Tom

Full update: Investigators have found an “extra” firearm after a robbery suspect shot two CPD officers who were guarding him at a North Side hospital today One officer has died. The other is critical. The suspect, who fled the hospital, is in custody. cwbchicago.com/2026/04/extra-…

NYC is proving that shoplifting is a simple repeat-offender problem. And an easily solvable one. Shoplifting increased 64% from 2019 to 2023. It was the same 300 people committing a third of the shoplifting in the city. But only a small portion of retail complaints led to arrests, so retailers stopped calling police and just put their deodorant behind plexiglass, or have you press a button and wait four minutes to buy toothpaste. It's been stupid. Now the city and state are going after those repeat offenders with a few key tactics: 1) The state now lets prosecutors aggregate thefts across incidents, so five $200 shoplifts from the same Rite Aid becomes a serious felony, not misdemeanor slaps. 2) NYPD started banning serial shoplifters from stores with trespass affidavits so they prosecutors can stack charges when they came back 3) NYPD used data to put foot patrols in commercial corridors and officers at subway stops shoplifters used as escape routes. 4) NYPD encouraged retailers to call them about the thieves who show up everyday to steal small stuff, and then they followed through with arrests. Thanks to these measures, retail theft is down 20% in the first quarter of 2026, with double-digit declines in every borough. And the recidivism rate dropped from 20% to 13%. The NYC economy was hemorrhaging $4.4 billion a year to shoplifting. They're now reversing it pretty cheaply, just by tracking repeat offenders, arresting them, and upgrading their charges to make it easier for prosecutors to punish them.

Mamdani and his allies are tenant organizers, and their chief tactic is to identify specific villains. This creates an illusion of accountability (as if the city's fiscal challenges can be assigned to some external bad actor rather than the cumulative impact of buck-passing), emotional engagement (find a focus for public anger and resentment that is not you), and polarization (if you don't join in the outpouring of hatred, you are suspect). The trouble is that the villain needs to be a vulnerable target you can cut off from key resources (money, public support) through intimidating public protest, a media campaign, etc. Mamdani has decided not to make Trump the villain, possibly because Trump has cards to play and doesn't seek the approval of Mamdani's base. Hochul can't be the villain, as the mayor is begging Albany for money. He decided to go after Ken Griffin as a stand-in for nonresident owners of expensive investment properties in NYC, but of course Griffin is not obliged to take the abuse. There's a good case that NYC needs Griffin more than Griffin needs NYC. So who's next? Without a villain, it's not clear that the organizer's playbook can work.

Even Mamdani realizes he stepped on a rake. Totally changed his tune.

Deferring pension contributions is the Pandora's box of municipal finance, where a seemingly harmless action unleashes a legacy of complications. Once that seal is broken, NYC will start the descent into the same liability-fueled spiral that has hollowed out so many other cities.

NTSB issued a preliminary report on the March 22 collision between a Jazz Aviation–operated Air Canada Express CRJ‑900 airplane and a fire truck on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport in New York, New York. data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/a…

BREAKING: Metro’s board of directors votes unanimously to approve a plan that calls for the Red Line to become fully automated, meaning trains could run without operators. Metro leaders caution the project is dependent on federal money-the earliest it could launch is 2032. #wmata

@jonfavs Stop wasting oxygen

Zero people have tried to make Hasan Piker "the spokesman for Democrats." He showed up at one campaign event with one candidate in a primary and sat for some interviews. What's embarrassing is the number of people on here treating him like he's a 2028 contender or DNC Chair.

Democrats making “is stealing wrong?” a hot debate is an extremely bleak sign

NEW: One of the most dangerous drivers in New York City is an NYPD cop on Staten Island. He’s gotten 547 school-zone speeding and red-light tickets in the past four years. The NYPD is refusing to intervene: nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/04/23/to-…

The way that we’re going to frame our descent into a low trust society is that it’s ‘anti capitalist,’ that anti-social, low-grade criminality perpetrated by narcissists is somehow a remedy for the *problem* of capitalism.

BREAKING: Illinois House Speaker Welch confirms tonight that the Brandon Johnson-backed “millionaires tax” does not have enough votes to advance. That means this constitutional amendment will not appear on the ballot this November. Thanks to all those who contacted their state rep!

@MEarthprime @WallStreetApes Very common around high schools in Chicago, too.

@WallStreetApes There is a Wendy's south of Houston that locks its doors for 3 hrs after school lets out. You can only use the drive thru or eat outside.

Brand new Wendy’s are being designed and built that no longer let customers go inside You will order from a screen, then walk around to get your food from a secure window These locations are specifically built to address crime and related social issues in: - Oakland, California - Seattle, Washington - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Los Angeles, California - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania These are the 5 major cities the locations are being planned and built hit more US cities will get them too In addition to helping address crime issues they also focus more on drive thru service needs like delivery apps

@HeatherCherone @wttw lol

FULL STORY: The significant increase in the number of times Chicago police officers have used force against members of the public since 2022 merits a “full-scale review,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office told a federal judge. @wttw news.wttw.com/2026/04/22/cpd…

A group of teenagers walked into a Taco Bell Cantina in downtown Chicago and immediately began attacking two other teenagers. One of the teenagers repeatedly yelled “ k*ll him, k*ll him right now.”

An annual reminder: don’t spray spring dandelions with Roundup. One flower can be visited by 100+ bees in a day, and those chemicals can kill them all. 🌻

These are the drivers you share the road with.

@RealDianeYap God you’re a moron

This isn't about whether dogs are people. The original claim was about the social contract. Are dogs in restaurants really more bothersome to strangers than kids in restaurants? I've never once been annoyed by a dog in a restaurant. Kids though? Frequently.

Metro‘s board expected to vote Thursday on budget that includes plans to make the Red Line fully automated to the point where trains could run without operators. Platform screen doors would be installed at Red Line stations. Expansion to other lines would depend on funding #wmata

Major blow to the "free fare" advocates 🚇