioretti seems to spend most of his days announcing honorary street signs for restraunters, I can’t figure out if Brendan O’Reilly is actually a thing and we only hear from congresscritters and black elected officials when there’s a sports victory parade or minority contracting issue. Senator Kirk is at least in the forum. these other cats might want to try to follow his lead instead of just collecting paychecks.

Comment by shore Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 10:51 am
I was just in Chicago two weeks ago. Stayed on the mag mile. Saw lots of cops driving by, but NONE walking the beat. NONE. I was out at all times of day and night for three days too. Its a shame what’s happening in the city. Aggressive panhandlers and flash mobs are now commonplace. It’s also a shame when commenters get on here and try to defend as if the problem is “not that bad”. Yes. It. Is.

Comment by So. ILL Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 10:59 am
Heaven forbid someone would actually try to stop this senseless killings in Chicago. I read were Congressmen Davis and Rush are going to hold a conference to discuss the issue. AGAIN! I would suggest they hold the conference on one of the street corners were all these killings take place.

Comment by Downstater Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 10:59 am
Wow Capt Fax sounding a lot like the Proft Kassamoron radio show

We have been in Chicago several times in recent weeks…walking….both Loop and N. Michigan Ave and not noticed much commotion or more than usual

Comment by CircularFiringSquad Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 11:04 am
the police should get in touch w monique. maybe she has heard something in the community that could help. i am not saying she did. i am not saying she didnt, i am just passing along what someone in the community told me. i have a right to do that.

—

it makes the wild west look sensible. such a waste, esp if it turns out it was a crime of opportunity just because he was driving a cool car.

Comment by langhorne Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 11:10 am
So. ILL,

I’m not sure where you are looking. I’m on Michigan Ave. nearly every day and I see POs on just about every other corner.

Also, flash mobs are “commonplace”?
That’s simply not true.
We do have a problem that every year as soon as the weather gets warm, we have an issue.
That seems to last a week or so and then things calm down.

Stuff like the woman in the story does occur, but it is pretty rare.

Yes, I definitely agree that more needs to be done. It seems like Chicago Ave. and the area within a block or two, running from State to the lake, is where most of this occurs. Also, Ohio and Grand, running from Michigan Ave. to the lake.

It seems like gang members use those routes a path to the lakefront.

The real tragedy here is that both of these incidents involved innocent victims.

John Fritchey has been posting a lot about this on Facebook, asking when people will start to care.

The answer seems to be when it goes beyond just gang members killing gang members.

Hopefully the tragic death will send a strong signal to the mayor that more needs to be done.

It also should send a strong message to Cook County judges to stop letting off violent offenders with a slap.

There are some bad people in the world. If somebody commits a violent crime, we need to lock them up for a long time.

Comment by Skeeter Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 11:14 am
@ So.ILL- I was biking in the City yesterday and spotted several Chicago Police officers on foot. They were walking and standing on corners. All big tough looking guys that I certainly wouldn’t want to mess with.

Comment by Because I said so... Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 11:16 am
Condolences to Sen. Harris and family.

Until recently I used to take the red line to Chicago Ave. when I wanted to meet friends for shopping and lunch on the mag mile. I no longer do that. The area, especially the streets around the station no longer feel safe. Some work colleagues visiting from San Francisco recently got hassled (not robbed or injured) but scared and hassled by a group right on Michigan Ave. This is not good for Chicago’s image and yes this stuff around our primo tourist areas is much worse than it used to be just a few years ago. Just because the papers don’t report it, or minimize it, does not mean the news is not out there.

Comment by Responsa Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 11:18 am
Seconding BISO’s comment. I’m on the mag mile at least twice a week and have been amazed this spring/summer to see so many police officers on foot amongst the crowd, at all times of day/night.

Comment by zorkon Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 11:22 am
At least 7 killed and 24 injured for the weekend.

Senseless. Tragic.

So many weekends. So many years. So many victims.

So many more just like Mr. Bunton.

But yeah, another televised “summit” hosted by politicians will surely remedy the ailments plaguing our communities.

#LookWeAreDoingSomething

#WeAreOnTV #HostingAnotherSummit

Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 11:37 am
One more note on this — how many of the electeds in the areas most impacted have gang members working the precincts each election day?

It is sort of tough to crack down on gang violence when the elected officials need gang support for reelection.

Comment by Skeeter Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 11:41 am
=== Aggressive panhandlers and flash mobs are now commonplace. ===

From the “Governor’s Monthly Newsletter, May 2013″:

“This legislation is in response to a growing trend of large groups using social media such as Twitter and Facebook to organize flash mobs to commit crimes.”

Apparently the problem has been getting worse, not better.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 11:51 am
So. Ill, flash mobs are “commonplace?” I think I would have noticed.

Any news report you’ve seen of a crime committed on Michigan Avenue has resulted with arrests in minutes. That’s not an accident.

Michigan Avenue is not the problem. It’s poor neighborhoods on the South and West sides. The situations are not remotely comparable.

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 12:04 pm
=John Fritchey has been posting a lot about this on Facebook, asking when people will start to care.=
Fritchey should contact Monique and other leaders like her, who believe police are doing some of the killing. With that attitude and belief, how can anything be done. People living in those areas need to start helping the police not running with some crazy conspiracy theory perpetuated by the likes of elected officials like Monique.

Comment by Downstater Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 12:09 pm
==To Rahm’s credit, he the jewish mayor from wilmette has been the only remotely visible elected official in the city on these crime and murder issues. Fioretti seems to spend most of his days announcing honorary street signs for restraunters, I can’t figure out if Brendan O’Reilly is actually a thing and we only hear from congresscritters and black elected officials when there’s a sports victory parade or minority contracting issue. Senator Kirk is at least in the forum. these other cats might want to try to follow his lead instead of just collecting paychecks.==

Take off your blinders. Black elected officials have bemoaned the atrocious state of crime in ‘their’ areas for years.

==mobs of kids==

Oh my God, freak out! This new phenomenon of kids in gangs roaming the streets is so new it was only done by Al Capone in his youth.

==Heaven forbid someone would actually try to stop this senseless killings in Chicago. I read were Congressmen Davis and Rush are going to hold a conference to discuss the issue. AGAIN! I would suggest they hold the conference on one of the street corners were all these killings take place.==

Again, another clueless comment.

Comment by Precinct Captain Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 12:42 pm
note in the Tribune article that one of the offenders in the mob grabbing the phone shouted a pointed racial slur. will this kind of thing be part of the dialogue on race?

Comment by Amalia Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 12:53 pm
@Amalia - you read my mind! That wasn’t the first time I’ve noticed a quote like that in such a story. It stands out like a sore thumb.

@Precinct Captain - you touch on the source of my discontent, and that of many. We do have many “Black elected officials (who) have bemoaned the atrocious state of crime in ‘their’ areas for years”. They do a great job of bemoaning these atrocities and pointing the finger of blame at everyone but themselves. Many of these individuals have been in office for 20+ years presiding over a steady decay in the lives and neighborhoods of their consituents. I would add that it is not only “black elected officials” who are guilty of this, but elected and appointed officials of all races who are in positions of power in the City of Chicago.

We have seen many press conferences, tweets, facebook posts and summits on this issue during recent decades.

What we have not seen is change that makes a lasting impact.

Lots of talk, no meaningful action.

Meanwhile, the body count multiplies and innocent people are caught in the crossfire.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 1:27 pm
note that the offenders are juveniles. which means it is more difficult to follow the progress of the case since the juvy calendars are closed to the public, right? and if they have “records,” hard to find out too. also, with tourists as victims and witnesses, will they be available to testify? I recall that a similar case with juveniles was dropped because out of towners were not available. two girls 15, one 14 and one 13, three 15 year old boys and one 16 year old boy. all of them at least 8th grade or older. and plenty old enough to know better and be big enough to really frighten someone. Juvenile crime cannot be addressed simply with community rehab.

Comment by Amalia Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 1:53 pm
Shore ,
Rahm does nothing about crime. He is out of town more than he is in town. He is more concerned with DC politics than Michigan Ave or 63rdst. The only reason he can claim crime is down is because 2012 was such a bad year. We are at the same crime statistically as 2011. Rahm and mcnuty have been failures as far as crime in Chicago.

Comment by Fed up Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 3:16 pm
@word

over the top to ask where the men are these days? Sorry. seems to me there are always men walking on Michigan ave but we seem to be a society that whips out a phone to film something instead of lending a hand.

Comment by RonOglesby Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 5:37 pm
At least 7 killed and 24 injured for the weekend.

Senseless. Tragic.

So many weekends. So many years. So many victims.

So many more just like Mr. Bunton.
*******************************

Where is Al Sharpton when you need him?

Comment by Rollo Tomasi Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 5:52 pm
Where is “Two-Gun Pete,” when you need him?

Comment by What is to be done? Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 6:06 pm
@Ron Oglesby, perhaps there is a site where citizens are posting videos of incidents to help catch criminals or perhaps provide proof in the case tourists don’t come back to be witnesses.. Trib currently has coverage of another incident in the Near North area, where 4 men, sounds like they were older than 15, apologized for their actions, but then took things from two women, including a phone. jerks.

Comment by Amalia Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 6:09 pm
@Amalia,

Its sad if you ask me. My point was about a 15 year old girl standing up for someone she didn’t even know.

Just kind of sick of being able to find videos or roberies, fights, knockout games, etc yet no one standing up for the weaker or defenseless targeted by crime in broad daylight in our major city. Yet some 15 year old girl did… she put many grown men to shame with a simple act.

Comment by RonOglesby Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 6:28 pm
Maybe they should bring back the death sentence in illinois.

Comment by fake county chairman Monday, Jul 22, 13 @ 9:12 pm
@RonOglesby, grown men are sexually assaulting women all across the world. A woman must be able to defend not only herself, but others.

Hey President Obama, can you stand up for women and against sexual assault? THAT is a HUGE problem.

Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Jul 23, 13 @ 8:56 am