Since May of 2020, the nation has witnessed growing lawlessness. Compared to 2019, violence in cities like Chicago drove the year-over-year national murder rate higher by nearly 30 percent in 2020. That single-year murder-rate increase is the largest ever recorded. While the final 2021 national murders statistics will not be released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) until later this year, we already know that last year lawlessness and violence remained at elevated levels. Saturday, in Chicago and Milwaukee the nation witnessed more lawlessness in the centers of those two cities. A 16-year-old boy was murdered near the Bean (Cloud Gate) sky sculpture in Chicago’s Millennium Park. Two others were also shot in downtown Chicago as the night progressed. In downtown Milwaukee, 21 people were shot in three separate shootings, in the blocks surrounding Fiserv Forum, following the NBA playoff basketball game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics. In Buffalo, lawlessness does not begin to describe the tear in the social fabric. Pure evil was on full display with the deliberate taking of ten lives. The Buffalo carnage was streamed live on the Twitch social media site by the attacker. For those who are apt to find social forces as a ready excuse for criminal acts of cruelty, the streamed video is definitive proof of the existence of pure evil. Hateful, demonic evil. Not only must law and order return to the nation’s cities, this one nation under God must seek revival and renounce all such evil. [Click the link below to read more.]
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The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (ILACP) Annual Conference will be held on 27 to 29 April 2022 in Northbrook, Illinois. Thomas Lemmer, Founder of Secure 1776 and the creator of the “Eight Levels of Supervisory Engagement,” will be presenting at the conference. A fundamental truth of organizations, including law enforcement agencies, is that underperforming and problem employees exist. When the underperforming or problem employee is a supervisor, the need for the organization to respond is elevated. This is true even when supervisors are merely ineffective, as ineffective supervisors foster a less effective workforce. However, the impact on the agency is even worse, when supervisors do not support the organization’s values, goals, and strategies. A 90-minute conference version of the course, “Understanding the Eight Levels of Supervisory Engagement,” will be provided to law enforcement executives. Through this course, leaders will have a solid introduction to the model and enhanced skills from which to foster supervisory excellence within their agencies. [Click the link below to read more.]
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At Secure 1776 we have tried to completely ignore the Jussie Smollett hate-crime hoax circus. Why? Because it all started with a minor television actor attempting to gain notoriety for purposes of career advancement. After Smollett completes his 150 days in jail we can expect he will again be aggressively looking to ca$h in on his notoriety – although not on the exact “heroic-victim” trail he planned. Sadly, there is little doubt that his chances for career advancement have not ended. With that said, we can move on to why we felt compelled to write at all on this topic. The answer is the latest prosecutor politics of Kim Foxx in the Smollett circus. Here is the short version. Ms. Foxx, the Cook County State’s Attorney, in the hours after Smollett’s sentencing, published an opinion piece ostensibly about the case. While with a lofty title about the justice system, the revisionist approach of the piece reveals that the true focus for Ms. Foxx is really centered on how “Kim Foxx” came out in all of this. In her “opinion,” she is a victim in this drama. Seriously? Like Mr. Smollett, Ms. Foxx is not a victim in this case. [Click the link below to read more.]
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Well not surprising actually. On 10 February 2022, Newsday posted their article, “Report: Nearly half of 16-year-olds arrested under RTA committed new crimes in NYC.” Some background. What is “RTA?” RTA, stands for “raise the age,” and concerns the oldest age at which an offender is considered a juvenile. RTA measures seek to push older and older individuals away from the criminal courts and under the jurisdiction of our juvenile (or family) courts. Many advocates have pushed for raising the juvenile court age to 21 or even older. These efforts tend to go hand-in-hand with the assertion that our juvenile courts are ineffective, and there should be a complete diversion from all formal court processes. The problem – absent a formal court response mechanism, the youth most at-risk of continued and deepening delinquency do not actually participate in needed interventions. Oh, and absent both accountability and intervention, they are at a substantially increased risk of violent crime victimization themselves. The Newsday article covered a research report from the New York City Criminal Justice Agency (CJA), a non-profit, pre-trial services and “court-involved” (aka offender) advocacy organization. Their report was released in December 2021. [Click the link below to read more.]
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We are to remember the fallen. We are supposed to show respect to their memory and honor their sacrifice. The memory of slain Chicago Police Officer Ella French is supposed to be protected. The Gold Star Families of the fallen are to be respected and protected. Such is true for many, but in a political environment that facilitated the demonization of the police, far too many have not done so. Officer French was murdered, and her partner Carlos Yanez, Jr. suffered life-altering injuries, on 7 August 2021. In the days after her murder, a small memorial for Officer French, which had been setup in the lobby of the Thompson State of Illinois Building in Chicago, was vandalized. Then in November, Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) issued a flawed investigative finding from a 2019 incident recommending a three-day suspension for slain Officer French. Outraged, twenty Chicago City Council members (six short of a council majority) sent a letter to Mayor Lori Lightfoot objecting to Andrea Kersten continuing to serve as the head of COPA. On the topic of honoring the work, sacrifice, legacy, and memory of Officer French, yesterday, 9 February, was a good-news, bad-news day. [Click the link below to read more.]
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Most often, the Chicago City Council is an unremarkable legislative body that does as it is instructed to do by the reigning mayor. On Friday, the council’s Public Safety Committee was expected to rubber stamp the mayor’s selection of Andrea Kersten, as the permanent head of the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA). However, in a rare Chicago moment, the council is poised to say “no” to the mayor on a key city appointment. Ms. Kersten is currently the interim head of COPA, a low-regarded oversight agency, and she was previously its chief investigator. She is most notorious for her November 2021 release of an investigation that included a recommendation to suspend slain Chicago Police Officer Ella French. [Click the link below to read more.]
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In our New Year’s Day editorial, we made clear that 2021 was not a “happy new year” relative to public safety. Our founder also made clear that for 2022 to be a “happy new year,” resolve would be required. On 29 December 2021, Bradley Police Sergeant Rittmanic’s last known words were to her attacker, as her own gun was pointed at her head. “Just leave, you don’t have to do this. Please just go. Please don’t. Please don’t.” Yet, her attacker was determined to kill her anyway and did. Yesterday, Illinois buried Sergeant Marlene Rittmanic. Today, we ask whether our community is fully resolved to say: “Enough!” In 2022, will we demand our elected officials and the media stop demonizing the police? Will our courts be the place where consequences occur, or will the streets continue to be the place where the truth about consequences are most visible? [Click the link below to read more.]
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As we noted in our 13 December post, “The Chicago 800, a Deadly Race,” murders in Chicago continue to climb. We highlighted that the city would likely reach 800 murders this year. Baby-boomers, and many Gen-Xers, remember family car trips as children. At some point mom or dad would inevitably be asked: “Are we there yet.” Is Chicago “there yet?” Well, it depends on how you count. Yesterday, 16 December 2021, the Chicago Sun-Times declared, the city had experienced its 800th murder. The official Chicago Police Department (CPD) count says “no.” The official count as of midnight was 778. That number is bad enough. 778 is also more murders than the city’s full-year 2020 updated count of 772. Secure 1776 provides some clarity on the murder counts. [Click the link below to read more.]
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In auto racing, Indianapolis is legendary for the Indy 500. Indianapolis and many other cities continue to struggle with a race of a different kind – murders. It should be noted that Indianapolis has had a bad year. Already, as of 12 December, 258 people have been murdered in that city. This year’s Indy murder count is 13 more than 2020’s full-year total, and 25 more than a year ago on this date. Here in Chicago, this city is a day or so away from topping its 2020 full-year total. In fact, the Chicago 800 is underway. Such is a deadly race to see whether this year’s Chicago murder count stays under, hits, or exceeds 800. [Click the link below to read more.]
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Last week, several news sites made reference to an internal email sent from a former commander with the Chicago Police Department (CPD). The email was sent to several CPD members by Captain Melvin Roman on his last day before retiring. The email was a “within the family” message. It was subsequently released publicly by someone other than Captain Roman. The coverage of the email – not the email itself – was a spectacle Chicago moment. Anyone who actually knows Mel Roman knows that he is not one to seek the personal spotlight. He has always been the type of leader to focus on the needs of those he was responsible to lead. He delighted in turning the spotlight toward their accomplishments. That fact alone should help us move past the spectacle and seek the leadership lessons that were offered. [Click the link below to read more.]
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As we mentioned on 30 October in our post “More Spectacle Chicago, Not Remarkable,” a combined 26 members of the Chicago City Council have the power to be remarkable. Why twenty-six? Well, in a 50-member council, 26 is a majority vote. But, that alone is not remarkable. The council votes in every session. A measure gaining 26 votes happens regularly. In fact, Chicago mayors rely on at least 26 members consistently voting as the mayor desires. Not remarkable. This has been true for generations. Today 20 members of the council sent a letter to Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The issue, Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA). These 20 alderman expressed their assessment that Andrea Kersten should not continue to lead COPA. She is currently COPA’s interim chief administrator. She was also the chief investigator who approved COPA’s flawed report recommending slain Police Officer Ella French be suspended. [Click the link below to read more.]
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A little more than a week ago we published the post, “Wonderland Chicago, the Victim Problem.” We admonished city leaders that “if, up is down and down is up, then welcome Alice to Wonderland Chicago. Lawlessness is madness.” Well Alice, defiling the memory of a slain officer is also madness. Secure 1776 has reached this conclusion based on three factors. First, the details of Police Officer Ella French’s murder. Second, what we learned as a city about her following her death. Third, a review of the summary file posted by the Chicago Office of Police Accountability (COPA) that included problematic investigative findings and recommendations involving Officer French. The public release of COPA’s three-day suspension recommendation for Officer French is more spectacle Chicago. Defiling the memory of a slain officer in the name of the people she served is despicable. We call on Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to hold COPA’s leadership accountable. [Click the link below to read more.]
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