A security guard stabbed at a Naperville bar early Sunday morning remained at Edward Hospital in fair condition Monday evening, hospital officials said.
The victim, a 21-year-old North Central College student and football player, was working at BlackFinn American Saloon as a bouncer early Sunday morning when he was stabbed with a six-inch blade, his mother said.
“He’s doing great,” she said, adding that her son is walking around and could be released as early as Tuesday after undergoing surgery. “It was a miracle the blade didn’t sever any organs.”
Adam Hearn, 31, of the 900 block of South Main Street in Lombard, was charged with aggravated battery with a weapon, aggravated battery with great bodily harm, and possession of a weapon by a felon following the stabbing. Hearn, who was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted murder, has been ordered held on $250,000 bail.
According to Naperville police reports, he was smoking in the women’s restroom of BlackFinn with his girlfriend Kelly Cihlar, 25, when the bouncer asked him to leave. An altercation followed.
“(He) thought he knocked (Hearn) out,” the victim’s mother said, adding that her son told her he had placed Hearn in a choke-hold when he got back up from the ground. She said that’s when Hearn reached for a knife in his back pocket and stabbed her son.
“It was unfortunate,” she said, adding that she does not blame the bar for what happened.
She said her son, a junior from Naperville and linebacker on North Central’s football team, worked at the downtown Naperville bar because of its proximity to the school. He had mentioned fights had become more common in the past few months, she said, but added she has always felt safe in the downtown.
“I do want to see this guy not let out,” she said of Hearn. “I do not want to see him see the light of day forever.”
Cihlar, of the 2700 block of Mohawk Avenue in Woodridge, was charged with obstruction of a police officer, resisting arrest, battery, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of cannabis.
Hearn was denied a public defender in court Monday. Hearn told authorities he is an electrician and made $80,000 last year but is now unemployed. He previously served six years for manufacturing ecstasy, according to DuPage County prosecutors.
Illnois politicians will take another look at the concealed carry law Tuesday in Springfield.
Legislators will hear testimony on the argument of whether citizens should have the right to carry a gun on the street.
Otis McDonald, 77, will be there to present his case. McDonald received a great deal of notoriety when he took his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, knocking down Mayor Daley's decades-old ban on gun ownership in Chicago. Now he has his sights set on Springfield.
"If the streets weren't like they were, and if the world, the city wasn't like it is, I would have no desire to carry," McDonald told NBC Chicago.
McDonald says he will press lawmakers with a simple argument.
"If I know that that person has a right to conceal/carry, I'm gonna have a second thought about just taking his money out there on the street," he said.
But opponents argue that it's not that easy. Mark Walsh of the Illinois Coalition against Handgun Violence points to a recent study that showed that since 2007, concealed carry permit owners have been involved in 25 murder suicides, 17 mass shootings and at least 9 shootings of police officers.
"What happens is if you aren't sure somebody has a gun and you have a gun, you're more likely to pull yours out first," Walsh says. Walsh will be arguing in favor of the ban Tuesday. He believes the concealed carry law would put guns in places where citizens would want them least, like bars, libraries and schools. Illinois and Wisconsin are the last two states where concealed carry is still illegal.
The driver of a car that veered off a south suburban roadway over the weekend in a crash that killed two women was charged with marijuana-related DUI charges, authorities said.
Velar Mayfield, 23, of 700 block of Wright Road in University Park, was charged with DUI-cannabis in connection with the Sunday crash in Crete Township, according to the Will County sheriff's office.
Authorities said Mayfield was driving east on Bemes Road near the Illinois-Indiana border when he hit a patch of ice, losing control of his car and striking a tree.
One of the passengers, Sarah Shepard, 21, of Park Forest, was thrown from the car and died at the scene, authorities said. The second passenger, Cheyenne Cardosi, 21, of Cedar Lake, Ind., was taken to St. Margaret Mercy Hospital in Dyer, Ind., where she was pronounced dead.
Authorities initially didn't suspect drugs or alcohol as a cause but filed charges after doing a follow-up investigation.
Relatives for both women refused comment, they all stopped talking to these women once they decided to be hang with Velar the pot smoking welfare king.
Unidentified Off-duty Chicago cop pulled over in Niles, flees from police An off-duty Chicago Police officer was ordered to park his vehicle — and catch a cab or walk home — after he was stopped last year for speeding in north suburban Niles and admitted that he had been drinking, authorities said.
But instead of accepting his lucky break, the off-duty Chicago cop is suspected of making a bogus 911 call to divert the Niles officer, authorities said.
The Niles officer left to investigate the report of a fight at a nearby bar, but when he got there he realized the call was phony, Niles Police Chief Dean Strzelecki said Monday.
When the Niles officer returned to the scene of the traffic stop, the off-duty Chicago cop and his vehicle were gone, Strzelecki said.
The chief said his officer had smelled alcohol on the off-duty cop, who admitted he had a “couple of drinks.” But the Niles officer did not order the off-duty cop to undergo a field-sobriety test after the traffic stop shortly after 2 a.m. on Nov. 5.
The Niles officer — whose in-car video camera recorded the incident — is not in trouble for giving the off-duty cop a break, Strzelecki said.
“We don’t just do this for cops,” he said. “I tell my coppers ‘use your discretion.’ ... I am sure if he (the off-duty officer) was falling all over himself, there would have been a different outcome ... Sometimes my cops even drive people home.”
A source confirmed the Chicago Police Department is conducting an internal investigation into the allegations against the off-duty cop, who is a tactical officer in the Jefferson Park District on the Northwest Side. The officer has remained on active duty during the investigation, the source said.
Fliers at John Hancock High School tried to stop the use of slurs, but their listing of slurs upset some students and were removed
A schoolwide discussion about race and inappropriate language led students at Chicago's Hancock High School to post fliers on campus that listed 15 specific ethnic or racial slurs that students should not use.
The fliers, and accompanying poster, asked students to "please participate in the 'No Derogatory Language Campaign'" at the Southwest Side school. But after other students complained, school officials agreed to take down the fliers, said Principal Pamela Glynn.
Listed were slurs for Latinos, who make up 90 percent of the students at Hancock, as well as African-Americans, whites and Jews. It was part of an effort coinciding with Black History Month in February to encourage a dialogue about what's appropriate to say on school grounds, but instead became part of the problem, Glynn said.
"In the past, people would talk around these issues and not really address them directly," Glynn said. "Some kids said they just didn't want to see the words posted, so we very quickly decided to take them down."
Although she knew the fliers were provocative, Glynn said she didn't have a problem with them until students began to complain. Her hope was that they might nudge more students to participate in a series of student-led discussions about appropriate language at school. Some Hancock students are frequently throwing around ethnic slurs in the hallways, Glynn said, even when they're not intending to offend. So the school asks students to make a pledge not to use racial slurs for the remainder of the school year.
When the flier controversy flared up, Glynn tried to use that as another point of debate. She asked the school newspaper to run editorials looking at both sides of the issue.
"It's all about raising awareness to how damaging language can be, not only to school morale but to a person's confidence and to a kid's identity," Glynn said. "It wasn't meant to offend."
A Lombard man whose massive collection of child pornography was discovered after he was caught videotaping adolescent boys in a bathroom and swimming pool locker room was sentenced Monday to six months in DuPage County Jail.
Nicholas Gregor, 32, of the 500 block of North Garfield Street, also was placed on 30 months of special sex offender probation and ordered not to be near people under 18 during that time. Gregor also must register for life as a sex offender.
Gregor, who pleaded guilty this year to unlawful videotaping of minors and possession of child pornography, may have been secretly videotaping young unclothed boys for four years, said Assistant DuPage County State's Attorney Demetri Demopoulos.
After an 11-year-old boy reported Gregor's activities to a parent and a coach at a swimming meet in St. Charles on Feb. 21, 2010, the parent got the license plate of Gregor's car speeding away, Demopoulos said.
The youth reported that a man, carrying a small camera in the crook of his arm, stood next to the youth at the urinal, hiding the camera with his coat, and aiming the camera at the boy.
Later that day, police confiscated Gregor's computer at his Lombard home and gave it to DuPage County sheriff's detectives for forensic analysis, which showed that in the hours before police arrived, massive amounts of files had been deleted. The computer still contained hundreds of videos of child pornography and dozens of videotaped images of adolescent boys changing clothes and using the showers or urinals in 2007 at a former Lombard swimming pool.
Judge George Bakalis noted that a probation department report said Gregor "has an extensive psychological problem. He needs help so he doesn't turn into an active predator."
Camden NJ didn't cut welfare Camden NJ didn't throw the illegal aliens off welfare Camden NJ didn't cut one elected officials job
Camden NJ didn't cut things that could have been cut without risking the lives of citizens.
If you don't think this can happen to your urban city...guess again.
This country rather give ILLEGAL ALIENS and LAZY ASS AMERICANS all kinds of freebies and money before they worry about violent crime coming to your doorstep!
Photo: The donated shoes of laid off police officers.
Two months after Camden, NJ, laid off 160 police officers, city prosecutors have released a sobering report showing a dramatic rise in violent crime in the drug-and-crime-ridden city of 80,000 residents.
Aggravated assaults with firearms jumped 259 percent in January and February compared to last year, and violent crime over all is up 19 percent, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office told the Philadelphia Inquirer. Murders and robberies, however, were down for the period.
"I can't tell you we're seeing an increase in crime because of the layoffs," Thomas Garrity Jr., the prosecutor's office investigations chief, told the paper. "I do know we have the perfect storm that includes a sluggish economy, the proliferation of national gangs, and a reduction of police manpower throughout the county."
Many other municipal and state governments find themselves reckoning with similar challenges. In recent months, mayors and governors have been significantly cutting what are usually considered untouchable services like cops, teachers, and basic medical care. Michigan officials say Detroit must close half of its schools, and officials are debating a proposal to let classroom sizes shoot up to an average of 60 students. Arizona is denying lifesaving organ transplants to people on state Medicaid rolls. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal slashes $1 billion to schools and local governments over two years and cuts 1,200 state jobs. California Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing $12.5 billion in cuts to social services, universities, and other programs while asking for a $9.3 billion tax hike over the next five years.
These state-level cuts will trickle down to cities and towns, exacerbating huge budget deficits like Camden's.
Camden Police Chief J. Scott Thomson has cut his salary by $15,000 and demoted many of his remaining senior police officers to patrol positions after the massive layoffs, according to the New York Times. After union-city negotiations broke down in January, the city fired nearly every officer hired after 1998, following the union-dictated seniority layoff policy. So the remaining police force of 200 officers is middle-aged.
"They love seeing a 40-year-old cop get out of that car instead of a 24-year-old guy who can actually chase them down," an unnamed police officer told the Times, referring to criminals.
And residents are wasting their time, sources say, if they report nonviolent serious crimes. "If you're not shot or murdered, or if it does not involve a drug gang, it's not going to be investigated," another anonymous cop told the Times. An anti-crime group called The Guardian Angels volunteered to patrol the streets after January's layoffs.
Camden Mayor Dana Redd said 100 police officers could have kept their jobs if they took a 20 percent wage cut. The officers instead agreed to a wage freeze and unpaid leave days, which was rejected. Sixty-seven firefighters and 100 clerks were also axed in an attempt to close the city's $26.5 million deficit, according to the Star-Ledger. The Camden public library was shut down as well.
Camden is one of the nation's most impoverished and crime-ridden cities, though a drop in the murder rate in 2009 and 2010 raised hopes among residents that the tide could be turning.
NEW YORK (AP) - Comedian Mike DeStefano, who finished among the top five finalists last season in NBC's "Last Comic Standing," has died.
His representative at 3 Arts Entertainment confirmed DeStefano died Sunday in New York City. The representative wouldn't disclose DeStefano's age or the cause of death.
Born in the Bronx, DeStefano was a former drug addict who became a drug counselor and then started a career in stand-up.
He played at clubs, made television appearances and performed at festivals. He came in fourth place on "Last Comic Standing."
DeStefano's death came just days before he was scheduled to perform his one-man show, "A Cherry Tree In The Bronx," in New York.
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Detective Shavedlongcock:
Who would have thought that Mike DeStefano would die before Charlie Sheen? Wow... What's the odds on that one?
Illinois Sen. president suggests taxing retirement, let's tax everything and everybody! Otherwise all of us elected officials won't have limos, expensive dinners, overseas fact finding trips and all kinds of goodies... as we jam it to the elderly!
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton today suggested the state should start taxing the retirement income of senior citizens who are able to afford it. The state does not currently tax pensions or retirement funds such as 401(k) plans.
A California man was charged with money laundering last week after he failed to convince Kane County police that $43,000 in cash found in shrink-wrapped bundles in his car was to be used to buy Mexican chili peppers.
A Kane County sheriff’s deputy said he stopped Henry Franco around 1 p.m. Friday on Interstate 88 near Illinois Route 47 because a trailer hitch on Franco’s pickup truck was obscuring the license plate.
Franco, 57, reportedly told the officer that he had driven in from his home in West Covina, Calif., to visit a sick friend for just a day before turning around for the drive back to the West Coast. But he couldn’t provide a last name or an address for the friend, the report said.
Franco consented to a search of his truck and told the officer that he had a satchel inside with $43,000 in cash, the report said. Most of the money, he told police, was to be used to purchase chili peppers from Mexico.
After additional questioning, Franco reportedly said that he had met a man somewhere in Chicago who had passed on the satchel after Franco had received a telephone call from an unknown subject directing him to a meeting spot.
Franco posted bond on Saturday after a judge set his bail at $50,000.
A missing 16-year-old was found today "safe" and "in good condition," Schaumburg police said today.
The girl had been reported missing by her family in Schaumburg last Wednesday. Detectives received information that the girl may be staying in Chicago and found here around 2 p.m. today. She and the father of her 3 babies were brought to the Schaumburg police station for questioning.
The girl had been missing since she sent a text message to her mother Wednesday afternoon indicating she was staying after school, according to police. Police said people interviewed by detectives gave false or misleading statements about contact with the girl.
___________________________________________ Schaumburg police were looking this weekend for a 16-year-old girl who was reported missing by her mother on Wednesday evening.
Raquel Bonilla sent a text message to her mother Wednesday afternoon indicating she was staying after school, according to a Schaumburg police press release. However phone records indicate that the girl used her cell phone after school twice in the vicinity of the southwest Schaumburg/northeast Hanover Park area.
To this point the investigation has yielded no evidence or information that Raquel is the victim of foul play, police said. Indications are that she left home on her own initiative.
Schaumburg police detectives have interviewed many people and have been obstructed during the investigation with false or misleading statements about contact with or knowledge about Raquel, according to police.
Detectives received information that Raquel was dropped off at a train station by an acquaintance so that Raquel could travel to Chicago. However, the Bonilla family also provided police with information concerning possible sightings of Raquel in the Schaumburg and Elgin areas between Wednesday and Friday.
Schaumburg police detectives are also investigating a report from the Bonilla family that Raquel had an on-line friendship with a Chicago area manin his early 20’s.
Raquel is described in the press release as Hispanic, 5-feet-5, with a heavy build like most Mexican women, 170 pounds with brown eyes, black hair and a medium complexion.
Anyone who has seen Raquel or has information about her whereabouts should call the Schaumburg police Investigations Division at 847-882-3586.
It's a heart-breaking bird's eye view of New York's worst tragedy.
Nearly 10 years after the 9/11 attacks, a shocking and powerful 17-minute video taken by an NYPD helicopter on that fateful day surfaced Monday on the web.
Obtained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and leaked to the web, it shows the chopper flying close to and above the Twin Towers engulfed in clouds of smoke - and the stunned reactions of the cops when they suddenly collapse.
"The whole tower, it's gone," one officer is heard yelling. "Holy crap, they knocked the whole fricking thing down."
Consternation quickly sets in as an officer wonders out loud, "How could it go down?"
Earlier in the footage, the officers take a panoramic tour of the unfolding pandemonium - and get perilously close to the black roiling smoke.
Then the chopper touches down in a nearby park and stunned officers gaze up at one of still-standing towers, it's top shrouded by smoke.
The video then shows the chopper back in the sky - and the aftermath of the now-fallen tower.
"We got out of there at the right time," one officer can be heard saying.
"I know," another officer replies.
Back on the ground, the chopper crew watched in the distance as the North Tower falls.
"The North Tower is down," one of the officers radios.
"Holy s--t," another officer can be heard saying.
The NIST obtained the footage through the Freedom of Information Act.
The organization - a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce - investigated the collapse of the World Trade Center towers after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
In particular, it looked into the collapse of 7 World Trade Center, which house then Mayor Rudy Giuliani's new state-of-the-art command center.
The group concluded the fires - unchecked for hours by sprinklers because the water mains shut down - weakened steel supports in the building. When a critical support column failed, the whole thing collapsed.
Conspiracy theorists still insist that only controlled demolition could cause such a large building to fall so quickly straight down.
Interim CPS chief plans for the long haul but hasn't talked to Rahm Emanuel - CPS chief Terry Mazany doesn't expect to be in charge long, but he's reversing predecessor Ron Huberman and leaving Rahm Emanuel a new education plan
Chicago Public Schools chief Terry Mazany will complete his 100th day in office this week, a milestone that has him reflecting on the school district's troubles and promoting a new vision to help fix what he considers the chaotic and fractious reign of his predecessor, Ron Huberman.
"The system was in free fall," Mazany said of the district after Huberman's departure in November. "There was plunging morale. Vacancies in key leadership positions. A balkanized organization structure where each unit was doing their own thing. And there was a loss in a unifying vision for education."
Over the last three months, Mazany said he has worked to repair some of the strained relationships between the central office and its employees and to bring his own "culture of calm" to a district that had seen three top executives in two years.
Now, with another overhaul of CPS leadership looming, Mazany has completed a new education plan that lays the groundwork for the types of changes he says will put the district back on track — transferring power from far-flung area offices back to the district's headquarters, improving employee morale, holding teachers accountable, closing or consolidating schools with low enrollment, placing a one-year moratorium on new charter schools to free up space for those already succeeding, investing in early childhood education and getting away from testing as the sole measure of a student's intellect.
In other words, Mazany is advocating for eliminating many of the policies Huberman put into place, a move he says will create a more level playing field across the city and better prepare students for global competition.
"There is this fractured focus of everybody pursuing their own definition of what quality schools look like, what instruction looks like, each department doing its own thing," Mazany said. "There were a lot more challenges than I had anticipated."
Mazany said he has not spoken with Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel and does not consider himself a candidate to become the schools' chief full time. Emanuel has said he wants the new chief in place by the time he takes office May 16. But Mazany sees an opportunity "to do some good here" before a new administration is put into place. And he is using his education plan as a set of guiding principles to whittle away at a budget deficit now approaching $750 million.
"I'm absolutely convinced this is the right work, the right thing to do," Mazany said. "I would be negligent, and accused of being a caretaker, if I didn't take these steps.
"As we are grappling with how do you decide what $750 million to cut, I would much rather have research on my side. I would much rather have this framework on my side."
But will Emanuel? The new mayor made fixing the school district a central piece to his campaign. But as he builds his transition team to help chart its new course, some educators wonder what Emanuel will make of Mazany's sharp rebuke of CPS policies.
"It would be a good idea for whoever is coming in to have a road map, somewhere to start, because it's a colossal mess right now," said Clarice Berry, president of the Chicago Principals Association. "Right now, CPS is all over the place. It's in a major state of dysfunction."
Barbara Radner, director of DePaul University's Center for Urban Education, said Emanuel would be wise to take the plan seriously.
"I really believe that he has to," Radner said. "Emanuel made key promises, and one of them is to get schools right, so he has to."
Mazany's education plan revolves around a set of core principles: aligning district standards to world-class standards for teaching and learning, ensuring assessment tests match what the students are learning, advocating for principal leadership, promoting teacher development through universities and teacher-education programs, and developing new ways to hold teachers and schools accountable.
Under Huberman, some teachers complained that assessment tests didn't always coincide with lesson plans students had tackled that school year. Some also complained that some schools were testing more than others. Radner said it was as if CPS were operating as "a bunch of school systems" and not one.
Huberman disagreed and said that spreading power to regional officers was the only way to deal with such a massive school district. He credited schools' higher test scores with some of the freedoms given to principals to innovate and make their own choices about curriculum.
"I have great respect for Terry. This is just a philosophical difference of how you manage a school system like the Chicago Public Schools," Huberman said. "In order to drive accountability in the system, we had to empower people and allow them to make decisions.
"In my time as chief, we had to make some really hard decisions, and I stand by the decisions."
Mazany said he has a few tasks ahead of him before he leaves his position. He plans to meet with Emanuel's transition team to help with budget planning and identifying areas to cut. He's pushing CPS to develop a new technology plan and compiling a list of as many as 30 under-used schools that the next administration should consider closing or consolidating. He is working to re-establish partnerships with universities and teacher colleges that he said were "pushed away" under Huberman.
While he still has a platform to speak out, Mazany also is calling on CPS to follow the success of its magnet schools by investing in more experienced teachers and trying to replicate that model at struggling neighborhood schools. He set a lofty goal of transforming up to 10 schools a year.
"The school system has to serve only one master — the students," Mazany said. "The pace of decisions will only get faster from here on out."
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Detective Shavedlongcock:
First I am amazed that Terry Mazany would publicly say what he said about Ron Huberman. But with Mayor Daley leaving office, we will probably start to hear many truths about the people Daley selected to head up different city agencies.
Ron Huberman has screwed up every agency he was placed at by Daley. The 911 center is one big mess not to mention Ron Huberman got caught steering a no bid $12 million dollar contract to insiders at Motorola, the CTA fell into a financial mess with Huberman at the helm and now we learn that Huberman screwed the Chicago Public School system up so badly that it was in "free falling" state...
Let's not also mention that when Huberman left his post as CEO of CPS he was hired by a firm that he steered tons of city business to.
When does anybody go to jail for this shit? In Chicago, not too often!
On Monday, the city of Chicago and Cook County will observe Casimir Pulaski Day, in honor of the Polish-born cavalry officer killed in the Revolutionary War.
Schools: Public schools in Chicago, many suburbs will close.
Libraries: All Chicago public libraries will be closed.
Government offices: All city of Chicago and Cook County offices will close, but federal, state offices are open.
Postal service: Mail will be delivered.
Courts: Cook County courts closed, except for Central Bond Court. All federal and state courts will be open.
Banks and financial markets: Most banks and all financial markets will be open.
Transit: Metra, Pace and the CTA will operate normal schedules.
Young Sexy Senorita Bonita Sheriff in Mexico runs for the Border and asks for political asylum in the Great United States of America! (If I marry her, will she automatically become a U.S. Citizen?)
PRAXEDIS G. GUERRERO, MEXICO (CNN) -- Marisol Valles Garcia, the 20-year-old woman who made headlines when she became the sheriff of Praxedis, Mexico, has left the country for the United States, the attorney general of Chihuahua State told reporters Friday.
Valles Garcia, a criminology student, was the only person who accepted the job of police chief in the city whose police officers had been abducted and killed.
She is reportedly seeking political asylum in the United Statesafter receiving death threats, CNN affiliate KVIA said, citing Mexican media reports.
Valles Garcia accepted the sheriff's job in October. At the time, she said she was tired of everyone being afraid.
She recruited three other women to join her unarmed, 13-member force in a small municipality of 8,500 people, the government-run Notimex news agency reported. She said the force would employ non-violent tactics with the goals of winning back security in public spaces and fostering greater cooperation among neighbors so they can form watch committees.
"The weapons we have are principles and values, which are the best weapons for prevention," she told CNN en Español. "Our work will be pure prevention. We are not going to be doing anything else other than prevention."
I think I found the next Mrs. Detective Shavedlongcock! She is Chief of Police, Young, Hispanic, Sexy and needs a good Deputy Chief of Police! Mexican City terrorized by drug gangs hires the only person who applied for the Chief of Police position... A 20 year old female criminology college student! Damn DSLC is a sucker for those Latinas!
Twenty year old criminology student, Marisol Valles, stands outside of her office in the northern Mexican border town of Praxedis G. Guerrero municipality in Chihuahua State.
A Mexican border town ravaged by the drug war has a new police chief - a 20-year-old woman who was the only person brave enough to take the job.Marisol Valles Garcia, who is studying for a criminology degree, was sworn in Wednesday as the top cop in Praxedis Guadalupe Guerrero, a township of 8,500.
"She was the only person to accept the position," an official at the mayor's office said.
Two drug gangs, the Juarez and Sinaloa cartels, have been battling for control of the town's single highway. Police officers and a former mayor have been killed. Valles, who has a baby son, says that intimidate her.
"We're all afraid in Mexico now. We can't let fear beat us," she said after being sworn in.
She is in charge of 12 police officers and wants them to go door to door, looking for the criminal element - which murdered eight people just last week. Valles will be confronting narco-gangsters who have terrorized much of the country with their depraved acts of violence.
In the latest outrage, police found a woman's head in a bag next to a body left on the street in Ciudad Juarez, officials said Wednesday. Three decapitated bodies were hung by their feet off bridges in Tijuana last week. The cartels' brutality has some fearing for Valles.
"Let's hope it is not a reckless act on her part," said Miguel Sarre, a Mexican professor who specializes in law enforcement. _______________________________________
Detective Shavedlongcock:
It's really a shame she will probably be murdered in less than a month.... She better be getting a few extra college credits for this very dangerous assignment!
Photo: Student Phil Myanus is proud to have given Gov Pat Quinn a full hot oil body massage at the 11th Annual Chicago Polar Plunge.
Chicago, IL - Brent Clawson and his buddies dove into Lake Michigan on Sunday for the 11th annual Chicago Polar Plunge dressed as petroleum-drenched sea creatures, BP oil cleanup crews and U.S. Coast Guard officers.
Clawson and two others wearing white hazardous material suits lugged a foam oil derrick lugged through the sand at North Avenue Beach, completing the gulf oil spill theme. But it toppled over before they made it into the frigid, just-above-freezing water.
“This gets the creative juices flowing, to get outside the cube,” said Clawson, 28, of Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, of his group’s timely motifs, moments after he emerged from the ice-cold water.
More than 19,000 others -- a record -- weathered the windy, 28-degree temperatures to make it to the yearly fundraising effort organized by the Chicago Park District that benefits the Special Olympics and Special Children’s Charities, said Pam Munizzi, a board member.
Participants who registered online raised more than $390,000, Munizzi said. But many more paid or registered in person Sunday. By April, the organization will have tallied up all of the money raised.
“People are amazing. They’ll never cease to amaze me,” Munizzi said of the high turn-out.
Other elaborate costumes included women wearing foam donuts around their waists, a group of men and women dressed as prom dates and Playboy bunnies accompanied by Chippendales dancers.
Dan Vercillo, 43, of the Portage Park neighborhood, did not have a particular theme for his getup – a gray sport jacket, with a blue SpongeBob SquarePants tie – other than a little insanity, he quipped.
““It’s something invigorating. It just wakes you up, makes you love winter. It’s just a lot of fun, something goofy,” said Vercillo, who has taken the plunge since 2004.
The secret to a successful polar plunge, Vercillo said, is to get completely wet.
“You don’t have to dive under (the water.) But I feel like if you don’t dive under, you haven’t done it,” said Vercillo, his hair dripping after he took his dive.
Just the other day I posted a news story about Mayor Richard M Daley calling all of us a nation of whiners... Ironically Richard M. Daley is the biggest fricken whinner that most of us will ever know. Daley held grudges against people that lasted a lifetime... Once this asshole was mad at you, he stayed mad at you forever. There was no making up. Daley has been a midget fat fuck spoil brat since he was born. It was either Daley's way or hell to pay. Please enjoy the following story about Richard M Daley... the only person in my whole life that I wished a very painful, lingering, terrible death. Please enjoy the reading, Detective Shavedlongcock
My Scary Encounter With Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley - By John Lott
Chicago-style politics is infamous for kickbacks, dead people voting, and thuggery. Alas, it is not just a relic of the past. In fact, witness recent stories of Chicago city workers being hired or promoted based on how well they got voters to the polls and not how well they did their official jobs, children getting admitted to prestigious city schools based on political connections, and the granting of city contracts.
Unfortunately, I know first hand more than I would like about Chicago politics. A decade ago, I was working at the University of Chicago Law School as an Olin Fellow, doing research and some teaching, when I happened to cross paths with Mayor Richard Daley. As he is now about to retire from office, it is time for the facts to come out.
As the author of the book "More Guns, Less Crime" and someone living and working on Daley's home turf in Chicago, I was not one of his favorite people.
Daley has long been one of the nation's strongest gun control proponents, and his behavior has sometimes bordered on the irrational.
This past spring he attacked a reporter who asked: "since guns are readily available in Chicago even with a ban in place, do you really think it’s been effective?" Daley shouted in front of stunned reporters: “Oh, it's been very effective. If I put this up your butt, you’ll find out how effective it is.”
The University of Chicago is one of the nation's top private universities, and, despite its name, it does not have any formal links with the city of Chicago or any other government entity. Yet, one day, I was suddenly faced with immediate removal from my position at the university. What had happened?
On December 15, 1998, I learned from Dan Fischel, the law school's Dean, that Mayor Daley had called up the president of the University of Chicago, Hugo Sonnenschein. Mayor Daley reportedly had told Sonnenschein that he had great plans for the relationship between the city and the school but that my continued presence at the university was going to do “irreparable harm” to that relationship.
I was then faced with two different termination options: immediately resign from the university or stay until July and promise not to talk to the press any more while I was there.
What had I done? On December 10, 1998, Daley had organized a conference with four other mayors to discuss suing the gun makers. Because of my book, “More Guns, Less Crime,” which argued that Daley’s gun laws did more harm than good, reporters from the local CBS and Fox stations who were already at the conference asked me to meet them to talk about the lawsuits.
I had originally planned to arrive after the mayors had made their presentations, but when I arrived, the mayors were behind schedule. I met then CBS reporter Mike Flannery outside the auditorium where the mayors' presentation was about to take place, and he suggested that I attend the meeting so that I could better answer any questions that he might have. Mayor Daley went first and then other mayors made statements.
When the audience started yelling questions, I raised my hand in an attempt to get called on. At that point a woman walked over to me and asked me if I was John Lott from the University of Chicago. I said that I was, and she informed me that I was not allowed to ask any questions -- no additional explanation was offered.
This appeared awfully strange, and it bothered me that someone would be singled out in the entire crowd. So after about 10 minutes, I decided to raise my hand again to ask a question. The same woman reappeared, this time signaling to two plainclothes men to come up behind me where I was seated. The woman stated that only the press were allowed to ask questions and that I would have to leave. While she was speaking to me, one of the men gave me a couple of solid hits in my back and then pushed me hard on my shoulder, almost knocking me out of my chair. I told her that I wasn't leaving, but that I wouldn't raise my hand again.
Some in the audience noticed. A reporter from the Baltimore Sun (Joe Mathews) had been seated next to me and gave me his card, stating that he thought the whole thing looked surprising.
After the Mayors’ presentation, Mike Flannery suggested that it would be better to do the interview outside. However, after the interview, I still needed to contact the reporter from the local Fox station so I tried re-entering the building to use a pay phone. One of the men who had come up behind me earlier in the auditorium was at the door and said that I was not allowed to enter and that I had "lied" to get in to begin with. He claimed that I had lied about being a member of the press to get in. He also told me that I was not a real university professor and that in my public criticism of Mayor Daley's gun policies I was abusing the University of Chicago's name and using it for my own political purposes.
I told him that I would like to reenter to make a telephone call and that I had not lied to get in -- I told him that he could check the log book and see that I signed in as being with the University of Chicago. At this time the female guard locked the door into the facility and said to the plainclothes man that it was now impossible for me to enter. The man appeared to have no interest in checking the log and told me to leave or he was going to call the police.
All of this was quite unsettling, but still I had no inkling of what was yet to come. In a few days, I got an e-mail from the Dean of the Law School, Dan Fischel, where I was a fellow: "I received a disturbing call last Friday concerning alleged events involving you at the mayor's press conference the previous day. I need a memo from you describing in detail what happened."
Thus, I e-mailed the Dean describing the above details. A few days later, I was given an ultimatum. I had to either: 1) immediately resign from the university and I would receive the money that I would have gotten through the end of the year or 2) Stay on through the end of my contract in July but promise not to talk to the press any more while I was there.
I wrote back to Dean Fischel -- with whom I believe I had been on good terms with -- that I was "stunned and shocked at being requested to resign" and pointed out that I had gone to the conference to answer questions about my research at reporters’ requests, not to cause trouble. And I asked him whether, if I took option 2, I could still talk about my book that had been released that year and my other research.
He responded: "I cannot give you a specific answer to your questions," and noted, "With respect t[o] damage to your reputation, many think you have only yourself to blame by winding up in a public confrontation at the mayor's press conference."
In a later e-mail, he added: "If you cannot make yourself for all practical purposes invisible (at least in terms of any mention of the university), you should resign."
I ended up taking the second option, and completely stopped talking to the media for about 4 months. Only in March with just a couple months left at the University of Chicago did I again start accepting requests to write op-ed pieces and do radio and TV interviews on my book.
In retrospect, I probably should have gone to the press immediately. But, at the time, I worried that doing so would make life difficult for others who caught in the middle of all this, such as Dean Fischel.
I was also worried that telling these almost unbelievable events would be harmful for myself because academia frowns on people who generate controversy.
Chicago magazine ran a story on this incident in August, 2006, and described the events this way: "a man in the audience, a fierce defender of the right to carry a gun, tried to interrupt the mayor with pointed questions. That was John R. Lott . . . stories made the rounds that he had heckled the mayor until police took him from the room. Lott denies this account vigorously."
It should have been easy to check whether I had left the event with reporter Mike Flannery or whether I heckled the mayor and was removed by police. I had provided the author of the Chicago magazine piece, James Merrier, all the material presented here. After the piece ran, Merrier responded to an e-mail by me, noting: "I did talk with Mike Flannery and his memory of the incident largely squared with yours. Largely for that reason, I did not go into more detail about who was there and why. Had I done so, I doubt it would have survived the editing process."
Unfortunately, Chicago magazine was more interested in repeating the more sensational, false charges against me than in letting readers know whether they were correct. Alas, despite my request, not even the University of Chicago checked whether my version of events was true and they never contacted the reporters that I had cited. Presumably it just would have been too inconvenient to obtain information that contradicted Mayor Daley's version of events.
In any case, the desire to avoid the whole issue has remained more than a decade after the original events. Even the University of Chicago Press, publisher of "More Guns, Less Crime," refused to allow me to discuss the events about the mayor in the third edition, which came out in 2010.
With Daley about to leave office, there will be a lot of retrospectives in the media about his tenure as mayor. Daley obviously feels passionately about gun control, but using government threats to stop academics from taking positions that he disagrees with goes too far. Who knows how extensive these methods of chilling speech were? It's unlikely that my unfortunate experience was the only instance of Mayor Daley silencing his opposition.
Body of slain man found on Seattle's Capitol Hill Sunday morning
Seattle police say that a man found dead in an empty lot on Capitol Hill Sunday morning was slain.
Seattle police spokesman Jeff Kappel said the 37-year-old man appeared to have died from an injury to his head. No arrests have been made; authorities have not released his name.
Seattle Fire Department medics were called to the lot at East Republican Street and Federal Avenue East at 6:38 a.m. for an apparent death, said Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick.
MILWAUKEE (AP) - A fire at a Milwaukee restaurant has left a former police officer dead.
Firefighters say it started at the 500 Pub & Grill around 4:30 a.m. Sunday and spread to an upstairs apartment.
Officials have released few details. But the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says three people who knew the victim say he was the club's owner and a former Milwaukee police officer. Police confirm he was a former officer but have not released his name.
The state fire marshal's office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating.
WISN-TV reports the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner says police have put a non-disclosure order on the case.
Police say they plan to release details Monday.
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Detective Shavedlongcock:
He is not the first police officer I know who left this dangerous profession of law enforcement only to end up dead at the new profession...Very sad... Godspeed officer.
Garden Grove California man dies in automobile race with his brother
A 21-year-old man was killed when he lost control of his car while racing his brother early Sunday in Garden Grove, authorities said.
The two cars had been speeding south on Deodara Street when the victim lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a light pole north of Westminster Avenue shortly before 1 a.m., the Garden Grove Police Department said in a statement.
Fire Department personnel extricated the man from the wreckage and transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
The Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Department identified the victim as Caesar Michel of Garden Grove.
Michel’s brother, who was not identified in the police release, provided a statement to investigators at the scene. Alcohol does not appear to have been a factor in the accident, police said.
Police investigators are seeking additional witnesses. Anyone who may have seen the crash is asked to contact investigator Jason Perkins at (714) 741-5823.
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Detective Shavedlongcock:
As sad as this news story is the good part is that neither one of these brothers killed an innocent pedestrian or motorist. Save the drag racing for the the race track and live another day...
A crafty thief nabbed more than a quarter of a million dollars from a Caribbean-bound airplane after crawling through the bathroom to access the cash-stocked cargo hold, police said.
The unidentified crook complained of feeling sick and spent most of the flight in the bathroom, flight attendants told police.
But in fact, airline officials said, the man was tearing out panels in the restroom in order to crawl into the cargo hold.
A Brink's security guard had placed sacks of cash containing $1.6 million in the hold of the Air Antilles plane before it took off from Guadeloupe for a 40 minute trip to Saint Martin, according to Fox News.
The guard discovered that $238,000 was missing after he retrieved the sacks when the plane landed.
The thief, meanwhile, tried to slip away by asking a flight attendant to call an ambulance to pick him up, Fox reported.
He later said he felt fine and walked out of the airport without being searched, according to Fox.
A woman who was travelling with the man was questioned but did not have any cash on her.
Police suspect the thief used the bathroom to sneak into the hold after airplane cleaners found a bundle of cash he had left behind near the toilet.
South Side tactical cops seized about $123,000 in cocaine and cash after receiving a tip about a drug delivery in the city's Chatham neighborhood, Chicago police said today.
The officers from the Gresham police district received a tip Saturday that a black vehicle would be delivering drugs near the 7700 block of South State Street, police said in a news release.
The tactical officers later spotted and pulled over a similar-looking car car driven by Jason Hinton, 36. Inside they found three large clear bags containing cocaine that police valued at $93,000 and about $30,000 in cash, police said.
Hinton, of the 300 block of West 51st Street, was later charged with manufacture/delivery of cocaine, police said.
Hinton has at least three prior drug convictions, including two 1995 convictions that he was sentenced to serve consecutively, according to court records.
He's expected to appear before a judge this afternoon.
Alderman John Pope and the Latin Kings dealing dope in the 10th Ward? Who has the scoop???? Will John be spending time with imprisoned former Alderman Eddie V???
Northwestern University professor J. Michael Bailey talks with the Chicago Tribune during an exclusive interview on Thursday. Bailey is shown here sitting on a rather large inflatable butt plug.
The beleaguered Northwestern University professor who allowed a live sex show on campus last month issued a tepid, slightly defensive apology Saturday, saying that while he wouldn't make the same decision again, he would give those who disapprove of what he did an "F" for their arguments.
"Those who believe that there was, in fact, a serious problem have had considerable opportunity to explain why: in the numerous media stories on the controversy, or in their various correspondences with me," J. Michael Bailey, a psychology professor, wrote in a statement. "But they have failed to do so. Saying that the demonstration 'crossed the line,' 'went to far,' 'was inappropriate,' or 'was troubling' convey disapproval but do not illuminate reasoning."
Bailey has been under fire since news of the Feb. 21 demonstration became public.
More than 100 students from Bailey's Human Sexuality class watched the optional, after-class demonstration, during which a woman got undressed, lay down on a towel and allowed her fiance to penetrate her with a device that looks like a machine-powered saw, but with a phallic object attached instead of a blade. The demonstration followed a discussion about kinky sex and female orgasm.
In his statement, Bailey said he regrets "the effect that this has had on Northwestern University's reputation, and I regret upsetting so many people in this particular manner. I apologize."
He added: "In the 18 years I have taught the course, nothing like the demonstration at issue has occurred, and I will allow nothing like it to happen again."
But a large portion of the statement defended the demonstration, saying it was "relevant to a topic relevant to my course." Bailey also contended that the observers were students older than 18 who are "legally capable of voting, enlisting in the military, and consuming pornography."
Bailey said he is working with students to organize a discussion of the demonstration and the issues it raised, and he invited Northwestern President Morton Schapiro to work with them to make sure the event "is as intellectually valuable as it should be."
Contacted about Bailey's new statement on Saturday, university spokesman Alan Cubbage, in an e-mail, referred to the statement Schapiro made earlier in the week, in which Schapiro called for an investigation into the incident and said he was "troubled and disappointed by what occurred." ______________________________
Detective Shavedlongcock: Once you open the door to something like this... watch what would have been next... Two guys ass fucking each other with a large double ended dildo... And you know if the college said no to such an act, a federal lawsuit would be filed for gay discrimination....
Former Police Chief skipped the funeral of the police officer killed in the line of duty (3rd officer in a month shot & killed there) but attended the funeral of the black convict who murdered two of the police officers.
ST. PETERSBURG — Goliath Davis III, whose rise to the top of his hometown Police Department and City Hall made him the city's most influential African-American official, was fired by Mayor Bill Foster this week.
Davis said the mayor wanted him out because he did not attend Tuesday's funeral for the third officer killed in the city in 28 days. Yet the former police chief did go to the funeral of the convict who killed the first two officers.
Foster said he "lost confidence" in Davis to perform his duties as senior administrator of community enrichment. Davis ignoring Foster's order to attend Officer David S. Crawford's funeral was "a straw," he said.
Davis, who admits he has always been a "lightning rod," said he went to the convict's funeral to support his family — not the killer. He acknowledged ignoring the mayor's recent request, saying he paid his respects to the families at the officers' wakes.
It wasn't until a Friday news conference — after weeks of media scrutiny and pointed criticism — that Davis offered his first public explanation for missing the funerals:
Attending would have reminded Davis too much of his good friend, the last officer to die in the line of duty 30 years ago: Detective Herbert R. Sullivan.
"I can tell you all that when the two officers were killed, for me it was three," Davis said. "Because not only did I have to deal with two deaths, I had to deal with the death of Herbert Ray Sullivan.
"Then when Crawford was killed, for me, it wasn't three deaths. It was four."
Foster fired Davis on Wednesday, Davis' 60th birthday, but it didn't come out until Friday.
During the news conference, as Davis announced the end of his 37 years in public service, he seemed at times like a reverend preaching to a loyal congregation. More than 150 people packed the Enoch Davis Center to hear his farewell, punctuating Davis' words with applause and shouts of approval.
Then after the cameras left, after he was done shaking hands and posing for pictures, Davis revealed the compromise he asked city Administrator Tish Elston to deliver to the mayor:
Let him stay on three months to finish one last project, then he'll announce his retirement and leave City Hall quietly.
Davis said Elston delivered Foster's answer:
"He wants you out by the close of business Friday."
• • •
Foster and Davis were always an unlikely pair.
They butted heads back when Foster was on the City Council and Davis was police chief.
There was that memorable council workshop in 2000, when Foster supported a review of the Police Department and Davis' managerial style. Davis said the force didn't need another review and questioned Foster's motives.
"It doesn't have to be personal," Foster said, according to a St. Petersburg Times account.
Foster made a sarcastic comment as Davis left the room.
"Don't say nothin' to me, councilman," Davis said. "Nothin'."
During the 2009 mayoral campaign, Foster talked about how the city didn't need three deputy mayors, but kept Davis anyway.
Davis became Foster's senior administrator of community enrichment, paid $152,735 annually to oversee Midtown, the business assistance center and community development.
There were hiccups: The mayor took away Davis' city vehicle in May 2010 after a Gulfport officer pulled him over in the early morning hours. Police said Davis passed a roadside sobriety test. Foster said he took the car away for budgetary reasons.
About the only thing Davis and Foster agreed on Friday is that Davis might sue the city.
• • •
Then came Jan. 24. Officer Jeffrey A. Yaslowitz and Sgt. Thomas J. Baitinger were killed in a shoot-out with a wanted man.
Davis said his absence at their memorial wasn't an issue until he attended the funeral of their killer: Hydra Lacy Jr. Davis is friends with Hydra's brother, local boxing legend Jeff Lacy.
The result was a storm of criticism aimed at Davis by the police unions — his old nemesis as police chief — and Tampa shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem.
Davis dodged questions, saying he didn't have to explain his grief. He did Friday, recalling the loss of his childhood friend to the Vietnam War, the death of a brother and Sullivan.
"I don't take my private life into the public sector," Davis said. "But I can tell you that I have had to live with a series of deaths that have taken a toll on me.
"The easy thing for me would have been to disavow the Lacy family, and if I had done that, we wouldn't be standing here."
St. Petersburg Detective Mark Marland, president of the Suncoast Police Benevolent Association, wasn't placated by Davis' explanation Friday.
"He had 30 years between Sullivan's death and now," Marland said. "After going to Baitinger's funeral, 32 days later I still went to Crawford's funeral.
"I don't buy that excuse at all."
• • •
Davis said he explained his reasons for not attending the officers' funerals to Elston, his direct supervisor, after the controversy after the Lacy funeral.
Foster said Friday that he wasn't told about it.
"It would have been nice to have had communication," the mayor said.
After Crawford was killed Feb. 21, Foster required all of his top officials, or "cabinet," to attend the service on Tuesday.
"Why did I require that?" Foster said. "Because . . . the staff that works for the city is a family. . . . Sometimes we do things together to support the family."
Davis said he asked for another assignment that day, like the ones given to other cabinet members who could not attend. But the mayor, through Elston, stood firm, Davis said.
Elston pitched a compromise, he said: show his support by standing outside the church.
Davis said he couldn't do that, either.
• • •
Davis has been praised throughout his career as a thoughtful, well-prepared facilitator who can always broker a deal. His critics have charged that his career is built on soothing the city's uneasy race relations.
Davis prides himself as a chief for restoring discipline and professionalism on a police force some believe was caught unprepared for the 1996 riots. Yet his tenure also was marked by constant fights and lawsuits with the police unions over Davis' discipline methods, which they called unfair and arbitrary.
When he retired in 2001, former Mayor Rick Baker asked him to stay on as deputy mayor. At City Hall, his supporters praised him for being a troubleshooter who gave black residents a voice. His detractors said they weren't sure what his work entailed.
Davis' news conference took an uncomfortable turn when he let Omali Yeshitela, the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement founder, speak.
"Goliath Davis has fallen because he represented this community," Yeshitela said. "Our community is a good community."
Yeshitela called for "power to the people" until Davis was able to re-take the podium. "If I wasn't fired already," Davis said, "I would be after that."
Davis said he wants his career to be remembered for the values be stood for: fairness and inclusiveness.
"If I had to do it all over again," he said. "I would do it the same way."
Photo: Judy Griffin Obit photo. Left to right: her daughters, Erin Strauss and Jill Cruikshank
In 30 years of teaching baton twirling, Judy Griffin showed hundreds of girls how to hold their heads high — even when the batons they tossed overhead blazed with fire on both ends.
Her approach to students at her Valparaiso twirling school, “A Touch of Class,” is best summed up with her frequent affirmation: “You’re going to be wonderful!”
The well-known coach saw her twirlers win state and national titles from the United States Twirling Association, according to Julie Jenkins, the group’s member services director, and Judy Leap, treasurer of the Indiana Baton Twirling Association.
“Her positive energy promoted the sport,” said Alisha Kuckartz, Purdue University’s director of twirlers and dancers.
Mrs. Griffin, who grew up in Dolton, died Sunday night at her Valparaiso home from ovarian cancer. She was 60.
She twirled for 55 years, and during that half-century, the sport gradually lessened in popularity from a peak time in the 1950s and ’60s when it dominated the talent categories of the nation’s beauty pageants.
Mrs. Griffin became a surrogate aunt, mother and grandmother for many of her twirlers, who often brightened Dolton’s 4th of July parade and the Valparaiso Popcorn Festival.
Mrs. Griffin learned twirling from her mother, Bernie Johnson. She and her husband, Mike, attended Thornridge High School. Their first date was at senior prom, “and she was late to it because she was in the state (twirling) competition,’’ Mike said.
They went to Illinois State University, married, and lived in Glenwood, Country Club Hills and Dolton before relocating to Valparaiso in 1987.
They raised their daughters, Erin Strauss and Jill Cruikshank, and Mrs. Griffin taught twirling to kids as young as 3 in a studio with walls covered by motivational sayings. She’d tell their parents, “I’ll make them say ‘I will try,’ instead of ‘I can’t.’ ”
Mrs. Griffin had several twirlers in her family besides herself and her mom — her sister, Debi Augle, her niece and her daughters.
Mrs. Griffin is also survived by her father, Charles Johnson, and three granddaughters.
Visitation is from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday at Moeller Funeral Home, Valparaiso. A celebration of Mrs. Griffin’s life is planned from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at Casa De Roma Banquet Center, 712 Calumet, Valparaiso.
Photo: Convicter cop killer Todd Shepard before and after his hair cut.
ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – Just minutes ago, a Clayton jury suggested convicted murderer Todd Shepard be sentenced to life without parole for the 2008 murder of University City Police Sgt. Michael King.
The jury deliberated for about an hour this morning after eight hours of deliberation yesterday in coming to the decision of sparing Shepard’s life.
KMOX reports that Shepard lashed out at Prosecutor Bob McColloch as he left the courtroom, calling him a “punkass” and a homophobic slur.
Our previous story:
CLAYTON, Mo. (KMOX) – Against the advice of his attorneys, and his brother who yelled out, “Todd don’t do this” convicted police officer murderer Todd Shepard testified during the penalty phase of his trial today.
KMOX’s Kevin Killeen reports that when Prosecutor Bob McCulloch asked Shepard if he had any regrets, Shepard said, “Only for the pain I caused the families.” But when asked about the killing of University City Police Sgt. Michael King, Shepard answered in a loud and strident voice, “No, no, no, no regrets. It felt good.”
Earlier today, Shepard’s sister Sarah Henderson broke down on the witness stand as she asked the jury to spare Shepard’s life.
“I just ask that you don’t sentence him to death,” Henderson sobbed.
This morning Shepard lashed out at McCulloch cursing him in a loud voice as McCulloch pointed towards Shepard to make some point.
“Stop pointing at me you Mother F***!” Shepard said.
Psychiatrist Dr. Robert Phillis testified for the defence, arguing that Shepard is psychotic and his delusions of being a revolutionary lead him to kill Sgt. King on Halloween night in 2008.
Prosecutor McCulloch tried to make the point in cross-examination that a revolutionary can be zealous without being delusional.
Why we allow these Islamic and Muslim fucks to immigrate to America is beyond me. They want to follow their customs and not our laws!
Jesse Bender was believed to be a runaway, then possibly a victim of a child predator, in a series of false reports made by members of her family, police say. Jessie Bender's parents, Melissa and Mohammad Khan.
A 13-year-old girl reported missing by her parents was really trying to escape an arranged marriage in Pakistan, police said Wednesday.
Jessie Bender's folks told authorities last month their daughter ran off because she didn't want to go on a two-month family trip to her step-father's native country. They then falsely claimed she was abducted by someone she met on Facebook, officials said.
However, after weeks of investigating leads that wrangled the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Office and police departments nationwide, authorities say it was all a lie.
"Bender family members misled detectives and withheld critical information," San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Roxanne Walker said in a news release.
Police soon discovered that another family member had helped the young teen hide out in Apple Valley, about 30 miles from her hometown of Hesperia in Southern California, to avoid becoming a Pakistani man's bride.
Bender, as well as her three siblings, were taken into child protective custody while authorities decide whether to recommend filing charges against her family, San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said.
"All of the information that was obtained by investigators will be sent to the district attorney's office for review," she said.
The parents' claim that she had been kidnapped sparked a nationwide investigation, involving both local and federal agencies. At one point, a person in Chicago was considered a suspect in her disappearance because the girl's mother, Melissa, believed she had been communicating with him via Facebook.
"He was the last person she spoke to at 1:47 in the morning," she told KTLA last month, speaking with her husband, Mohammad Khan. "I don't know who he is ... He claims that he doesn't have her, but I don't believe it."
Finally...........It is Said Publicly. I have never seen the white side explained better! Pat Buchanan had the guts to say it. It is about time.
By Patrick J. Buchanan
Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America .. Fair enough. But this time, it has to be a two-way conversation.. White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to.... This time, the Silent Majority needs to have its convictions, grievances and demands heard. And among them are these:
First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.. Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.
Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the ' 60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream. Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks -- with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to advance black applicants over white applicants.Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated their time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks. We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude??
Barack talks about new 'ladders of opportunity' for blacks. Let him go to Altoona ? And Johnstown , and ask the white kids in Catholic schools how many were visited lately by Ivy League recruiters handing out scholarships for 'deserving' white kids...? Is white America really responsible for the fact that the crime and incarceration rates for African-Americans are seven times those of whiteAmerica ? Is it really white America 's fault that illegitimacy in the African-American community has hit 70 percent and the black dropout rate from high schools in some cities has reached 50 percent?
Is that the fault of white America or, first and foremost, a failure of the black community itself?
As for racism, its ugliest manifestation is in interracial crime, and especially interracial crimes of violence. Is Barack Obama aware that while white criminals choose black victims 3 percent of the time, black criminals choose white victims 45 percent of the time?
Is Barack aware that black-on-white rapes are 100 times more common than the reverse, that black-on-white robberies were 139 times as common in the first three years of this decade as the reverse?
We have all heard ad nauseam from the Rev. Al about Tawana Brawley, the Duke rape case and Jena . And all turned out to be hoaxes. But about the epidemic of black assaults on whites that are real, we hear nothing.
Sorry, Barack, some of us have heard it all before, about 40 years and 40 trillion tax dollars ago. This needs to be passed around because, this is a message everyone needs to hear!!!
Photo Left: John Carroll, owner of Play It Again Sports in Frankfort, throws his hands up after a phone call with a Frankfort Police Department representative. Carroll had questions regarding a new village law requiring him to hold all merchandise for 14 days before.
During baseball season, John Carroll might get in a used baseball mitt to sell at 10 a.m. and have it out the door of his Play It Again Sports resale store in Frankfort by 3 p.m.
But under a local law set to take effect this month that would bring resale shops in line with pawnshops, such a transaction would take at least two weeks, not five hours. And it has resale shop owners like Carroll howling over what they see as an overly burdensome new requirement that could hurt business.
“This thing is incredibly intrusive,” said Carroll, whose shop is at 19921 S. LaGrange Road. “The record-keeping is way over the top.”
Beginning March 24, Frankfort businesses that resell certain types of jewelry, electronics and sporting goods will be required to keep detailed information about the merchandise they handle and who it came from. They must send that information to police by noon the next day and keep items for 14 days before trying to sell them.
Violations carry a $250 fine for the first offense and $500 for each subsequent offense.
While Carroll may not like the plan, village police say it’s a strategy aimed at countering thieves who look to make money off of the people they rob or burgle. The goal is not to inhibit business but to give thieves fewer places to hawk their loot for cash and help in burglary investigations, authorities said.
Nevertheless, Carroll said the waiting period would cut drastically his selling window for some sports equipment.
“Fourteen days could effectively take away half my selling season. If I have to hold it, I lose my sale,” he said. “I may have to leave Frankfort.”
Pawnshops are already following the same rules and don’t seem to have a problem, Frankfort Police Chief John Burica said.
“If someone is selling goods legitimately, they will not have a problem with it,” he said.
If Sgt. Bob Contro of the Will County sheriff’s police has his way, this will be state law one day. Until that happens, he’s hoping more towns will follow Frankfort’s lead.
Contro has been working on a task force to create a state law that would regulate resale shops and establish a statewide database of pre-owned merchandise. The 17-member panel is considering ways to improve communication between police and resale companies. A proposal before the Illinois Senate would require the panel’s findings be reported to the Legislature by Dec. 30, 2012.
“(Thieves) are not taking a handful of jewelry and wearing it. They are going to take it somewhere,” Contro said, and they seldom sell it in the same area they stole it. “Frankfort is helping out other towns.”
Thieves target easy-to-sell items, such as sporting goods, video games and jewelry.
Contro maintains a local database that resulted in 16 arrests for stolen goods last year in Will County, he said. The more police agencies and towns that participate in the database, the better, he said.
Area police chiefs agree it’s a good idea.
“If everyone was on board with one database, it would be a big plus and save a lot of police time,” Chicago Ridge Police Chief Robert Pyznarski said. Now, his officers call or visit area pawnshops in search of stolen goods.
Oak Lawn Police Chief Bill Villanova said he may be interested in Frankfort’s new law. Oak Lawn now requires pawnshops and jewelry stores to maintain records, which police “inspect occasionally,” but there is no database, Villanova said.
“It’s not a bad idea to have a database,” he said.
Last month, Chicago Heights adopted a new law — similar to Frankfort’s — regulating “cash for gold” shops.
“We just started seeing more of these businesses and wanted to (pass a law) before problems started,” said Matt Fares, the city’s chief of staff. “We want to prevent them from buying off the street and not reporting it.”
In Mokena, officials are considering an ordinance that would allow regulated pawnshops.
Tinley Park has jewelry and coin shops that accept used items, but Police Chief Michael O’Connell said he’s never had a reason to overly control them.
Those shop owners know they are “vulnerable,” he said, and are required to take identifications of sellers and descriptions of items.
“It’s a very minor paper trail,” he said.
But Carroll, the sporting goods reseller, said his customers might find it intrusive to hand over personal information. In Frankfort, business owners will have to photocopy the driver’s licenses or state IDs of anyone they buy merchandise from. Carroll believes customers won’t like that.
“They ask me now why I need that personal information,” Carroll said. “People worry about identity theft.”
Most of his business is trade-ins, people looking to upgrade equipment.
He might buy a used bat for $3 and sell it for $10 or obtain a set of golf clubs for $40 or $50 and sell it for twice that amount, he said.
One time he had a set of stolen golf clubs and was able to return them to the owner, but incidents like that are rare, he said.
Burica said the Will County Sheriff’s Department has been encouraging towns for about a year to create a database of pre-owned merchandise, partly in response to a rash of residential burglaries. Burica said the new law should make it less likely stolen merchandise will turn up in resale shops.
Business owners will have to document the cost of the merchandise, write a full description and include a model or serial number. They’ll also have to note the exact time of the purchase, photograph the items and send the images to police by noon the next day.
Carroll said he already documents his merchandise and has always cooperated with authorities.
“If I have to take a picture of every soccer shoe, every golf ball, I’m going to have to buy a camera and computer just for the photos,” he said.
Tony D’Ortenzio, co-owner of Distinctive Gold Jewelry, 19991 S. LaGrange Road, agrees the additional paperwork will be a burden. Still, he understands the need.
“The last thing we want is more paperwork,” D’Ortenzio said. “But for our customers, it’s the right thing.”
One of his customers, Charles Beck, said he does not sell jewelry but would not want anyone to know his business if he did.
“It’s my right to privacy,” he said.
The law
Frankfort’s law also prohibits merchants from buying any pre-owned merchandise:
1. From any person younger than 18 years of age
2. When someone other than the seller claims any interest in the goods.
3. From any person appearing to be intoxicated, incapacitated or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
4. From any person who is known to have been convicted of theft, burglary, robbery or armed robbery.
