5/20/ Daley press conferance on guns

[Tvandermyde]

May 20, 2010

 

Daley: City ready to act if Supreme Court overturns gun ban

Posted by Hal Dardick and John Byrne at 10:05 a.m.; last updated at 1:55 p.m.

 

Mayor Richard Daley today refused to concede that the Supreme Court is likely to overturn the city's gun ban, but said that he will be ready to act quickly to put in place restrictions on gun ownership if it does.

 

It's defeatist to prepare new gun laws ahead of the court's ruling, which should come before the body recesses at the end of June, Daley said.

 

"You have to have confidence in the Supreme Court, Maybe they'll see the light of day," Daley said at a City Hall news conference. "Maybe one of them will have an incident and they'll change their mind over night, going to and from work."

 

The mayor said if the court overturns the Chicago ban, as expected, he'll quickly present new legislation to the City Council.

 

"Whatever the details of the court's ruling will be, we will always find new ways to keep guns off our streets," he said.

 

Daley offered no specifics on what he will propose. But he talked about the possibility of ballistics tests for registered guns, so police can track them if they're used in crimes.

 

He also said that if guns are allowed in Chicago, something has to be done to allow police, firefighters and other first responders know how many weapons are in a home as they respond to a call.

 

"If you get a call for domestic violence, or you get a call for a burglary, or you get a call that a man with a gun is outside someone's home, and the police officer goes to the scene, goes to the door and sees a person with a gun, what decision does he have to make with regards to his safety and the safety in that home?" Daley said.

 

"When you think about that, you're really placing the first responders in a much more difficult -- with all the restrictions on police officers, what they can do and what they can't do -- we'll have to give them a worksheet for them, where they'll have to read it to you, take your FOI card out?"

 

During the news conference, Daley reacted with the help of a prop when a reporter suggested the city's handgun ban has been ineffective, given the number of shootings that still occur in Chicago.

 

"It's been very effective," Daley said, picking up a gun from the dozens displayed on a nearby table. "If I put this up your butt, you'll find out how effective it is. Let me put a round up your, you know."

 

"But that's why you want to get them out," he continued. "You want to get these out. This gun saved many lives. It could save your life."

 

The mayor mentioned the possibility of some kind of registry to let police know how many guns and what types are in each house, but said nothing has been finalized.

 

In 1982, the city barred the registration of additional handguns, but allowed those residents who already had handguns to keep them. That ordinance became known as the city’s handgun ban. In June 2008, the nation's high court overturned a similar ban in Washington, D.C.. and justices are now weighing a Chicago case that will determine whether that ruling should be extended beyond federal enclaves.

 

 

Supreme Court justices are expected to rule next month on McDonald vs. City of Chicago. The court heard arguments March 2 on the case. At the time, Tribune Supreme Court reporter David G. Savage reported that most of the justices who two years ago said the 2nd Amendment protects individual gun rights signaled they are ready to extend this right nationwide and to use it to strike down some state and local gun regulations. You can read the rest of that story by clicking here.

 

In the D.C. case, justices did not close the door on all gun regulation, and D.C. later enacted a law requiring gun owners to go through five hours of safety training, register their firearms every three years and undergo criminal background checks every six years.

 

More extensive training requirements for gun owners -- such as that enacted in Washington D.C. -- also is a possibility, Daley said.

 

"We'll work harder to make sure only responsible adults can have access to guns across the nation," Daley said. "When you think about that, you have to go through driver's ed and you have to get a license, you have to pass a test for drivers, but you don't have to really do anything to own a gun," he said.

 

Preserving the handgun ban has been high on Daley's agenda during his two decades as mayor. For years, Daley also has pressed state lawmakers for tighter gun control laws, including an assault weapons ban,but has found only limited success in a state where gun owner rights are closely guarded downstate.

[Federal Farmer]

May 20, 2010

 

Daley: City ready to act if Supreme Court overturns gun ban

Posted by Hal Dardick and John Byrne at 10:05 a.m.; last updated at 1:55 p.m.

 

Mayor Richard Daley today refused to concede that the Supreme Court is likely to overturn the city's gun ban, but said that he will be ready to act quickly to put in place restrictions on gun ownership if it does.

 

It's defeatist to prepare new gun laws ahead of the court's ruling, which should come before the body recesses at the end of June, Daley said.

 

"You have to have confidence in the Supreme Court, Maybe they'll see the light of day," Daley said at a City Hall news conference. "Maybe one of them will have an incident and they'll change their mind over night, going to and from work."

 

The mayor said if the court overturns the Chicago ban, as expected, he'll quickly present new legislation to the City Council.

 

"Whatever the details of the court's ruling will be, we will always find new ways to keep guns off our streets," he said.

 

Daley offered no specifics on what he will propose. But he talked about the possibility of ballistics tests for registered guns, so police can track them if they're used in crimes.

 

He also said that if guns are allowed in Chicago, something has to be done to allow police, firefighters and other first responders know how many weapons are in a home as they respond to a call.

 

"If you get a call for domestic violence, or you get a call for a burglary, or you get a call that a man with a gun is outside someone's home, and the police officer goes to the scene, goes to the door and sees a person with a gun, what decision does he have to make with regards to his safety and the safety in that home?" Daley said.

 

"When you think about that, you're really placing the first responders in a much more difficult -- with all the restrictions on police officers, what they can do and what they can't do -- we'll have to give them a worksheet for them, where they'll have to read it to you, take your FOI card out?"

 

During the news conference, Daley reacted with the help of a prop when a reporter suggested the city's handgun ban has been ineffective, given the number of shootings that still occur in Chicago.

 

"It's been very effective," Daley said, picking up a gun from the dozens displayed on a nearby table. "If I put this up your butt, you'll find out how effective it is. Let me put a round up your, you know."

 

"But that's why you want to get them out," he continued. "You want to get these out. This gun saved many lives. It could save your life."

 

The mayor mentioned the possibility of some kind of registry to let police know how many guns and what types are in each house, but said nothing has been finalized.

 

In 1982, the city barred the registration of additional handguns, but allowed those residents who already had handguns to keep them. That ordinance became known as the city’s handgun ban. In June 2008, the nation's high court overturned a similar ban in Washington, D.C.. and justices are now weighing a Chicago case that will determine whether that ruling should be extended beyond federal enclaves.

 

 

Supreme Court justices are expected to rule next month on McDonald vs. City of Chicago. The court heard arguments March 2 on the case. At the time, Tribune Supreme Court reporter David G. Savage reported that most of the justices who two years ago said the 2nd Amendment protects individual gun rights signaled they are ready to extend this right nationwide and to use it to strike down some state and local gun regulations. You can read the rest of that story by clicking here.

 

In the D.C. case, justices did not close the door on all gun regulation, and D.C. later enacted a law requiring gun owners to go through five hours of safety training, register their firearms every three years and undergo criminal background checks every six years.

 

More extensive training requirements for gun owners -- such as that enacted in Washington D.C. -- also is a possibility, Daley said.

 

"We'll work harder to make sure only responsible adults can have access to guns across the nation," Daley said. "When you think about that, you have to go through driver's ed and you have to get a license, you have to pass a test for drivers, but you don't have to really do anything to own a gun," he said.

 

Preserving the handgun ban has been high on Daley's agenda during his two decades as mayor. For years, Daley also has pressed state lawmakers for tighter gun control laws, including an assault weapons ban,but has found only limited success in a state where gun owner rights are closely guarded downstate.

 

Funny, they currently already allow handguns to be registered so why haven't they needed ballistic 'signatures' and training requirements so far?

 

And did he really say what I think he said? He's totally losing it. How can you hear that and not be embarrassed?

[45superman]

"It's been very effective," Daley said, picking up a gun from the dozens displayed on a nearby table. "If I put this up your butt, you'll find out how effective it is. Let me put a round up your, you know."

 

Stay classy, Mayor.

[THE KING]

OMG, What a moron. Daley is a raving lunatic. I think he needs to see a psychiatrist for a mental evaluation.

 

Telling a reporter he wants to stick a gun up his butt. :Drunk emoticon:

 

There is something seriously wrong with King Daley. I just can't believe he is allowed to continue in his position as the mayor. The more I see Daley on TV, the more I would like to see his head explode !!!!

 

We should be able to remove politicians from office when they wilfully and negligently refuse to uphold their oath of office which is to "Uphold the constituion of the United States"

[Ol'Coach]

"You have to have confidence in the Supreme Court, Maybe they'll see the light of day," Daley said at a City Hall news conference.

 

Amazing statement!! Well, maybe not, considering the source!

 

Actually, I hope he keeps spewing such garbage! If he hasn't already made a fool of himself, this will certainly contribute! I can't imagine the gall!!

 

Damn! I'm gonna hafta turn up the o2 another notch!! :Drunk emoticon:

[Federal Farmer]

I wonder if the City Council could have a no-confidence vote on him. Scratch that, they don't have the cajones. More than half of them were appointed by him to boot.

[spec4]

WLS was palying a clip today of Daley saying the death of the policeman yesterday may help SCOTUS with their decision. We all share a deep disgust of this criminal buffoon. Once SCOTUS goes against him, he will roll out new requirements to defeat 2A in his kingdom. I still say, no 2A freedom in Chicago until he is dead or in jail. Either scenario will have me dancing in the street.

[Ol'Coach]

WLS was palying a clip today of Daley saying the death of the policeman yesterday may help SCOTUS with their decision. We all share a deep disgust of this criminal buffoon. Once SCOTUS goes against him, he will roll out new requirements to defeat 2A in his kingdom. I still say, no 2A freedom in Chicago until he is dead or in jail. Either scenario will have me dancing in the street.

 

Might be a good thing! If he had been armed, he might still be alive!! We'll never know! We do know, that since he wasn't he's dead!

[w00dc4ip]

I couldn't believe I read this so I had to read it again, and then go to the original source and make sure it wasn't mis-quoted. I hope someone has a recording of this, and I have to ask, did the mayor of Chicago just threaten the safety of the Justices of the United States Supreme Court? Veiled threat maybe, but a Chicago mob-style threat no doubt.

 

"You have to have confidence in the Supreme Court, Maybe they'll see the light of day," Daley said at a City Hall news conference. "Maybe one of them will have an incident and they'll change their mind over night, going to and from work."

 

ETA: Just imagine, if anything, and I mean anything, happens to a SCOTUS Justice prior to the McDonald Ruling, Daley's quote had better be the front page headline of every US newspaper the following day...

[Ol'Coach]

Todd...link? Trib??

 

I wanna spread that one around!!!

 

Never mind...

 

quick response from Mr Chapman:

 

Steve Chapman

 

May 20, 2010

Daley's latest anti-gun rant

Share |

 

In spite of the 2008 decision striking down Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban, Mayor Richard Daley continues to hold out hope that the Supreme Court will uphold Chicago's similar ordinance. "Maybe they'll see the light of day," he said of the justices. "Maybe one of them will have an incident and they'll change their mind overnight, going to and from work."

 

Sure. And maybe they'll hear him talking nonsense and decide that the First Amendment shouldn't cover free speech after all.

 

Then again, an incident involving guns might not yield the result Daley wants. One of the justices might get mugged and conclude that law-abiding citizens should have the means to protect themselves.

 

If the city loses, as it probably will, Daley obviously will do everything possible to discourage the exercise of Second Amendment rights. His latest excuse is that allowing handguns in homes would present a dire threat to public safety personnel -- say, cops or firefighters responding to an emergency. "You're really placing the first responders in a much more difficult" position, he said.

 

Where does the mayor get the idea that no one has ever had to cope with this alleged problem before? In nearly every other city in America, citizens are allowed to keep handguns and other firearms in their homes. And yet somehow first responders manage to do their jobs.

 

The bigger danger in Chicago, of course, is illegal guns owned by criminals, which already exist in profusion. Just because the city has a ban on handgun doesn't mean a police officer can assume he won't find himself on the wrong end of one.

 

Daley acts as though the justices have no knowledge of the world. But he's the one who sounds disconnected from real life.

 

Posted at 02:20:45 PM in Chicago, Constitutional rights, Guns

[45superman]

Todd...link? Trib??

 

I wanna spread that one around!!!

 

Clout St. Blog

[Tvandermyde]

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2010/05/daley-talks-gun-control-in-advance-of-supreme-court-ruling.html

[mauserme]

"We'll work harder to make sure only responsible adults can have access to guns across the nation," Daley said. "When you think about that, you have to go through driver's ed and you have to get a license, you have to pass a test for drivers, but you don't have to really do anything to own a gun," he said.

If I'm not mistaken (and I'm not), driving in Illinois is considered a priviledge, not a right. I'm not aware of any licensing requirements for an enumerated right.

 

The same arguement applies against mandatory firearm insurance v mandatory auto insurance.

[Ol'Coach]

It's my intention to email both links, the original, and Mr. Chapman's response, to many people!

 

"Here's whut I'm talkin' about!!"

 

Great material for the "Town Hall" meetings, don'cha think?

[markthesignguy]

Todd...link? Trib??

 

I wanna spread that one around!!!

 

Never mind...

 

quick response from Mr Chapman:

 

Steve Chapman

 

May 20, 2010

Daley's latest anti-gun rant

Share |

 

In spite of the 2008 decision striking down Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban, Mayor Richard Daley continues to hold out hope that the Supreme Court will uphold Chicago's similar ordinance. "Maybe they'll see the light of day," he said of the justices. "Maybe one of them will have an incident and they'll change their mind overnight, going to and from work."

 

Sure. And maybe they'll hear him talking nonsense and decide that the First Amendment shouldn't cover free speech after all.

 

Then again, an incident involving guns might not yield the result Daley wants. One of the justices might get mugged and conclude that law-abiding citizens should have the means to protect themselves.

 

If the city loses, as it probably will, Daley obviously will do everything possible to discourage the exercise of Second Amendment rights. His latest excuse is that allowing handguns in homes would present a dire threat to public safety personnel -- say, cops or firefighters responding to an emergency. "You're really placing the first responders in a much more difficult" position, he said.

 

Where does the mayor get the idea that no one has ever had to cope with this alleged problem before? In nearly every other city in America, citizens are allowed to keep handguns and other firearms in their homes. And yet somehow first responders manage to do their jobs.

 

The bigger danger in Chicago, of course, is illegal guns owned by criminals, which already exist in profusion. Just because the city has a ban on handgun doesn't mean a police officer can assume he won't find himself on the wrong end of one.

 

Daley acts as though the justices have no knowledge of the world. But he's the one who sounds disconnected from real life.

 

Posted at 02:20:45 PM in Chicago, Constitutional rights, Guns

 

 

Ya beat me coach!!!

 

I'm starting to LIKE this Chapman guy ....

 

and when SCOTUS's decision is out,

Da kings staff is gonna be scrambling

to keep as much of his explosion out of the papers as they can.... :Drunk emoticon:

[Federal Farmer]

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2010/05/daley-talks-gun-control-in-advance-of-supreme-court-ruling.html

[Glock21]

King Richard never fails to amaze me.

 

Wow. Just wow.

[Ol'Coach]

More "thank you" emails to Mr. Chapman!!

 

Keep him pumped!!

[papa]

Oh man!!!!! He finally said something I have to agree with........." This gun saved many lives . It could save your life. "

[abolt243]

Class!! Sophistication!! Refined!!

 

Good God people!! Here you have the Mayor of the third most poplulous city in the country. What some refer to as the "Second City" in reference to it being the second most prestigious city in the United States in many areas, such as entertainment, culture, and finance. Said Mayor talks, in public, in front of microphones and cameras about sticking a gun up a reporters' butt?! Dancing in the blood of a dead veteran/cop??

 

This guy is a joke and should embarrass every right minded citizen of Chicago to the point that they demand action from the city council.

 

If the citizens of Chicago don't find some way to get him out of office in 2011, then it will truly be the inmates running the asylum!!

 

I'll quit before I say something that gets me banned.

 

AB

[Xwing]

Daley just continues to heap more embarrassment his way. One day these goofy, wrong-headed comments will catch up with the “King”.

[CraigC]

Daley just continues to heap more embarrassment his way. One day these goofy, wrong-headed comments will catch up with the “King”.

 

Is the a video of the "up your butt" portion of the press conference? Wouldn't it be great if the reporter that the mayor was addressing was to press assault charges! Imagine him/her sitting down with a detective:

 

DET: How can I help you today?

 

REPORTER: I was covering a story for XYZ news agency and a crazed man picked up a gun and threatened to sodomize me with it.

 

DET: Thats unbelievable?!? Were there any witnesses?

 

REPORTER: Ohh yes, several. There were other members of the press and more than a few cops were nearby, but I don't know if they saw or heard anything... but I have it on tape.

[Ol'Coach]

Ya know whut? I'd be willing to bet that even organized crime, for which, IMO, Daley is the voice, is beginning to be embarrassed by his illogical statements!

 

'nuff said!

[pyre400]

The last words of a politically, and morally broken, egotistical fool. I'll be looking for video footage, but here's a current photo of this historical moment in Daley's legacy.

 

 

http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-daley-gun-ban-tiv,0,1656776.story

 

 

Daley talks about city's gun ban and upcoming ruling

 

Chicago Mayor says city prepared if Supreme Court overturns gun ban

Lourdes Duarte WGN News

 

http://www.wgntv.com/media/alternatethumbnails/story/2010-05/53874293-20193620.JPG Mayor Daley made Chicago's gun ban his main talking point Thursday.

 

For more than 20 minutes he talked about how it has helped the city.

 

When asked how effective it has been, he left little to the imagination.

 

Sign up for WGN News Alerts

Daley said, "If I put this up your butt, you'll find out how effective it is. Let me put a round up your, you know."

 

Funny to hear the Mayor's comment but the topic couldn't have been more serious.

 

The death of a Chicago police officer sparked the Mayor's speech. Also, next month the Supreme Court could put an end to Chicago's nearly three decade long gun ban.

 

Some suspect the ban reduces gun violence by 30% which is why Mayor Daley hopes the Justices don't overturn it. He says, "but in today's national climate we have to plan for the worst."

 

If overturned, the Mayor is considering other restrictions like proposing that registered gun owners take training courses and register firearms. Also, allowing police to perform ballistics tests and requiring that gun owners purchase liability insurance.

 

It is too early to tell exactly how he'll handle it but the possibilities are already being talked about. Copyright © 2010, WGN-TV

[Molly B.]

Daley just continues to heap more embarrassment his way. One day these goofy, wrong-headed comments will catch up with the “King”.

 

Is the a video of the "up your butt" portion of the press conference? Wouldn't it be great if the reporter that the mayor was addressing was to press assault charges! Imagine him/her sitting down with a detective:

 

DET: How can I help you today?

 

REPORTER: I was covering a story for XYZ news agency and a crazed man picked up a gun and threatened to sodomize me with it.

 

DET: Thats unbelievable?!? Were there any witnesses?

 

REPORTER: Ohh yes, several. There were other members of the press and more than a few cops were nearby, but I don't know if they saw or heard anything... but I have it on tape.

 

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2010/05/gun-control-butt-of-daley-joke.html

[Bill Matio]

John Kass has a good commentary about this in todays Trib.

[mauserme]

From the LA Times

 

 

Chicago Mayor Daley offers to shoot reporter to prove gun ban works

May 20, 2010 | 8:43 pm

 

 

 

 

Who are we to criticize a politician's choice of words? It's a tough job. You have to be expressive to get your message out.

 

Is the best way to demonstrate the benefits of gun control by picking up a rifle and offering to shoot a reporter?

 

Leave that to the PR experts. What do we know?

 

But that apparently was Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's strategy.

 

At a news conference to discuss Chicago's gun ban and the Supreme Court's pending ruling on the issue, a reporter from the Chicago Reader asked him if the ban was effective.

 

"Since guns are readily available in Chicago even with a ban in place, do you really think it's been effective?" asked Mick Dumke.

"Oh!" Daley said. "It's been very effective!"

 

He grabbed a rifle, held it up, and looked right at me. He was chuckling but there was no smile.

 

"If I put this up yourha!your buttha ha!you'll find out how effective this is!"

 

"If I put a round up yourha ha!"

 

Dumke said the room became "very, very quiet" before reporters realized he was joking.

 

Daley's press flak said the mayor didn't regret the remarks but said by offering to place the gun in the reporter's rear end "could admittedly be considered a less-than-ideal example."

 

 

 

-- Jimmy Orr

[junglebob]

I wish Mr. Chapman had asked Daley something like "With Chicago gun owners required to pass a background check to get a FOID card and also to register their firearms, Why don't you trust honest Chicago gun owners not to use their guns on police if they are called to their residences?" Other cities trust their residents to own guns without such resrictions, are Chicago gun owners so untrustworthy? Keep up this kind of questioning and he may eventually say something to put himself in the rubber room where he belongs.

[gravyboy77]

John Kass weighs in:

 

http://www.chicagotr...s-0521-20100521,0,3497461.column

 

Police officer slain as mayor embarrasses himself and city

 

In anti-handgun Chicago, criminals aren't bothered by Mayor Richard Daley's handgun ban. They haven't been bothered for years.

 

And so another Chicago police officer was shot to death. But it wasn't during a traffic stop or some hunt through an alley after a drug sting.

 

Thomas Wortham IV, 30, was a victim of a robbery, shot down outside his boyhood home in the staunchly middle-class Chatham neighborhood, his body dragged 100 feet or so by the getaway car.

 

The thugs were trying to steal his motorcycle, a gift to himself upon his return from a second tour of duty in Iraq as a first lieutenant in the Army National Guard.

 

Wortham, a patrol officer, was helping his neighbors reclaim a troubled neighborhood park, the scene of several recent shootings.

 

"He was the best of us. He was a role model. He was 30 years old, a grown man, a police officer, a soldier, a man of service," said Ald. Freddrenna Lyle, 6th, who has known the Wortham family since she was a child.

 

"It was 'Yes, ma'am' and 'No, sir' from him. He had self-respect. He was teaching these young men how to be men," she said.

 

I talked to Lyle on a side street in Chatham just after she'd paid a long condolence call to the Wortham family, as neighbors stood out on their sidewalks, agonizing over the loss.

 

The front lawns were neat and small. Backyard gardens were places of old-fashioned flowers, peonies and phlox and tea-roses. It is a neighborhood carefully tended.

 

At that moment, Mayor Daley was holding a news conference, another dog-and-pony show at City Hall to demonstrate his tough stance on crime.

 

He called it to express his concern that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the city's handgun ban. There were guns on a table as props, so much eye candy for the cameras.

 

A reporter asked the obvious question: Given the numbers of shootings in the city, isn't the handgun ban ineffective?

 

The question was more than fair. In Chicago, the only people who are confident in their 2nd Amendment rights to bear arms are the criminals, the cops and the politicians.

 

Law-abiding citizens can't own handguns. They don't have an army of bodyguards, as does Daley. Political hacks have guns. They get out the vote for his machine.

 

And the retired neighbor who's never been arrested in his life? Oh, no. If he has a gun, it would be anarchy in the streets, according to Daley.

 

Confronted with a logical question, here's what the mayor did: He picked up a rifle from the prop table of guns, raised it and began to babble.

 

"It's been very effective," said Daley of the handgun ban. "If I put this up your butt, you'll find out how effective it is. Let me put a round up your, you know."

 

The mayor of Chicago then went on to say if the justices were attacked by thugs with guns, they'd see things his way.

 

"Maybe they'll see the light of day," Daley said. "Maybe one of them will have an incident, and they'll change their mind overnight, going to and from work."

 

Chicago politics is a rough business. But suggesting that Supreme Court justices need to suffer before becoming enlightened is despicable. It not only embarrasses the mayor, but everyone who lives or works in Chicago.

 

His press aides put out a statement saying the mayor used "less than ideal" language when he suggested inserting the rifle into his critics and pulling the trigger.

 

And there was no word of any plans to apologize to the Supreme Court.

 

But he meant what he said. And so the mayor reveals his nature.

 

Daley has been a bully his entire life, a child of muscle and privilege, and now he's terrified at the prospect that his citizens might think he's lost control of the streets.

 

The police despise him. Their department is terribly understaffed and overworked. Taxpayers want more cops. But there's no money for additional police because Daley wasted it all, hundreds of millions of dollars year after year after year on deals for his cronies.

 

While Daley spent his life pushing weaker people around, Thomas Wortham spent his life as a man of service. Now he's cold at the funeral home, waiting for burial.

 

His Chatham neighborhood once was considered free of violence. It is the home of Sen. Roland Burris, of former Police Supt. police Superintendent Terry Hilliard, of lawyers, judges, doctors, bus drivers and steelworkers.

 

Neighbors recalled Cole Park, just across the street from Wortham's boyhood home, as a place to see the best basketball players in the city. Even a young rookie named Michael Jordan played hoops in pick-up games.

 

Now there are iron bars over the rims to discourage young men from congregating in the park, the scene of a recent rash of shootings.

 

Wortham's tour of duty in Iraq ended less than two months ago. He bought himself that motorcycle and planned on helping Ald. Lyle reclaim Cole Park this weekend.

 

On Thursday, it was the setting for a prayer vigil for his immortal soul.

 

"His mother was worried that something was going to happen to him over there [in Iraq]," Lyle told me. "But he had to come home to Chicago to get shot down."

 

Home to Chicago, the anti-handgun city, where the thugs don't worry much about what the mayor has to say.

 

[SoupOrMan]

How does anyone in Chicago stand him as mayor? Do they only keep him there for entertainment value now? Meigs Field, Millennium Park, parking meters, pate de foie gras bans and frothing opposition to gun ownership... I don't even think that dead people are voting for him anymore.