A reader sends us the following video and info:
"I thought I'd pass along this footage from the corner of Leland and Sheridan where large-scale street fights (read "riots") have been happening for the past two evenings. We called 911 multiple times last night when we overheard a shouting match that preceded the violence. Police finally arrived after the street began to resemble a riot scene."
UU Note: There is some bad language in this video, don't view it with the kids around. There are also some more videos featuring this hoppin' corner here. (double click the videos to view full screen)
Update: Apparently CBS2 news has shown interest in covering this story on its newscast. See the comments for details.
do these guys actually fight or just chase each other back and forth?
ReplyDeleteTime to call in the cavalry. Start at 0:40 to get the idea of what we need.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the police department is undermanned, "underled", and demoralized because of our glorious Mayor and a Superintendent who is clueless regarding local law enforcement.
Last month, in broad daylight, I was walking my dog whena a shouting match broke out. A bunch of guys showed up from out of nowhere. I called 911 and reported that it looked like a large fight was about to start and I was leaving the area asap. The dispatch wanted me to be more specific on what they were doing wrong. I told her that I just heard a bottle break and I'm not getting any closer to the action. 2 minutes later a squad arrived. We're not too much into prevention in our city.
ReplyDeleteHave the videos on the attached link been shared with the CPD? If not, you may want to contact the commander and provide the information.
ReplyDeleteA couple of comments...
ReplyDelete1. Exactly how many of these thugs did the police arrest? How would one find out? Or did they just let them all go to do this again another time?
2. To those a while back that said the white t-shirted guys are harmless, here is your proof...
3. Just wait until Wilson Yard is full of gangbangers... if you think it is bad now....
Nice job on this video and all the others showing the criminal activity on the corner of Leland & Sheridan! Maybe these videos will help get more police surveillance in the area!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting my footage and link, Uptown Update. I will be sharing this and my other films from the past several weeks at the CAPS meetings. Glad to share with the commander if you have his/her e-mail address.
ReplyDeleteRegarding D's comment, they do fight, but what I'm more concerned about is that they hurl bottles and run in front of moving cars. Keep in mind that this happened at 9:10 PM last night. Innocent bystanders (including families with children) were out enjoying the evening and were forced to flee from a hail of glass shards.
From our vantage point, we saw no arrests made.
Let me guess, if we had more programs out there to help these troubled youths, we wouldn't have these problems, right? LOL
ReplyDeleteWhat a pack of animals...can't wait for new members to move into WY...
How sad....
JJO
PS Great video quality BTW and great editing, I like that scroll across the screen!
Don't forget that as last summer's neighborhood meeting, when asked why she wasn't on the dais with the other people, she was heard clearly saying that 'crime was not her issue'.
ReplyDeleteThis video scares the crud out of me.
Shiller should be scared too because people are fed up with INACTION. If she's so tight with the mayor, why do we have to put up with this???
It's a block from my place as well.
ReplyDeleteThat video is nothing more than a testament to the failings of our municipal government.
Heckuva job, Helen - you're slowly turning Uptown into the Monster Island that is the South Side, and for what?
What are we gaining as a community when people are now fearful to walk the streets at night due to this type of senseless violence?
This is what happens when you concentrate so much social dependency in a small area.
Daley fails for continuing to shaft the CPD by dickering about with their contract and staffing needs.
Chicago's facing massive budget deficits, but Helen swears that sucking more $$ away from the funding of essential city services via her TIF honey pot won't adversely affect the community.
Well, baby cakes - in living color, your theory has been destroyed.
And IP is right, Cap'n Caveman ain't helping the situation any.
It's sickening and maddening that we're letting these nitwits fiddle with the funds and ruin this neighborhood and this city.
It's not that Uptown isn't Lincoln Park ... Lincoln Park is now turning into Uptown.
Show of hands as to whom considers that "progress"?
Anyone?
Buehler?
WTF! Only one police car shows up and just says move along! We see that the police are not effective. Any one of us could have done what they (police) did and recieved the same response. The rioters just plain ignore the police and do what they please. If a riot is reported then you would think that several police cars would show up and make arrest for oh lets say Disorderly Conduct, Insighting a Riot, any number of violations. Lesson learned here: The criminals and gangs have the true control. Once Wilson Yard starts occupancy expect this much more and in larger numbers. Wonder why it happened in that location? Take a look at the number of low income, very low income, and extremely low income housing projects there are in a one block radius. Do you think a single one of those involved in the riot went home to unsubsidized housing?
ReplyDeleteThanks for shooting and posting that video. The quality is indeed awesome as well.
ReplyDelete2011 can't come fast enough.
I will say this, that anti-violence campaign appears to have been as wildly successful as all of the other ones.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what the police could do here. Clearing it up would have been my priority too. The risk scenario was far too great for one officer, let alone two, to attempt to make arrests. You might have had 10-15 people attacking two police officers.
ReplyDeleteDispersing the crowd was for the safety of the community AND the officers. The hanger ons are the ones that get arrested.
Wow, That is really sad to watch.
ReplyDeleteHere is the email for the commander. kathleen.boehmer@chicagopolice.org
ReplyDeleteYou may want to call and ask for her. Tell her that you have clear video (in several videos) where you can get good descriptions of individuals.
The TAC unit may be VERY interested in speaking with you.
Brennan - that is why I said that when a riot like this is reported more than one police car needs to respond. If nothing else, then the officers needed to call in for back up once they saw how many people were involved. From observing the video it appears possibly only one other unit showed up (I thought I heard other sirens approaching)if any at all. I don't want to see law enforcement harmed but I don't want the message sent to the criminals that they can do what they want with no consequences.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness they were only throwing bottles rather than shooting guns. If the police continue to be as incapable of making arrests as this video suggests, then it may only be a matter of time before bullets start flying.
ReplyDeleteI have heard more and more police sirens in the past year than I have in the 5 that I have lived in Uptown. Certainly isn't something I am looking forward to in year 6.
My hat is off to the director.This is unbelievable to watch on a main drag in the early evening.The fault lies in the understaffing of the CPD and the revolving courthouse doors.How did Daley find 25 million for United's move and we are I believe 500 or so officers shy on the force.By the way I'm back full time,I need to fly to Miami in a month to tie up loose ends for 2 weeks.My 1st winter here in 18 years.Evil flourishes when good people do nothing.
ReplyDeleteGreat video..I don't see any trolling on this one! FACTS ARE BETTER SHOWN ON VIDEO!
ReplyDeleteThe police can not arrest for Disorderly Conduct without a citizen complainant. The powers that be took that charge away many years ago. They said that a police officers peace can't be breached. You might be able to get mob action for throwing the bottles, but that's a maybe.
ReplyDeleteAnd Sheridan is not one of the gang loitering areas. So that's out.
There are only few charges an officer can use without a citizen complainant.
A officer can not arrest someone for fighting unless one of the fighters signs a complaint. And these thugs never do they handle things themselves. Even when they get shot. They give wrong descriptions of the offender so the police can't catch them.
NM - could one of the families who got caught in the fracas sign a complaint? The people in the grey van that tried to turn the corner and got stuck in the middle of the intersection?
ReplyDeleteThere are more law-abiding folks than idiots in our neighborhoods. It sickens me that these thugs think they can take over OUR streets.
The insane thing, is that this bullshit is going on at the relatively early hour of 9 p.m, on a fairly busy street.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Superintendent Jody needs to move into a condo at Sheridan & Leland.....like Jane Byrne did at Cabrini 30 years ago.
I take that back....he'd need to move into about 12 condos throughout the area....
Truman,
ReplyDeleteYes, any who felt their safety was at risk could sign a complainant for disorderly conduct.
Stark,
If J-Fed was going to pull a Jane Byrne he would do it in a area with a little more crime. If you remember 20th and 23rd districts have the lowest crime in the city according to the stats in the SunTimes last week.
Matt M. -- unfortunate news.
ReplyDeleteSomeone posted on facebook that gunshots were fired there tonight around 10:30. anyone else hear this?
I liked the part one the first cop car showed up and you could see the passenger door flinging open attempting to knock down the rioters.
ReplyDeleteIf I was the cops I wouldnt have gotten out of the car either, like someone said for their safety as well 2 cops cant take on the 20 or so people. It wasnt until the second unit came up that you saw officers out on foot.
Its video's like this that need to be sent directly to the Alderman's office with the note "what the F?"
Also maybe send it to some news outlets, let them put some pressure on the forces that be by asking "How do you let this happen all the time?"
Finally, I just have to say again how happy I will be in a week when I am moves out of this ghetto and into a nicer place.
uh, I hate to be that guy but what are they doing wrong? It looks like a bunch of thugs running around playing leapfrog with their own gang to me. After having lived in the Latin kings hood where people are actually gunning for rival gang members this looks like a fun time. But more seriously, this is one reason I live in west Uptown, not east Uptown ;) If it's not the thugs it's the crack hookers that will keep you up at night over there. More power to you if you want to help clean it up.
ReplyDeleteA group of 7 of them walked north on the 4700 Kenmore around 8:25 this evening. All in the same long white t-shirts.
ReplyDeleteKumar, did you hear the sound of shattering glass in the video? Do you shatter glass when you play leap frog? I don't. Did you notice early on that one car driving north on Sheridan started backing up rather than drive through? When the driver of a car feels intimidated enough to not want to drive on the street, there's a problem.
ReplyDeleteI am SO glad that I am moving out of this neighborhood at the end of the month after 4 years of this bullshit.
ReplyDeleteThe past 2 years have been really scary - gunshots at night, my now ex-boyfriend's back car window getting shot out when he was parked a few blocks away from me.
Enough is enough.
The first squad car should have called in for a police paddy wagon to be sent and arrested them all for disorderly conduct.
ReplyDeleteI'm not easily disturbed, but YOW!
ReplyDeleteWhat's the deal with the guys in the white shirts?
This kind of behavior isn't as surprising as it is pathetic. I don't mean to judge others but...
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone else find that life in stark contrast to the one they lead day in and out?
CPD really does need more officers.
It's unlikely that will happen anytime soon, but we're living in the middle of this retarded, pointless, and shameful "lifestyle"
I suppose it could be worse though...
I could swear I heard gun shots Thursday evening as well.... maybe it was fireworks?? I hope.
ReplyDeleteI live at Clarendon and Montrose. At about 11PM I awoke to the sound or about 5 gunshots and a group of black teenagers in white T-shirts yelling. I am on the 19 floor and had a good view. Police cars drove by with lights flashing but did not stop as they drove toward Agatite street. The kids ran into Clarendon Park by the field house. I have heard gunfire before but not below my windows as last night.......
ReplyDeleteHopeless -- To clarify, this snapshot of the evening shows only one squad car at first then a second. Several minutes later there were well over a dozen cars plus several of those ATV units in the area. They were all stationed at Wrigley covering the game and had to make their way north. Living nearby myself, I felt that the CPD ultimately did a good job.
ReplyDeleteShots last night? -- Yep. Three shots fired in this same vicinity at about 10.35. Couldn't see where they came from and didn't see any of the previous night's rioting activity.
And yes, they DO fight... as was mentioned above, and can be seen/heard in the video, there were glass bottles being hurled at each other, subsequently hitting cars and buildings... we all know these gang members can't aim worth ***t, but they're giving it a pretty good try.
Oh, and by the way, this is by no means an isolated incident. This same exact scene played out multiple times this Spring as well.
One of my thoughts as all this was going on, knowing that our Alderwoman has tied the hands of the police department against actually cleaning up this crap, is what she might do if a "gang" of tax paying Uptown residents stormed her quiet little street, started screaming profanities, turning over trash cans and throwing glass bottles at HER home and car.
And to top it off, we get a property tax assessment (ie: property tax increase) that claims our property is worth 20% MORE for 2009. Does Helen think that this kind of activity increases property values?? AAAARGH!!!
JAMES... where are you?? I for one would love to hear a quick response from you... what can we do to fix this??
Not fireworks, definitely gunshots. Occurred on Montrose, between Clarendon and Hazel. I watched two girls run from the scene screaming that some guy was shooting. Good times in Uptown
ReplyDelete@Doug: Yes, we heard three gunshots around 10:30 pm last night at this same corner and called 911. From our vantage point, we couldn't see anyone on the street and didn't know quite where it came from. A squad car cruised up Sheridan from the South and ultimately went West on Leland.
ReplyDeleteThere had been a large police presence throughout the evening last night, presumably in response to the very scary gang fight the night before.
As expected, it seems the addition of the blue light camera at Lawrence has only funneled the illegal activity south to the corner of Leland, as witnessed in the additional videos desginplanning has posted.
There was more riot like behavior last night that I witnessed first hand from my balcony. After minutes of taunting back and forth, one gang banger pulled a gun and shot twice on the corner of Sheridan and Leland. I called the police and 10:34 to report it. They arrived in minutes, but unfortunately by the time the cops arrived all involved had fled the scene. These punks need to be stopped.
ReplyDeleteRichard and I live on Kenmore, directly behind Alternatives on Sheridan, so we heard much of the noise. The video left me feeling angry at the dynamics that allow this to continue. We have had 3 nights in a row of this and never in my 10 years of living here have I seen it so bad.
ReplyDeleteJust as the causes of this situation are multi-layered, so will be the solutions. The CAPS meeting for Beat 2312 will be held at 7pm this next Tuesday, Aug. 18th at 4715 N. Sheridan Road. Richard and I will be passing out fliers and speaking with businesses and residents to encourage CAPS attendance.
I understand that many people have been frustrated with CAPS in the past. I’ve experienced frustration before as well. I believe CAPS is what each of us personally make of it… if we don’t like it, what are we doing to make it better? Ironically, my job is all about working with health clinics in poor areas to help them improve their delivery of care. There’s a well-researched process in place that helps this process of improvement. CAPS already has a similar process in place to improve safety in the area… it just has to be used to make it work.
The Uptown Chicago Commission put out a flier about the use of best practices to address matters of safety. Just go to their website (www.uptownchicagocommission.org) and click on their “Public Safety Hints” to get a quick list of ideas. Come to our CAPS meetings your ideas about what we can do to make our neighborhood safer for everyone.
I share with others the frustration with Ald. Shiller’s lack of response and support to promote public safety in our neighborhood. Regardless, we shouldn’t be held hostage to this situation due to one alderman’s refusal to get involved. We can make this work but it will take a commitment on our part to make it happen. Coming to CAPS one time won’t fix it. It’s a consistent process and it’s hard work, but it’s worth it. If you can’t make the meeting, just remember to register to vote.
James, thank you very much for your reply. You can be assured that our building will have a strong showing at the CAPS meeting on Tuesday. A small group of us attends regularly, and I have to say we've seen positive results when dealing with prostitution and loitering on this corner. Neither has been totally eradicated, but the problem has certainly lessened after working with our local officers. (See the other videos linked to this posting... *spoiler alert* Dance Party ends with an arrest by two of our regular CAPS officers.)
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned, the gang problem is much more complex than those. I guess I just don't know what power the police in Uptown have to arrest or detain these gang members. My thought is that anyone participating in these "riots" should be detained and put in jail for a night, at the very least. As it stands, there doesn't seem to be any deterrent for these thugs to change their behavior whatsoever.
The election to replace our Alderwoman cannot happen soon enough.
Send that to all the news agencies. Maybe they will air it and show whats really going on here.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the only way you get action in this town is to blab to mommy (news outlets) and ask her to slap the hands of the little children running our ward and city.
When I called 911 about this for the third day in a row, the operator told me not to call unless I see "actual weapons". I told her they were throwing milk crates at police cars yesterday and glass at each other today, and the operator repeatedly asked me if they were really weapons. ??
ReplyDeleteAlso, the cops drive down Sheridan only to have these gangbangers find shelter under the trees at Lakeside. They also keep their weapons in cars parked by Alternatives and drive off when a cop shows up. The ones on bikes return within seconds of the police's departure, and when I relayed this to the 911 operator, she told me the cops had already been sent there earlier.
hmmmmm, "....weapons kept in their cars parked by Alternatives...." Alternatives huh?
ReplyDeleteYou know what they say, if it walks like a duck, smells like a duck, it is most likely a duck....
I wonder how many of these punks are "hanging out" at Alternatives? I'm guessing quite a few....
JJO
At the very least it seems that we might get them arrested for 'disturbing the peace' ... but since there hasn't been any peace in that area for a while, perhaps this doesn't apply!
ReplyDelete____________________
"Elements of Disturbing the Peace: It shall be unlawful for any person to:
1. Make, continue, maintain or cause to be made or continued any excessive, unnecessary, unreasonable or unusually loud noise or any noise in such manner as to annoy, offend, disturb, injure or endanger the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of any reasonable person of normal auditory sensitivity residing in the area.
2. Use, operate or permit the use or operation of any electronic device, radio receiving set, television, musical instrument, phonograph or other machine or device for the producing or reproducing of sound in such manner as to disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of any reasonable person of normal auditory sensitivity inhabiting the area.
3. Congregate because of, participate in or be in any party or gathering of people from which sound emanates of a sufficient volume so as to disturb the peace, quiet or repose of any reasonable person of normal auditory sensitivity residing in any residential area. No person shall visit or remain within any residential dwelling unit wherein such party or gathering is taking place except persons who have gone there for the sole purpose of abating said disturbance. A police officer may order all persons present in any group or gathering from the dwelling unit to immediately disperse in lieu of being charged under this Section."
I'm wondering if we can start a 911 text tree again. Maybe a twitter thing... These are weapons. Throwing a milk carton or glass will stand in court as a weapon. The 911 operator didn't know what she was doing.
ReplyDeleteI also heard 3 gunshots at 10:35PM last night. I'm scared to walk my dog after 7:30PM in this neighborhood! Sad!
ReplyDeleteM - I agree, the 911 operator was wrong. If you're ever unhappy with the response you get from 911, ask for a supervisor. The cops will tell you this at CAPS if you bring it up. These are DEFINITELY weapons.
ReplyDeleteMeg: I think that would be great. The community could create a hashtag for twitter like #CAPS23 or #uptownwatch or #60640crime. Yo's #WYTIF hashtag has been great for following different tweets about the Wilson Yard TIF.
ReplyDeleteTwitter really is a great tool for group text messaging.
Here are some proactive suggestions..
ReplyDelete1. Call Alderman Shillers office TODAY at (773) 728-8385. Request she attend the CAPS meeting on Tuesday....it will be VERY interesting to hear the responses...I am going to call and I hope you do too.
2. I called 911 last night when I saw this same group of thugs running up and down Kenmore from Wilson to Lawrence...the fact that they have installed 'blue lights' at the corner of Wilson/Sheridan, Winthrop/Lawrence and Lawrence/Sheridan means the gang activities are being squeezed into areas that are NOT covered.. basically the Truman Square area and over by Montrose... unintended but real consequences of this inane policy
3. PLEASE start calling 311 for all the recent GRAFITTI ! This is the gangs marking territory and fighting over it.. the quicker we can get this crap down from our buildings, light poles, etc etc the better! NO grafitti is too small to report!
4. CALL SHILLERS OFFICE (773) 728-8385 and again, ask if she is attending next Tuesdays CAPS meeting!
I heard the shots (2) just after turning out the light (a few minutes before 11:00), went to the window and heard someone yelling "OH MY GOD!!" I saw about 6 dudes in white t-shirts walk eastbound on Montrose and cross over into the Clarendon Fieldhouse area, too. What confused me was the people out casually walking their dogs on Clarendon in front of my building as if nothing was happening. I didn't hear any sirens afterwards, which was surprising- I know there had to be a lot of 911 calls, but I wasn't able to tell where the noise was coming from. We are up 10 floors, and I hear crap like this every month or so.
ReplyDeleteCan this video be sent to the media? It is only a few blocks from Wrigley so might be of interest!
ReplyDeletecome on....this was nothing. these thugs can fist fight all they want. at least they weren't shooting each other. the chicago ban on handguns is working great!
ReplyDeleteI biked through this intersection exactly as this was starting last night, probably just before the camera started filming. I was wondering what the hell so many people were doing milling around in the middle of the street, I guess they knew better than me that the real action was about to start.
ReplyDeleteI've lived in uptown for all of my 26 years, and I've NEVER seen anything like this. I hate that this is happening to my neighborhood! I'll happily take the poor and the mentally challenged but NOT the violent! I've already written to Ms. Helen Schiller but I don't know what good that will do. The neighbors north of this intersection, just on the other side of lawrence (out of Schiller's Ward), have weekly block watches which have seemed to work somewhat. I am so disturbed and so outraged that such mob violence is happening in my beloved Uptown. Thanks to whoever filmed this.
This is scary and crazy and needs to be stopped NOW. Even if the alderman doesn't attend the CAPS meeting, if a statment or something isn't issued, it's yet another sign that she's clearly given up concern about the day-to-day maintenance of the neighborhood. Seriously, I've lived in the area for a long time as well (since '86) and NEVER seen anything like this. In fact, no other place in the city that I've lived have I seen anything like this. How do you even being to address how to solve it? Well, I supposed a start would be to get the police to dispatch more than one patrol car and one cop running around chasing bangers on the street like a guy trying to put air in his pocket. Where was the wagon when the call for "riot" went out? Where were the other cars? Do they not believe the caller or do they assume it's just some uninformed "yuppie" whining again? Hopefully someone will ask them that question or some form of it at the CAPS meeting.
ReplyDeleteOh, and to all of the comments mentioning white t-shirt...there are guys with various color t-shirts in the video, guys with no shirts, Hispanic guys... So if you're going to try to pinpoint the troublemakers by wardrobe, I guess you should beware of ANY guy in ANY kind of t-shirt.
I was woken out of my sleep last night by the gunshots and rolled out and hit the ground. I hit my head hard on my nightstand in the process. I am attempting to explain this to my coworkers this morning and everyone is mystified that I am speaking so nonchalantly about "gunshots outside my window." What am I doing here!!!?????
ReplyDeleteCall her office and request her presence at the meeting next week due to this "Violence Emergency." If she cannot attend, ask why so you can relay it to the people at the meeting including the police who will be interested to know why she could not come. Send any excuse for why she could not come with the video to the media. Just an idea.
ReplyDeleteNow, now everyone. We've got yuppies in an uproar over the muggings of clueless drunken frat boys and Trixies in Lincoln Park.
ReplyDeleteThat's a serious priority for the CPD. Daily shootings and brawls in the streets? I don't see the problem.
Michael wrote:
ReplyDeleteAnd to top it off, we get a property tax assessment (ie: property tax increase) that claims our property is worth 20% MORE for 2009. Does Helen think that this kind of activity increases property values?? AAAARGH!!!
Michael, I feel your pain on this one, believe me, but it is more a byproduct of our regressive property tax system working in arrears than it is a blatant money grab by the inept country leadership. By my understanding, we are getting hit with an assessment that includes the boon years of 2006 and 2007 when local property values were at an all time high. That being said, I still don't like it and we need serious property tax reform in this state, country, and city.
CBS (WBBM) will be covering the story. Dorothy Tucker contacted me this afternoon. I'll keep you posted on details. Perhaps we should show our support by being on camera en masse. All should participate. Details to come.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the condo association for the building where this was filmed includes an street entertainment fee in its monthly assessments or whether its occupants receive this entertainment package for free.
ReplyDeleteI mentioned this earlier but for those who commented that "just one squad car being dispatched" is part of the problem ::
ReplyDeleteThis video shows only the beginning of the "riot." By the time full police presence was on scene, there were over a dozen police cars and several ATV units. The police response was very good.
It sounds like there were two separate shooting incidents last night?? Sheridan & Leland area, and another at Montrose & Clarendon/Hazel area?
How about a massive positive loitering event tonight to make sure this doesn't happen through the weekend...? I don't know how much "planning" needs to happen, everyone just get out, hang out, walk the dog, whatever! Let's just all be out in big numbers... nothing else will tell the thugs they're not welcome more than that.
design planning -- you're a local hero. keep us posted on CBS!
ReplyDeleteExcellent job, DP! It is astounding that a riot will take 4 days for the local press to even become aware of.... can you imagine if this happened on Michigan Avenue or Oak Street? It would be national news....thanks in advance to Dorothy Tucker and CBS news!
ReplyDeleteThis video shows only the beginning of the "riot." By the time full police presence was on scene, there were over a dozen police cars and several ATV units. The police response was very good.
ReplyDeleteWell, but WHEN did this "full police presence" show up? Because from the looks of it on the video, there was only one squad car there driving up and down the street for quite some time. If they showed up after everyone had left the scene, what's point. I just think that if the word "riot" goes out to the cops, at LEAST two or three cars should be there. I realize that they might be in different part so of the area, but like I said, it appears that that one car was there by itself for a lot longer than it should have been. Had one of these idiots been bold enough to attack that one cop from the back (and by the way they didn't seem to be frightend of the police presence, it's possible someone might have been stupid enough to do that), this could have been a lot worse. So how long after DID the other cars show up?
I can't speak to what happened in this specific case, but I've seen the Latin Kings organizing for a fight on my block, and then when they're ready for the rumble, they take off and head somewhere else for the actual riot. That way, the gangs appear out of nowhere giving them some time to have some sweet violence before the police show up.
ReplyDeleteSo in this case, it would be interesting to know how long from the first complaint it took until a sizable police presence appeared. The video is only a couple minutes long, so assuming the police arrived in force within five minutes, we can say they did the best they could.
That's GREAT news DP!!! And thank you to CBS news for listening!
ReplyDeleteMOTS -- It seemed like an eternity, but the rest of the squad cars arrived within 5 or 6 minutes. Very soon after the camera stopped. At that point, however, this scene literally stretched from north of Lawrence all the way to Wilson, and on all of the side streets in between. Had it not been a CUBS night, I'm sure it would have been even quicker.
My husband was just interviewed by the channel 2 news at the corner of Leland & Sheridan. Looks like they are covering this story. They also specifically asked if he thought this was the alderman's fault. So it seems like this story is getting picked up! Watch the news tonight; hopefully this will get the "people in charge" to start making some decisions that will help this community become safer! Hopefully, they will tie this story into Wilson Yard as well. My husband did mention the misuse of tif money in his interview.
ReplyDeleteI just saw some JPUSA people being interviewed by CBS news as well on the corner... just an FYI
ReplyDelete@I'mWatchingToo
ReplyDeleteYou're correct! The police should at least detained them all for disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace. They should have at least 2 paddy wagons and picked them all up. The police have to be more aggressive with these gangs, because what they're doing now isn't working. And yes, they should put a surveillance camera at that location, especially since this is a hotspot of illegal activity.
MOTS -- It seemed like an eternity, but the rest of the squad cars arrived within 5 or 6 minutes.
ReplyDeleteOk, Mike (can I call you Mike?), thanks for the info. I guess it did seem a lot longer, especially watching that one cop run back and forth along the street by himself like he was trying to catch a squirrel. But is five or six minutes a long time or a short time in terms of police response? Not sure.
Major tv and newspaper coverage....Push this until it gets to Daley's desk. Maybe Fran Spielman can ask him about it. She ALWAYS gets under his skin.
ReplyDeleteI have a dirty feeling that the story will not get shown on tv. Just a hunch.
ReplyDeleteJust as an FYI...there is a PERFECT venue to express our displeasure, and the inevitable moving of city resources, next week..as seen on Shillers website... of course, nothing about the violence in Uptown is being addressed there...
ReplyDelete"You are invited to attend the following meeting to discuss details regarding Chicago's Bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games:
Monday, August 17 @ 6pm
(Joint meeting for residents of the 44th, 46th and 48th Wards)
Truman College Cafeteria, 1145 W Wilson Ave.
Parking available at Stewart School, 4525 N Kenmore
Speaker: Lori Healey, President of Chicago 2016
Would you like more information about Chicago's Olympic bid? Have questions or comments about the bid? Then please plan on attending this meeting."
Be there with cameras, video cams and LOTS of questions!
Uptown Superhero - good venue to show the Olympic committee the need for more police in the city, but Lori Healey is a Daley hack and won't listen to anything this community wants.
ReplyDeleteWhen she was Commissioner of Planning and Development she all but ignored resident's outrage to changes at WY and said everyone was "misinformed." She also treated everyone like NIMBY's when we spoke out about WY in city council back in 2004. I'd love to see the look on her face if WY was being built right next to her house.
What some of "you people" don't seem to grasp is that the news of the fish farm and the worm factory possibly coming to Uptown has driven these young men into a frenzy of excitement.
ReplyDeleteOnce they find out that there will be plenty of entry level jobs for them they will stop this rambunctious silliness.
That's all it is. Silliness.
There is no silliness in heaven. So they need to be silly now.
"I just saw some JPUSA people being interviewed by CBS news as well on the corner... just an FYI"
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I'll be quite curious to hear how "jesus" and his "people" over on Wilson feel about drug induced gang violence and neighborhood terrorism. I'll be quite curious indeed.
First of all, I want to echo how terrible this is for our 'hood. Worse than normal...and that's from the perspective of a resident on Magnolia (which gets plenty of its own gang action).
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I want to draw attention to something I learned at the last CAPS meeting (James is right, it really is good to go, I've learned a lot about the best ways to make my voice heard). I asked the cops why they just drive by incidents like this and from the civilian perspective it seems like nobody gets arrested. NadMilli is right in line with their answer--that unless somebody is filing a report that they were bothered /disturbed /etc. (be creative), the cops have limited action.
The magic words on any 911 call that you want to stick--read: you want someone to be arrested--"XYZ is happening...AND I WANT TO FILE A REPORT"
I was dubious about this working, but not too long after the CAPS meeting I was cussed out by a particularly nasty and self-medicated woman while walking by clifton. I didn't give her money, and that didn't sit too well with her. I used the magic words and the 911 operator said "are you on the scene and willing to sign a complaint?"
Sure enough, the cops came and actually arrested the woman. Yes, I now have to go to court, but especially with stuff as serious as this it is worth the effort to feel like part of the solution and not a victim. I understand some people don't want to get involved/take time off work/talk to the cops, but if you have the opportunity and can give a little, I truly believe that things will start to improve (with or without the help of elected officials).
Once it becomes a serious nuisance to break the law, I suspect the parties in question will seek a path of less resistance
Just some food for thought...
Thanks NKOTB, I had no idea and I bet you just educated a whole bunch of your fellow Uptowners!
ReplyDeletequestion- I moved out of the neighborhood recently (into 60613 where I'm seeing more & more gang affiliated graffiti), but go to school at Truman. Watching this video & reading these comments are freaking me out a little. I don't want to get mixed up in this stuff when I'm walking to my car after class. Can I call the alderman and/or attend the CAPS meeting as a non-resident?
ReplyDeleteThis is will be perfect TV footage for the ads against Shiller in the next election we can fun on TV.
ReplyDeleteDo you think her supported might think different seeing this?
Ann - yes please come :)
ReplyDeleteNKOTB - thank you! i also had no idea!
It was the lead story @ 5pm on CBS2! They also ran a teaser during the commercials about 10 minutes prior to the news. A UU screenshot and mention was also included!
ReplyDeleteJust watched CBS' coverage (the lead-in story at 5 pm) ...enjoyed the comments about our absent alderman and her usual unavailability.
ReplyDeletezing.
NKOTB that is good to know. Thanks to you and everyone else for getting and staying involved.
ReplyDeleteFYI: Not really important, but this story was picked up on The Chicagoist (chicagoist.com) and there are some interesting comments there as well.
ReplyDeleteFox News also wants to talk to the videographer. The contact is Matt Butterfield at 312/565.5533.
ReplyDeleteCBS link
ReplyDeleteCBS 2 tried to talk to the alderman about the neighbor's concerns. However, she has yet to return our numerous phone calls.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to Uptown.
Covered on the 6pm news as well. but they seemed to want to attribute the cause of the event to homeless men more so than gangbangers. That's puzzling.
ReplyDeleteHomeless people rioting? Come on... I would love to know who in the Police Dept. specifically said this and why....
ReplyDeleteI attend Truman college now have express my concerns about safety concerns. The school won't respond after numerous emails. I see people hanging the school, can just walk right into the school without being question and the President of the school will not respond back to me. Then I just heard from an employee that they Alderwoman is responsible for that. She wanted the school to be "open to the public"
ReplyDeleteWhen it's Black-on-Black crime the police don't care.
ReplyDeletelocal NBC news just broadcast the video on their 10pm newscast as their lead story tonight.
ReplyDeleteAnybody see "Escape from New York"? Sounds like a plan to me. Hold our "elected" officials accountable. Bombard them all with calls, emails and letters. Send emails to the IOC too. If the Mayor and All alderman do not start stepping to the plate about the crime in their wards and in this city, than vote them out of office. They don't seem to care anymore so maybe the next round of elected officials might. There is no excuse for this anywhere in this city. These punks don't even pay taxes of any kind. They just collect welfare, food stamps and deal drugs. We need to get tougher on these thugs and gangbangers. One frickin' arrest? Wow! Save the Uptown Theatre is great but save a life first. Put murals on the underpasses? How about putting more police on duty? How about holding the parents responsible for the crimminal behavior of their kids? Start somewhere, anywhere, but do something.
ReplyDeleteLooks like some people need to listen to some Michael Jackson music. I think MJ has an excellent message for them. :D
ReplyDeleteYou better run, you better do what you can
Don't wanna see no blood, don't be a macho man
You wanna be tough, better do what you can
So beat it, but you wanna be bad
Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it
They're out to get you, better leave while you can
Don't wanna be a boy, you wanna be a man
You wanna stay alive, better do what you can
So beat it, just beat it
.....
:) Someone needs to get them all to reconcile over some awesome dance moves. xD
All of the police tactical teams in our district are being shipped out to the west and south side. The only officers available to respond are beat officers, who have tons of other jobs as well. If you want better police service talk to (demand) your alderman about keeping the tactical officers in the districts they belong. How is it fair that we, tax paying citizens, get very limited police protection, and those that don't and never have paid taxes, get loads of police protection. Our liberal politicians don't really know anything about being fair though. They are the ones continually moving these people into our neighborhoods to live for free. What is their incentive to find a real job? So, keep voting these liberals into office (Alderman, mayor, governor, President) but get use to this behavior, because it is only going to get worse.
ReplyDeleteNKOTB----thanks for highlighting a very important point. These are exactly the types of things we talk about at our CAPS meetings.
ReplyDeleteI have been in Uptown for 25 years, And i must admit the neighborhood is getting bad, the same gangs have been around for who knows how long, I have never cared about them but i guess now they are at odds so they are fighting every other day, probably over something STUPID.
ReplyDeleteI use to be involved with gang life back in grammar school but it was not what i wanted for my future. Personally i am still not scared when I go outside, the gangs know who each other are so if they hurt each other and get arrested, that's less gang members we have to worry about in the area but when gunshots are fired that does present a problem because an innocent person can get hurt so the police do need to step up and either put those precious cameras on the corner to use or patrol more often.
I really don't want anyone judging anyone who wears a white shirt and is BLACK, you should be able to determine a normal black guy wearing a white tee shirt compared to a gang member who is wearing a white tee shirt, two totally different looks and morales if you pay attention.
I am a Grad Student student, I am BLACK, when im not working, i DO wear plain white or black t-shirts when im just running to the store or sitting in front of my building for fresh air, my car does have rims so dos that mean people should judge me and be scared of me when they see me? Dumb uptown police had the nerve to INSULT me and pull me over three times within 2 weeks for NO REASON, im assuming due to skin color and/or seeing me with a plain white or black tee shirt on or driving my car trying to find a parking spot in my own neighborhood when i get home late from my fiance's apartment.
My education level is 5 times higher than most detectives and 10 times higher from the gang banger low lives who hang in the area and they want me to let them search me for no reason based on my "color"? HELL NO!! that's embarrassing to the highest level so I request they call for as much backup as they want because im not degrading myself to get treated like a drug dealer when im am NOT a drug dealer, I show them my ID to prove i live in uptown, i show my school ID and tell them, im not getting treated like a bum when im far from one, from street smarts, i can tell every drug dealer and gangbanger in the area apart so i KNOW detectives can do the same.
Long story short, Uptown has become dangerous, Police seem to be doing NOTHING because it is black on black crime, since the guy posted the video who lives in the Condo and the news has covered the story, im SURE the police have to show some concern now. The world is crazy though ALL around. South Suburbs = rising gang activity, West suburbs = rising gang activity, Uptown = Rising gang activity, seems like the only place left to go live in is downtown to avoid all of the garbage.
I like the idea of the 911 TXT Tree. Flood the 911 center if we have to. Remember, a lot of people have invested in this community and have a lot to lose. We pay taxes...IE we pay for police services.
ReplyDeleteHow about y'all get out there and do something about it? Storm your aldercreatures office. Stop being complacent because no one cares about what you post on a blog. What matters is what you do in real life.
ReplyDeleteIrish Pirate you are correct! Thanks for your support, and thanks for visiting our cop blog. We need more citizens like you who understand how unappreciative and understaffed the CPD is.
ReplyDeletegutiarjunkie- there are 3,000,000 of you and 900 Chicago police officers. You do the math! How are we suppose to prevent crime with those numbers? Roll up your sleves and get dirty. Take back your neighborhood cuz I don't live in Uptown, I patrol it.
ReplyDeletewhoskiddingwho- your are a genius! Thanks for your support. For the record, we are 800 cops short. Olympics anyone?
ReplyDeleteKeem,
ReplyDeleteYou complain you get stopped by the police all the time for no reason and then in the same breath you say the police don't do enough because it's a black on black crime. PLEASE PICK A SIDE. You chose to dress in oversize t-shirts (urban camo)and drive a car with rims. You want the look without what is perceived with that look.
What do you want the police to do? Do you want them to stop everyone who dresses like you but not you, because your different?
Frustrated 50- I was referring to the city not being into prevention, not the cops. I also pointed out that the 911 operator wasn't too keen on sending anyone when I called. As for rolling up my sleeves and taking back the neighborhood, isn't vigilantism against the law?
ReplyDeletedesign planning: what a video. This public in jeopardy with glass and you never know whos carrying and going to play thug. I have never seen it documented on how ineffective the police are, doesn't even try to stop them, no names, no photos taken of the kids,
ReplyDeleteholy fuck where are our rights as citizens?
Who the hell is out there protecting the neighborhood. This happened to a neighbor at 5400 Withrop 25 white t-shirts with bats, hockey sticks. Nothing happened.
These kids think they run the streets. Stop empowering them. empowers them to think
GuitarJunkie,
ReplyDeleteYes vigilantism is against the law. But, using the law is not a crime. See a crime, drinking, drug deals, whatever. Call the police point out the offender, sign a complainant and go to court with all your friends. If everyone did this you would be taking back your neighborhood. Show the thugs you are will to stand up against them.
Push yourself away from the computer, go outside and be observant.
For the record I do practice what I preach.
There is not a lot the police can do. If they work to root out the bad guys, the liberals go berserk and charge brutality.
ReplyDeleteSo the police have to sort of sit on the sidelines and wait for some crime to happen. Then they can come in a mop up a bit - but they can't really do policing any more like they have for over 200 years.
If a cop pushed one of these kids or even tapped him, the liberals would be up in arms. The entire story would be about the brutality, the gang members would be deemed victims, and the real victims (the neighbors and innocent people) would be forgotten. This happens every time. It’s how this terrible Modern Liberalism has infested our culture.
Remember, we’ve been taught to tolerate bad behaviors and not to judge. It has infected the police too.
Cops can't do their jobs anymore so expect more and more issues like this.
Nadmenny I really don't care who they pull over because i'm not an officer and do not have access to their database to know about fugitives they search for, I was just saying there should be a VALID reason to bother people because the way someone dresses or what car they drive really means......nothing. You can pull me over at 10:30pm, Run my plates an ID until 10:40pm to ultimately come up with NOTHING on Kenmore Ave when im looking for a parking spot in my own neighborhood, and at 10:32pm someone gets shot on Leland because they scene looks "clear".... why try to harass an innocent person based on looks when there is crime or potential crime waiting to happen right around the corner? Makes sense to you?
ReplyDeleteIf I commit a crime or my face or vehicle is on a watch list then I can't be mad about what the police to do me, but its NOT so I want to be able to live like a normal civilian, felony and gang free in the eyes of others. If you watch the news, you seen the black professor from Harvard got harassed and pointlessly arrested by an officer and the President himself had the officer and the man brought to the White House to speak after the incident, if that doesn't STRONGLY let you know there is a problem in America with race motivated decisions then I don't know what else to tell you really.....
I was speaking for myself though, i believe I got off focus for a minute so we do not need to focus on police and race, and sterotypes for guys who wear "oversized shirts" what they look like matters not, what DOES matter despite their skin color or clothing is that:
1. They are in gangs
2. They are in two Different gangs
3. They do not like each other
4. They are in a war obviously
5. Non gangsters do not want to have to walk outside and worry about being shot for something we are not involved in.
A lot of things need to be addressed in Uptown for the better of everyone, not just me, im just pushing for a better community overall since I plan to be a parent soon enough and stay in the community since I call Uptown my home. My voice mails and calls have been logged at the Alderman's office, im doing what I can for my community, one day, one instance at a time, i practice what I preach too and educate others with the bits that I do know about law since I have an associates degree with emphasis in criminal Justice.
No need to bash others leaving comments, bash officers or anyone else, the topic here is UPTOWN and the well being of our neighborhood, we WILL take Uptown back, slowly but surely if we all get active, we will not be seeing sad screaming matches that we witnessed on the video, because what comes next will be frequent gunfire between Lawrence and Sunnyside, I will be away at school next week but me or anyone else does NOT want to get a call saying "your friend or family member was caught in the middle of a gang shooting/war zone"
Nadmenny,
ReplyDeleteI almost forgot the reason i was inclined to reply to your post, what does a black man in a white tee indicate to you? Maybe you should speak for YOURSELF because everyone who sees a black man in a white tee or drive a car with rims perceives them as gangsters or drug dealers.
That's like being ignorant saying every guy i see with a fitted shirt or jeans is gay so they should be targeted for hate crimes... Or a person with a rainbow flag on their bumper is gay so their car should be vandalized by people who hate gays since they have a rainbow on their car...come on now....do you see how ridiculous that sounds to judge based on clothing or vehicle accessories? You don't know anyone until you talk to them, please believe so maybe you should start being friendly in the neighborhood with people of all colors, clothing sizes and vehicles and you will see that perceiving a persons "type" based on what you see may not be the smartest thing to do.
The use of oversize plain t-shirt is a tool used by criminals so they can not be identified. When all gang bangers wear the same thing it's about getting away with committing a crime. When the call comes out describing the offender as wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans the responding officer has to ask which one. And most of the time the answer is I don't know. So the criminal gets away with it.
ReplyDeleteAnd are you going to comment on my comment about the police doing nothing when you state they stop you. So are they doing nothing or just doing something to the wrong people. Dress like gang bangers and get treated like a gang banger until further investigation.
Keem- The uniform of the day for gangbangers is a white T shirt. Nadmenny is right. Gangbangers wear white T shirts so they won't be identified. Throw in some fancy rims and I would pull you over too. If you want to dress like a gangbanger then expect to be pulled over, we can always find a reason to pull over a car. If you have a air freshiner hanging from your rear view mirror, that's illegal. If you put on your turn signal less than 100 feet from your turn, that's illegal. The cops pulled you over 3 times and you didn't get a ticket? That means they checked your story out and decided not to give you a ticket. Count your blessings as Daley raised all the fines. A traffic fine is $235 and that's with a good driving record. If you are going to wear the uniform of the day and drive a car with fancy rims then expect to get pulled over. That is proactive police work not harrassment! You may be a grad student but you're not too bright. P.S I have a masters degree.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Nadmilly here.
ReplyDeleteIf I walk down Broadway dressed up like a transvestite hooker, trooker, I would expect that the cops might stop to talk to me.
If you're going to dress up like a banger you can expect more contact with the local constabulary.
I've actually enjoyed my trooker contact with the po po. Why just last week a Sergeant told me I had a better rack than his wife.
It was enough to make this girl cry with joy.
Maybe Channel 2 News will show up at the CAPS Meeting and see how Helen Schiller responds to the concerns of her ward.
ReplyDeleteLike that will happen...
Well well well finally a website for uptown. I work, i live, i shop, and paid my taxes in this uptown. I do not get nothing back. We need the daley mayor and cpd do their job as well as shiller. Shiller can't do this along. Daley Mayor need to stop worrying about the olympics and put the money back into this city.
ReplyDeleteLisa4Mike AMEN to that statement!! To much worrying about Olympics and less worrying about education and police dollars so the things we NEED to be strong are getting weaker.
ReplyDelete- sold Parking meters to another company for a large sum of money
- ticket prices are raising like crazy for traffic related things
- removed money from the education system in Chicago
- removed money from the police depts across Chicago
- Reduced the number of Salt trucks for the winter
- increase in layoffs for city jobs
- CTA got little to NO money for renovations from the city: therefore leading to raise in cta prices
- overall DECREASE in faith for people living in Chicago
Im wondering.....If we DO NOT get the Olympics here.....what will be done with all those millions he collected FOR the Olympics? hmmmmmmmmmm
Meg,
ReplyDeleteWe also heard gunshots on Thurs, Aug 13th at that time (we live near Claredon & Montrose). Hell of a scare. The cops were there in less than a minute though.
frustrated 50, most of your replys seem sensible, but one statement you made causes me to believe that you are not really a Chicago police officer. The city of Chicago has close to 3 million residents, with over 13,000 of them being Chicago police officers. You said there are 900 officers. And if that figure was for the Uptown precinct, why would you give it with the popultion of the entire city? So the correct numbers are pop. 3 million, police pop. 13,000.
ReplyDeleteNadmenny- with all do respect, many of us do call 911 when we see illigal activity. Problem is, in many cases, nobody comes. Last year, I called about a man who was threatening violence against 2 seniors at Walgreens, nobody showed. Also, its no secret where many of the troublemakers congregate, yet they are still there day after day.
ReplyDeleteSome officers suggest that their hands are tied, they can't do anything.
Others tell us that we need to call more for them to do anything. Which is it?
People are calling, I know I have.
Same thing happened on Ainslie at Cornelia Friday morning around 2:30am. Two groups fighting and one woman chasing a car and throwing a 2x4 at it. Everyone screaming and yelling. What a bunch of animals.
ReplyDeleteI called 911 three times that night. The police drove through about five to ten minutes later after the gangs had dispersed. They simply moved to another block and were back at my block an hour later. This went on all night.
I'm tired of it. But nothing we do seems to make a difference and the politicians and police also don't seem to be able to do anything either.
Eventually I'll just end up moving out of the neighborhood like many other people. I don't have the energy to fight this kind of crap anymore.
A few short years ago I was homeless and involved in some unsavory activities right on the corner of Leland and Sheridan. I thank God was one of the few who got out. I am now an employment counselor in Minnesota. Anyway my husband and I were watching the video footage and recognized a few of the young men...not from the homeless shelters but from the gangs that are housed in and around 4848 Winthrop and if thats the case the fighting revolves around drug turf as always. The police and Helen ( who was doing nothing while I lived there also even though at that time it was to my benefit) need to clean these streets and these drugs up. I am living proof. I was a crack addict and prostitute for 14 years on that same corner and saw many things. I am on the crime and drug committee for the neighborhood that I live in now. Something needs to be done before more peoples lives are lost to death and jails.
ReplyDeleteHi, PJ. I am glad that you are now living a safer and more stable life in MN. If I may be so bold to ask, how did you find yourself in Uptown during the period that you were addicted to crack? Had you lived here before or had you lived in Chicago before? Why did you leave this area after pulling your life together?
ReplyDeleteMy intention in asking these questions isn't to nose into your personal business but to get a better understanding of how addiction and addiction services are working here. People will say a lot of things but its rare to hear from someone who was an addict here and has moved away.
If you don't want to answer my questions, no hard feelings! I wish you all the best anyway.
I was raised in Chicago on Winona and Broadway, which at the time was a great neighborhood. I knew many of the gang members " across the tracks" as a teenager and young adult. After an abusive marriage among other factors I hit the streets in an temporary escape from reality. It turned into 14 years..it became hard to get out of the cycle. I was a fixture at the Chicago Uptown Ministry..Salvation Army...Rest and Harper House which is now Inspiration Cafe. I stood out on the corner of Leland and sheridan selling my body and smoking my crack. all the police knew me and I had 74 cases picked up from that corner. The police told me I would die out on those streets. I was very close to most of the boys who sold drugs..of course I was one of their best customers. The man who I was out there working with for 10 of the 14 years with had brothers in Minnesota and left me to come here for treatment. He then came back to ask me to come up here with him and go to treatment myself. We are now married..I will be celebrating four years clean on September 2nd. As mentioned before I am an employment counselor and trainer for adult classes in healthcare and professionalism and talk to many clients who are going through much of what I did. We have a beautiful place in a beautiful neighborhood and my daughter and our grandkids recently moved up here with us. I will also be finishing my Associates Degree and going on for my Bachelors. I still keep in contact with some of the folks who were there for me and worry about the people who I watched grow up in that life. The few times I have come back to visit, I run into many of my old running buddies out there still doing the same things..a few have died since then also. I would like to think that I had the strength to have done it all on my own which is what I kept telling myself but didn't work. I needed to get away from the people and the places of my downward spiral. Remember I had know many of these people since childhood and they were all doing the same things so getting away is what saved my life.
ReplyDeletePJ, thanks for writing back. I'm really happy for you and proud of you too!!
ReplyDeleteIn case you hadn't noticed, there is a lot of discussion about whats working and not working in this community. Since you've been on both sides of the issues, I hope that you come back and offer your perspective. :)
@Brennan re: Meg: I think that would be great. The community could create a hashtag for twitter like #CAPS23 or #uptownwatch or #60640crime. Yo's #WYTIF hashtag has been great for following different tweets about the Wilson Yard TIF.
ReplyDeleteTwitter really is a great tool for group text messaging.
Create a Twitter account for this @uptownwatch or something and then hook it up to http://spotd.me. This way when people see something they can tweet @uptownwatch and then that message will get retweeted through @uptownwatch and all the followers will then be able to see the post.
@PJ
ReplyDeletePJ, thanks for sharing your story.
You're truly an inspiration.
WOW PJ, truly inspirational, I always have faith in people to change and seek a better lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteProps to Keem and PJ! Whatever happened to my boy Frog? I repped Eastwood and we threw down with Clarendon Park during Halloween (with eggs and shaving cream tho); good times!
ReplyDeleteI too called Uptown my hood back in 1979-1987 and what most of the rest of you from elsewhere are shocked by in that video was commonplace back then before all the lego condos went up.
The city will always be the city; no matter how much you gentrify it, clean it up and add police to, it won't change at the core. I don't want to sound snobby to anyone not from Chicago, but the reality is that you have to expect this kind of thing to happen from time to time and be vigilant in order to stay safe. Many thugs out there are responding to the guy being interviewed who said he felt safe; and people with that mentality get beat down because they're caught off guard.
If being on guard around your own home doesn't appeal to you, then you might consider moving back to the probably more peaceful town you came from. Uptown doesn't spell Utopia; even with two Starbucks stores.
Peace in the streets!
Ahh- great idea. All these years watching my corner with fights and drug deals...I should have been filming it. I am moving away from Uptown and it breaks my heart. I love this place. It is just that somehow, in all of the violence and bizarreness, I can't afford to buy a house in this neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteUmm, are these guys going to settle things with a dance off or what? At first I thought they were going start snapping their fingers and break into something from West Side Story. Sorry Fellas, you are no Richard Beamer!
ReplyDeletethe scariest part of watching this video was realizing that i was exactly in that area at exactly that time. my girlfriend and i were walking back home down sheridan from dinner just north of there at a vietnamese restaurant. it was a nice night so we thought we'd walk dinner off and enjoy the nice weather. she started to feel uncomfortable because of some 'sketchy' characters around us and we decided to hop on the 151. thank god we did because the next thing we knew there were cop cars everywhere. we had no idea that this is what was happening. we're sick of this crap and we're sick of schiller making no effort to clean up the neighborhood. we'll be moving out of the hood in november.
ReplyDeleteThe time has come for all community members to have a voice. All races that are affected by these crimes should have a voice without being called racist. Most of us who live in Uptown, Edgewater and Rogers Park, who are not African American have been silenced because of the back lash.
ReplyDeleteI don't know one white person who doesn't want to see these young men be productive and successful.
It is coming from home and their community. When will their families and churches be direct and stop the marches and say no more and put down the effort to clean house. WE need their support more then anything, forget the police, I plead with the black leaders to stop being passive and take a stand. These are hate groups no better then anyother hate group. I wouldn't tolerate the KKK killing innocent black children I won't tolerate black hate groups either. I didn't care what background the poor white trash KKK came from, perhaps time is now to put these people into the hate crime civil rights arena.
The time has come for an open community conversation to be proactive with the police, its not up to the police to get to these kids who feel they control the streets.
Its time to examine what tools can we give the police to help them, such as allow video taping from the police car at the time of arrival, this is not allowed.
Examine the laws the police have when dealing with gang bangers.
Make it illegal to be a gang member, you can't be a KKK member or a Nazi member why do we allow another hate group to have full uncontrolled movement.
Tax bullets 5,000% any and assault weapon, not hunting rifles.
Its time to support the Uptown, Edgewater and Rogers Park and the Alderman need to step up to the plate and help us create new laws.
This has been happening on my corner almost every night for the past 2-3 weeks, and sometimes before noon. I LOVE how the cops in this video did not do a damn thing. Worthless.
ReplyDeleteGordon- sorry I missed a 0
ReplyDeleteWe are suppossed to have 13,000 police officers but we don't. The police academy had been empty for the past year. In the 1970 to mid 1990's we had 13,000 officers. We have about 8000 police officers city wide. That means blue shirts, tact teams, gang teams, officers on perminant disability, evidence techs, house mice, people on light duity, officers deployed to war and detectives city wide. The total CPD force including bosses (white shirts) is about 9000 to 10,000 CPD total.
While I'm relatively new to the neighborhood, although not new to Schiller's ward, I'm already painfully familiar with Schiller's lack of concern for the constituents who fund her budgets. The current levels of violent activity are beyond all reason - I've spent the past few nights hearing gang fights and gun fire. How ridiculous that I’m paying what I am to live in this ward and yet fear daily for my safety. When will this become a priority for the city? When enough people get shot or injured? Not likely. When it impacts the city’s publicity? More likely. We need to be heard. The media is on our side; now let’s get the city to wake up. Our Alderman isn’t going to help us.
ReplyDeleteSchiller can't point her finger at the police when she alone is responsible for ensuring an extremely high concentration of gang activity via massive low-income relocation to the ward. And the Wilson yard debacle will only exacerbate the situation to levels that should give all of us great pause. I can only hope that this may be the start of what makes the city reconsider who will live in Schiller’s Wilson Yard fortress.
Diversity is the reason I loved Uptown in the first place, but Schiller is doing her best to turn it into a holding tank for the element we witnessed fighting on the streets the other night. Sadly, Schiller’s agenda doesn’t appear to include our safety or our peaceful enjoyment of neighborhood and home. It’s time to go around her in any way possible.
This is ghetto gang shit. Guess the mayor doesn't think things like this will effect his beloved 2016 plans. Wrong!!
ReplyDeletePeople we need to galvanize and get the lawless out of this community NOW! Anyone living and paying taxes in Cook County are already paying through your proverbial nose... So let's get on this and get the rif raf out of here!
ReplyDeleteI do feel for the residents posting comments, but I have to ask this, what drew you to live in the neighborhood? There is indeed diversity, but for decades, Uptown has been a 'holding' area for many of the city's deprived. The boom in neighborhood gentrification all over the city did little to bring the new residents hope of turning the prime locations into a sound investment.
ReplyDeleteI no longer live in Uptown. I lived there 30 years ago. I lived in a huge 3 bedroom apartment that was gutted 10 years ago and turned into a condo. 8 of us shared that apartment, now one Downtown professional with a greyhound lives there.
I want Uptown's wounds to heal, but for the residents that have been there for decades. New coffee houses and flower pots on the sidewalks do not help the struggling residents who are feeling the thumb of gentrification.
Those residents are still poor, under educated and trapped. The city officials know it, and so does law enforcement. So while newer residents have succeeded in getting rid of or relocating some of the eyesores they are faced with on their way to the Starbucks, they won't be able to get that sweet return they dreamed of when they took that real estate gamble to relocate to Uptown.
The two communities are too different for true harmony. There are gang wars happening in Uptown right now. An entire deeply rooted subculture that doesn't want to move their operation to someplace that's more convenient for the participants of the CAPS meetings.
My suggestion for residents is to involve yourself in not only the CAPS initiative, but also the other outreach programs for the homeless, the mentally ill, the half way houses, and the soup kitchens. Get to know how a community can heal itself by providing options to empower. Sure it won't stop the rioting on the streets, but it will help some people understand better why it's happening, and why its so important to keep funding programs to help those that really want options for a better life.
Taking videos of the crime for the police may seem like a good idea, but believe me, the cops and the officials know its happening. It will provide evidence for the rest of the world, but ask anyone in Chicago, Uptown is a complicated pocket in this city. The police know when to push and how hard.
My family grew in Uptown because the programs there helped us when we were low. I would hate to see those options go away to make room for another hipster bar or bistro.
S, sorry, I don't care if the gangs were here first or are deeply entrenched. Tough shit. They're illegal and they need to stop, change, and/or leave. For everyone's sakes. I've lived here my entire life, that's what "drew me here." Interesting that you think that the only people who want gang-free streets are newcomers or "hipsters." EVERYONE IN UPTOWN DESERVES SAFE STREETS. Sorry you still play the class game, because sane people here have moved past that.
ReplyDeleteThis is retarded. The one thing gangs DON'T know how to do is fight. These punks are just running around acting silly, seemingly confused. They need Ritalin or a "time out".
ReplyDeleteIn light of the recent flash mob violence this was pretty foreboding, eh?
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