Tag: Chicago

Commentary: Despite What Biden Says, Guns Factor in Only a Small Percentage of Violent Crimes

RealClearWire
Police Car

In response to sharp increases in violent crime, President Biden stressed again last week that his administration is focused on “stemming the flow of firearms used to commit violent crimes.”  But critics warn that this “guns first” approach ignores a basic fact – about 92% of violent crimes in America do not involve firearms.

Although firearms were used in about 74% of homicides in 2019, they comprise less than 9% of violent crimes in America.

The vast majority of violent offenses – including robberies, rapes and other sex crimes – almost always involve other weapons or no weapons at all.

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Data Shows Increased Homicides in Six Major Cities Across the Country

Virginia Star Staff
Police line do not cross tape

The number of homicides in six major cities across the country has increased compared to last year, disproportionately affecting black people, according to crime data.

Black people have represented a massive share of murder victims in six major cities through the first six months of 2021 compared to last year, which itself saw a large crime surge, according to data analyzed by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The DCNF analyzed both police department data and homicide reports compiled by local news outlets to determine how black people have been victimized in the wake of the 2020 crime spike.

“We are seeing an uptick in violent crime across the country, specifically gun violence,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told The New York Times earlier this month.

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Conservative Group Sues Chicago Mayor for Racial Discrimination

Cooper Moran

Judicial Watch, a conservative legal foundation, joined The Daily Caller Foundation in a racial discrimination lawsuit against Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The lawsuit claims Lightfoot, a Democrat, refused his interview simply because he was a white reporter.

The lawsuit follows the Chicago mayor’s decision to only provide interviews to “black and brown journalists.” In a letter released defending the decision, Lightfoot claims she is protesting the “whiteness” of the journalism industry.

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Tulsi Gabbard Demands Chicago Mayor Resign for ‘Blatant Anti-White Racism’

Virginia Star Staff
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot

Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard accused Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot of “blatant anti-white racism” Friday for only granting one-on-one interviews to “black and brown” reporters.

“Mayor Lightfoot’s blatant anti-white racism is abhorrent,” Gabbard, a fellow Democrat, said. “I call upon President Biden, Kamala Harris, and other leaders of our county—of all races—to join me in calling for Mayor Lightfoot’s resignation.”

“Our leaders must condemn all racism, including anti-white,” Gabbard, who is Samoan, added.

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Violent Crime Surged in These Cities After Mass Black Lives Matter, Anti-Police Protests

Virginia Star Staff
Crowd protesting in Washington D.C.

Violent crime surged in several U.S. cities that saw massive Black Live Matter and anti-police protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death last summer.

The upswing of violent crime, including homicides, coincided with the protests, increased anti-police sentiment among Americans and declining morale in police departments, which have since struggled to recruit new officers. The number of murders alone increased by 36.7% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to public information compiled by data analytics reporter Jeff Asher.

“We are definitely at a critical manpower shortage here,” Louisville police union spokesperson Dave Mutchler told the Daily Caller News Foundation last week. “The climate that we all find ourselves in right now is a lot more demanding and stressful on officers.”

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Chicago May Require Approval to Chase Suspects on Foot

Virginia Star Staff
Chicago Police Officer

Chicago police officers may have to check with their supervisor before chasing suspects on foot, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday. The mayor promised to announce details of a new policy “soon,” Fox 32 Chicago reported.

“No one should die as a result of a foot chase,” Lightfoot said.

Chicago law enforcement’s use of force faced new scrutiny after an officer chased and fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo on March 29. Video of the incident released last week shows Toldedo dumping what appears to be a firearm a split-second before he turns and raises his hands. Allegedly, he was handed the gun by Ruben Roman, who allegedly had just used it to fire eight rounds at a passing vehicle. Apparently, no one was hit, according to Fox32.

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Statues of Four U.S. Presidents and Benjamin Franklin Among Those Under Review by Chicago Committee

Virginia Star Staff

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democrat, is vowing to confront the “hard truths of Chicago’s racial history,” which will include public input about the future of 41 statues in the city.

Four of the statues honor former U.S presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley and George Washington.

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Chicago Teachers Union Suddenly Agrees to Immediate In-Person Classes After Threatening to Strike

Virginia Star Staff

The Chicago Teachers Union approved a deal with city officials that ensures an immediate return to in-person instruction, the union said Wednesday morning.

The teachers union approved the Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) proposed plan to return to in-person classes in a 13,681-to-6,585 vote Wednesday morning, the union announced. In-person instruction was supposed to begin on Feb. 1, but was delayed after the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted to defy the city’s plan in January.

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BLM’s National Arm Gave Little to Local Chapters While Reaping Millions, Local BLM Chapters Allege in Statement

Admin

Ten local Black Lives Matter chapters issued a statement Monday accusing the movement’s national arm of providing little to no financial support to its local chapters, which are responsible for carrying out BLM’s mission.

The local chapters, including those of Washington, D.C., Chicago and Philadelphia, said in the statement that Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation has provided no acceptable financial transparency surrounding the “unknown millions of dollars” it has reaped since its founding in 2013.

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Former Obama-Biden Admin Official Behind Chicago’s $66M COVID Hospital That Treated Just 38 People

Virginia Star Staff

The city of Chicago spent $66 million turning McCormick Place — the largest convention center in North America — into a coronavirus hospital.

Although the facility treated a mere 38 patients during its month of operation, Chicago’s deputy mayor for economic development and Northwestern University trustee and former Obama administration official Samir Mayekar doubled down on his support of the hospital.

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‘Senseless’: 51 Shot, 10 Dead in Bloody Chicago Labor Day Weekend, Child Among the Dead

Virginia Star Staff

Dozens were shot and multiple people died over Labor Day weekend in Chicago as violence continues in the city, according to police.

A total of 51 people were hit by gunfire and 10 people died, Chicago police told ABC 7. An 8-year-old girl was shot fatally Monday in an SUV while waiting at a stoplight, authorities told the local outlet.

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Chicago Mayor Defends Ban on Protesters in Her Neighborhood Citing a Right to Safety

Virginia Star Staff

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended the heavy police presence outside her home where protesters are being blocked, claiming she has a right to safety.

“Given the threats that I have personally received. Given the threats to my home and my family, I’m gonna do everything to make sure that they are protected. I make no apologies whatsoever for that,” the Democratic mayor said.

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In New Jersey, Rep. Van Drew’s Democrat Challenger – Wife of Patrick Kennedy – Raises Money to Bail out Rapists and Defendants Charged with Terrorism, Kidnapping, Murder

Neil W. McCabe

The leftwing Democrat running against Rep. Jefferson H. “Jeff” Van Drew (R.-N.J.) has put her money where her mouth is , and is raising money to bail out rapists and at least one defendant facing terror terrorism charges at the same time she is challenging the one-time Democrat, who switched parties after voting against impeaching President Donald Trump.

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‘Egregious’: Democratic Mayors Ask Congress to Restrict to Restrict Deployment of Federal Officers to Quell Riots

Virginia Star Staff

Democratic mayors wrote to Congress Monday, asking for limitations on the Trump administration deployment of “unidentified federal officers” to their cities to calm protests, according to a letter posted on Twitter.

The mayors requested that federal agents be required to present identification except “on an undercover mission authorized by the local U.S. Attorney,” according to the letter Wheeler posted on Twitter. Six Democratic mayors, including Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland and Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago signed the letter.

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Two Christopher Columbus Statues Removed in Chicago After Violent Clashes Between Protesters and Police

Virginia Star Staff

Two Christopher Columbus statues were removed at the direction of Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Friday morning after protesters and police sparred outside the monuments last week.

Crews dismantled the statues in Grant Park and Arrigo Park under the cover of darkness, and the monuments had been removed from their pedestals by 6 a.m., according to NBC 5.

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Trump Deploys Feds to More States Under ‘Law-and-Order’ Push

The Associated Press

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will send federal agents into Chicago and Albuquerque to help combat rising crime, expanding the administration’s intervention in local enforcement as he runs for reelection under a “law-and-order” mantle.

Using the same alarmist language that he has employed in the past to describe illegal immigration, Trump painted Democrat-led cities as out of control and lashed out at the “radical left,” even though criminal justice experts say the increase in violence in some cities defies easy explanation.

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Newt Gingrich Commentary: Liberty and Justice for All Must Overcome Control and Vengeance for Some

Virginia Star Staff

As I watch the continuing efforts to defund or abolish police across the country, I have been struck by the radical Left’s willingness to stick with its dangerous ideology even when Americans are killed because of it.

According to Fox 32 Chicago, over Father’s Day weekend, there were 104 people shot and 14 killed in the Windy City. Tragically, these statistics include a 3-year-old who was shot while in the backseat of his father’s car. This follows the last week of May, in which 85 people were shot in Chicago, with 24 of them perishing.

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‘People Are Just F***ing Lawless Right Now’: Chicago Aldermen Got Heated in Call with Chicago Mayor During Protests

Virginia Star Staff

Aldermen begged, cried and cursed at Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot over the city’s response to protests during a heated conference call May 31, according to a recording obtained by WTTW News.

Lightfoot received criticism from members of Chicago City Council’s Black Caucus who accused her during the call of deploying 375 members of the Illinois National Guard to block off the central business district, PBS affiliate WTTW News reported.

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Kanye West Attends Chicago Protest, Donates $2M to Victims

The Associated Press

Kanye West has donated $2 million to support the families and legal teams for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.

A representative for the rapper confirmed that some of the money donated would fully cover college tuition costs for Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter, Gianna. Floyd died last month after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck for more than eight minutes as he pleaded for air.

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