From the Chicago Tribune, October 1:
‘Everyone is so freaked out’: Armed robbery crews sweep city as Chicago police task forces struggle with brazen crimes
The
call that came over the police radio Monday morning was startling if
familiar by now: Two men in a stolen car committing robberies at
gunpoint across Chicago’s South Side.
Within
a span of minutes, the robbers held up employees at two discount stores
and stole wallets and other belongings from pedestrians on the street.
All of the victims described having guns pointed in their faces,
according to police and court records. One was knocked to the ground.
This
time, police quickly caught a 25-year-old suspect after an alert
witness saw two men matching the robbers’ description running from a
stolen Kia with bags in their hands on South Carpenter Street, according
to court records.
But it’s a drop in the bucket.
In the
days before and after those robberies, waves of other stickups were
happening around the city, including a driver accosted by rifle-toting
teens as he was unloading his car in Bucktown, a woman carjacked at
gunpoint in Rogers Park, students walking near DePaul University’s
Lincoln Park campus and a bar worker mugged after leaving work in the
West Loop.
While
armed robberies are nothing new in Chicago, a disturbing new pattern
has emerged in recent months where crews of robbers — many of them
juveniles — toting high-powered weapons go on crime sprees, robbing or
carjacking multiple victims in a matter of minutes, often using stolen
cars and dressed head to toe in black.
They
seem to be constantly one step ahead of authorities. Before police can
even respond to one scene, more have popped up, leaving dozens upon
dozens of victims in their wake.
The
vast majority of the robberies have gone unsolved, producing a series
of negative headlines for Mayor Brandon Johnson and his newly minted
police Superintendent Larry Snelling, even as homicides and some other
violent crime metrics are dropping.
The
sheer volume of robberies has left aldermen frustrated and many
residents of frequently targeted neighborhoods frightened. At a
community meeting Monday evening in Humboldt Park, local leaders,
anti-violence workers and police officials attempted to address area
residents’ safety concerns and more fully explain the challenges.
“I
think everyone is so freaked out, who’s lived in this area for a long
time, because of the random and brazen nature of what’s happening right
now,” said Rod O’Connor, who has lived in the Humboldt Park area for
more than two decades. “I want the next generation of shooters to not
become shooters, but the generation right now is what we’re all freaked
out about and why I worry about my kid riding her bike two blocks from
her house.”
Some have pointed to a lack of a sense of urgency from the Johnson administration.
“The
City has a responsibility to protect all Chicago residents in every
Chicago community. Our administration and the Chicago Police Department
are fully committed to deploying strategies that will bring justice to
victims of violent crimes and hold offenders accountable,” the mayor’s
office said in a written response for this article. “The appointment of
Superintendent Larry Snelling is just the latest step in using the full
force of government to keep residents safe from harm.”
To
try to thwart the growing problem, Chicago police have used an array of
tools including helicopters, phone tracking, physical surveillance and
fingerprint analysis to try to catch the robbery crews in real time and
develop the evidence to make charges stick in court, sources told the
Tribune.
Federal
agencies have provided an assist with air support and real-time
tracking of phones when possible, and state police have proved helpful
in chasing suspects, since Chicago Police Department policies severely
restrict when its officers can pursue, according to sources....
....MUCH MORE
26th ward Alderperson Ms Fuentes says:
....The
number of robbery victims in her Near Northwest Side ward, which covers
portions of Humboldt Park and Bucktown, has risen 361% compared with
2022, according to police data. Fuentes hopes to fight the rise with
increased visibility in high-crime areas from violence prevention
groups, block clubs and police, she told the Tribune. But the problem
must be addressed long term with a focus on rectifying years of
disinvestment in certain neighborhoods, she said.
“We have to ask ourselves, when someone is robbing someone, what are they seeking to achieve?” Fuentes said.....
Regarding "years of disinvestment", it shouldn't have to be said but...her political party has been the political party in charge of the City of Chicago for 92, nine-two, years.
