Frustration Apparent At Summit To End Urban Violence

Emergency Summit Held On ViolenceWBBM Newsradio's Bob Roberts

(CBS) –The Congressional Black Caucus convened an emergency summit on urban violence Friday, looking for ways to stop the killing on the streets of Chicago and other cities.

Illinois members of the Congressional Black Caucus called for the meeting following Chicago’s exceptionally bloody July 4 holiday.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel greeted those attending by saying Chicago is doing what it can, focusing on policing, prevention, parenting and gun penalties. Emanuel said the streets must be taken back for children.

“We need to make our streets safer so they have a normal childhood and it is not stolen from them by violence,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Cal.) urged the activists, ministers, politicians and others in the crowd to generate ideas.

“It is not about trying to press conference and having all off the answers in three minutes,” she said.  ”It is about the development of the plan that will come out of this and then let’s see how the Congressional Black Caucus, the White House, the Justice Department, the local mayors, the community activists all can play into the plan they develop.”

An assistant U.S. attorney general was also among the speakers, but Waters reminded reporters that the Obama administration and the Democratic Party do not hold the keys to the U.S. House of Representatives or to spending priorities, as a result.  She placed the emphasis on the unorthodox, suggesting that negotiated “peace treaties“ between street gangs could help quell the violence.

One outside-the-box proposal came from veteran activist Wallace “Gator” Bradley, long known to be a conduit to imprisoned street gang leader Larry Hoover.  He suggested that a “delegation” be sent to Hoover that would include a prosecutor, a doctor, a UN Human Rights representative, the Rev. Al Sharpton and a cameraman, who would record Hoover holding his grandchildren and urging gangbangers to work with the community, stop the shooting and stand united in peace.

Bradley said Hoover would do it if asked.

He said Waters’ suggestion of negotiated cease-fires has a chance for success because “the lines of communication are already open.”

The summit was not the first such meeting of its type.  A similar brainstorming event occurred 10 years ago, and those who remembered it were mixed about the outcome.

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Blackhawks Make Quenneville Extension Official

 

CHICAGO (AP) — Stan Bowman wanted to keep Joel Quenneville in Chicago, and the coach had no desire to leave.

After two Stanley Cup titles in four seasons, this was a no-brainer.

The Blackhawks announced a three-year contract extension for Quenneville on Friday, kicking off their annual fan convention with a crowd-pleasing move that keeps the coach in Chicago through the 2016-17 season.

The 54-year-old Quenneville is 222-106 in five seasons in Chicago. He led the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup in 2010, ending a 49-year drought, and then coached them to another title this year.

“I think you always know what you’re going to get with him and I think that’s probably the biggest thing for us, why we have success,” defenseman Duncan Keith said before Game 5 of this year’s Stanley Cup finals. “He’s level-headed, brings that even-keel attitude to the team.”

Quenneville’s deal was set to expire after the upcoming season, but general manager Bowman had said an extension was a priority and the coach talked all along about how much he enjoyed being part of the organization.

This is Quenneville’s third stop as a head coach in the NHL. The former defenseman is 660-389-77 in 16 seasons with St. Louis, Colorado and Chicago. He won the Jack Adams Award, which is given to the head coach who has contributed most to his team’s success, in 2000 with the Blues and was a nominee for the award again this year.

Quenneville led Chicago to a NHL-best 36-7-5 record this season. The Blackhawks earned at least one point in each of their first 24 games, setting an NHL record.

The Windsor, Ontario, native was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round of the 1978 draft and played 803 games in parts of 13 seasons in the NHL. He is one of two men in NHL history to play in 800 or more games and coach 1,000 or more games.

He has recorded at least 40 wins in nine of his 10 full seasons as a coach. His best total was 52 victories with Chicago for the 2009-10 season.

(© 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)

 

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Some Englewood Parents Succeeding, Despite Atmosphere Of Violence

(CBS) — This is Englewood, where Trevor McGraw is trying to raise his two sons: 9-year-old Latrelle and 10-year-old Lerone.

He watches them when they play, takes them to the park, walks them to school and prepares them for the times he may not be around.

“I got to sleep with them, I wake up with them. They ain’t got no choice,” the father says.

He tells them to be wary of “crowds” and “saggy pants.”

“They don’t ask why. They listen. They’re good boys,” McGraw says.

And they’re excellent students, on the honor roll. McGraw says mom stays on top of the homework, but they both stress discipline. No video games during the week.

Fourteen year old Marquis Sewell lives a few blocks south of the McGraws. He’s learned similar lessons from his parents.

“I don’t really enjoy being out here. I can’t play outside like I want to or meet new people,” he says.

When menacing guys approach, he says, “I’ve been taught to walk away and not really acknowledge them.”

Sewell goes to school out of the community. His parents drive him. They keep him busy after school and every summer with camps and other educational activities.

It’s paid off.

“I want to be a marine biologist. I have been studying marine biology and I feel that it’s like a God-given gift,” he says.

His mother, Lakeisha Gray-Sewell, is asked about the advice she has for parents in similar circumstances.

“Make sure they’re exposed to different organizations, different opportunities, that they’re exposed to art, culture especially,” she says. “Seek always to learn and to grow yourself and then your child will see that and they will emulate you.”

Both parents also keep their children active in organized sports and stress the importance of family time.

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Prosecutors: Teen Refuses To Pay Cabbie, Throws Bleach In His Face

(STMW) – An 18-year-old suburban man allegedly refused to pay a $175 taxi fare, then threw a cup of bleach into the cab driver’s eyes.

Oliver Dickens gave his ID to the driver as collateral when he got into the cab Thursday, but raised a fit when it was time to pay, even damaging and stealing the driver’s tablet computer, which Chicago Police found when Dickens was arrested at a Chicago home the next day, Cook County prosecutors said.

The victim, a 34-year-old man from Dundee, suffered burning and irritation of his eyes and skin, but did not require hospitalization.

Dickens has no criminal history.

Dickens was ordered held in lieu of $125,000 bail Saturday.

He is charged with aggravated battery and two misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property and theft of labor.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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Congressman Roskam Facing Ethics Probe Over Taiwan Trip

U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) (File Photo; Credit: CBS)

WASHINGTON (CBS) – The House Ethics Committee has opened an investigation focusing on a trip Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL) took to Taiwan in 2011.

The committee announced on its website Friday that it was extending its investigation of Roskam, and that the Office of Congressional Ethics – an independent, non-partisan group – had brought the matter to its attention.

The committee did not state the reason for the probe, but Roskam’s office indicated the case involved an eight-day trip to Taiwan the congressman and his wife took in October 2011.

“The record reflects that Rep. Roskam fully complied with all laws, rules, and procedures related to privately sponsored travel,” Roskam spokeswoman Stephanie Kittredge said said in a written statement. “ The trip was vetted and approved by the House Ethics Committee, the body legally authorized to make determinations on Congressional conduct. The OCE is wrong to take issue with the involvement of the Government of Taiwan in planning and conducting the trip, a matter that is routine, allowed under the law, and was known to the House Ethics Committee as they thoroughly vetted and approved the trip.”

Roskam, 51, represents a district that includes his hometown of Wheaton and other suburbs. He serves as the chief deputy whip for the House Republicans.

The committee said it would announce any action it takes against Roskam in September, and noted its decision to extend the investigation doesn’t indicate any proof an ethics violation took place.

“He fully expects the clear and indisputable facts of the case to speak for themselves, that both he and his staff have acted in accordance with all laws, rules, and regulations,” Kittredge said. “ Rep. Roskam and his staff have fully followed House Ethics Committee procedures to take an approved, appropriate, and informative trip to a key U.S. strategic ally.”

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High-Rise Owners, Residents Fight Proposed State Rule For Sprinklers

 

CHICAGO (CBS) – Residents and owners of older high rises in Chicago were racing against the clock to fight a proposed state mandate that they say would force many residents to move.

WBBM Newsradio’s Lisa Fielding reports some said sprinklers are necessary to save lives and property in Chicago’s oldest tall buildings, but others said there have to be less costly options that are just as effective.

“If we have to retrofit sprinklers in our building, we’d be looking at a bill just for the work of around $9 million, which broken down would be enough to cause many people in my building – who are on fixed incomes and probably myself – to say we can’t afford $40,000, $50,000 in special assessments, said Allen Lipscher, president of Waterford Condominium Association on Lake Shore Drive.

High-Rises Fighting Sprinkler RuleWBBM Newsradio's Lisa Fielding

Lipscher and hundreds of high rise condo owners have been fighting a proposed rule by the Illinois State Fire Marshal that imposes retrofitting requirements for high-rise buildings built before 1975.

Lipscher said the cost would be ruinous for many homeowners.

“This would be a giant project. We are a poured-concrete building. That would entail bringing in standpipes, drilling holes through the floor to bring in the main pipes,” he said. “We would have to have pipes run the center of our hallways hanging from our ceilings exposed. Over each door they would drill through the wall, and bring into your whole house and it won’t look pretty as a retrofit.”

“We just think to spend $9 million, especially when we’ve already spent money on all the other things, it’s something we can’t afford. If this law passes, many of us will have to sell and move,” he added.

It started in 2003, when a fire took the lives of six people trapped in a stairwell at the Cook County Administration Building at 69 W. Washington St.

In an effort to prevent further high-rise fire deaths, the City Council enacted the life-safety ordinance, which required all pre-1975 buildings 80 feet and higher to submit a professionally-prepared evaluation and to implement certain safety features by Jan. 1, 2012.

By late 2011, half of the residential high-rises had not submitted reports, much less implemented the safety features, so the City Council gave them more time, to Jan. 1, 2015.
Chicago’s ordinance gives high-rises a choice: retrofit for sprinklers or install alternative safety features, such as fire-resistant stairwell doors and frames, and one- and two-way voice communication systems.

Virtually none of the owners have opted for sprinklers.

Lipscher said The Waterford has already implemented much of the city’s Life Safety and High Rise Ordinance, and other safety measures as required.

“It’s a continuing process. We have fire people coming in all the time to make sure lights and fire stairs and doors are working. We will have elevators that have automatic recall, an enunciator system, fire doors in the trash chutes and many other safety improvements,” he said. “Now the addition of sprinkler systems is too much. The city is happy with what we are doing and with the progress we’ve made. They are watching it closely and at the end of 2014, all the buildings will be done and now this got thrown into the mix. The City doesn’t know what to do either.”

Lipscher urged building owners to write letters to the state’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, which will take up the proposal on Aug. 12.

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$1M Bond For Man Charged In Fatal Shooting Of Teen In South Deering

CHICAGO (STMW) – Bond was set Saturday at $1 million for a 24-year-old man charged with the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy at a CHA complex on the Far South Side two weeks ago.

The shooting happened about 2:50 p.m. on Sunday, July 14, in the 10500 block of South Oglesby Avenue.

According to court records, Joseph Brewer suffered eight gunshot wounds to his legs and back in the attack.

Court records say that Aries Thayre Sanders, of the 6400 block of South Stony Island, and another offender arrived a short time before the shooting at the Trumball Park CHA complex. Sanders was carrying a gun case as he and the other offender waked up a set of stairs in the complex. Surveillance video caught him minutes later carrying a large gun in his hand, partially covered by a shirt, as he and the other person followed Brewer through the complex. The video showed the other offender firing several times at Brewer, after which the two left the scene.

Brewer was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.

The two left in the car they arrived in, though once they were in the car, Chicago police officers arrived on the scene and removed the two from the car, and recovered a gun case containing a high-capacity clip with 21 live 9mm rounds in the trunk, according to court records. Sanders, 24, a US Postal Service employee, according to court records, was arrested at his workplace on Friday.

At a bond hearing Saturday at 26th and California, bond was set at $1 million for Sanders.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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