Another Chicago Cop Murdered

I'm damned angry. If you live, and vote, in the city of Chicago, you should be, too.

Officer Michael Bailey was 62, just weeks away from mandatory retirement.

A Chicago police officer for twenty years, he was shot in his own driveway. He was still in uniform, having returned home after a shift spent guarding Mayor Daley's home.

Think about that. He was in uniform! What does that say about the people who attacked him? What does that say about the climate of violence in that one South Side neighborhood? In fact, he's the second off-duty cop still in uniform to be killed this month.

How ironic that he was part of Mayor Richard Daley's security team. Mayor Daley, the guy who says the city's wallet is empty and he can't afford to hire more cops. Mayor Daley, the guy who doesn't want law-abiding citizens to own handguns but allows violent criminals to feel so safe on the streets that they brazenly attack a uniformed police officer in his own driveway.

Will it make a difference that Daley personally knew this fine, brave copper? Of course not. He'll make a few meaningless media statements and perhaps attend Bailey's funeral. I certainly hope he is not allowed anywhere near a lectern on that sad day.

The City of Chicago needs to hire more cops. At least enough to replace those who are leaving in record numbers. Will that happen? No. As John Kass points out in the Tribune, "(The) mayor and his rubber-stamp council have spent all the money. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of deals went to the cronies. And now there's no money left to hire cops."

I absolutely believe that to be true. He's cheated you and the city and now, not even his cops are safe.

Be angry. Be furiously angry.

Better yet, come November, be votingly angry.