Jay-Z Announces 2010 Tour Dates. Chicago Not On List.
Extra, Extra
Around Town
Health Care Bill Heads To U.S. House Floor For Debate, Vote
Alleged Lottery Ticket Con Artists Charged
Damn. Just...damn. That's all we can say when we read these kinds of stories. On the heels of this weekend's shooting of Eternity Gaddy (who died yesterday morning), 10-year-old Nequiel Fowler was shot dead Monday afternoon outside her home in the 8700 block of South Exchange Avenue. She had bent over to tie the shoe of her blind sister, Valerie, 5, when the bullet struck. Nequiel's mother, Linda Williams, described finding her daughter:
At first I thought both of my daughters were hurt because they both were wearing hair beads...Then I ran out and found Nee-Nee laying on the ground.
Police suspect Nequiel, who was to start 4th grade Arnold Mireles Academy today, was an innocent bystander in a gang-related shooting. Arne Duncan, head of the Chicago Public Schools, expressed his outrage at the incident.
It's heartbreaking, it's absolutely crazy. It's crazy that as a society that we allow this to happen to our kids. It makes me absolutely furious that we don't value our children...It’s the hardest thing I do — walk into a room where there is an empty desk. Children today have to live with a level of fear that is staggering...We have far too many children today who talk about if I grow up, not when.Police found a gun and are testing it to see if it's connected to the shooting.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
What the hell is going on?
Right now, it's a gang war. Recent arrests by the CPD set off a "leadership crisis" that's been sorting itself out in blood for months now.
Long term, it's a poor black kid, good for a "oh no!" from most people, then shrug, then a "whaddagonnado?" and wash and rinse and repeat.
Meanwhile, how much is spent hunting down missing white suburban wives?
Oh my gosh....She was in my first grade class. I knew that with all the shootings going on in Englewood, it would only be a matter of time before I actually saw someone I knew. I'm so angry and sad. She was such a sweet, happy little girl with her whole life ahead of her. All this shooting and killing just makes me sick.
It's not clear from the way cstratton worded it, but what she meant was that she was Nequiel's first grade teacher, not that she was in first grade with Nequiel.
Not that it's terribly important.
Duncan's statement reminds me of something Lafayette Rivers said (which I'll never forget) that is in Alex Kotlowitz's book "There Are No Children Here."
"If I grow up, I'd like to be a bus driver."
Emphasis on "if."
Sad.
cstratton first 85th and exchange is nowhere near englewood and if you are a first grade teacher what are you doing on a blog at 8:27am on a school day when class starts at 8am.
I was her first grade teacher while she attended Nicholson School which is in Englewood. Unfortunately, after 6 years of teaching in Englewood, I needed a break so I'm not teaching right now. Why the need to be so snarky when I was just commenting on how sad it was?
It's the internet. It's far more important to make sure everyone knows you are superior to everyone else than to actually care about anything.
Of course, if this had anything to do with bikes on the road or dogs there would be tons of comments. But since it's a story that has to do with the tragic death of a child, that's clearly less worthy of anyone's time. Except for people who have nothing to contribute other than to think they are being smart when they're really just being d-bags.