Tag: chicago

2 teens shot as rowdy mob clashes with Chicago cops for second night

A massive mob of rowdy teenagers clashed with cops near downtown Chicago’s Millenium Park on Saturday night, leaving two teens wounded and at least one bystander beaten.

The unruly mob erupted in violence — trashing property, smashing windshields and torching cars while attacking at least one motorist — forcing cops to escort tourists to safety, WFLD-TV News reported Sunday.

Chicago police said two teens — 16 and 17 years old — were wounded by a gunman in the crowd, the outlet reported.

The violence came a day after a 14-year-old boy was shot during another outburst of teen violence at 31st Avenue Beach.

Police reported one arrest in that incident.

On Saturday, hundreds — and possibly thousands — of teenagers massed in the Chicago Loop around 9 p.m. after social media posts called for a meetup near Millennium Park, WMAQ-TV in Chicago reported.


Teens seen crowding a vehicle at the scene.
Twitter/@EndWokeness

“Last night CPD monitored activity happening across the city and officers were in place to quickly respond to active incidents and large gatherings,” police said in a statement. “We will continue to have sufficient resources in place as we work to strengthen safety in every neighborhood.”

Many youngsters tried to get into the park but were turned away at checkpoints that barred anyone under 21 who wasn’t accompanied by an adult, the outlets reported.

“It’s heartbreaking,” one witness told the station. “Kids fighting, chasing each other. Some of them got guns. It’s really heartbreaking when one of them actually gets hurt, and that’s unfortunate.”


A large crowd of rowdy teens are pictured around a city bus in Chicago Saturday.
Some kids were armed with guns during the incident.
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A large group of teens climb over a divider on the road.
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“It was a lot of cops here but they were still outnumbered,” the witness said. “There were so many teenagers that showed up, and they tried to keep the peace and keep them under control.”

One woman whose car was damaged by the mob reported her husband was beaten while sitting in the passenger seat, and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

The two teens shot in the melee were also taken to the hospital, and were in fair condition.

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Progressive Brandon Johnson elected Chicago’s next mayor

Progressive Democrat and Cook County commissioner Brandon Johnson was elected Chicago mayor on Tuesday night after defeating moderate Paul Vallas in a runoff election.

The Associated Press called the tight race for Johnson as the leftist held a narrow lead of just under 16,000 votes with all precincts reporting in the hotly contested race that focused on surging crime in the Windy City.

“It’s clear based on the results tonight our city is divided,” Vallas told supporters around 9:30 p.m. in a concession speech.

He said he called Johnson and told him he “absolutely expects” him to be the next mayor of Chicago.

Johnson, a former teacher and union organizer, and Vallas faced off in the runoff after Lori Lightfoot became Chicago’s first incumbent mayor in 40 years to lose re-election.

The election went to a runoff after none of the nine candidates received at least 50 percent of the vote, with Vallas and Johnson leading the pack.


Brandon Johnson will be the next Mayor of Chicago.
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Vallas, former Chicago Public Schools CEO, campaigned as a center-leaning Democrat, with promises to be tougher on crime — winning him an endorsement from the Chicago police union.

He was endorsed by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin as well as former Education Secretary Arne Duncan — Vallas’ predecessor at CPS. Former Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush, who co-founded Illinois’ chapter of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s. 

Johnson, meanwhile, was backed by the Chicago teacher’s union and several progressive members of congress, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and “Squad” member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.).


Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas addresses his supporters after conceding the runoff election to his opponent, Brandon Johnson on April 4, 2023.
AP

The dividing issue in the race has been their differing stances on crime.

During his campaign, Vallas called out Lightfoot for permitting an “utter breakdown of law and order” on her watch and pledged to fully fund city police departments, if elected.

Johnson supported the “defund the police” movement in 2020 and has urged further spending on workforce development, housing, transportation and schools.

Lightfoot had embraced calls to defund law enforcement in the wake of George Floyd’s killing,  cutting around $58 million from Chicago’s police budget in 2021.

Chicago has been plagued by its highest homicide rates in a quarter-century, with 695 recorded murders in 2022 and 804 recorded murders in 2021.

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Chicago firefighter Walter Stewart’s wife, three kids dead in house fire

A Chicago firefighter’s entire family was tragically killed in the days after their house caught on fire – a scene he rushed to after hearing his home address over the radio dispatch at his job last week.

Firefighter Walter Stewart’s three children – all younger than 10 — and his wife succumbed to injuries from Tuesday’s deadly blaze.

Stewart didn’t originally respond to the fire, but once he heard his address over radio dispatch he was quickly taken there and even administered CPR to his wife, the fire department said.

Firefighters are spotted at the scene where Walter Stewart’s 2-year-old son, 7-year-old son, 9-year-old daughter, and wife died.
CBS Chicago
All four of the family members reportedly suffered from smoke inhalation.
ABC 7 Chicago


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Stewart’s 7-year-old son Ezra Stewart died Wednesday and his wife, Summer Day-Stewart, perished Thursday at 36.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office said Stewart’s 9-year-old daughter Autumn Day-Stewart and his 2-year-old son Emory Day-Stewart died Friday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

All four of the family members reportedly suffered from smoke inhalation.

They were all originally rescued from the burning home and rushed to the hospital, officials said.

The fire started in the kitchen and its cause is under investigation, according to authorities.

In wake of the shocking deaths, Stewart has agreed to donate organs from each family member to others who might need a transplant, a fire department source told the Sun-Times.


Flowers are left at the front of the house’s doorstep to honor the victims.
ABC 7 Chicago

The Chicago Fire Department started a fundraiser to help Stewart’s family as loved ones deal with an “unspeakable tragedy.”

“Please keep the Stewart Family in your thoughts and prayers,” the department wrote. 

With Post wires

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Lori Lightfoot claims she ‘misspoke’ when telling voters who don’t support her not to vote

Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, D, told South Side voters they should not vote at all if they do not vote to re-elect her, but she now insists that she misspoke during the heat of the moment.

During a campaign event over the weekend in Grand Crossing, the mayor said anyone from the South Side voting for “somebody not named Lightfoot is a vote for Chuy Garcia or Paul Vallas,” referring to her challengers. 

U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas are the other frontrunners in the election for Chicago mayor.

“If you want them controlling your fate and your destiny, then stay home,” Lightfoot continued. “Then don’t vote.”

But after casting her vote Monday at Northeastern Illinois University, Lightfoot told reporters she did not mean to suggest voters should sit out the election.

“If I said anything other than everybody everywhere needs to vote, then I misspoke in the heat of a campaign rally,” she said. “But I’ve been very consistent all along saying everybody everywhere needs to step up, and they need to vote just as I said today.”


Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said if people don’t want their fate or destiny controlled — to not vote.
Getty Images

Lightfoot’s initial comments, however, drew criticism from her mayoral opponents who accused her of damaging the democratic process.

“This is disqualifying rhetoric for anyone hoping to lead a Chicago that is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic city,” Garcia said, according to FOX 32.

Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, who is also running to become the next mayor of Chicago, said residents deserve “real leadership” and are ready to “turn the page” with the election of a new mayor.


Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot scaled back her “don’t vote” comment, saying that everybody everywhere needs to vote.
Getty Images

“Lori Lightfoot telling residents not to vote unless they vote for her shows that she cares more about maintaining power for herself than empowering communities or getting things done for the people of our city,” he said.

Another challenger, philanthropist Willie Wilson, said Lightfoot’s words were “delusional, divisive, dangerous and disappointing.”


Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot casts her ballot at an early voting site on Feb. 20, 2023 in Chicago.
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Activist Ja’Mal Green, another mayoral candidate, wrote on Twitter that Lightfoot’s “desperation was showing.”

“I just showed this to a bus load of new voters & the video made them more motivated than ever to vote against Lightfoot today,” he wrote.

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Jewish cemetery in Chicago suburbs vandalized with swastikas, Kanye support

Dozens of headstones at a Jewish cemetery in suburban Chicago have been vandalized with anti-Semitic hate, including Swastikas — and praise of disgraced local rapper Kanye West.

Police in Waukegan said that 39 stones were defaced with bright red spray paint early Monday at Am Echod Jewish Cemetery.

That included 16 Swastikas and at least one covered in the misspelled message: “Kanye was rite.”

The illiterate namecheck for the once-celebrated local rapper — now known as Ye — follows his spectacular downfall for repeatedly using anti-Semitic tropes after first threatening to go “death con 3… on JEWISH PEOPLE.”

“We have no words for this depravity and evil,” watchdog StopAntisemitism said alongside a photo of the Ye stone.

StopAntisemitism shared a pic of the “Kanye was rite [sic]” graffiti, saying: “We have no words for this depravity and evil.”
Twitter/StopAntisemitism

It is not the first time that Ye’s public outbursts — which saw him doubling down and repeatedly justifying his tired tropers — have been blamed for a rise in anti-Semitic hate.

Even given “the continued escalation of antisemitic incidents, this one hits hard,” local Anti-Defamation League (ADL) director David Goldenberg told ABC7.

“It must be investigated as a hate crime,” his ADL Midwest branch also tweeted, saying it was “disgusted.”

Ye has repeatedly been blamed for an increase in anti-Semitism following his ranting that started with a threat to go “death con 3… on JEWISH PEOPLE.”
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“The desecration of these stones is reprehensible [and] we all must speak out in the face of this attack.”

Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor also said she was “deeply disturbed and angered by the hateful imagery.”

“Hate does not have a home in Waukegan,” she insisted.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said he stood with the mayor in “condemning this evil act, and offer the state’s full support in the pursuit of justice.”



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3-year-old fatally shot in head in Chicago road rage attack

A three-year-old Chicago boy was fatally shot in the head over the weekend when his mother tried to flee a horrific road rage attack, police said.

Mateo Zastro had been sitting next to his siblings in the back seat of his mother’s SUV when a gunman opened fire at about 8.30 p.m. on Friday in the city’s West Lawn neighborhood.

Police said the family had just left a shopping mall when the little boy’s mom got into a confrontation with an unidentified driver, ABC7 reported.

It wasn’t immediately clear what sparked the road rage confrontation.

The mom tried to drive off but the suspect followed her and starting firing “several shots” into her vehicle, according to cops.

The little boy took a bullet to the head and was pronounced dead hours later at the Christ Hospital.

His three siblings and mom weren’t injured.

The little boy had been sitting next to his siblings in the back seat of his mother’s SUV when a gunman opened fire, striking him in the head.
WLS-TV
Police said the boy’s mom had tried to flee after getting involved in the confrontation but the suspect caught up and opened fire.
WLS-TV

“That mother is still grieving. All she’s doing is clutching onto two dinosaurs … the baby’s favorite toy,” said Andrew Holmes, a community activist who spent hours with the grief-stricken family over the weekend.

He is offering a $7,000 reward for information on the suspect responsible for Mateo’s slaying.

“We can get these baby killers off the streets,” Holmes said.

Investigators are currently reviewing surveillance video in a bid to track down the shooter, according to cops.

They are looking for a red Dodge Charger or red Ford Mustang. 

Matteo died in hospital just hours after being shot in the head, police said.
Family Handout

“Our vow to the child’s family and to the entire city is we will not rest until those responsible for this senseless and cowardly act of violence, are brought to justice,” 8th District Commander Bryan Spreyne said. 

“To those responsible for taking this precious child’s life: do the right thing, the honorable thing, and turn yourselves in.”

The little boy’s death comes just months after 5-month-old baby Cecilia Thomas was killed when she was also struck in the head by a stay bullet in a drive-by shooting.

The baby had been riding with her father when a gunman opened fire on their car, according to police.

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Cops called to Chicago DA Kim Foxx’s home after alleged domestic dispute

Police responded to the home of Chicago’s top prosecutor Kim Foxx last weekend after she and her husband allegedly engaged in a physical domestic dispute, according to reports.

The Cook County State Attorney’s husband made the 911 call following the alleged June 4 feud at the couple’s suburban Flossmoor residence that was sparked over a social media post, according to police records obtained by WGN-TV.

Foxx’s husband told police “that Kimberly got mad about something that was posted on Facebook that he did,” according to the police report. “Kimberly asked him to leave and he refused.”

According to her husband, Foxx allegedly grabbed him by the collar and threw his video game controller to the ground, according to documents. He also alleged she slapped him on his left cheek.

Foxx told responding officers that “she did put hands on [her husband] but it was only to help guide him out of the house. She never slapped him.”

The district attorney said her husband called police “only to hurt her,” cops wrote in the report.

The couple’s 19-year-old daughter was home at the time of the incident but told police she only heard yelling.

Police wrote they “did not see any evidence to support an arrest in this incident,” in their report, according to the outlet.

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