Saturday, October 10, 2009

A Reader's Call To Action

"Coming home from work early is very enlightening in Uptown.

I see some thugs get off the train at Lawrence and deal to the crackhead just walking through the turnstyles. I call 911 as they proceed to 1020 W. Lawrence and deal there. Then, I walk on Leland and see a guy about to pee on the parking pay boxes. I tell him not to or I'll call 911. He proceeds to head to the alley. I tell him I'll call on him in the alley. He yells and screams at me and gets his other crackheads to move on. But, he didn't pee there. This locale was especially concerning being so close to The Christopher House where many young children were playing.

Neighbors, we need to get OUTSIDE as much as possible. Call 911. Tell people not to sell their bodies on our streets or urinate on our walkways. There's MANY of us decent people who love Uptown for what it is here. Let's act like we're the majority that we are and call out inappropriate behavior. I'm buying pepper spray just in case, but I intend to continue calling out the poor behavior."

Photo by ShutterKat7 via Flickr

16 comments:

  1. I almost bought the local folks who hang out on Montrose/Sheridan all day a case of beer if they would go hang out in front of our Aldermans office. Does that count?

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  2. everyone is afraid to call the cops,

    also wish we had a decent blog in rogers park,

    broken heart is the pits of late
    and not much going on with 24/7 NOH either,

    but hey i like the sign, where is that sign?

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  3. I couldn't agree more. I walk home from Broadway/Foster and will start calling 911. I recently moved to Uptown and am hoping for the best.

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  4. This is a great idea, but our neighbors tend to prefer remaining anonymous, which can be accomplished by dialing *67 and then 911. I've called the CPD on prostitution and drug dealing. I even witnessed the perpetrators getting arrested on several occasions over the years. I've never had any problems. It definitely makes the neighborhood more inhospitable to criminals. It would probably be productive to get our local authorities to install signs like the one posted all over Uptown, particularly close to troublesome areas.

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  5. KUDO'S TO THE POSTER. EYE'S & EARS, THAT'S WHAT WE ALL NEED TO BE. I SEE & HEAR PEOPLE ON THEIR CELL PHONES ALL OVER THE PLACE, PUT THEM TO GOOD USE. TAKE 5 MINUTES OUT OF YOUR DAY AND CALL 911. I DO IT BEFORE THINGS GET OUT OF HAND. LET THE THUGS AND NON-CONTRIBUTOR'S TO SOCIETY KNOW WE ARE WATCHING.

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  6. I used to go outside in Uptown to jog at any hour of the day or night. I started jogging because I wanted to get my blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and weight down. I tried jogging last May 15 at midnight. The cops stopped me and asked me all sorts of personal questions. They did not question the young, noisy men who were hanging out next to 1020 W. Lawrence even though I had mentioned them. The cops seemed most interested in intimidating me from repeating my mistake of jogging at midnight in Uptown--telling me, among other things, that people in the area rob people. I promised them I would never do it again, and they let me go.

    The gangs got what they, and probably the cops, wanted: another potential witness to their drug dealing off the streets.

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  7. Is this sign for real? If so, can we order them and hang them on every corner of Uptown. The cell phone is a modern weapon against crime in our community. Use them! Not sure what a sign like this on every corner would do to property values, but could not be any worse than a drug dealer or gang banger on very corner.

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  8. The sign is real, but is in Arizona.

    Not a bad idea -- can we figure out how to get them installed around here?

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  9. I called the cops on some folk smoking crack on Marine drive the other day, the 911 dispatcher seemed to know the location well. Always call the cops, the crackheads will eventually get the message, or maybe even, go to jail.

    How many times do you have to get caught smoking crack to go to jail? Why not just once?

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  10. Oh dear, talk about "mixed emotions":

    The guy was ready to...uh...deface public property.

    On the other hand, the property in question was one of those infernal new parking boxes.

    Sometimes doing the right thing can be so anguishing! :-)

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  11. The poster writes that "there's MANY of us decent people who love Uptown for what it is here." From what I understand, "what it is here" in Uptown has historically been more than a few people down on their luck, a lot of whom are mentally ill or otherwise lack access to the resources and institutions that we "decent people who love Uptown" have. It's their neighborhood, too, folks. Uptownism suggests a one strike and you're out crack rule. Clearly, our criminal justice system has proven that jail is just what the doctor ordered for drug offenders. Perhaps Sheriff Joe Arpaio is looking for a new citizen deputy out in Phoenix?

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  12. JL, no one is saying the mentally ill misbehave.
    No one is saying the mentally ill have to leave.

    The prison system has become our largest mental institution. I don't like it at all. You mentioned what's been true historically, so let's talk more about that. Historically, the city has depended on Uptown to solve all the issues of the mentally ill. That clearly didn't work. The way to solve it goes way beyond what Uptown alone can possibly do. Quit making it our duty to solve an issue that belongs to the entire state of Illinois to share.

    Historically blacks were slaves.
    Historically women could not vote.
    Historically gays were labeled mentally ill.

    A call to what was historically true in the past in no way makes something good. Comprende?

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  13. JL get real -- "down on their luck" people ARE decent people. I think that's the poster's point!

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  14. We are told by the police themselves, over and over again, that if we need immediate action, call 911.

    It's up to THEM to prioritize the requests. Not us. They tell us to call.

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