Thursday, September 9, 2010
Same Sh*t, Different Day
Update: A reader sends in this cellphone video showing this afternoon's gangfighting. Please forward it to the media!
Time to educate this year's batch of idiots that our streets are for retail, residents, vehicles and pedestrians, not for gang riots.
"School is definitely back in session - Gangfights starting up again at Sheridan & Leland @ 3 p.m. with weapons, brooms, chairs stolen from Cafe Too, etc. CPD was there in record time, saw them get the kid who peddles around on his pink bike."
"Dear UU: I personally witnessed from my balcony an incident at the corner of Sheridan and Leland that is reminiscent of the gang fight last summer. At approximately 3:10 pm today, I heard groups of men shouting at each other, and looked outside to find about 35 black male youths taunting and throwing things at each other in the middle of the street. Soon, fighting ensued. The police were quick to respond. Currently there are 5-6 police cruisers on site, interviewing and/or arresting suspected participants. Wish I could have obtained video, but it happened fairly quickly. Scary."
"At about 3:10 today, right after school, there was a huge melee at the Leland/Sheridan intersection. Lots of screaming and fighting. Some kids grabbed chairs from Cafe Too and were using them as weapons. I called 911 and then started video recording on my phone. I'm trying to get the video uploaded to share. The cops responded with about 5 cars and everyone scattered. They apprehended about 10 people and ultimately arrested about 3-4. The initial fighting involved about 50 kids. Thought the readers would want to know."
A tip of the hat to the police for their quick response.
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I live across the street from the high school. This afternoon was extra loud!
ReplyDeleteI know there are good kids at Uplift; I've met them and chatted with them. But these assholes are giving all those kids a bad name. Some are real jerks on their commute from the red line to school too. Glad neighbors are home and paying attention. I intend to get home early from work tomorrow to watch out for these losers.
ReplyDeleteOnce, two gangs were fighting in front of the Jesus People USA's Friendly Towers. One gang wore plain white t-shirts, while the other one had red baseball caps. I'm disabled. I'm home a lot, and look out of my window when I hear something loud or unusual. My windows face Wilson Avenue.
ReplyDeleteIs it just my imagination, or is someone yelling for help in this video?
ReplyDeleteI am curious what the candidates for the 46th will say about this video.
This is NOT acceptable conduct in the 46th Ward. I will support candidates who come right out and say that, and say it loud.
Can't wait till all these kids run over to the newly "remodeled" Wilson El when it is done and trash that they way they trash Sheridan and Leland.
I don't really care what is tolerated in other parts of the city. While these guys are here...they need to behave.
If the neighbors, authorities, businesses, and others concerned don't do something about this now (like this week and next) it is going to go on all year.
This video is disgusting. Embarassing as best, but really unacceptable.
Damn shame when you move to the north side for safety and diversity and its the exact same shit you see in the Ghetto only difference is the media never covers this they only cover what goes on in the "inner city" only time you hear something bad about the northside is when it comes to a rape case maybe just maybe if the media shined more light on situations like this more people would start to pay freaking attention like they do in more "poorer areas" Hell are there even any police cameras any where around here like the ones that are on argyle. - Starting to dislike the northside at least this area.
ReplyDeleteIris - do you call 911? The information is helpful! The neighborhood appreciates your eyes on Wilson :)
ReplyDeleteRaven, we get it; you think Uptown is worse than Englewood. But, you're our neighbor now, so start working on making it better like we are! We have some great restaurants, nice commute to the city, and nice lakefront/parks. If we can get these assholes to stop their shooting and fighting here, it will be a lovely Utopia.
ReplyDeleteim moving as soon as my lease ends
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading this, 7 or so shots were fired near Sunnyside and Malden. It happened around 9:00 p.m.
ReplyDeleteNobody was hit and the officers didn't find any shell casings.
Left a post at Trib's breaking news website. Sited the gang fight and the shots. I agree, we need to send this info to the media.
ReplyDeleteMeg, yes I've called 911. Many times the police are out there before I get a chance to call. Lots of people call. Many of these buildings have security guards and outside cameras.
ReplyDeleteStash, I didn't get to view the video from my cell phone, bcuz it doesn't have that capability.
Good Raven.
ReplyDeleteThats what transients basically do. They are good at complaining and noticing problems but thats all.
People who have a vested interest in a community. Can Identify and Notice a Problem and then help find a solution and keep working at it.
With your negative attitude I dont think you will get far.
I cant believe how many people say the same thing over and over again on this blog.
@ Geofredo, AGREED!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI think the Chicago Police did a fantastic job responding to this situation. A great presence like this will hopefully help future issues. I would think as Alderman they may want to try and have a few squads and tac team cars in the area when school is ending. Makes sense and I am going to bring it up to Michael Carroll who is running for alderman. I know I have said it before, but with Michael's background as a Chicago Cop working in the worst neighborhoods of the city he knows what it will take to clean up the 46th ward.
ReplyDeleteSquad cars are out there every day. Sometimes, it gets to be too much for them, then they get things under control. Rep. Harry Osterman is running as well.
ReplyDeleteRobert... if you have read this blog over time, you will know I am not a Cappleman guy... HOWEVER, I live within spitting distance of this corner... Cappleman and his partner have personally lead a weekly Positive Loitering on this corner for well over a year - since the last event - and are there every week. They are heavily involved in both CAPS and as a Court Advocate, helping the neighborhood...
ReplyDelete...now whereas I totally respect Michael Carroll being a cop. I have NEVER seen him at my CAPS meeting, I have never seen him at any Positive Loitering events (and they have been advertised on here every week for a year) ... so please, do not even try to position him as a savior.. He needs to prove it by deeds, not by having a surrogate build him up on Uptown Update... as they say.. Respect is Earned
Way to go, UptownSuperHero!
ReplyDeleteAre you serious?
ReplyDeleteOne hour once a week does not change a neighborhood with this much crime in this economy.
Positive loiters walk in big groups heavily protected by police. This creates an us vs. them attitude with the low income groups who feel like they're being forced out of their community and homes because they can't compete with those who can afford to pay the rent.
If you want to talk about earning respect, I think you should consider what M.C. does on a daily basis in neighborhoods worse than Uptown. He puts his life on the line to protect people every single day. He is protecting you not only in other neighborhoods, but ours too. Do you think he shuts off protecting you while he's living, shopping, eating, and campaigning in the 46th? No. Do you think he would turn the other cheek if a fight broke out? No. Do you think he would help you out in a sketchy situation on the street without knowing you? Yes.
I'm pretty sure Carroll is earning his respect every single day by taking guns and drugs and criminals off of the street. Walking in cirlcles chatting to people while heavily protected is great, but you can't tell anyone that Carroll hasn't earned respect because he isn't walking in cirlcles.
And even if he did, you would find something else to go on about.
Www.twitter.comThe46th
Sounding awfully defensive there 46th.
ReplyDeleteMoosh, you're confusing me.
ReplyDelete* Positive loitering is a bad thing because the police support it and protect the positive loiterers.
* But Michael Carroll, aka the love of your life, is a police officer, so it must be good.
* But James Cappleman, aka the demon you've invented, is for positive loitering, so it must be bad.
* But Carroll and Cappleman are long-time friends, so it must be ... confusing.
* But people who attend positive loitering are bad because they're all super-rich and they make poor people feel lesser than, so it must be bad.
* But Michael Carroll has been at Sheridan and Leland for the positive loitering at least once, doing what you call "walking in circles," so it must be good.
* But people who positive loiter "create[s] an us vs. them attitude with the low income groups," so it must be bad.
* But low-income mothers who pick their kids up from Christopher House like the positive loiterers because they don't have to walk through that sometimes-scary intersection alone after dark, so it must be bad.
* But positive loitering causes tension with people who "can't compete with those who can afford to pay the rent," so it must be bad.
* But the homeless women who had* nowhere to go between their daytime shelters closing at 7:15pm and REST opening at 8pm liked to hang out and talk with the positive loiterers because they felt safe, and enjoyed the police presence there, so it must be good.
Gee, it's all sooooo confusing! Could it be that someone who owns a Buena Park condo and who stands across the street from community activists, taking their photos but never joining them, may not be the best person to make judgments about the attitudes of people who want to make a difference in their community, even in the smallest ways?
* BTW, the positive loiterers brought the plight of the homeless women to CAPS, who arranged with the shelters to stay open longer, and as a result, the women no longer have to stay on the street for an hour in the cold and dark, and vulnerable to whatever dangers are on that stretch of Sheridan. Really horrible elitists, those positive loiterers! If you'd been there instead of across the street with your cameras, you'd know that.
TygerKub's comment is much better articulated than mine was, so ditto on what TK says.
ReplyDeleteThe46h... your arrogance and bullying attitude astounds me.. and now scares me in terms of this is the type of people Carroll will be surrounding himself with...I honestly have not made up my mind on who to support.. but I can tell you, Carroll is no longer on my list...
ReplyDelete.. if you want to call me a divisive because I care enough about my community to go out and make a statement, great. Did Carroll EVER show up last year during all the events.. did Carroll march in front of Shillers office two years ago like I, and a hundred other people, did two years ago when there was a murder? Was he there at Truman College when Shiller was caught trying to sneak out but a hundred of her constituents made sure the press saw her?
Honest to God, I am all for law and order.. and am an "evil condo owner"..so I have skin in this game. Do not come at me with your arrogant little attitude because I happen to disagree with you.
If you bothered to read what I wrote, you will see that I respect him as a cop. That does not, however, give me any reason to respect him as a candidate for the 46th Ward. We are getting rid of a Socialist bully now, I do not think we want to replace it with a Facist one.... and again, with folks like you supporting him, he now officially scares the bejesus out of me..
It is a shame these gangs act up but compaired to real crime on the South side of Chicago where it is not reported at all and police hardly respond like they do here. where daily gangs kill each other in the street. Shots are heard all day and night and families have to sleep on the floor away from windows to keep from getting hit. Doors being broken down and people robbed of what little they have. Uptown is still a nice place to live and with the small amount of gang activity and crime compaired to large amounts in other places of the city I feel safe here and would not switch areas with anyone. I will take the small amount of gang activity and the drunks and bums that hangout on our streets then live elsewhere where, specially the West and South sides of Chicago. If you don`t believe me try walking down their streets if you dare.
ReplyDelete@tygercub - priceless!
ReplyDeleteKeep on positively loitering. Try it some time without five or six police cars swirling around and see how effective it is. Go south or west and see how effective it is/was there. (Read Wise Guys comment)
ReplyDeletePL is a great idea, and a great way to advertise yourself, and think that you are changing things, but it's not effective because the money is gone.
It's smoke and mirrors.
What Mooshie doesn't seem to grasp is that it's possible to "build up" your candidate of choice without always incessantly attacking the other candidates.
ReplyDeleteThere are legitimate reasons to support or not support any of the candidates.
There are also legitmate areas of attack.
I know the fact that Mike Carroll carries handcuffs and is very butch apparently appeals to the Moosh, but in and of itself that is not reason enough to support him.
If you think there's a reasonable law enforcement solution to reducing crime in Uptown you're wrong. We can't afford to hire 5000 more cops, we can't toss every offender in prison, and appealing as it may sound I don't think most of us want to live in a dictatorship where we just line the miscreants up against a wall and shoot them.
The real solution to reducing crime in Uptown is going to be an aldermen who forces the managers at subsidized properties to enforce harsh standards and follow up with evictions when necessary.
Now maybe Carroll is the best person to do that. Maybe not.
what money, 46th?
ReplyDeletefor someone who pushes for *change* in our ward, i don't see you offering too many ideas here today? you are coming across as a hater.
I like Uptown and won't even consider moving. I had a couple of opportunities, but declined. I grew up in this city and never thought of myself as nieve, but it didn't register in my brain, until I read your post WISEGUY, that other areas are much worse. Also, I really enjoyed the amusing comments of a couple of people. Very whitty. Right-on to the social activists!
ReplyDeleteMoosh, you're just randomly striking out and not making a whole lot of sense. You're making your guy look bad by association and driving people away from him. You sure that's what you want to accomplish? Or are you just addicted to conflict and thrive by creating it?
ReplyDeleteHere's something to mull over: We have, by all accounts, seven very likeable candidates. I'm on a first-name basis with four of them (the first four to declare, including your Officer Carroll), and they're all engaging and they all want things to change around here. You want to find evil? Look at the officeholder who's collecting her paycheck and not doing very much else at all. Maybe buffing her nails and reading Craigslist ads to her staff?
Do you really think that the 23rd District can afford to have dedicated cops (5 or 6 cars worth, by your reckoning) "protect" the positive loiterers? The cops LIKE that the positive loiterers (23rd District term) and the neighborhood watchers (20th District term) are there. They call stuff in. They clear corners. They prevent stuff from happening by their very presence. The neighbors who don't want to walk on deserted streets like them, too.
It's been going on in both districts since long before the elections and will continue to go on afterwards.
You know, you don't have to do it. If you don't think it works, and it's all smoke and mirrors, just don't show up. Hating on those who do care enough to put in a little time puts you in a poor light, not them.
Wow. This is how Schiller stayed in office so long. It's September. You guys are shredding each other already. What is the thought process here? The truth is that several of the people running for alderman will simply drop away between now and February, and the others will have ample time to make their positions clear. Why rip each other on a post about thugs acting like animals in the street?
ReplyDeleteAnd just steps from Alternatives.
ReplyDeleteLOL and I have to listen to Shiller say how more youth programs are needed.
That's just rich.
Seven candidates!! Where have I been?
ReplyDeleteTo Meg and Geofredo-Raven has every right to want to leave Uptown if they are concern for the safety of their family. Been here for about 12 years and haven't seen any change about the gangs, shootings, and deaths. If someone wants to leave, why not be supportive of their decision and wish them well instead of making a rude comment.
ReplyDeleteSo Meg and Geofredo, what is that you are doing to make Uptown a safer place? Meg, you said you are working on it. If you have the solution, maybe you should run for Alderman and stop the gangs and shootings in this area. Good Luck
What a lively discussion, as are many on this blog. To bad the vast majority of our neighborhood is still a gang, drunk, and drug infested slum. Talk is cheap. Here's something to ponder over. I come from a loss prevention background. What that means is that I was allowed to carry cuffs, a collapsible baton if I chose, pepper-spray or a riot stick. I also had every right to detain a person that was committing a crime, otherwise known as a citizens arrest. Why? Not because my position afforded me that right or that I was protected under company policy, but because these are all legal to carry by ANYONE and ANYONE can make a citizens arrest. Check this out:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/arresting-tales/2009/10/freelance-photographer-captures-citizens-arrest.html
You all want change, squabbling back and forth on UU won't make a rat's shit amount of difference. These comments sometimes read like whine whine whine my ego is right, oh no you di'int whine whine whine my ego is right! Point is, who cares, get over yourselves shootings, gang riots, break-ins and public drinking STILL happen. Maybe once we all get over our fragile little ego's we can talk about constructive ways to make a real difference.
Bashing positive loiterers is sadly funny, they seem to be the only people getting out of their evil condos to join up with their neighbors to at the very least make one minuscule corner of Uptown safe for an hour. Anyone who does not positive loiter, are you doing anything else? ...chirp chirp...I'm hearing crickets...
Here's some fun ideas that I think will work:
-More positive loitering in the "hot spots" and at the right times. Wilson, 4400 & 4500 blk of Magnolia, Lawrence & Sheridan not only at 3:30 in the afternoon but again at 8:30.
-buy at the least pepper-spray and cuffs and bring them to positive loitering events or carry them on your person at all times. When you see something going down, grab some neighbors and apprehend these bastards. Remember, thugs don't call the police....
How do you think the mindset will change within these people when they start hearing about regular people chasing down their thug buddies and arresting them? Hmm....It might make me a little bit paranoid, anyone could be a cop then? I eventually might decide that being a menace to society in Uptown is to much of a hassle and either move to the south or west side or end my thug career for good.
I'll never have hope that we will be rid of gangs until I start seeing more frequent positive loitering, street marches and actual involvement by more than the 15-20 or so people that regularly pl.
Meg, do you know those were all Uplift kids? And if you are fair-minded and met some of the Uplift kids, why would you turn around and say the poor choices of a few give them all a bad name? The individuals who should be ashamed were the individuals involved in the fight.
ReplyDeleteUW, I agree with Meg. I don't believe that the behavior of a few is indicative of the entire student body, but it still affects the perception that many people will have of students attending Uplift.
ReplyDeleteIt's why the administration at Uplift should be doing everything it can to work with the community to address this issue. So, I would take what Meg has said and go one further. The silence of the school administration gives Uplift a bad name.
Uptown - can Meg count on your support? LOL. Uptown and Uptown Writer are craaaazy. Can't we all agree that street gang fights are bad? They pick up when school is in session. Draw your own conclusions.
ReplyDeleteWeekend not sure why what I said was crazy, but your response is kind of crazy. of course gangs are bad, and if you've been paying attention gang activity happens all year round, and i saw a couple of gang fights in the middle of summer, so what conclusions do you want to draw now? The conclusion I draw is that we have gang activity in Uptown and I too want it to stop and to try to understand how to stop it BUT--and to your point HM--trying to blame it all on one school and one administration does not do the trick. And HM it's no shock to me you disagree with me as you usually do. But since you insist that the Uplift administration is accountable for the actions of youth off school property--kids you and Meg and others feel comfortable assuming are all Uplift kids--do you know for a fact the school is not attempting to address conflict resolution? What exactly is it you think Uplift should be doing based on your assumption they do nothing? This is why I sincerely hope the new aldermanic leadership will come in with a desire to actually talk to the Uplift administration and kids, hear what they ARE doing and achieving (and working to achieve) instead of drawing conclusions and black-balling Uplift as "the problem." So interesting how broad-stroke characterizing and stereotyping people and institutions in Uptown is *totes* o.k. so long as the people being stereotyped are not condo owners.
ReplyDeleteUW, I totally agree with you. You're speaking of reality and I'm speaking of perceptions. Where there may be some disagreement is that I believe that perception must be addressed. It's like crime. It's not enough to address the reality of crime. We must also address its perception as well.
ReplyDeleteI realize the school administration is addressing the reality of behavior problems in their school, but they are not reaching out to the community to address the perception of problems. That's their goof.
Superhero, You bring up solid points. However Cops dont always work 8-5 and my guess is the Michael Carroll doesnt work 8-5 and thats why you dont see him as often as say Cappelman. But I dont know. I think Cappelman is a viable candidate and I voted for him the last time. I deem the violence and issues in the ward as a top priority and just because Cappelman attends positive loitering walks doesnt make him more qualifed the Michale Carroll who works on a high crime unit in the City. He is not a beat cop, he a cop that works in a special unit in the worst neighborhoods in the city. For that reason I like what he brings to the table. I guess we will see how things shake up over the next few months, but for now Carroll has my vote. I think most of us can agree that at the end of the day we should be in a better position now that Shiller is gone. I think its great that we have 7 people running and the ward has options. Thats why this country is great. We all have a vote.
ReplyDeleteIt will be an interesting race.
ReplyDeleteRobert, I wonder what you see the job of the police commander to be? Sometimes I'm not sure if Michael is running for alderman or police commander?
Me? I want to make sure that whoever gets elected, has a good relationship with the police commander and that they can work together to address crime.
On another note, some people want a hero to be their alderman. I want someone who works well with others and has a broad knowledge base of all the issues facing the ward, public safety being just one of them.