Free Republic

CHICAGO — At least 11 people were shot to death and about 70 wounded in a weekend burst of violence in Chicago that instantly became a political issue when President Donald Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, blamed the carnage on longtime Democratic rule in the city. Police on Monday attributed the dozens of shootings to gangs, the illegal flow of guns and sweltering August heat that drew more people outside. The victims ranged in age from 11 to 63, according to police. One teenage girl died after being shot in the face. A teenage boy was fatally shot riding a bike...

Most Americans are appalled to read that 63 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, with 10 fatalities. The numbers are huge, downright massacre-level. News coverage says Chicago's hospital and emergency rooms are now crowd scenes. Here in California, we are appalled at the death toll among firemen and other public workers in California's massive wildfires, brought about by eco-wackos and their environmental mismanagement, which have killed 7. In Chicago, seven dead would be a good day. What's going on? All of these attacks are gang-related, according to this report, and are happening in the 6th, 10th, and 11th...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s financial team is considering borrowing billions of dollars to pour into Chicago’s ailing pension funds — a move they contend could save future taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars but experts say comes with risk. The idea is to issue bonds at relatively low interest rates and use the money to reduce the city’s $28 billion in pension debt. The pension funds would invest the bond proceeds and ideally earn returns that outpace the interest the city would have to pay on the bond debt. Issuing so-called pension obligation bonds would be a first for Chicago, which...

"While in college and later in law school, [Stormy Daniel's lawyer] Avenatti worked at a political opposition and media firm, The Research Group, run by Rahm Emanuel (later White House Chief of Staff for President Barack Obama, and mayor of Chicago).[21] Avenatti worked on over 150 campaigns in 42 states, including multiple gubernatorial and congressional campaigns and Joe Biden’s U.S. Senate campaign.[7]" 21. ^ "A Rahm for the Money". Chicago Magazine. http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/August-1992/Rahm-Emanuel-during-the-Bill-Clinton-Years/ [Only relates to Research Group] 7. "Michael J.Avenatti - California Lawyers - The Scourge of KPMG". Superlawyers.com. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Avenatti

Rahm Emanuel has tried almost everything a lefty anti-gun big city may can think of to cut back on the murder epidemic in his violent city. He’s fired and hired police superintendents, he’s tried (unsuccessfully) to eliminate gun stores within city limits, he’s tried (unsuccessfully) to keep shooting ranges out of his town, he fought concealed carry to the bitter end, and he’s mumbled meaningless platitudes like “public-private mentoring partnerships” and wrung his hands over the perpetual need for more “neighborhood resources.” He’s tried bogus “violence interruptor” programs, basically paying gang bangers (with city tax dollars) to stop banging. He’s...

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) wants to use city contracts to punish banks that will not restrict and/or regulate clients involved in the firearms industry. Emanuel’s ordinance is co-sponsored by Alderman Edward Burke (14th). The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Emanuel introduced the ordinance by saying, “When it comes to fighting for stronger, smarter gun laws Chicago is putting our money where our mouth is. The private sector has a role to play in supporting public safety. Chicago should give our business to companies who share our values and want to be part of the solution to gun violence, not profit...

Chicago taxpayers, prepare for another kick in the teeth. In fact, it might be a good time to grow fond of the toothless grin. Another recent court decision will put taxpayers on the hook for additional city pension debts. Yes, even more than before. A circuit court judge in March struck down a 2014 state law that eased pressure on the pension fund of Chicago Park District retirees. The law had increased Park District employees’ own contributions to the fund, increased their retirement-eligible age, reduced their annual cost-of-living increases and reduced duty disability benefits. But those changes will be rolled...

The Stormy Daniel Affair has received a ton of press this week, her attorney has had multiple media appearances. We have found her attorney Michael Avenatti has deep ties to Rahm Emanuel and Joe Biden. According to Avenatti Bio, he is 47, worked at a political opposition and media firm, The Research Group, run by Rahm Emanuel (later Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff) and took part in more than 150 campaigns in 42 states, including Joe Biden’s U.S. Senate campaign. “ The Daily News Reports It was also in 2006 that Avenatti settled a suit with Trump and...

Will Trump negotiate a summit in Chicago with Mayor 'Tiny-Dancer-Rahmfather-9-and-a-Half' Rahm Emanuel? It may require a higher degree of negotiation and diplomacy than his upcoming meeting with Little Rocketman. Trump only visited the suburbs on his aggressive campaign trail. The shadowy threats of assured violence may have been successful due to the efforts of Rahm and 'Creamy Bob' Creamer. Opportunities abound. They could talk about community organizing and REALLY putting people back to work in the steel mills, talk about ATF and DEA helping with the dual and cross-over problem of guns and drugs in Chicago. Add ICE to the...

As President Barack Obama gets set to travel to Copenhagen Thursday night to make the case that Chicago should host the 2016 Olympics, good government groups are torn over how to handle the presidential sales pitch. After all, the moneyed interests behind Chicago’s bid — who bundled nearly $2 million for Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign — are hard to ignore and they raise the specter of influence-peddling that reformists are dedicated to fighting. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/01/chicago-olympic-committee_n_306135.html

“We’re cutting off money for schools, cutting off money for police, allowing people to be forced to live in food deserts, closing hospitals, closing access to mental health facilities,” Kennedy told reporters during a news conference that began as a criticism of the city’s efforts to stop gun violence. What choice do people have but to move, to leave, and I think that’s part of a strategic gentrification plan being implemented by the city of Chicago to push people of color out of the city,” he continued. Asked who is behind this alleged plan, Kennedy pointed to Emanuel. “I believe...

Rahm Emanuel appeared Tuesday on Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” and wowed the host and audience with his rabid anti-Trump rhetoric. Perhaps jealous of his famous Hollywood power-agent brother, Ari Emanuel, Rahm giddily joined the cacophony of late-night TV anti-Trump snark and, unknowingly, provided Chicagoans a Nero-like vision of a failed leader playing his fiddle as his city smolders, beset by rampant violence, failing schools, and a fleeing population. Chicago’s besieged residents don’t have the luxury of jetting off to New York for TV appearances... they live in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the developed world. Part of the...

Instead of asking the U.S. President Donald Trump for assistance with Chicago’s never-ending gun violence, Cook County commissioner Richard Boykin, a Democrat, has reportedly expressed interest in teaming up with the United Nations. “I’m hoping to appeal to the U.N. to actually come to Chicago and meet with victims of violence, and maybe even possibly help out in terms of peacekeeping efforts, because I think it’s so critical for us to make sure that these neighborhoods are safe,” he said Thursday, according to local station WBBM. He reportedly made the comments from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport en route to New...

Six people are dead and at least 14 more have been wounded in shootings across Chicago this weekend, according to police. The weekend's first fatality occurred at around 3:40 p.m. Saturday afternoon in the 5600 block of South Emerald Avenue in the city's Englewood neighborhood, authorities said. A 20-year-old woman and an 18-year-old man were sitting in a car when a person in a dark-colored Audi opened fire, striking both victims, according to police. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police, and the man was taken to St. Bernard Hospital in stable condition with a gunshot...

With gun violence garnering unflattering national attention for Chicago, carjackings have quietly gone off the charts as well. While shootings and homicides are largely concentrated in impoverished pockets of the South and West sides, carjackings are occurring throughout the city, including the downtown area, Chicago police statistics show. Last year Chicago recorded 663 carjackings, nearly double the 339 in 2015 and the most since 2009, according to the department. And the numbers have shot up even further so far this year. Through Oct. 18, the latest date available, carjackings have totaled 661, nearly equal to all of 2016 and a...

Among the 23 shot in Chicago over the weekend: a 64-year-old teacher, a young mother and a 15-year-old boy. The nearly two dozen shootings from Friday afternoon to Monday morning included nine people who were killed, two of whom were teenagers. An unintended target of a drive-by in Rogers Park, Cynthia Trevillion was killed by a stray bullet Friday night while she waited for a train at the CTA Morse stop. She was a teacher at the Chicago Waldorf School in Rogers Park. Simone D. McKay, a 26-year-old mother of two, was fatally shot in front of her Rosemoor home...

There were 59 murders in Chicago in September, the city where black lives don’t seem to matter to liberals and gun control zealots. The horrible death toll in the Las Vegas massacre is just a normal month in the gun control and murder capital of America. The Democratic caucus in Congress that seizes on Las Vegas as another crisis too terrible to waste in their pursuit of gun control says nothing about the Chicago carnage, for which nary an NFL millionaire takes a knee while whining about social justice: The murder toll in Las Vegas on Sunday makes it the...

At first glance, nothing differentiates Vernetta Robinzine from passers-by in the Beverly neighborhood on Chicago's Far South Side. On a recent evening, like most people on a workday, she donned business casual attire with a loose, bright blouse. But her daily wardrobe includes something unseen that gives her confidence. Robinzine, 51, is a gun owner with a concealed carry license. Since she received her permit in late spring, she carries her firearm wherever she goes. ADVERTISING "It's like a part of me now," Robinzine said with the smile. Data show Robinzine is part of a burgeoning group in Cook County:...

The Associated Press shirked their own style guide in a recently published article, using “undocumented citizens” in lieu of their usual “undocumented immigrants.” The article with the strange reference was published on September 5 and discusses Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s response to President Donald Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. “The Chicago Sun-Times reports that school officials say about a third of the school’s students are undocumented citizens,” the AP wrote.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Supt. Eddie Johnson on Tuesday bemoaned the fights that forced the United Center to close, canceling the championship game of a basketball league intended to keep teenagers off the streets in the summer. The pandemonium — some captured on cellphone video — prevented neighborhood teams made up of players from two of Chicago’s top high school basketball teams — Orr Academy and Curie Metropolitan — from squaring off in a title game. As upsetting to Emanuel and Johnson as the ugly scene outside the United Center was the fact that the league itself was supposed...