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Archive for the ‘Crime’ Category

Chicago tops country in porch pirate thefts, upwards of $250 million

Posted in Crime, Dumb Bunny on December 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Credit: AP/Charles Rex Arbogast

By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributor

Illinois state Rep. Dan Ugaste argues lawmakers need to look in the mirror when it comes to placing blame for Chicago’s status as the worst city in the country for porch pirate thefts.

Research firm SafeWise finds city residents lost more than $254 million in stolen goods in 2025 stemming from at least 6.5 million incidents. Ugaste said it’s not hard to deduce why Chicago has become such an easy target.

“Until earlier this year when Cook County got a new state’s attorney in Chicago, there was a very lax enforcement of laws,” Ugaste, R-Geneva, told The Center Square. “No consequences for actions and for bad actions and this is what you get. The other thing is the SAFE-T Act. My guess is if we toughen up law enforcement and if we especially do something to make certain repeat offenders are held accountable, we’ll see a steep decline in that number.”

Enacted in 2021, the so-called SAFE-T Act institutes criminal justice reforms that include a no cash bail provision.

With the thefts having also cost retailers nationwide roughly $22 billion in replacement, refund, shipping and customer service costs, Ugaste said Chicago is among the places where that price-tag is proving to be most costly.

“It’s going to raise prices for people in our areas and people are not going to want to live in an area that’s like that because they don’t have to put up with this in other areas,” he said. “It has all sorts of negative impacts.”

More here.

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Family launches fundraiser for woman set on fire on CTA Blue Line

Posted in Chicago Sun*Times, Crime, Fundraisers on November 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The family of a 26-year-old woman attacked and set on fire on a CTA Blue Line train Nov. 17 has started a GoFundMe to help with her recovery. | GoFundMe

The 26-year-old woman suffered severe burns after the Nov. 17 attack near the CTA Clark and Lake station. The fundraiser had raised nearly $230,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.

By  Sun-Times Wire

The family of a 26-year-old woman attacked on a Blue Line train this month has launched a fundraiser as she faces “a long road ahead” toward her recovery.

Bethany MaGee is being treated at a hospital for severe burns she suffered when a man poured gasoline on her and set her on fire Nov. 17 near the CTA Clark and Lake station, according to the GoFundMe and prosecutors.

The fundraiser had collected nearly $230,000 as of Wednesday afternoon, more than halfway toward its $330,000 goal.

“Many of her immediate medical expenses are covered by insurance and a victims fund, but with such a long road ahead of her, the freedom from financial worries would be a tremendous blessing,” her family said in the fundraiser post. “No gifts are expected, but any that are given will go directly to Bethany.”

Read more here.

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Pritzker’s Angry Violent Left Kills Any Hope of Immigration Compromise

Posted in Crime, John Kass, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order on November 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

By John Kass | John Kass News

One mistake people who don’t know me make is when they say I’m uncompromising.

That’s bs. I’m not uncompromising, except when it comes to bad whiskey, rude bartenders and snotty leftist journalists.  But when it comes to human beings, I’m all about listening to what reasonable people have to say in offering to avoid unnecessary strife.

The strife of the AWFLs (Angry White Female Leftists) or the Latina equivalent, which, is awfully unattractive to those voters who aren’t rabid commies.

So I was all ears when Chicago Ald. Raymond Lopez was a recent guest on the Chicago Way Podcast to discuss possible compromise for law abiding illegal migrants who’ve been here for years, but who haven’t committed crimes. And I leave the podcast link here so you can hear for yourself.

“Well, there’s a pathway, John,” said Ald. Lopez.  “There really is. And I think the question is, are we willing to find a solution?

“Or are we just doing this so that we have an excuse to continue to fight Donald Trump and pander to the most extreme of our party? We can find a solution.

“And there’s a very simple one, which I presented to Donald Trump in my letter a few weeks ago, which is you have to take the broken immigration system that we have on a two-tier track and look at it from that perspective.

“You have to deal with the Biden-Harris migrants separately from how you deal with the long-term undocumented who have been forgotten about since Barack Obama first took office. And we can address both simultaneously and still achieve the goals that he put out as well as finally produce on something that Democrats have long talked about, which is granting amnesty to those long-term undocumented individuals. In Chicago, mostly Mexican individuals who are those hardworking people in our communities who have been waiting for a path forward, we can grant them a pardon, grant them amnesty, grant them a path forward.”

Amesty?

Hmmm.

Amnesty?

Read more here.

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Please HIRE this individual* – “Palatine police officer assists in ‘stabilizing’ federal enforcement action, department says”

Posted in Crime, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Public Safety, VBHPD on October 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

People protest outside the Palatine police station Oct. 28, 2025, after authorities said a Palatine police officer aided a federal enforcement action Monday morning. | Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune

By Tess Kenny | Chicago Tribune

Holding signs that read, “Do better be better” and “Resist,” about 100 people protested outside Palatine police headquarters Tuesday, a day after one of the department’s officers aided a federal enforcement action, a move that has raised questions over whether the officer acted in accordance with state law and prompted local backlash.

“I had thought that in Illinois, police are not supposed to help (U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement),” longtime Palatine resident Linda Sabor said as she stood alongside fellow demonstrators and her husband.

In Illinois, the TRUST Act prevents the use of state and local resources for civil immigration enforcement purposes, according to a fact sheet from the Illinois attorney general. The law, however, does not prevent law enforcement from “taking action to maintain peace and ensure public safety within their jurisdiction,” the fact sheet notes.

While noting that she didn’t fully know the state law, Sabor, 69, said she came because she wanted clarity on where her local authorities stood.

Just before noon Monday, Palatine police officers observed three federal agents attempting to take a person into custody after responding to a report of a disturbance in the northwest suburb, Palatine police said in a news release.

During the confrontation, a crowd of about 20 people gathered, with “several individuals shouting obscenities and moving toward the arresting agents,” according to the department. In turn, a Palatine officer positioned himself between the agents and the crowd “to ensure the safety of everyone involved and to maintain order at the scene,” the department added.

However, after continuing to see agents struggle with the person and “given the subject’s noncompliance, the agitated crowd and the potential risk of injury,” the officer “made the split-second decision to assist in stabilizing the situation,” the department said.

The officer gave verbal instructions in Spanish to the person being detained and grasped the person’s right arm — which was already being handcuffed — while the agents secured the person’s left arm to help bring the incident to a resolution, according to the department.

Read more here.

*It has been reported that our Village stands to lose as many as three police officers in 2026 due to retirements.

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Chicago ranks among America’s least safe cities

Posted in Crime, Dumb and Dumber, Illinois Policy Institute, Politics on October 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

While Aurora sits near the top of the safety rankings, Chicago lands near the bottom undermining claims by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson.

By LyLena Estabine | Illinois Policy Institute

A new safety ranking from WalletHub paints a stark picture for Chicago. Out of 182 U.S. cities, Chicago ranks 161st in overall safety.

For comparison, New York City ranks 117th. Los Angeles ranks 156th. Phoenix ranks 136th.

This poor ranking comes amid growing concerns about violent crime and transit safety. Despite repeated assurances from Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson that the city is safe, these numbers tell a different story.

WalletHub evaluated each city on home and community safety, the risk of natural disaster and financial safety.

The only other Illinois municipality included in the ranking was Aurora, which ranked 33rd, much higher in the listing.

Read more here.

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Madigan reports to West Virginia prison

Posted in Chicago Sun*Times, Crime, Deception, Perjury on October 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan began serving his prison sentence Monday in West Virginia, 500 miles from Chicago.

By Jon Seidel | Chicago Sun*Times  

In West Virginia: Michael J. Madigan, the longtime former head of Illinois’ Democratic Party, is in prison. The 83-year-old surrendered Monday to a minimum-security federal prison camp in Morgantown, West Virginia — 500 miles away from Chicago and a 1.5-hour drive south of Pittsburgh — according to a source. Prison camps are known to have little to no fencing and inmates have access to a prison commissary.

The sentence: U.S. District Judge John Blakey handed Madigan a 7.5-year prison sentence in June, four months after a jury convicted him of bribery conspiracy, wire fraud and other crimes. Madigan testified in his own defense at trial, and Blakey found that he lied to the jury.

Key context: Madigan’s surrender caps a massive corruption investigation that began in 2014. But it wasn’t until Jan. 29, 2019, that the Sun-Times revealed the FBI had secretly recorded Madigan inside his private law office. About 20 people have since been charged. Madigan is the 11th to report to prison. Three others are due behind bars in the coming weeks.

Read on here.

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Ex-speaker Madigan to begin 7.5-year prison sentence Monday

Posted in Crime, Politics, Taxes, The Center Square, Unions on October 11, 2025| 1 Comment »

Photo credit: Nam Y. Huh

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square

One day before the Illinois General Assembly’s fall veto session is scheduled to begin, one of the most powerful lawmakers in state history is headed to prison.

Michael J. Madigan, D-Chicago, served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021 and was speaker for all but two years between 1983 and 2021. He chaired the Democratic Party of Illinois for 23 years and led Chicago’s 13th Ward Democratic Organization.

A federal judge sentenced Madigan to 7.5 years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of $2.5 million earlier this year, after a jury convicted the former speaker on 10 counts of bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud and use of a facility to promote unlawful activity.

Judge John Robert Blakey presided over the trial of Madigan and codefendant Michael McClain. Blakey also sentenced Madigan and ordered the former speaker to report to prison at 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13.

Brian Gaines, Honorable W. Russell Arrington professor in State Politics at the University of Illinois, said he did not think Madigan would end up behind bars.

“I always thought he was a master of control and someone who had figured out just how to tiptoe along the lines of legality but stay on the right side,” Gaines told The Center Square.

More here.

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Days before fatal Mag Mile crash-and-grab, accused man posed with governor at ‘peacekeeper’ event — while wanted in 4 states

Posted in Crime, Preckwinkle's Rules of Order, Pritzker’s Rules of Order on September 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Kellen McMiller and Gov. JB Pritzker pose for a photo in Englewood on September 5, 2025. Inset is a mugshot taken after McMiller was arrested in 2023. (Obtained by CWBChicago; Chicago Police Department)

By Tim Hecke | CWBChicago

Less than a week before a crash-and-grab burglary crew killed an innocent man on the Magnificent Mile last Thursday, one of the men now charged with that murder donned a “peacekeeper” uniform and posed for a one-on-one picture with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

While that’s troubling, some law enforcement experts are more concerned that the accused man was able to stand directly next to the state’s most powerful executive despite having outstanding warrants in four states.

CWBChicago first reported on 35-year-old Kellen McMiller’s role as a “peacekeeper” last weekend. Now, we have more detail, including a picture of McMiller posing with Pritzker—a photo that has apparently been scrubbed from the state’s online press release about the West Side event.

More here.

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Democrat Assassination Culture Killed Charlie Kirk

Posted in Crime, Education, John Kass, OP/Ed, Politics on September 15, 2025| 2 Comments »

By John Kass | John Kass News

“When people stop talking, that’s when you get violence. That’s when civil war happens, because you start to think the other side is so evil and they lose their humanity“ Charlie Kirk

Why did the Democrat left assassinate conservative youth organizer Charlie Kirk?

Because the courageous Christian patriot engaged young Americans across the political aisle on important ideas and the left–despite the Democrat Media Complex that usually protects them–had no answer for what he was doing. The founder of the organization Turning Point USA had charisma, brains and moral clarity. He was an inspiration to America’s young.

Hard leftists had shut down public discourse at the universities, as they’d shut down open discourse in American newsrooms. Kirk invited face-to-face public debate with those who disagreed with him on his “prove me wrong” tour of college campuses. Young Americans loved him and some hated him.

What infuriated the left was that Democrats couldn’t compete with him or his ideas.

So they killed him.

The one who pulled the trigger allegedly is Tyler Robinson, 22, from Utah.

Whether he’s executed for Kirk’s murder or becomes another poster boy for Democrat violence—like killer Luigi Mangione–is not known yet.

But we do know that it was the assassination culture of the Democrat left that caused this.

Read more here.

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Barrington police officers stop resident from losing $30,000 to scammer

Posted in Crime, Deception, Lake & McHenry County Scanner on September 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Sergeant Chad Streff and Officers Jeff Risner and Brian Hansen are being heralded by the Barrington Police Department for preventing a scammer from getting $30,000 from a resident in August. | Photo: Barrington Police Department Facebook

By LMCS Staff Reporter

Three Barrington Police officers are being heralded for stopping a scammer from collecting $30,000 from an unsuspecting victim in a contest scam, police said.

Barrington Police Chief David Daigle said an unspecified bank in Barrington contacted officers with concerns that an elderly client was attempting to withdraw a large sum of cash under suspicious circumstances on August 28.

The bank reported that the client had already withdrawn $10,000 earlier in the day at another branch and was attempting to withdraw an additional $10,000, he said.

Upon learning this, Barrington Sergeant Chad Streff and Officers Jeff Risner and Brian Hansen immediately began efforts to safeguard the client by going to the residence, attempting multiple phone calls, and extending their search to several banks within Barrington and the surrounding communities.

They also proactively contacted neighboring branches to warn them of the situation and to prevent further withdrawals, Daigle said.

During the investigation, it was discovered that the victim had originally attempted to withdraw $30,000 in cash, but the bank refused to give the client that amount due to suspicions of fraud.

Working as a team, one officer remained at the residence while another contacted the client’s son to advise him of the ongoing scam, Daigle said.

When the client returned home with $30,000 in cash, the client was uncooperative and resistant to the officer’s efforts, Daigle said.

Read more here.

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