More than 750 officers have left the department since this time last year. There have been only 214 officers hired so far this year, but hiring numbers were double or more pre-pandemic; More than 1,200 officers were hired back in 2018.

“There have been plenty of confrontations between student activists and the Northwestern administration over the past few years, and one frequent subject of consternation among those activists is the school’s refusal to comment about a variety of issues these students believe to be important,” one student said.

The majority of the violence is in disadvantaged areas on the South and West sides of Chicago – where there has historically been a lack of jobs and advancement. The only exception to that trend is the mass shooting outside the McDonald’s at Chicago Avenue and State Street last week.

Stuart Loren: “Illinois and Chicago are examples of what happens when radicalism becomes normalized. When the ossification of one-party rule results in groupthink stifling smart-think. When looking good counts for more than doing good and public interests become subservient to special ones.”

“The anti-police movement’s crowning achievement was the election of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx…Foxx transforming the purpose of her office, combined with the weakness of Chicago’s elected lawmakers and the city’s activist media, have left police in Chicago knowing that real policing means risking everything in their lives.”

The Fox 32 crew was doing a live segment on gun violence Wednesday when a man walked behind reporter Joanie Lum and pointed what appeared to be a pistol at the camera as he passed by. He remained in view of the camera as he continued down the street, still appearing to be holding the firearm.

Around 7:05 p.m., officers responded to the shooting and found four parked vehicles that had been damaged by gunfire, according to police.

GN Bank stands alone in Illinois as the last Black-owned bank in the state. It stands out for other reasons too. Customers are complaining about problems they’re having with the bank. Some even fear losing their homes because of the bank’s Stone-Age record-keeping system. Further, the bank is under a federal consent order that noted several deficiencies that need fixing fast.

CPD Supt. David Brown said his department will focus on increased patrols, focused traffic safety missions, carjacking task force missions and gang and gun investigations and takedowns. Additional police resources will be dispatched to all communities in Chicago this weekend, and will remain there going forward.

Chicago police would have “the primary responsibility” for monitoring the cameras, a university spokesman said, and the university wants to reach an agreement with the city to access them, as well. UChicago would in return provide Chicago police with access to its on-campus surveillance cameras.

CARE teams, which are comprised of police officers trained in crisis intervention, a mental health professional and a paramedic, have already been handling crisis calls in Uptown, Lakeview and North Center on the North Side, and in Auburn Gresham and Chatham on the South Side.