Chicago Officials Call For Stricter Gun Laws

August 25, 2015

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There has been a problem in recent years for law enforcement personnel and politicians in Chicago. They don’t feel that individuals caught with illegal guns are given harsh enough penalties. Anyone who’s been busted with an unregistered hammer can tell you that the experiences that follow (incarceration, court, etc.) aren’t pleasant. However, Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and Chicago PD Superintendent Garry McCarthy have repeatedly made calls for firearms offenders to be held in prison for longer periods of time. According to the Chicago Sun-Times:

In July, the Sun-Times reported that 12 people in Chicago, including seven juveniles, were arrested a combined 24 times for illegal gun possession within six months. The newspaper also reported that nearly 700 people were arrested for gun possession in the first three months of 2015 and about 75 percent were back on the street by June.

The antics of Jose Roman of the Simon City Royals gang and the gang’s leader Thaddeus Jimenez can be used as examples for Rahm and McCarthy’s discontent. In 2009, Jimenez successfully against the city of Chicago after his murder conviction, for which he served 16 years behind bars, was overturned. Besides copping properties, Lamborghinis and Bentleys, the $25 million award he received was a stimulus package-of-sorts for his Simon City Royals. He even gave his underlings thousands of dollars to tattoo their faces and necks with gang symbols. Roman was one of those underlings. He began his criminal career as a member of the Imperial Gangsters, with whom he caught a robbery charge in 2011. After serving three years, Roman transferred to the Royals, with whom he picked up his first felony gun charge in 2014 while on probation. He was released on bond. A few months later, he was found in a vehicle with a .380 after being pulled over. He posted bond again.

Jimenez and Roman are now both behind bars after an incident last week when Jimenez shot a man in the legs for rejecting his offer to join the Royals. The duo fled from the scene in Jimenez’s 2013 Mecedes 500 series convertible. During a foot chase, Roman ditched a loaded Mossberg shotgun. Jimenez did the same with his .380. Both men are now being held without bail.

Rahm and McCarthy should be happy with that.

Ryan K. Smith

Ryan K. Smith is digital content editor for Don Diva Magazine. Earning a bachelors degree from Penn State University (by way of Howard University), Ryan has pursued a career in journalism, published by Complex Magazine, Ebony Magazine, Philadelphia Weekly and The Chester Spirit Newspaper. He is also a self-published author. He sells the most awesome tee shirts on Earth at meweforus.spreadshirt.com.