Chicago authorities finally nab ‘Chance the Snapper’ in Windy City Swamp

The City of Chicago has a long history of nefarious ne’er-do-wells who could do you in at the drop of a hat.

This is the city fueled by Al Capone and his rumrunners after they made the bone-shivering journeys across a half-frozen Lake Michigan to load up on Canadian Hooch during prohibition.

This is also the city who, after attempting to ban handguns in 1982, devolved into a haven for outlaw drug gangs.  As these miscreants were emboldened by the lack of legal gun owners, their illegal cornering of the firearms market turned the Windy City into a war zone.  For the last decade, Chicago has been Chiraq, with dozens shot or killed on any given weekend throughout the year.

But, there is some good news for Chicago, as “Chance the Snapper”, another one of the city’s potentially hazardous inhabitants, has been brought to justice.

The notorious alligator of the Humboldt Park Lagoon in Chicago has officially been captured.

The roughly 5-foot alligator, which evaded capture for a week, was apprehended Monday night, Chicago Animal Care and Control Director Kelley Gandurski said at a Tuesday morning news conference.

The reptile, a male, was removed from the lagoon after an alligator expert, Frank Robb, of Florida, was hired by city animal control officials.

The eastern half of Humboldt Park was closed Sunday so Robb – the owner of Crocodilian Specialist Services in St. Augustine, Fla., per the Chicago Tribune – could work to remove the creature.

“Our team was out there all night long for the past two days; this is an amazing capture by Mr. Robb,” said Gandurski, adding Robb “got to work quickly surveying the area” after arriving in the city Sunday evening.

The young gator was captured without incident, and appears to be in perfect health – despite being hundreds of miles from its natural habitat.

He will be taken to a yet-unknown alligator sanctuary to live out the reminder of his life.