Chicago Alderman Hires Private Firm to Keep Citizens Safe While Pumping Gas
AWR HAWKINS 29 Jan 2021
FTA
Chicago Alderman Stephanie Coleman reacted to a surge in city carjackings by hiring a private firm to provide security for an hour each day in which residents can safely pump gas.
The Chicago Tribune reports that Coleman is calling the project, “Operation Safe Pump.” It is being launched at “Citgo on 63rd Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway, and the Shell at 55th and Halsted.”
The Chicago Sun-Times quoted Coleman declaring Chicago is in a “state of emergency.”
She said, “Any time one of us, an Englewood resident, is carjacked and held at gunpoint on Christmas morning, we know that it is time for us to come together and find some solutions as it relates to public safety.”
Another Alderman, Roderick Sawyer, is implementing “Operation Pump Safe” for two and a half hours on Sunday “at the Citgo gas station near 72nd Street and South Chicago Avenue.”
Carjackings in 2020 were up 135 percent over 2019. Breitbart News reported that a December 3, 2020, carjacking resulted in the fatal shooting of retired Chicago Firefighter Dwain Williams.
There have already been “at least” 166 Chicago carjackings in 2021, including the alleged carjacking of an off-duty Chicago Police Officer’s car on Tuesday. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the alleged carjacker was 14-years-old.
Palm Beach reviewing Trump’s residency at Mar-a-Lago
BY SARAH POLUS - 01/29/21 10:00 PM EST
FTA
The town of Palm Beach, Fla., confirmed to The Hill on Friday that it’s performing a legal review of former President Trump’s residency at Mar-a-Lago after suggesting that it might do so in December.
“Our town attorney is reviewing the agreement and the laws surrounding it,” Palm Beach Town Manager Kirk Blouin told The Hill.
Trump relocated to his Florida club on the morning of Jan. 20 after leaving office, before President Biden was sworn in.
The former president’s decision to make Mar-a-Lago his permanent residence could be a violation of rules set forward in a previous agreement with the town when he decided to convert the private residence into a club in 1993.
Among those conditions were that club members, including Trump, could only spend a maximum of seven consecutive days and no more than three weeks a year at the premises, CNN reports.
Blouin told the Miami Herald last month that the town was unaware of Trump’s intent to permanently reside at his Palm Beach club, but that it would “address the matter appropriately” if need be.
A spokesperson for the Trump Organization previously told the Herald that “There is no document or agreement in place that prohibits President Trump from using Mar-a-Lago as his residence.”
It’s unclear when the review is expected to be completed, however Trump’s residency at the club could be an item of discussion at an upcoming town council meeting on Feb. 9, CNN reports.
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/536593-palm-beach-reviewing-trumps-residency-at-mar-a-lago