I just received this official press release from the Alderman's 49th ward re-election campaign. Next thing you know, Alex Armour will be having Alderman Moore pose in front of the Harold Rider building with a huge "Mission Accomplished" banner mounted on the side.
11/26/2006
Dear Neighbors,
I am pleased to report we scored a significant victory last week in our efforts to secure a troubled apartment complex just east of the Morse el Station when the buildings' owners and managers agreed to hire private security guards during times of peak criminal activity. The security patrol will begin on Thursday, November 30th.
The complex consists of two apartment buildings, one fronting on 1340 W. Morse and the other fronting on 1345 W. Lunt, and is a site of suspected drug and gang activity. Several drug purchases were made at 1340 W. Morse during an undercover police operation earlier this year, which allowed police officials to refer the troubled apartment complex into the Strategic Task Force program.
The undercover investigation was initiated after community residents and I held a series of meetings with building management and police under the CAPS program to try to resolve problems at the apartment complex. While management agreed to install security cameras and additional lighting and evict some troublesome tenants, the suspected criminal activity at the building persisted.
The strategic task force targets buildings that have been identified as "drug/gang houses or places of ongoing criminal activity." The task force consists of city lawyers, building inspectors and the police who team up to conduct top to bottom inspections of problem buildings and meet with the owners of the buildings to develop a plan for resolving the problems.
The task force can require building owners to evict problem tenants, engage in criminal background checks of prospective tenants and tenants renewing leases, and provide building security enhancements. In extreme cases, the task force can compel landlords to sell their property.
I participated in a series of meetings with the Strategic Task Force, the management company and a representative of the consortium that owns the buildings to develop a plan to resolve the criminal activity. I insisted the abatement plan include several items suggested by community residents, including hiring security guards to patrol the building and its perimeter during peak periods of criminal activity.
Accordingly, the owners and managers have entered into a legally binding agreement to hire a security firm, which includes off-duty police officers, to be on the property Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. The guards will insure that only tenants and their guests will gain access to the building and that illegal activity does not occur on or near the property. Although the agreement is not effective until December 8th, the security firm will begin work this Thursday, November 30th.
Under the agreement, the owners and managers must also do the following:
• Those arrested during the undercover operation must be prohibited from returning to the building.
• Eviction proceedings against all individuals residing in units where criminal activity has occurred must be initiated.
• Criminal background checks must be performed on all current and future tenants.
• All tenants must receive written leases, which include provisions stating that tenants and their guests shall not engage in criminal activity and that such involvement in criminal activity will be grounds for immediate eviction.
• Additional lighting both inside and outside the building must be installed.
• All entrance doors and gates must be locked using non-duplicable keys so that only residents gain entrance to the building. All doors from the parking into the buildings must be checked three times a day to ensure that they are secure and that the foyers are clean.
• Entrances to the parking lot, including car gates and walking gates, must be closed and locked at all times.
• All graffiti must be removed immediately.
• Security cameras, which have already been installed on the buildings, must be maintained, and recordings must be made 24 hours a day. Videotapes must be retained for 14 days and made available to the Chicago Police Department upon request.
The city would not have this additional enforcement authority if it were not for the undercover investigation, which led to the arrests at the buildings last August. I would like to thank the men and women of the Chicago Police Department for their hard work. I would also like to thank the many community residents, whose persistence and vital information lead to those arrests.
While our work is not finished, the strides we have made are a testament to the crime fighting partnership we have developed in the 49th Ward since community policing was initiated over 13 years ago. I urge everyone to maintain a vigilant watch over the buildings and report any suspected criminal activity to the police and my office.
Sincerely,
Joe Moore
Blognotes #1: If you really believe any of the baloney the Alderman is feeding you, see the post below. I know for a fact a security guard was on site at least on Friday, I saw him and his SECURITY jacket walking the property with Chris the janitor. It should be on the security tape.
Blognotes #2: This is the 1000 blog post. I just did a little blog research, The 'Broken Heart' has featured the Block Building 55 times.
Blognotes #3: Even though he's been new on the job, since owning the title as building nameholder a few months ago, Mr. Harold Rider has been featured 7 times.
Blognotes #4: 2004 '- Broken Heart' Lunt Avenue Slum Property of the Year.
Blognotes #5: 2005 - 'Broken Heart' Lunt Avenue Slum Property of the Year.
17 comments:
> Under the agreement, the owners and managers must also do the following:
wait a sec
didn't we already do one of these?
and there was no follow-up
Remember Gale Fieldhouse - Remember the Block Building - Remember Vilma.
Does it state HOW LONG this 'agreement' is for? What happens on February 28?
WOW! Moore's crack webmaster got the press release on this significant victory up on Moore's website SAME DAY SERVICE - ON A SUNDAY!
City Requires Owners of Troubled Morse/Lunt Apartments to Hire Security Guards
So where are the meeting notices, agendas, and minutes from Moore's zoning/fund raising committee that Moore committed to?
Zoning, Economic Development & Land Use
Moore doesn't want us to connect the dots between his legislative initiatives and his fund raising. He HAS to declare his contributions by law but he is under no obligation to document his zoning-for-cash biz, so he won't until after the election.
Oh, Toni, I think we know exactly what happens on 2/28. Ain't election year grand?
If this was a legitimate step forward, it should have been done 15 years ago. It's just another round of false propraganda from the Alderman whose motto is "Never tell the truth when a lie can serve you better."
"Criminal background checks must be performed on all current and future tenants." So what does that mean? If they have a record they can't rent or they can and the owner/manager is simply aware of their record? What types of offenses do they draw the line on? Who plays judge and jury on this? ‘Sounds really grey to me.
> "Criminal background checks must be performed on all current and future tenants." So what does that mean? If they have a record they can't rent or they can ...
Tenants will be REQUIRED to have a criminal record. Incarceration is a pre-req. it would be much too dangerous for a civilian to live in this building.
Joe Moore boasts, “Accordingly, the owners and managers have entered into a legally binding agreement to hire a security firm, which includes off-duty police officers, to be on the property Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m.” Well the C.P.D. received a couple of calls this a.m. (Monday-8:15-ish) from some people at Lunt and Glenwood who had gunshot holes in their cars this morning. They might need some off-duty police officers on Sundays too. Did anybody else hear about this?
OMG Hugh, that is HILARIOUS!
> ... the ownership of this crimehole has a special relationship with the politicians in this city ...
> Just don't bother complaining to our alderman.
After tracking the relationship between problems in our neighborhoods and campaign funding for several years now, my sad experience is that when you find the pattern of protection payments in the campaign disclosures such as amply demonstrated by the Riders, these problem can become VERY persistent.
> If we maintain a non-stop chorus
One thing we might consider in terms of getting attention might be some kind of media event gathering out front of one of the Rider's more tony properties.
Rider's flagship management contract is the Jens Jensen-designed building downtown at 300 W Adams, on the NW corner of Franklin & Adams, across the street N of the the Sears Tower.
Another portfolio piece for the Riders is the restored Germania Place, a fancy banquet facility at 108 W. Germania Place, just south of the intersection of Clark St. and North Ave., in Chicago's Gold Coast.
It will be easier to get the press out to these than to 7000 N.
take it to 'em
couple few flyerers outside Germania Place on a few successive Fri & Sat nites I think we would see some changes on Morse
Can we get a debate from the other three candidates? It's obvious that the ward wants new blood in the office, but the opposition is looking pretty fragmented.
If we don't figure something out we're going to see something like the following:
Moore 70%
Adams 10%
Gordon 10%
Ginderske 10%
Just throwing numbers out to illustrate a point, but Joe Mo will clean up on name recognition alone. I've met a couple of the candidates, but I personally still don't feel like I know enough about them.
We know Craig doesn't like any of the other candidates, but what about everyone else? Are we going to let Moore splinter us up?
I wonder if Joe Moore was among the many Democrats around the country who had a problem with the same tatic that President Bush used three years ago.
Yeah, sure, Jas, no prob!
Clearly some would prefer 24/7 sniping between the challengers and a little less focus on the incumbent around here
nice try, Joe's Butt buddies!
Joe Moore 49%
Chris Adams 17%
Don Gordon 17%
Jim Ginderske 17%
or there abouts is all we need
gets the job done
buh bye
What about a debate? Does anyone own a place or know of a place we can use to have the three candidates gunning for Joe come in and tell us a little bit about themselves?
I can moderate while Craig and Westgard sit up in a little booth like the judges from the Muppets.
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