Chicago shootings YTD

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Fred Stiening

20130321-230448.jpg

Note this is shootings, not deaths

This entry was posted in Art's Big Adventure, Dead Things, Gun ownership. Bookmark the permalink.

29 Responses to Chicago shootings YTD

  1. Nidster says:
    March 22, 2013 at 12:57 am

    Still, this is indicative of a city out-of-control. With virtually no national media coverage about the situation in the Chicago area while a national, and intensive debate, over ‘gun control’ is ongoing, it brings the whole situation into a much more clear focus regarding whose guns ‘they’ are desperate to control.

    • Art Stone says:
      March 22, 2013 at 2:08 am

      Do you think there is any chance in Hell the Democrats will realize their gun control laws are causing this?

      When I was here in 1991, one of the talk topics on Don Wade and Roma was crime on the CTA. The station with the biggest crime problem was the Washington Street station on the Blue Line – the Subway / El line to O’Hare. The robbers knew there was zero chance people riding in from O’Hare were carrying loaded guns, and probably carrying significant amounts of cash.

      • Nidster says:
        March 22, 2013 at 3:59 am

        Label me as a cynic, but I believe the Dems are in complete denial, or they are completly blind to the root causes. There is no denying that ‘robbers’ prefer to steal from folks who do not have guns.

        Think about what occurs in nature every day: predators are cautious when attempting to bring down their prey and are extremely wary of being injured by their prey. Predators target prey who offer little to no defense against them. Hence, if one wants to prevent being the ‘prey’ then the best defense is to show strength. That is a vital part of defense.

        • Art Stone says:
          March 22, 2013 at 11:20 pm

          And a person who has a gun doesn’t exude fear. A couple times in Chicago when I sensed danger, I put my hand in my jacket as if I might have a gun. That’s all it took and they backed off. The closest I came to getting in trouble wasn’t riding down to South Chicago or getting off at the wrong place in a Hispanic neighborhood – it was a group of 4 drunk suburban white young men in Skokie looking for someone to randomly beat up. I apparently looked vulnerable. But I was two blocks from “home”, knew what my options were, and walked quickly, but not in fear. If you’re going to attack me, you’re going to have to do it overtly and likely in front of witnesses who are driving by in their cars on a busy street.

          They ultimately decided to cross the street to McDonalds – I’m pretty sure they created enough trouble the police were called.

    • Art Stone says:
      March 22, 2013 at 2:23 am

      I live under the a in O’Hare – my office is under the I-90 sign, although I only go in once a week for a meeting.

      Google Maps says it would take 2 hours to walk to O’Hare – but if the Blue Line is running, it is much less than that. As it warms up, I need to start walking and build my leg strength and endurance.

  2. Nidster says:
    March 22, 2013 at 3:38 am

    Yep, build up your endurance. Appears you have some savy regarding what and when to do it, but be careful. On a humorous note, a relative in Wisconsin emailed a nice ‘spring-time’ photo of some deer in their pasture that was taken the 1’st day of Spring. The deer were still up to their neck’s in snow!!!!!!!!

  3. Nidster says:
    March 22, 2013 at 3:49 am

    We could get a blizzard or some frigid weather might blow into our area, but mostly we are concerned that nighttime temps are still getting down to freezing!!! Temps will warm up soon and nightime they will be in the 40’s and perhaps in the 50’s. Nice!!!

  4. janderson021 says:
    March 22, 2013 at 8:29 am

    I need some Chicago advice. I’m coming to Chicago next week, Tuesday, with my wife and grandson (6 yo). We’re taking Amtrak to get there, and staying @ the silversmith hotel on Wabash through Sunday morning. We bought a ‘see Chicago’ type package, see the museums, aquarium, planetarium. No car, taxis and/or train to get around, just taxis and/or train (no experience with Chicago train).
    After looking at the map I’m concerned as my ccw is no good anywhere in Illinois.
    Any advice, what areas or places to stay away from?
    Anything you might care to share I would appreciate very much.

    Thanks,
    John

    • janderson021 says:
      March 22, 2013 at 8:32 am

      Edit this sentence:
      No car; we’ll use taxis and/or train to get around & have no experience with Chicago train.

      Regards

    • Art Stone says:
      March 22, 2013 at 10:07 pm

      Back in 1989, I lived for close to a year a couple blocks from there.

      The general advice is to avoid doing something stupid – like going to a bar and getting wasted and spill out on the street at 2 AM.

      Wabash street is where to “el” loops. Expect to hear them rumble by all night and see very bright flashes of light (assuming the windows face the tracks). Because the tracks are overhead, it can be very noisy and a bit intimidating – but not really unsafe. Expect a beggar on every block, and people running boohoo scams. Expect they’ll know you are tourists.

      The Amtrak station is a bit too far away from the loop for my liking – it depends a little on the time of day and how much you like to walk. Cabs in Chicago are pretty straight forward. If the taxi is looking for customers, his in service light will be on. You don’t have to call for a taxi and you don’t have to walk to a taxi stand. You find a place where it is moderately safe for the cab to stop, stand by the curb with your hand up and yell “Taxi”. The hand by itself might be enough. Of course the driver is hoping you’re a fare to O’hare and may be disappointed, but once he stops, he had to take you where you want to go.

      At Union station and the touristy places, there will be an official taxi stand with taxis in a line. You should get in the first one in line. If your tingly senses suggest you don’t like that cab, find a way to stall until he gets a fare and leaves 😉

      The one really iffy place is going to be the Museum of Science and industry. It’s an island surrounded by an extremely bad neighborhood. If you’re on a tour bus, you’ll be fine, but don’t get the notion to wander off looking for an ice cream store. “Safety” in Hyde park (where Obama lived) extends inward only a few blocks.

      North Michigan Avenue is probably where you’ll spend much of your time. Touristy things, expensive stores to shop in, the Tribune Tower (WGN studio), water tower. The confusing thing is N Michigan avenue is actually on the 2nd floor. There is a lower Michigan avenue and some of the cross streets are at ground level.

      As far as trains go, there is a basic subdivision – the CTA are the city sub/el trains. People generally avoid eye contact and don’t interact with each other. The front car has a seat where you can see everything and you’re next to the driver. There is a trick to knowing where a train will stop – trains are in multiples of 2 – 2,4,6 or 8. Down by the track, you’ll see orange signs that say 2,4,6, or 8. That’s where the front of the train will stop depending on how many cars it has. 8 is usually only during rush hour on weekdays. At 3 AM, there will only be two. Most the time, 6 would be normal, maybe 4 on a weekend. The CTA during the day is mostly safe – don’t wear an expensive watch, carry an expensive camera, etc. The Dan Ryan line is iffy – it might even be being rebuilt currently. The other line that goes toward the museum of science and industry is a definite “don’t”. The Loop itself is fine, Near North is fine if the sun is out. Lincoln Park Zoo is worth seeing. Riding the 146 or 147 express bus gives you a good view of the lake and the city. You wind up at Loyola University, more or less.

      Generally, you don’t want to go South of Roosevelt and don’t go inland more than a couple blocks west of the North / South subway line (the Red Line)

      The other trains are the Metra trains. Pretty much everything in Chicago is defined by the railroads that all connected in Chicago. Commuter lines run along all of the freight lines. Metra trains don’t stop inside of Chicago. They’re safer and cleaner and more expensive. Des Plaines might be a good destination – it has a “downtown” right at the train station – restaurants, retail stores. The cars are all double deckers. The trains that run north leave from a station a few blocks north on Union Station.

      A lot of it comes down to your street smarts / situational awareness vs if you’re happy with the tourist experience. If you want to try Ethiopian food, you won’t find that in Water Tower. For the most part, you’ll get the same things you have in any city. If you have a smart phone, it will be very valuable. For riding the subway and buses, they very much want you to not use money. They have cards you load with money – the negative is you’ll probably wind up with money on it you’ll never use. There is a big station at Clark and Lake where you can buy tickets and get on any of the El Lines. The blue line (under Clark) and the Red Line under State are connected by tunnels. If you’re put off by the smell of urine….

      There is a whole network of tunnels connecting all of downtown. They’re safe (at least during the week) but confusing. They’re most useful if there is a lot of snow on the ground.

  5. janderson021 says:
    March 23, 2013 at 12:05 am

    Thanks Art! That really will help.
    We will probably be pretty easy to make out as tourists, a couple of boomers with a 6 year old walking around. We will be going to the Science/Industry museum, so probably a taxi ride there.
    My dumb phone isn’t going to be much help, I should have sprung for a data plan phone.

    The last time I was in Chicago with children was about 20 years ago when my daughters were small. I had a car, and we drove in the from burbs to see the museums over a few days. One time I got turned around and ended up in the middle of Cabrini Green. It didn’t take long to figure that out, and I got out of there pretty quick (fortunately it was still daylight).

    • Art Stone says:
      March 23, 2013 at 3:12 pm

      Well, 20 years ago was when I lived downtown. I haven’t gotten around as much as I would like to in order to see what’s changed.

      Downtown has shed a lot of the people who used to work there. CBOT and the Merc merged. Sears moved to the suburbs. The huge tax increases surely have moved business out of the state. On street parking is possible because it is now prohibitively expensive. Most of the people working in the loop are government employees.

      There is a CTA express bus that runs down to the Museum of Science and industry, but I see it (#2) runs only during rush hour. The #6 runs down South Michigan avenue. Some of the decisions come to how much you want to protect the grandkid from reality. I tend to lean toward letting them see poverty and people that look different and then dealing with the questions. As long as you aren’t looking like a target and don’t provoke people, the CTA bus is probably safe – as long as you get off at the museum 😉 Stony Island south of there is where things get really dicey. My black friend in his 60s had his car break down on the far south side, and when he called the AAA, he was told he was on his own – that no tow truck was going to go to where he was to help him.

      Another little detail is to make sure you understand the hotel pricing. Chicago has very steep city taxes on hotels. Some hotels quote prices without the taxes and surprise people after they are already here and have no options. From what I just looked up, the tax is 16.4%. Someone has to pay off the bonds for McCormick place – you! 😉

    • Art Stone says:
      March 23, 2013 at 3:17 pm

      Oh, and Cabrini Green and most of the 1960 era high rise slums have been torn down, replaced by section 8 and lower density public house dispersed out in the neighborhoods. The notion seems to be if you take the multi generational permanent underclass members and move them next door to a middle class person with a job who pays his own mortgage, that the work ethic will rub off on the handout parasites. More likely, they just steal your stuff while you’re at work – hence most of the city now covered by the purple dotbs in the map.

      • CC1s121LrBGT says:
        March 23, 2013 at 3:50 pm

        Or the rubbing off can go the other way. Despite moving the dangerous factory jobs overseas, there is a much higher percentage of people disabled and unable work- even with computers that accommodate many disabilities.

        • Art Stone says:
          March 23, 2013 at 5:21 pm

          Oh, you just stomped one of my hot buttons. One of the regular beggars on the North / South line was a women who has a card saying (more or less) – “I’m deaf, give me money”. Being Chicago, right from the start I’m skeptical that she is actually deaf. But let’s accept that she is – I seriously considered at one point printing up a card saying “get a job – the ADA means employers have to provide reasonable accommodations for your disability”.

          Another of my favorite subway entertainers was the black parents who brought their child (on a school day) onto the train from Evanston (aka “Whitelandia”) to perform a cute little rap song – the typical lyrics went something like… “Give me some money, otherwise I’ll grow up as a gang member, and kill you and take your stuff when I’m an adult”

          • CC1s121LrBGT says:
            March 23, 2013 at 8:50 pm

            Years ago I took a cruise to the eastern Carribean – different country (50 miles apart) every day. Most places greeted the ship with people selling things, some aggressively. One county had no vendors, instead, the kids skipped school and surrounded everyone begging for money.

            Guess which country I plan to never visit again?

        • CC1s121LrBGT says:
          March 25, 2013 at 4:39 pm

          I think NPR is following me… reading my posts here than doing a story. 😉

          http://apps.npr.org/unfit-for-work/

      • CC1s121LrBGT says:
        March 26, 2013 at 3:50 am

        Opps- I confused myself. It was not John Lennon that used Google/Youtube but David Bowie and his friends at Mott back 40 years ago in 1973. Check out this video proof: 😉

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfkDfoMJr18

  6. janderson021 says:
    March 23, 2013 at 4:55 pm

    Someone else working doesn’t rub off when you can get free stuff all the time just like mom and grandma, and great-grandma did (thanks lbj).

    I hear that about the 16.4% , I paid for the hotel stay when I reserved it a couple of months ago. I’m going to have to go to McCormick and put my initials on a brick or something.

    Oh yeah, and the reason I didn’t rent a car, $50 a day for parking @ the hotel.
    5 days, $250.00 just for parking where I’m already paying a price. Life in the big city.

  7. Parrott says:
    March 24, 2013 at 4:11 pm

    …”A couple times in Chicago when I sensed danger, I put my hand in my jacket as if I might have a gun. That’s all it took and they backed off.”

    Awesome. That’s good, Art. Everyone: always be aware of your surroundings like Art was.
    Stay Safe out there.
    Parrott

Leave a Reply