Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Update From Ald. Cappleman About Monday's Shooting:
Three In Custody, Hot Spots To Have 24/7 Patrols

Ald. Cappleman released an email announcement about last night's shootings:

"Although the summer in Uptown has been relatively quiet, last night at the corner of Wilson and Sheridan,  there were gang-related shootings that occurred around 6:00 p.m. outside of the Uptown Baptist Church. From my conversation with 19th District Police Commander Voulgaris, there were five victims. Four are in critical condition and one in good condition. 

Three of the victims had known gang affiliations from the west and south sides, and another one, also from the west side, was with the three. The fifth victim is a man from Uptown and is believed to be homeless. Police were quickly on the scene and have three persons of interest in custody. The police were able to recover quality video footage from both the police camera located at that corner and from local businesses.

Following this incident, three police cars will be stationed in three of Uptown's "hot spots," 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  As we did with the Weiss Plaza area, which has been very quiet since June, I will be working with Commander Voulgaris, the foot patrol officers in this area, Community Justice Center, CAPS Beat Facilitators, local block clubs, social services and local businesses to come together and implement a plan to make this area safer.

The next CAPS meeting for the 1914 CAPS Beat where this took place is Wednesday, September 11 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Clarendon Park Fieldhouse, 4501 N. Clarendon. Please attend to voice your concerns to the police and to find out what you can do to help make the neighborhood safer. As always, if you see something suspicious, do not hesitate and call 911."


UU Note:  For those who want 24/7 police saturation everywhere in Uptown, it is not going to happen.  The city is broke and the police department is understaffed, which is common knowledge among the gangbangers and the police themselves.  The CPD is doing the best it can -- in our opinion, a stellar job -- with the limited resources it has.  The South and West Sides are far more violent than Uptown, so that's where the resources (i.e., police officers) go.

As the email states, there are other solutions.  But there are not hundreds of officers sitting around waiting to be deployed.  There just aren't.  We don't know where Cappleman and Voulgaris found the officers to do three round-the-clock shifts, but it's seriously impressive and shows a strong commitment to stemming violence here.  Because some other area is now short three round-the-clock details.  Those officers didn't get pulled out of a magician's hat or from the Extra Police Room.

The undermanning of the CPD is, in our opinion, Chicago's most critical issue and should be addressed before anything else.  Safety first, Mr. Mayor and Mr. Police Superintendent.  Hire more cops, enough cops, and make it your first priority.

Another UU Note:  We have heard (from several sources who have been very reliable in the past) that at least one, possibly two, of the victims of yesterday's shooting are being kept alive by life support.  We won't speculate further.  There are so many people who were hurt by yesterday's events, and our hearts especially go out to the homeless man who was there for a meal and ended up being shot.

23 comments:

  1. Re. the lack of police. I think Chicago needs to look to New York for how they police, and I don't just mean stop and frisk. NY has a camera on every corner. Stores have cameras. This is how they catch their criminals faster. I think CPD is on the right path, it's just that we are living in dangerous times because of drugs & guns. Once someone comes up with a solution to the sales of drugs and the riddance of gangs, we'll sleep a lot sounder.

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  2. The response to crime is to increase the police and surveillance state? That's all you got UU?

    C'mon, how about we address the systemic issues that lead to these problems? Nothing about CPS closings, nothing about rampant poverty and no jobs (unless you want a job that doesn't pay a living wage), nothing about mental health services and community programs being cut while the mayor doles out our TIF funds to already rich institutions?

    nothing? NOTHING?

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    1. I saw the mom of the suspect on tv and the radio and that lady needs a hug. She's a single mom, 6 kids, working two jobs....where does she have the time to be a mom? If I were her, I would hand the children over to a relative, a grandma or grandfather who has the time to care for those kids. Just send them to another relative. Work hard, save, and plan for retirement. But geez! she just doesn't have the time to do it all with 6 kids! She needs a vacation and a hug.

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    2. A hug. Wow. So the mother of a thug-gang member-murderer attemperer needs a hug? What is wrong with people. I'm sorry. I don't have a lot of compassion for these "parents" that end up with one or multiple kids that can't afford to pay or a proper and respectful upbringing.

      I have ZERO feelings for those that decide to take no responsibility be it reproductively or financially and then expect others to pay for others indiscretions and or poor decisions.

      While I can't expect to relate 100% to any of these people nor can most, I can relate to having a myriad of family situations from death, divorce, single mom etc and that was never a reason for mine to make excuses. If I made a misstep I got reprimanded. Simple as that.

      There is zero accountability here and it continues with every teary eyed mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter and the list goes on. So does the blame and zero responsibility. If you can't sustain a family of one why continue to six.

      Sorry I hate to say it but I've no compassion save for the misguided kids that hopefully won't take the influences of society over the lack of available parental influence. And that's the biggest loss. Kids that have a better chance of reciprocating these issues than eradicating them through a change.

      This "mother" isn't even. She's a "producer". Anyone can make a kid only a parent can raise on. If this pisses someone off then maybe you need to look at what this issue is.

      Stop making excuses for people that continue to ask for help but never help themselves. Ignorance and irresponsibility is an epidemic in this day and age. A hug isn't needed. A kick in the ass would better suit this person.

      For months I've been reading this page and now it's on my doorstep I'm not "ok" with a hug and vacation for the parent of a gangbanger. If people can't respect themselves or each other then the "love" stops.

      Insane.

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    3. Ireallydontcare- I want to give YOU a hug! I 100% agree with what you said. Pretty damn easy to make 6 kids and expect someone to take pity on you because you are working two jobs etc. What responsible adult has that many children?!
      As a mother I can't imagine letting my teen wander the streets and then say that there is nothing I could do.
      You should be parenting not making more babies!!

      I know this sounds awful and heartless- but sometimes I wish these gang bangers would have better aim and just shoot each other to death. Then they can all go away. Now we are just spending more tax dollars on intensive care for someone who is a drain on society to begin with. I know it, I'm being heartless. But this lack of responsibility and pointing fingers when something goes wrong has got to end.
      Sorry momma you "raised" a thug.

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    4. Ireallydontcarewhatyousayitswhatyoudo - THANK YOU! You said it so I didn't have to. Nowadays having children is a CHOICE, as it should be. When someone opts to have a child, it should be a solemn decision, not a cavalier one. But how else can one characterize the attitude of someone who brings six (SIX!) children into the world without the means to care for them? Social services aren't meant to provide an incentive for people to have children, they are meant to support people who have --LOST-- the ability to care for themselves and their families! We should all support efforts to provide for people who lose the means to sustain their families, just as we should support efforts to hold accountable people who produce children carelessly. People like Lianna who validate this wanton behavior are utterly infuriating.

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    5. “ Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that not every one has had the advantages you have had”.

      Its easy to say maybe this woman shouldn't have had 6 kids. You don't know her story. Maybe her parents sucked at being parents, maybe she never had parents, maybe she was married to a man and they wanted to have a big family and he died or left her, maybe she was never taught how to survive in this world and what birth control is.

      She is not necessarily the problem, she is a symptom of the problem. But more importantly she is a human being.

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  3. Once again, people who don't live in Uptown seem to think they know what's best for us. Must be nice to run the place from afar!

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    1. Some of us moved away but still feel connected and invested in the community.

      My mother and mother-in-law "strongly encouraged" us NOT to move back to where I used to live for 5 years (less than 100 ft from the shooting).

      Last night didn't make me glad I moved. It made me sad that I'm in a whiter, more gentrified and more oblivious part of the city... Anyone of us is ahead of the game for paying attention and caring... regardless of where we live.

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    2. Caring neighbor, so you don't think caring neighbors of uptown can exist outside its borders? Your attitude reminds me a bit of the attitudes of southern whites during the civil rights era, complaining of northerners sticking their nose in and thinking what's best for the southern states.

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  4. ChiTown Philly,

    If I recall correctly, Uptown Update did cover the CPS closing extensively, and was against them. However, as important an issue as good schools are, that is a "long term" solution to our problems. After people were gunned down on our streets, we need immediate short term solutions. Keeping schools open would have done nothing to stop yesterday's shooting. More police on the streets might have made a difference.

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  5. It's sad, but I'm consistently refreshing Uptown Update before I go to pick up my wife at the Red Line to make sure no other shootings and/or retaliation has occurred. Such considerations in broad daylight are unnerving. I suppose we all get a taste of what people on the south side live with every day.

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    1. I have to agree, I really appreciate UU's commitment too keeping us well informed about our ward. It's nice to have an active community news/forum for both the good and the bad times.

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  6. Lianna, I've been telling folks here that Chicago needs to adapt NYC style of policing. They do not tolerate the vagrants & "quality of life" infractions that Chicago seems to tolerate.

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    1. An actor, crew member and I got chased into a McDonalds by un-uniformed police officers in 1998 in NYC. Our crime? Putting up a poster with the face of Animal from the Muppets on a storefront gate (with scotch tape). In return, we were scared and harassed by the cops ("What are you, from the country?").

      I had never thought of police as people to look out for (in a negative way) until that night. Oh, and we were three white kids holding a $10,000 camera outside a film school.

      New York can be an example of tactics but it's not a friggin' solution.

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    2. The problem is that those who control budges aren't willing to put enough money where it matters - responsible policing and effective public education. And why should they? They go home to safe neighborhoods that aren't plagued with the problems their irresponsible budget decisions create.

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    3. Unlike this kiss up piece which should be titled All Hail The Alderman, I disagree. For one you can't compare suburbia to Englewood, ain't going to happen. Two we aren't going to see this kind of action on a daily basis as far 24/7 police action. Three their is a serious lack of Urban Planning in the more crime prone areas. The planters are a great idea, but they are they are displayed in the upper areas. Four, ask yourself what is the number one thing that kills the crime rate. More Police? More police will probably up the crime rate for the time being. Green reduces crime. Paying attention reduces crime. Five, No money. Really the City wants to spend 100 million on DePaul and now another 50 million dollar park for 2.7 miles. Six Consult Urban Planners. Seven Has anybody read the recent studies of crime and concentrations of lead in communities. Seven Paying Attention to Communities works. Thanks.

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    4. I've found this article to be an interesting look and NYC's crime reduction.

      http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/26/nyregion/police-have-done-more-than-prisons-to-cut-crime-in-new-york.html?pagewanted=all

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  7. i can't wait to see the amazing footage from that camera that's flashing at the corner of sheridan and wilson...oh wait. does that damn thing even work? has it ever provided any fruitful evidence?

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  8. McDonald's security doesn't do jack shit about anything on their property, why/how could they have stopped this? Nearly every time I've succumbed to low blood sugar and gone in there's been some kind of trashy behavior, and the bathroom is useless rendered useless by what seemed to have been some kind of poop grenade.

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  9. The issue of gang violence is almost incomprehensibly complex, and so must be the strategy to end the violence. It involves a vast host of civic and community entities. It's not just a law enforcement issue, but a social issue and a public health crisis affecting the quality of life for all. I just don't believe that blame can be placed on a single individual such as an alderman.

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