Saturday, August 4 marked the first ever celebration of a brand new State of Illinois holiday, Barack Obama Day,[i] and Chicagoans commemorated the event in the way they know best: gang shootings. The latest head count, as of two hours prior to this writing, is 4 dead, 40 injured: A series of shootings took place in Chicago this weekend, leaving four people dead and at least 40 injured in a burst of gun violence over a seven-hour period from around midnight Saturday to early Sunday morning, according to city police officials. The shootings were "both random and targeted," Chicago Police Department patrol division chief Fred Waller told reporters, Reuters reports.  Waller added that most of the shootings were related to gang activity. According to police, gunmen attacked multiple gatherings late Saturday [Obama Day itself –T.L.] night, including a block party and a reception following a funeral.  Many of the incidents...(Read Full Post)