AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneFeb 18, 2021 at 11:47 amMayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago police Superintendent David Brown led a response to protests and looting last spring plagued by “confusion and lack of coordination” that risked the safety of both police and citizens, the city’s watchdog found released Thursday.Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s lengthy findings listed a litany of shortcomings and inconsistencies at the Chicago Police Department’s command level that manifested themselves in chaos on the street.AdvertisementPolice brass lacked plans for mass arrests, leading to people...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneFeb 18, 2021 at 11:47 amMayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago police Superintendent David Brown led a response to protests and looting last spring plagued by “confusion and lack of coordination” that risked the safety of both police and citizens, the city’s watchdog found released Thursday.Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s lengthy findings listed a litany of shortcomings and inconsistencies at the Chicago Police Department’s command level that manifested themselves in chaos on the street.AdvertisementPolice brass lacked plans for mass arrests, leading to people...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneFeb 05, 2021 at 5:34 pmA Southwest Side bar has been cited for COVID-19 safety violations after more than 40 people, a maskless group that apparently included Chicago police officers, gathered last month in the bar’s back room, according to city records.When asked about the gathering, a spokesman for the Chicago Police Department said in an emailed statement that an internal investigation had been opened.AdvertisementNews of the gathering comes after the department has faced criticism around a lack of precautions taken by some Chicago police officers during...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneFeb 05, 2021 at 5:34 pmA Southwest Side bar has been cited for COVID-19 safety violations after more than 40 people, a maskless group that apparently included Chicago police officers, gathered last month in the bar’s back room, according to city records.When asked about the gathering, a spokesman for the Chicago Police Department said in an emailed statement that an internal investigation had been opened.AdvertisementNews of the gathering comes after the department has faced criticism around a lack of precautions taken by some Chicago police officers during...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJan 13, 2021 at 5:57 pmA Chicago man was arrested Wednesday on federal charges alleging he participated in last week’s mob attack on the U.S. Capitol, posting a photo of the plaque outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s ransacked office.Kevin Lyons, 40, of the Gladstone Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side, was charged in a criminal complaint in Washington with misdemeanor counts of knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Authorities said he also took phone videos while in...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJan 13, 2021 at 5:57 pmA Chicago man was arrested Wednesday on federal charges alleging he participated in last week’s mob attack on the U.S. Capitol, posting a photo of the plaque outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s ransacked office.Kevin Lyons, 40, of the Gladstone Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side, was charged in a criminal complaint in Washington with misdemeanor counts of knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Authorities said he also took phone videos while in...WW…

In a year marred by a deadly pandemic and rocked by civil unrest over policing in America, Chicago endured a level of violence in 2020 that reversed recent progress, with homicides increasing by more than 50%, according to official statistics. Through Sunday, Chicago had recorded 762 homicides this year, a 55% jump over the same period in 2019, when 491 people in the city were slain, according to official Chicago police data. It is among the highest year-over-year increases in recent city history. Advertisement The total number of shootings this year also was up sharply. That figure rose by...…In a year marred by a deadly pandemic and rocked by civil unrest over policing in America, Chicago endured a level of violence in 2020 that reversed recent progress, with homicides increasing by more than 50%, according to official statistics. Through Sunday, Chicago had recorded 762 homicides this year, a 55% jump over the same period in 2019, when 491 people in the city were slain, according to official Chicago police data. It is among the highest year-over-year increases in recent city history. Advertisement The total number of shootings this year also was up sharply. That figure rose by...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneDec 07, 2020 at 4:14 pmA federal judge told Chicago’s main police union on Monday that it needs to ensure its member officers are wearing face masks and maintaining safe social distances while on the job, in keeping with public health guidelines around COVID-19.The pointed reminder from U.S. District Court Judge Robert Dow Jr., who is overseeing sweeping mandated department reforms, came after the Fraternal Order of Police filed a motion alleging the city was violating its own health guidelines. Officers have been put at risk when the Chicago Police Department...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneDec 07, 2020 at 4:14 pmA federal judge told Chicago’s main police union on Monday that it needs to ensure its member officers are wearing face masks and maintaining safe social distances while on the job, in keeping with public health guidelines around COVID-19.The pointed reminder from U.S. District Court Judge Robert Dow Jr., who is overseeing sweeping mandated department reforms, came after the Fraternal Order of Police filed a motion alleging the city was violating its own health guidelines. Officers have been put at risk when the Chicago Police Department...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneNov 28, 2020 at 5:00 amCity officials have revised their plans for a new citywide response on emergency mental health calls to include non-police responder teams, an idea pushed hard for several months by activists and community leaders.The plan for the so-called mobile crisis teams of clinicians and paramedics — without police — will now be part of a $1.7 million alternate response pilot to launch next year under the newly approved city of Chicago budget, city officials told the Tribune.AdvertisementActivists, however, expressed immediate skepticism about how...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneNov 28, 2020 at 5:00 amCity officials have revised their plans for a new citywide response on emergency mental health calls to include non-police responder teams, an idea pushed hard for several months by activists and community leaders.The plan for the so-called mobile crisis teams of clinicians and paramedics — without police — will now be part of a $1.7 million alternate response pilot to launch next year under the newly approved city of Chicago budget, city officials told the Tribune.AdvertisementActivists, however, expressed immediate skepticism about how...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneOct 14, 2020 at 3:00 pmAt least five Chicago police officers — including a commander — face suspension after city Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s investigation into the October 2019 incident where then-police Superintendent Eddie Johnson was found asleep at the wheel of his city-issued SUV, the Tribune has learned.Deering District Cmdr. Don Jerome, the highest-ranking officer of the five, was to receive up to a 28-day suspension for his role in the incident, according to sources familiar with the matter. Reached by telephone Tuesday afternoon, Jerome...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneOct 14, 2020 at 3:00 pmAt least five Chicago police officers — including a commander — face suspension after city Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s investigation into the October 2019 incident where then-police Superintendent Eddie Johnson was found asleep at the wheel of his city-issued SUV, the Tribune has learned.Deering District Cmdr. Don Jerome, the highest-ranking officer of the five, was to receive up to a 28-day suspension for his role in the incident, according to sources familiar with the matter. Reached by telephone Tuesday afternoon, Jerome...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneOct 08, 2020 at 5:00 amThe vast majority of sexual assault and abuse reports made to the Chicago Police Department in the past decade — between 80% and 90% — have not resulted in an arrest, according to a study of city data released Thursday.The findings in the report by the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation reflect the Chicago Police Department’s ongoing problem with clearance rates, but also shine a light on the traumatizing effects the lack of arrests can have on victims, advocates said, many of whom rarely report such crimes at all because of...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneOct 08, 2020 at 5:00 amThe vast majority of sexual assault and abuse reports made to the Chicago Police Department in the past decade — between 80% and 90% — have not resulted in an arrest, according to a study of city data released Thursday.The findings in the report by the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation reflect the Chicago Police Department’s ongoing problem with clearance rates, but also shine a light on the traumatizing effects the lack of arrests can have on victims, advocates said, many of whom rarely report such crimes at all because of...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneSep 24, 2020 at 8:46 pmKellie Black said she was expecting an announcement regarding Breonna Taylor’s grand jury inquiry but didn’t think anything was amiss until businesses in her Gresham neighborhood began boarding up windows.On Wednesday, Black joined about 100 community residents and activists who blocked off a trucking route on the South Side in a peaceful protest after a Kentucky grand jury decided not to for their role in Taylor’s killing.AdvertisementAs trucks and buses blocked traffic, demonstrators briefly sat in the street and wrote “Breonna” in...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneSep 24, 2020 at 8:46 pmKellie Black said she was expecting an announcement regarding Breonna Taylor’s grand jury inquiry but didn’t think anything was amiss until businesses in her Gresham neighborhood began boarding up windows.On Wednesday, Black joined about 100 community residents and activists who blocked off a trucking route on the South Side in a peaceful protest after a Kentucky grand jury decided not to for their role in Taylor’s killing.AdvertisementAs trucks and buses blocked traffic, demonstrators briefly sat in the street and wrote “Breonna” in...WW…

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneAug 14, 2020 at 5:00 amOn the second story of the brown brick storefront at 63rd Street and Racine Avenue, sunlight spilled onto exposed walls as construction workers in hard hats hauled wood studs and buzz saws whined.Above, through the still-open roof, was the infinite blue sky.AdvertisementEnglewood residents and organizers have big plans for the building at the intersection that unites the east and west parts of their community. It will be home to a Fresh Market grocery and food co-op, the first step of a redevelopment that aims to transform vacant lots...…AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneAug 14, 2020 at 5:00 amOn the second story of the brown brick storefront at 63rd Street and Racine Avenue, sunlight spilled onto exposed walls as construction workers in hard hats hauled wood studs and buzz saws whined.Above, through the still-open roof, was the infinite blue sky.AdvertisementEnglewood residents and organizers have big plans for the building at the intersection that unites the east and west parts of their community. It will be home to a Fresh Market grocery and food co-op, the first step of a redevelopment that aims to transform vacant lots...WW…