Friday, July 13, 2012

Operation "Uptown Crackdown" A Success

Well, this is a pleasant surprise.  In today's newsletter, Ald. Osterman says:

"Information on Recent Police Sting - Uptown Crackdown

Yesterday, the Chicago Police Department conducted an undercover sting operation targeting the Uptown Area.  Operation “Uptown Crackdown” resulted in targeting more than 30 individuals associated with drug dealing and gang activity.  The police have arrested 21 individuals as part of this sting operation and are in the process of apprehending the remainder.

This effort will help address the ongoing safety problems in Uptown, and I want to commend the efforts of Chicago Police Department, including Commanders Lucy Moy (20th) and John Kenny (19th) as well as Superintendent Garry McCarthy in addressing the criminal gang and drug activity in this part of our neighborhood.

Similar to “Operation Uptown Girl” conducted last year, this recent sting was sparked by concerns and reports given by committed community members remaining vigilant about ending negative activity in our neighborhoods.  I will be working with the Superintendent to see that similar stings are made in other parts of our neighborhood that also have drug and gang activity.

Please join fellow community residents, the Chicago Police Department and myself on Tuesday, July 17 at 6:00 p.m. at the Chicago Boys & Girls Club, 4835 N. Sheridan to hear an update on “Operation Uptown Crackdown” as well as a panel discussion on safety, part of my 48th Ward Master Plan's Public Safety Committee.  Should you have any questions or require more information, please reach out to Jared Desecki of my staff by calling (773) 784-5277 or emailing Jared@48thward.org."

More information as it becomes available.

Update:  Some more information from Ald. Cappleman's latest newsletter--

"Beginning yesterday in Uptown, Chicago Police arrested 23 offenders while dismantling drug markets controlled by two notorious street gangs located in the 46th Ward.

Narcotics Division Officers concluded a long-term investigation yesterday by conducting a sweep of several street corner narcotics operations with the assistance of officers from the 19th and 20th Districts.  The sweep resulted in the seizure of sizable quantities of narcotics including Heroin, Crack Cocaine, Cannabis, and unauthorized prescription medications. 

In addition, officers also seized three weapons, three vehicles, and funds associated with narcotics sales. 

The investigation was spurred by a search for leads associated with unsolved shootings and homicides in the vicinity of Wilson and Racine up to Argyle. 

The takedown resulted in the capture of several gang members with extensive criminal backgrounds including arrests for homicides, kidnapping and other violent offenses.  33 targets were sought and 23 have been successfully arrested.  Officers will continue this mission as they search for the remaining targets.

Thank you for all of your work as a community calling 911 and attending CAPS meetings to help our local officers and to get updates on this narcotics operation. If you're not sure when your CAPS meeting is, please go to our website here."

Update:  The Trib's take on it.

14 comments:

  1. Great job CPD et al!

    Now we just need judges who actually understand the consequences of giving light sentences and letting repeat offenders have chance after chance after chance to "turn their life around"

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  2. How about if an arrestee is living in a government subsidized apartment in Uptown, he/she and their family is subject to immediate eviction.

    Otherwise, when they are bonded out the will be back.

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  3. Which gangs were those arrested from? I live in P Stones territory and would love it if 20-30 of them disappeared for a while (or permanently)!

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  4. Is that a law or something you just came up with, Toto? If it's not a real thing, time to start lobbying your legislators in Springfield to put legislation through to back up that thought. Just coming up with rules that don't exist, on a blog, won't help anything.

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  5. GG, my comment states the futility of these so called operations. If you can't kick out the families of the arrestees, all that happens is window dressing at best.

    From past experience, most of the gang members are back in place within a few weeks time because the judges following sentancing rules and states attorneys pleading down the cases.

    In fact, after the last so called operation, things actually got worse for a while as other gangs moved in to the vacated territory while their opposition gangs had a few weeks of county sponsored vacation.

    By the way, I have asked our state representatives to sponsor such legislation.

    Alas, the more things stay the same.

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  6. Rock and Roll, glad to see g-bangers get arrested, regardless if they are bonded out, or if they get light sentences. They are not immune to the law. I agree with Toto, there are good people living in public housing, that should not have deal with the criminal element. And the amount of money in TIF's enabling criminals is sickening, Thanks for that Helen S.

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  7. Good job CPD! I enjoy watching those Tac guys in the unmarked cars jump out and get "contact cards".

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  8. Now if only the Tac units keep up the pressure and the residents keep calling 911 maybe we are gaining a advantage to taking back our streets. I would hope the Rico law that was recently passed is used to keep them out once and for all. Let see if the court system looks them up for a nice long stay in prison where they belong or gives them a slap on the wrist and back on the corners they return.

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  9. @ Uptown Rising... We also need to worry about Quinn, who AGAIN yesterday, pardoned another 42 convicts in cases ranging from cases of burglary and drug crimes to battery.

    @ Cowboy... sad that we would refer our neighborhood as P Stones territory. It's OUR territory. The gangs are just invaders.

    @ Wiseguy... You may not see your Tac units... Here's why:

    http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=8734330&pid=8734331

    And finally, I'm surprised Ceasefire didn't take credit for this bust. Yesterday as A MILLION of OUR tax dollars got pissed away to this group of convicted felons for their UNDOCUMENTED services by our mayor, the media was touting their involvement in the surrender of the shooter of two teenage girls. Well guess what. The CPD Fugitive Apprehension Unit negotiated this surrender and the mayors' people decided to make it a Ceasefire dog and pony show for the media to counteract recent embarrassing stories of 3 or 4 Ceasefire workers being arrested for drug possession.

    ANYONE who believes that these Ceasefire people are SERIOUSLY about anything more than buying votes is mistaken.

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  10. Cone of Silence -- People are rightfully feeling very, very good about you cops and offering congratulations and thanks. So why pee on the parade? You guys always complain no one appreciates the job you do, then when we DO thank you, you either say "that's what we do, it's no big deal" or "oh, no, it's really TERRIBLE out there!" Kind of self-defeating... then you complain that the public doesn't appreciate the cops.

    We do now. We generally do, in fact. Enjoy the accolades, you guys earned them, along with our thanks.

    Important detail you missed: Quinn pardoned 42 EX-cons. People who are ALREADY out of jail, people who had applied for pardons years ago, when Blago was governor and wouldn't make those calls. Quinn inherited a backlog of 2500 cases to make decisions on, and he's doing it. I'm no fan of Quinn, but he's cleaning up a mess he inherited from another con (con man and convict) and it's about time someone started doing it.

    Take a look at who was pardoned and their dates of conviction: They've served their time. One crime [burglary] was committed in 1968! Most date from the 1990s and 1980s. The folks who were pardoned yesterday have been back in society for a long time. It's not a "Willie Horton situation."

    If the cops don't want CeaseFire taking credit, they need to do what they did yesterday -- hold a press conference with the commanders, let the aldermen know what's going on, and give a clear explanation of how the operation happened. Make a lot of noise about what the Tac Teams did and how it was carried out.

    What I'd like to see are the names and photos of who was arrested. Many of us don't want to be, but circumstances dictate that we are familiar with the players in Uptown's gangs/drugs/violence game. We're curious about who got caught in this operation.

    You guys did good. You interrupted "business as usual" and you got some dangerous people off our streets. The key to making Uptown safer, imho, is to make it inhospitable for miscreants, and the coppers accomplished that on Thursday.

    Please accept our thanks, our appreciation, give yourself a pat on the back, and keep up the good work.

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  11. Well stated Triman Square Neighbor! (applause)

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  12. @ TrumanSquareNabr... RE: Pardons... This Governor has a history of manipulating sentences of inmates in the IDOC. Some who were released, went on to commit NEW crimes and NEW victims. When Quinn got caught, he suspended the practice. He has since announced he intends to, AGAIN, start granting early releases. Granted, these were not pardons, but they have given me reason not to trust his judgement with regard to criminals, especially felons.

    RE: "why pee on the parade?"... not sure I did that. Cops appreciate when the public appreciates them, no question. Nothing was said to give any other impression that I see.

    The link to the CH7 News story was simply an FYI as to how this Mayor and Superintendent of Police have been and will be cutting OUR police coverage and OUR safety here in Uptown. Stories like this don't get much coverage. Wiseguy suggested a desire that "the Tac units keep up the pressure" against our street crime, when it is a fact that they are being deployed elsewhere. This is important information for us all, wouldn't you agree?

    RE: Ceasefire... "the cops ... need to hold a press conference"... Police officers are forbidden from speaking to the media without prior approval of an exempt rank officer. With very few exceptions, Commanders are ALL politicians and stopped being REAL cops a long time ago. Ceasefire is Rahm's plan. No police commander will go against Rahm, in fact, they ran TO him with this negotiated surrender in order to score points and be noticed. Political smoke and mirrors and cops don't like being used to make a bunch of felons look good, ESPECIALLY when this mayor can't wait to give these felons a million dollars of OUR tax money.

    Again, the men and women in blue appreciate that you've taken notice of their hard work and dedication to duty and nothing that was said here should imply anything different.

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  13. I am incredibly grateful to the police, the citizens and the elected officials and volunteers who worked together to make this happen. It may not solve all of the problems, but it is a start. Citizens must do their part, call the police if we see gangbangers back on the street, keep the pressure on.

    Thanks, and let's keep up the pressure to make Uptown a safe place for everyone.

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  14. Walking home late this weekend (Friday night/Saturday morning) from patronizing some Uptown establishments, it was very nice to have the streets sans a lot of the riff-raff on the corners (albeit a bit eerily quiet). Seriously, I can't recall a weekend evening which was so quiet since having lived in Uptown the past few years. Thank you to whomever was responsible and helpful in the operation. I hope this lasts and such efforts continue. Thank you!

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