Thursday, July 25, 2013

Shermain Miles: Not Welcome In The 46th Ward


There was an article in the Sun-Times Wednesday about Shermain Miles, she of the 396 arrests.  She's doing well in a structured environment (in this case, Logan Correctional Facility), which isn't really a surprise.  It's when she's making her own decisions that she seems to get into trouble.
[Illinois Prisoner Review Board Chairman Adam] Monreal’s goal is to ensure Miles is accepted into a [mental health treatment] program straight out of prison. She has submitted applications for several programs, one in Rockford and one in a neighboring state where the woman’s sister lives.

But one option was denied: “I did not recommend that she is paroled back out to the same [Chicago] ward where she assaulted the alderman (James Cappleman),” Monreal said. “I said I would not approve of that.”
Everyone seems to be on the same page with this, including Ms. Miles's most famous victim:
Reached by phone on Wednesday, Cappleman said Miles deserves a chance to succeed.

“I think Shermain exemplifies a problem that we see for the state of Illinois and that is a reason why we have a disproportionate amount of people in our prison system who have severe and chronic mental illness and ongoing alcohol and drug dependence,” Cappleman said. “It’s time we stop this revolving door of people going in and out of the prison system and get people the help they need so they can live their lives in a more productive manner.”
Read the entire article here.
A "productive manner" is the opposite of the way Ms. Miles has lived her life until now. Can we hope that intensive mental health treatment, possible proximity to her family, and banishment from the 46th Ward may combine to succeed where there has only been failure before, 396 times?

5 comments:

  1. The woman has a MENTAL ILLNESS; leave her alone already. While it's understandable that the neighborhood wouldn't want her roaming the area streets and causing trouble, your frequent personal attacks on Shermaine and posting about her in a public forum for all to see are not at all understandable. Again, this woman has a diagnosed mental condition - she is not in control of herself, and apparently you are not either, based on your bullying rants about a sick lady. WTH is wrong with you? Have some freaking compassion for others.

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  2. It's a simple fact that it's impossible to bully someone who doesn't even know about the existence of the alleged bully. Learn about bullying before you start using terms you don't understand.

    This woman is mentally ill, beyond a doubt, but she's also a hardened criminal. She likes to pull knives on elderly and handicapped people and take their money. You can see her as a victim if you'd like. Most people realize she is a predator, including my neighbor, an elderly woman who was one of her victims.

    She has run a reign of terror in Uptown and surrounding neighborhoods for decades. We run updates on her so people know where she is.

    Last, please point out where Uptown Update has "attacked" Ms Miles (maybe you consider presenting facts about her "attacking"). If anything, we've been easy on her.

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  3. This woman is a flat out menace. I had the displeasure of encountering her on more than one occasion. I'm glad she's gone & hope that our community is never subjected to her or her vile antics ever again. Good riddance.

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  4. One menace is gone, many remain, however.
    It depends on the day but I actively work with security when I have to encounter aggressive knuckleheads in front of Target, it's slowly starting to work.

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  5. She is not the only person with an absurd amount of arrests. There are many folks walking around around streets with 100+ arrests. People around the country were shocked by this story when it was featured on CNN. Of course, I live in Cook County and know the deal.

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