Remember a week or two ago how we warned Conehead and others about hanging their hats on the so-called crime reduction? How bragging about a drop could come back and bite them in the ass?
These things are cyclical and are connected to too many other factors to predict any sort of short-term trends:
economic factors;
ethnic entanglements;
foreign drug wars affecting supply and demand - even border enforcement;
local gang battles over territory, rap music, disrespect;
changes in local / state laws letting criminals out....if they ever went in at all.
And in spite of what McCompstat told everyone, the weather affects crime.
Look at what happened in the middle of this week:
in 40 hours, 51 people got shot, 9 of those died.
If you want to brag about crime reductions, do it on 01 January about the previous year.
A lot of rumors popping in the comment sections. Here's another one:
SCC, Expect
big changes next week. Superintendent is pissed off. No more outer vest
cover!! Your bullet proof vest will be worn under the uniform shirt, no
more cargo pants, or baseball caps. No more gym shoes, only shoes that
you can shine. Duty belt will be the leather one, no more nylon duty
belts.
Going back to the old school uniform. The way we left the academy is how the Sup wants us to to look on the streets.
Either someone is bored or someone in charge is getting some heat from City Hall.
And before anyone starts whining about posting unverified rumors:
we said, almost from the first ever post, that Rumor Central was a thing here;
we've always used rumors that sound plausible as fodder for posts;
it's the holiday weekend and what else have we got?
Besides, many of the rumors end up being true in one form or another. Many times, the publication of rumors actually stopped stupid ideas from coming to fruition.
Who was it who warned years ago that LEMART Training would open up the Police Department to all sorts of liability, not to mention obligations (real or imagined) to treat persons injured? Was it something "insignificant" along with hundreds of their readers?
Just found
out this little nugget for all the hard working and caring P.O.’S that
transported victims to the hospital in that chaos Wed. My neighbor is a
paralegal for a Law Firm that is already drafting up Law Suits against
CPD for not waiting for CFD and BLAMING CPD for deaths and
injuries…disgusting!
We'll confess, we don't really believe this one. The lawyers would have to prove transporting someone resulted in further injury, along with negligence and intent. We're told the ones who died weren't the ones transported, mostly because of the nature of the wounds (massive trauma).
The City and Department could solve the entire issue by using the LEMART training for what it was originally instituted for - saving an injured Officer's life.
Or by stopping training for chest seals, tourniquets, quick-clot and bandages and leave everything to the paramedics....who are understaffed, overworked and wasted on tummy-aches in certain neighborhoods.
A fire inspector from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives at the scene of a triple stabbing and arson fire that left a child dead and his siblings badly injured on July 4, 2025. (Kyle Mazza/UNF News)
A Logan Square mother is in police custody after allegedly stabbing her three children — killing her 4-year-old son — and setting their family home on fire in a shocking domestic attack Friday morning.
Officers responded to a “person with a knife” call at a house in the 3600 block of West Palmer Street just after 9 a.m. There, they encountered a chaotic and heartbreaking scene: a home engulfed in flames, a child screaming from a basement window, and reports that the children’s mother was still inside with a weapon.
“I got this child yelling for help down in the basement window,” one officer urgently radioed from the scene, according to dispatch records. “We’re trying to get her out the window. I do see blood… The mother’s supposed to be upstairs with a knife.”
Flames quickly consumed the home and spread to the neighboring building, where two adults — a 31-year-old woman and a 34-year-old man — suffered smoke inhalation. They were in fair condition at Stroger Hospital.
First responders found three children suffering from stab wounds in the original home. The youngest, identified by family members as 4-year-old Jordan Wallace, sustained a fatal stab wound to the chest. He was rushed to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Jordan’s 10-year-old brother was stabbed in the right arm and remains hospitalized in serious condition. Their 13-year-old sister suffered multiple stab wounds to the face, chest, and back. She is in critical condition.
Chicago police believe the children’s 45-year-old mother is responsible for the crime. She was taken into custody.
Three police officers who entered the burning building to rescue the children were also hospitalized for smoke inhalation. All are listed in fair condition.
The fire triggered a large emergency response, including agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who were seen at the scene throughout the morning.
No charges have been announced as of Friday evening.
Google says Veo 3, which is the company's state-of-the-art video generator, is now shipping to everyone using the Gemini app with a $20 subscription. [...]
A series of bold, early-morning armed robberies from the West Loop to the United Center have police on the hunt this Fourth of July weekend, searching for a group of masked men believed to be behind a weeks-long string of violent holdups.
The latest crime sprees began around 7 a.m. Thursday, July 3, in the 1400 block of West Carroll Avenue in West Town. Police say three masked men jumped out of a sedan and pistol-whipped a woman twice in the head before robbing her at gunpoint. They made off with her bag and phone, fleeing in the vehicle.
Just over three hours later, around 10:12 a.m., two people were robbed inside a parking garage at Rush University Medical Center in the 1500 block of West Harrison Street. According to a police report, two men dressed entirely in black and armed with guns confronted the victims on the ground floor of the garage, taking a Coach bag and a maroon backpack before fleeing in the vehicle.
Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators revealed the suspects were driving a gray Infiniti Q50 with a broken sunroof and stolen license plates. A vehicle matching that description has been linked to other robberies in the area in recent weeks, according to a source familiar with the investigation.
On Friday, July 4, the same crew is believed to have returned — this time hitting three separate locations in just over an hour.
Around 7:15 a.m., outside a Chase Bank at 2317 West Madison Street, a man was held at gunpoint by two masked men who jumped out of a vehicle. The robbers took the victim’s wallet and $800 in cash. A third suspect, also involved, did not appear to be armed.
At approximately 7:45 a.m., just blocks from the previous day’s first robbery, another man was robbed at gunpoint in the 1100 block of West Carroll Avenue. Police say three men, two of them armed, escaped in a gray sedan after stealing valuables from the victim.
The suspects struck again just 30 minutes later, this time in Wicker Park, near Division and Paulina Streets. In this attempted robbery, two men wearing ski masks got out of a sedan and threatened a woman with firearms. However, they fled empty-handed.
While the license plates on the robbers’ getaway vehicle changed between Thursday and Friday, the car appeared to be the same.
The latest crimes closely resemble a pattern of armed robberies that prompted the Chicago Police Department to issue a community alert last month for residents in West Town and surrounding neighborhoods.
That alert warned of a crew of three robbers traveling by car, with two masked and hooded men jumping out to rob pedestrians at gunpoint. In at least one of those cases, a victim was pistol-whipped.
The suspects are described in the alert as Black males between 20 and 30 years old, standing 6 feet to 6’2” tall and weighing 140 to 170 pounds. They are typically seen wearing black ski masks and hooded sweatshirts.
I had someone sneak up behind me and intentionally startle me again yesterday — just when I thought I could relax. “Stick ’em up!” they laughed. A poke in my ribs. My heart pounded. Adrenaline surged like I was back in a fight for my life. My fists clenched. Then I smiled and played it […]
IT giant Ingram Micro is experiencing a global outage that is impacting its websites and internal systems, with customers concerned that it may be a cyberattack after the company remains silent on the cause of the issues. [...]
A hacker is threatening to leak 106GB of data allegedly stolen from Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica in a breach that the company did not acknowledge. [...]
A 26-year-old man with a violent criminal history and distinctive facial tattoos, including a crown and “RIP” inked on his face, is charged with aggravated robbery after allegedly mugging a passenger on an Orange Line train in the Loop, authorities said.
Leonard Johnson, a multiple-time convicted felon, was detained by Judge James Costello following a courtroom outburst where he threatened the assistant state’s attorney, leading to his removal mid-hearing.
Prosecutors detailed the incident in a detention petition, stating that Johnson blocked the train door, preventing a 27-year-old passenger from exiting as the train arrived at the station around 1 p.m. on June 18.
He allegedly implied he had a gun and demanded money from the victim, who handed over a $20 bill.
But, in a surprising twist, the man reconsidered and asked if Johnson would accept a $5 bill instead.
“You just got robbed,” Johnson allegedly replied while also taking the $5 bill.
The victim promptly contacted police, describing the robber as a man with “numerous face tattoos” featuring a crown and “RIP,” according to the detention petition. Investigators used that description, combined with CTA surveillance footage, to match the robber to Johnson’s old mugshots.
Last week, officers patrolling the 100 block of West Lake Street spotted Johnson and took him into custody.
At the time of the robbery, Johnson was on pretrial release for felony retail theft. Prosecutors said he just finished parole for a 2018 carjacking in Lincoln Park. His extensive criminal record also includes convictions for violent crimes as both a juvenile and an adult, prosecutors said.
In 2018, Johnson was identified in a CTA video as the “primary aggressor” in a group that surrounded a man on the Grand Red Line platform, demanded his wallet, and then tried to withdraw money from his accounts at the station’s ATM. He eventually received a 3-year prison sentence.
Two years and one day after that robbery, Johnson and two accomplices carjacked a 27-year-old man in the 900 block of West Armitage. Prosecutors said the men pulled the victim from his car, drove away with it, and then used his credit card at a gas station near Aurora. CPD detectives recognized Johnson (this may sound familiar) from the store’s video footage.
A Mello Buckzz album and blood-stained rags lie on a sidewalk near Artis Lounge, 311 West Chicago Avenue, following a mass shooting that targeted fans of the local rapper on July 2, 2025. (Kyle Mazza/UNF News)
Thursday’s mass shooting outside a River North lounge, which claimed 18 victims, including four fatalities, marks Chicago’s deadliest shooting in at least 12 years and it may be the city’s worst ever.
Drive-by gunmen opened fire on a crowd standing outside Artis Lounge, 311 West Chicago Avenue, as a record release party for rapper Mello Buckzz concluded around 11 p.m., officials said. The rapper, whose Facebook page includes references to a South Side street gang faction, claimed that her boyfriend was one of the four people killed. No arrests have been made.
Conversations with veteran and retired first responders, along with searches of historical news reports, failed to identify any shooting in Chicago’s history that claimed 18 victims.
According to HeyJackass, a website that meticulously compiles Chicago crime data from CPD reports and open-source materials, the River North shooting is the deadliest recorded since the site began operations in 2013.
Its records show the Chicago shootings with the highest number of victims since 2013 are:
Since 2013, the city has seen several events with more than four people murdered, the site’s records show:
6 were killed, 5 by stabbing and one by gunshot, when a man murdered his family after robbing them in the 5700 block of South California on February 2, 2016
Good thing the River North shooting happened Wednesday night. It would have thrown off our attempted prediction by almost 20.
Bad thing is it might provoke a cascade of revenge incidents across assorted territories, making our guess an exercise in futility. But we'll try.
Almost no rain on tap, high temps during the day, warm overnights, three-day holiday weekend.
Starting a few minutes ago 0000 hours, Friday 04 July and running through 0500 hours, Monday 07 July. seventy-seven hours total we're going to go with ten dead and twenty maimed - thirty total bodies with extra holes.
As usual, HeyJackass.com has the only numbers that we consider accurate and official.
So what could have sparked the tremendous and generous outpouring of gunpowder and lead that littered the streets of River North Wednesday night? Were there any warning signs? Anything that would have tipped off party-goers and business owners that something bad was on the horizon?
According to court records filed in March 2024, Doyle was arrested in
connection with the October 2023 incident in Calumet Park. Doyle [aka Mello Buckzz] allegedly hit Dade several times in her face, causing her to fall
through a window, according to the court records. Doyle continued to
punch Dade in the face, the documents said, leaving Dade with a broken
nose and a “severe laceration to the right hand” that required tendon
surgery.
[Chorus: Mello Buckzz] I got my blick out, pull up, hop out, boom Better not act like you want smoke, this bitch gon' tweak and act a fool (And act a fool) Tryna diss, we fill his ass up with hot shit, he think he cool I feel like Django with my switch, I'll wet a bitch up like a pool (Buckzz)
For the unaware:
"blick" is a gun
"hot shit" is fired bullets
"switch" is an illegal device usually on a Glock that allows fully automatic fire
That's about the only verse we can quote without offending our mothers - the rest of the "song" is as verbally pornographic as you might imagine.
We'll say it's nice to see that the rap community doesn't practice sexism in its thirst for blood and violence - if a girl is going to make a diss track, she and her posse are going to be targets just like the boyz.
The alderman who represents much of River North is pulling no punches after 18 people were shot outside a “lounge” in the neighborhood late Wednesday, saying the owners of the venue were “dishonest with the city” about their plans for the storefront, which was the site of another mass shooting in 2022.
Four people died in the drive-by shooting that targeted a crowd gathered outside Artis Lounge, 311 West Chicago Avenue, after a BYOB record release party by rap artist Mello Buckzz. Shell casings from three different calibers were found at the scene, an indication that at least three people were probably firing shots, according to an internal CPD bulletin obtained by CWBChicago.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the slain victims as Leon Andrew Henry, 25, Aviance King, 27, Taylor Walker, 26, and Devonte Williamson, 23.
Mello Buckzz, the rapper, claimed on social media that one of the slain men was her boyfriend, writing, “I dont wish this typa pain on nobody. dam my fucking crew…. I’m so so sooo sorry”
A Chicago firefighter washes blood from the sidewalk following a mass shooting outside Artis Lounge, 311 West Chicago Avenue, on July 2, 2025. (Kyle Mazza/UNF News)
Elsewhere on social media, though, her Facebook page openly refers to a street gang faction known as No Limit Muskegon Boys. CWBChicago reported this morning that an internal Chicago police document said investigators believed the motive was “possibly gang related.”
A nearby surveillance camera captured video and audio of the shooting (discretion advised):
Cook County Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads investigators to the responsible parties. Tips can be provided anonymously at 1-800-535-STOP or at CPDTIP.com
CPD Supt. Larry Snelling said he issued a summary closure notice that will keep Artis Lounge closed until a full review of its operations is complete.
Some of the items left on the sidewalk outside Artis Lounge following a mass shooting that targeted fans of Mello Buckzz, a local rapper. (Kyle Mazza/UNF News)
The business opened just a few weeks ago, with its owners promoting it as a “safe space” and “proudly Black-, Brown-, Queer-, and Women-owned. In a statement posted on Instagram, lounge management said “an act of violence occurred within the vicinity of our restaurant— and it shook us deeply.”
“This moment is painful,” the outlet’s statement said, “but it only strengthens our commitment to holding space for those who need it most.”
Artis’ management may be getting ahead of itself because local Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) wants them to close permanently, and he is publicly claiming that they misled the city about their true intentions for the space.
“Despite early assurances from the new restaurant owner that this venue would support local artisans, foster inclusivity, and serve as a hub for connection, creativity, and joy – the owners decided to turn over their venue to promote a new rap album release,” Reilly wrote in a statement distributed to his constituents.
In 2022, the space occupied by Artis operated under different ownership as Hush nightclub. Its run ended when the city forced it to close in the wake of a mass shooting that left three injured and one dead in November 2022.
Artis is the second business to occupy the space, which also sat vacant for extended periods, since Hush folded.
“This terrible, tragic incident is just the latest reminder that we need real reforms to our liquor licensing process and regulations to finally address this longstanding gap in city code that puts our neighborhoods at risk,” the alderman added.
Here is Reilly’s complete letter about the shooting and Artis’ operations:
Dear Neighbor:
I am deeply disturbed by the mass shooting that occurred around 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday night outside 311 W. Chicago Avenue, which resulted in 18 people shot and four fatalities.
According to preliminary reports, the incident followed a private party hosted at Artis, a recently opened BYOB “restaurant” operating out of the former Hush Lounge space.
Following a similar shooting incident at the former late hour nightclub Hush (at this location) my office and the Chicago Police Department insisted on a summary closure and license revocation. After summary closure was issued, Hush surrendered their late-hour liquor license and closed.
Because there is a moratorium on late-hour liquor licenses that I imposed in the 42nd Ward – a new nightclub could never be licensed or operated at this location.
Video footage and witness accounts confirm that as guests were leaving the venue, a vehicle drove by and opened fire. The Chicago Police Department is actively investigating this horrific act of violence.
Given the serious public safety concerns and clear mismanagement of this event, I am calling on the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection to revoke this business license immediately and pursue permanent closure of the establishment.
Despite early assurances from the new restaurant owner that this venue would support local artisans, foster inclusivity, and serve as a hub for connection, creativity, and joy – the owners decided to turn over their venue to promote a new rap album release.
It is clear the new operators were dishonest with the City about their plans for the venue and have now contributed to a devastating act of violence – just weeks after opening as a BYOB “restaurant.”
The Chicago Police Department and my office will be petitioning the Liquor Commissioner and BACP to deny a restaurant license to this operator; institute an immediate summary closure; and ensure this venue never re-opens.
For years, Alderman Waguespack and I have been trying to pass an ordinance that would license and regulate nightclub promoters and the events they host. Countless mass shootings have occurred at clubs that use promoters to bring large crowds to local venues – with the club owners simply handing the keys to the promoters to do as they wish. That is irresponsible and wrong.
This terrible, tragic incident is just the latest reminder that we need real reforms to our liquor licensing process and regulations to finally address this longstanding gap in city code that puts our neighborhoods at risk.
We will continue to work closely with CPD, BACP and the Department of Law to use every enforcement tool available to ensure this business never reopens.
We are praying for the victims and their loved ones as this investigation continues.
The Spanish police have dismantled a large-scale investment fraud operation based in the country, which has caused cumulative damages exceeding €10 million ($11.8M). [...]
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dam my fucking crew…. I’m so so sooo sorry”