Chicago City Wire

From Prairie State Wire

Senate GOP Leader Bill Brady said to have voiced private support for abortion funding, gun control legislation

By W.J. Kennedy | 2 days ago

Former high-level aides to Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has revealed that Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) told the then governor he was right for signing HB 40 in September 2017, the law requiring Medicaid funding of abortions. At a separate meeting, Brady also recommended that the governor sign gun control bills should they reach his desk.

Chicago police union, citing anti-police bias, petitions state labor board for arbitration in separation cases

By W.J. Kennedy | Jan 16, 2020

Chicago’s police union says its members can’t get a fair shake from a disciplinary body, the Chicago Police Board (CPB), so it's petitioning the Illinois Labor Relations Board for the right for officers to select arbitration involving separation cases.

Candidate Fioretti 'extremely disappointed' by recommendation to keep state's attorney Foxx on ballot

By W.J. Kennedy | Jan 14, 2020

A representative for Bob Fioretti says the Democratic candidate for Cook County State’s Attorney was “extremely disappointed” by reports that a hearing officer is recommending incumbent state's attorney Kim Foxx remain on the primary ballot despite challenges to her nominating petitions.

March for Life Chicago features prominent OB-GYN as speaker for first time

By W.J. Kennedy | Jan 10, 2020

Speaking out about her views on abortion is new to Dr. Karen Deighan, an OB-GYN at the Loyola University Medical Center.

ISRA director agrees with gun rights advocate's blame of 'feral thugs' for Chicago murder spike

By W.J. Kennedy | Jan 3, 2020

Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) Executive Director Richard Pearson placed a comment by longtime gun rights advocate David Codrea in the complimentary “I wish I had said that” category.

Chicago FOP joins aldermen in urging city council to reject payout in Godinez case

By W.J. Kennedy | Dec 23, 2019

The Chicago City Council on December 18 deferred a final vote on a proposed $1.2 million payout to the family of Heriberto Godinez, who died in 2015 while being arrested for burglary on the Southwest side.

Emboldened by restorative justice, shoplifters in Chicago carry winter clothes from Marshall’s in plain sight of store employees

By W.J. Kennedy | Dec 18, 2019

Shoplifters have become so brazen in Chicago that a Facebook video posted recently by CWB Chicago shows four of thieves strolling out of a Marshall’s in Lincoln Park, their arms loaded with winter clothes. Store employees appear helpless to stop them.

Good Samaritan who held would-be CTA robber will not be charged

By W.J. Kennedy | Dec 10, 2019

A spokesperson for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office said that no charges will be filed against an armed citizen who last week held a would-be Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) mugger at gunpoint until police arrived.

Chicago police union calls on Kim Foxx to denounce the anti-police rhetoric in wake of body-slamming incident

By W.J. Kennedy | Dec 10, 2019

The Chicago police union is asking Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx to condemn statements directed at police after last week’s body-slamming of Bernard Kersh, who spit in an officer’s face and resisted arrest, was caught on video.

State Rep. Curtis Tarver arrested for carrying a weapon with a revoked license

By W.J. Kennedy | Nov 21, 2019

State Rep. Curtis Tarver II (D-Chicago) was arrested Monday night in the Woodlawn section of Chicago and charged with carrying a weapon with an invalid concealed carry license (CCL), according to Chicago police.

Chicago Mayor Lightfoot, with cover from liberal press, refuses to confront city’s violence, Fox News analyst says

By W.J. Kennedy | Nov 12, 2019

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is “cut from the same cloth” as her predecessor Rahm Emmanuel for diverting attention away from the city’s tragic distinction of having more homicides than New York and Los Angeles combined, writes native Chicagoan Gianno Caldwell, a political consultant and Fox News political analyst.

Wirepoints: Teachers' contract deal will increase pressure on tax base, driving even more Chicagoans away

By W.J. Kennedy | Nov 7, 2019

With junk credit and a broke city to fall back on, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will have to cover the costs of a new teachers’ contract through higher property taxes. That bill will amount to an estimated $1.5 billion over the next five years, according to an analysis by Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner of Wirepoints. And, they say, the estimate is on the low side.

Teachers union president, Sharkey, wants city homeowners to pay more in property taxes while he gets a big break on his

By W.J. Kennedy | Oct 31, 2019

Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) President Jesse Sharkey gets a discount on his property taxes, but wants other city homeowners to dig even deeper to satisfy the demands of the city's 24,000 teachers and their broke pension system.

Sun-Times sports columnist, Morrissey, sees similarities in the plight of minorities in the U.S. and China

By W.J. Kennedy | Oct 23, 2019

Sun-Times sports columnist, Rick Morrissey, recently berated (gently) NBA players for shying away from criticizing the Chinese government when it hit back at the NBA for a coach’s statement in support of the freedom protestors in Hong Kong.

Shoplifting up sharply under Kim Foxx’s restorative justice policies

By W.J. Kennedy | Oct 18, 2019

A spokesman for Chicago’s police union places the blame for a sharp increase in shoplifting over the last few years squarely on the shoulders of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.

Council’s Progressive Caucus Tax proposals would set us back over 100 years, financial expert says

By W.J. Kennedy | Oct 15, 2019

A truckload of new taxes proposed by Chicago City Council’s Progressive Caucus appears as if they “deliberately selected some of the most foolish of all options,” said financial analyst and Wirepoints founder Mark Glennon.

Chicago’s police union lawyers demand civilian oversight board stop 'illegal' preparation of search warrants

By W.J. Kennedy | Sep 19, 2019

Attorneys for the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) are demanding that the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), an administrative oversight agency, stop preparing complaints for search warrants in cases that involve investigations of potential police misconduct.

Chicago’s police union rips city Inspector General Joe Ferguson

By W.J. Kennedy | Sep 12, 2019

Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson isn’t finished making enemies within the Chicago Police Department.

Tribune’s Hinkel, other reporters caught up in anti-police movement

By W.J. Kennedy | Sep 9, 2019

A local writer skewered Chicago Tribune reporter Dan Hinkel for his coverage of Chicago Police officer Robert Rialmo, who the Chicago Police Board recently investigated over a 2015 shooting death of a bat-wielding 19-year-old man, and, the accidental shooting and killing of the man’s neighbor.

Chicago FOP demands U.S. Attorney investigate new findings that show consent decree based on manufactured evidence

By W.J. Kennedy | Aug 28, 2019

The union representing the Chicago Police is demanding that the Department of Justice consider new findings that the Obama Administration relied on manufactured evidence in an investigation of the CPD that led to a consent decree. The consent decree, a court order that forces the overhaul of the department’s policies and practices, went into effect in March of this year.