Tuesday, August 30, 2011

News From The Alderman About Today's Shooting

We really hope this is the last one of these we receive or pass along. Thanks for keeping us informed, Alderman, but we wish there were less to be informed about:

"I've heard from the 23rd Police District about another round of shooting today that resulted in two people wounded.

Here are the facts of the situation
  • The 2 shootings occurred early this afternoon at Sunnyside & Sheridan, leaving 2 individuals wounded in the legs.
  • Minutes before the shooting this afternoon, the police had contact with both victims, asking them to disperse from the area. There was no reasonable cause to arrest either victim before the shootings occurred.

Thanks to the Superintendent of Police, Garry McCarthy, the 23rd Police District has been allocated more police to handle the upsurge of gang-related shootings. We're fortunate that the police have been able to respond to these past shootings within minutes.

Commander Kathy Boehmer from the 23rd Police District, Board President of Truman College Reagan Romali, and I will all be attending the Beat 2311 CAPS meeting at Truman College on Tuesday, September 6 from 7pm-8pm.  We will update you with what we know, lay out measurable action plans to reduce gang violence, and invite you to come up with ideas of what we can all do together to make this neighborhood safer for everyone.

Here's what you can do now. As the new school year begins, gang recruitment picks up at a rapid pace. Please download this poster by clicking here and post it in your window to let the gangs know that you are watching them. One of the best ways that we can all reduce gang violence is to let them know that we have our eyes on the street."

41 comments:

  1. Seriously a poster? How about a cop substation in the area? How about cops arresting people for every little offense and then letting them sit in processing for hours? This is exactly what NYPD did when our Supt was deputy of NYPD. The problem is the bleeding liberals think it's unfair and unjust. Capelman said he had a plan to fight crime, where is it? It's probably the same place As Obamas stimulation plan. I don't want to hear it takes time, cause the problem isn't the housing. The problem is not enough cops on the street. If you look at the beat for example 13. It goes from montrose to Wilson broadway to lake. The first way to eliminate crime is to keep beat cars in their zone. You then have additional cars as roamers to handle over flow and backing others up. The 13 beat car should never be down near wrigley etc, unless all he'll breaks loose. How do we accomplish this?

    Simple more man power!!!

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  2. Something Novel does need to be done. A cop substation I have always thought was a good idea, there is a small evanston police station/storefront on Howard just east of Ridge.

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  3. Another thought. In Rogers Park we are lucky to have a police station so close by at Clark and Devon (just north of the intersection on the west).

    And Uptown really should have their own little police station.
    Much more shooting there than anywhere else on the Northside. If thats not the plan ofcourse then we better start shuttering and/or rehabilitating the buildings that need it. Fast. This violence is bad for the WHOLECITY.

    They are building a new police station at Racine and 14th place. In a very strategic location. It helps keep UIC area safe and very close to Pilsen and its right by the projects right there.

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  4. "I don't want to hear it takes time, cause the problem isn't the housing. The problem is not enough cops on the street."

    Kudos Kudos Kudos! One of the most honest answers I've read since Sunday.

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  5. Simple more man power!!! -Chambo

    Chambo, you mean any alderman can simply request more police and it happens? I wonder why all the aldermen in City Council didn't think of that yet?

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  6. We live on 4400 block of Racine. I just want to say that 99% of our neighbors are supportive and positive and I'm proud to live here most of the time. I've seen TONS of cops all day today on our street driving by. EXCELLENT news. I ALSO want to thank Mr. Cappelman for his prompt emails keeping us in the loop.

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  7. The root of the problem is the tepid legal response to gun crime all over the city\state\ country, which basically sends the message that gun crime is tolerable. The public finds gun crime intolerable, but the politicians, lawyers, and judges continually send the message that gun crime IS tolerable. I remember a couple of years ago some gangbanger in Uptown took a shot or two at someone in broad daylight on a busy street, didn't hit anyone, just a building, and was sent away for less than a year. Shortly after his release, he was back at it again and this time he wounded a pregnant woman at a bus stop on Wilson. Sending someone away for less than a year on an assault charge after they fire a gun at someone basically tells that person, and all the little gang bangers to be that look up to him, that shooting guns at people is not so bad. Wanna end gun crime in Uptown and the rest of the city? Make it a minimum of 20 yrs. for anyone using a gun in a crime and if they actually fire the gun, whether they hit someone or not, make it a minimum of 40 years. Carrying a gun while selling drugs? Minimum of 20 yrs. Use a gun to rob someone? Minimum of 20 yrs., If you are a convicted felon caught with a gun? Minimum of 20 yrs. A couple of years ago a convicted felon on parole was caught with a gun, the judge did not even revoke his parole and shortly thereafter he shot and killed a cop. It is way past time to start giving serious sentences to criminals who use guns. I believe minimum 20 yr. sentences for simply having a gun while committing a crime or 40 yrs. for shooting a gun in a crime, whether you hit someone or not, would have a huge deterrent factor for younger kids that would see the gangbangers go away for the rest of their formative years and not simply come back after several months, undoubtedly looking like a gang hero and talking about how their prison stint "aint but a thing".

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  8. @ immaculate... Give it a break... It's not election time yet. Share your insight with the police, alderman, mayor and CAPS meetings. Do your part and help the neighborhood. We are all exhausted.

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  9. Sean, your idea of requiring exceptionally long prison sentences for gun-related crimes sounds too good to be true. Perhaps it's because judges aren't allowed to do it. Oh well. Nice try.

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  10. Even my small home town has a police substation on the other side of town. Some kind of substation in uptown would help. even if that's not feasible these cops should stay put in all the hotspot zones. so many times an incident occurs in the area. sure they respond "in minutes" but they always are zooming up sheffield/broadway from the lakeview area to get there first. if there was a budget to allow them to just hang out there it would be ideal. any disturbances and loitering could be handled properly. nothing will eliminate these gang bangers but it can help them think twice about causing their mayhem in our neighborhoods.

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  11. they wanna shoot? ship them off to Afghanistan. have at it boys!

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  12. More police - takes money
    Police substation - takes money
    More jail time - takes money
    Standing around kvetching - FREE
    Would it be possible for community effort to build the police a home - we seem to have lots of vacant buildings in Uptown. And more on the way.

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  13. @ just wondering I could be done if they were willing to make cuts elsewhere, for example do we really need 3 people on a garbage truck?
    @ Sean well said @ Holy Moly it isnt that the law doesnt allow it, The judges refuse to hand out the max sentence.

    @ Nancy If this is your suggestion are you going to organize? If so schedule a meeting with the alderman ASAP, let everyone here know and lets get it done. I am sure the alderman can find someone to give up some space.

    The other thing that could help is walking cops in plain clothes, with dummy cars. Just so people understand dummy cars are parked police cars around. If the gangbangers see cops walking around, they wont know if the real cops are in the area.

    The way to this problem is to eliminate two man cars for the beat and put them both in cars. For example beat 2313 has two officers in one car. How would the gang bangers react if they saw two cars around? we just double police presence with out adding cops. Both cars would go on every call, so the back up issue is voided.

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  14. Seriously, I see how easy Dictators come to power. I keep hearing suggestions in these posts and recent posts that have no relationship with our rule of law.

    We are a country of Laws, not men. James is bound as are all our elected officials by those laws. I support James, but I do not support him violating rights. I don't think he has any intention of doing that to people. Give him a chance to bring measures to the city council. Let's see if his plans become productive. We can't strap him with an AK47, and a bandana tied around his head and have him clean up a mess that took years to create.

    For years the people of Chicago and Uptown have voted in the same clowns over and over again. They created a mess that will take years to recover from. That does not mean we should sacrifice our personal freedoms and allow our elected officials to be above the law. Our criminals have put the squeeze on us from the bottom and our politicians have done it from the top. I do not intend to give either group anymore power or regulation over my life. Let's start enforcing the laws we have on the books before we start clamoring for more.

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  15. Nancy S, yes it takes money, but it would be well spent. Money is spend on alot of silly stuff. Some much money has already been invested in Uptown. Why not protect that investment?

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  16. @Chambo: You sound like a bleeding [heart] liberal, wanting to spend money the city doesn't have. But it sounds like you know exactly how to re-deploy the police--why didn't YOU apply for the police commissioner job?

    @Jeffo: Shuttering buildings? Maybe. Rehabilitating buildings? Have you been reading UU? The very people who were targeted in the Sunday evening shooting--the Black P-Stones--hang out and live very comfortably in buildings around the corner on Clifton that EACH got millions in Wilson Yard TIF money from Helen Shiller to "preserve 'affordable' housing". "Rehabilitating buildings" doesn't do jack to keep gangs away--it just gives them some great new porches to hang out on, new kitchens to keep their junk food in, new masonry work to tag, new windows to break, new A/C to keep them cool between deals, and new landscaping to toss their trash on.

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  17. I am shocked to hear that carrying a unlicensed gun in the city of Chicago does not carry a longer sentence. And really, lets talk about that - having a gun without a FOID and a Chicago Gun Permit is a felony. How is it that with a felony they are only getting less than a year?

    Why then did they create all these hoops that I had to jump through to legally own my weapon when less than a year is all you get for doing the following unlawful acts: a) carrying it without a case b) not having a license c) shooting it off in public. That does not seem right to me.

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  18. I seriously had nightmares last night that I was caught up in gun violence and could not escape. Scary.

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  19. I agree with you sports--they love to fight -send them over there and get it off their chests.They will come home a man we hope.

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  20. Holey, you are right in that the judges are limited in what they can do. Pressure needs to be put on politicians to pass laws to require these kinds of sentences. This will end this kind of senseless shooting.

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  21. It is already illegal to shoot people. New laws will not be effective.

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  22. Picard, what are you talking about? Of course it is illegal to shoot someone, but if you don't kill them or even hit them, the consequences are so relatively minimal that a message is sent that such crimes are tolerable. New SENTENCING laws would be effective. Start paying attention to stories about people arrested in shootings and see how many of them have past convictions for gun crimes and see how many of them served only a year or two before being released and reoffending. If they had been kept in prison for a minimum of 20 yrs instead of being released in 1 or 2, or 40 yrs if they actually fired a gun, they would not be on the streets to reoffend. Sometimes the only difference between someone who shoots at another and goes to prison for 30+ yrs for murder and someone who shoots at another and only does 10 months is pure luck on whether they actually hit someone while shooting across the public way. The way I see it, both shooters pose an equal threat to society, both shooters have demonstrated a total lack of concern for the welfare of others, and society deserves to be protected from both. However, because one bullet missed hitting anyone while the other, for instance, hit and killed a little girl on a playground, one of the threats to society goes away for 30+ yrs, while the other is back on the street in less then 1 yr and in too many cases, reoffending with a gun. How does that make sense? And the one who only does a year or so comes back to the hood a big hero for stepping up for the gang, likely bragging about how the prison time was no problem for him, and has all the younger wannabes looking up to him, eager to follow in his footsteps. Put him away for a min. of 40 yrs just for taking the shot, and you are not gonna have him back on the streets reoffending and you are not gonna have him influencing others to follow in his footsteps. And soon enough, you won't have as many of these stupid random shootings. But you watch, in this shooting where a couple of guys were only wounded in the leg, if they catch the shooter(s), the person will be out on the streets in a few years.

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  23. The problem is the people who are doing the shooting. At the end of the day, they have a choice on how to behave, and they are making very bad choices.

    We need to listen and figure out why they are shooting. Not speculate or pontificate or claim to know.

    Once we get it, we can make our case to them to stop and join our community, and it better be a pretty good offering or they might reject it! Right now, we are going to have to sell them on why, and I don't think the answer is "if you don't, the law will get ya"

    I live behind a CHA building, and very little happens there. I say hi to my neighbor every day, or they say hi to me. I had a conversation in the alley with a mother who shared the same concern I did - that the telephone pole was going to fall down and hurt someone in the alley that separates us. She called 311...

    Even if I wanted to, I don't have the influence to move every hooligan, fool, and criminal out of this community tomorrow, nor does Alderman Cappleman.

    I am pro-development and pro-market rate housing. There are tons of potential sites and development projects that could inject additional capital into our neighborhood and continue a positive longer-term trend. Yes, when the economy recovers and if we promote the continued development of Uptown based on sound principles, all will benefit.

    I am bullish on Uptown, but it's gotta be a buy and hold for the near future.

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  24. A lot of us are mentioning the CHA when talking about problem buildings - but aren't the problem buildings really the Voice of the People buildings? You know, the ones Bear is talking about - that Helen gave millions to rehabilitate and keep the 4400 - 4500 blocks of Racine and Magnolia predominantly low income?

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  25. I do agree with Chambo. It could not be better said. You need to fight fire with fire. The problem around here it seems is all the liberals complain about crime but when something is done they then point fingers at the cops for roughing up these punks.
    When you drive by the Cubs during any of the home games I see the number of cops standing around under the train station having a ball with the girls. Where is the CTA cops and security they hire to handle things and let our cops be in the area here that needs them to patrol our neighborhood for gunfire not at the cubs for beer drinking.

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  26. @ miss kitty: you are correct. those are voice of the people buildings, not cha. CHA has actually taken some positive steps in their buildings. VOP, not so much.

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  27. "If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"

    - Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

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  28. Wiseguy, you love to point fingers at people for not being tough on crime, but what do you do besides drive through in your SUV armed with chemical spray? Is posting on a blog mocking the police's performance an effective way to make the neighborhood safer, in your opinion?

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  29. TrumanSquareNabr if more residents in this neighborhood carried mace and other defensive devices instead of all the ones I see walking with their noses plastered into their ipods, the area be much better off and a hell of a lot safer in more ways then one.

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  30. Miss Kitty makes a good point...

    I do think it is absolutely prudent to separate good property owners/mangers from bad ones.

    Who knows...in different hands, those buildings might be a lot different.

    Still can't excuse the individuals that are involved in this crap. Even the best and most well intentioned property manager can only do so much to influence the behavior of others.

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  31. A good property manager can do A LOT. In my experience living in Uptown I've found that Voice of the People do the absolute bare minimum that they need to get by when it comes to supervising their buildings and dealing with problem tenants.

    Do we know if Brian Gill lived in one of the VOTP buildings on Racine?

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  32. Bear 60640 that is what needs to be talked about and that is what i talk about alot on everyblock rogers park are problem buidings in my neighbhorhood.

    You guys should if you arent all ready be talking about which are the problem buildings in Uptown either here or on everyblock.
    I bug building managers all the time about things I see or dont like (in rogers park) and if its not fixed then I would be bugging them incessantly.

    A property manager can only do so much? Thats the problem. What is going on with that?

    Uptown needs more market rate housing. The NEW CHA projects have a mix of market rate and low income right? Because just all low income isnt working right now.

    I would like to see an indepth analysis of the concentration of low income housing and which buildings are the top offenders as far as creating the most havoc.

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  33. I think its too bad there also isnt a broken heart type blog for uptown. Uptown update is good.

    But Craig with Broken Heart of Rogers Park really took alot of photos of drug dealing and problems in the neighborhood when it was really bad and i think he made a huge difference.

    I think more focus on ongoing problems should be happening on this blog and there should be long lengthy discussions on problems ONLY when there are shootings and killings.

    Its good to focus on the positive.
    But hammering away at problem buildings and areas is really what is going to make a difference.

    I dont know what Voices of the People Buildings look like, how about a photo of the buildings and an expose of what problems are going on there. Etc, etc, etc.

    How about pictures of drug deals going on or whatever loitering is occuring? Etc, etc, etc.

    If we shine a light on the most troubled areas and its a sustained shining light only then will things improve.

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  34. If someone passed along a list of buildings (CHA or VOP or whatever) I would be happy to photograph them nicely and post wherever. Email me if your interested in setting something up like Jeffo said. wilsonyardschicago@gmail.com

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  35. oops sorry typo

    *there shouldnt be just be long lengthy discussions when shootings occur.

    It is good that alot is being discussed. Now WE, and everyone needs to take action. And Report about it as well. I know there are some problems that are exposed here. But I think the problem buildings and what happens on the outside of them needs to be photographed and posted and reported on and exposed, (ofcourse with safety in mind)

    Craig was very gonzo in Rogers Park and was in the face of some tough customers, not something I would reoommend.

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  36. The VOP building in the 4800 block of Kenmore building physically looks OK from the outside. The problem is that I watch dealers come and go from the building. They exit the building, loiter in front of a condo building 4 doors down for about 10 minutes, go back into VOP, repeat. Similarly, I see customers hanging around the outside of VOP waiting for someone to exit, or for the dealer to come out. I wish I had the type of camera that could allow me to take pictures from the safety of my home. I'd take them and share widely. I think the gang leader lives on the 4800 block of Kenmore, as well. He's late 30s, maybe early 40s, dresses decently, and has bangers or hos hanging about him. There's also a lot of traffic in and out of his building. I'm not sure what good it would do to have his picture plastered all about, because I know the cops know about him.

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  37. The VOP building mentioned above on Kenmore really is a cancer.

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  38. I think it would help. Craig would post almost daily photos of stuff. It got alot of attention.

    The block building was HORRIBLE on Morse, it finally got bought, and if that didnt happen Morse wouldnt be doing so well right now. Its now Reside on Morse.

    This type of running dialogue with photos and calls to the managment company and to the aldermans office would increase the pressure for doing something.

    Also the fact that the buidlings all look okay but that the people going in and out of it are nefarious and up to no good would be best expressed with pictures.
    A picture is worth a thousand words. Also these guys wouldnt like the attention.

    Its too bad the broken heart is closed now, there were drug deals on video. Look what videos and pictures has done for blood alley.

    Want a problem building around you to improve?. DO what blood alley has done. Calling attention to a problem building in a sustained fashion is I think the only way to make things better.

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  39. Want to get more police on the streets? I know where you can get 700 of them every day. Re-negotiate the ridiculous policy that officers accrue 365 days of sick time for every two years on the force. Don't believe me?
    http://www.academon.com/Research-Paper-Management-Issues/54660
    or
    cracking down on medical abuses and renegotiating a policy that allows officers to take 365 sick days every two years. from the Chicago Sun Times
    http://www.suntimes.com/news/crime/5564005-418/union-rips-plans-to-move-500-cops-to-high-crime-beats.html

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  40. So who has the ability and motivation to start a website/blog that monitors/reports on these problem buildings? Again, I am a willing partner and have the ability to provide high quality photos ( I am also not afraid to go take said photos, or photgraph bangers in the neighborhood.)

    I can't monitor the site myself, and I don't have the means to develop it, but if someone can, it would be beneficial to us all.

    Time to stop talking and start doing.

    Email me wilsonyardschicago@gmail.com

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  41. Sounds good chitownphilly.

    It certainly is a time commitment which is why not everyone does it.

    Where is the broken heart of Uptown?

    Probably Broadway and Wilson and Sheridan and Wilson.

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