Chicago police lieutenant disciplined for blogging about his superiors

Sounds like it's past time for the President of the Illinois NAACP to head to Chicago and give them a pass to save their City...

Police Lieutenant Blasts Department Superiors

A Chicago police Lieutenant is under fire for an Internet post that blasts the department’s leadership and the mayor.

“We are tired of a leaderless department. We are angry at an unsupportive mayor,” Lt. John Andrews wrote in a fiery critique of the department.

The post is titled, A City at War with Itself: Chicago - Fast Tracking to Anarchy.

Andrews argues that staff shortages, corruption and a leader he says the rank and file doesn't respect have all made the job of policing the streets of Chicago almost impossible.

"This is the very worst that I’ve seen this department.” Andrews said Tuesday in an interview with NBC Chicago. “We don’t have the capability of maintaining the social order in some of the Chicago neighborhoods. It’s taken its toll. Our people are tired, beat up, they’re undermanned, outgunned. It’s dangerous.”

Department brass didn't take too kindly to the post and hit Andrews with disciplinary action, claiming he "brought discredit to the Chicago police department."

"I don’t think leaders should sit and throw rocks at their respective agencies or at those who are actually trying to address those challenges," said Supt. Jody Weis

The president of the Chicago Police Lieutenants Association, however, is standing by Andrews.

"This is a constitutional issue infringing on his freedom of speech," said Bob Weisskopf in a written statement. "Just about every lieutenant believes in the spirit of what he wrote.”

Andrews began writing about a month ago, when Officer Michael Bailey became the third officer to be killed this summer. He claims morale in the almost 13,000-member force has hit an all-time low.

An internal affairs hearing scheduled for Friday will determine whether Andrews, a 26-year member of the force, will be able to keep his job. Source

Read Lt. John Andrews' entire post here.

Peoria has logged 17 homicides this year

As of Sunday, Peoria has logged 17 homicides this year, already tying last year's total. Here are the victims, in descending chronological order:

17. Anthony Johnson, 43, was shot multiple times Sunday outside the residence of his sister-in-law, Angela Johnson, 40, at 1215 N. Frink St. Angela and Johnson's stepson Justin Stanley, 28, also were shot and were transported to the hospital with what police called non-life-threatening wounds.

16. Orlando Davis, 30, was shot July 11 in the 2700 block of West Trewyn Avenue in the Harrison Homes. Another man also was shot during the incident. Davis' father had been shot hours earlier in the 2100 block of West Howett Street.

15. Adrian Ortega, 19, was shot June 24 behind his home at 912 N. Garfield Ave.

14. Walter Holmes Jr., 21, was shot June 17 in the 2700 block of West Trewyn Avenue in the Harrison Homes. A woman also was shot in the chest during the incident, which may be related to a separate shooting hours earlier in the 2800 block of West Wiswall Street.

13. Willie Martin, 36, died June 13 of injuries sustained in a fight at 1302 W. John H. Gwynn Jr. Ave. earlier that day. Six people have been charged with mob action or other offenses related to the death, though none face a charge of murder.

12. Orvette Davis, 41, was found dead of apparent strangulation May 13 in an alley between the 1400 blocks of Northeast Perry Avenue and Northeast Monroe Street. Edjuan Payne, 40, has been charged with murder and is in custody awaiting trial.

11. Taji Cross, 20, was found dead April 27 in her apartment at 1508 W. Tiffany Drive. An autopsy showed she died from strangulation.

10. Nick Renfro, 20, was shot May 16 outside his mother's Taft Homes apartment. Joyce Renfro also was shot in the leg during the incident but survived. Police continue to search for Dominick "Hammer" Sanders, 22, who is accused of the slaying.

6, 7, 8, 9. Sisters Youlandice Simmons, 24, and Brianna Simmons, 22, as well as Darresse Roddy, 19, died in a fire April 21 at 1212 N. University St. Darryl Miller Jr., 2, died from his injuries the next day. Aunterrio Barney, 33, of Chicago has been charged with murder and arson for the deaths and remains in custody pending trial.

5. Abdallah Kattoum, 31, was shot March 30 at Peoria Food Stop, 728 E. Frye Ave. Keith A. Little Jr. has been charged with first-degree murder, armed violence and armed robbery.

4. Jasmine Brittine, 19, was shot March 21 during an argument outside 2030 S. Oregon St. in the Harrison Homes. Preston D. Marizetts, 18, has been charged with murder and is in custody awaiting trial.

3, 2. Dorothy McDonald, 83, and her son, Stephen McDonald, 65, died in an arson fire discoveredMarch 16 at their home at 207 NE Rock Island Ave.

1. Martha Thomas, 38, was stabbed multiple times Jan. 19 in the 800 block of Northeast Adams Street. Clarence R. Thomas, her estranged husband, has been arrested for the slaying. He remains in custody awaiting trial.

Report: Percentage of high-poverty schools rises

The percentage of public schools where more than three quarters of students are eligible for free or reduced price lunch--a key indicator of poverty--has increased in the past decade, and children at these schools are less likely to attend college or be taught by teachers with advanced degrees.

The findings come from a special report on high poverty schools included in the 2010 Condition of Education study, which reports on a broad range of academic indicators across K-12 and higher education.

The U.S. Department of Education report released Thursday found that the percent of high poverty schools rose from 12 to 17 percent between the 1999-2000 and 2007-2008 school years, even before the current recession was fully felt. By comparison, the overall poverty rate for children increased from 17 to 18 percent, leading researchers to believe that that a higher percentage of poor kids were signing up for the meal program.

In all, there were 16,122 schools considered high poverty.

Students at these schools face a number of disadvantages:

-- A smaller percentage of teachers at high poverty elementary and secondary schools have earned at least a master's degree and a regular professional certification than those in low poverty schools.

-- They are less likely to graduate from high school; on average, 68 percent of 12th grade students in high poverty-schools graduated with a diploma in 2007-2008, compared to 91 percent at low poverty schools. The numbers have actually gotten worse for students at high poverty schools, dropping from 86 to 68 percent since 1999-2000.

-- After graduating from a high poverty school, 28 percent enrolled in a four-year institution, compared to 52 percent of graduates from low poverty schools. And while college enrollment has increased by 8 percent since 1999-2000 for graduates from higher income schools, the numbers have remained stable for those in poor schools.

"It's a persistent challenge," said Val Plisko, associate commissioner for early childhood, international and crosscutting studies at the National Center for Education Statistics, which produced the report.

Daria Hall, director of K-12 policy development at the Education Trust, a nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said students at high poverty schools tend to start out behind their counterparts at low poverty schools and get less support at school.

"We take those students who have less outside of school, and we give them less of everything we know contributes to achievement inside of school, too," Hall said.

Cities were more likely to have a larger percentage of high poverty schools. About 40 percent of city elementary schools fell into that category in 2007-2008, compared to 15 percent in towns and 13 percent in suburbs, according to the study. The report found a similar trend at the secondary school level.

The South and West had a higher percentage of public elementary schools that were high poverty than the Northeast and Midwest, 24 percent compared to 16 and 12 percent, respectively. Mississippi had the highest percentage nationwide -- 52 percent of its public elementary schools are considered high poverty. Louisiana, New Mexico, the District of Columbia and California were also pointed out as having higher percentages of low income elementary schools.

Students at high poverty schools are more likely to be minorities.

Hispanic students, for example, made up 46 percent of students at high poverty elementary schools and 11 percent of students at low poverty schools in the 2007-2008 school year. White students, by comparison, made up 14 percent of students at high poverty elementary schools, and 75 percent at low poverty elementary schools.

High poverty schools also have a larger percentage of students with limited English proficiency.

Students at these schools had lower average scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in reading and math than those at low poverty schools, though their scores have steadily increased in both subjects, and in some areas, such as 4th-grade reading, the achievement gap has decreased.

The Condition of Education report also included a number of other academic indicators, including overall figures on enrollment, high school graduation rates, and college attainment.

Enrollment among children 3 to 4 has increased from 20 to 53 percent between 1970 and 2008. Plisko said the increase, which leveled off at about 2000, could be attributed to an increase in the number of women entering the labor force during those decades, and the start of research suggesting early education for disadvantaged students.

The percentage of 16 to 24-year-old students not enrolled in school, and who do not have a high school diploma or equivalent degree, has dropped from 14 to 8 percent between 1980 and 2008. The total number of college post-secondary degrees earned has also risen markedly, from 2.3 to 3.1 million from 1997-1998 and 2007-2008.

"We're holding our own given the difficult times we live in," Plisko said.

CHRISTINE ARMARIO, Associated Press

Peoria has officially entered backwater status

This person who posted in the pjstar hit the nail on the head:

Busy Bee
1 day ago

If the state of architecture in a community is a benchmark of the condition of its culture, then Peoria has officially entered backwater status. EM Properties should be ashamed to present this to a downtown that needs all the help it can get help that is exponentially improved with the proven use of great design. The most shocking part is that EM Properties thought it was appropriate to entrust the design to an in-house corporate architect from Marriott for such a high profile project that is so important to downtown. Is it any surprise then that this edifice resembles a corporate highway motel of the most common kind? Even its fundamental urban elements are flimsy, dubious and irrationally executed. This design is tragically myopic. What a sad state of affairs.

EM Properties please, for the benefit of everyone, return to the drawing board. If your taste is lacking, hire someone who has it and knows what it looks like. May I suggest someone who understands how to use glass, modern materials and modern form that will complement the Pere through contrast, not pander to it especially in such a particularly unflattering and unconvincing manner. Peoria deserves better. You can do better. There's still time. Please don't let yourself be remembered for a handful of throwaway chain restaurants and a dreadfully ugly and offensively passe hotel mid-rise and parking garage where there should be a structure Peoria can be proud of and thankful to you for building.

Memo to the Media: Hate matters.

I. Want. My. Country. Back.

And implicit in such a statement is the follow up . . .

I. Will. Take. My. Country. Back.

By force? Well, that’s been the threat for months now.

The rhetoric is as clear as day, yet the media continues to ignore the very real impact behind the very real death threats we’ve seen in the past week.

The media has been irresponsible in its coverage of this hate. It has been negligent in giving such hate a platform on the national cable news networks. And this constant search for some false moral equivalency between Left and Right ignores the very real threat at hand. The media’s foremost concern at a time like this shouldn’t be the politics of the matter. No, instead the media should be concerned with calling out the next domestic terrorist before he or she tries something stupid.

This is not a game. This is not a civics lesson or some poli sci 101 course in undergrad. This is real. And, if it continues to ignore the obvious signs, the media’s shameful ploy for evenhandedness might overlook the makings of another tragedy . . . a tragedy that perhaps might still be avoided if the media were to simply wake up and do its job.

I will say this ahead of time. . .

Memo to the Media: Please spare your audience the fake outrage and crocodile tears if these threats turn into action. Spare us the stupid questions of How did this happen? and Who could have seen this coming? if these threats turn into action.

Spare us the phony documentaries and town hall discussions. Spare us your self-aggrandizing coverage of memorial services . . . your half-hearted commentaries . . . your disingenuous interviews with grieving friends and family members.

Media, if these threats should turn into action, please spare us any efforts to make us believe that you actually care. Spare any efforts to fool us into believing that you’ll actually listen.

Because you have not listened thus far. You have subjected real concerns of hate to the same, tired, selfish, ratings-grabbing back and forth of political gamesmanship and infotainment that you try to pass off as news every single day. You have ignored the culpability of elected officials and their irresponsible use of hyperbolic rhetoric.

What is the answer? Well, the media can start by acknowledging its role as an enabler. Politicians who align themselves with this rhetoric are inciting violence. . . Politicians who ignore this danger are not credible. . . Sarah Palin’s rhetoric isn’t cute or “folksy”. . . and “concern” over the size of government is no excuse for blatant and unapologetic threats of violence.

Hate is hate. Stop giving it cover. Call them out for what they are.