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Chicago’s police superintendent played up a popular trope yesterday, but offered no supporting evidence

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* The city’s police superintendent did his best to pull stuff out of the air yesterday in order to shift the blame to the state’s attorney…

Brown went so far as to imply that looters reoffended this weekend after getting away with the same crimes during the widespread unrest earlier this year, eliminating any deterrent. […]

Foxx, who is no stranger to accusations that she is soft on crime, flatly rejected that narrative at a news conference Monday. Her office has not dropped any looting cases related to recent unrest, she said, calling for a response “beyond a sound bite and a finger point.”

Neither the superintendent nor the mayor have been able to point to any actual data backing up this claim. If they have it, they should use it. If they don’t have it, then they should apply for a job as a Tribune columnist.

* Sun-Times…

Nearly 5,000 people were arrested countywide after the death of George Floyd at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer sparked days of protests and also looting, Foxx said.

In a statement released after the new conference, Foxx wrote that the Chicago Police Department arrested roughly “300 individuals [for looting and rioting] and none of these cases have been dropped. They are currently awaiting trial. These cases will be brought to trial beginning in August.”

Of 5,000 countywide arrests, 1,000 were for city ordinance violations, such as being out after curfew, she said. Another 1,000 were misdemeanor arrests, and 400 to 500 of those involved people she said were involved in what her office considers peaceful protests. Foxx said her office has “no role in the prosecution of city ordinance violations.”

Foxx announced in June that her office would focus on dismissing charges stemming from arrests at demonstrations and for citywide curfew violations after a week or protests and civil unrest in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

* And of course, there was this canard…

Critics said looters were additionally emboldened by a Foxx policy that raised the bar for prosecuting shoplifting as a felony — a theory Foxx also rejected Monday.

Retail theft charges are intended for people who walk out of an open store without paying for merchandise, not those who break into a store or loot, she said.

* Capitol News Illinois…

At her own press conference Monday afternoon, Foxx noted that in 2017, 2018 and 2019 — the three years analyzed by the Tribune — violent crime, shootings and homicide rates dropped in Chicago.

“In the wake of 2016’s violence, we saw communities come together… We cannot talk about ‘all hands on deck’ and seek simple solutions to complex problems, we must continue to work together,” Foxx said.

Foxx acknowledged her office enacted a policy not to prosecute peaceful protestors arrested in May and June, but said conflating peaceful protestors with rioters and looters, whom her office has prosecuted, was wrong and disingenuous. According to Foxx, the majority of charges filed in Cook County during those protests were misdemeanors and municipal violations.

“Last night was not an extension of a peaceful protest. Last night was not an extension of righteous anger. Last night was a blatant display of criminal behavior,” Foxx said.

* Foxx definitely has a different interpretation of yesterday’s widely shared Tribune story about how her office dropped lots more felony charges than her predecessor. For instance, Anita Alvarez’ homicide conviction rate was 83 percent during the three-year time period studied by the Tribune and it was 80 percent under Foxx in her first three years, something Foxx called “statistically insignificant.” I asked her office for a statement about the Tribune story…

State’s Attorney Foxx has secured over 2,700 more convictions related to violent felony offenses than her predecessor in the last three years of her tenure.

These violent and most serious offenses include cases of gun violence, homicide, sex crimes, aggravated battery, violence against police officers, robbery, domestic battery, and kidnapping. These cases represent 28% of the cases prosecuted by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. The conviction rate on these cases has increased from 81% to 83% under the Foxx Administration.

Yes, I know this goes against common beliefs, but the state’s attorney’s office has compiled a list of serious violent felonies and compared the two administrations’ record and there’s little to no statistical difference. Click here to see it.

Vehicular Highjacking conviction rates rose from 81 to 88 percent. Domestic battery conviction rates rose from 86 to 88 percent. Robbery conviction rates went from 87 to 90 percent. UUW went from 72 to 77 percent. Some went down, but mostly within a very narrow percentage range, or because of the low actual case numbers involved.

* Mark Brown…

I watched on television Monday morning as Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Police Supt. David Brown engaged in fingerpointing, casting blame on Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and the judiciary. Then Lightfoot exploded on a mild-mannered television reporter who rightly called her out on it, displaying a character trait that is growing tiresome.

Brown wanted us to know how smart police had been to deploy 400 officers to respond to the downtown unrest as soon as they caught wind of it on social media, never fully explaining why that was insufficient to quell the disturbance. Could it be that he needed to send 800?

The mayor had spent the weekend obsessing over an embarrassing party at Montrose Point where social distancing was not observed. She was so busy solving the problem by petulantly erecting snow fences around the shoreline that she may not have noticed her police brass were still unprepared to adequately respond to a real public safety emergency.

Later I drove downtown to see Foxx respond in person to what she called “dishonest blame games,” and not surprisingly, she did not accept any.

There’s always room for improvement, and Foxx definitely should’ve acknowledged that and did not. If everybody is all in, everybody needs to admit their shortcomings and mistakes. Everybody, Foxx included, needs to look inward to see what they can do to not only make things better, but to also stop making things worse.

At least one reporter at Foxx’s availability yesterday tried to make her the scapegoat for cops standing by in May while looters ravaged stores. That was on the police superintendent, not Foxx.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:32 am

Comments

I’m not saying Foxx is good. I just will never understand the utterly irrational contempt people have for her.

Comment by Dan l Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:37 am
Mark Brown had it right.

The same gang members that have been terrorizing the South & West sides as people turned a blind eye decided to terrorize downtown.

Hopefully people get serious about the gang violence problem now. We’ll see.

Comment by Marquee Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:38 am
Dan, it’s the misogynoir

Comment by Precinct Captain Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:40 am
Where is the party unity

Comment by Donnie Elgin Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:43 am
I am waiting on these officials to condemn the BLM movement.

Comment by Blue Dog Dem Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:43 am
How does Foxx square her statements against looting with the BLM rally yesterday in support of those arrested?

Comment by Downstate Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:44 am
The State’s Attorney made it clear from the moment she announced her campaign that she wasn’t going to carry poor police work across the line.

The CPD is broken. We know this from the DOJ report and the consent decree. The City of Chicago has a lot more work to do to transform that agency and gain the trust and confidence of the public.

SA Foxx absolutely has room to improve, not least of which on communication, both with the public and her colleagues in government. But the same goes for Mayor Lightfoot and Supt. Brown.

Comment by The Opinions Bureau Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:44 am
Thanks Rich and Mark Brown for some honest reporting on this topic. The rest of the media treats this trope as gospel for some reason.

Comment by Excitable Boy Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:44 am
===How does Foxx square her statements against looting with the BLM rally yesterday===

What does that even mean? Are you saying BLM speaks for Foxx? And why would you say that? Because Foxx has black skin?

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:46 am
“I just will never understand the utterly irrational contempt people have for her.”

The Jussie Smollett case certainly didn’t help.

Comment by Downstate Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:46 am
===I am waiting on these officials to condemn the BLM movement. ===

Or you’ll do what? Never move to Chicago? lol

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:47 am
=== yesterday’s BLM===

Was it a rally gone bad or bad actors in vans overtly looting and causing damage?

I know you feel this need to make BLM the bad actor, making any looting, it appears, to be a BLM thing.

Why?

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:49 am
actually lived in Lincoln Park for three years if you remember. And we cancelled our tripp up their for family baptism next week.

Comment by Blue Dog Dem Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:50 am
Always nice to see Mr. Miller has the backs of criminals.

Comment by Really? Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:52 am
===has the backs of criminals===

LOLOL

Yes, I’m so pro-crime.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 11:53 am
=I am waiting on these officials to condemn the BLM movement.=

Why? Do you believe that what occurred on Sunday had anything to do with this movement? And if you are willing to admit that it doesn’t what connection are you attempting to make between these two groups?

Comment by Pundent Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 12:02 pm
Does anybody actually know if Lightfoot and Brown planned to bring up Foxx during this press conference? Like did a communications guy said “yeah throw this out there, that’ll get them”. Coupled with Brown’s “we locked up X people this year” stuff it made me think they didn’t spend any time prepping when they knew a lot of people would be watching.

Comment by dan l Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 12:10 pm
-I am waiting on these officials to condemn the BLM movement-

Peaceful protest is our constitutional right and it gets results. Projecting the criminal actions of side groups and/or hired thugs on social justice movements is an old and effective tactic of entrenched power. Many of us see through it. Fair labor laws, peace movements and social justice movements always deal with this. BLM demands justice and an equal shot at opportunities to succeed for black, brown and poor people. When their lives matter, all lives will matter. When they succeed, we all succeed.

Comment by Froganon Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 12:11 pm
Time to get tough…on the causes of crime?

Comment by Dotnonymous Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 12:14 pm
“Do you believe that what occurred on Sunday had anything to do with this movement?”

I think it depends on who you ask…
“The mayor clearly has not learned anything since May, and she would be wise to understand that the people will keep rising up until the [Chicago Police Department] is abolished and our Black communities are fully invested in,”

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/8/10/21362612/black-lives-matter-lori-lightfoot-police-shooting-englewood-looting

Comment by essentially working Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 12:15 pm
= If they don’t have [the data], then they should apply for a job as a Tribune columnist. =

Brilliant (banned punctuation).

=I know this goes against common beliefs=

Sadly, people will believe what they want to believe, despite clear evidence that they are wrong.

Comment by JoanP Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 12:19 pm
Ms Foxx-Soros and the mayor are ruining a great city.

Comment by The Old Man Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 12:20 pm
===I think it depends on who you ask…===

Fair.

Let’s look at this;

=== Was it a rally gone bad or bad actors in vans overtly looting and causing damage?===

According to the Sun Times;

=== Black Lives Matter Chicago warned Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday that the renewed civil unrest that’s gripped the city throughout the summer won’t end until “the safety and well-being of our communities is finally prioritized.”===

What is happening apparently is BLM is warning that these type of events, protests, will continue because the communities feel uninvested. It’s the effect from the causes still not addressed.

For me, the looters and criminals need to face consequences.

This idea that these are movement… movements… hmm.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 12:21 pm
More scrutiny is warranted towards Chief Judge Tim Evans and the bonds being set by Cook County judges for some offenses involving habitual offenders. There’s a balance, to be sure, and people are innocent until proven guilty, but there are well documented problems with electronic monitoring of pre-trial defendants that need address.

And, in terms of violent crime, it is important to bear in mind that it is up across the country this year:

“Across 20 major cities, the murder rate at the end of June was on average 37 percent higher than it was at the end of May, according to Richard Rosenfeld, a criminologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The increase over the same period a year ago was just 6 percent.” (NYT)

The spike on other cities can’t be blamed on Kim Foxx.

Comment by Moe Berg Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 12:22 pm
==If everybody is all in, everybody needs to admit their shortcomings and mistakes==

Based on their actions and statements so far I am not particularly hopeful that LL, Foxx, Brown or Evans will do so.

Comment by Derek Smalls Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 12:24 pm
=Ms Foxx-Soros and the mayor are ruining a great city.=

I better stock up, sounds like there is a run on tinfoil going on.

=I am waiting on these officials to condemn the BLM movement.=

Don’t hold your breath on that one. No one who wants to be elected is going to do that. And I am not saying they should either.

Like many I saw the young woman on the news supporting the people that looted the stores. It was a dumb statement in my estimation. It deserves real pushback. But, hopefully someone with BLM who has a little more experience pulls her aside and helps her understand how those statements do not help BLM and get her focused on the real goals of social justice. Plus, young people say a lot of silly things, it is part of growing up and we should cut them a little slack. And older people are much worse. Just look at the Trump supporters.

Comment by JS Mill Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 12:38 pm
Sorry, but I’ve spoken with prosecutors in her office starting a few months after she was sworn in about their refusal to prosecute property crimes and theft. This is not new.

Comment by Southern Skeptic Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 12:47 pm
//The Jussie Smollett case certainly didn’t help.//

I guess, but why? I mean she botched whatever “it” was.

Then again, that was never going to be a death penalty case no matter how much people wanted it and he was never going to spend more than a moment locked up over it. Like, what is it they wanted that they didn’t get?

And again, I’m not saying she’s good. I’m just saying that the level of hate for this woman is cranked up to an 11 in a landscape where Preckwinkle seems to merit yield a 7.

Comment by dan l Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 12:48 pm
//- The Old Man - Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 12:20 pm:

Ms Foxx-Soros and the mayor are ruining a great city.
//

How was the Olive Garden last night? Good?

Comment by dan l Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 12:50 pm
Few questions/thoughts: Sun Times and others ran articles at the end of June saying Foxx planned to drop curfew violations from May. The article states Foxx also shifted to the City as a muni violation if the City wanted to pursue.

The political footballs are thrown and fingers pointed at someone else. Does Lori feel undercut by the SA office dropping these cases back in May and is now trying to get even?

With the Tribune story the drops in escapes and narcotics are troubling. I don’t get dropping the former at such a high rate and the latter is what Brown points to as fueling violence. Winning prosecutions is half the story. What’s the punishment? Is sentencing materially lower or deferred than the prior SA?

It was bizarre IMO for the mayor to react the way she did with Montrose Beach and looks even worse now in being woefully unprepared for looting. It can’t take 5 - 6+ hours to get under control. This was nowhere near the scale as May.

I don’t see why people tie Foxx to BLM. Their statements on the events were much different. Foxx: “Last night was not an extension of righteous anger. Last night was a blatant display of criminal behavior”

BLM Chicago: “These corporations have “looted” more from our communities than a few protesters ever could”. I don’t know why BLM referred to looters Sunday night as protesters.

The wording and message from BLM Monday was similar to the bizarre DSA statement as well.

Leadership needs to step up. Stop pointing fingers and start providing solutions.

Comment by 1st Ward Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 1:13 pm
Retail theft leniency is a canard? Yeah… lots of constitutional scholars being arrested in the Loop after reflecting deeply on the nuances of looting that jewelry store and how it might be charged. In no way, shape, or form, has reduced bail for gun crime and drastically reduced arrests and enforcement of property crime created affected the current situation. There’s simply no data for that. Other than of course, an increase in gun and property crime.

Comment by Chicagoan Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 1:21 pm
===Retail theft leniency is a canard?===

Are you illiterate? That’s not what I wrote. Wanna get banned? Totally twist my words one more time and see what happens to you.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 1:23 pm
This is regrettably how it works.
We cancelled five rooms at the Embassy suites. We cancelled 4 tables of six at quartinos. We cancelled our shopping trip to Eately. Don’t know who to blame, but how many 100,000s of people are doing the same.

Comment by Blue Dog Dem Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 1:29 pm
=== Neither the superintendent nor the mayor have been able to point to any actual data backing up this claim. If they have it, they should use it. If they don’t have it, then they should apply for a job as a Tribune columnist. ===

Lolzer. Good one Rich.

Comment by PublicServant Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 1:51 pm
She’s run on not prosecuting non-violent offenders twice and won both times. This is what a majority of the voters want.

Comment by Bob_Loblaw Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 1:58 pm
I’ve also suspended all my travel to states and cities with crimes

Comment by Bob_Loblaw Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 2:00 pm
First, the good. I am impressed how coordinated efforts from Police and City Departments addressed potential looting on the Southside monday monring. Either the defense of downtown was flawed, or perhaps they were overwhelmed. I tend to believe they were caught off guard again. Who to blame? Foxx is not in charge of everyday police protection. I wasn’t impressed by the Mayor’s press conference. Also, I, like many others, was outraged at some BLM folks protesting for the release of the looters. Their message has strayed off course, to say the least.

Comment by Southwest Sider Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 2:03 pm
=== I’ve also suspended all my travel to states and cities with crimes===

How’s Mayberry, NC? Mount Pilot?…

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 2:05 pm
==I’ve also suspended all my travel to states and cities with crimes==

You are missing the /S. If not, that leaves you with Lake Wobegon and Mayberry as possible destinations.

Comment by Jocko Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 2:10 pm
My perspective is more anecdotal, but there is definite truth to the SA taking a softer approach on crime than her predecessors. I don’t think she needs to be ashamed of that, given that was what she campaigned on, but I do think she needs to articulate a strategy that isn’t simply shifting responsibility to the generic increased in funding for disadvantaged communities that we often hear but has no specifics and is out of her control. Cook County has no strategy for handling misdemeanors. 8 in 10 cases are dropped, one of the highest rates in the nation. I’d like to hear Kim Foxx come up with a strategy rather than get defensive.

Comment by Chicagonk Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 2:11 pm
Gosh I would like to see Kim Foxx push back smart and hard. If she’s not prosecuting as many felonies — is that because, unlike her predecessor, she is unwilling to turn a blind eye to police misconduct that violates suspects’ rights and makes those cases unwinnable? If she is “refusing to prosecute property crimes,” how many of those involve property worth less than $100? I’m not saying theft of small items is okay, but as a taxpayer, I don’t want the SA office to spend thousands to prosecute the theft of a bar of soap.

Comment by Soccermom Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 2:14 pm
The best thing we can do long term is school choice. Give the inner city kids the chance at a real shot in life.

Comment by Fighter of Foo Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 2:20 pm
== I don’t want the SA office to spend thousands to prosecute the theft of a bar of soap.==
Foxx in previous years has made it her mission to use scarce resources to go after violent crimes.
So yeah the bar of soap crimes, not so much.
So far it has worked for her. She got homicides down almost 40% and non homicide violent crimes went down too. The bar of soap salesmen didn’t like it so much.
Well now crime is going back up. In the Covid era she will have to pivot.

Comment by All this Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 2:26 pm
Chicago’s local Fox News morning show was covering this story. The hosts were quite opinionated and upset about Fox’s office dropping 450 cases of “escape” for electronic monitoring violations. They said her predecessor only dropped 54.

The hosts really shouldn’t have been so upset. They could have asked someone with more knowledge than them about what those numbers mean. For instance, Violations of E.M. have dramatically gone up because the sheer number of inmates on E.M. has dramatically gone up. If you’re in favor of closing local prison wings and saving money, then E.M is a better route without a doubt. Secondly, an E.M. violation is a “bond-on-bond” crime. The minimum for an E.M. violation is 2 years. To boil this down, when somebody picks up an E.M. violation case (”escape”) the chance of that person pleading guilty to the first crime increases a lot. Hence, IDOC sentences usually occur without a trial; if the E.M. violation is dropped.

What’s an E.M. violation? Fox News said it was the “destruction of county proprety.” Sometimes a person “cuts the band” while on E.M. Most the time, they just violate be leaving their house; sometimes to go the corner store.

Just some context.

Comment by 33rd ward Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 3:02 pm
===the level of hate for [Foxx] is cranked up to an 11 in a landscape where Preckwinkle seems to merit […] a 7===

Cook County is vast and diverse in many dimensions. Preckwinkle, any other supposed faults notwithstanding, gives the impression that she seeks to fix problems for everyone in the county who might be affected. Foxx seems to be single-minded in her attention to reforms and other changes that primarily benefit a particular community. Perhaps that’s just “turnabout is fair play”. But the impact of the prosecutor’s office is not limited to that one community. If Foxx is concerned with the interests of the whole of the county’s population, she has done a poor job of communicating it. Plus, there’s the general sophomoric bumbling and equivocation. The handling of the Smollett case was an example of both problems. For Good Government types, Foxx’s distance from the ideal of a State’s Attorney that remedies past inequities while also demonstrating supreme competence, squeaky-clean ethics, and fairness to all stakeholders, particularly rankles.

Comment by n-t-c Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 3:07 pm
= Everybody, Foxx included, needs to look inward to see what they can do to not only make things better, but to also stop making things worse.=

Many more police officers were needed yesterday. Also needed is more help from the Illinois National Guard and state police to stop the looting and violence in Chicago.

Comment by Enviro Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 3:23 pm
=Many more police officers were needed yesterday. Also needed is more help from the Illinois National Guard and state police to stop the looting and violence in Chicago.=

How exactly are you going to accomplish this? Have the ISP and National Guard standing at the ready 24-7? These types of activities are effective because how they’re organized and mobilized quickly. Not saying that more can’t and shouldn’t be done, but also recognizing that there are resource constraints that have to be acknowledged.

Comment by Pundent Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 3:30 pm
Foxx didn’t get homicides down 40%. Homicides are still above where they were every year from 2004 to 2015. Homicides fluctuate a bit with weather, but have been at horrifying 1990’s levels from 2016 to 2020. Her approach has not worked.

Comment by Ryan Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 3:53 pm
=How exactly are you going to accomplish this?=

The violence and shootings are an ongoing event in Chicago.

Comment by Enviro Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 4:10 pm
===Her approach has not worked===

Yes, blame her for the pandemic spike that pretty much every city is experiencing. Right.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 4:33 pm
=The violence and shootings are an ongoing event in Chicago.=

And most of it has nothing to do with what occurred on Sunday. You want to call up the National Guard? Fine. But you’re going to have to give them something to do other than camp out in the parking lot of Sox Park.

Comment by Pundent Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 4:39 pm
492 homicides (2019) divided by 769 homicides (2016, when Foxx was elected in November) is 64%.

Comment by All this Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 5:33 pm
A lot of the leftist and radical activists are clearly agitating for looting and the violence that comes with it. This is violence, and it is not just violence against police but journalists and security guards. It would have been productive to take a stand against this violence instead of engage in this really strange political theater around bail reform and criminal justice reform.

I don’t know if anyone knows how to prevent this unrest. These rumors happen with every police involved shooting. Are more police going to prevent the looting or lead to more conflicts with the looters? Blaming the Mayor for this is more political Theater.

Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 6:55 pm
Daily Mail reports Foxx has dismissed over 25,000 felony cases.

Comment by Truthteller Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 8:16 pm
I find it odd that the CCSAO can tout numbers for lower murders. She makes it sound as though her office has played a role in preventing murders. I also think it’s easy to claim a drop in any number when measuring from a peak. Interestingly, when looking at the reduction in overall crime numbers no one mentioned - depolicing. If coppers aren’t looking for trouble, staying in their cars and only answering calls, crime numbers should fall. It would be interesting to overlay the drop in crime numbers with events from 2014 going forward with events such as the McDonald shooting, release of video, verdict, consent decrees, etc.

Comment by Pigpen Tuesday, Aug 11, 20 @ 10:40 pm
==I also think it’s easy to claim a drop in any number when measuring from a peak.==
Ridiculous statement. That is the year she got elected. It’s not like people arbitrarily picked that year because it was a peak.
==She makes it sound as though her office has played a role in preventing murders.==
Because that is what happened. Everyone in public safety pulled together to make a climbing crime rate move in reverse.
==depolicing==
The city of Chicago hired 1300 recruits recently. There is a hiring freeze currently.
==If coppers aren’t looking for trouble, staying in their cars and only answering calls, crime numbers should fall.==
Good thing they’re not doing that.

Comment by Fly like an eagle Wednesday, Aug 12, 20 @ 6:15 am
= A lot of the leftist and radical activists are clearly agitating for looting and the violence that comes with it.=
Ok.
Name one,
with proof that person is a leftist.
Looks like Chicago Tribune has a lot of applicants for columnist jobs.

Comment by 17% Solution Wednesday, Aug 12, 20 @ 6:36 am
== I find it odd that the CCSAO can tout numbers for lower murders. She makes it sound as though her office has played a role in preventing murders. I also think it’s easy to claim a drop in any number when measuring from a peak.==
I find it odd that you find it odd.
The numbers went down every single year, not just 2017 but 2018, and 2019.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-chicago-violence-2019-results-20200101-xqrtozhu3zgbpjiopwaaujjcgq-story.html

Comment by All this Wednesday, Aug 12, 20 @ 7:01 am
“ Critics said looters were additionally emboldened by a Foxx policy that raised the bar for prosecuting shoplifting as a felony.”

This has been disproven.

https://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/assets/2017/04/pspp_the_effects_of_changing_felony_theft_thresholds.pdf

Also Illinois is one of only six states that has such a low bar for felony shoplifting.

https://www.injusticewatch.org/news/2019/over-retailers-opposition-illinois-bill-to-ease-retail-theft-law-progresses/

Comment by Tamarind Monday, Aug 17, 20 @ 10:41 am