Posts Tagged ‘john ruberry’

To fight back against the left, I say we should refer to all Illinois criminals as “justice-impacted individuals”

Posted: May 26, 2024 by John Ruberry in crime, News/opinion, opinion/news, politics
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By John Ruberry

Oh, for the days when Illinois was normal.

My state is a solid blue state, but it wasn’t always that way. 

In the 20th century, only twice, in 1912 and 1916, Illinois failed to back the presidential winner in the general election.

The Land of Lincoln, the home of the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, began its slide to the left in 1988, when George H.W. Bush won Illinois by just 95,000 votes in his blowout win, nationally that is, over Michael Dukakis. Democrat gerrymandering and feckless leadership from the state GOP have demoralized Illinois conservatives. Real conservatives, that is, not the country club phonies who are embarrassed by Donald Trump.

Illinois has now gone hard left, thanks to decades of gerrymandering. At the top of the heap is likely 2028 presidential candidate, J.B. Pritzker, who is nearly halfway into his second term as governor. 

To embellish his woke credentials for his presidential run, Pritzker signed into law and championed the SAFE-T Act, which abolishes cash bail in Illinois. It’s been in effect for nine months. The numbers are still coming in, but at least in Chicago, other than a slight dip in murders, violent crime is up.

Still, criminals manage to get caught and convicted in Illinois, despite the presence until December of a George Soros-funded so-called prosecutor, Kim Foxx, in the state’s largest county, Cook.

But some of those unlucky Illinois crooks soon may not soon be officially known as “felons,” “offenders,” or “convicts” or “ex-cons,” If it’s not on his desk already, it soon will be, but Illinois House Bill 4409 will classify participants in the Adult Redeploy Illinois program as “justice-impacted individuals.”

To be fair, not all convicted criminals in the state will be referred to as such if Pritzker signs HB 4409 into law, but considering that the billionaire governor has proven to be cautious about being out-woked, look for all lawbreakers to be referred to be officially classified as such in that sanitized, Orwellian phrase.

Conservatives and centrists, who, despite Democratic dominance in in the Land of Lincoln, still make up a majority in this state, have two surefire ways to fight back.

They can remind leftists that Illinois–for good reason–has been losing population annually for a decade. 

The other method of attack is to refer to criminals, when a progressive is in earshot or likely to read a social media post, as “justice-impacted individuals.” Leftists can’t process the wrongheadedness of their political beliefs, such as men being able to give birth, and they despise ridicule. 

Believers in common sense, you have your assignment. Think of yourselves as Groucho Marx and the leftist in front of you as the kind of pompous fool the legendary comedian regularly humiliated. 

With some laughs, we might be able turn Illinois, even slightly, to the right direction.

John Ruberry regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.

What about the current laws? The next time someone says we need more gun control laws, tell them about Cook County, Illinois

Posted: May 19, 2024 by John Ruberry in crime, News/opinion, opinion/news, politics
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By John Ruberry

Cook County, Illinois, America’s second-most populous county, has suffered under seven-and-a-half years of a pro-criminal so-called prosecutor, state’s attorney Kim Foxx. 

Jussie Smollet’s pal–who is a George Soros-funded Democrat–apparently doesn’t want to leave office quietly. Foxx, who thankfully decided not to run for a third term.

Foxx is considering adopting a policy of not prosecuting motorists who are pulled over for moving violations, thinks like speeding and driving with expired license plates, if they are found with narcotics or illegally possessing guns.

I’ve repeatedly criticized Foxx on this blog. Among her most egregious examples of prosecutorial malfeasance is her policy of ignoring the Illinois threshold for felony theft of $300. She raised it to $1,000. A second standout of idiocy was her decision, since reversed, not to charge participants in a wild west style Chicago gunfight because they were engaged in “mutual combat.”

For decades, liberals and leftists in Illinois have said that most deadly violence in the Prairie State is caused by guns. After every mass shooting–the latest one happened last night on Chicago’s West Side–libs will decry the latest instance of “gun violence.” Of course, these guns don’t fire themselves. It’s people violence. And playing along with the progressives’ word games, the next logical step of course is more gun laws, or better yet, they believe, a ban on public ownership of firearms. 

The reaction to Foxx’s no-charges suggestion regarding guns and drugs found during traffic stops has been mostly, but not exclusively, negative. 

The media-shy Foxx–I prefer to call her a coward–directed her office issue a statement defending her foolish idea.

“Decades of data demonstrate that these stops do not enhance public safety,” it reads. “Instead, they perpetuate a cycle of mistrust and fear, especially in under-resourced communities. This draft policy is a crucial step towards rebuilding that trust.” 

What data? Where? When?

And “rebuilding that trust” means not enforcing gun laws? 

A Chicago alderperson, Sylvana Tabares, issued a commonsense retort against Foxx’s proposal. “It strips officers of an essential tool to get illegal guns off our streets,” Tabares said. “Residents are demanding we do more to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and make their neighborhoods safe. This does the opposite.”

The Republican nominee for Cook County’s state’s attorney, Robert Fioretti, says if Foxx’s no-charges- on-guns-and-drugs-found-in-traffic-stops policy is enacted, he’ll reverse it. The Democratic candidate, Eileen O’Neill Burke, hasn’t commented on Foxx’s proposal. However, O’Neill Burke–who I voted for in the Democratic Primary over a Foxx-wannabe–campaigned on reversing returning Cook County to the $300 threshold for prosecuting felony theft. I suspect EOB is against Foxx’s proposal.

Meanwhile, last week Cook County’s sheriff, the weaselly Tom Dart, also a Democrat, in statement suggested that there could be over 80,000 Illinoisans who have had their Firearm Owners Identification Cards revoked who still possess guns. Dart, at least in regard to Cook County, says he needs more money to track down these criminals. Cook County Jail, which Dart is in charge of, has seen a dramatic drop in inmates because of Illinois’ pro-criminal no-cash bail SAFE-T Act, but has not laid off any guards. I know, that’s because of union contracts.

When are the next round of negotiations for those jail guards’ contracts?

Now back to guns. I’m going to state the obvious. Before suggesting new firearm laws, let’s first enforce the existing ones.

John Ruberry regularly blogs from Cook County at Marathon Pundit.

Soros-funded Chicago prosecutor will finally get tough on lawbreaking protesters–but only for the Democratic National Convention

Posted: April 28, 2024 by John Ruberry in crime, election 2024, News/opinion, opinion/news, politics
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By John Ruberry

Kim Foxx, the state’s attorney of Cook County, is the chief prosecutor in Chicago and its inner suburbs. 

The George Soros-funded catch-and-release Democrat has been a disaster for Cook County residents, except for the many criminals living here.

Nationally, the leftist ideologue is best known for botching the Jussie Smollett case. Yeah, I keep bringing that up, largely because Foxx supposedly throws a fit whenever her name is attached to the hate-crime hoaxer. 

Feel her rage.

By throwing his considerable weight around, both literally and symbolically, Illinois’ governor, JB Pritzker, who hopes to run for president in 2028, brought the 2024 Democratic National Convention to Chicago. This may prove to be Pritzker’s undoing. Chicago was hit hard by riots after the George Floyd murder, and the crime rate in Chicago and its core suburbs has soared since Foxx took office in 2016.

Fortunately, Foxx chose not to run for a third term. 

The campaign to succeed her was essentially a referendum on her time as state’s attorney. The winner by a hair was Eileen O’Neill Burke, who said at the end of a debate, “If you like the way things are going right now, you have a candidate in this election. It isn’t me.”

Last week, the Chicago Tribune reported that Foxx will get a little tougher in prosecuting crime. “You may not be aware, but for the last four years the public policy of the Cook County state’s attorney’s office has been not to prosecute criminal violations tied to protests and demonstrations,” the Trib’s left-of-center editorial board wrote, “if the office deems those actions ‘peaceful.'” 

“That means the office as a matter of policy won’t prosecute protesters arrested for disorderly conduct,” the op-ed continued, “unlawful gathering or criminal trespass to state-supported land, among other laws.”

As people with common sense–that is, non-leftists–know, small-time violators of the law sometimes become felons. Peaceful protests, or what liberal journalists laughingly call “mostly peaceful protests” sometimes become quite violent ones. 

Foxx’s end-of-term conversion does not mean she’s been suddenly blessed with wisdom. Crime is a very serious problem in Chicago. Nationally, liberal apologists for criminality regularly tell us that the crime rate in major cities is going down, but not only do they use the COVID year of 2020 as a comparison point, they ignore Chicago. While murder the murder rate is down slightly in Chicago, other crimes are becoming more numerous. Foxx is largely to blame, but Chicago’s mayor during the pandemic, Lori Lightfoot, as well as her neo-Marxist successor, Brandon Johnson, should hold their heads in shame too.

Instead, Foxx has cynically, in regard to DNC protesters, decided to do her job. 

Leftists are obsessed with history repeating itself. Looking past the calm 1996 Democratic Convention, they fear a repeat of the riot at Grant Park during the 1968 DNC, when Mayor Richard J. Daley’s angry cops beat up hippie protesters as millions of voters watched on television. Liberals blame that chaos for Richard Nixon’s victory that fall. 

At a protest earlier this month Joe Iosbaker, a left-wing gadfly, offered an ominous warning with a couple of questions. “Have you heard that the Democratic National Convention is coming to Chicago? Are we going to let ’em come here without a protest? This is Chicago, goddamn it — we’ve got to give them a 1968 kind of welcome.”

Foxx doesn’t want to be blamed for Donald Trump defeating Joe Biden in November. She cares more about her political party than fulfilling the duties of her job.

Pro-Hamas and anti-Israel protests are regular disturbances in downtown Chicago. Protesting, both peaceful and “mostly peaceful,” has become a habit in the city. Throw into the mix Chicago’s violent crime epidemic, and the result will be a vile stew that is set to turn toxic in late August, when the DNC convenes at the United Center.

Foxx’s “conversion,” in my opinion, will prove to be too little–too late.

Let the bad times roll. History will repeat itself in Chicago.

After the DNC leaves, Foxx can return to not prosecuting protesters who break laws until Eileen O’Neill Burke is sworn in.

John Ruberry regularly blogs in Cook County at Marathon Pundit.

History awaits as Chicago White Sox might finish with worst MLB season ever

Posted: April 21, 2024 by John Ruberry in baseball, Sports
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Blogger at a White Sox game

By John Ruberry

History is unfolding on Chicago’s South Side.

Three weeks into the 2024 Major League Baseball season, the Chicago White Sox are 3-18, a .143 winning percentage. If they continue at this pace, at the end of the 162-game season, they will finish far worse than the benchmark of modern baseball futility, the 1962 New York Mets season.

In their first National League campaign, those Mets ended up at 40-120, a .250 winning percentage. Or if you prefer, a .750 losing percentage. In 2003, the Detroit Tigers set the American League record for the most losses at 119. They started off that dreadful season at 3-22. 

More recently, the 2022 Cincinnati Reds matched the Tigers’ 25-game start, but sort-of rallied to conclude the season at 62-100.

But the Sox are probably in ’62 Mets and ’03 Tigers territory. Because this year’s South Siders aren’t just losing often, they are bottom feeders in most MLB team statistics. According to Yahoo Sports, the White Sox are 26th in WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched), 26th in earned run average, 30th in runs scored, 30th in batting average, 30th in home runs, and 30th in slugging percentage. For those who don’t follow baseball, there are 30 MLB teams.

The White Sox have nine batters hitting under .200. The South Siders’ pitchers have been equally ineffective. Last week, CBS Sports last week called the Sox “depressingly bad,” but singled out starting pitcher Garret Crochet as a bright spot with his 3.57 ERA. But on Friday night, Crochet was yanked in the 4th inning after surrendering seven runs. His ERA is now 5.61.

The best hitter for the White Sox has been third baseman Yoan Moncada, who leads the Sox batters with a .282 average. But after 11 games, Moncada was placed on the 60-day disabled list with a left adductor strain. He may not return this season.

Last week on X, user Jim Passon summed up the South Siders’ start. “White Sox this season: Lose 4 in-a-row win 1. Lose 5 in-a-row, win 1, Lose 6 in-a-row, win 1.”

Since that X post, the White Sox traveled to Philadelphia to lose three more, including Friday night’s Crochet loss. In the first two games of that series, the Phillies carried no-hitters into the seventh and the eighth innings. So far, the White Sox–and remember, they have played only 21 games–have been shut out seven times.

During the postgame show after Sunday’s loss, former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen summed up the team’s season: “Overall, a lotta, lotta bad stuff.” 

Indeed.   

In 2023, under first year manager Pedro Grifol, the White Sox lost 101 games. While in 2021, under Hall of Fame skipper Tony LaRussa, the Sox won 93 games and topped the AL Central Division. Most analysts figured another 101 loss-or-so season was in order for the South Siders this season. Since the 2023 trade deadline–and into this year–the Sox have traded pitchers Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, Aaron Bummer, and Dylan Cease for prospects.

Shortstop Tim Anderson, the 2019 American League batting champion, was not offered a contract after the ’23 season. Ironically, the Florida Marlins, who have MLB’s second worst record so far this season, signed him.

The worst American League start ever was 0-21, the 1988 Baltimore Orioles earned that dishonor. Larry Sheets was an outfielder for those O’s. His son, Gavin Sheets, also an outfielder, plays for this year’s White Sox team. Father and son have a lot to talk about.

The White Sox, although the 2024 season is still young, have a very good chance to surpass the Mets’ 1962 record for the worst modern era MLB season of the modern era.

It might be a bit late for the White Sox to add a marketing slogan for the ’24 campaign, but seriously, my idea might sell some tickets and gain some television viewers.

“History awaits, see your 2024 Chicago White Sox.”

The legendary Casey Stengel was the manager of the ’62 Mets, he called his team “the Amazin’ Mets.” Yes, they were. And that team’s first baseman, Marvelous Marv Throneberry, made a living off of that team’s notoriety.

Let’s not overlook the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, who suffered thru a 20-134 .130 percentage National League season. 

History awaits the White Sox.

Finally, in a case of wretched timing, White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is asking for state and municipal funding to build a new stadium for his team. The Bears have their hand out for a new stadium too. The toothless Monsters of the Midway have finished with the worst record in the NFL the past two seasons. Both teams play in taxpayer funded stadiums that are relatively new; in fact, the bonds for both facilities are not been paid off yet.

It’s a bit like a kid who smashes the car his parents bought for him asking for a new automobile as the vehicle he wrecked is being towed away.

UPDATE April 22:

There was another shutout loss for the White Sox tonight, their eighth. The Minnesota Twins topped the South Siders 7-0.

John Ruberry regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.

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