Page 11 - April 2017 Newsletter

When will the media get the story right?
The weekend of April 7-9 ended with 30 peo- ple shot and seven killed. You would think that the media would sense that the people of Chicago are fed up with the violence and comment on the numbers.
Last week, there was a story the media did not give the coverage that it deserved. Associate Judge Peggy Chiam- pas was presiding over probable cause hearings at 26th and California. Judge Chiampas couldn’t believe what she heard repeatedly from the prosecutor in bond court. “The State’s Attorney’s Officer would not pursue charges against suspects on parole or probation, some with armed robbery or aggravat- ed assault convictions.” Judge Chiampas asked the prosecutor, “Is this the new policy for the Cook Coun- ty State’s Attorney’s Office?” Judge Chiampas was so out- raged she called on community activist Andrew Holmes, who was in the courtroom, to witness what was taking place. Holmes stated, “We ask over and over that the ju- dicial system come and help with this gun violence with repeat offenders. This revolving door is what drives vio-
lent crime.”
But Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx gets a pass
from the media: not one article about her new policy. Let’s see what the background is when an offender is arrested for the murder of Judge Myles. Odds are he is on proba- tion for a felony or out on bond for a felony.
When will the media start asking the tough questions? What actions will Chief Judge Timothy Evans take to help stop this madness? When will the elected officials whose inaction makes them contributors to the violence final- ly stand up and do the right thing? When will the elected officials realize that gun control legislation is not the an- swer? When will the mayor and the City Council stop the pandering? Every time there is a tragedy, the media rolls out the dog-and-pony show. The mayor’s eyes well up with tears and he blames the federal government for not providing more funds to the inner city. The media will in- terview aldermen on the evening news and it is the same old story: We need more police, more community centers and more state and federal aid.
When will the media report on the actual cause driving this violence? There are no consequences for actions on the street. You have entire neighborhoods that have been taken over by street gangs. The overall gang structure has deteriorated to the point where no one is in control. The silence from Jesse Jackson, BLM and Father Michael Pfleger are deafening. They are missing in action. So are the media reports.
The police and judges like Peggy Chiampas cannot fix this problem on their own. This problem is so widespread that it is going to take everyone in the system working together. And the media must hold every elected official responsible. It is time that the media looks long and hard in the mirror.
There is an old saying politicians love to use: “It takes a village to raise a child.” The politicians have failed the village and so has the media for not reporting the truth about what is really important: human life. d
Yet, here are the headlines from the Sun-Times and Tribune on Monday, April 10.
RECORDING
GREG BELLA
From the Sun-Times:
Front page: “From Logan Square to Chicago’s ATF
Boss Celine Nunez”
Page 2: “Chicago Police Union foes eager to have Trump
on their side”
Page 4: “HOBOS Want a do-over” and “Super gang
members seek new trial or acquittal”
Pages 6-7: New Wrigleyville with a map of the ballpark
and surrounding area
Page 14: “20-year-old man fatally shot on Far South
Side;” “Man, 21, shot while driving in South Holland;” “Man, 43, fatally shot in Elmwood Park;” “Man, 24, critical after East Side shooting;” “Man shot in West Englewood, handgun recovered;” “Father shot and son died in a do- mestic shootout on the Far South Side”
No other stories on the violent weekend in Chicago were reported.
From the Trib:
Front page: “White House sends warning to South Korea;” “Questions arise as cops shooting video held back”; “For Williams, ring no small thing”
Page 2: “Bombing Syria won’t make Americans like Trump more”
Page 3: “Friends worry trust led to death;” “Noble char- ters teachers cry foul;” “Ex-Sauk official gets 30 days for embezzling”
Page 4: “Best and worst CTA stations”
No other stories on the violent weekend reported.
On the morning of April 10, Cook County Associate
Judge Raymond Myles was shot and killed outside of his home and that story is only worthy of page four. Violence should be the top story with 30 people shot and seven killed during a weekend and a judge shot and killed. That should be the headline in both papers, not the Sun-Times top story on the ATF. The Tribune believes the top story is a police shooting video. As usual, the police are an easy target, and it is more work to dig into the root causes of the City’s violence.
Violence should be a top priority for both newspapers, the mayor, the City Council, both houses of the state leg- islature, the governor and, yes, the electorate. The public keeps electing people who have no idea how to stop the violence or the ability to enact laws that will help solve the problems. While law enforcement keeps begging for stricter laws to keep violent felons off the street, our newly elected state’s attorney decided the answer is to keep the felons on the street.
Secretary
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ APRIL 2017 11