For Immediate release
Contacts: Raul Montes, Jr. 312-890-6599, Cicero Spokesman Ray Hanania 708-656-3600

Cicero Police to partner with Chicago Police and Little Village residents community group to fight gang war after brazen videos posted on Youtube. Want better intelligence system and collaboration between both jurisdictions and for more resources to combat gang war

What: Press Conference and community forum for better intelligence between two police jurisdictions to combat gang war
When: Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Where: Manuel Perez, Jr. Veterans legion post
2658 S Hamlin
Chicago, IL 60623
Time: 6:15 p.m.

Chicago, IL– Little Village has witnessed the surge of gang war and the outlandish destructive behavior of gang violence between two rival gangs that has left many families grief- stricken. Just recently there has been a severe infiltration in the Western part of Little Village by one of the rival gangs. Recently some brazen videos were downloaded to show the brinksmanship of one gang and posted on You Tube for the world to see. The recent videos are very disturbing and have angered the residents in the community of over 100,000 in population. The video links on You Tube are the following: Drake 27 Latin Kings; Ghetto side 24 Latin Kings.

With implications of many shootings on the outskirts of Little Village were gangs have had an outlet into another jurisdiction, Chicago land community activist Raul Montes, Jr. has asked for the help and collaboration of the Town of Cicero for a better intelligence system and communication between both Cicero and Chicago. Cicero President Larry Dominick has responded “I sympathize with our neighbors to the east and when Mr. Montes asked if we could help, I had to say yes. Even though we technically have no jurisdiction in Chicago, we can still coordinate our efforts with the Chicago Police and share ideas with Little Village residents to help them be more successful in protecting their children and fighting street gangs,” Dominick said. Montes states there should be some accountability on these explicit videos and more vigilance to a community that has been put on a back burner and the violence downplayed wher children are at risk.

Cicero’s Gang Crimes Unit, and officials have agreed to hold a meeting with the residents of Little Village and Chicago Police to develop strategies to improve safety in Little Village and also develop collaborations to share information about street gangs and improve cooperation among law enforcement agencies to curb and solve crime. On Wednesday evening, Cicero Police, Chicago Police, other law enforcement agencies and residents in Little Village are holding a community forum and press conference to collaborate and develop strategies to be effective to combat the gang war in both communities. The Cook County Sheriff’s office and public officials and been invited to the event.

Shannon Spalding and Daniel Echeverria allege in the lawsuit [PDF] that they saw police colleagues shaking down drug dealers and framing innocent people when they were sent to the Ida B. Wells public housing complex to work undercover, according to the Chicago Tribune.

When they attempted to report the wrongdoing, they were first told by their supervisors to “disregard” the incident, the Tribune reports. When they took their report to the FBI, they say they were labeled “rats” and were essentially demoted within the force.

Posted: 11/02/2012 10:45 am EDT Updated: 11/02/2012 10:45 am EDT

But who’s watching to make sure the school’s kitchens and lunchrooms are being kept up to safety standards?

CBS 2’s Pam Zekman reports.

By Annie Sweeney, Chicago Tribune reporter

7:06 a.m. CDT, October 22, 2012

The shocking videotape showed off-duty Chicago police Officer Anthony Abbate throw a female bartender half his size against a wall in the Northwest Side tavern, slam her to the floor and pummel her with frenzied punches and kicks.

Weeks later, fearful for the bartender’s safety and that police had downplayed the seriousness of the beating, her lawyers released the video, sparking international outrage and one of the most embarrassing incidents in the Police Department’s history.

Now, almost six years later, bartender Karolina Obrycka’s lawsuit against Abbate and the city of Chicago is set to go to trial on Monday in federal court. While the videotaped beating remains the emotional center of the case, the trial will turn on whether Abbate, other officers and higher-level police officials engaged in a cover-up to try to protect the veteran officer and keep the damaging video from public exposure.

Beaten bartender’s suit will feature off-duty cop’s beating video at upcoming trial

Chicago Personal Injury Attorney