Ear Hustle

HEY, HEY, HEY!!! The Illinois State Troopers Are Coming To Chicago

All I have to say is what took Mayor Emanuel so long to make the request!!   This is not the first time the Illinois State Troopers have been requested for assistance.  It’s never too late to send in The Calvary!!!

Well it is almost re-election time and I guess this is the first of many “see look what I did for Chicago?” moments.  As unfortunate it is to look at it that way, truth is truth!!

Check it out as reported by the Chicago Tribune:

State troopers are coming to Chicago

Chicagoans could soon start seeing a new law enforcement presence in some parts of the city.

The Illinois State Police will send 40 troopers to join Chicago police as part of teams that will try to catch fugitives, Gov. Pat Quinn and Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Wednesday.

The specifics of the partnership are still being worked out, and its impact remains to be seen. At a minimum, the cooperative “surge teams” could be politically helpful to both the governor and the mayor as they run for re-election at a time when Chicago’s violent crime remains a major issue.

The troopers will be assigned to 20 to 25 groups made up of five Chicago police officers and two troopers each, according to the Quinn administration. The troopers will patrol “four city neighborhoods” as part of the teams which “will focus on apprehending those with known violent criminal histories who are wanted by law enforcement,” Quinn’s office said.

Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy and state police Director Hiram Grau are still working out the specifics of the special detail, including which neighborhoods the troopers will patrol, said state police spokeswoman Monique Bond. According to Quinn’s office, the troopers will come from State Police districts across the state, and they will be paid out of the state police budget. The mayor said the fugitive teams will be in place for at least the next month.

Emanuel was quick to praise the re-election seeking Democratic governor for the help. “When I brought it to the governor, he quickly turned around, said ‘yes, we’re in,’ ” Emanuel said. “They’re going to give us 40 state troopers for the next 30 days, evaluate its effectiveness.”

McCarthy, appearing with the mayor at a news conference after an anti-violence meeting in Englewood, said catching fugitives is a good way to reduce crime. “You put handcuffs on them, they don’t commit a crime tomorrow or later on today,” he said.

There are currently 77 Chicago police officers in the department’s fugitive apprehension unit, said Chicago police spokesman Martin Maloney. The state troopers will work with them and “will be deployed to and concentrate on specific areas which are prone to a higher volume of crime,” Maloney said in an email.

It’s not the first time in recent years that the state police have offered an assist to the CPD.

In 2008, then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich deployed 50 more troopers to patrol Chicago interstates. Then-Police Superintendent Jody Weis said the troopers focused on the Dan Ryan and Eisenhower Expressways the state had long patrolled and indicated that the move didn’t free up more Chicago officers for street duty.

At the time, Blagojevich tweaked then-Mayor Richard Daley, saying he wanted to send in the troopers because city violence was “out of control.” That remark didn’t sit well with Daley, who mocked the governor’s ability to provide help. “What help can he give me? What help is he talking about?” Daley said at the time. “State police have no money; they are being cut.”

State police already play a regular part in Chicago law enforcement. There are 180 troopers assigned to District Chicago, Bond said, patrolling city expressways and also working with Chicago police on special assignments like drug and gang units.

And last month, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said he would have county warrant officers focus on capturing Chicago fugitives wanted for violent crimes.

The latest arrangement has potential political upside for both the mayor and governor. For Emanuel, it’s a way to look like he’s doing something extra to combat the street violence that has plagued him during his first term. For Quinn, it’s a way to look like he’s contributing to the crime fight in Chicago as he seeks re-election this fall. Quinn’s base of support is in Democrat-controlled Chicago.

But Dean Angelo, president of Lodge 7 of the Fraternal Order of Police, the union that represents rank-and-file Chicago police officers, said Quinn’s announcement tells the public there aren’t enough cops patrolling the city’s streets. Part of the problem is that the department has concentrated its efforts on beat patrols, leaving scant resources to participate in manhunts for violent fugitives, he said.

“You have to bring people to chase down people who are wanted because we don’t have the bodies to get them ourselves,” Angelo said. “If we had enough officers, you wouldn’t be hearing about this.

“…Now it’s a headline because it’s not our guys doing it,” he continued. “We’ve got to find people (outside) to do it.”

Source: Chicago Defender

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