Free Republic

The Fourth of July historically is one of the nation’s deadliest days of the year. A flurry of shootings around the holiday a year ago left more than a dozen people dead and over 60 wounded. And a year before that, seven people died in a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade near Chicago. Violence and mass shootings often increase in the summer months, with more people gathering for social events, teens out of school and hotter temperatures. Chicago ‘in state of grief’ In Chicago alone, 11 people had been killed and 55 wounded in shootings as of...

The report also shows that police continue to stop Black and Latino drivers at disproportionate rates and that dozens of police agencies fail to report traffic stop data, as required by state law. ...The statistical BS continues with the "disproportionate" meme getting beaten to near-death. Until they give police a list of offenses that minorities are allowed to commit with impunity, traffic stops should be a figment of their imagination. In fact, the FOP (local, state and national) should declare a moratorium on all traffic stops until such time as there is an active and updated list of stops that...

According to permit applications ahead of the Democratic Nation Convention set to take place in late August in Chicago, at least eight different groups have applied to demonstrate during the event according to an NBC 5 Investigates Freedom of Information Act request. According to NBC 5, among those who sought permits through CDOT include: Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws U.S. Palestinian Community Network Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign Students for a Democratic Society at UIC Israeli American Council Reparations for Descendants of Enslaved Africa March for People’s Agenda Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression Liz Rathburn with the...

Chicago's annual Pride parade took place on Sunday and the event appeared to go smoothly enough. Authorities had been wary of potentially violent disruptions, so the parade route was shorter than in previous years with fewer floats and a large police presence. The peaceful portion of the proceedings was not destined to last, however. Once the parade was over, hundreds of participants and observers stuck around well into the night, drinking, singing, and dancing. Then fights began to break out. When the police attempted to break up the altercations, the revelers attacked the CPD cops. In the end, more than...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- At least 35 people have been shot, four fatally, in gun violence across Chicago so far this weekend, police said. A concealed-carry license holder shot and critically injured a man during a shootout on Chicago's South Side early Saturday morning, police said. Police said the shooting happened in the Englewood neighborhood's 200-block of West 63rd Street at about 1:40 a.m. Two men, 36 and 49 years old, were arguing at a gas station when the 36-year-old got a gun out of his vehicle and fired at the 49-year-old, police said. The 49-year-old, a CCL holder, returned fire...

Billionaire Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker failed to deliver jobs promised for black workers in the emerging cannabis and green energy industries, an economic advocacy group said in a scathing report. Pritzker – considered a potential replacement for President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket – will be hosting the Democratic National Convention on his Chicago turf in August. “Governor Pritzker wants the DNC to celebrate his leadership of the state. However, it would be an injustice to do so without acknowledging the deteriorating state of affairs for Black communities, especially in Chicago,” said Darius Jones, senior advisor...

A leaked survey revealed a plan to explore 16 new tax and fee hikes on Chicago families. The Chicago City Council is diving into the plan on June 26. The prospective hikes proposed to the city council by and Chairman of the City Council Subcommittee on Revenue Ald. Will Hall, 6th ward, could end up costing Chicagoans more on most expenses from standard services to property taxes. Hall is an ally in city hall to Chicago Mayor. The 16 revenue proposals: Sales tax on services Property tax tied to Consumer Price Index Monthly/wireless plan tax Increase in Local Government Distributive...

No arrests made after anti-Israel protest held outside Highland Park, Illinois home of Congressman Brad Schneider in early hours of the morning, waking up residents... Video with link to X

A group of around 40 pro-Palestinian protesters descended upon Democrat Rep. Brad Schneider’s (D-IL) north suburban Chicago area home in the early morning hours on Saturday, worrying neighbors and causing the police department to step up patrols in the neighborhood. Neighbors reported being shocked when the protesters began making noise and shouting slogans at around 3 a.m. on Saturday morning. A group of around 40 pro-Palestinian protesters descended upon Democrat Rep. Brad Schneider’s (D-IL) north suburban Chicago area home in the early morning hours on Saturday, worrying neighbors and causing the police department to step up patrols in the neighborhood....

With the Democratic National Convention less than two months away, a coalition of community organizations voiced “serious concerns” Thursday about the Chicago Police Department’s newly revised mass arrest policy. The overhaul stems from closed-door meetings authorized by the federal judge presiding over the department’s court-ordered reform push after the so-called consent decree coalition warned that an earlier version of the policy “eviscerates protections” that are otherwise granted to protesters. In a court filing, the coalition acknowledges the latest draft policy contains various “improvements,” including changes that ban the controversial containment tactic known as “kettling” and prohibit officers from arresting protesters...

CHICAGO — A 16-year-old boy was supposed to be on house arrest for a pending gun case when he helped murder retired Chicago Police Officer Larry Neuman last Thursday morning, prosecutors said. Lazarious Watt is also suspected of carjacking a family in March. He may soon be charged with that crime in juvenile court. Watt is the 15th person accused of shooting, killing, or trying to shoot or kill someone in Chicago this year while on pretrial release. The cases involve 27 victims, five of whom died.

CHICAGO — A third juvenile has been charged with robbing a CTA passenger of his shoes earlier this month. Chicago police arrested the 14-year-old yesterday. Two other boys, ages 15 and 16, were previously charged. The trio, joined by two additional accomplices who remain on the loose, tried to rob a 17-year-old boy inside a Blue Line train car near the Racine station around 1:40 p.m. on June 8, police said.

CHICAGO — A group of migrants attacked, robbed, and carjacked another migrant outside the city’s shelter at 1358 North Elston, across from the Salt Shed, on Monday evening. Police said the victim refused to pursue felony charges, but two men were charged with misdemeanors. The 37-year-old victim was outside around 10 p.m. when a group of up to ten people, all believed to be associated with the migrant shelter, approached and began to physically attack him, according to preliminary information. Police said the offenders threatened the man and a 33-year-old man who was with him before leaving the scene. Some...

CHICAGO — Police briefly pursued a vehicle occupied by two gunmen after shots were fired in River North overnight. A CPD supervisor ordered officers to terminate efforts to stop the suspects’ vehicle. The shots were fired in the 100 block of West Hubbard, between Clark and LaSalle, around 1:53 a.m. A bullet struck a storefront window, but there were no reported injuries. Police found ten shell casings on Hubbard Street. Witnesses reported that they saw a man with a rifle traveling through the area in a gray Hyundai Santa Fe around the time of the shooting. Surveillance video showed two...

CHICAGO - A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder in connection with the death of a 73-year-old retired Chicago police officer. Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling along with Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced Monday night that the teen faces first-degree murder charges. He will be charged as an adult.

Only slavery reparations can save Chicago. Chicago celebrated ‘Juneteenth’ with 40 shootings. The Windy City kept up a Father’s Day weekend in which 71 people were shot by fatherless young men in a city where 8 out of 10 black children are born to single mothers. And in which it’s all the fault of “systemic racism”. Over in Daley Plaza, Mayor Brandon Johnson (pictured above) raised the ‘Juneteenth flag’ created by an activist who wanted the black parts of Boston to secede and form a new city named ‘Mandela’. But who needs Mandela, when you’ve got Chicago? “God bless the...

Prosecutors have charged a suburban man with two felonies after he allegedly threw a Big Gulp on Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx during an argument near her Flossmoor home. William Swetz “had no idea” who Kim Foxx was when he crossed paths with her as he drove in the 800 block of Sterling Avenue on Friday morning, Assistant Public Defender Catherine Stockslager said during his initial appearance this afternoon. Foxx was on her morning walk when Swetz, 34, encountered her while driving his GMC pickup truck around 10:30 a m., officials said. Courthouse veterans who spoke with CWBChicago on...

CHICAGO — The burglar who went viral after being attacked by a frying pan-wielding homeowner is a 12-time convicted felon who was paroled three months ago on burglary, forgery, theft, and stolen motor vehicle cases, according to court filings. Bradley Willenborg, 31, provided Chicago cops with the alias “Brandon Williams” and a fake birthdate after they arrested him in the 3400 block of West Parker around 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Judge Susana Ortiz ordered him detained yesterday afternoon because of a safety risk. [snip] As he entered his ransacked home, Williams encountered Willenborg on the stairs coming from the second floor,...

CHICAGO — Two boys, ages 15 and 16, were part of an armed robbery crew that robbed a CTA passenger at the Racine Blue Line station on June 8, police say. CPD continues to look for three more members of the group. Mass Transit Unit detectives released surveillance images of the robbers on June 10 and asked the public to call them with any information that could help with the investigation. CPD officers arrested the 15-year-old that same day, and the 16-year-old was arrested yesterday, police said. According to CPD, five young men tried to rob a 17-year-old at gunpoint...

Three Chicago public schools are being renamed in the latest changes aimed at getting rid of racist or otherwise problematic namesakes.