Weis: No to National Guard, maybe to state police

Two giant egos - Blago and Daley, duking it out with public finances, while we sit in the middle. Isn't Chicago great?

OK Rod, when can we have the state troopers & how many can we have.

Chicago has the resources to deal with its own crime problems, but that means making sure all police officers are physically up to the task of dealing with criminals; of giving them appropriate cover when verbally attacked by the usual suspects who only want TV camera time; of media resisting granting headlines and video coverage to anyone who carries a pre-printed protest sign; and of getting the neighborhoods and aldermen to blame the people really responsible for the crime instead of the ones trying to stop it and to actually help the police in preventing crime instead of just wailing about it. And it means getting aldermen who do nothing about crime themselves to butt out.

Everyone meeds to check their ego at the door and figure out how to control the crime rate. Weis says it's not that bad? Tell that to the parents of the little girl stabbed the other day.

The Governor should do his homework before opening his mouth. If he checked on www.cityrating.com/citycrime and compared Chicago crime to Springfield's, he might be asking for help in his own back yard. Statistics for All Violent Crime per capita show Springfield is 2.22 times the National Average, whereas Chicago is 2.18 times. Statistics for All Property Crime per capita show Springfield is 1.83 times the National Average as compared to 1.13 for Chicago.

How effective will the seatbelt police be against bangers? National Guard would have been much better deployed...like old man Daley had years ago during the Democratic Convention and the westside riots!

ladyk wrote:

Everyone meeds to check their ego at the door and figure out how to control the crime rate. Weis says it's not that bad? Tell that to the parents of the little girl stabbed the other day.

Weis is very much talking out both sides of his mouth. He says it is not that bad - but he also said that every cop needs a M4 as a standard issue firearm to combat the gangs. For those that don't know what an M4 is - it is a shortened version of an M-16 that is used by special operations groups in the military for close quarters combat.

I have to wonder how bad it is that the cops need the same weapons as the military, but it is "not that bad".

With Daley as his boss, it's no surprise Weis was hired. Daley, Blago, Weis, they are all out of touch with reality.

Weis is correct in not accepting the National Guard - There is only one unit that is trained in police work, and most of them are police officers as civilians.

if the governor is seroius about sending national guard to chicago he should than declare martial law in the affected area. remember is ilegal to have a gun chicago.

But God forbid that we let private citizens protect themselves!!!

Ann Chicago Suburbs wrote:

The Governor should do his homework before opening his mouth. If he checked on www.cityrating.com/citycrime and compared Chicago crime to Springfield's,.....

Governor Boy Wonder works, and lives mainly in Chicago. He only goes down to Springfield when it fits into his agenda.

Why repeat misinformation like claiming national guardsmen would be patrolling streets. That is the exact OPPOSITE of what the Governor said.

Stupid reporters.

good for Weis. Blago is an idiot, and his whole "offer" is a publicity stunt to try and make himself look like a decent human being. What a moron to suggest what he does about Chicago, it is a wonderful place to live, and compared to other big cities in the world has a paltry crime rate. If the people of Chicago spent less time giving cops a hard time and more time helping them do their job, we would be a lot better off. No city authority will be perfect, but my god I would rather live in the Kingdom of Daley than anyone else. Daley asked for more funding for afterschool programs and related programs to keep kids of the street and offenders reformed, and Blago denied that; now he wants to come in with "big guns" blazin' to fix things. He is a yahoo, and needs to be gotten rid of already. Crime in Chicago isn't out of control, Blago's mouth and sorry excuses are what is out of control...and thankfully almost out of time.

First of all, Obama Nanny State, you are an idiot.

Anyway, back to the topic, what if the police had more firepower and beefier equipment. It's not uncommon in Europe to see police with assault rifles.

I think setting up some checkpoints with armored vehicles and light infantry in places like: Humboldt Park, Little Village, Pilsen, Auburn Gresham would not be inappropriate.

The punks, gangsters and other various losers treat neighborhoods like turf or territory to be fought over. People are being killed and wounded, so what we need are peacekeepers. A vehicle mounted 50 cal. doesn't care if you are an insane disciple, black disciple, latin king or other. It will lay you out just the same.

Obama Nanny State wrote:

Bring on the police state! Courtesy of Blago, Daley, and Obama. Wiretap everyone. No guns for the people. No personal accountability (especially if you belong to Daley or Stroger family).
Socialism via Daley and Obama...here we come!

I read that article and didn't see Obama's name mentioned anywhere.

Smitty wrote:

But God forbid that we let private citizens protect themselves!!!

That only happens in free societies. Chicago and cook county - and if Blago and Daley have there way the rest of the state - are closer to police states than free societies.

Dear Rod:

define "out of control"....sounds like a great attempt to divert attention to his wonderful administration

The State Troopers are understaffed and cannot handle the highways now. How are the going to be able to patrol the streets? The Governor must have seen an old John Wayne movie last night and now thinks he is the Marshal that cleaned up Chicago.

Bring in the National Guard? Get real! This is 2008. It's all about grabbing the headlines and saving one's butt.

Solution: Set up checkpoints on the Edens, Eisenhauer, Dan Ryan and the Skyway and stop all vehicles. Search for weapons, drugs and seat belt use. Take all contriband and then sell to legal parties out of state, none that join Illinois. Stuff goes away and we make money at the same time. Watch Blago claim this idea as his own, he's nuts enuff to. HAGD Chicago.