Chicago dreaming....

 "And guess what we did not have to worry about? That is right - being shot."

Okay. I know it is really California dreaming, not Chicago dreaming. By now, most of us know that Chicago dreaming is really nothing more than a nightmare. We are not even reached the first of May as yet, and Chicago has recorded 1,000 shootings! For those who think I am smug thinking about this (as I do not live in Chicagoland), are mistaken. This is a travesty. No matter the country. Especially if this country is our own.

Today, my grandson was home with us due to some skin infection. So his mom was also home. She went for a run with my grandson in his stroller. When they came home, he wanted grandpa to take him for a tractor ride. I took him for a ride around the yard. And guess what we did not have to worry about? That is right - being shot.

In some areas of Chicago, this is not the case. Kids are getting shot in the streets. Some in their own yards. Some are shot when a bullet comes through the walls of their house. And this is NOT okay. This is America. We should have the right to safe passage from any street to any street in any city in this country. If not, we are no better than Beirut. Or Kabul. Or any war torn city in Iraq or Syria.

Where am I going with this? Very simple. One thousand shootings in a city with locked down gun control should be a wake up call. Trust me - the shootings are not done by NRA members, nor citizens who went through sanctioned gun training. Sadly, most were done by thugs or gang bangers who illegally obtained their weapons. And that is where the focus should be.

Instead, the focus has been on the police department in Chicago. A task force has just presented its findings to the Mayor of Chicago. It seems the report points a finger at the policing in Chicago. That they are insensitive to minorities. Up to and including their stop and frisk policy. Now this is a head scratcher to me. If the city is being "over policed" and yet there have been 1,000 shootings, what is next?

I am afraid the next step is not good. If the police take more a "hands off" posture on policing, especially in the neighborhoods which need help the most, lawlessness could devolve into anarchy. Chicago is in deep, deep trouble. In the past three years (under the rule of Mayor Emanuel), 260 school children have been killed. 260! 

Wake up Rahm, and smell the coffee! Your city needs its thin blue line. Your city needs strong policing. Your city is on the verge of becoming uninhabitable.