Chicago Body Count

[Edumakated]

Here in Chicago, Memorial Day weekend is kind of like opening day game for thug violence.  Gang opps view it as a time to score on their rivals.  It gives us a glimpse as to how the year is going to shape up in terms of the body count.

We've had phenomenal weather for three days.  It was bright and sunny with mild temps in the upper 60s and 70s.  Absolutely perfect weather.  This means there are block parties and BBQs on practically every block making it the perfect time for gangs to "spin the block" and hopefully hit an opp or two.  People have been cooped up all winter and trigger fingers are itching.  We can't let those Facebook and Twitter disses go unanswered for too long.

As predicted, the good weather brought out the shooters.  So far, we've had 12 deaths and 42 wounded!  With it still being sunny and another 5 hours or so and then overnight, we are sure to best 2022's 12 killed and 43 wounded.  In fact, 2023 will likely set a record going back at least through 2015 which had 12 killed and 45 wounded!  

Let's just hope no cops happen to shoot anyone and set off a riot.  Black lives matter and all that...

 

[+and-then]

Too bad those neighborhoods can't be cordoned off and Guard troops sent in.  Better yet, they should send them to City hall and the governor's mansion.  That would accomplish more...

[Edumakated]

5 minutes ago, and-then said:

Too bad those neighborhoods can't be cordoned off and Guard troops sent in.  Better yet, they should send them to City hall and the governor's mansion.  That would accomplish more...

Yeah, most of it is concentrated on the far west and south sides of the city (about 7 to 10 miles+ from downtown Chicago).  With that said, there have been more shootings in downtown neighborhoods.  There was one at the beach on Saturday.  No one was hit, but someone let off a shot.  A group of teens getting into a scuffle.  Chicago really is a fairly safe and clean city, but the gang violence is pretty off the charts.  The reality though is that unless you are a young black male under 25 engaged in gang / street activity and also live in certain neighborhoods, the odds of being involved in any of the violence is pretty slim.

 

[Hawken]

If I recall the stats. Chicago had nearly 800 homicides in 2021. But it dropped to around 700 in 2022. But that's still too high. While nobody would care about these gangs killing each other. It's the innocent bystanders that get caught in the crossfire. A lot of them children. You don't hear of BLM addressing this problem.

[Edumakated]

11 minutes ago, Hawken said:

If I recall the stats. Chicago had nearly 800 homicides in 2021. But it dropped to around 700 in 2022. But that's still too high. While nobody would care about these gangs killing each other. It's the innocent bystanders that get caught in the crossfire. A lot of them children. You don't hear of BLM addressing this problem.

The sad part is that a lot of the thugs killing each other ARE CHILDREN.  Many are like 14 and 15 years old.

A sad story from about 30 years ago is that of Yummy Sandifer.  He was a 11 years old.  He shot and killed a girl trying to kill a rival gang member.  He got away but then his gang decided he was bringing too much heat so he was executed by his own gang.  His killers were like 14 and 16 IIRC.

 

Edited May 30, 2023 by Edumakated

[+and-then]

41 minutes ago, Edumakated said:

The reality though is that unless you are a young black male under 25 engaged in gang / street activity and also live in certain neighborhoods, the odds of being involved in any of the violence is pretty slim.

I've only visited Chicago once.  I worked for a software firm back in the late 90s and we trained hospital staff to use our system.  The hospitals were all small, had a census of fewer than 100 beds in most cases.  We were doing a training/install in a little town IIRC it was a couple of hours west of Chicago, right near the state line.  It was a town called Kewanee. 

Anyway, several of us decided to stay over in Chicago for a weekend and of course it was January and bitterly cold.  It's the largest, most impressive city I've ever visited and I feel badly for folks who are trapped in neighborhoods where gang war is a near daily occurrence.  I cannot believe that more can't be done to bring those numbers down.  It seems like the city government doesn't care or is unwilling to devote enough resources to help control the situation better.

[Hawken]

I've been to Chicago quite a few times. Me and some friends took a train to watch the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The neighborhood where the ballpark

is looks kinda rough. Maybe it's just me.  Is that a high crime area around Addison & Clark?

[acidhead]

3 hours ago, and-then said:

I've only visited Chicago once. []Anyway, several of us decided to stay over in Chicago for a weekend and of course it was January and bitterly cold.

Never ever go to a Subway restaurant late at night in the winter in Chicago.  It's MAGA country. 

[Cho Jinn]

Rahm kept it together reasonably well, but as soon as Lightfoot arrived she stopped various CPD activities which were responsible for at least keeping River North, Streeterville, and Gold Coast placid.  Michigan Ave is not comfortable to walk on, there are homeless and addict shantytowns under most underpasses.  While walking the other day I counted a dozen needles just on Lake Street between Jefferson and Canal, and the homeless are regularly getting into fights at that intersection.  That the residents apparently elected Johnson it initially shocking, and then after a moment not so much.

 

[Tatetopa]

5 hours ago, Edumakated said:

A sad story from about 30 years ago is that of Yummy Sandifer.  He was a 11 years old.  He shot and killed a girl trying to kill a rival gang member.  He got away but then his gang decided he was bringing too much heat so he was executed by his own gang.  His killers were like 14 and 16 IIRC.

So things have not changed much in 30 years?  

 Why would you go into ghettos and slums and expect them to be any different now than 30 years ago?

[Edumakated]

9 hours ago, Hawken said:

I've been to Chicago quite a few times. Me and some friends took a train to watch the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The neighborhood where the ballpark

is looks kinda rough. Maybe it's just me.  Is that a high crime area around Addison & Clark?

I guess it is rough if you call $1 million+ houses and $600k condos rough....  

There really isn't a rough neighborhood in downtown Chicago or the Northside of the city.

 

[Edumakated]

8 hours ago, Cho Jinn said:

Rahm kept it together reasonably well, but as soon as Lightfoot arrived she stopped various CPD activities which were responsible for at least keeping River North, Streeterville, and Gold Coast placid.  Michigan Ave is not comfortable to walk on, there are homeless and addict shantytowns under most underpasses.  While walking the other day I counted a dozen needles just on Lake Street between Jefferson and Canal, and the homeless are regularly getting into fights at that intersection.  That the residents apparently elected Johnson it initially shocking, and then after a moment not so much.

 

Yeah, I think Rahm actually did a good job for a Democrat.  He was no nonsense in terms of crime and understood the business community.  Downtown made a ton of gains under his leadership only for Lightfoot to screw it all up.  I think Johnson is going to be a disaster but we will see...

[Edumakated]

So the final tally for the weekend was 12 killed and 49 wounded (heyjackass.com).  Pretty much worst Memorial day weekend except for maybe 2016 which had 10 killed, but 69 wounded.

I saw a graphic video of the 35 Year old white guy who was killed in Lakeview.  Looked like robbery gone bad.  Victim was shot in head.  Not going to post it here but you can find it on the Chiraq Reddit forum.  Horrific and sad.

I think the problem is that it is hard to police the community because activist talk out of both sides of their mouths.  On the one hand, the community knows who is doing all the shooting and violence.  However, if the police go in an arrest these dirt bags, the same community will then complain about police brutality, stop & frisk, etc.  No one is willing to call out and shame the gangs publicly.  In a sick kind of way, the black community kind of worships and idolizes these hoodlums.

It is truly a cultural problem.

[Edumakated]

6 hours ago, Tatetopa said:

So things have not changed much in 30 years?  

 Why would you go into ghettos and slums and expect them to be any different now than 30 years ago?

No, things have not changed and I don't expect them to change.  An entire generation of people is lost.  At this point, I think any solution will have to be radical in how it is implemented.

The reality though is that this just isn't a Chicago problem, but a problem throughout the country.  Anywhere you have low income black community, you will see high levels of violence such as this.... doesn't matter if it is the backwater of Louisiana to urban metro areas such as NYC.  If you have poor young black males, you will see high levels of gun violence.  Until we can honestly address this elephant in the room, the carnage will continue.

[Doug1066]

13 hours ago, Edumakated said:

Let's just hope no cops happen to shoot anyone and set off a riot.

Takes more than hope.

Doug

[Hawken]

11 hours ago, acidhead said:

Never ever go to a Subway restaurant late at night in the winter in Chicago.  It's MAGA country. 

That was hilarious when Smollet had his accomplishes say. Maga Country. Chicago is the bluest city in Illinois. 

[CrimsonKing]

9 hours ago, Tatetopa said:

So things have not changed much in 30 years?  

 Why would you go into ghettos and slums and expect them to be any different now than 30 years ago?

If I remember correctly the slum in the movie Candyman was one of the most notorious and dangerous in US history, pretty sure it was located in Chicago...

Thankfully it was leveled.

[Edumakated]

4 minutes ago, CrimsonKing said:

If I remember correctly the slum in the movie Candyman was one of the most notorious and dangerous in US history, pretty sure it was located in Chicago...

Thankfully it was leveled.

Yeah, it was Cabrini Green housing project.  It was razed and the area is mostly higher end high rises, condos, and townhomes.  

"O Block" which is the Parkway Gardens housing project on the southside has gained international fame since rapper Chief Keef came on the scene about 10 years ago and most recently deceased rapper, King Von.  The hottest rapper / musician out right now is Lil Durk who is from that area as well.  

[Edumakated]

18 minutes ago, Hawken said:

That was hilarious when Smollet had his accomplishes say. Maga Country. Chicago is the bluest city in Illinois. 

Anyone with two functioning brain cells and any knowledge of Chicago knew that was BS....  so let me get this straight.  You went to Subway at 2am in -20 degree weather?  Then you were attacked by two guys in Streeterville wearing MAGA hats?   Not only that.... they took time to make a noose?  Also, these same MAGA *******s somehow recognized you as a black D List actor on an urban hip hop show as well?  In a solidly 100% blue liberal city?  Downtown?  In -20 degree weather?  

Yeah, ok....

[Tatetopa]

3 hours ago, Edumakated said:

If you have poor young black males, you will see high levels of gun violence.

And if you have poor young white males, with nothing to do and no future is it any different?

[Edumakated]

1 minute ago, Tatetopa said:

And if you have poor young white males, with nothing to do and no future is it any different?

The big difference is that generally those poor white males aren't killing each other at the same rate.  It isn't even close.  

[CrimsonKing]

18 minutes ago, Edumakated said:

The big difference is that generally those poor white males aren't killing each other at the same rate.  It isn't even close.  

Don't see many white street gangs nowadays outside of motorcycle or prison gangs...

Makes movies with call backs to 50's greaser gangs that much more hysterical 

In many poor black communities there is a gang for every street...it's bad in poor white communities,but different.

Black folks kill each other at an alarming rate,they don't even have to be poor,they can be rappers,athletes,or drug dealers and next thing you know a statistic...

[WVK]

1 hour ago, Edumakated said:

Anyone with two functioning brain cells and any knowledge of Chicago knew that was BS....  so let me get this straight.  You went to Subway at 2am in -20 degree weather?  Then you were attacked by two guys in Streeterville wearing MAGA hats?   Not only that.... they took time to make a noose?  Also, these same MAGA *******s somehow recognized you as a black D List actor on an urban hip hop show as well?  In a solidly 100% blue liberal city?  Downtown?  In -20 degree weather?  

Yeah, ok....

Some brain cells were not functioning:

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/celebs-support-jussie-smollett

[Edumakated]

3 minutes ago, WVK said:

Some brain cells were not functioning:

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/celebs-support-jussie-smollett

The narrative is more important than common sense...  this is why they get so many of these cases wrong.  They focus so much on the narrative instead of analyzing and considering all the other evidence and information and simply asking "Does this make sense?"

Edited May 30, 2023 by Edumakated

[Edumakated]

44 minutes ago, CrimsonKing said:

Don't see many white street gangs nowadays outside of motorcycle or prison gangs...

Makes movies with call backs to 50's greaser gangs that much more hysterical 

In many poor black communities there is a gang for every street...it's bad in poor white communities,but different.

Black folks kill each other at an alarming rate,they don't even have to be poor,they can be rappers,athletes,or drug dealers and next thing you know a statistic...

In Chicago there aren't really large gangs anymore with centralized leadership.  The Feds broke all of them up in early 90s.  Most are just glorified crews of a few to a dozen or so guys.  The rep their own block or two.  They then get into beefs with other blocks.  At some point, someone gets shot or killed and then there is this tit for tat back and forth almost like the Hatfields and McCoys.  It gets to a point where Block A doesn't even remember why they hate Block B.  Or the feud has been going on so long, the guys on Block A were still in diapers when the Big Homie who got killed set off the war with Block B.  However, it doesn't matter as they are raised to hate to rival block.

The crazy part about it is that often times a lot of these guys grow up together as friends and then at some point, they have to pick a side.  They will often joke with or talk to each other on Facebook and be all jovial.  However, they'd kill each other on sight.

They will literally be at war with a rival gang a block away.  It is madness.