Chicagoist: 37 Shot Over the Weekend

lamgray

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:03:57 -0600

Wow, spring is officially here

tutormentor

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:55:22 -0600

Provide non-school alternatives for youth and some will choose different paths that don't lead to violence. Volunteer-Based tutoring/mentoring, arts and technology programs offer such alternatives, but there are not enough in most parts of the city where there is the greatest need. You can read more about tutoring mentoring on http://tutormentor.blogspot.com . Making such programs available is not just the Mayor's responsibility. It's the responsibility of churches, business, hospitals, universities, eg, all of us.

Ward Up

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:39:19 -0600

Below is an excerpt from post on Second City Cop that shows how police work has been adversely affected by the Tribune, Sun-Times, and local TV news outlets, along with the shouting, race-baiting ministers and political panderers: From SCC: ".....The citizens and mayor are getting the police service they demanded. They all cried that the Police were thugs and bullies. They tied the hand of the CPD and are now reaping what they sowed. Maybe if the criminals did not have more "rights" than the victims things would be differant. Thank Mayor Daley, the idiot alderman and politicians. You got what you wanted...isn't it great!"

fed up

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:12:08 -0600

Navin I dont think one needs a billion to be considered not poor.

Spav1

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:43:16 -0600

As long as RICH tends to equal WHITE, the type of counsel one can afford will still mean that blacks get fucked. But, yeah, Pinko, on the surface of that you are right. Because I can't really afford Alan Dershowitz or Mark Geragos.

Pinko

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:32:30 -0600

In this country, I would argue that beyond the color of your skin, the difference between "innoncent" and "guilty" is even more dependent upon the type of legal counsel you can afford...

Navin

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:26:14 -0600

Funny that you miss the irony in your post. Oprah was for some time the only black billionaire in the world.

fed up

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:15:01 -0600

Being poor is one varible but a little hard work and you can grow up and be oprah or bill clinton he was born poor and made a hundered million the last few years.

Spav1

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:57:23 -0600

If "varibles" include 150 of de facto and de juris racism, lack of access to counsel and disproportionally poor, then yeah. I think it "averages" out. Jesus. Don't be so naive.

fed up

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:49:45 -0600

spav, thats exatcly my point. The laws and punishments are equal when written but there are so many varibles in each crime that when the sentence is handed down the punishment is not equal. I would like to believe that these sentences would average out to be close for african americans, whites, hispanics,asians but not eskimos I dont trust them they need to be punished most harshly.

jimbo

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:43:03 -0600

No, it's not just the government at fault. People make bad choices. But the game is rigged so hard against the urban, black poor in this country it's hardly a game at all. yawn. the game? there are a lot of poor people in very poor neighborhoods, and the overwhelming majority of them are not out shooting people. the 37 shootings this weekend were the result of 37 very, very dumb decisions by the people that undertook them, not the city, the leaders, or its institutions. to make this into a race issue is naive.

Ward Up

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:14:23 -0600

Well, it's time for the phony "reverends" to call the CeaseFire offices for more MONEY in order to stage some of their marches against violence. Oh, and for some more MONEY to hold "counseling" sessions to convince gangbangers not to gangbang. Meanwhile, the same reverends will go after the cops if the cops get aggressive. As soon as CPD arrests some gang members, the phony complaints of police abuse start piling up. It is no surprise that enforcement in these neighborhoods can't keep up with the criminals.

Spav1

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:09:45 -0600

fed up: Um, there can't be different penalities ON THE BOOKS for different races because that would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment. That being said, I think that it is obvious that blacks are much more likely to be punished MORE HARSHLY than their white counterparts for a variety of reasons...access to good counsel being one of them. See: disproportionate amount of African-Americans sitting on death row.

fed up

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:59:23 -0600

spave, I said the same crime, crack and powder cocaine are similar but differnt crimes, but I do agree that the sentencing for most drug crimes is beyond retarded. Simple creature please give me a little time to look up the link.

simplecreature

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:39:26 -0600

Fed Up: Comparison of Blacks/Whites in homicides (victims, offenders) http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/race.htm A Comprehensive overview of sentencing disparities between whites and blacks http://www.sentencingproject.org/Admin/Documents/publications/rd_sentencing_review.pdf (Long, but worth your time if you want an authoritative answer)

Pinko

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:31:21 -0600

Maybe they should make crack prohibitively more expensive, and cocaine far more affordable. That could really shake the legal system up...

Spav1

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:20:10 -0600

fed up: You could make the argument that the way our current draconian drug laws are written, they unfairly target blacks by making the penalities for crack-cocaine incredibly more harsh than the penalties for an comparable amount of coke. Crack is used more heavily by black people, cocaine by the whites. Case closed.

fed up

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:11:00 -0600

Simple, what crime are you speaking of that has differnt sentences for blacks and whites??

Spav1

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:35:31 -0600

I blame the smoking ban. I said this would happen.

matty

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:32:12 -0600

Have we given up on CAPS? It was the most effective policing strategy ever imposed by the CPD and it seems to not be a priority for them anymore.

simplecreature

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:18:54 -0600

Hard to stay in school when you don't have teachers/books/clean facilites. Hard to have parental supervision when a parent is paid more to stay on welfare and punished monetarily for seeking employment Hard to have stable communities when the police enforcement of arbitrary drug laws uses military style tactics. Hard to have 2-parent households when African-American men are more likely to face hard jail time for offenses that white defendants usually receive probation for. Hard to have economic empowerment in a redlined neighborhood. Hard to get to your menial job when the CTA service has been cut, or re-routed or is simply so awful you'd be better off simply walking Hard to get your beater car to work when the city puts you last on the snow removal and street repair lists. No, it's not just the government at fault. People make bad choices. But the game is rigged so hard against the urban, black poor in this country it's hardly a game at all.

jimbo

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:04:32 -0600

simplecreature, it's obviously the city and its leaders' fault that people are shooting each other at alarming rates in our poorer neighborhoods. let's point the finger at institutions, rather than disproportionate school dropout rates and single parented households that don't provide enough supervision.

simplecreature

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:42:03 -0600

Police superintendent Jody Weis said there are "too many weapons out there," and cited warmer spring temperatures as a "contributing factor." He said at a press conference that "no city is immune from the proliferation of illegal guns, gangs and drugs." He also pointed out that sometimes people do bad things and that is bad. How much are we paying this fellow for pablum? Look at the groupings on that map. The west and south sides, mainly poorer areas, blighted by drugs and gangs. The guns are the tools of criminals, not the root of the crime. It's much easier to blame an object than it is to confront the fact the city has abandoned whole communities in terms of economic development, police protection and even basic services. I worked in Englewood, try getting sewer line repair or the fire dept. to come out for a busted hydrant. Try getting city inspectors to come and deal with a dangerous building that needs to be condemned. Just blame it on guns, pass more nonsense laws and pretend that it's not the simply fact that if you are black and poor in this city you are a moving target and the mayor/cops/media could give a rats ass.

Shannon

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:36:41 -0600

sigh.. it's sad, but i thought of doing the same thing (map) when i heard so many people were shot over the weekend. must have human tragedy iconized for easy digestion.