We've got a Gun Violence Epidemic and only Criminal Cops in Chicagoland to stop it

Chicago has become the go to example for Gun Nuts to decry Gun Control measures. Insane Gun Huggers scream out Chicago!!! as the definitive case of failed Gun Control. And why? Because ALEC, the NRA and the Gun Nuts have undercut sensible gun laws and undermined the safety of Chicagoans and the American People.

Of the 50,000 guns recovered between 2001 and March 2012 in Chicago, more than half came from outside the state.

The majority of Guns used in commission of crimes inside Chicago come from outside the city.  So, thanks NRA for allowing the laxity of irresponsible gun nuts to kill children in Chicago. It's almost as if Wayne LaPierre and David Keene enjoy when children die.

Now, Illinois has been court ordered to pass a Conceal Carry law by June 2013.

Here's the situation. You are a responsible gun owner. You now have a brand new conceal carry license/permit.

Bang! Bang! Bang! You're near the park at Roosevelt Rd and California Ave. You hear multiple shots, being incredibly brave (or crazy) you advance towards the sound of gunfire. You rush into the park and see two individuals with guns:

Person 1 is pointing a weapon at Person 2. Person 2 has a gun drawn but it appears to be in the "alert" position. At the feet of Person 2 is Person 3 apparently bleeding profusely.

Now, which one do you shoot? Go!

There is no PC Logo spinning over the head of Person 2 identifying him as the "good guy". Person 1 doesn't have on a black hat.

Identification is nigh impossible and in most cases couch-borne concealed carry commandos aren't going to get clean shots. And unlike in video games, which the NRA are set upon Blaming for Gun Violence, when some Gun Nuts caps an innocent it doesn't just cost the shooter some points.

But, while having to worry about the looming gun fights from buffoonish Gun Nuts and Gang Bangers, Chicagoland Police Officers keep committing crimes and official misconduct. Thanks for making the Job harder for the rest of us Officers!

In January, three Schaumburg Police Officers - John Cichy, Matthew Hudak and Terrance O'Brien - were arrested and accused of peddling marijuana and cocaine in DuPage County for at least six months. Prosecutors said they skimmed from police drug seizures. 

"Quite frankly, it makes me sick to my stomach," Jack Riley, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in the Midwest said. "From my point of view, I'm battling the Mexican cartels (and) 100,000 street gang members in Chicago — and now I've got to worry about this."

Quite Frankly, that's Quite Right Jack Riley.  

Northbrook Police Officer Enrique Guzman, turned out to be a Northbrook Burglar. In February a 5 month joint FBI/Northbrook Police Department investigation resulted in the arrest of Guzman who had been video recorded stealing jewelry from a residence.

$122,000 USC a year and you're pulling off burglaries on duty? Either Guzman has a gambling/drug addiction or...

In Des Plaines several Police Officers are facing suspensions and posssible termination stemming from a city investigation of alleged misreporting of DUI arrests to obtain overtime pay, Des Plaines officials said. In 2011, Des Plaines was awarded $116,190, the third-largest STEP (Sustained Traffic Enforcement Program) Grant in the Illinois. 

DUI arrests are the easiest arrests to make if your work "midnights". There really is no need to falsify reports or arrests.

So besides dealing with the flow of illegal weapons into the Chicagoland area and their use in the commission of crimes I and my fellow officers have the criminals in our ranks who are undercutting our authority and tarnishing All of Us in the eyes of the law-abiding populace.

The Emerald Ash Borer & Socialism Strike Suburban Chicago

"Is it bad that I'm ordering a Flight of White Wines when going to see Race by David Mamet?" - Grung_e_Gene

You were warned! Right-Wing Radio, Faux News, but it's too late. You've let the Chicago-Style Obama Gangster Socialism infest the Suburbs! White Flight No Longer can protect you.

Of course, I'm talking about the unacceptable plans of Arlington Heights, Illinois and Schaumburg, Illinois to battle the Emerald Ash Borer Beetle.

From the Daily Herald reporting:

Schaumburg is embarking on a 10-year, $9 million program to replace thousands of its ash trees with a variety of species immune to the ravages of the emerald ash borer.

During this first year of the 10-year plan, the village expects to spend $1.5 million, which includes $470,000 to remove 1,863 damaged trees. The village also will begin treating with a powerful insecticide 524 “high value” ash trees that are 20 inches or more in diameter. This needs to be done only every other year, but this year's cost alone is $128,000.

Additionally:

Arlington Heights would need to borrow roughly $11.5 million to combat the emerald ash borer infestation — expected to peak in 2015 killing roughly 5,000 trees, village officials said Monday.

The village board's committee of the whole Monday night gave its blessing to a funding plan that would involve issuing roughly $11.5 million in general obligation bonds in 2013 for the removal and replacement of the village's 13,000 ash trees.

So... It has come to this. I didn't import the Emerald Ash Borer into America! It's not attacking my trees! Why on earth should I pay for the removal and upkeep of my neighbor's infested trees?

We are living in an era when a solid block of conservatives have so deeply conditioned themselves they view any amount of government spending as evil and routinely speak of being "raped" by taxes. But, the Emerald Ash Borer beetle infestation is a prime instance of Government being needed. As in to ensure Domestic Tranquility and Promote the General Welfare.

It would do little good if you treated and protected your Ash trees if your neighbor decided not to and his infestation spread to your trees.

Could you sue him? Sure, but how would you prove the beetles migrated from your neighbors house and not from some other close by infested area? Capture a bunch of bugs and do a DNA mapping trace to prove they came from his strain?

Republicans have been constructing a very odd narrative wherein the Government can do nothing correctly. Now, often when Republicans take office they sabotage and undermine government but, this isn't due to incompetence but to a specific agenda of targeted destruction aimed at dissolving the effectiveness of Government.

Now, really what's going on here is the 1% are setting up Green Zones in America. The 1% who wholly owns and operates the Republican Party on a Federal, State, and Municipal level doesn't have the same worries as hundreds of millions of Americans or those residents of Schaumburg and Arlington Heights.

The only thing that concerns them is getting the Republicans to eliminate as many taxes, regulations, worker rights, the social safety net, and curbs on pollution as possible so they can steal and off-shore as much money as quickly as possible.

Lowe's, Let's Destroy Something Together

Lowe's Home Improvement store in Schaumburg, Illinois snuck out in the middle of the night on Tuesday, closing the doors on it's 116,000 square foot store. The store had been open for 5 years. Lowe's also closed a nearby store in Elgin, Illinois.

Schaumburg is famous for Woodfield Mall which brings in a billion or so in revenue for the Village but, here's the question everyone should be asking; How much did tax incentives, deferred lease payments, quickly approved construction permits, free electricity, water and sewage did Lowe's get for convincing Schaumburg officials of all the wonderful jobs and money Lowe's would bring in?

Meanwhile, a nearby ACE hardware on Negre and Plum Grove Road is owned and operated by a family that has lived in the Schaumburg area for years, do you think they received any assistance?

Well, this is the crack-like allure Big Box Stores exert upon Village officials. They come in with an easy smile and visions of big time tax revenues for a town and like addicts, Village managers bend over to accommodate them. Of course, Lowe's, Wal Mart, target and the rest of the Big Box Conglomerates can easily slide from friendly to menacing by threatening to just open up in a neighboring town.

And so these big box bastards undercut local small shops and, in the past, have even run at a loss for years because they know once they eliminate the small shops they can raise prices. And if that tried and true technique should fail, say because of a Republican Recession,

“The sales numbers missed estimates,” said Abby Buford, a spokeswoman for Lowe's. “Sales were well below projections and they did not improve over time.”

Then they simply leave and leave a gaping monstrosity of a building vacant in your town.

And they call it Capitalism, because they Capitalize.