Chicago... nice city you have here

[pr0ner]

Unreal.

[ImLawBoy]

Widespread looting overnight into early morning. City completely out of control.

Looks like it was widespread downtown, but not throughout the city based on those pictures (and based on my trip to the grocery store this morning, where it seemed like business as usual and no new damage). I did hear that the new Target at California and Milwaukee got hit, but I haven't seen any confirmation.

[LawBeefaroni]

North and Clybourn corridor got ransacked. The strip mall with the Best Buy got hit pretty hard.


Also, something currently still going on Madison and Pulaski.





Storms with 70MPH winds predicted this afternoon though so...yay Mother Nature.

[ImLawBoy]

North and Clybourn corridor got ransacked. The strip mall with the Best Buy got hit pretty hard.

Yeah, I remember hearing about that now. That's not on my route to the grocery store, so I didn't see it. Makes sense since they've got the Apple store there too.

Storms with 70MPH winds predicted this afternoon though so...yay Mother Nature.

I got an e-mail from Block Club Chicago promising me 100mph winds. Good thing the city still hasn't bothered cutting back the trees I reported a month and a half ago that are likely to cause more damage when giant branches break off and plunge into car windshields.

[Isgrimnur]

You know what will help ease tensions in Chicago? Getting called out by the parent of a child killed at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS attack who has leveraged his fifteen minutes into being a political hack.

Spoiler:

[hepcat]

My entire neighborhood in Rogers Park looks like a bomb went off. There are tree limbs everywhere but on the trees they came from. Took me 20 minutes to find a parking spot amidst all the debris. It’s odd because it happened and was over during the 15 minutes it took me to get from Skokie to my apartment.

[LawBeefaroni]

I bailed out of work early but still got caught in that this. Dodging branches and debris blowing up and down Western.


Board up crews are probably out of wood at this point.

You know what will help ease tensions in Chicago? Getting called out by the parent of a child killed at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS attack who has leveraged his fifteen minutes into being a political hack.

Spoiler:

Except they were. His not-so-subtle whistle isn't even clever.

Timberland store is damaged it got looted broke out overnight in the Loop and surrounding neighbourhoods on Monday in Chicago.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Widespread looting mostly peaceful protesting overnight into early morning. City completely out of control mostly peaceful.

FTFY.

[LawBeefaroni]

There wasn't even a pretense or screen of protesting. It was straight up looting. There was a small group in Englewood when the rumor was.started that it was a 15-YO kid attacked and killed by police. This was completely false. Other than that misguided impromptu uproar, nothing.


This was in a previous link bit it's worth highlighting. This is how brazen it's getting.

Guy just opens fire in a crowd to break a window. Car is waiting for him, he unloads a few more rounds and rides off for the next attempt. Happening all over, all night.

[Anonymous Bosch]

There wasn't even a pretense or screen of protesting. It was straight up looting.

[Alefroth]

There wasn't even a pretense or screen of protesting. It was straight up looting.

Who's the audience, em2?

[ImLawBoy]

Going on about 5 hours without power. At least I bought a fridge full of groceries this morning.

[hepcat]

That was my fear, but the power hasn’t dropped out once. Color me impressed. I did have to park about 82 miles from my place though.

[LawBeefaroni]

We were out when I got home but it came back on about 40 minutes later. Out for about 90 mins according to the wife.

[Alefroth]

I bet there were still flights into ORD.

[hentzau]

We had one flicker that dropped my router but after that everything stayed up. Haven’t gone out to see limb damage yet.

[Anonymous Bosch]

There wasn't even a pretense or screen of protesting. It was straight up looting.

Who's the audience, em2?

Right, because none but he could appreciate the Newspeak irony of referring to violent looters as mostly peaceful. It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.

[Alefroth]

There wasn't even a pretense or screen of protesting. It was straight up looting.

Who's the audience, em2?

Right, because none but he could appreciate the the dig at people resisting the normalization of peaceful protesters as anarchist terrorists. It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.

FTFY

[Anonymous Bosch]

Right, because none but he could appreciate the the dig at people resisting the normalization of peaceful protesters as anarchist terrorists. It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.

FTFY

Since the target of my 'dig' evidently went right over your head, the following article from the New York Times unambiguously spells it out in the very first sentence:

Abolish the Police? Those Who Survived the Chaos in Seattle Aren’t So Sure

What is it like when a city abandons a neighborhood and the police vanish? Business owners describe a harrowing experience of calling for help and being left all alone.

SEATTLE —Faizel Khan was being told by the news media and his own mayor that the protests in his hometown were peaceful, with “a block party atmosphere.”

But that was not what he saw through the windows of his Seattle coffee shop. He saw encampments overtaking the sidewalks. He saw roving bands of masked protesters smashing windows and looting.

Young white men wielding guns would harangue customers as well as Mr. Khan, a gay man of Middle Eastern descent who moved here from Texas so he could more comfortably be out. To get into his coffee shop, he sometimes had to seek the permission of self-appointed armed guards to cross a border they had erected.

“They barricaded us all in here,” Mr. Khan said. “And they were sitting in lawn chairs with guns.”

For 23 days in June, about six blocks in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood were claimed by left-wing demonstrators and declared police-free. Protesters hailed it as liberation — from police oppression, from white supremacy — and a catalyst for a national movement.

In the wake of the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police, the Black Lives Matter movement is calling to defund the police, arguing that the criminal justice system is inherently racist.

Leaders in many progressive cities are listening. In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced a plan to shift $1 billion out of the police budget. The Minneapolis City Council is pitching a major reduction, and the Seattle City Council is pushing for a 50 percent cut to Police Department funding. (The mayor said that plan goes too far.)

Some even call for “abolishing the police” altogether and closing down precincts, which is what happened in Seattle.

That has left small-business owners as lonely voices in progressive areas, arguing that police officers are necessary and that cities cannot function without a robust public safety presence. In Minneapolis, Seattle and Portland, Ore., many of those business owners consider themselves progressive, and in interviews they express support for the Black Lives Matter movement. But they also worry that their businesses, already debilitated by the coronavirus pandemic, will struggle to survive if police departments and city governments cannot protect them.

On Capitol Hill, business crashed as the Seattle police refused to respond to calls to the area. Officers did not retake the region until July 1, after four shootings, including two fatal ones.

[Zarathud]

That is everyday life in many abandoned Black communities. The streets in many neighborhoods are uncontrolled, and crimes go unsolved so the gangs settle scores.

There is a known drug house within 1/2 mile of my current home, but my last home had one on the next block. The police station is 1/2 mile the other direction in this neighborhood.

But if you’ve been paying attention, you know civilization comes from most people doing the right thing. Not from the police force.

[LawBeefaroni]

Trees or large branches down on just about every block this morning. Lots of other damage, light poles down, traffic lights out. Saw caution tape in front of Half Acre on Lincoln and got worried for my favorite local brewery. As we got closer, saw that huge stone blocks had fallen off Wild Goose next door, smashing into the sidewalk. Looked like maybe cap stones? *shudder*

[ImLawBoy]

Power came back shortly after midnight. We were vigilant about keeping the fridge closed - we only opened for my oldest's pre-mixed food and twins milk for dinner (I even drank bourbon instead of beer last night!), and everything was still very cold. Freezer meats weren't soft in the slightest.

Our street has definitely looked worse after some storms. There's a car with a smashed windshield (that might have been avoided had the city trimmed the tree out front like I requested), but the street itself and sidewalk appear unimpeded.

[Jeff V]

Our power went out for nearly 60 seconds. Of course, that meant nearly 5 minutes until internet connectivity was re-established and the kids were already showing signs of going feral. Flashing numbers on the stove and microwave are still mocking me. I checked outside for damage and some of the poenys are more horizontal than vertical. A dead tree was knocked over along the bike path near our house, it was a small one, 2" diameter, considered dragging it home to use as kindling in my fire pit.

[Alefroth]

Looks like there was actually a tornado.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Chicago Property Management Company President Says Residents, Staff Feel Unsafe Amid Crime, Unrest, Demands Action From Mayor

CHICAGO (CBS) — The president of a Chicago-based property management company issued a letter to Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday – saying residents and building staff do not feel safe amid civil unrest, looting, and crime in the city, and blamed the city for a lack of support.

The letter was issued by Steven P. Levy, president of the Sudler property management company. The company represents more than 100 local condominium associations, more than 22,000 homeowners, and about 38,000 residents.

Levy wrote that ensuring the wellbeing of his tenants is one of his primary duties, and he said that responsibility “has been made much more difficult in recent months due to the lack of responsiveness and support from the City of Chicago.”

He wrote that the residents he represents are afraid enough of being a victim of violence in the city that they have changed their daily routines and are in many cases thinking of moving away.

“The homeowners we represent do not feel safe. From Hyde Park to the Gold Coast to Edgewater, residents across the city are adjusting their daily routines out of fear. They’re avoiding neighborhood walks after 6:00 p.m. At night, they don’t stand too close to their windows or dare to enjoy their outdoor balconies or terraces. Their children, who will likely be homebound for the remainder of the year, are forced to play indoors because local parks and playgrounds have been inhabited with litter, vandalism, and crime,” Levy wrote. “This is not a way to live, and I can’t fault homeowners when they tell me they’re considering leaving Chicago.”

Levy also wrote his property supervisors and managers, as well as unionized door, janitorial, and valet staff, have been hampered in their ability to do their jobs.

“Staff have fearfully traveled through downtown in the middle of looting sprees just to report to their shifts on time. They’ve dragged dumpsters in front of doorways as additional blockades, rehearsed and implemented lockdown procedures, called 911 on repeat, and for some, have been face-to-face with criminals threatening violence,” Levy wrote.

Following hours of destruction during looting, staff have also had to sweep up broken glass in building lobbies as residents placed worried calls, the letter said.

Levy wrote he was demanding change on behalf of tens of thousands of people.

“We need to you to fulfill your duty of ensuring the well-being of all Chicago residents,” the letter said. “Without an immediate change, I’m concerned that homeowners will flee, properties will stand vacant, business will fail, and the Chicago we both know will be a shell of what it once was and what it could be.”

[LawBeefaroni]

I know several people who have moved into second homes or vacation homes for the past few months for COVID and are considering making it permanent.


See NYC:

The number of empty apartments for rent in Manhattan soared to their highest level in recent history, topping 13,000, as residents fled the city and landlords struggled to find new tenants.

The number of apartments for rent, or listing inventory, more than doubled over last year and set a record for the 14 years since data started being collected, according to a report from Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel. As the number of apartments listed for rent hit 13,117, the number of new leases signed fell by 23%.


July also saw the largest fall in rental rates in nearly a decade, dropping 10%. Landlords are now offering an average of 1.7 months of free rent to try to lure tenants, according to the report, which is also a recent high.

[Isgrimnur]

Housing crash 2.0! Coupled with commercial real estate!

[ImLawBoy]

I'm sorry, but that letter reads like grandstanding. Levy offers no suggestions for what the city should do to make things better. And what, realistically, can be done? Increase the police presence? That'll certainly reduce protests (and associated looting) in the current environment. Block off areas of the city where his clients live? Sounds really super feasible. Release video of the looters to try to identify them? Wait, they've already done that.

I want to see violence reduced in Chicago as much as anyone - I'm raising 3 kids here. This letter is beyond worthless, though.

[LawBeefaroni]

I'm sorry, but that letter reads like grandstanding. Levy offers no suggestions for what the city should do to make things better. And what, realistically, can be done? Increase the police presence? That'll certainly reduce protests (and associated looting) in the current environment. Block off areas of the city where his clients live? Sounds really super feasible. Release video of the looters to try to identify them? Wait, they've already done that.

I want to see violence reduced in Chicago as much as anyone - I'm raising 3 kids here. This letter is beyond worthless, though.

It puts more pressure on Lightfoot. Right or wrong it's putting this at her feet. And with the value she puts on her national profile, you know she'll take notice.

Block off areas of the city where his clients live? Sounds really super feasible.

It works for Lightfoot's home. She has barricades and 24-7 police presence, even when she's not there for days at a time.

[ImLawBoy]

I'm sorry, but that letter reads like grandstanding. Levy offers no suggestions for what the city should do to make things better. And what, realistically, can be done? Increase the police presence? That'll certainly reduce protests (and associated looting) in the current environment. Block off areas of the city where his clients live? Sounds really super feasible. Release video of the looters to try to identify them? Wait, they've already done that.

I want to see violence reduced in Chicago as much as anyone - I'm raising 3 kids here. This letter is beyond worthless, though.

It puts more pressure on Lightfoot. Right or wrong it's putting this at her feet. And with the value she puts on her national profile, you know she'll take notice.

More pressure on her to do what? She's not sitting on some plan to fix things that she's just waiting for enough pressure to implement. Again, it's beyond worthless.

Block off areas of the city where his clients live? Sounds really super feasible.

It works for Lightfoot's home. She has barricades and 24-7 police presence, even when she's not there for days at a time.

I know that this more of a swipe at Lightfoot than a substantive comment, but I'll take it at face value for discussion's sake. It's a little easier to have police protect one residence than it is to have them cordon off the "more than 100 local condominium associations, more than 22,000 homeowners, and about 38,000 residents" that Levy represents.

[LawBeefaroni]

I'm sorry, but that letter reads like grandstanding. Levy offers no suggestions for what the city should do to make things better. And what, realistically, can be done? Increase the police presence? That'll certainly reduce protests (and associated looting) in the current environment. Block off areas of the city where his clients live? Sounds really super feasible. Release video of the looters to try to identify them? Wait, they've already done that.

I want to see violence reduced in Chicago as much as anyone - I'm raising 3 kids here. This letter is beyond worthless, though.

It puts more pressure on Lightfoot. Right or wrong it's putting this at her feet. And with the value she puts on her national profile, you know she'll take notice.

More pressure on her to do what? She's not sitting on some plan to fix things that she's just waiting for enough pressure to implement. Again, it's beyond worthless.

Isn't that her job as the city mayor? Come up with a plan to fix things? The pressure is on her to do her job. I mean is everyone else supposed to fix this without any kind of leadership?

Block off areas of the city where his clients live? Sounds really super feasible.

It works for Lightfoot's home. She has barricades and 24-7 police presence, even when she's not there for days at a time.

I know that this more of a swipe at Lightfoot than a substantive comment, but I'll take it at face value for discussion's sake. It's a little easier to have police protect one residence than it is to have them cordon off the "more than 22,000 homeowners, and about 38,000 residents" that Levy represents.

Take it at face value.

The 2 or 3 cars that get assigned to her [often empty] house (this doesn't include her full time personal security retinue) would probably otherwise cover a beat of at least 10-20K residents.

Days off are being cancelled, cops are on 12 hour shifts and there are shortages of squads in every district. Oh, and we've already the full year's police overtime budget after a $41M month of June. Is she not their boss?

[ImLawBoy]

I'm sorry, but that letter reads like grandstanding. Levy offers no suggestions for what the city should do to make things better. And what, realistically, can be done? Increase the police presence? That'll certainly reduce protests (and associated looting) in the current environment. Block off areas of the city where his clients live? Sounds really super feasible. Release video of the looters to try to identify them? Wait, they've already done that.

I want to see violence reduced in Chicago as much as anyone - I'm raising 3 kids here. This letter is beyond worthless, though.

It puts more pressure on Lightfoot. Right or wrong it's putting this at her feet. And with the value she puts on her national profile, you know she'll take notice.

More pressure on her to do what? She's not sitting on some plan to fix things that she's just waiting for enough pressure to implement. Again, it's beyond worthless.

Isn't that her job as the city mayor? Come up with a plan to fix things? The pressure is on her to do her job. I mean is everyone else supposed to fix this without any kind of leadership?

She should absolutely come up with some kind of plan. How, exactly, does this letter do anything to get that plan in place. Does it offer suggestions on what to do? Does it offer any assistance? Does it offer to host a summit to come up with ideas? Does it do anything other than let Levy stroke his ego by issuing a letter to the mayor and cc'ing the media?

Block off areas of the city where his clients live? Sounds really super feasible.

It works for Lightfoot's home. She has barricades and 24-7 police presence, even when she's not there for days at a time.

I know that this more of a swipe at Lightfoot than a substantive comment, but I'll take it at face value for discussion's sake. It's a little easier to have police protect one residence than it is to have them cordon off the "more than 22,000 homeowners, and about 38,000 residents" that Levy represents.

Take it at face value.

The 2 or 3 cars that get assigned to her [often empty] house (this doesn't include her full time personal security retinue) would probably otherwise cover a beat of at least 10-20K residents.

Days off are being cancelled, cops are on 12 hour shifts and there are shortages of squads in every district. Oh, and we've already the full year's police overtime budget after a $41M month of June. Is she not their boss?

Complain about her security all you want. It's completely irrelevant to whether or not she could cordon off the "more than 100 local condominium associations, more than 22,000 homeowners, and about 38,000 residents" that Levy represents, which is what you originally responded to with complaints about her home security.

[Isgrimnur]

So supposedly a bunch of people are complaining about a lack of protection of their property from people protesting against the government taking their lives.

Seems about par for the course.

[Kurth]

So supposedly a bunch of people are complaining about a lack of protection of their property from people protesting against the government taking their lives.

Seems about par for the course.

I get the spirit of what I think you’re saying here, but it just seems a bit too much. Because people are legitimately protesting injustice and systemic racism, other people should just suck it up and not complain if the authorities are not protecting their property? As a society, we should just accept looting and property destruction because police brutality? Almost seems like a Tucker Carlson talking point.

[LawBeefaroni]

So supposedly a bunch of people are complaining about a lack of protection of their property from people protesting against the government taking their lives.

Seems about par for the course.

Actually, it has nothing to do with protesting. This it organized theft and looting under the cover of protest and unrest.

[LawBeefaroni]

Complain about her security all you want. It's completely irrelevant to whether or not she could cordon off the "more than 100 local condominium associations, more than 22,000 homeowners, and about 38,000 residents" that Levy represents, which is what you originally responded to with complaints about her home security.

So compromise. Pull the cars off her house and put them on a beat. Let her private security detail cover her and her family. If she wants to have someone guard her property while she's not there she can pull from her detail. It's a bad look and bad practice when there are manpower shortages citywide and theft and violence is going on unchecked. She hired outside help anyway.

[ImLawBoy]

Complain about her security all you want. It's completely irrelevant to whether or not she could cordon off the "more than 100 local condominium associations, more than 22,000 homeowners, and about 38,000 residents" that Levy represents, which is what you originally responded to with complaints about her home security.

So compromise. Pull the cars off her house and put them on a beat. Let her private security detail cover her and her family. If she wants to have someone guard her property while she's not there she can pull from her detail. It's a bad look and bad practice when there are manpower shortages citywide and theft and violence is going on unchecked. She hired outside help anyway.

Again, rag on her security detail all you want. It's not relevant to the point I was making.

I wondered what Levy hoped to accomplish from this letter. I threw out a few things that he could have at least suggested, since his letter made no suggestions. One of my suggestions (which was somewhat facetious) was to cordon off all of Levy's properties from the rest of the city. I then noted that this wasn't feasible. Your counter to this was that Lightfoot has cordoned off her house. My point is that the feasibility of cordoning off one residence says nothing about the feasibility of cordoning off the "more than 100 local condominium associations, more than 22,000 homeowners, and about 38,000 residents" that Levy represents.

So, whether or not Lightfoot's security is reasonable is moot. Whether or not the resources used to secure her residence would be better served elsewhere is moot. Nothing about her personal security gives Levy's letter any value, nor does it make cordoning off tens of thousands of residents scattered throughout the city any more or less feasible. Her personal security is a red herring in this discussion.

[LawBeefaroni]

Complain about her security all you want. It's completely irrelevant to whether or not she could cordon off the "more than 100 local condominium associations, more than 22,000 homeowners, and about 38,000 residents" that Levy represents, which is what you originally responded to with complaints about her home security.

So compromise. Pull the cars off her house and put them on a beat. Let her private security detail cover her and her family. If she wants to have someone guard her property while she's not there she can pull from her detail. It's a bad look and bad practice when there are manpower shortages citywide and theft and violence is going on unchecked. She hired outside help anyway.

Again, rag on her security detail all you want. It's not relevant to the point I was making.

I wondered what Levy hoped to accomplish from this letter. I threw out a few things that he could have at least suggested, since his letter made no suggestions. One of my suggestions (which was somewhat facetious) was to cordon off all of Levy's properties from the rest of the city. I then noted that this wasn't feasible. Your counter to this was that Lightfoot has cordoned off her house. My point is that the feasibility of cordoning off one residence says nothing about the feasibility of cordoning off the "more than 100 local condominium associations, more than 22,000 homeowners, and about 38,000 residents" that Levy represents.

So, whether or not Lightfoot's security is reasonable is moot. Whether or not the resources used to secure her residence would be better served elsewhere is moot. Nothing about her personal security gives Levy's letter any value, nor does it make cordoning off tens of thousands of residents scattered throughout the city any more or less feasible. Her personal security is a red herring in this discussion.

I don't think it is. The letter is taking her to task. Yeah it's grandstanding. But you also asked what she could do. As a leader she could reallocate resources appropriately, starting with the resources allocated to protecting her personal property. This would be a substantial gesture. Not doing it is also a substantial gesture.

Precisely because, as you say, scaling it up equitably not feasible. Why is her property more important than a mag mile flagship or a West side grocery?

[ImLawBoy]

Complain about her security all you want. It's completely irrelevant to whether or not she could cordon off the "more than 100 local condominium associations, more than 22,000 homeowners, and about 38,000 residents" that Levy represents, which is what you originally responded to with complaints about her home security.

So compromise. Pull the cars off her house and put them on a beat. Let her private security detail cover her and her family. If she wants to have someone guard her property while she's not there she can pull from her detail. It's a bad look and bad practice when there are manpower shortages citywide and theft and violence is going on unchecked. She hired outside help anyway.

Again, rag on her security detail all you want. It's not relevant to the point I was making.

I wondered what Levy hoped to accomplish from this letter. I threw out a few things that he could have at least suggested, since his letter made no suggestions. One of my suggestions (which was somewhat facetious) was to cordon off all of Levy's properties from the rest of the city. I then noted that this wasn't feasible. Your counter to this was that Lightfoot has cordoned off her house. My point is that the feasibility of cordoning off one residence says nothing about the feasibility of cordoning off the "more than 100 local condominium associations, more than 22,000 homeowners, and about 38,000 residents" that Levy represents.

So, whether or not Lightfoot's security is reasonable is moot. Whether or not the resources used to secure her residence would be better served elsewhere is moot. Nothing about her personal security gives Levy's letter any value, nor does it make cordoning off tens of thousands of residents scattered throughout the city any more or less feasible. Her personal security is a red herring in this discussion.

I don't think it is. The letter is taking her to task. Yeah it's grandstanding. But you also asked what she could do. As a leader she could reallocate resources appropriately, starting with the resources allocated to protecting her personal property. This would be a substantial gesture. Not doing it is also a substantial gesture.

Precisely because, as you say, scaling it up equitably not feasible. Why is her property more important than a mag mile flagship or a West side grocery?

It's a total red herring with respect to (1) whether the letter had any value, and (2) whether or not it is feasible to cordon off Levy's properties. I will grant that I asked what she could have done and your point is relevant in the larger discussion about that. It doesn't change the fact that Levy's letter contained absolutely zero suggestions or offers to assist. It was a worthless letter.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Chicago looters smash Ronald McDonald House with terrified sick kids inside

Sick kids and their families cowered in fear inside a Chicago Ronald McDonald House as looters smashed the front door while trying to get inside this week, according to staff.

The charity says more than 30 families, as well as some sick children with them, were left “frightened” by those who smashed windows as they ransacked the Windy City during Monday’s chaotic crime spree.

“[They were] very concerned there was a lot of activity right in front of the house, people making choices that could put them at risk and put our families at risk, so the staff was frightened,” Ronald McDonald House Charities’ Lisa Mitchell told ABC7.

The attacked site houses families so they and their children can be close to Lurie Children’s Hospital, which should be an easy and safe trip just five blocks away.

“They are already in a really, really difficult spot, and having this kind of additional stress and worry about getting to and from the hospital … because of safety concerns is just doubling the strain,” Mitchell said.

Several windows were smashed and the front door had to be boarded up, but nobody was injured, the charity said.

Mitchell told CBS Chicago that it was vital that families “get the rest they need while they have a child in the hospital seeking care.”

“So it’s so important that anything that might be going on outside, we maintain our care for families,” she stressed.