Via Chicago Breaking News:"About 2:36 a.m., a 20-year-old man was shot in his abdomen in the 1000 block of West Lawrence Avenue. He was taken in "stable" condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.
No one is in custody for any of the shootings."
another problem corner - Lawrence & Sheridan that has gotten worse and is yet to be properly addressed.
ReplyDeleteAh ... but ... the sewers .. the infrastructure.
ReplyDeleteThere are police cameras on this corner. I have to imagine the shooter waltzed right under one of them either right before or right after.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, I have now gotten word from 2 of my friends who are landlords in Uptown (and good landlords at that) that their tenants have asked for release from their leases because of the increase in violence, including the murder in broad daylight last week.
So...even if you feel safe in your home, don't think for one minute that this violence is not having a near term impact on the economics of our neighborhood.
In the last few weeks, every time I have read a news story about Uptown, the comments sections have been filled with the likes of "Stay away or you will get shot." With Alderman Shiller a non-issue soon, I hope that some of those comments will turn to hope and reports of some really good things coming out of Uptown - INCLUDING how the community is addressing the urban terrorism problems.
The shooting was at the corner of Lawrence & Winthrop. I was up late working last night and witnessed it ... or the immediate aftermath anyway. I heard a single shot and ran to the window to see a young man on the sidewalk yelling, with his friend standing over him on a cell phone (presumably calling 911). Police response was rapid and large, but given the totally mundane and disquieting way the shooting went down the whole scene felt a bit absurd.
ReplyDeleteThere's a camera at that corner too.
ReplyDeleteHazel and Sunnyside had some issues last night, too. Nothing too bad, just punks acting up.
ReplyDeleteI just signed a new lease for the next year. My rent went up 20 bucks my first year (moved in fall '07) and has remained constant ever since. The building super told me the leasing company was just glad to have tenants...2 out of the 9 units are empty.
ReplyDeleteTo quote: " I'm shocked...shocked"
ReplyDeleteYou know it's gotten to the point where freedom and rights need to go out the window. For example, stopping and frisking loiters...the ACLU took that away from the police. Police cannot disperse loiterers. They cannot stop and frisk people randomly that they suspect of having a weapon....so as long as you have the ACLU backing up the thugs then you won't have police doing what they need to do.
ReplyDeleteTruman College is another magnet, sorry to say, because I work for the City Colleges. Half the kids (not adults) that go there are going for the financial aid...they could care about being in school and getting an education. I know I teach them.
As long as you have Section 8 housing, Landlords that don't do credit and reference checks, a college system that's promoted to give financial aid handouts, and police unable to stop suspects to frisk them, you're going to have crime and shootings in the area.
Will - Glad you stayed. Hopefully you will continue to be part of the solution.
ReplyDeleteLianna...
ReplyDeleteYou say the students are only in Truman for the financial aid. But that money can only be used for school-related stuff right?
Oh, Helennnnnnn! This is happening on your watch. Tick tick tick tick tick tick tick. There are a lot more ticks ticking until Feb., girl! I see a lot more blood on your hands in recent ticks to come.
ReplyDeleteTick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick...
I have said it before and I will say it again: The cameras do no good. I have called 911 to report several crimes within sight of the cameras and metioned to the 911 operator that it should have been captured on the camera (in my case at the corner of Lawrence/Wintrhop) and the operators seemed to care less or clueless.
ReplyDeleteI know people argue that "this is just anecdotal evidence and therefore invalid" - I say bullshit. If you continue to see the crime and the cameras don't help to catch the person(s) involved because no one looks at the cameras or tapes then they do little to no good.
I had to call 911 about a week and a half ago because there was a drive by shooting in front of 4813 N. Winthrop. I saw the van speed away and reported that the van turned East onto Lawrence and that it could be seen on the camera at the corner of Lawrence and Winthrop; again 911 seemed not to care to check into investigating via the camera.
The cameras are smoke screens and the gang bangers and criminals know it otherwise they would not blatantly commit crimes in view of the cameras.
There's a camera at Wilson and Magnolia across from the mini-mall where the open drug dealing and gang banging takes place. If it works (and I bet it doesn't) the bad guys do not care.
ReplyDelete"You know it's gotten to the point where freedom and rights need to go out the window."
ReplyDeleteNo, it hasn't gotten to that point. I'm pretty sure it will never get to that point.
My 4 year-old noticed a couple of months ago that the camera at Wilson and Magnolia no longer has the little blinking blue light anymore. Instead it shows no light whatsoever. Does this mean its not working?
ReplyDeleteHopeless, that's really unfortunate! I heard nothing about the drive-by...
ReplyDeleteHopelessinuptown- It is not the job of the 911 Center to investigate anything. They are not the Police. Their job is to take your call and dispatch the Police. When the Detectives get the case THEY will pull the tapes and see if anything relevant was captured.That's how it's done. If you think that somone is actually sitting at a desk watching a camera, you are wrong. Doesn't happen.
ReplyDelete