At least eight people were wounded — five fatally — in shootings from Friday night through early Monday in Chicago, while two brothers were stabbed — one fatally.
Nine people were shot — including a woman who was seriously injured and a 16-year-old boy — in seven separate eruptions of violence late Wednesday and early Thursday on the South and West Sides.
Five men were in good condition Saturday after they were injured Friday night during a drive-by shooting on Chicago’s South Side, police said.
Today, the Chicago Police Department springs into action!
Dressed in sneakers and jeans Monday, Chicago Police Officer John Porter stepped cautiously into the crosswalk at the busy intersection of North Lawndale and West Belmont Avenues. It was Day One of a sting aimed at netting drivers who ignore crossing pedestrians.
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A few blocks away, uniformed officers flagged down offending motorists for a lecture and a warning. By the end of the two-hour sting, 101 drivers held warning citations.
The report isn’t specific enough to get an exact count, but it sounds like at least three officers are detailed to this operation. That seems like a lot of manpower just for handing out warning tickets.
Announced last week, the sting is a joint effort by the Chicago Department of Transportation, Chicago Police Department and the Northwest Chicago Drive With Care campaign. Drivers who don’t give the right of way are being issued warning citations. Real tickets will follow as the campaign is expanded to other locations, including downtown, officials said.
Ah, that makes more sense. The city is in a budget crisis, and police activity statistics are down. Enforcing a law that has been ignored for decades is a good way to add cash to the city’s coffers.
The sting, part of a larger awareness campaign, was funded through a traffic safety grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation.
So, I-DOT gives the city money with the condition that it be used to improve traffic safety. Then the city uses the money to pay for police officers to issue tickets in a crosswalk sting. Finally, the city receives the fines from the tickets, effectively converting the state grant money into general city funds.
It’s like a money laundering operation, but more annoying.
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