Chicago, IL: Chicago’s ineffective criminal and bail reform laws have been proven ineffective yet again as another story of a Chicago career criminal has been arrested for the 15th time this year alone.
And it’s about to get worse.
Chicago has been a hotbed of crime and violence in recent years with the delusional- on- crime leader, Mayor Lori Lightfoot at the helm of it all.
Now the revolving door of a criminal justice system in Chicago is doing nothing to improve the lives of law-abiding Chicago residents who are the ones who have to put up with the disastrous politics associated with bail reform laws.
You can thank Cary Mamola, 44, for being the latest to prove the system is broken and headed in the wrong direction.
According to a Breitbart column, it stated:
“One week prior, on September 21, Cary Mamola, 44, was arrested for the 14th time after allegedly shoplifting at Walgreens, threatening to punch a female worker for confronting him about the shoplifting, and then stealing $135 worth of clothes at a Gap store.”
The column continued:
“He was also arrested on September 18 for assault at a Jewel-Osco store but was released three hours after his arrest on his own recognizance.”
Mamola’s long history of criminal activity has taught him nothing, just like the countless others who prey on the innocent to get by.
But the system has been modified to enable their behavior, which will only get worse over time.
The SAFE-T Act
In fact, it is slated to get worse in 2023. It has the residents concerned over what the already disastrously crime rates prove.
Starting on January 1, 2023, legislation known as the SAFE-T Act will take effect.
The controversial bill is intended to make significant changes to the already failing system that will further complicate the law enforcement options. Another aspect of it is to eliminate cash bail.
But a major concern over the bill is how it will allow people to simply accuse police of misconduct without disclosing their identity.
According to a Fox News column that covered the new poorly planned bill, who conducted an interview with Eugene Roy, retired Chicago police Chief of Detectives, spoke with Fox News. The interview column stated:
“Roy took issue with several aspects of the bill beyond the one eliminating cash bail, including one that eliminates the requirement that officers accused of misconduct be told the identity of their accuser as well as the identity of the official who is investigating them.”
It continued:
“‘The problem that nobody sees or turns a blind eye to is the effect on morale, recruiting and retention,’ Roy said. ‘Anybody can just make a complaint against an officer. The department or the investigating body does not have to tell the officer who it is, which hinders their ability to respond to the complaint accurately and honestly. It has a bad effect on morale.’”
Chicago is already facing critical staffing shortages within the police department. The last thing they needed was another reason for potential recruits to avoid pursuing a law enforcement career in the city of Chicago.
Many officers are already over worked, exhausted and, worst of all, underappreciated by the public, especially the politicians who are quick to blame an officer for anything.
This growing problem is becoming more and more evident on the streets of Chicago, where criminals are continuing to break the law, only to be released hours later to start all over. Just like Mr. Mamola, who has been arrested an impressive 15 times this year alone.
In fact, prosecutors appear to begin showing signs of frustration with the current Chicago bail reform laws.
In the Breitbart column, it stated:
“At the 44-year-old’s [Mamola’s] bail hearing for the alleged Merchandise Mart trespassing incident, prosecutor Jeff Allen told the judge, ‘I would note that the defendant has no less—and I say no less ‘cuz I stopped counting at 27—misdemeanor convictions, including seven from this year alone.’”
It continued:
The prosecutor also highlighted that Mamola has forfeited his bond ‘no less than 14’ times before saying, ‘I stopped counting at 14.’”
Mamola is just the latest proof that Chicago is heading in the wrong direction. Their poor political decisions are only emboldening criminals to continue breaking the law. They know there are fewconsequences.
And starting in January, it’s only going to get worse.
The hypocrisy of the Chicago mayor is disturbing.
Queen of Chicago Lori Lightfoot has 91 cops protecting her castle while the peasants sleep in fear
Posted March 31, 2022
This editorial is brought to you by a staff writer for Law Enforcement Today.
CHICAGO, IL – Ahhh. To be the king. Or queen. Or hard-left mayor of a major American city that is descending into criminal chaos while you enjoy your taxpayer-funded security detail of 91 police officers.
Yes, “progressive” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot does indeed enjoy sleeping peacefully at night in her mansion, safe in the knowledge that the city’s elite officers are protecting her and her wife.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has secret unit of 70 cops protecting her https://t.co/tUF38Ez0Nm
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) March 29, 2022
The previously unknown Chicago Police Department Unit 544 has 65 officers along with five sergeants and a lieutenant assigned to protect the mayor — on top of her personal bodyguard detail of about 20 officers, the Chicago Sun-Times reported this week. That’s an awful lot of police presence for a Democrat who feels the pain of rioters and looters.
The unit, also called the Government Security Detail, told potential recruits that its “mission will be to provide physical security for City Hall, the mayor’s residence and the mayor’s detail command post,” the paper said. A recruitment memo reportedly stated:
“Through the coordination of intelligence and resources, officers will respond to all threats related to the mayor’s physical properties to ensure its protection.”
The memo was sent in July 2020, the year that Lightfoot pushed to slash the police department’s budget by $80 million, axing hundreds of jobs, amid growing calls to defund the police during protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Chicago’s mayor has long been an open advocate for defunding the police and has criticized American policing as being rife with racism.
A special Chicago Police Department unit created two years ago to help protect Mayor Lori Lightfoot now has over 70 members devoted specifically to security for her home and City Hall, records show. https://t.co/MZzqqLpXlf
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) March 28, 2022
The proposed budget cuts were too radical for even Chicago Democrats, and the budget cut was reduced to $59 million.
But in 2020 alone, Lightfoot quietly cut 400 officers from the city’s police force in the name of defunding the police and racial justice. In 2021, 660 Chicago police officers elected to retire.
Critics said that the secretive police unit was hired at a time of rising complaints over the dwindling presence of patrol officers — ironically partly due to patrols keeping “defund the police” protesters away from Lightfoot’s house in Logan Square, the Sun-Times noted.
John Catanzara, president of Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police, said:
“While murders are soaring, while districts are barebones for manpower, all that matters is protecting her castle.”
Lightfoot confirmed the existence of Unit 544, insisting it was created to cover for the lack of a “unified command” for potential mayoral emergencies. She told the Sun-Times:
“And then obviously, in 2020 in particular, there were a significant amount of protests all over the city, and some of them targeted at my house. All the more reason why having a unified command to understand and share intelligence and be ready to respond if there was any kind of threat was very important.”
Lightfoot recruited officers primarily from Humboldt Park and Logan Square to stand guard outside her multi-million dollar home. Not coincidentally, Humboldt Park and Logan Square residents were outraged when they saw a decline in the police presence in their neighborhoods at the same time.
Chicago mayor upset about plans to hire armed security guards in neighborhood as crime explodes
December 25, 2021
CHICAGO, IL – Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has heard of the Bucktown neighborhood hiring armed security patrols in one of the many crime ridden areas in Chicago.
Lightfoot believes this is a bad idea and vows that no one other than Chicago Police Department will patrol the area.
A Chicago neighborhood is deploying an armed private security patrol starting Wednesday in a bid to “help deter the rash of crime” there.The Bucktown Neighbors Association, in a letter sent to the community said the "armed guard" it intended to hire is from P4 Security Solutions. pic.twitter.com/gjfn7HgQcJ
— FlyestAround (@around_flyest) December 15, 2021
The residents of the Bucktown neighborhood are fed up with the violence they are seeing on their streets daily and have decided to take steps to curb the carjacking and other violent crimes that have been occurring nightly.
The Bucktown Neighbors Association has been working with a private security firm to provide armed patrols of the neighborhood at night.
The belief is extra people on the streets watching will cause criminals to look for somewhere else to commit their crimes.
Lightfoot, who claims to understand that business owners and residents desire the need to feel safe, is disturbed at the thought of having armed security guards patrolling the streets. She said:
“I need to know more about what their [Bucktown] specific plan and scope is, but the patrolling the streets, responding to crime, that’s the job of the Chicago Police Department and they will do it effectively.
We are not going to start, because people can afford it, standing up a group of…well, I think I’ve said enough. There’s a slippery slope here and I am very concerned about that.”
P4 said “only off-duty police officers are employed by P4 and will be handling patrols. [They] will be present to observe and report. They do not have arrest powers and if a crime is witnessed, they are directed to call 911 immediately.” https://t.co/hnTzSOyw7h
— Howard Altman (@haltman) December 16, 2021
While Lightfoot has expressed her disdain of having armed security patrols in one of her neighborhoods, she has yet to issue any type of plan to curb the violence throughout a city which is seeing significant spikes in violent crimes this year.
Because of her alleged lack of action or inability to deter crime, areas like Bucktown have tried to find ways to increase the safety of their residents and businesses that are outside the scope and control of Lightfoot.
According to the Block Club, Bucktown seemingly has already contracted with a private security firm, known as P4, to begin providing armed security services in the area as soon as December 15th.
The armed security guards will be patrolling the north end of the neighborhood.
The plan, according to the Block Club, is to have the armed security guards patrol the areas between Armitage Avenue to the north, Damen Avenue to the west, North Avenue to the south, and Paulina Street to the east.
The patrols would begin at some point in the evening hours and the shifts would last beyond midnight.
The move comes as the city has seen over 1,658 carjackings in 2021 which has increased from a total of 1,303 in 2020 and 544 during 2019.
Additionally, the Chicago Police Department 14th Police District which patrols Bucktown as well as other neighborhoods have reported 86 carjackings in the area which has increased from 53 from last year.
P4’s vice president of operations, Kevin Conway, released a statement that the people who his company employ are only off-duty police officers. He goes on to note:
“Only off-duty police officers are employed by P4 and will be handling patrols. Off-duty officers will be present to observe and report; they do not have arrest powers and if a crime is witnessed, they are directed to call 911 immediately.”
