Westgard says.....> Like many buildings in Rogers Park, mine has a group of regulars that regularly hang out in front. All are black, all are male, all are under thirty years old. One will stand in front of the courtyard, exchange words with selected passersby, some of whom will be directed to one of the apartments and emerge a few minutes later. In other words, the classic East Rogers Park gang-operated drug dealing operation. By now, I know the ringleader - a short, bald guy with large, straight, white teeth and a steady gaze - plus the half-dozen sentinels.
Not two minutes later, one of the drug-dealer sentinels bursts through the front door. "Hey, man.." he boldly starts, but my dog stands up, and the sentinel notices. "Oh, I'm scared of the dog," he says, in a tone much quieter and more polite. The drug sentinel backs out of my office and closes the door all but a crack. The drug sentinel goes back to his original agenda: "Could you help me out with some change?" I give him the emotionless, no-nonsense look: "Absolutely not." The drug sentinel leaves as quickly as he arrived.
Blognotes: Tom Westgard's blog post that had me thinking - Does Tom Westgard actually have any video or photographic proof of these activites? Did Tom Westgard call 911? Has Tom Westgard gone to his local CAPS meeting and reported this problem? Has Tom Westgard contacted his building owner? Has Tom Wesgard contacted the Alderman's office?
Seems to me, something as serious a this deserves some evidence to back up these wild claims. Serious criminal activity needs more than a few words on a blog post. Does Tom Westgard have any proof?
29 comments:
what is the point of this?
The point Hugh is, if this is regularly going on, there should be many calls to 911.
Otherwise these crimes go unreported and then Alderman Moore can in-fact claim -'crime is down.'
If Tom's not calling 911 or not going to' HIS' area CAPS beat meetings to inform the neighbors and local CAPS officers who live and work around him, Tom's enabling this criminal activity to flourish, not bettering the neighborhood.
It makes you wonder who's side Tom is on, the good side or the bad side?
Westgard said.....>"Like many buildings in Rogers Park, mine has a group of regulars that regularly hang out in front. All are black, all are male, all are under thirty years old."
Tom, please explain.
How 'many' is 'many'?
How 'regular' are 'regularly'?
If the building has a "Drug Store" in it, as Tom states someone directs people into a apartment where they go in & out, why does Tom live in this building. Buildings like this tend to be very "crazy" there usally is more going on then just buying & selling of drugs.
Tom mentions that the "drug dealer backed out of my office".
Does Tom Westgard manage this building as well as live in it? If so, I have a real problem with Tom Westgard.
Tom, I really hope you aren't running a dopeshack and doing nothing about it. Are you calling 911? Are you contacting the police by other means? Are you doing everything you can to make your building dope-free?
IF you are managing the building you describe and IF you aren't doing anything pro-active to get rid of the dope and the criminals peddling it, THEN YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM THIS NEIGHBORHOOD IS HAVING.
Gordon is so lucky to have someone like you in his corner. Who else will you guys blame for crime in Rogers Park?
I'm not going to comment on what Tom did or did not do. It's really personal choice BUT I know if I was living somewhere and there was loitering I would not sit quietly.
I would complain and report it at CAPs. The sidewalk and public way belongs to all and it is unfair for people to dominate it. And if a grown man has nothing better to do than stand in front of a building all day, he needs to go GET A REAL JOB.
Craig how can I e-mail you?
craiggernhardt@comcast.net
If all Tom is, is a resident of the building, or a neighbor, it is his 'personal choice' as to whether or not to take steps to abate criminal activity by calling the police, and by taking other actions.
If, however, he is a manager of the building where this activity is taking place, then he is Harboring Criminal Activity and endangering the neighborhood by sitting on his hands while drugdealing and gangbanging is taking place.
Are you the building manager, Tom? Yes or No?
John on Farwell asks....>"Where does Tom live?"
Morse Man said.....>"I don't believe I ever seen Tom at a caps meeting"
Tom's office is located at 6510 North Glenwood. This is CAPS beat 2432.
Has anyone from this CAPS beat seen Thomas Westgard at a CAPS beat meeting? Did Westgard bring up this open air drug market at the meeting? Did Westgard call 911?
Wesgard says....>"By now, I know the ringleader - a short, bald guy with large, straight, white teeth and a steady gaze".
How about taking a photograph and posting it on your blog.
How about you all go march up to whereever this occurred and inform the dealers to get a life, get a job, tell them you're going to call the cops and Craig, you can photograph them. Maybe they'll smile for you.
Maybe a nice vigilante posse would do the trick.
I believe the point of the blog was simply how an old, lame dog scared someone who himself was menacing. We see something to fear where perhaps there is nothing to fear.
geez people. Does everything have to be such an ordeal? Do you think the cops don't know where the drugs are? They have snitches all over the damn place.
Westgard spokesperson Tracy Scudellari said..." Do you think the cops don't know where the drugs are? They have snitches all over the damn place."
Did Westgard tip them off? Did Westgard call 911?
When can we expect a big bust?
CAPS 101 is tackling serious crime problems, as well as those neighborhood conditions that breed crime -- conditions such as abandoned buildings and vehicles, vacant lots, drug houses and graffiti.
i here there's an election coming up
Slow News Day ?
Look at some of the crap you write.
You must be one small, miserable human.
For every one decent post you have 10 insane rants.
I'm not defending Tom's apparent lack of action, but I too have a group of thugs who always hang out on my corner. They shout, fight, intimidate those passing by in cars and on foot, and many sell drugs. Still, the police say they can't "do anything" unless the kids are clearly breaking a law. Unfortunately, loitering alone is not illegal, so the police can't do anything that sticks (tickets, arrests, etc.). The result is that the cops ask the thugs to move, they scatter until the police are gone, and then they go right back to my little corner.
I never would have moved into this area if I knew that the gangs, drugs, and violence were this pervasive.
> I never would have moved into this area if I knew that the gangs, drugs, and violence were this pervasive.
southevanstonian - Many of us feel that way! Realtors and politicos will tell people anything to rent or sell! If/When there's a second time around for me, I'll have learned the hard way.
I was shocked to read TW's words. You see he used to be a Moore supporter. When a young woman was abucted on Howard/Eastlake a story was submitted on 24/7 and posted. Because the post stated the number and ethnicity of the abductors, TW had a fit and started the racism banter. Yet the police department alerts post a photo or an artists rendition and give complete information to citizens can be warned.
I think it's part of the boys club.
Many people are waiting to see who gets elected before they buy.
If you SAY anything about the gangs, drugs, and pervasive violence, or the kind of people who are committing the crimes and making the neighbhorhood unliveable, you are labeled a racist, or "anti-poor".
The gangs, crime, and violence, that are all tied to each other, are together the ONLY problem this area has. Get rid of the people who are part of the gangs and commit the crimes and sell the drugs, and you have gotten rid of this area's problems.
If saying this makes me a "hate-monger", make the most of it.
Toni and The North Coast, I agree with both of you completely. I feel very betrayed by my realtor, who steered me toward this neighborhood without a word of warning about the crime and gang problems. (I moved from out of state, by the way, so I knew nothing about the neighborhoods of Chicago -- mistake #1.)
I speak out (very loudly, too loudly for some people) against the problems in my area, and I have been slapped with the labels that The North Coast mentions: racist, anti-poor, ageist. What these critics don't understand is that I have problems with people's BEHAVIOR, not their race, socio-economic status, or age.
I think in this case it is easier to blame others than it is to take a hard look at one's own self, family, or culture and to work to fix such deep problems.
I don't have any problems with people's race or ethnicity, either. That's why I live on the North Coast-because I love the diversity. I hate homogenous neighborhoods.
You don't have to be "racist" or "anti-poor" to hate crime, especially since it is people below the waterline economically who suffer the most from criminal depradations. Low wage workers must stand on the street and wait for buses at 3 AM, and don't have many choices about housing. They can't afford to just "move away" from crime and violence. They are stuck with it, unless the rest of us do something about it.
I know- I've been there.
The poor and moderate income people of this area suffer disproportinately from the area's being turned into a dumping ground for pedophiles, gangbangers, and other criminals. We who are not affluent contribute greatly to the neighborhood in terms of work, activism, and maintenance of our property, and in making the area a neighborhood anyone would want to live in. We are either homeowners who bought rehabbed condos or are renters who support good rental properties. Most of us are not affluent by any means and many of us are low wage.
And we are the people for whom the Mooron and his minions display complete contempt. We are expected to accept living with gangs, shootings, drug dealings, and blighted housing simply because we are not part of the Mooron's contributor base of Limousine Lefty socialites and celebrities.
> I speak out (very loudly, too loudly for some people) against the problems in my area, and I have been slapped with the labels that The North Coast mentions: racist, anti-poor, ageist. What these critics don't understand is that I have problems with people's BEHAVIOR, not their race, socio-economic status, or age.
Well said! Trust me, many 'low income tenants' are sick and tired of being labeled with the same people who exhibit anti-social behavior. Many have principles and pride and the politicos use those of us who speak out against the wrongs committed as 'elitists and racists' to get the vote from the low income voters. Promises of a better future are inevitably broken after the elections. Also, are all people attending CAPS meetings of all ethnic backgrounds who speak up called 'racists'?
We don't see that in email blasts and tree killers, we only read that Moore championed the CAPS program don't we?
The racist remarks are selectively utilized by Moore and his minions.
I agree with you toni, northcoast, and southevanston. I think many people do. My wish is that all of us vote our conscience on April 17th and enact a change!
And/or he's smart enough to ignore attempts to troll him into a fight.
> Real Estate agents are liable for statements about crime, whether you think that is fair or not, agents can not disclose anything such as local crime, nor the type of races or persons who live in the area.
Oh, it's even better if the agent turns out to represent both seller and buyer! Nobody has to disclose anything including the City! Of course we're all stupid that is why we moved here right? Nope, we have some open-ended laws and a money grubbing system that seems to pander to legal counsel, and their judges who tend to let the bad guys go with a plea bargain.
Why do buyers hire attorneys to clear titles anyway? The alderman's office has a cookie cutter answer Killcat, what's yours?
> I suggest either getting involved
You sound an awful like BK from the old forum days! Get involved? I am involved in this hood Hiss Hiss. Now that it's warm maybe you'd like to join the NOH Parks Advisory Council or maybe the startup of neighborhood walks?
Back to my original question to you:
Why do buyers hire attorneys to clear titles anyway? The alderman's office has a cookie cutter answer Killcat, what's yours?
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