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News & Politics, Feature Mar 2, 2021
The murder Chicago didn’t want to solve

In 1963, a Black politician named Ben Lewis was shot to death in Chicago. Clues suggest the murder was a professional hit. Decades later, it remains no accident authorities never solved the crime.
- By Mick Dumke
- Tags: Feature, 1963, 24th Ward, Ben Lewis, Benjamin F. Lewis, murders, murder investigations, Chicago Police Department, CPD, West Side, Arthur X. Elrod, City Council, Richard J. Daley, Danny Davis, Fred L. Mitchell, Eugene Belton, Ella Lewis, Thomas “Shaky Tom” Anderson, Jimmy “Kid Riviera” William, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Gilbert, Dean Angelo Sr., J. Edgar Hoover, organized crime, Lenny Patrick, Lawndale, Herman Glick, Chicago Outfit, Allen Dorfman, Lenny Yaras, Dave Yaras, Mark Vogel, Gus Alex, Daniel Longoria Sr., Wayne A. Johnson, Joe Kolman, Sharon Patrick, 29th Ward, Luis Agostini, cold cases

Blogs, Bleader Aug 28, 2017
Chicago police have solved less than 20 percent of the murders committed in 2017, and other news

Also, 12 museums are offering free admission for CPS students this week.
- By Kate Shepherd
- Tags: News, Did You Read __________?, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago Police Department, gun violence, murders, Illinois General Assembly, Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Public Schools, Bruce Rauner, Toni Preckwinkle, sweetened beverage tax, soda tax, pop tax, Cook County, Little Village Chamber of Commerce, immigration issues, Breitbart, Joe Walsh, Adler Planetarium, Field Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago History Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, Lincoln Park Zoo, DuSable Museum of African American History, National Museum of Mexican Art, Lady Gaga, the Crib, homeless shelters, Wrigley Field, Cynthia Germanotta, Born This Way Foundation

Blogs, Bleader Apr 25, 2016
Remembering the eight nurses murdered by Richard Speck 50 years later, and other Chicago news

Also, Chicago probably won't host the 2017 NFL draft.
- By Kate Shepherd
- Tags: News, Did You Read __________?, spring weather, Richard Speck, South Chicago Community Hospital, murders, Mad Men, American Horror Story, Chicago PD, gun violence, Roseland, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Chicago Park District, Grant Park, NFL draft, Roger Goodell, Draft Town, Dennis Hastert, Thomas Durkin, Yorkville High School, Mondelez International, start-ups, food, Kitchfix, RXBar, Simple Mills, food trends

Blogs, Bleader Jan 20, 2015
Did Rahm live up to his campaign promises on public safety?

By blaming legislators for weak gun laws, Mayor Emanuel has ducked questions about his policing strategies.
- By Mick Dumke
- Tags: Aldermania, Crime, The Reefer, Politics, News, 2015 election, aldermen, budget, cannabis, Chicago Justice Project, Chicago Police Department, City Council, cocaine, crime, drugs, Garry McCarthy, gun control, guns, Hadiya Pendleton, heroin, Illinois General Assembly, Jacqueline Collins, Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, Jesus Garcia, John Howard Association, John Maki, Ken Dunkin, mandatory minimums, marijuana, mayor, mayoral race, Michael Zalewski, murders, police, police staffing, Rahm Emanuel, Robert Fioretti, shootings, Tracy Siska, unlawful use of a weapon

Blogs, Bleader Apr 25, 2014
Veteran state rep: Mayor Emanuel has failed us and police chief McCarthy must go

State Rep Ken Dunkin, one of the leaders of the legislative black caucus, says city leaders are clueless about fighting violent crime in Chicago.
- By Mick Dumke
- Tags: Crime, Politics, News, violence, Chicago, Chicago Police Department, marijuana, cannabis, guns, firearms, sentencing, mandatory minimum sentences, Illinois General Assembly, shootings, murders, homicides, Ken Dunkin, Garry McCarthy, Rahm Emanuel, mayor, Michael Zalewski, drugs, prison, Cook County jail, Cabrini-Green

Blogs, Bleader Dec 24, 2013
Poverty and addiction created a heroin entrepreneur

Parris Fultz was a self-described independent operator in a business—drug dealing—dominated by larger-scale players.
- By Mick Dumke
- Tags: Crime, News, drugs, heroin, narcotics, west side, drug trafficking, drug cartels, Mexican drug cartels, gang violence, drug dealers, New Breeds, gangs, crime, drug use, West Garfield Park, crack, West Humboldt Park, murders, homicides, poverty, jobs, unemployment, Eddie Valentino, Parris Fultz, Heroin LLC, Back of the Yards

Blogs, Bleader Dec 18, 2013
A look at how Chicago's heroin trade has adapted and thrived for more than a century

Drug dealing hasn't always been done in the open—but it has been going on for generations.
- By Mick Dumke
- Tags: Crime, News, drugs, heroin, narcotics, west side, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, the Outfit, organized crime, cocaine, cartels, John Hagedorn, drug trafficking, drug cartels, Mexican drug cartels, gang violence, drug dealers, Black Souls, gangs, crime, drug use, West Garfield Park, crack, West Humboldt Park, East Garfield Park, murders, homicides, poverty, jobs, unemployment, Parris Fultz

News & Politics, Feature Jul 10, 2013
The cop who wants to fight crime with the community

From a troubled corner on the west side, Chicago police captain Roger Bay sees the promise of preventing violence one storefront and milk crate at a time.
- By Mick Dumke
- Tags: Feature, Roger Bay, neighborhoods, gang violence, violence, crime, cigarettes, smuggling, drugs, shootings, murders, liquor stores, Titanic Subs, Chicago Police Department, CPD, policing, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Lane Tech High School, 11th District, west side, gangs, Chet Jackson, West Humboldt Nieghborhood Development Council, community policing, Garry McCarthy, development, jobs, Bloomingdale Trail

News & Politics, Feature Feb 14, 2013
Anatomy of a heroin ring

Dana Bostic's gang-affiliated west-side drug organization employed dozens of residents, served thousands of customers, established ties with Mexican drug cartels, and relied on violence to stay in business.
- By Mick Dumke
- Tags: Feature, 11th police district, antihistamines, Aurora, Austin, Berwyn, Black Gangsters, Brandon Richards, Bucktown, cannabis, Charles Cowart, Chicago Police Department, Chicago Sun-Times, Cicero, Cornelius Thomas, CPD, crack, crime, Curtis Ellis, cutting heroin, Dana Bostic, Davon Taylor, DEA, Dirty Unknown Vice Lords, Dormin, druck trafficking, drug cartels, drug dealers, drug dealing, Drug Enforcement Agency, drug runners, drug use, East Garfield Park, ecstasy, Eddie Valentino, Eleazar Alves, Erik Guevara, Excalibur, gang violence, gangs, guns, heroin, homicides, Jerry Bischoff, jobs, Joe Gorman, K-Town, Ladonta Gill, Lee Floyd, Mahogany Barbee, marijuana, Matthew F. Kennelly, Maurice Davis, Mexican drug cartels, murders, New Breeds, Operation Bird Cage, poverty, River North, Rock 'n' Roll McDonalds, schools, Sinaloa cartel, Stroger Hospital, Takers, Taste of Chicago, Tony Allen, U.S. Attorney, Undertaker Vice Lords, unemployment, Vice Lords, West Garfield Park, West Humboldt Park, west side, White Palace Grill, Woodridge

News & Politics, Feature Aug 22, 2012
Deadly poverty

Homicide is just one of many killers plaguing Chicago's poor black neighborhoods
- By Steve Bogira
- Tags: Feature, poverty, homicides, murders, segregation, wealth, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, infant mortality, South Side, Years of Potential Life Lost, Englewood

Blogs, Bleader Jul 26, 2012
Concentrated poverty and homicide in Chicago

Segregation's lethal legacy marches on
- By Steve Bogira
- Tags: Crime, Neighborhoods, Politics, News, concentrated poverty, murders, segregation, Chicago Department of Public Health, public health, policing, Arthur J. Lurigio, Crain's Chicago Business, Loyola University, Rahm Emanuel

Blogs, Bleader Jul 12, 2012
Rahm announces another "new initiative" that's decades old

The mayor's plan to raze troubled buildings sounds a lot like the one Mayor Daley "introduced" in 1992
- By Mick Dumke
- Tags: Crime, Politics, Clout City, News, Rahm Emanuel, Garry McCarthy, Chicago Police Department, drugs, drug busts, war on drugs, Humboldt Park, gang violence, homicides, murders, drug dealing, Chicago violence, community activism, buildings, abandoned buildings, Mayor Daley, Richard Daley, affordable housing, Auburn-Gresham, Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing

Blogs, Bleader Jul 10, 2012
The root cause of Chicago's glut of murders

Until the city confronts its defining problem, the blood will keep flowing in its poor neighborhoods.
- By Steve Bogira
- Tags: Crime, Politics, News, murders, Chicago, segregation, concentrated poverty, desegregation, Mayor Emanuel, Mark Brown, Mary Mitchell, Minneapolis-St. Paul, regionalism

Blogs, Bleader Jun 25, 2010
Park District Balks at Gun-Rights Group Meeting

Several weeks ago leaders of Illinois Carry got a permit to hold a meeting on gun ownership rights at a south side park. Yesterday park officials announced it's not going to happen.
- By Mick Dumke
- Tags: Politics, Clout City, News, Illinois Carry, Gerald Vernon, Chicago Park District, Tuley Park, conceal-and-carry, gun rights, gun ban, Mayor Richard M. Daley, Thomas Wortham, shootings, violence, murders, police, crime

Blogs, Bleader May 26, 2010
Thanks for the Insight, Neil

While I'm clearly not as smart as Neil Steinberg—who is?—I'm happy to explain why I don't think my gun-ban question for Mayor Daley was "dumb."
- By Mick Dumke
- Tags: Politics, Clout City, News, Mayor Richard M. Daley, Chicago, gun ban, Supreme Court, Neil Steinberg, violence, murders

Blogs, Bleader May 21, 2010
The Mayor's the One Missing the Point

Mayor Daley's distaste for debate and dissent is the real issue behind the sodomy and shooting "joke."
- By Mick Dumke
- Tags: Politics, Clout City, News, Mayor Richard M. Daley, guns, gun ban, Supreme Court, murders, police, crime, politics, Chicago politics

Blogs, Bleader May 20, 2010
Mayor Daley Threatens to Shoot the Messenger—Namely, Me

Mayor Daley offers to demonstrate the effectiveness of banning guns by shooting a certain reporter in the ass with one.
- By Mick Dumke
- Tags: Chicagoland, Politics, Clout City, News, Mayor Richard M. Daley, guns, gun ban, National Rifle Association, Supreme Court, murders, police, crime, politics, Chicago politics

News & Politics, Feature Sep 3, 1987
They Came in Through the Bathroom Mirror

A Murder in the Projects
- By Steve Bogira
- Tags: Feature, Ruthie Mae McCoy, Chicago Housing Authority, CHA, ABLA, public housing, Grace Abbott Homes, Abbott Homes, murders, Debra Lasley, Eupil Choi, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago media, Chicago Defender, medicine cabinets, bathroom mirrors, gangs, Ray Leuser, murder investigations, CPD, Chicago Police Department, Nancy Clay, Raymond Risley, break-ins, Elizabeth Wood, Haywood McCoy, Beatrice Gilbert, Sandy Siegel, Black Gangster Disciples, drugs, janitors, Anthony Mannina, Lewis Butler, Vernita McCoy, Perry Smith, 911, Jim Beutelspacher, Association of Public Safety Communications Officers, Margaret Burrage, calling the police, Edward Turner, John Hondras, Helene Colvin, James Maurer, Area Four detectives, high-rise projects

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In 1963, a Black politician named Ben Lewis was shot to death in Chicago. Clues suggest the murder was a professional hit. Decades later, it remains no accident authorities never solved the crime.

Also, 12 museums are offering free admission for CPS students this week.

Also, Chicago probably won't host the 2017 NFL draft.

By blaming legislators for weak gun laws, Mayor Emanuel has ducked questions about his policing strategies.

State Rep Ken Dunkin, one of the leaders of the legislative black caucus, says city leaders are clueless about fighting violent crime in Chicago.

Parris Fultz was a self-described independent operator in a business—drug dealing—dominated by larger-scale players.

Drug dealing hasn't always been done in the open—but it has been going on for generations.

From a troubled corner on the west side, Chicago police captain Roger Bay sees the promise of preventing violence one storefront and milk crate at a time.

Dana Bostic's gang-affiliated west-side drug organization employed dozens of residents, served thousands of customers, established ties with Mexican drug cartels, and relied on violence to stay in business.

Homicide is just one of many killers plaguing Chicago's poor black neighborhoods

Segregation's lethal legacy marches on

The mayor's plan to raze troubled buildings sounds a lot like the one Mayor Daley "introduced" in 1992

Until the city confronts its defining problem, the blood will keep flowing in its poor neighborhoods.

Several weeks ago leaders of Illinois Carry got a permit to hold a meeting on gun ownership rights at a south side park. Yesterday park officials announced it's not going to happen.

While I'm clearly not as smart as Neil Steinberg—who is?—I'm happy to explain why I don't think my gun-ban question for Mayor Daley was "dumb."

Mayor Daley's distaste for debate and dissent is the real issue behind the sodomy and shooting "joke."

Mayor Daley offers to demonstrate the effectiveness of banning guns by shooting a certain reporter in the ass with one.

A Murder in the Projects

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