Tag: chicago

Chicago Cops Use Asset Forfeiture Funds to Buy Drones “Off the Books”

Asset forfeiture funds help build the ever-growing national surveillance state.

Civil asset forfeiture is a pernicious policy in its own right. It is nothing more than legalized, institutionalized, government-sanctioned theft. Forfeiture laws flip due process on its head and create perverse “policing for profit” incentives.

On top of that, we have long suspected that police departments use forfeiture money to secretly purchase surveillance technology. Recent Chicago Police Department emails obtained from a trove of hacked documents prove this happens, revealing that cops used asset forfeiture money to buy drones off the books with no oversight or accountability.

According to reporting by the Chicago Sun-Times, details of the CPD drone program were revealed in an email sent by the director of police research and development. In the email exchange, Karen Conway told other high-ranking police officials that the department’s counterterrorism bureau “utilized 1505 funds for a pilot Drone program that operates within the parameters of current laws.”

Conway wrote that drones “have been purchased and the Electronic & Technical Support Unit (Counter-terrorism) is in the process of creating a training to start a pilot. Some of the Drone uses will be for missing persons, crime scene photos, and terrorist-related issues.”

The city refused to answer specific questions about the drone program, saying the city would not answer questions relating to hacked emails.

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Chicago Releases Feral Cats On City Streets To Tackle Explosion In Rat Population

Windy City? More like Ratty City.

Every year for the last six years, the city of Chicago has been named the rattiest in America, according to a report from a local TV station.

“In an unprecedented year, the visibility of rodents has increased, creating concern for homeowners and business owners alike. As reported in the Spring, the pandemic-driven closure of restaurants forced rodents to find new food sources,” said the Orkin pest control company, which puts together the annual ranking. “Without food waste to consume, these pests were seen scavenging new areas and exhibiting unusual or aggressive behavior. The presence of rodents became so relevant that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Rodent Control guidance on ways to keep rats and mice out of homes and businesses. ”

But a city animal shelter has an answer: Feral cats — feral cats everywhere.

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Chicago-area hospital halts COVID vaccinations after 4 workers have adverse reactions

A north suburban hospital is temporarily pausing coronavirus vaccinations after four workers reported feeling adverse reactions.

Since Thursday, four team members at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville experienced reactions shortly after receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination. Their symptoms included tingling and elevated heartrates, the hospital said in a statement.

The hospital also noted that the four team members represent fewer than 0.15% of the approximately 3,000 who have so far received vaccinations across Advocate Aurora Health.

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With Chicago police already stretched thin, Mayor Lightfoot stations over 100 cops outside home, bans protests on her block to protect herself

The Chicago Tribune reported Thursday that the city has effectively banned all protests on Lightfoot’s street, including peaceful ones, even as elsewhere in the city protests have been allowed to continue and openly supported by the mayor.

According to an email sent by the district’s commander at the time, officers assigned to enforce the directive were instructed to tell protesters “that it is against the city code and state law to protest” and that they must “leave immediately.”

After the warning is given, the street “should be locked down,” the instructions added.

In order to carry out the orders, a large contingent of officers have been routinely stationed outside the home. Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara told the Chicago Sun-Times that as many as 140 officers have been assigned to the home at certain times.

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Two-Year-Old Cancer Patient Misses Birthday Celebration Due To Chicago Looters Targeting Ronald McDonald House

During the mass mayhem and looting in Chicago earlier this week, looters targeted the Ronald McDonald House, a charity that provides a place for families with sick children to stay close to hospitals.

One of the families staying at the Chicago Ronald McDonald House is the family of two-year-old Owen Buell, who is receiving treatment at Lurie Children’s Hospital for Stage 4 neuroblastoma.

The family planned to bring their sick baby to Joliet to celebrate his birthday, but were unable to do so thanks to the violent riot.

“We were going to have cake and ice cream and do some presents at home with his siblings and his grandma,” Owen’s mother, Valerie Mitchell, told local station WBBM.

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Chicago-Area Leaders Call for Illinois to Abolish History Classes

Leaders in education, politics and other areas gathered in suburban Evanston Sunday to ask that the Illinois State Board of Education change the history curriculum at schools statewide, and temporarily halt instruction until an alternative is decided upon.

At a news conference, State Rep. LaShawn K. Ford said current history teachings lead to a racist society and overlook the contributions of women and minorities.

Before the event Sunday, Rep. Ford’s office distributed a news release “Rep. Ford Today in Evanston to Call for the Abolishment of History Classes in Illinois Schools,” in which Ford asked the ISBOE and school districts to immediately remove history curriculum and books that “unfairly communicate” history “until a suitable alternative is developed.”

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CHICAGO POLICE COMPILING DOSSIERS ON PEOPLE WHO SPEAK AT POLICE BOARD MEETINGS

Why would the Chicago Police Department be running background checks on people who sign up to speak at public meetings of the city’s police disciplinary panel?

That is what many people want to know after a public records request conducted by the Chicago Tribune revealed that since January 2018, CPD has collected information on at least 60 people in advance of their speaking at the weekly meetings—a practice that police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed has been going on since at least 2013.

From the Tribune:

“The checks appear to be extensive, with police searching at least one internal department database to determine if speakers have arrest or prison records, warrants outstanding for their arrest, investigative alerts issued for them by the department and even if they’re registered sex offenders or missing persons. Police also searched comments that speakers had previously made on YouTube or on their Facebook and Twitter accounts, among other internet sites, the documents show.

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