Tag: Chicago

BLOOD BATH: 50 Shot, Ten Killed In Chicago Over Weekend Despite Some of Nation’s Strictest Gun Laws

by Breck Worsham, posted in Uncategorized

CHICAGO — 50 people were shot and 10 in Chicago over the weekend, despite some of the strictest gun laws in America.

Two of the victims shot were police officers who were shot during a routine traffic stop. According to ABC 7 Chicago, the officers were conducting a traffic stop when they saw a gun in the backseat of the suspect’s vehicle. Officers ordered the suspect to get out of the car, but he reportedly refused to comply. The officers then broke the car window in an effort to arrest the suspect, a struggle ensued and the suspect fired multiple shots, hitting both officers.

Both officers are in stable condition, with one officer having been shot in the chest, side and back. The other officer was shot in the shoulder and chest.

In a Sunday tweet, Chicago Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot confirmed the suspect was later taken into custody.

Four other victims were shot and killed on Sunday, including 31-year-old Devon Welsh who police say was eating at Lumes Pancake House when a drive-by shooting occurred. According to the Chicago Sun Times, Welsh was struck multiple times after an SUV pulled up and began firing.

The Times also reports that four other victims were killed Friday night, including an 18-year-old who was shot and killed as he was walking down the street.

The ongoing violence is just the latest in tragedies that have for years gripped the city.

In 2017, then White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said more gun laws aren’t the answer.

“I think one of the things we don’t want to do is try to create laws that won’t stop these types of things from happening,” Sanders said. “I think if you look to Chicago where you had over 4,000 victims of gun-related crimes last year they have the strictest gun laws in the country. That certainly hasn’t helped there.”

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‘OUTRAGED’: Prosecutor drops charges in Jussie Smollett angering Chicago mayor and police chief

by Breck Worsham, posted in crime, law, news, politics

CHICAGO — Prosecutors in Chicago announced Tuesday that all charges against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett would be dropped, sparking outrage from city officials and social media alike.

Smollett, 36, who had told police on January 29 that he was assaulted by two masked men as they shouted racial slurs and praised president Donald Trump was later charged with falsely reporting a hate crime and staging the attack himself.

“After reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollett’s volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the city of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case,” the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

City Mayor Rahm Emanuel at a press conference shortly after the decision was announced could hardly contain his rage.

“From top to bottom this is not on the level,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in response to Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s decision to drop the charges against Smollett. “At the end of the day, it’s Mr. Smollett that committed this false claim.”

“This is a whitewash of justice,” said Emanuel. “Is there no decency in this man?”

Meanwhile, Breitbart reported Tuesday that left-wing billionaire mega-donor George Soros had donated $408,000 in 2016 to a super PAC that supported Foxx, whose office prosecuted — and dropped — the Jussie Smollett case.

“You have a person using hate crime laws that are on the books to protect people who are minorities from violence, to then turn around and use those laws to advance your career and your financial reward?” Emanuel ranted. “Where is the accountability in the system? You cannot have, because of a person’s position, one set of rules apply to them and another set of rules applying to everybody else.”

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson too spoke out against the decision, saying the department was “blindsided” by the DA’s decision to drop all charges.

“I think this city is still owed an apology,” said Johnson. “At the end of the day it’s Mr. Smollett who committed this hoax.”

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HISTORY UNDER ATTACK: Black activist calls for removal of Washington, Jackson monuments

by Breck Worsham, posted in Uncategorized

Chicago, Illinois — A Chicago black rights activist has called for the removal of two presidential monuments on the city’s south side on the grounds that the memorials are offensive to blacks.

A bronze statue of George Washington on horseback stands at the northwest entrance to Washington Park, where the park was dedicated on December 6, 1879.

Bishop James Dukes, pastor of Liberation Christian Center, said he wants the statue taken out, and wants George Washington’s name removed from the park. Dukes also says President Andrew Jackson’s name should be removed from nearby Jackson Park, because, like Washington, he too was a slave owner.

“When I see that, I see a person who fought for the liberties, and I see people that fought for the justice and freedom of white America, because at that moment, we were still chattel slavery, and was three-fifths of humans,” Dukes told CBS 2 Chicago (http://chicago.cbslocal.com/video/category/news-local-news/3715388-pastor-wants-washington-jackson-parks-renamed-over-presidents-ties-to-slavery/). “Some people out here ask me, say ‘Well, you know, he taught his slaves to read.’ That’s almost sad; the equivalent of someone who kidnaps you, that you gave them something to eat.”

Dukes says it’s “unfair” that a monument would be put up to honor the nation’s first president while there have been no monuments erected to commemorate the lives of black activists such as Malcom X.

“There’s no way plausible that we would even think that they would erect a Malcolm X statue in Mount Greenwood, Lincoln Park, or any of that. Not that say Malcolm X was a bad guy; they just would not go for it,” he said. “Native Americans would not even think about putting up a Custer statue, because of the atrocities that he plagued upon Native Americans. And for them to say to us ‘just accept it’ is actually insulting.”

Dukes said he is not “trying to erase history” but that whites should have no say in monuments erected in neighborhoods that are homes to blacks.

“I think we should be able to identify and decide who we declare heroes in or communities, because we have to tell the stories to our children of who these persons are,” he said.

In an open letter published to Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/bishopjames.dukes?fref=nf), Dukes called on Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Park District to make it happen.

“I am feeling ambivalent that I would have to walk my child, attend a parade or enjoy a game of softball in a park that commemorates the memory of a slave owner,” he wrote. “Therefore, I call on the immediate removal of President George Washington and President Andrew Jackson names from the parks located on the southeast side of Chicago. They should not have the distinct honor of being held as heroes when they actively participated in the slave trade.”

Calls for comment to Mayor Emanuel have not yet been returned.

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