The roo,f The roof, The roof is on Fire

One-third of the Chicago Fire Department's on-duty personnel responded to a 5-11 alarm fire that engulfed a warehouse building, causing parts of it to collapse and endangering nearby buildings in the Bridgeport neighborhood Tuesday night.

A four-story building caught fire after 9 p.m., endangering another building, according to the Chicago Fire Department. Extra alarms, bringing more fire equipment, firefighters and paramedics were called soon after firefighters arrived. The fire in the former Harris Marcus Group building, 3757 S. Ashland Ave., was declared under control, though still burning, as of about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Firefighters had to contend with frozen hydrants and ice caused by overspray, Fire Department Commissioner Jose Santiago said. One firefighter suffered a back injury and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in serious condition, said Chicago Firefighter Meg Ahlheim, a department spokeswoman.Click to read more

Illegal beaner Charged in fatal hit and run

A 24-year-old Logan Square man was charged with failing to report a fatal accident in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash in November, according to Chicago police.

Alexander Villa, of the 2900 block of West Altgeld Street, “was positively identified as the driver” of a car that hit another, killing the driver and wounding the driver’s 21-year-old brother, police said.

A warrant for Villa’s arrest was issued December 18, according to Cook County court records. He lived in the 4500 block of West Altgeld Street. Some records list him as 25 years old.

Ivan Miranda, 24, was killed in the crash. He and his younger brother were on their way to pick up another brother when another car hit theirs in the 3500 block of West Division Street about 5:35 a.m. on Nov. 24.

Villa turned himself in, accompanied by his attorney, according to police.

Criminal savage has a change of heart or is he stupid for stabbing partner in crime

A man was accidentally stabbed in the back by his partner-in-crime as the pair robbed a 70-year-old man early Wednesday morning in a CTA blue line car downtown, police said.

The two approached the older man about 12:30 a.m. inside an O’Hare-bound Blue Line car near the LaSalle Street station, police said. They had followed him from the Kedzie stop on the West Side.

The 24-year-old approached the older man and accused the older man of taking his phone, police said. The older man tried to walk to the other end of the car but they followed him. The two hit him, kicked him in his face while he was on the ground and took his wallet, police said.

One of the assailants tried to stab the man on the ground but accidentally stuck his 24-year-old partner, police said. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with a stab wound. Charges are pending against him, police said.

The 70-year-old was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with face wounds, and police said he may have suffered a facial fracture during the beating. The second attacker escaped capture.

Police said the 24-year-old tried shaking out of his hospital bed while in police custody and had to be subdued by police. He’s likely to face charges for spitting on police officers, authorities said.

Criminal Shot in the back by C.P.D. is now under federal review

A federal lawsuit claims Chicago police officers wrongfully shot a man and taunted his relatives with racial slurs.

It started with an armed robbery on Dec. 15. The alleged getaway vehicle crashed near 55^th and Ashland. All of the suspects got away except Jamaal Moore, 23. Police said he was involved in a violent encounter with officers and was shot and killed. At the time, officers believed Moore had a gun. Police Supt. Garry McCarthy later said Moore had a flashlight.

“They shot him in the back. Not once, but twice,” said Moore’s mother, Gwendolyn Moore, speaking at a press conference on Tuesday.

The family filed a lawsuit against the city of Chicago, the Chicago Police Department, Supt. McCarthy, and 4 officers alleging misconduct.  The lawsuit claims some officers repeatedly used the n-word when talking to Moore’s relatives at the scene.

“I honestly see very little difference between the Jim Crow of the 50’s and 60’s and here in Chicago, where police are shooting young black men, claim they have weapons, and nothing is found,” said attorney, Sam Adam, Jr.

After the shooting, a crowd of onlookers gathered at the scene, angry about Moore’s death. Police say some people refused to leave and threw bricks and bottles at police cars. Five men were charged with mob action.

Chicago police would not comment on the lawsuit. A spokesperson for the Independent Police Review Authority says the case remains under investigation.

Here is the link to the original story CLICK TO READ 

Dog rescued from Jackson Harbor after chacing a Canadian Goose

A stray dog apparently hankering for a Canada goose for breakfast found himself on thin ice in the middle of Jackson Harbor Tuesday.

"The dog was sitting kind of nice and peaceful but he was far out," said Marine Unit Police Officer Nial Funchion, who helped get the pooch to safety. "I was amazed he was lasting so long. . .He was out there for hours."

The dog, a 1-year-old shepherd mix, was about 300 yards out into the harbor when he caught the eye of someone on shore around 7:30 a.m., police said. A team from the Chicago Police Marine Unit arrived in minutes, soon joined by media trucks and helicopters.

The animal seemed unfazed by the subzero temperatures as he laid claim to a patch of ice that was only about 2 inches thick, Funchion said. But the dog did seem wary of the growing number of people lining up on the shoreline, he said.

The officers initially tried to corral the dog to one side of a pier to keep it from moving toward open water, Funchion said. "That's where the geese were. We were trying to keep him from going that route."

When the dog stubbornly stayed in the middle of the harbor, Funchion gingerly stepped out on the ice in his cold weather gear. He and other officers tried to shoo the dog toward the shore several times, only to have him veer back toward the geese.

"He got close a couple times but we were trying to nudge him the rest of the way," Funchion said.
Click to Read More

Shouth Shore on fire

Two men died and a woman was seriously injured when an extra-alarm fire broke out in a high-rise on South Shore Drive this morning.

All three victims suffered full cardiac arrest, apparently from breathing in smoke, according to Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
One of the men was in his 30s and the other was in his 40s, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. The first man was pronounced dead at 9:54 a.m. at the University of Chicago Medical Center and the other was pronounced later at Jackson Park Hospital, officials said.
Their names were not being released pending notification of family, according to the medical examiner's office.

The men were found on the seventh floor and the woman was found in the lobby of the building in the 6700 block of South Shore Drive, also in full cardiac arrest, Langford said. Paramedics were able to revive her with CPR and took her to the University of Chicago Medical Center, Langford said.
To Read More Click Here   Photos supplied by reader that works the 71st Street Area

C.F.D. Helo

Confident Obama lays out battle plan as he launches second term

A confident President Barack Obama kicked off his second term on Monday with an impassioned call for a more inclusive America that rejects partisan rancor and embraces immigration reform, gay rights and the fight against climate change.

Obama's ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol was filled with traditional pomp and pageantry, but it was a scaled-back inauguration compared with the historic start of his presidency in 2009 when he swept into office on a mantle of hope and change as America's first black president.
Despite expectations tempered by lingering economic weakness and a politically divided Washington, Obama delivered a preview of the priorities he intends to pursue - essentially a reaffirmation of core liberal Democratic causes - declaring Americans "are made for this moment" and must "seize it together."

His hair visibly gray after four years in office, Obama called for an end to the partisanship that marked much of his first term in the White House in bitter fights over the economy with Republicans.

"We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate," Obama said from atop the Capitol steps overlooking the National Mall.

Looking out on a sea of flags, Obama addressed a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people that was smaller than the record 1.8 million who assembled on the mall four years ago.

Speaking in more specific terms than is customary in an inaugural address, he promised "hard choices" to reduce the federal deficit without shredding the social safety net and called for a revamping of the tax code and a remaking of government.

The Democrat arrived at his second inauguration on solid footing, with his poll numbers up, Republicans on the defensive and his first-term record boasting accomplishments such as a U.S. healthcare overhaul, financial regulatory reforms, the end of the war in Iraq and the killing of Osama bin Laden.

But fights are looming over budgets, gun control and immigration. Obama, however, has sounded more emboldened because he never again needs to run for election.

SECOND TIME TAKING OATH

When Obama raised his right hand and was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts, it was his second time taking the oath in 24 hours - but this time with tens of millions of people watching on television. As he spoke, the president beamed as chants of "Obama, Obama!" rang out from the crowd.

Obama had a formal swearing-in on Sunday at the White House because of a constitutional requirement that the president take the oath on January 20. Rather than stage the full inauguration on a Sunday, the main public events were put off until Monday.

It was another political milestone for Obama, 51, the Hawaiian-born son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas.

During a triumphant parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, the president and first lady Michelle Obama thrilled cheering onlookers by twice getting out of their armored limousine and walking part of the way on foot, as they had done four years ago. Secret Service agents kept close watch.

In the evening, the couple visited the two formal inaugural balls - down from 10 in 2009 - to celebrate with supporters. At both, Obama and the first lady danced to Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," performed by singer Jennifer Hudson.

In his 20-minute inaugural speech, Obama sought to reassure Americans at the midpoint of his presidency and encourage them to help him take care of unfinished business. "Preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action," he said.

The crowds on the National Mall were enthusiastic, but the euphoria of 2009 was gone.

"Four years ago, it was the first black president," said local resident Greg Pearson, 42. "It doesn't have the same energy. It's more subdued. It's not quite the party it was four years ago. Our expectations are pretty low (this time): let's not default on the national debt, keep the government running."

Organizers had given various estimates of the number of people they expected would jam the mall for the ceremony. An inauguration official estimated the crowd at about 1 million