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Today’s number: 60 percent

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Illinois

* AP…

A frustrated [Chicago] Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said the laws are so toothless that gang members are more worried about being beaten up by their gangs for losing a gun than going before a judge after being caught with one.

In the first quarter, police arrested 688 people for illegal firearms. By April 1, 60 percent of those people were already back on the street, McCarthy said.

That frustration boiled over last week when he told reporters that a bullet that killed 7-year-old Amari Brown on July 4 was intended for his father, Antonio, whom police described as a gang member with nearly four dozen arrests, including one in April on a gun-possession charge.

“If Mr. Brown is in custody,” the chief said, “his son is alive.”

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 8:51 am

Comments

The father is a bad guy, no two ways about it. But to use him as a prop to take attention away from the hundreds of shootings that take place, most of which are never solved, is simply a misdirection play.

Comment by Hon. John Fritchey Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 8:59 am
I am as pro law enforcement as they come (which in today’s world isn’t saying very much) but let’s face reality, Chicago violence is out of control. The police can’t keep up and when they do the job the media attacks them as the problem. It is time (at long last) for law abiding Chicago citizens to be fully granted their 2nd amendment rights to defend themselves.

Comment by William j Kelly Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:00 am
While we are figuring out who is in prison, but shouldn’t be there, perhaps we had best also figure out who is not in, but should be.Sounds like Mr. Brown, with four dozen arrests, including illegal gun possession is a good candidate. I suspect there are others in the same boat. Our criminal justice shouldn’t be fashioned by what saves the most money, but by what makes the most sense

Comment by truthteller Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:05 am
“It is time (at long last) for law abiding Chicago citizens to be fully granted their 2nd amendment rights to defend themselves. ”

That wouldn’t have helped Mr. Brown. As a prior felon, he is a prohibited person.

Comment by Lobo Y Olla Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:06 am
“Our criminal justice shouldn’t be fashioned by what saves the most money, but by what makes the most sense”

Amen.

Comment by Lobo Y Olla Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:07 am
=The father is a bad guy, no two ways about it. But to use him as a prop to take attention away from the hundreds of shootings that take place, most of which are never solved, is simply a misdirection play.=

Well, Mr. Fritchey, how about the 400 individuals who were convicted of illegal possession in the first quarter. If you were the State’s Attorney, would you have pressed for prison sentences or would you have let them back on the streets ? And, if you would, how would that impact on the jail population?

Comment by truthteller Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:10 am
I believe I read somewhere that illegal possession of firearms carries a mandatory 5-year prison sentence under federal law. That being said, for those who do get caught in Chicago, charge them in federal court and send them to the federal Thomson prison — I hear they have plenty of vacancies.

Comment by Gone, but not forgotten Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:13 am
No doubt this guy should have been in jail. What is CPD or the State’s Attorney doing to ensure that dangerous criminals like him are getting a higher bond or no bond once they have them in custody? Are they talking to each other and working to make sure that they use the laws they have to keep the worst of the worse off the streets once they’re arrested and charged? Are they giving this information to the judges?

Comment by Questions Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:16 am
Fritchey nails it. Misdirection at its finest. No one under arrest. A clearance rate hovering around 20%. No good policeman would ever blame the victim. I’m surprised he didn’t say the father needed to be killed.
BTW, all the father’s priors are drugs or cannabis. He had only one gun case in his background. Thus, under Preckwinkle’s logic, he is a non violent offender and gets a low bond.

Comment by Robert Lincoln Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:17 am
Maybe if the CPD, Cook County Sheriff, and Mayor’s Office worked together and communicated on a daily basis… he would be in police custody.

Comment by Almost the Weekend Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:19 am
Sigh. Arrests aren’t convictions. What were the arrests for? Why no convictions.

I’m not speaking as a commenter from afar. I live near Chicago West side and I spend time there. I think about stray bullets when I drive through, which is often. But I don’t want to live in a society where one is locked up for having a lot of arrests on their record. If these arrests should be convictions, then look to the prosecutor and the court system.

Comment by Cassandra Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:21 am
Mr. Fritchey is considering a run for S.A. Just trying to determine if he would press for convictions and jail sentences for the 400 arrested and if he did how that would impact Cook County jail and Illinois prisons. Most of the talk has been about reducing those populations. Obviously, obtaining more convictions and sentences would impact on the census of each

Comment by Truthteller Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 9:37 am
How is that a misdirection? A 7 year old is murdered! No one is in custody. Is he supposed to say no comment, or tell the truth? I’m not a fan of the supt, but I see no help coming from the county board or any where else. If you killed someone in the forest with no witnesses it’s the same thing as at a block party in these neighborhoods. You want to up the clearance rate, tell the community to act responsibly and then you may get an arrest.

Comment by Broken window Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:06 am
In America, people are sentenced to prison after they are convicted of a crime, not after they are arrested for one. It’s part of the whole due-process-innocent-until-proven-guilty business.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:10 am
Yeah, we allow bail. That is the way the system works. Also just because you are arrested for something does not mean you are charged.

Sorry you can’t just lock everyone up, that isn’t the way the system works.

Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:11 am
I’m a little confused. Is the sup. advocating no bond for gun arrests? Would that be Constitutional? Could 26th and Cal handle that?

Comment by Wordslinger Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:13 am
“laws are so toothless that gang members are more worried about being beaten up by their gangs for losing a gun than going before a judge after being caught with one.”

This quote is so bad on two counts.

1. Gangs fear physical violence (being beaten up) more than gun violence, but we want to remove the guns? If violence is the problem that should be the focus. Our Police are to serve and protect everyone, including members trying to break free of their gang. Unfortunately the system is established that if you’ve ever associated with a gang, you’ll forever be seen as a criminal. It’s a very black and white extreme perspective of people.

2. It implies that enforcement and justice should be as harsh as gang retribution. I’m left feeling that McCarthy would only be satisfied if our laws allowed extreme punishment for possessing a gun. I don’t agree that our laws should be the equivalent of a gang beating. We should be removing the gangs, not competing with them for judicial punishment.

I’m sure McCarthy means well, but the statement conveys a singular solution that guns laws are a magic bullet.

Comment by Pete Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:13 am
I understand that the headcount of sworn police in Chicago has gone down. Cook County jail is overcrowded and in many instances acting as a mental institution of last resort. The Illinois penal system is crowded and imposing severe fiscal pressure on the state. And I presume the Cook County criminal court system is bursting at the seams. “Catch and release” is the operative protocol.

The state, county and local pols want more taxes just to fund pensions. I doubt there’s any appetite to impose additional taxes to beef up the CPD, add a new wing to Cook County jail and beef up the criminal courts.

Superintendent McCarthy is probably one of the most frustrated guys in Chicago. You can’t fix this with novel tactics and overtime.

All that remains is to manage the news as best as possible and hope for an early winter.

To borrow from Agent Smith (Matrix): “That’s the sound of inevitability.”

Comment by Cook County Commoner Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:14 am
Rich on mutliple occasions posted stories about people who were locked up in Chicago for idiotic and technical gun violations, or waiting over a year for their case to go through because they can’t make bail. I think a court even threw out a bunch of arrests after CC passed.
So is the problem a matter of priorities in who they go after? I’m not from Chicago, so I’m genuinely asking.

Comment by mcb Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:19 am
If Chicago can’t protect its citizens or even allow them to defend themselves then complimentary bullit proof vests for all law abiding Chicagoans would be the decent thing to do.

Comment by William j Kelly Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:21 am
Illinois already has a mandatory 1-year prison sentence for carrying a gun illegally, so the problem seems not to be the criminal penalties on the books; rather, it is Cook County’s broken bond court system. People who pose no real threat get locked up and rot in jail for weeks or months because they can’t afford bail; meanwhile, people caught carrying guns illegally are often back on the streets too quickly and not adequately supervised. Bond court judges make their decisions based only on 90 seconds of face time with the defendant and prosecutor and a look at the defendant’s rap sheet. It’s no wonder they get it wrong so often. The tools do exist to better distinguish who is dangerous and who is not, and to allocate our resources accordingly, if we care to make use of them.

Comment by charles in charge Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:23 am
No, Rep. Fritchey does not nail it.

Supt. McCarthy is spot on in pointing out the problem…gang members, in this case, the father of the child. It is way past time that we heard this kind of statement from officials. enough from the gangbanger culture and those who coddle it.

Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:37 am
I predict the shooter (if ever caught, 80% chance of getting away), is on bond, em or parole, I’ll bet the Hon. Lunch on it.

Comment by Broken window Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:39 am
This is deflection, and the Supt. is very good at it.

It would not matter if the father had been convicted of multiple violent felonies. What the Supt. is saying is that the intended victim should be in jail, but aren’t the police supposed to protect victims and intended victims alike. Are only “good victims” worthy of police protection? Who determines who is a “good victim”? Are black males only “good victims” until they become teenagers?

Comment by Urban Girl Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:52 am
If the shooter is out on bond despite priors that should’ve kept him locked up, that’s another symptom of our broken bond system. Bond should be a function of flight risk or risk to society, not a means test.

I’ve sat in bond court and watched people who shoplifted a handful of groceries get a bond set that they’ll never be able to post. As a result, we spend thousands of dollars housing them over a petty charge until their case is heard.

Yet about 40% of people charged with a UUW post bond and get out. Why? Because they tend to have access to (often dirty) money.

And by the way, having literally timed bond hearings with a stop watch, the average bond hearing lasted about 30 seconds. Think about that.

Our present bond system is broken. Fixing it will do more to keep the right people in and out of jail than will countless other changes to our statutes.

I really would love to debate this issue more here today but I need to deal with the sales tax issue coming up tomorrow. Hope you all understand. As you were…

Comment by Hon. John Fritchey Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 10:54 am
I have an idea. Supt McCarthy should go on a “listening tour.” Oh, never mind. He just did that.

Comment by Michael Westen Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 11:26 am
So, the broken bond problem is the fault of the CPS McCarthy, Commissioner?

Comment by dupage dan Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 11:38 am
“the broken bond problem is the fault of the CPS McCarthy?”

The complete misrepresentation of how our criminal justice system works — FYI: we do trials before sentencing — was McCarthy’s fault and deliberate intention.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 11:43 am
==the laws are so toothless==

Is it the laws that are toothless? Or the judges?

How many violent offenders have been improperly sentenced to just boot camp by Cook Count judges, only to commit worse offenses months later? Enough that the Sun Times, Trib and others have all realized this is a problem.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 11:52 am
Hmm, possession/carrying a gun without a CCL is a class 4 felony.

Possession of a firearm by a conviced felon is a class 3 felony with a mand/min of 2 years

Possession of a firearm by someone who is ineligible to get a FOID is a class 3 felony. 3 or more violations is a class 1 felony.

There are mutilple charges that could have been brought against the father if he was in possession of a firearm at the time if his prevous arrest. Not to mention the possession of a firearm by a member of a streetgang member is a class 2 felony with a mand/min of 3 years

Someone please explain to me the problem with the gun laws again?

Comment by Todd Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 1:32 pm
Fritchey, please stop being disingenuous.

“I’ve sat in bond court and watched people who shoplifted a handful of groceries get a bond set that they’ll never be able to post. As a result, we spend thousands of dollars housing them over a petty charge until their case is heard.”

Pretty sure you know that the high bond set in the cases you cite were not simply for “shoplifting a handful of groceries.” The high bonds were set, as a matter of law, when the defendant has multiple convictions for similar or worse acts. You know that. If you don’t, you should.

Comment by Michael Westen Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 1:37 pm
Pretty sure you know that the high bond set in the cases you cite were not simply for “shoplifting a handful of groceries.” The high bonds were set, as a matter of law, when the defendant has multiple convictions for similar or worse acts. You know that. If you don’t, you should.

You seem to believe you have knowledge regarding the cases Mr. Fritchey witnessed. And it is apparently a knowledge of the cases that somehow exceeds that of Mr. Fritchey who was actually present for those cases.

Please share with us the source of your superior knowledge regarding the cases observed by Mr. Fritchey.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 2:15 pm
Often, defendants sit in jail due to an inability to make bail not because the bond amount is particularly high, but because they are truly indigent and cannot pay even a relatively low amount. Commissioner Fritchey said, “Bond should be a function of flight risk or risk to society, not a means test.” He is right; it’s time to stop requiring cash bond if a person poses no real threat, and start using evidence-based risk assessment to guide bond decisions. Other major cities have done it already.

Comment by charles in charge Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 3:01 pm
“BTW all the father’s priors are for drugs or cannabis”? Just to add some context to “drugs or cannabis”: He has five felony convictions for narcotics such as cocaine or heroin. He is a known gang member. He was in court last week on multiple felony gun charges. According to NBC, he is also the defendant in a domestic violence case.

He has additional arrests and convictions in Cook County and Kane County, as well as a lengthy list of traffic violations (11 for driving on a suspended license alone).

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 3:05 pm
Ah, but the bail bond companies are no doubt active on the campaign contribution circuit. And this is Illinois. No need to wonder why bail reform has happened here.

Comment by Cassandra Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 3:09 pm
“Bond should be a function of flight risk or risk to society”. Brown was free after posting $5,000 of a $50,000 bail for the multiple felony gun charges he is facing in Cook County, while also being the defendant in a domestic violence case. I take it Commissioner Fritchey thinks Antonio Brown should have faced a higher bond?

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 3:16 pm
@Michael Westen, you are 100% incorrect. And in fact, on one of the days, I watched an elderly man get a cash bond set for stealing some bars of soap. On that same day, I was joined by a reporter doing a story on bond court. Maybe we were both being disingenuous.

So thanks for the misplaced lecture on what I do or should know.

Comment by Hon. John Fritchey Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 4:58 pm
And the elderly man had no priors? I highly doubt it. I read the reporter’s bond story. They also left out how a prior criminal history affects the amount of bond. MisterJayem I don’t need “superior knowledge” about anything. It’s the law.

The amount of bond is set by law, depending on a variety of factors, including prior criminal history. It is easy to look up.

No judge in Cook County gets up in the morning to say, “Man I just can’t wait to get my hands on a first time elderly shoplifting defendant. Wait til you see the sky-high bond I tag that guy with.” It is absurd and Fritchey knows better.

Comment by Michael Westen Tuesday, Jul 14, 15 @ 8:47 pm
here’s some thoughts from a January 2015 story in the Trib…

But Dart, whose office oversees the jail, says it’s not always that simple.

“Could there be someone in jail on a possession of pot case? Yes, but I would suggest if that is the case, there’s a strong possibility a person was on parole or just got off parole with a history of violence,” he said. “Could be a violent history, could be probation for another offense, could be on parole for another offense … it doesn’t do any good to malign the judiciary, saying they’re locking up a lot of nonviolent offenders. You need to dig into these cases.”

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Jul 15, 15 @ 1:59 pm