$1 Million Pissed Away

Brilliant fucking move Rahm:

• Despite skepticism that’s been voiced by police Supt. Garry McCarthy, the Chicago Police Department announced plans Tuesday for its first-ever partnership with the CeaseFire anti-violence group.

  CeaseFire will get $1 million through the city’s Department of Public Health to target crime in two Chicago police districts under a pilot program, to begin July 13.

  The money will put 20 additional CeaseFire workers in each of those two districts.

But here are some of the entertaining parts:

• Privately, some Chicago police officials say they worry about CeaseFire staffers continuing in a life of crime.

  The Chicago Sun-Times reported last month that six of them have been charged with crimes over the past five years while on the CeaseFire payroll.

  Tio Hardiman, the head of CeaseFire Illinois, responded that he fires staffers when he learns they engaged in criminal activity. He described the six former CeaseFire workers mentioned in the story as “bad apples,” saying every organization including the police department has them. They constitute less than 2 percent of the 300 staffers hired by CeaseFire, according to the group.

  Sources say the partnership with CeaseFire is being driven by City Hall — and not the police department.

Less than 2%? Impressive. Now how about some one in the media total up the number of coppers who have gotten in trouble over the past few years. Even if it ends up being 100 coppers (which it isn't anywhere near) that's less than 1%.

Now try that with the aldercreatures. Or former Illinois governors. Oops. Not so impressive all of the sudden, is it? And Rahm is taking advice from everyone except the coppers as far as CeaseFire goes.

And how about this from Tio himself:

• Police sources said CeaseFire initially balked at some of the department’s demands, including requiring CeaseFire workers who learn of brewing violence to notify the Chicago Police Department and having CeaseFire undergo the same sort of tough evaluation that police commanders are subjected to under the department’s CompStat system.

  The agreement made public Tuesday included the CompStat requirement, but not the reporting requirement.

  “We are not going to be informants or snitches for nobody,” Hardiman said when asked about it Tuesday.

Well then what's the point Tio? Oh yeah, the million dollars. We forgot. As soon as those words left Tio's lips, or even crossed his mind, Rahm ought to have yanked the funding and dumped it back to wherever he stole it from. Hardiman and his people are unrepentant gang bangers with an agenda and their fingers are in a lot of pies that are being overlooked. Tio is refusing to even pretend to be a good citizen, because last time we checked, CeaseFire was not a duly authorized law enforcement agency authorized to take actions to stop the mayhem on the streets.

And we love how Wysinger is out front on this one. Either (A) McCarthy is having nothing to do with this, (B) Al is being groomed to take over the number one spot in short order or (C) Al is being set up as the fall guy should Tio and his followers prove as inept as supposed by ourselves and many others.