Edgewater/Andersonville - Tap Into Your Community

• mike

  None of the above will do anything to combat the violence itself. Criminals care less about town meetings and positive loitering only works when you’re there. Once you leave, what happens to the lone civilian walking their dog? This list misses the obvious answer which solidifies the only true way to protect ones’ self from life-threatening violence. If Illinois … correction … if Chicago can get on board with the other 49 states and finally legalize concealed carry for legal purposes (because let’s face facts here – criminals will always, regardless of laws, carry guns). More guns = less crime when those guns are in the hands of responsible owners who are fighting to reclaim their homes, neighborhoods, and lives. It’s sad to think politicians put their own swing into numbers to pander to the ignorant on this subject all the meanwhile protecting themselves with armed bodyguards. Thanks Chicago for continuing your hypocritical ways. It’s time to fight back both at the polls (when the concealed carry is up for passage this 2012, again) and on the streets with a positive presence, backed by even playing fields. The first time a gang banger or criminal otherwise gets shot back at, they will think twice about these types of incidents.

  • mike

    Yeah, more guns are definitely the answer.

    • mike

      I didn’t write that; however – I do agree legal carry by responsible citizens IS the answer. It’s been proven to lower crime in all 49 states. Check out the FBI Crime Index and do a pre/post CCW implementation crime rate comparison … violent crime rate plummets. It’s been proven 49 times, time to make it an even 50.

      • Mark

        How was the study done to show the causation? The crime index shows that violent crime as a trend has been dropping everywhere even in Illinois. What I mean is how have they ruled out things like better DNA testing, people carrying phones/cameras to catch criminals, police that can auto scan license plates etc.

        • Turbo

          Chicago….the only major city with a handgun “ban,” yet a much higher rate of gun violence than any other major city. Do the math.

        • Mark

          @Turbo, that doesn’t prove causation. Chicago could been the number one drug hub which might actually be the cause.

        • Mary

          But stats don’t actually show that.
          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate

        • Mark

          There are cities that have conceal carry that come before and after Chicago in levels of crime.

        • Laura Louzader

          Beg to differ. Chicago has a lower RATE (though higher number) of shootings and other violent crime than St. Louis, Detroit, New Orleans, Rockford, Washington D.C., Birmingham, or Atlanta. How has concealed carry worked for St. Louis? Not very well… that city still has twice the rate of all index crimes that Chicago has, and a suburban Chicago denizen, a fine young woman, was shot to death, quite deliberately, while sitting in her car a block from where I used to live.

          The only solution to this violence is to get the people who cause it out of the neighborhood, and that means riding herd on the ownership of badly run apartment houses. Mary Ann Smith was doing that. Ostermann doesn’t seem to be as proactive in this regard. The ownership of a property that is a locus for crime and gang activity needs to be hustled into housing court on grounds of neighborhood endangerment and harboring criminal activity, and forced to clean up or close up. If the situation does not improve, a court-ordered sale or vacate to follow.

  • Christopher Balza

    I disagree, these thugs are use to getting shot at. It wont’ make any difference. One needs to take this from a proactive stance and see what non-violent ways we can alleviate the problem. Yes, town hall meetings could be cared less upon by these thugs, but the truth is we need to be more organized and alert than them and help the police by spotting suspicious activity. By reporting such activity drives the amount of squad prescience there is in the neighborhood. In situations like this, we need to realize that arguing WILL NOT solve our problem… we need to hear each other out, evaluate the information provided, suggest alternatives and act accordingly.

    Think about what is truly important to you and understand that safer Edgewater takes time to build… but we as residents CAN and WILL overcome the violent activity in our neighborhood.

• Jon

  OMG, enough with the meetings. The Alderman needs to put a plan together and execute it. More crime, let;s have another meeting..more crime…let’s have another meeting.

  • mike

    Agreed. It’s time for the people to stop acting like sheep and become pro-active, instead of relying on police and meetings to be re-active.

• chgowiz

  apprehensive witness not true! A description of the car firing the shots was red/maroon in color four door like grand prix. In fact, red car was heading east after the ramdom shooting of approximately eight shots made a three point turn Kenmore/Thorndale corner started to head west. Actually both police (east) and red car (west) pasted one another on Thorndale.

• Lynn Pierce

  The 48th Ward Master Plan Public Safety Committee planning meeting scheduled on Wednesday, Sept. 26, in the Broadway Armory, has been postponed because it would have conflicted with the observance of Yom Kippur. The rescheduled date is forthcoming. Lynn Pierce, Secretary, Public Safety Committee

• Joe

  The CPD should pull that fat f*ck of a cop away from ticketing motorists who don’t stop completely @ Berwyn/Western, and make him walk the beat where these shootings are taking place. Seriously.

  • Jon

    I know who you are talking about and have thought the same thing everytime I see this guy, At the very least he could be a sheild.

• Jim

  We need to decriminalize all drugs.

• JimEd

  …stop being PC……report “suspicious” activity immediately…..

• Thorndale

  Ah, more “positive loitering”….so thugs can stand there and laugh, then go right back to business as soon as you’re gone. Real effective.

• Jenne

  I moved to this neighborhoods because it was “up and coming”. Yeah, right! It’s almost as bad as the worse parts of the west and south sides. Get it together Alderman Osterman! Otherwise, some of us will be putting our hard earned cash right back into the expensive (and safe) neighborhoods of the brown line from which we left!