VIOLENCE IN DALEYTOPIA

There's trouble in Daleytopia!

In the month of July, more than 200 people were shot in Chicago. 42 of these people died. And, as Second City Cop points out:

31 shootings happened within a mile of Washington Park - Daley's choice for the Opening and Closing ceremonies.

Lost suburbanites can't make it home without being injured or killed when gangbangers ram their car.

Men can't walk home alone in Lincoln Park/Lakeview without being jumped, beaten, and mugged.

People's little dogs are being killed by burglars.

And we pay Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis $300,000 per year to run the Chicago Police Department into the ground.

When Weis was hired last November to clean up the Police Department, Daley justified his top salary by saying the former FBI agent would be wearing two hats: those of top cop and chief emergency officer.

"This man could go anyplace within the FBI," Daley said at the time. "He could go outside. I'm very responsible paying him that much money -- both for being [police superintendent] and for homeland security [chief]. . . . Yes, it's worth it."

But in July, Weis' authority to supervise response to disasters was diluted when Fire Commissioner Raymond Orozco was named to head the Office of Emergency Management and Communications. Daley said Orozco, not Weis, will be calling the shots at disaster scenes.

So I was wondering, Mayor Daley, are the Olympics going to fix all this violence too (Jody Weis obviously hasn't)? Because if they're not, I really wish we could focus Chicago's efforts on the important issues - like making our city safe. And I'm talking about the entire city - North, South, and West.

Until something is done, I know where I'll be - at Mayor Daley's house. With its round-the-clock police protection, it's the safest place in Chicago. So, citizens of Chicago, if you don't feel safe in your neighborhood, head on down to Daley's house! If you're lucky, maybe the King will let you camp on the lawn of his castle.