How can we expect already struggling businesses to thrive on Wilson when public drinking and rampant loitering are tolerated and now worse than ever? Clifton is free of loitering for the most part, but those folks have now moved in front of the Wilson L station (that now has no timeline for construction to even begin on the planned renovation, with no complete design plan). The storefronts in the Wilson L are all vacant, so there are no eyes on the street to report this, only pedestrians trying to navigate their way through public drinking, gambling, and blatant drug dealing.Now that the loitering is taking place in our "retail corridor," who should step up and take responsibility to work with these folks and nearby businesses to file complaints and alleviate the loitering problem? This scene (above) is what greets all the new Target shoppers who exit the L on Wilson. The social services in the immediate area are quick to pass the buck and say these folks are not getting services from their "hotels" or shelters.
Wilson needs help. We need our "powers that be" to step up. We know we have to work around Ald. Shiller, whose office is just steps from this, so the next likely choice would be Uptown Business Partners and Uptown United. Are they up for the challenge?
I love how you people Are so shocked! That people still loiter in uptown just because clifton has been closed. Big picture here folks...
ReplyDeleteEverytime I pass this area I get sick. As long as these loitering scum are allowed to take over our streets no business owner in his right mind would consider a location in Uptown. They rob the business from customers that are afraid to stop and walk through Uptown. I think legal and physical force is needed to get rid of the problem. I cannot believe that nothing can be done to get them the hell out of Uptown. Something other then talk and social services are in order.
ReplyDeleteI walked through that yesterday on my way home from work. It worse than I have ever seen it.
ReplyDeleteA few thouhts on this:
ReplyDelete1. Call 911. If anything you see makes you feel intimidated, communicate that (drug dealing, profanity in front of your children, obvious intoxication, etc.) These are crimes that impact public safety. We pay for the service.
2. FOLLOW THE MONEY - Next time you go to Target, ask to speak to the manager. Explain the problem, show the pictures, ask what the store is doing to ensure safe passage for people in their immediate trade area, and explain how if you can't walk safely from the el to the store, you will have to consider alternatives (and encourage others to do the same). Explain that while you feel safe in their store, if you can't get there safely because they have moved into an urban warzone (sound familar ?) its a no-go, but that there is a solution that will involve all neighbors.
3. Let's join them. Walk right on throug!
4. Go to CAPS. It's great to read about it here, but show examples and let the officers know at CAPS that you will call 911 when their presence would make a difference and you would expect to see some inforcement (even if it is just dumping out the booze in some cases).
5. Be a little patient - The Wilson El project hasnt even really started yet. It's sad to see this in the interim, but hope that once an investment is made, the CTA make take steps to protect the investment.
6. SUPPORT YOUR CANDIDATE - Consider learning about what the candidates for 46 will do about crime, including specifics. Support the one you think would be best for 46 with your MONEY and TIME. Consider donating, campaigning, and doing WHATEVER IT TAKES to get the people of 46 out to the pools.
7. Don't support those that financially support the incumbant, who promotes this anti-community activity. There is a large, bustiling business on North Halsted Street located outside 46 that has been a supporter of Shiller for years. This is an example, but let her supporters know that you will vote with your wallet and encourage others in 46 and surrounding wards to do the same if they continue to support a candidate that is not acting in the best interest of hard working, honest, law abiding people.
911 call for impeding the public way. That's all it takes, and because its in that crap part of the ward, the response should be quick.
ReplyDeleteI walked by yesterday afternoon at around 7pm and this picture doesn't do it justice. I could not believe the amount of people!
ReplyDeleteIf we would just enforce the loitering laws in Uptown we would cut down on such a large percentage of crime. The breaking of this one little law allows gangs to sell drugs on wilson/magnolia, drunks to sit out side and drink all day and people to use the streets as their own personal restrooms. If this was any other neighborhood the cops would be all over their asses.
SLVG, this post sorta points to a big picture; all this drunken loitering is preventing businesses from considering Uptown. At what big picture are you looking, I wonder.
ReplyDeleteIt is disheartening when folks say that the shelters and other social organizations aren't doing enough to combat this problem here. To those I ask: "Why should those organizations and the responsible people who pay taxes and/or fund these organizations care more than the folks we all try to help? Shouldn't they take even a small amount of interest in their own well-being?" There is only so much sympathy and caring you can have for a population that doesn't care for itself. After a spell it becomes tiring and old.
I THOUGHT YOU COULDN'T HAVE "OPEN" CONTAINERS OF BOOZE OUT ON THE CITY STRETS? I THOUGHT YOU COULDN'T USE CITY STREETS OR ALLEY'S FOR BATHROOMS? I THOUGHT GAMBLING WAS ILLEGAL? THESE ARE ALL LAWS THAT DON'T SEEM TO BE ENFORCED IN UPTOWN, WHY IS THAT? I KNOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN BUSTED FOR DOING TWO OUT OF THE THREE MENTIONED LAWS AND HAVE BEEN GIVEN TICKETS AND COURT DATES. WHY IS THIS ALLOWED? THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I WOULD WALK THROUGH THAT. OH, AND STOP GIVING THESE LOWLIFES MONEY, THEY USE IT FOR BOOZE & DRUGS.
ReplyDeleteGREAT SUGGESTIONS ON HERE! I'VE SEEN THE FORCE OF THE UPTOWN NEIGHBORS AND YOU CAN CLEAN THIS UP TOO!
SORRY FOR THE CAPS.
Dumb question, but what the heck:
ReplyDeleteWhy do people "loiter" on hard, hot sidewalks instead of cool, comfortable parks or taverns?
This open booze definitely frustrates me(among obviously other things) since back in May I recieved a "drinking in the public way" ticket for having a beer while I smoked a cigarette in front of my condo.... Granted I was technically breaking the law, being on the public way 20ft from my front door, and I paid the ticket..... but why can't these officers hand out tickets like candy over there on Wilson for the same offence??? Maybe they do, I dunno, but I do know that nearly everyday I see this open intox happening on my way home or to work and calls to the police obviously are not doing any good.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that people don't stand around to sign complaints against these guys. If we all get together and deem the behavior as unacceptable and tell the police we are willing to have these people arrested it would be a huge step to improving our neighborhood. I recently moved here and want to be a productive part of improving the neighborhood but without people willing to sign complaints it ties the police hands.....
ReplyDeleteLassie, it's because you get kicked out of Taverns if you don't buy drinks or start panhandling in the tavern. The parks have less tolerance to open drug dealing and alcohol. And because it's easier to get drugs at the Wilson stop.
ReplyDeleteI just recently moved to the area and I am all about improving the quality that we all live in....however it is not up to the police to solve all problems without the help of the citizens. We all need (myself included) to be willing to sign complaints and have these people arrested for criminal behavior.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's less likely the police will issue a fine to someone with no money, no resources or no address. Fining condo owners or people with cars is gets revenue...
ReplyDeleteBut hey, at least you don't have to see them on Clifton anymore, right? Right?
ReplyDeleteThe problem is "tickets" as us normal people abide by means we have to pay it. For the guys and gals hanging out on the corner this means nothing. The only thing they understand is getting locked up.....Do you really think they are going to pay a fine and realize the error of their ways? Trust me...I am not knocking the common sense that all of us have, however with these people there is only two options. Jail or "hanging out" all day. I used to live at Howard and East Lake and we dealt with this problem for some time. Only when all the citizens say enough and are willing to have people arrested did the problem get curbed...to a point.
ReplyDeleteCall 911, give your name, and be willing to follow through as a witness when an arrest is made. Identify the person(s) dealing drugs, drinking, urinating, harassing, etc. Do not be anonymous if you want this problem to go away.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with Officers ticketing for DOPW (drinking on the public way) is that it takes the Police off the street. If Joe Dirtbag is arrested for DOPW and has no ID, that person has to be tranported in a Wagon ( ties up the wagon crew), booked and fingerprints checked before being released. When that Beat Car is "down" for this process, that District is now even more shorthanded than before. In many cases, policing the District is a trade off. You have to allow for some things to "slip through the cracks" for the common good of keeping Police on the street for more urgent matters such as gang fights, shooting, etc etc. You will see Officers take a more common sense approach to DOPW, such as simply kicking all of those jerks off of that corner, thereby staying "up and available" on the radio for more urgent matters.
ReplyDeleteSad. This is starting to remind me of the late 90's, when the Wooden Nickel was still open there. I made the mistake of walking by there once, and nearly got in a fight with some crazies just for walking by.
ReplyDeleteBack then, I would tell friends only to take the Brown line to get to my place, and walk up from the Montrose stop to Dover.
I won't pretend to know the answer, but it seems that we're moving backwards in trying to clean up that area.
>> Chuck said: "It is disheartening when folks say that the shelters and other social organizations aren't doing enough to combat this problem here."
ReplyDeleteFirst, agreed that the loitering is ridiculous around the El (or anywhere -- we all hated it on the far-less-utilized Clifton too). The continuous gangbanger loitering at the Magnolia/Wilson Mall and inwards on Magnolia is even more bothersome and perplexing to me, as this clearly is far more of a public safety problem.
But, to get to the issue of social organizations: a lot of the places offer shelter at night, but are not open the rest of the day. Not sure why this is, but I'd chalk it up to a funding issue, rather than the social agencies intentions. Could also just be a space issue; for example, the womens shelter that was (is still?) at the Uptown Baptist basement was only available overnight because the church was otherwise used during the day. Mostly though, you can only do so much to "lock up" people during the day.
Fact is, these folks are a combination of mentally ill, alcoholics, drug users, homeless, sick, etc. They are not likely interested in hanging out in some hot building all day playing checkers just to keep out of the public way. Also, some of these shelters/transient spaces are pretty rough places (e.g. Wilson Men's Hotel)... people aren't living there because it is a luxurious place to lounge in the afternoon.
The reason loitering by this group is so pervasive in Uptown is not that it is easily solvable or that social agencies don't want to help or that cops don't have people move along, but because this group of folks is so concentrated in this ward (for historical and political reasons).
Does that mean we call 911 and file complaints when they loiter by the El -- absolutely. But, truth is, unless there is a very concentrated effort (and ample money) to holistically help these folks change their lifestyle/situation, they are just going to move along to a new location and loiter there. And the cycle continues unabated...
I'm sooooo down for a kegger outside of shillers office.
ReplyDeleteWhy not? If these people can have a party on the streets, why can't we?
I'm all for the Classical Cure for Loitering
ReplyDelete@themooseisloose - I was thinking the same thing. Imagine the response if a bunch of UU'ers brought our lawn chairs and got to the spot first thing in the morning - 6 packs in hand of course...
ReplyDeleteStay there until police arrive and SIGN COMPLAINTS! As drunk as these leeches of society are they can still spot the squad car a mile away and put the beers down or zip up their pants.
ReplyDeleteI have called 911 for exceptional drunkeness on that block and the cops did take one crocked clown into custody after I offered to sign a complaint. The cops very tactfully suggested that I provide a work address outside the ward so I would not get harassed at home later.
ReplyDeleteJust something to be prepared for if you do call 911 on this BS.
And don't just complain to Target managers about this, complain to Aldi too if you can. After all Alderman Shiller wants to lift the liquor moratorium covering Aldi and the McJunkin building right around the corner from this mess.
The path just east of Truman that now dumps out right by Aldi's parking lot would be one convenient walk for cut rate Aldi beer for these people.
There is a maxim that every solution to one problem creates another problem.
ReplyDeleteYou move the loiterers off Clifton and they go somewhere else.
Since society lacks the will to effectively deal with the issues many of these people have, we need a more creative solution.
Clifton was arguably a better place for them to loiter.
So what we need is an area where they can hang out and not threaten anyone or hurt businesses.
Helen Shiller's backyard on Carmen comes to mind. Throw up a privacy fence and add a few porta potties.
Voila..........problem diminished.
IP, you may have something there.. what is her exact address because I have a great idea!....Whenever someone asks me for change or whatever, I am going to have some business cards printed up on my lil ole home printer and hand them to the panhandler. It will have Shillers home address and I will suggest they go there for some change, a meal and suggestions on where to sleep.. and I am serious..
ReplyDelete"I-Lov 5-0", maybe I'm wrong on this, but I would assume that if they don't pay their tickets, it just helps to build the case against them since it's another infraction. So yes, the tickets do help.
ReplyDeleteI know you're new to the ward but do yourself a favor and check the older posts. I don't think our community has an issue saying "enough" nor do I think we've been unwilling to sign complaints in the past. I know the comments were benign, just making sure you know this.
What are the police suppose to do? The police need to focus on the "harder" crimes of guns and narcotics. The jail simply does not have room for these low level type offenders. I saw the "party on wilson street" was really happening last night they were all sharing a half gallon of gin. Listen to a police scanner for an hour & you will get a better understanding of the magnitude of violent crime in the area.
ReplyDeleteI was @ Target a few days before the "Grand" opening and three teenagers approached me for a cash donation for their coach's funeral. I was pretty suspicious, as they said they went to h.s. in Evanston...I work in Evanston and hadn't heard a/b this. They also wouldn't let me take their black/white flyer. So, I told a Target employee a/b it, thinking that other folks could be taken advantage of. A woman admonished me, saying "oh, but they weren't hurting anyone." I replied that no, they weren't. But I feel that small crimes - like soliciting inside stores - emboldens for bigger crimes. I later saw Target security escort the three boys outside. Now I realize though that all that happened was sending these kids back on the street, perhaps to a corner like Broadway/Wilson. What do you think? Did I overreact - should I let things like this go in the future?
ReplyDeleteThomasP -
ReplyDeleteDon't you think the kind of activities these people are participating in are a precursor to more violent crime? How many stories have we read about where someone is shot and killed over perceived cheating during a dice game, or perceived insults while intoxicated? Or if any of these loiterers are gang members, drawing the ire of rival gang members who will unload on the whole group?
I understand the police have a lot to deal with, but if the police in Lincoln Park have time to constantly patrol and cruise by Wrigley Field and break up drunken, loitering baseball fans, they should have time to do the same here in Uptown. While I don't live in Uptown anymore, I still think the neighborhood is as worthy of protection and zero tolerance for this kind of behavior as Lincoln Park is.
To uptownchicagoresident...
ReplyDeleteNo, you don't have to tolerate situations where you feel like someone is trying to scam money from your pockets. I'm not sure who you are UCR, but imagine this happening to an older helpless person who would feel threatened and even intimidated by these teenagers approaching them. That's not the world I want to live in.
@uptownchicagoresident I hate when that happens. I was at the Dunkin Donuts on Irving Park the 2nd week they were open and there was a homeless guy harassing customers as they went in/out. Then he decided to start peeing on the building. Suffice to say, when I told the DD employee all I got was "Was he bothering you?" type reaction. Um...he's peeing on your new building, I'd call that bothering.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have never understood from reading the comments on this blog is this idea that if we get "these people" out of uptown everything will be better. Sure you can have your nice little condo in a clean little neighborhood with all of the fancy retail boutiques you want, but "these people" you speak of are still going to exist.
ReplyDeleteIt is disgusting how selfish some of these views are. If only we could get "these people" out of uptown we could live our middle class lives in peace. When really, just moving poverty does not solve poverty.
And many users have mentioned in their comments that a lot of the people you are complaining about have mental/alcohol/drug issues that need to be addressed.
And sure, you may not feel like it is your job to help out each and everyone of them, but you are a citizen of this world and so are they. I read so much about how everyone wants community in uptown, but it doesn't sound like anyone wants community with anyone that isn't just like themselves. We are all a part of the uptown community.
And no, I am not a huge fan of drinking, gambling and selling drugs in front of the Wilson stop. All I am saying is that getting "these people" out of Uptown is not the answer to all of your problems.
>> Danielle Ezell "All I am saying is that getting "these people" out of Uptown is not the answer to all of your problems."
ReplyDeleteWell, it's a pretty darn good start. I take my personal safety and wellbeing pretty seriously and when we live in a community where "these people" (i.e. criminals) are not being helped by the social services intended to help them, nor punished by the laws meant to punish offenders and protect the rest of the community from them...then, yes, I would prefer that "these people" are moved off our streets and either provided the treatment they need or locked up so they can no longer harmm the innocent.
Danielle, I just don't want to get shot. I've been shot at before, it's not that fun. The tone of your comment makes it seem like "these people" is used to refer people of a specific race or ethnicity, kind of like some movies I have seen where someone says "you people" and the other person reacts to thinking it's a racial thing. "These people" to me means the people that are shooting guns and killing people in the neighborhood. So if you are going to defend "these people" and not want to get rid of them something is wrong. I will never accept killers and gangbangers as party of my community... the poor, mentally disabled, non violent drug addicts, and other non-violent people with troubles are welcome to be part of my community and hopefully we as a community can help those that need it.
ReplyDelete@ThomasP. Agreed that the police often have more important things to do. But, we should still call in to the police and sign complaints each and every time we see this type of activity. The police can decide on their own priorities.
ReplyDeleteIf they have the time and resources available, they can do something about it. If they have more urgent situations to take care of at that moment, then they'll take care of those situations instead.
Again, let the police decide on their priorities. Remember, if we want more attention from the police in Uptown, it's all about the statistics. Each and every call counts.
Don't get your panties in a bunch.. When I said "these people" i meant those in the photograph. Stop trying to make something out of nothing.
ReplyDeleteYous people are driving me nuts.
Danielle, I never heard that anyone wants poor people out. They want public drinkers and drug dealers out. There's a big difference.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you're equating crime with poverty?
IP and Uptown Superhero,
ReplyDeleteThat is the most brilliant and hilarious idea that I've heard in a LONG time. I'm with you both. I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to go down there every day and hand out business cards that tell people about the new hassle-free "resort" just up the street. The image of hordes of drunkards and street zombies schlupping it up Broadway to camp out in front of Shiller's would be classic! It would be the ultimate picture of irony. I swear to God, I'll design and order 1000 cards right now to hand out to anyone interested in helping create this awesome spectacle. What's her address!!??
Danielle... Many of us live in Uptown specifically because we enjoy the racial, cultural and economic diversity. Don't equate that with being tolerant of a toxic retail environment and unsafe streets.
ReplyDeleteI love my friends, neighbors and local shops whose owners are different from me. But I do not wish "community" with people who break laws, make Uptown unsafe, who refuse to ask for help from the many services that are available to them, and whose only interest in Uptown is what they can take from it.
I believe that any community that tolerates and accepts those who seek to make it a worse place to live and run a business is an unhealthy one.
It's not about class, or race, or any of the other differences. It's about wanting Uptown to be a destination site, one where everyone can feel safe walking the streets and where businesses have a reasonable expectation of success.
Step into Thai Uptown, the Best Steak House, Iyanze, Viet Bowl, Alma Pita, Three Harmony and Jimmy John's and ask the owners if they think the people drinking, gambling, loitering, urinating, and selling drugs steps from their front doors make it easier or harder for their business to succeed.
I bet you'll find that, despite their extreme cultural diversity, they are unanimous in their opinion of Wilson and Broadway's current suitability as a retail corridor. I will further bet that the only businesses that endorse the current situation are those making (big) profits from those very people pictured. Uptown's poverty pimps just looooove Wilson Avenue!
It's not about being intolerant; it's about wanting a safe and successful retail environment that serves everyone in Uptown. Yes, including those who are socially, culturally and economically different than me.
1) For a neighborhood with as many social services as there are, there seems to be no one doing outreach to these people. I walk by there every day to and from work. It's the same 10-12 people there all the time. And the junk keeps piling up inside the grates to the Wilson Broadway mall and the stench gets worse and the crowd keeps growing.
ReplyDelete2) It took at least two weeks to have someone even attempt to remove the latest round of gang-graffiti - but apparently I'm still warned against selling "secerts" on the glass doors of the now vacant properties. This is steps away from loitering central on Wilson and probably a perfect example of broken window theory in action.
3) I keep waiting for someone to organize counter - sorry - positive loitering. What about posting the numbers for the business owners or landlords that operate the businesses that these people hang out in front of and organizing a daily call. Considering all the vacant retail space on Wilson and Broadway, it's interesting that these are the places they hang out - where you think some concerned businessman would want to do something to encourage customers to come in, not block their path.
4) And as for the strip mall at Wilson and Magnolia, it seems a ripe place to do a couple of full days of group positive loitering and having everyone there on a chair wearing white t-shirts and calling the two numbers that are listed on the board advertising the vacant properties in that building.
Maybe some enterprising aldermanic candidates can show some initiative here...
I was not equating "these people" as being a racist remark. What bothers me about the phrase is that it makes the people you are referring to sound like they are less human than yourself.
ReplyDeleteI do not like being shot at either, or playing the "fireworks or gunshots?" guessing game from my living room.
However, the point I was trying to make is that simply moving criminals a few neighborhoods over so that you do not have to look at them does not solve the problem as a whole.
There needs to be more discussion on the fundamentals. Are we making sure that the youth in uptown are being educated? Are we making sure that there is funding going to the organizations that are supposed to help?
Also, the lawsuit over having low-income housing at wilson yard is a pretty good sign that poor people may not be welcome by all.
ReplyDeleteHere's an idea: Next Positive Loitering event the group should walk to this area pull out their cell phones call 911 en masse, take pics of the criminals, wait for the police, and then sign the complaints. Continually do this at every place they congregate in Uptown.
ReplyDeleteI have started calling the police everytime I see people loitering outside my building.
Whether you are "those people", "Them people", or "us people" I hope you can see that spending $400,000+ per unit on 178 subsidized housing units was absurd.
ReplyDeleteShould have used a developer that could have built more units at lower cost. I'd suggest maybe even a developer who could have built a mixed income housing development for all kinds of people at a better price.
But Holstein tried that in Cabrini Green and needed the city to bail him out on that deal too.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?articleId=32881
I say we gather them all up, ship them to Montana and let them loiter, drink, shoot, harass, and drive business away there. So fed up with dealing with this trash!
ReplyDeleteThere are many social services available to citizens in need. Shelters, rehab, work programs. The problem is there is no incentive to take part in these programs when there are no consequences placed on committing crimes. As a country, we spend BILLIONS of dollars on "free" social service projects where less than 10% of the people actually benefit from the program, most drop out. If we continue to allow people to hangout on streets selling drugs, drinking and committing other crimes, what is the incentive to make a better life for yourself? I wouldn't be opposed to a few drinks in the sunshine on a wednesday afternoon? But I don't because I don't want a ticket, I see consequences... "those people" don't. Its time we make some consequences for breaking laws.
ReplyDeleteThere is a clear relationship between what we see in this picture and what happened on Magnolia this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteI agree with quietlyconscious.
ReplyDeleteAn encampment on a 'retail strip' is as big a red flag as a group of men, rushing down Malden en route to 4500 Magnolia. The results, aren't the same, but for crying out loud, WHY is the 'worst of the worst' continually happening near the 46th Ward Office, without a peep of a response.
I'm numbed to the violence after all these years, but I'm STUNNED by her silence and the seeming detachment.
::covers eyes:: If I don't see it, it's not illegal
ReplyDeleteStash, what is up with the Target thing? Target is not going to help with this, get a grip.
ReplyDeleteI'll try to get people out to the pools as much as possible. It is hot out there.
SOORY FOR THE CAPS.
ReplyDeleteI'M CURIOUS IF SOMEONE CAN TELL ME IF UPTOWN WAS LIKE THE WILD WILD WEST BEFORE SHILLER WAS ELECTED OR HAS IT GOTTEN BAD BECAUSE OF THE PROJECTS BEING TORN DOWN? MAYBE BOTH? AND WHY HAVE SO MANY DISPLACED PROJECT RESIDENTS BEEN MOVED TO UPTOWN? I HAVE THIS SAYING "WHEREVER YOU GO, THERE YOU ARE" AND IT SEEMS THAT IN MOVING SO MANY OF THE DISPLACED INTO UPTOWN, THEY HAVE BROUGHT THEIR LACK OF RESPECT FOR SOCIETY WITH THEM AND THEIR ATTITUDE OF ENTITLEMENT WITH THEM. CAN'T AFFORD IT? STEAL IT. DON'T LIKE THAT PERSON ACROSS THE STREET? SHOOT THEM. DON'T WANT TO GET A "REAL" JOB? SELL DRUGS. THIS IS PART OF THE ATTITUDE THAT TURNED THE SOUTH SIDE INTO WHAT IT IS TODAY. THE PICTURE IS LOOKING FAMILIAR.
FYI. TAKEN FROM AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE BUDGET IN THE SUNTIMES TODAY;
ReplyDeleteThe number of “physical arrests” by Chicago Police continued their steady decline — from 227,576 in 2006 and 196,621 in 2008 to 181,254 last year.
The downward trend coincides with a hiring slowdown that has left the Police Department more than 2,000 officers-a-day below authorized strength. It also coincides with allegations of “de-policing,” a condition that exists when police officers “stop doing their jobs” because they're afraid nobody has their back.
Police Department spokesman Roderick Drew said the department “doesn’t measure the success of crime-fighting strategies simply by the number of arrests.” He argued that the “true measure” is the reduction in reported crime that Chicago has experienced over the past decade.
“In fact we have experienced 18 consecutive months of lower overall crime in Chicago dating back to January 2009,” he said.
Danielle Ezell said..."What bothers me about the phrase is that it makes the people you are referring to sound like they are less human than yourself."
ReplyDeleteNo Danielle, they are not not less "human"...but they CHOOSE to be less "humane".
Less considerate towards the rest of the society they CHOOSE to live within.
Less accountable for the actions they CHOOSE to make and in turn CHOOSE to be less considerate of the effects said actions have upon those around them.
They CHOOSE to be less engaged in a productive lifestyle within our shared society.
Sorry..."those/these people" who CHOOSE to continue through life in that manner do not deserve my sympathy, compassion, money, time, or respect, because I choose to help those who are willing to help themselves.
UptownTrain then I urge you to read about Urban Prep and consider making a generous donation.
ReplyDeleteI am not affiliated with the school, I just believe in what they're doing.
Thanks Toucan. I appreciate your suggestion and will take it under advice.
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity, I'm interested in your opinion on how the purpose of Urban Prep differs from that of Uplift? Also, in turn, why wouldn't one donate to Uplift first and foremost if it benefits the immediate community, in turn (theoretically) improving the immediate area rather than Urban Prep which is a further distance from Uptown?
WOW! All these great comments!
ReplyDeletePersonally I agree with the busines cards directing panhandlers to Shiller's home but be sure to place her office address on there as well.
@Danielle: Understand where you're coming from and I don't know how long you've lived here but I've been in the area for 10 years now and I am just tired of it all.
And as for the FWY lawsuit, Shiller made it out to be an us versus them arguement. The "Not in my Backyard" residents versus the affordable housing residents which is was not at all.
It was about Shiller's, and Daley's, blatant abuse of TIF funds and how a large portion of the community was SHUT OUT of any and all planning.
Call 911 when you see things going on AND SIGN THE COMPLAINTS!
This particular area seems to be bad because of that apartment building. It's definitely slum housing.
ReplyDeletei love that this is a pic of the bus stop...
ReplyDeleteJason - You're right about getting people to the polls. Any distraction from that creates risk of the unthinkable...
ReplyDeleteI am not really sure what do to help in getting my neighbors out, but I will definitely be speaking to the candidates about their plans to do just that and see how I can help.
The candidates can have the best plans in the world, but if they can't get elected, its game over.
I lived on the other side of the Ward in the last election, but aparently Helen has done a very good job in the past at getting her base to the polls.
My concern is not about the people who read this blog, who I am assuming will vote. How do we reach out to the others that didn't seem to understand in the last election that literally every vote mattered.