Chicago city officials continued to struggle with a stunning spike in shootings this week; vowing to crack down on “predatory funeral homes” that prey on government-subsidized burials for homicide victims.
According to Fox News, various funeral parlors across the city are raising prices knowing a tax-payer funded scheme will likely foot the bill, with the local government shelling out up to $7,500 per victim.
“Every funeral home in the state knows that victims get $7,500 for a funeral and it’s their goal to charge the entire amount because it’s easy money,” Susan Johnson, executive director of Chicago Survivors, told Fox News.
“The state – along with the federal government – provides eligible victims of violent crime with up to $27,000 in financial assistance for out-of-pocket expenses. The families of murder victims get $7,500 for funeral costs,” writes Fox.
“(The families) have an ethical right to be angry,” said one consumer rights activist. “It’s one of the worst ways to victimize people.”
Read the full story here.
GANGLAND CHAOS: Chicago Activists SHUT DOWN HIGHWAY to ‘Target Affluent’
Anti-gun protesters shut-down a major highway in the nation’s third-largest city Thursday, creating traffic chaos as Chicago police scrambled to contain the mass demonstrations.
According to the Associated Press, the planned march in the Windy City effectively stopped traffic along Lake Shore Drive, with demonstrators telling local news they’re “willing to be arrested” to highlight the region’s spiraling crime crisis.
Lake Shore Drive traffic shut down from Irving Park to Fullerton Ave. Ashland Ave and Western Ave can be used as alternative routes. #LakeShoreMarch
— Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) August 2, 2018
Chicago highway closure latest US protest targeting affluent (from @AP) https://t.co/rV7fZLFVa9
— Roger Schneider (@RogSchneider) August 2, 2018
“I’m hoping we have enough to…block traffic, to be a disruptive force” said one of the event’s organizers. “This is an act of civil disobedience.”
“You want to go where they chill out and relax,” he added.
Read the full story at the AP.
GANGLAND: 53 Shot, 10 DEAD Over the Weekend in ‘GUN FREE’ Chicago
Gun violence in the nation’s third largest city spiked over the weekend, leaving 53 people injured and at least ten dead as Chicago struggles to clamp-down on the escalating gang clashes sweeping the region.
According to ABC Chicago, city officials plan to hold high-level meetings Monday to ease public concerns after the bloody weekend; citing recent statistics that show gun deaths down so far this year.
“The violence has spilled over into Monday morning, including a murder that happened just after midnight in the Roseland neighborhood not far from Chicago State University,” writes ABC. “A person in a ski-mask fired shots at two people standing in front of a home. A 50-year-old man died a 55-year-old woman was hurt.”
“Detectives are working around the clock to investigate the incidents, build a timeline of events and identify any shooter,” said the Chicago Police Chief. “We’ll also be conducting coordinated enforcement missions to target individuals that are driving the violence in these areas and focus on where we believe retaliatory violence may occur.”
Read the full story here.