Chicago shooting victims

Last updated June 21, 2015

The map below shows where people were shot in Chicago, broken down by community area. Darker shades of blue indicate greater numbers of victims in those community areas.

This data is compiled from reporting done by the Chicago Tribune Breaking News staff and is updated approximately once per month. Therefore, the most recent shootings may not be displayed immediately.

WHERE SHOOTINGS OCCUR IN CHICAGO   SINCE JAN. 1, 2014

Here’s what to look out for in the week of June 22:

Messy Endgame Looms for Greece

Talks between Greece and its bailout creditors enter the final stretch this week, with an emergency eurozone summit to be held in Brussels on Monday. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has expressed optimism a deal will be reached, but the country’s emergency lenders have held a tough stance. The bailout runs out on June 30, the same day Greece is due to make a €1.54 billion ($1.75 billion) repayment to the IMF. A default could result in Greece leaving the eurozone.

Supreme Court Decision Expected on Obama Care

The Supreme Court will rule on the case determining the future of the Affordable Care Act by the end of June, which means an opinion could be handed down this week. King vs. Burwell questions the validity of insurance subsidies for around six million people in more than 30 states that use the federal exchange HealthCare.gov.  The disagreement is over whether language in the law allows the Obama administration to offer insurance subsidies nationwide. Republicans hope a ruling against the government would allow them to rewrite thehealth care law.

Fast-Track Trade Bill in the Senate

Legislation allowing the Obama administration to push trade agreements more easily through Congress has a good chance of coming up for a vote in the Senate, after passing the House this past Thursday. Senate  Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) wants to pass the bill this week. The White House has been lobbying hard for its passage, though the bill was previously blocked by Democrats who want assurances a measure to help workers hurt by international trade also becomes law.

Charleston Tries to Make Sense of Church Killings

The killing of nine people at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C., this past Wednesday will continue to reverberate in the news.Funerals and memorials for the dead are likely to be held. A white man, 21-year-old Dylann Roof, has been charged with their murders, and the Justice Department is considering prosecuting him under federal hate-crime laws.

Economists Expect Solid U.S. Home Sales Data

Two reports on May home sales in the U.S. are on tap this week. The National Association of Realtors reports on sales of existing homes on Monday, and the Commerce Department releases numbers on new-home sales on Tuesday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect increases in each housing segment. One catalyst for buying this spring: The recent rise in mortgage rates might have pushed hesitant buyers to sign on the dotted line before rates increase further.

Frenchman on Death Row in Indonesia Awaits Verdict

A verdict is expected Monday in the appeal of Frenchman Serge Atlaoui, who is on death row for drug offences in Indonesia. Mr. Atlaoui was slated to face the firing squad in April, when eight people—including seven foreigners—were shot dead for their roles in drug crimes. But his execution was delayed because a decision was still pending in his legal appeal. France has been vocal in its opposition to the planned execution. “Until the last minute, we must do everything so that the execution does not go ahead,” French President François Hollande said in April.

Nokia May Sell Mapping Unit

Nokia this week could announce a buyer for its mapping services unit, Here, which it values at around $2.2 billion. The front runners for the unit are German car makers BMW, Audi and Daimler, which are banding together to prevent a technology giant such as Google, Apple or Facebook from gaining control of a key part of the technology needed to run self-driving cars and in-car digital services. But ride-sharing company Uber could upset the German firms’ plans, and Nokia has said it may call off the auction if it isn’t satisfied with the price.

Via: Wall Street Journal

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NC Lawmakers Agree to Allow Exceptions to State’s Controversial Voter-ID Requirement

This comes ahead of a federal trial to determine the constitutionality of North Carolina’s election law. Meanwhile, the state’s NAACP is keeping up the pressure.

Voters enter Cotswold School in Charlotte, N.C., Nov. 4, 2014. 

DAVIS TURNER/GETTY IMAGES

North Carolina lawmakers passed legislation June 18 that would allow voters without photo identification to cast provisional ballots, the News & Observer reports. The General Assembly sent the measure to Gov. Pat McCrory for his signature.

The proposed change would allow voters to declare a “reasonable impediment” to explain not having a photo ID. It establishes eight possible reasons, such as not having a birth certificate or lacking transportation to get an ID.

This change comes nearly two weeks before a federal trial on the constitutionality of the state’s voter-ID rule and other provisions in a controversial 2013 election law. A federal court in Winston-Salem, N.C., is scheduled to hear arguments on the law on July 5. The sweeping overhaul is set to take effect in 2016. The News & Observer reports that it’s unclear how the new measure would affect that case.

Advocates of strict voter-ID requirements, which have swept through the South, say they’re necessary to prevent voter fraud. But opponents argue that it’s a ruse to suppress voter participation among minorities, the poor and the young—traditional Democratic voters.

The News & Observer says that yesterday’s rule change drew “quick criticism” from conservatives, while opponents were “lukewarm.”

Via: The Root

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Daily Presidential Tracking Poll, Monday June 22, 2015

Monday, June 22, 2015

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 47% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Obama's job performance. Fifty-two percent (52%) disapprove (see trends).

The latest figures include 22% who Strongly Approve of the way Obama is performing as president and 40% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -18.

Regular updates are posted Monday through Friday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update).

When it comes to health care reform, voters continue to think an overall reduction in costs is more important than guaranteeing that everyone has insurance -- but they would prefer that the government keep their hands off and leave it up to some healthy competition to solve the problem.

Most voters say the best way to reduce health care costs is through more free market competition between insurance companies, while 26% say more government regulation will lower costs. Generally 

speaking, voters usually prefer free market competition over government regulation, no matter what the issue. 

Voters say that economic growth is more important than economic fairness and they give a thumbs up to policies that expand the economy over policies that promote fairness. 

Yesterday was Father’s Day, and while voters don’t put much importance on the holiday itself, they still strongly believe in the importance of fatherhood.

Via: Rasmussen Reports

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[VIDEO] OBAMA USES THE ’N WORD’ DURING INTERVIEW ON COMEDIAN’S PODCAST

President Obama appeared comfortable dropping the controversial n-word during a “WTF” Podcast with Marc Maron.

Obama used the word during a conversation about racism in America, in which he challenged the notion that just because it wasn’t polite to use the word in public, the nation no longer had to struggle with it.

“The legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination in almost every institution of our lives, you know, that casts a long shadow, and that’s still part of our DNA that’s passed on,” he said.

“We’re not cured of it … it’s not just a matter of it not being polite to say ‘n****r’ in public. That’s not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It’s not just a matter of overt discrimination.”

Obama said it would be wrong, however, to suggest that things haven’t changed for black people.

“I always tell young people in particular, do not say that nothing’s changed when it comes to race in America unless you lived through being a black man in the 1950s or ’60s or ’70s. It is incontrovertible that race relations have improved significantly during my lifetime and yours,” he said. “That is a fact.”

Via: Breitbart

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The Supreme Court’s Obamacare reading lesson: What 4 words mean to millions

A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington June 15. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an effort by Iraq to revive a lawsuit against dozens of companies for allegedly conspiring with former leader Saddam Hussein's government to subvert the U.N. oil-for-food program and deprive Iraqi citizens of humanitarian aid.

The four words “established by the state” could come to mean the difference between affordable health insurance and no insurance to millions of people in the coming days. Those 6.4 million people probably never suspected four words could determine whether they can afford a doctor’s visit and have to put off needed care.

Those four words are the crux of the latest Supreme Court challenge to the federal Affordable Care Act, King v. Burwell, on which the court will rule by the end of this month. A ruling in favor of the plaintiffs would endanger a key mechanism in the sweeping health care law that makes health insurance affordable to millions of Americans.

Those 6.4 million people live in the 34 states, including Maine, that opted not to establish their own online health insurance marketplaces where residents could shop around for the best insurance plan and qualify for federal subsidies to defray the cost. They relied instead on HealthCare.gov — a system that mostly worked well once the federal website overcame its disastrous 2013 rollout.

They don’t receive health insurance through their jobs or through a government program. They’re low- to middle-income people who required federal assistance in order to bring their monthly premiums down to a manageable level.

They include nearly 61,000 in Maine who depend on that federal assistance to cover, on average, $337 per month of their health insurance premium, or 78 percent of the cost. Their premiums cost them, on average, $97 per month with the assistance factored in. Before the Affordable Care Act, Maine residents who bought from the individual insurance market paid $336 per month on average.

But the King v. Burwell plaintiffs argue that these 61,000 Maine residents and millions of others aren’t eligible for federal help to defray their premiums because of four words. The text of the Affordable Care Act, they argue, makes subsidies available only to people purchasing insurance from a marketplace “established by the state.”

There’s a strong argument to make that the King v. Burwell case should never have been taken seriously as a legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act. It relies on what amounts to a drafting error. It contorts an expansive federal law to mean what Congress clearly never intended. There’s enough context in other parts of the law,supporting analyses and regulations to indicate that those four words never represented Congress’ intent.

Nevertheless, policymakers must plan for a Supreme Court decision that could invalidate 6.4 million people’s assistance.

Such an outcome would likely affect more than just the 6.4 million people who receive subsidies. It could destabilize the individual insurance market in those 34 states without insurance exchanges. The Urban Institute has projected a negative ruling could force 8.2 million to join the ranks of the uninsured next year and force individual market premiums up 35 percent in those 34 states as millions of healthy people leave an insurance market rendered unaffordable. In other words, much of the Affordable Care Act — designed deliberately, with each element depending on another — could come tumbling down, likely the plaintiffs’ intent.

Via: Banger Daily News

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OBAMA ADMIN. PARTNERS WITH BOSTON, ENCOURAGING MORE IMMIGRANTS TO BECOME CITIZENS

The Obama administration is continuing its efforts to encourage more immigrants to become citizens, announcing agreement with the city of Boston to promote naturalization.

The agreement with Boston’s Mayor Martin Walsh comes days after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced another citizenship promotion partnership with New York City.

“There could be no better time for this kind of effort,” Walsh said in a statement. “Like so many places in our country, Boston is becoming more diverse, and this agreement will further the work being done by USCIS and our Office of New Bostonians, which is vitally important to our future.”

Tuesday USCIS Director León Rodríguez and Walsh signed a letter of agreement to expand the effort in citizenship promotion to Boston for three years.

“We look forward to working with the Mayor’s Office of New Bostonians and other city services in providing tools to help immigrants contribute to a thriving, welcoming and innovative Boston,” Rodríguez said.

As in New York City, Boston’s Public Libraries will soon have “Citizenship Corners” carrying USCIS materials promoting and informing immigrants about citizenship. The city will also offer such information as schools, community centers and city buildings.

Additionally, Boston will also hold naturalization information sessions, offer tips on avoiding immigration scams and broadcast public service announcements about citizenship.

Via: Breitbart

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QUESTION OF THE DAY: WHERE DOES HE GET THE NERVE?

Obama believes the Confederate flag “belongs in a museum”

How dare he! What the hell doesn’t have his no-good nose into? This is how he shows his grief…what a man!

Dudes and dudettes, I don’t know about the rest of you, but having to endure eighteen more months of this entity’s dictatorship has become our nation’s national nightmare! Plus, you can toss in his intentional endless divisiveness, race-baiting included.

Read this report and see what you think:President Obama believes the Confederate flag “belongs in a museum,” the White House said Friday amid calls for it to be taken down, following a mass shooting in South Carolina.

“The president has said before he believes the Confederate flag belongs in a museum, and that is still his position,” spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters aboard Air Force One.

A mass shooting at a historic African-American church in Charleston, S.C., has renewed the debate over whether the Confederate battle flag should continue to fly in the state.

The suspected shooter, Dylann Storm Roof, reportedly drove a car with Confederate flag license plates.

And while the U.S. and South Carolina flags were lowered to half-staff following the shooting, the Confederate flag that flies near the state capitol flew at full height, a move that drew criticism.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s office said Thursday she could not lower the flag without approval from the state legislature. The GOP governor has dismissed calls to remove it in the past.

Via: Angry White Dude

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