It Wasn't Groot

At least not so far:

• Chicago police remained locked in an extended standoff Tuesday morning with a man barricaded inside his Logan Square home, just a few doors down from the residence of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The standoff began shortly before noon Monday, drawing a large police response that included SWAT officers and armored vehicles to the Northwest Side neighborhood.

  Police first arrived around 11:45 a.m. Monday to conduct a well-being check on a woman living in the 3400 block of West Wrightwood Avenue. According to dispatch transmissions, a 911 caller reported that the woman’s upstairs neighbor had knocked her down several days earlier, followed her, and spat on her husband.

  When patrol officers reached the home shortly before noon, they requested a supervisor after encountering a man who, police said, displayed a rifle from a window and then struggled with officers before retreating inside. Officers later reported that the man had thrown the rifle out a window but believed he had additional firearms inside. The situation continued to escalate. At one point, the man sprayed a fire extinguisher from a window, according to police transmissions.

  The man also called 911 himself, telling dispatchers he was afraid because police had barricaded him inside his home, the transmissions showed.

Is Groot even in town? What's her detail doing these days?

Bad Mix

Someone got the recipe wrong....again:

• Chicago emergency crews responded to 35 suspected opioid overdose cases Tuesday, nearly twice the city’s daily average of 19, prompting the Chicago Department of Public Health to issue a warning about a possible spike in overdoses. The 35 suspected opioid-related EMS responses were concentrated in South Shore and Chatham, CDPH said.

  The spike does not mean 35 people died or that all 35 cases have been confirmed as opioid overdoses, but the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, a real-time surveillance system used to identify possible overdose clusters, identified the cluster.

  CDPH urged people to carry naloxone, commonly known as NARCAN, the medication that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose. Officials also delivered a blunt warning about ingesting counterfeit or other pills not prescribed by a doctor and dispensed by a pharmacy.

  The department did not identify a specific drug or source as the cause of Tuesday’s increase. However, fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times more potent than heroin, has become a leading driver of overdose deaths in the United States. While it was once most commonly found mixed into heroin, it is now frequently detected in cocaine, counterfeit prescription pills, methamphetamine, and other illicit drugs, often without users’ knowledge.

As we've stated in the past, we had some bad family experiences with narcotics, so NARCAN was always a hard "no" from us. Our relatives would have been far better off if that problem child had died of an overdose rather than stealing and burglarizing family homes to support his bad habits.

Society would be far better off if junkies overdosed and got trundled off to landfills by Streets and San rather than spending ambulance rides, medical care and doctors' efforts on what will be a vicious endless cycle of wasted time, resources and lives.

It's That Time Again

Are you boosted?

• Although foodborne pathogens have been in the spotlight all summer, another highly contagious virus is surging in the United States: coronavirus. A new wave of COVID-19 is sweeping the country, with cases on the rise in nearly every state.

  As of Aug. 19, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that COVID infections are growing or likely growing in 48 states and declining in zero states.

  COVID-19 activity is still considered low, nationally, the CDC says. However, rates are increasing quickly across the country, especially in the South and West.

Remember, there are still people stupid enough to fall for this shit, but if you don't have (A) a depressed immune system or (B) two or more comorbidities, you're chances of survival are about 100%.

Rumors starting up that Snelling will be back to help strip everyone for not getting this year's version of the Clot Shot, which reduce your chances to about 98.6%. 

Remember This Thing?

There was absolutely no reason for this to be here, and there was ZERO reason to give away lakefront land to build it on:

• The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will open Sept. 22 in Los Angeles after more than a decade of planning. Co-founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the museum will feature much more than Star Wars memorabilia.

  The five-story building covers 300,000 square feet in Exposition Park. Its 35 galleries occupy approximately 100,000 square feet and will draw from a permanent collection containing more than 40,000 works.

  Opening exhibitions will place more than 1,200 objects across over 30 galleries. The displays will range from ancient sculptures and Renaissance paintings to comics, photography, murals, children's book illustrations and cinematic artifacts.

Of course, it's curious how the Friends of the Parks managed to kill the Lucas Museum, but was strangely ineffective for the Sparklefart Monstrosity.

What's Going On?

This seems to be a regular occurrence all of the sudden:

• An American Airlines flight bound for Charlotte was delayed Wednesday after the aircraft experienced a tire issue while taxiing for departure at O'Hare International Airport, according to the airline and federal aviation officials.

  American Airlines said Flight 3280 had pushed back from the gate when the problem was discovered. The Federal Aviation Administration said the crew reported two blown tires while taxiing for departure at about 2:30 p.m. There were no reports of injuries.

Normally, we'd brush this off as happenstance - but....:

• The incident was the fifth involving blown aircraft tires in Chicago this month and the fourth at O'Hare. None of the incidents resulted in reported injuries. The occurrences have involved United, American and Southwest aircraft that were landing, taking off or preparing for departure.

We've been doing a bit of traveling in our retirement time along with a lot of other cops we know, so this is playing a part in plans. Plus, we needed to fill some space tonight.

Are these tires made in China or something?

Time to Break the CTU

Didn't this country fight a civil war about owning other human beings?

• Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) president Stacy Davis Gates said on Monday that “all children belong to” the union.

  At the City Club Chicago event, Gates bashed President Donald Trump for lessening the power of teachers’ unions, calling his education agenda a “relitigation” of the Civil War while complaining about the failing state of Chicago schools.

  Quoting civil rights activist James Baldwin, Gates tells the crowd, “The children are always ours. Every single one of them, all over the globe.” Gates then mocks parents who would respond by saying “CTU thinks your children are its children.”

  “Yes, we do,” Gates said. “We do.”

How many fewer kids are there in the schools, year over year? How many near-empty schools are sucking up millions in tax money? How many criminal acts are covered up annually by the CTU?

Time to show the teachers that parents - who pay their salaries - should be the people calling the shots.

Mendoza is already staking out that territory in the mayoral race. Pay attention for more. 

Can't Let Go

Some people just have to hang on:

• The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the appointment of Cook County Circuit Judge Timothy C. Evans to the First District Appellate Court.

  Judge Evans has served on the bench since 1992 when he was elected to the Circuit Court of Cook County.

  Evans was elected as Chief Judge of the Circuit Court in 2001, becoming the first Black person to serve as Chief Judge.

  Evans, age 83, will fill the vacancy created when Justice Terrence J. Lavin retired in March of this year.

He's older than the last two presidents and there were calls from both sides saying that each should have stepped down when it was politically advantageous. 

But here's Timmy, hanging on, sitting in judgement of all sorts of important issues, unable to just enjoy his massive "earnings" after a quarter of a century presiding over one of the more crooked systems in existence.

Well This is Unpleasant

How can you be this unable to complete your job?

• The discovery of over 50 decomposing bodies in a South Deering funeral home was not the first time its business’ operators were found to have mishandled remains.

  Last year, state officials shut down a Chicago Heights crematory, also operated by Clark and Johanna Morgan, amid allegations they had mishandled around 100 bodies at the facility.

  That business was permanently shut down by state officials and nearly two dozen lawsuits were filed against the Morgans in the wake of the investigation.

  But they continued to operate South Chicago Chapel at 2939 E. 95th St., and now dozens more families find themselves in the same position demanding answers from the Morgans and seeking accountability for their deceased loved ones.

Fifty-six bodies, openly decomposing, infested and being eaten by bugs and rodents.

NOT the first time this couple was caught mishandling the dead. 

But somehow they slipped through the cracks, continued operating with out licenses or authorization, exploiting the bereaved and ....

What the actual f@#$? 

 

Real? Not Real?

This is from a reader who says it was at an off-site training class:

The instructor (civilian?) claimed this was a "joke slide" after some objections were raised.

Kind of an inappropriate joke if true. 

Missed opportunity for the Keesing Bandit however, as he has zero sense of embarrassment. 

Well This is Embarrassing

We'll just take out the name, address and phone number here:

 

If we had a nickel for every time this happened....

....we'd have about fifteen cents. 

The Keesing Bandit however, would be rich beyond belief. 

New Meaning to "Tree Police"

They never had this job around when we were rookies:

• Drivers could not beat around the bush when it came to being charged with distracted driving in a New Jersey suburb this week as a cop disguised himself as a shrub to spot motorists on their phones while behind the wheel.

  The Dunellen police officer camouflaged himself and employed a pair of binoculars to covertly execute  the distracted-driving enforcement operation in the town of 8,000 about 30 miles from New York City.

There's even a picture:

We'd agree with arguments that this is nothing more than a money grab by the Dunellen, New Jersey PD and local government (the fines start at $200 and escalate from there). But we've also seen more than enough distracted drivers hitting, injuring and killing people to say something ought to be done.

Wyatt Earp Called

He wants his shotgun back:

 

We're told this gun appeared in 006, whether confiscated or turned-in, we have no idea, but that thing has more years on it than probably everyone currently on the job.

Any Update?

Is this another Conehead Corpse?

• Possible human remains were found in a South Side alley on Monday morning, Chicago police said.

  Police said the remains were found in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood's 300-block of East 68th Street just before 9:30 a.m.

If it isn't identifiable, then it's been there a while.

They Believed They Could Fly

But flying cars don't exist yet:

• Three people were killed early Sunday after a car fleeing police drove off a bridge and into a train box car in Bedford Park, Chicago police said. A fourth passenger is in critical condition.

  Chicago police were responding to a call after someone pointed a gun at a person from the car. Officers tried to pull over the vehicle, but the driver didn’t stop. Officers briefly chased the car before stopping the pursuit, according to police.

Smart move! Obviously someone has been reading the Training Bulletin!

But then....:

• Illinois State Police troopers then saw the same car and attempted to stop it in the 5500 block of South Cicero Avenue. The car briefly stopped for the troopers, but then the driver sped off again. State troopers radioed Chicago police for back up.

We're hoping this is just sloppy reporting. Chicago terminated the chase, whether by supervisory order or self-termination - IT WAS OVER. Anything the State Police transmitted after that point should be considered information only - as in "last seen" or "headed in XXXX direction" or "occupied 4 times" etc.

Yes, we're aware a gun may have been displayed or pointed in some manner, but the powers-that-be have decreed that this alone is NOT a reason to pursue. We don't agree with it, but it's easier to suspend or fire you for disobeying the rules than to actually enforce the law.

Because then this shit happens:

• The wanted car — speeding away from police in the 6900 block of South Cicero Avenue — drove off a bridge and crashed into a train box car at around 2:15 a.m. Sunday, police said. Two men and one woman in the car were killed and pronounced dead at the scene. A second woman was taken to Christ Hospital in critical condition.

And now the years of lawsuits begin and careers will hang in the balance as the bottom feeders attempt to blame the police for some dumbass being unable to drive....or obey the law.

UPDATE: unconfirmed report the fourth offender died? 

UPDATE: confirmed. 

O'Shea Doesn't Care (UPDATE)

That party house over on Maplewood that happens to be almost directly across the street from the aldermoron is still hosting parties AND advertising it publicly:

• Hidden Treasure Rooftop & Patio is a unique multi-level backyard venue located in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood. This private outdoor event space features a large patio, rooftop deck, elevated lounge deck, and garage service station, creating the perfect flow for hosting memorable celebrations. 
• The venue’s rooftop deck overlooks a beautiful tree-lined park, providing a peaceful scenic backdrop that makes the space feel like a hidden oasis within the city. 
• With multiple levels for entertaining, the layout allows hosts to create separate zones for music, food, cocktails, and conversation. The space works perfectly for everything from baby showers and birthday parties to live music performances and private celebrations. 
• With nearly 2,000 square feet of combined space, Hidden Treasure Rooftop & Patio comfortably accommodates up to 140 guests with mixed seating or up to 170 guests cocktail-style.

Remember, this is a RESIDENTIAL neighborhood where this sort of venue is NOT allowed...but that isn't stopping the owner:

• A Beverly neighbor has come under fire for hosting unlicensed concerts and events at her home, though she denied she is operating an entertainment business from the home and said officials have thwarted efforts to bring the events in accordance with the law.

  Since late May, a home in the 10500 block of South Maplewood Avenue — which has billed itself online as Hidden Treasure Rooftop & Patio — has been the subject of visits from police and city business officials over a series of ticketed events that were advertised as featuring live entertainment, food and drink.

  The latest outdoor event, held on Saturday and featuring a live band and armed security, saw police respond to the home and officials with Business Affairs and Consumer Protection issue nine citations.

She's selling tickets, has armed security on site (suburban off duty cops), has received numerous citations from CPD, and is still running the venue despite the building being in foreclosure.

And O'Shea is doing next-to-nothing, not even giving CPD the go-ahead to start mass arrests on scene, so there's obviously some political bullshit in play here. 

They shut down that bar up in 017 the other day after a single shooting, pulling licenses and shutting down the building....but this place gets a pass why exactly? 

How soon until someone gets shot over there?

UPDATE: The building is in foreclosure, but it turns out she also doesn't pay property taxes on the building - as in zero. She has a senior and disabled veteran exemption attached to the property....from her parents....that don’t live there.

And the aldermoron is backing this lawbreaking 100%. 

Police Are Bad

But don't look over at the CPS / CTU:

• More than 700 employees of Chicago Public Schools were found to have engaged in some form of misconduct within a single year, an analysis of district records shows. 

  Over the course of four months, WTTW News obtained records that provide a detailed look at how CPS disciplined employees in cases investigated by district staff, outside agencies or the CPS Office of Inspector General.

  Between Jan. 3, 2025, and Jan. 6, 2026, Chicago Public Schools sustained misconduct allegations against more than 700 employees, with most cases involving routine workplace violations and dozens involving more serious allegations, including harassment, discrimination and fraud, records show. Among the most serious offenses, 10 employees resigned or were fired after facing allegations of sexual abuse involving a student, and almost two dozen cases overall involved allegations of sexual misconduct or discrimination. 

It sure would be interesting to compare those numbers against other City departments, even on a per capita basis. Sure, there would be a lot of low level, SPAR sustained stuff for uniform infractions, court deviations and procedural errors, but we highly doubt any other department would come close to the chomos that CPS covers up for.

Number One Again

But in a completely off-the-wall category:

• Chicago has been ranked the worst city in the country for bed bugs for the sixth consecutive year, according to Orkin's annual list.

  The pest control company's rankings are based on where it performed the most bed bug treatments between May 12, 2025 and May 12, covering both residential and commercial sites.

  Los Angeles came in second on this year's list, followed by Detroit at third, Cleveland at fourth and Indianapolis at fifth. New York fell just outside of the top 10.

So raggedy. 

How long was Chicago #1 in rats?

Confused Conehead

Somebody asked for this photo:

 

We're told that's a common expression most of the time.

Trespass on Astor Street

We need more of this:

• A man on pretrial release in a felony retail theft case that he picked up while already on pretrial release for another shoplifting charge disappeared from the Cook County chief judge’s electronic monitoring program for 11 days before authorities found him again — in the back yard of Gov. JB Pritzker’s Gold Coast mansion, court records show.

  Those records also indicate that, despite Chief Judge Charles Beach’s public pledge that “major violations” of the court’s electronic monitoring program would be brought before a judge within 24 hours, 10-time convicted felon Dwayne Milton began violating the terms of his release almost immediately upon being outfitted with an ankle monitor, and those violations continued for six consecutive nights before the matter was reported to a judge.

  Around 10 p.m. on July 4, Chicago police officers were dispatched to the governor’s residence in the 1400 block of North Astor Street to assist Illinois State Police troopers assigned to Pritzker’s security detail. Troopers had detained Milton, 46, after he allegedly jumped into the governor’s back yard.

  A state trooper told CPD officers that they had been monitoring the mansion’s security cameras when they saw Milton attempting to scale over the governor’s rear gate before successfully entering the property. He is charged with misdemeanor trespassing.

Gee, a ten-time-convicted felon - surely he's learned his lesson by now!

• Doubtful SCC....and don't call me Shirley 

Every paroled or ankle monitored criminal should be given a slip of paper upon release with this address on it along with a promise of free food, candy and a grape pop. 

Still Beating a Dead Horse

Was anyone really waiting for this?

• Mayor Brandon Johnson promised during his first month in office to “rebuild the social contract” with Black Chicago, beginning with the actual construction of a permanent memorial to former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge torture victims that was promised in 2015.

  The “social contract” remains a work in progress, but the memorial is finally underway.

Burge was fired thirty-three years ago - there literally isn't a single Officer or Detective working today that served under Burge. Burge himself has been dead for almost eight years. 

But he's still a boogeyman used to manufacture outrage, push all sorts of anti-police rhetoric and fund raise for crooked politicians who can't solve actual problems.