Edgewater/Andersonville - Tap Into Your Community

• http://www.facebook.com/padraig.mcgorry Padraig McGorry

  Next time on Ronnie Dobbs gets rescued…

• Lindsay Niles

  “No one was in custody related to the shootings.” … And why not?

  • winthrop

    Don’t snitch, ya’ll.

    • Neighbor

      Don’t snitch? This isn’t like someone cheated on a test. This is gun fire in the neighborhood. Of course you should call this in.

      • winthrop

        Go look up “no snitching” and get back to us. Holy hell some people are clueless.

• Christopher Balza

  I wish it were that easy to catch these thugs, Lindsay. There is only so much police can do, especially if it is gang related. We need to keep a vigilant eye in our surroundings so if something like this happens again, we can give the police the most accurate description possible. Please remember to report ANY suspicious behavior to 911 and do not let the operators bully you. This is our neighborhood and we have the right to be safe!

  • PassTheBatonAlready

    Since you all hate cars and cannot identify the make/model other than “it was burgandy”, best of luck.

• http://www.facebook.com/chitadenita Denita Linnertz

  This is getting really crazy! What is going on and why does it seem like nothing is being done about it? I understand due process, but I don’t see any process going on.

• Laura Louzader

  What the hell is going on with Winthrop? Is there a particular building that is the locus of all this mayhem? If so, Osterman needs to go after the ownership/management for neighborhood endangerment and harboring criminal activity. These are grounds for action against the owners, up to and including a court- ordered sale or vacate. When you get this much violent crime concentrated in a small area, rather suddenly, you can usually trace it back to a badly managed building. When I spot trouble at a particular property, like gangbangers clustered in front of the place, or numerous suspicious people entering and leaving, I call the alderman’s office. Concerned neighbors need to get proactive here.

• Christopher Balza

  Laura, call 911 first then the alderman’s office. Often in circumstances like this, management doesn’t know how to approach situations such as this thus the problem goes unresolved. More often than not education needs to be administered to the various land lords of the 3 + 1 flats so they know what to look for, how to properly check credit, and even criminal background checking. Denying housing can be a very tricky and liable deal, so it is imperative that landlords know what they CAN do to deny people. In addition, a lot of these land lords are so desperate to rent they will rent to anyone (which is wrong in my opinion).

  I completely agree, action must be taken and writing your alderman demanding to educate these landlords and/or hold them accountable is a step in the right direction. But, in dealing with all people in a consumer/services based industry, it must be approached carefully and through the proper legal channels. Last thing we need to see is a lawsuit battle going on as well.

  • Laura Louzader

    Trouble is, 911 will respond only when something is actually happening… you know, like a knife or gunfight. A cluster of gangboys blocking the sidewalk in front of the building will be ignored by LE because they aren’t necessarily doing anything wrong. But the neighbors know that there is a causal connection between these packs of idlers clustering in packs in front of a building, talking trash and intimidating passers-by; and the violence and major crime that tend to happen when and where you see a lot of this activity. Now, when MAS was the alderman, she maintained on her website a list of bad properties, whether apt buildings or single family homes, and targeted their ownerships for legal action if they did not clean their properties up. I credit MAS with the steep drop in crime and vast neighborhood improvement in Edgewater that occurred between 1997 and 2010. You cannot believe how blighted and bad that area was in the mid-90s… it does not even feel like the same area. But now, with the recent spate of mayhem on Winthrop and Thorndale, this great progress is in danger of reversing itself. The neighborhood is still fragile, and people on the fence about buying there will be scared off by the crime spate. We need to start tracking the gang activity and crime- where do these people live, what buildings were they visiting or living in? Then contact the ownership/management and make them aware of the problem, and involve the alderman’s office.

    • Christopher Balza

      We still need to keep calling though, it increases the numbers of calls in our district which helps police commanders realized troubled areas. Regardless if they send someone or not, your call is recorded in the district (provided you give an address or approximate address).

      • PassTheBatonAlready

        Should probably just move.

    • Kate P

      If you haven’t yet, attend a CAPs meeting and share your concern. They will tell you “call 911″ if you feel unsafe. Tell them you need help getting through to the operators because you don’t feel heard.

• https://plus.google.com/u/1/109437885410357612653/posts Rach

  I heard this one on my police scanner, unfortunately the information that they had on the shooters was that it was a black BMW. No plate information, no information on the driver of the car, nothing… The cops were very frustrated with this one, especially with the individual who refused medical treatment and how uncooperative he was being.

  As for the alderman to do anything about the problem buildings, people have to put calls into 911 and the alderman’s office about it, there has to be a documentation trail. He actually has been making progress with problem buildings that people do reports on, but we all have to make those reports to begin with. So as the others have said, it has to be done through the proper channels, and we all need to keep a vigilant eye in our surroundings. Call into 911 with as much details as possible. Also when describing a person, don’t just do it based off of what they are wearing, but what they look like as a person, do they have tattoos, facial features, scars, etc.. things that they cannot change. Clothing is easy to change, other features are not.

  The other things you can do are things like make sure all the streets are well lit, that the trees are trimmed, and if they are not call 311 (and keep calling them) and the Alderman’s office until it gets fixed. If you haven’t read the Alderman’s bulletin on public safety, I suggest that you do (should be on his website). It has a lot of information about things like the problem buildings and other area improvements with lighting and cameras to try and make the overall area safer from the problems we have been having.

  • Mark

    Chicago has put entire night clubs and bars out of business with baseless claims for years. They can shut a building down easily by faking a bunch of health violations.

  • http://twitter.com/sundevilpeg Peg Wolfe

    . . .and I have had countless 911 calls go without the police actually making a report, as the problem renters in our condo building won’t answer the door! I’ve gotten to the point where I hope they kill each other, which may actually happen one day, based on the screaming obscenities and threats I hear. Others in our building have given up calling 911 at all, as no one shows up fully half the time. Calling Ald. Moore’s office has proven to be absolutely pointless. He’s the worst alderman in the city, when it comes to addressing pressing issues in the ward. And his staff is even worse.

    *sigh* Suburbs, here I come.

• Jon

  Time to have a meeting! Where’s the alderman……

• Anonymouse

  Shortly after I heard shots being fired there was a Burgundy 4 door (couldn’t tell make or model) speeding north up the Winthrop alley. I heard what sounded like a woman screaming “turn right! turn right!” and the car headed east on Balmoral. About two minutes later a police suv drove by and stopped on the north corner of Winthrop and Balmoral. Exited the vehicle and started looking around the area for something.

  • K

    I saw the Burgandy car too from my apartment. I saw a police car speed by too.

• smaugmonster

  i own a condo unit on winthrop in a WELL MANAGED building, there are lots of ways a condo building and unit owners can not rent to gangbangers. require a credit check, a background check and that would certainly eliminate most. also a strong association and bylaws are needed.

• jdrutz

  This happened on CPD beat 2033. Why does beat car 2033 sit vacant and locked on Glenlake in front of the Malibu condominiums for hours each day? CPD – we serve and dog it.

• Truly_Blessed

  This situation is serious, u hear the guns..

• Natlie

  First of all these people don’t live around here. They come north to rob, kill and sale drugs. They pay dumb females to hold the drugs for them.