Dear Craig,
A couple of nights ago, my husband and I went to Morse Fruit Market to get groceries - which in itself is not a particularly unpleasant experience. However, on the way to Morse, the ambiance could definitely use some improvement. Walking on Farwell to Wayne was alright, but as soon as we turned on Wayne we were accosted (though not directly) with the usual nasty shit that is always in that area. Not to mention that the street itself is filty. And it smells. How the hell does that work? How can a street smell?
I'm really starting to hate living here, too bad we're stuck here until next summer thanks to the personal gain tax. Anyways, not really the point.
Turning onto Morse, we were met with the usual gangbangers, but this time they were accompanied with hookers and 10 times as many smelly, disgusting bums than there usually are on Morse. What the fuck is up with this? Do these people actually think that anyone will give them money?
I swear, it's like entering into some third world gangbanger/begger/hooker run country. I HATE MORSE.
Which is really too bad, because I was actually looking forward to living here for an extended period of time, it is a really nice area because of the proximity to the lake and all the old world charm. Too bad the people running this part of Chicago suck.
And on that note, where the hell are all the cops? When we moved in a year ago, there was at least some cops driving around and pretending to work. This is turning into the fucking South Side of Chicago. Truly a shame, because it could be a really nice place to live. Somehow it doesn't strike me as a mystery why so many condos are for sale. Condoizing backfiring in the developers faces. Everything is stagnating, and the filth is rapidly taking over. Really a shame. I love being afraid for my well being when I walk to the grocery store.
I just wanted to let you know,
Veronica
45 comments:
I have ben thinking about what I could do about the prostitution and drug markets on Morse. What about this idea:
1. Get the blotters from the police of those who have been arrested for drug or prostitution,
2. Make fliers with the headline "ARRESTED for Drug Possession" and "ARRESTED for soliciting Prostitution" and show the perp's arrest photo, name of perp, and date of arrest.
4. Post these on private property near where the areest was made.
5. Repost them as they are removed.
6. Repeat this each month.
This would send out a message that the community cares and is watching. That if you come to Morse for drugs, sex you might get arrested. Any comments/ideas would be appreciated.
Hi Veronica,
The solution is to continue to use the business's that operate on Morse Ave.
Especially the Morse Market.
Request our elected officials to install garbage cans at various corners.
Active and loud participation in CAPS, Devcorp, RPGG and what ever other venues exist.
Do not be silent.
Participation is required.
Make your voice heard.
Complain, compliment but do not acquiesce to the thugs or our elected officials.
It is getting better it is just not up to par yet.
We need to support the business but they need to call 911 and complain that drug dealers are chasing their customers away.
If they would rather be in cohorts with orginized crime then lets shut those business down.
We must unite to win this fight.
Call 911 so many times they know you by name.
Cary some mace, a camera and a cell phone.
Take shit from no one.
Call Cook County and tell them about the drug dealers that pay no taxes ask them to bring their axes.
I agree this has been a particularly bad summer. Too bad for all those that blamed this on the Top Hat. We should have a working session at Redline or duke's and come up with some ideas to combat this since our leaders are busy fighting other battles. Flyers or renting out a billboard or a few park benches to post this information would be cool too.
Dear Veronica,
GROW A PAIR!!
I don't have problems with people around here- then again I must give off a "don't fuck with me" vibe.
Act like a victim, become a victim.
This neighborhood does have problems but my god, I am starting to get sick of all the whiners. If you want Lincoln Park/Lakeview, move there. This isn't it.
To "Ms" all I can say is WOW!
GROW A PAIR? Are you insane or what? Since when should someone feel unsafe, at risk and threatened when they want to go walking to the neighborhood store? Since when should someone get overwhelmed with filth, debris and decay in their own neighborhood. Especially when those so-called essential services can and should be provided for by the city. But no.
There is also a big difference between whining and pointing out the serious issues some parts of this ward has. And hey, good for you, no one messes with you since you must be carrying an awfuly large pair.
Your reference to wanting to be like "Lincoln Park" is about as dumb as it gets. Maybe you enjoy walking the streets filled with this crap but other people, you know--TAXPAYERS--expect more. No one is saying Rogers Park has to be like Lincoln Park but it also doesn't have to be neglected like the hell-hole (in parts) that it is.
Where are the cops to clear this garbage out? Where is that street cleaning that's supposed to be every few weeks? I mean I also know that while Morse and other areas in RP suffer from an almost willful neglect, at least our Alderman is busy making the world safe by trying to take a meeting with the President.
If your simplistic response is to "grow a pair" is the best way of solving the problem, I think you have some serious misdirected ideas about what it means to live and take pride in a neighborhood, let alone be a good and concerned neighbor.
Grow a pair indeed.
Hey MS
Fuck you,
About a week ago my 2 year old son handed me an empty crack baggie he found in front of Soo liquors.
Me a proud dad taking my son for a walk he got out of the jogger stroller to stretch his legs.
We were not attending the art wall ribbon cutting because he wanted to go to the beach.
Remember seeing me there? I left went to the beach and on our way back he hande me an empty baggie of crack.
Fuck you fuck you fuck you.
This is a war and if my son had put that baggie in his mouth there would be dead gang bangers till the boys in blue mowed me down.
Hope they would be slow to respond because if I snapped it would bad for anyone in a baggie white shirt.
Thats fine if you are so tough but my son is 2. On being tough Ive dove into the scruff to save those being beaten and pummeled many times over most recent intervention is caught on tape. I even stopped a rape in progress many years ago right here in RP.
No I am not intimidated by these thugs or blue but I want to live and raise my family right here.
These guys and there fuck you cracker attitudes got to go.
Fuck you fuck them and mostly fuck him.
One of my neighbors was beaten so badly 15 yrs ago his brain does not work right. As I watch his particular brand of insanity day in and out I get riled that people talk about civil rights but he lost that fight.
Thanks for your support Amazed. It is people who carry that sort of attitude towards those who are uncomfortable with what is going on in their neighborhood, that just enhance the feelings that it is alright that theres all this crime and neglect going on. Not to mention the fact that it is obvious that RP is being seriously overlooked. We have so much beauty around here, but unfortunately it is constantly being overwhelmed with the negative. It is like we don't even have an Alderman working for this ward, and are left solely up to our own devices. 3 women get accosted in Lakeview, and it's all over the news, (not that what happened to them isn't horrible). However, it doesn't seem possible to show all of Chicago what is going on here. Only someone getting killed warrants any mention in the news, and even then it's only a small blurb. If only the news crews would come out, say around eightish, when the sun starts setting, and take a stroll up Morse. Perhaps then the valiant leader of this community would get off his ass and do something.
Chess-matches on the corners? More people hanging out at the new coffee shop? Other public activities?
Check this out:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/30/america/NA-ODD-US-Bus-Stop-Mozart.php
"It's based on routine activity theory and situational crime prevention. You mix different types of activities in locations that are crime-ridden to change the composition of the environment," said psychologist Jacqueline Helfgott, who chairs the Criminal Justice Department at Seattle University.
My husband and I moved to Morse Ave. just two weeks ago from Orlando. We love our new condo, it's a great price and close to the beach, good restaurants, and public transport. But I too am afraid to walk to the Morse El. I work downtown and choose to take the bus rather than subject myself to heckling, sexual harrassment, and clutching onto my purse for dear life. The only time I venture that way is to walk to Church on Sunday mornings which I feel is the least sleazy time around that place.
I get it, we live in a city, and we always have to be on guard. But why aren't cops always patrolling? Why aren't those sleazy liquor stores shut down? I wrote the Alderman when I was moving to the area saying that I was optimistic about all the rehabbing going on in the area and I was hopeful that he would focus on cleaning up the crime surrounding the Morse El Stop. He never wrote me back, despite that fact that I told him I'm a producer for a major TV network.
Anne,
You might as well just deleted the email to the alderman after you wrote it. He's more interested in getting to Washington rather than solving problems in RP.
Maybe you should repost your email here as it has been determined that he or his people read this blog (and it get a reaction)
Anne, you might just be exactly what we need around here. I don't know exactly how this would work, or if it would even be possible, but as you are associated with a major tv network, perhaps an expose? You have witnessed first-hand how involved our lovely Alderman is, and just how quickly things are getting better around here (or not). A good dose of City-wide humiliation for moorey might just be what is in order. Even the South Side aldermen can boast of some improvements in their areas (though if it's true I don't know first-hand). It's time that RP change the way people look at it. I can bet there would be plenty of people willing to go in front of the camera and share their personal experiences, like progun or craig. (I'm not speaking for them, I'm just guessing). The North Side of Chicago should be a clean, well-developed, safe area that the City can be proud of, not a neglected, crime infested unwanted child.
Why are you not watching what your son is picking up? Oh right- the community is supposed to raise your child for you!
And great neighbor your are when your first response is to use obscenities and say "fuck you"? Are you sure you aren't just a pissed off crack-dad yourself? I mean once again, you want the community to do stuff for you and lay back and bitch about it- isn't that sorta of what public aid recipients do?
The most negativity I see out of this blog- Bitching about the alderman, bitching about people who have a garden club, bitching about other bloggers. Everyone is empowered to do something in life for themselves- this is why there is free will. Alderman sucks? Get a group together and march down to City hall. Call the news before you do it and let them know you are going to do it. THEY WILL BE THERE.
There are NO totally safe neighborhoods. If you think you should be able to just walk outside and bunnies and butterflies are going to greet you, wake up! Crime happens everywhere- yes in some areas more than others. Still, if you walk around in fear constantly, move, or kill yourself. There is really no point in being here, is there?
Or you can spend all day bitching on a blog and doing nothing proactive about it.
Oh sorry- but that is probably too much to expect- since your elected official isn't doing what you want, its too hard for you to walk down to City Hall on your own legs and make a stink.
So glad I grew up with parents that taught me to be responsible for my actions (and made sure that if I dared picked something off the ground, I got a good swat on the behind!)
Sorry I didn't pepper this response with more "fucks" but next time, you might get lucky and I'll talk about the "crackers" and the "niggers" because you know they both have something in common:
Both suck in equal relation to each other.
If you're so empowered, ms, then please, by all means, take action! I seriously doubt that you like living in a neighborhood that is as crime infested as RP. No one here has said that there are any "safe" neighborhoods in Chicago, frankly, there's no completely safe neighborhoods anywhere. That is just the way the world is today. However, that does not mean that we should be happy about, or obliviously to, what is happening here, or anywhere else. If you have any ideas on the most effective ways to fight back against crime, please, by all means, share them with us. Because we, the "whiners" are not living with our heads in the sand, we are only looking to make our community a more pleasant and safe living environment, and not only for those of us with children, but those of us who just want to live their lives w/o a overbearing amount of fear. You honestly can't say that it is right that someone should feel threatened by those around them when they step out their door, can you? And as for your note to progun about his use of the word fuck, I must say that your initial comment to me was not particularly mature, either. Not to mention that your attitude in general begs some major improvements. And do you have a car by any chance? Because we don't, and so we have to walk, and therefore interact with the constant slime that's on Morse when we go to the store.
Hey MS
Unless you are youger than 20 your parents did not face the dillimas we face today.
Crack and social issues associated with that 1 drug are new and require some real solutions before more people die. How many this year in RP have been shot to control the crack distribution rights?
Thats a hyped on black crack double latte with sugar and cream dad to you (rhymes with lunt). I dad by example and many who see me know how involved I am in rasing my childern and helping with others.
AYSO coach, after school reader and any other program that can I help mentor.
Joe and I go way back, I support him on some things and not on others. Just like I support Craig on some and not on others.
I am asking for both of them to use their power and leadership to address some of these issues.
Where will you fit in?
Even leaders that hate one another can work together.
My exact point is that this is the Ward of diversity.
The best place in the world to raise ambasadors. So far I've got three.
As for welfare I pay more per 1/4 in taxes than most ward residents earn in a year so you got that wrong.
No I will not flee to the suburbs or even tender the idea of cashing out on the 4X appreciation that I have seen.
I live and work right here.
Veronica you be you and feel free to express feeling others are to afraid to admit exist. Please give this ward a little more time and lets go to those CAPS meetings, form some more block clubs and chase the evil out of some people.
Wow. Eye-opening material here.
I'm reasonably new to Rogers Park, and Illinois for that matter. I come from a city out west that's not as big as Chicago, and certainly not as intimidating. Commenting on some of the neighborhood safety issues, this is definitely not a safe place to be, and I can't really agree with the idea that NO neighborhood is truly safe. It just may not be possible in a city this size.
I'm learning what it takes to live out here. Where I moved from was safe and clean, but certainly not diverse. I think that Chicago has more challenges, and it takes a real effort from everyone to make this thing work.
I'm glad to read about some of the people that are actively pursuing a SAFER neighborhood.
I'd like to add, for my part, I reached out after the election and tried working with Joe, by planting some trees on Morse - got blown off on that, then I tried again by planting flowers in the planters at the Morse Avenue EL - got blown off, again.
He fucked me around twice after the election, showing no will to keep his word.
Sorry Pro Gun, I'm done trying to work with that lazy jerk. I'd rather show the public his many faults and wrong-doings.
Hey MS
Check these kids out
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/494190,CST-NWS-fire02.article
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_131070629.html
Subjects for the mural project
A memorial to fallen heros section
17 year old Jerrell Watkins, honorary firefighter
16-year-old Blair Holt, took a bullet to save a friend.
Yes it is a differnt world here.
Rather than some generic representations of people lets actually pay tribute to some of these fine examples of humanity.
You "dad by example"? So you pick up trash off the street too?
Interesting. Well I guess that explains a lot. ;)
As far as the car comment- As if! I take public transportation like everyone else! Why own a car when the "L" and express buses are so close and when I need to go to O'Hare I just hire a private car? Target run? I-go is just down the street.
What will I do for the neighborhood?
Absolutely nothing besides vote and pay my taxes. It serves my purpose quite well as a place to live quite comfortably at a reasonable price when I am not on the road. I like where I live and have no problems with it. No one bothers me and I don't bother anyone else. I go to the few places around here that I like and hop on the "L" or bus to go to other places. I walk my dog on the beach and by the park. I don't feel "unsafe" by any means but then again, I'm not an idiot. I don't walk down alleys. I don't go by convenient stores with dealers outside (and I mean c'mon, WHY would you want to go in there anyway? The place is probably full of roaches and outdated food as most stores of that ilk are- be it in a good neighborhood or a bad neighborhood).
And it doesn't matter how much property tax you pay- that doesn't make you any less of an asshole than the crackwhore down the street. Money IS NOT the deciding factor when it comes to moral character- Money is only the deciding factor between the haves and the have nots.
Oh... and Progun? You are an asshole. That rhymes with "asshole".
What are you going to do? Where are the fliers for the march on city hall? Where are the shout outs to collect all the videos and photos in one place and walk into WBBM and submit them for a story on Rogers Park?
Oh sorry- I'm the idiot and you guys are ever so helpful.
Maybe you should just make some more bitchy posts and comments because I can see how that is doing a superb job of making changes in the neighborhood that bothers you so much.
What does "lazy whiney fucks" rhyme with?
I absolutely agree with Veronica. I moved to Rogers Park almost two years ago. My husband was a victim of a "gooning" last Summer and was hospitalized for three weeks. My car has been broken into. My 10-year-old son was beaten so that some little boys could steal his bike while he was at the park with his grandmother. The police were unable to do anything about any of thse three situations. I would love to move to any other safer neighborhood but we can't afford a 3-bedroom apartment anywhere else. As soon as our lease is up, we are moving! Good luck to the rest of you!
Ms (Rhymes with lunt)
1 Crazy Tiny Ducks,
See previous HH photos 2 days ago.
2 That would be Brass poll.
Like how you paid off some of those student loans.
Did I not put enough cash in that G-string?
So you have a dog,
So did the women that were rapped in the summer of 90 or 91.
Down by the Pratt pier maybe 92.
Guy was a large violent brass pole.
Walked the victims around and introduced them as his girlfriend after the deed. He was wacked and on speed.
I have seen some wierd shit up here in my 20+ years.
Some brought me to tears.
So you want to do nothing thats cool with me.
Stray bullets have found plenty of people just hanging around.
Do not disrepect someones feelings or perceptions that what riled me.
Heck maybe you are nice, me I am a redneck.
Likely we have seen each other and did not know it.
However if you are ever in need just yell help and some crazy tiny duck just may save your lame ass.
LOL
Your Favorite Big Brass Pole
ms, you're a turd. plain and simple. i hope that someone steps on you and squashes you into the ground. because that's where you belong. with an attitude like that, you are absolutely on the side of all the crime, and completely not against it. you are the biggest coward here.
oh, and you didn't answer my question as to what your ideas were on effective means of changing this community for better. oh wait, i guess that was just a whole lotta hot air, and nothing else. you must be very proud of yourself.
in my letter to craig, i forgot to mention the lovely horde of beggars outside the Morse El entrance. They really reek. I wish they'd all just fade away. I had a young boy, i'm guessing about 15, ask me for money. that is just heartbreaking to me.
it's like there's predetermined boundaries - east of the morse el stop, its the hooker/gangbangers. west of the morse step, it's drunkards/beggars, with one always stationed right outside morse market. and some hookers/gangbanger in between. ugh.
"Act like a victim, become a victim".
Ms, I absolutely HATE you for that jibe.
There is nothing that so enrages me as a VICTIM-BLAMER.
People who blame the victims of crime rather than the perps have helped turn the United States into the most violent cesspool in the developed world. No first world country has anything like the violent crime we have here. And speak not to me of how we are not as bad as some place like Belize, or Zaire, or some other 4th world sump.
Growing "balls", besides being impossible for me because of my sex, will not help me avoid gang crossfire, or from a bullet coming through my window. It won't help someone who might be 78 years old and with poor hearing and eyesight, or confined to a wheelchair, or a tired person coming home from a crap job at 3 AM.
And please don't tell me there are no safe neighborhoods in this city. "Safe" is a relative term, but you are very safe by any yardstick in many neighborhoods in this city. I see no reason for this neighborhood to continue to be a crime-plagued sump while Edgewater has become very safe in the same time period, when it was once worse.
Why? Because it has leadership that will not tolerate slum buildings, gang activity, and threats to the public safety. It also has a population that won't sit down for these things.
MS,
You choose to attack readers I know personally. Readers who I've met and know their full names. You're cowardly attacks have given me no choice but to ban you. Go elsewhere to get your information.
Who knows, maybe one day I'll be doing a gooning story about you? When that happens, e-mail Joe Moore. I'm sure he'll help you.
Reading all the comments in this story makes me think that the blogger MS could be someone from joeys office!
When you click on the name to see the profile, it comes up "Profile is not avaiable" What a surprise!!
Again I must say we have another story from a resident of the 49th ward who tells a very different story then the one joey is telling us. You all know the story of crime is down & joey is makeing the ward a better place to live.
I am glad to see joey in Washington trying to stop the war in Iraq! Maybe once joey stops that war , he can come back to Chicago and stop the war in the streets of RP!
Craig, I respect your rights on your blog.
But I wouldn't ban people like MS, for the very simple reason that we need to KNOW OUR ENEMIES.
"Ms" is very representative of a rather large subset of the middle-income population around here, and other places, that has helped create the situation we have now. She has the mindset of a typical 60s leftist.
These people have a deep hatred of civilized values and for some strange reason, are offended by decency, order, goodness, beauty, and accomplishment. Such people may offend us all, as Ms surely does me and other posters here, but we need flush them out into the open and let them reveal themselves as they truly are.
These people affect to be motivated by concern for the poor and victimized, but their actions and politics tell us that what they really want to do is drag the entire society down to the level of the people we see loitering by the Morse El station.
Oh please let her post.
She needs it most.
After all she will be toast.
She is likely a plant to make a rant.
We discuss these issues here that people must play nice or we will find some device to give you lice if you sell ice.
i have to say i sort of agree with ms. i moved to this neighborhood from new orleans, by way of northeastern brasil, and i must say that compared to both of those locations RP is practically a playground. i have seen some shady stuff going on in this neighborhood but i have never once felt threatened or at risk for being the victim of violence. it really does seem like so many of you would just be much happier living in skokie or evanston. i don't know if the same statistics are applicable here but i do know that in new orleans generally >95% of the murder victims each year (and there were a lot, let me tell you) were felons themselves. these criminals aren't out to kill innocent people, they are out to kill each other over territory. if i understand correctly the incidences of rape and burglary are significantly higher in Lincoln Park, for example. all i'm saying is it could be much worse and i'm not sure how many of you would actually recognize personal security if it smacked you in the face.
Joe, our newest Rogers Park crime expert.
Please show us actual stats next time Joe. Don't just come here making saying stuff without any proof. If I want that crap, I'll e-mail Joe Moore to have him tell us Crime is down himself.
Oh, one more thing. Let me know when you get smacked in the face. I'd love to cover that one.
it makes perfect sense to wish violence upon another human being while simultaneously lamenting the level of violence in the neighborhood in which one lives, doesn't it craig?
if you would like to learn more about criminal activity in new orleans, both before and after katrina, purely for the sake of comparison to your relatively calm neighborhood, i would refer you to:
http://www.nola.com/speced/cycleofdeath/index.ssf?/speced/cycleofdeath/hotzone.html
and
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/05/us/05crime.html?ei=5088&en=bfa9f5ef6ffad2a7&ex=1328331600&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=print
as regards crime here in chicago, i feel that even a cursory glance at the maps of sex offenses and burglaries at chicagocrime.org appear to corroborate my assertion that other neighborhoods on the northside of chicago have it as bad, if not worse.
honestly, craig, i mean no disrespect to you or anyone else who either reads this blog or lives in this neighborhood. i'm just trying to offer a perspective that maybe, just maybe, things aren't so terrible as everyone here would have one believe. it seems however that the last thing you want to hear is any opinion which differs from your own, so i will let this be my $.02 and leave you in peace (or agitation, more probably) to continue to complain about how the glass is perpetually half full.
Hi Joe,
Let me be the first to tell you that when it comes to crime in Rogers Park nobody here gives a shit about the relative calmness compared to New Orleans. Or Rio, or Lebanon, or Detroit, or St. Louis, or Lincoln Park or..... Need I go on?
If you told me there are too many drug dealers on Morse avenue, and I tell you we don't need to worry about it because there are more drug dealers in Detroit... Does that make our situation any better? No it doesn't... Should we be happy with the level of crime in our neighborhood until it becomes the worst of all neighborhoods?
Why shouldn't we want our neighborhood to be as safe as Skokie or Evanston? It's idiotic to suggest that ANY level of crime be tolerated anywhere. If I say "my neighbor sells weed, but at least it isn't crack" Then I'm an idiot, and I'm adding to the problem..
You're part of the problem.
joe, have you been to morse lately? perhaps where you came from was not as "mild" (as you put it) as RP is, but that does not mean that we have to like what is going on, or that we don't have the right to express our feelings.
Jeez, give Joe a break. He has an honest opinion based on his own experience and has presented it without attacking the opinions of others.
I appreciate his input. Isn't that what this blog and others are here for?
Try some decaf, folks!
Joe,
The Crime I witnessed. The one that is caught on tape.
The one I intervened to stop happened like this.
One lone 30ish white male walking east bound on Lunt.
One black male sprinting up from behind striking the victim in the head. From the tape the victim's body language shows no preparation for the assault. The victim immediately falls to the ground where 4 to 5 other black males begin stomping his head and body in unison.
A violent assault not a robbery.
A way to join a local gang and prove how tough and heartless they are.
Two groups of 4 to 5 other black males (gang members) watched from various vantage points laughing and cheering the assault.
Still feel safe?
Communities with large immigrant populations statistically under report crime.
Crimes such as rape assault and even murder go unreported.
This is because of cultural and ethnic issues.
Many issues many perceptions many crimes.
MS (Lunt) got my wrath because she told someone how to feel or perceive. That is not nice.
When I grew up in the south I legally carried a concealed loaded weapon just like everyone else.
Most of the places you listed people can legally carry a concealed loaded weapon. Just not here.
Joe has some good points. I really don't think it is THAT bad. I'm more irritated with pet owners who don't pick up their dog's crap
Joe has some good points. I really don't think it is THAT bad.
Anne: Attend the safety awareness seminar August 8 at Sheil Park 3505 N Southport at 6:30. And quit clutching your purse, they're heckling you because they can, you let them.
Try treating the people in your neighborhoood like human beings. You might get further.
The cops will tell you they can spot potential victims a mile way and so can everyone else. You may not like what MS says, but she's right.
I had Latin Kings outside my building guarding the block and I respectfully asked them to kindly move to the other side of the street in front of the empty factory because they were bullet magnets and my house was in the direct path of a stray bullet. They were fine with that, understood my point and moved. But you see, I treated them like the human beings they are and they respected me for that.
Remember people that this is a PUBLIC forum. Do you ever read what you write? I can bet you wouldn't have the balls to say any of that to their faces, if you are not too scared to even look at their faces. If I wrote the stuff you people write, I'd be scared too. Your utter lack of humanity makes me sick.
The "beggars." What is this Oliver Twist? What do you propose to do with the "beggars" exactly, put them in a work house and feed them gruel?
This is a city of 2 million people, far greater than the population of Orlando which is infested with tourists thereby motivating the police to keep it nice and clean.
Morse happens to be a transportation hub, which will always attract more crime due to ease of escape from said crime.
As for you progun, you have always scared me. If your son put the crack bag in his mouth you would go blow away anyone you saw in a baggy white shirt? Who are you to be judge, jury and executioner? How many innocent people would you be willing to blow away? Are you that filled with hatred?
If this is how you lead by example, and your children are "diversity" ambassadors, I shudder to think what they will grow up to be, with you as their cheerleader. Will you buy them guns when they turn 12 and practice shooting at targets of people with baggy white shirts? Will you be sure they are the correct color, we wouldn't want to shoot the wrong baggy white shirted people would we?
Hope you make sure the sheets are nice and bright and white for your next meeting, must kill you that you can't just leave a noose hanging from a tree for the fun of it.
And BTW, I'm over 20 and when I was a kid my parents had to deal with white people in the suburbs injecting Halloween apples with acid, of the hallucinogenic variety. My parents inspected every piece of candy and fruit for injection points before we could eat it. Would you have done that, or would you have not suspected the white people, then gone out and shot up baggy white shirted black people when he ended up high for days because you assumed they did it.
And MS is right, your kid shouldn't be picking stuff up off the ground and the last thing you should be worried about is that he would then put it in his mouth. My nephew couldn't even pick pens up from the ground, and never did because he would have gotten his hand smacked.
In Jersey they had to worry about hypodermics washing up on the beaches 20 years ago. Quit pontificating about how hard it is. If it's that hard maybe you shouldn't have brought kids into this world.
Jason has the only sane idea to effect a change on Morse and no one even addressed it. Why is that? Could it be none of you venture out after dark for fear of your own neighborhood? I've been living in this neighborhood for 40 years and never once was a victim of a crime worse than getting my car broken into which happens everywhere and I grew up in the suburbs. The only people that scare me are the ones who can't tell the differnce between an average citizen and a hooker and are willing to follow you for blocks, even though you cross the street, to make their pitch, in a foreign language.
This place is paradise compared to what it was in the late 80's. Ask any cop who's been around that long. They'll tell you this is nothing. And don't forget that even Winnetka had its problems when Laurie Dan shot up the school with a machine gun.
Crime is everywhere. It's inescapable. The effect it has on you can be minimized but only by you taking personal responsibility. If you want the neighborhood to change, you have to effect that change yourselves. Jason's idea is good. Why don't you try it? It certainly can't make it worse.
Just be aware, be vigilant, and be smart. Watch the drug dealer's customers, not the drug dealers. They don't need your money.
Wow...wake up lady. No offense but Morse has been rough for about two decades. Is what you feel justified. Yes! However, the whining attitude and naivete is not justified. I do not know what you were thinking when you bought a condo here. Had you really looked around? This is far from the Southside...but also no Lincoln Park. Is it good you are here---yes! We need more (and are finally getting them) people who get pissed off at what they see. Show up CONTINUALLY at CAPS meetings, buy locally, get tough....all these suggestions are what makes a neighborhood change. Condo conversion is the way out as well...especially those trouble spots. The pressure Craig and others apply is paramount. However, it appears as if you've been here what---a year. Begin giving something to the neighborhood besides just wanting to suck out a quick profit.
Hi Julie,
If you are afraid of me that is fine.
I am not telling you how to feel.
MS told Veronica how to feel.
It takes some action to stop a rape, muggings, armed robberies, to testify in court against gang members and most recently a gooning in progress.
If my actions on those matters scare you then ok.
I am by law allowed to assist someone to flee, escape or even retaliate.
If that makes me part of the problem then I am cool with that fact.
Maybe you even know who I am or maybe not.
I am not really a name person any way so I can not place a face to your name.
I am someone who sees things others ignore or might miss and then acts to stop them.
First with actions if the person is in need and the with policy when the reports are all in.
I agree that Morse is a transit hub.
I do not think that it should be a crack distribution center.
v & j:
i ride the red line from morse to downtown and back every day for work and while i am appalled at the capacity and reliability of the cta trains, i have never had any problems with the morse el stop in particular.
i shop pretty much exclusively at morse fresh market and am proud to frequent a local immigrant-owned business which consistently undercuts the larger grocers and is within close walking distance. i have never once been harassed or felt threatened going to or coming from this store at any hour of any day during regular business hours. i also frequent j.b. alberto's pizza quite regularly, as late as 1-2 am and have never been given any reason for concern. in short, v&j, i am on morse every day at all hours and i've never felt threatened.
progun:
Communities with large immigrant populations statistically under report crime.
Crimes such as rape assault and even murder go unreported.
This is because of cultural and ethnic issues.
if you claim statistical knowledge, you should offer it if possible. i am unaware of any such omission from criminal records. frankly, this type of rhetoric appears to me as veiled racism, and a broader anti-immigration ideology. do you mean italian immigrants, or polish immigrants? i'm not convinced you're thinking about these groups. if you really think about it, we were all immigrants at one point in time or another. people came to this country speaking german and italian, or chinese, as well as spanish. but that's another discussion altogether. needless to say, we have little in common.
julie:
hear, hear. i concur.
Are you talking about the Morse Avenue in Rogers Park or Utopia?
With over-the-top testimonials like that, I'm surprised Morse Avenue isn't teeming with new businesses and shoppers at this very moment.
Joe, thank you for your dedication to Morse Avenue.
But, it's funny, you sound very much like Kevin O'Neil. Keep those comments coming.
Hi Joe,
You quote stats and i report what i see on a daily basis.
I trust my eyes more than a website.
I speak of the crimes that I see and report.
I do not know if or how they are tabulated.
I have many practical experiences stopping crimes in progress. Nothing but my ability to reason and some quickly thrown punches to free the recently victimized.
Hey but you got stats.
I have reality and some scar tissue.
Check out the laundry mat on Clark and greenleaf makes me feel warm and fuzzy.
sorry i don't have the "pair" as ms put it, to not feel afraid or uncomfortable when walking on morse. that's just the way i am. i have heard enough about people getting hurt or harassed that i just don't really want to subject myself to that if at all possible.
however, i do still go to morse market b/c i like the store and want it to continue residing on morse. what i wish i didn't have to deal with is the lack of any authority presence to help contain the crime that is quickly growing rampant on morse. but i guess that's too much to ask, and i will be moving out of RP as quickly as possible. because i want to have kids, and do not feel that this is the proper environment to bring them up in.
maybe those of you who have lived here for eons are used to seeing the crime and turn a blind eye to it. it's easy not to see something after it's been happening for a long time. i don't know.
all i know is that i see no reason why i should feel any other way than the way i feel about what is happening in RP. everyone is entitled to their opinions/feelings/etc. and if these crime dealers don't threaten you, then perhaps you could ask these people to leave RP, as they do not contribute anything positive to the neighborhood. unless you are one of their customers, which would explain why you are not afraid of them.
and as for Progun's 2 year old son picking up a crack baggie - UH, HE'S TWO YEARS OLD. progun has every right to feel worried, scared and pissed off about what his innocent and unknowing child is being exposed to. that is absolutely no reason to punish the child by "smacking his hand". not every parent believes in physically hurting their child for an unknowing mistake.
and I wholeheartedly thank him for his diligence and courage in his actions to prevent crime in RP, especially because i know i would never be able to do the same b/c i'm not that brave. however, i do not feel that i am as cowardly as those who put other's feelings and actions down, while also claiming that just because this is a Chicago neighborhood it is ok that we have crime, etc. you speak as if you want more crime in the area, so we can finally be justified in speaking up about it, ie., like the south side. constant fires, murders, robberies, fights, and carjackings must be so much fun.
Hi Joe,
The report entitled many-crimes-against-illegal-immigrants-go-unreported really sums up my experiences. Do not be a Condi Rice and lie in front of Congres and the people of the Land.
Looks like the stats back me up so shut the fuck up.
By immigrants I me todays immigrants not the history books.
No my family was exiled here actually New Orleans or where the fuck are we now as we used to call it in my familys diarys circa 1728.
http://www.bluelatinos.org/node/423
http://www.popcenter.org/Library/PSQ/1992/Summer%201992%20Vol%205_No.%203.pdf
http://www.nnirr.org/projects/border_color.html
http://www.nationalimmigrationproject.org/DVPage/vawa05_imm_provisions_summary.pdf
http://politics.netscape.com/story/2006/12/13/many-crimes-against-illegal-immigrants-go-unreported/
I must admit to google crimes against immigrants took .11 sec to return facts that dispute your suspicions.
Anyway see you Tuesday when you can tell me to STFU and wait.
Kiss Kiss.
Veronica,
First of all, visit some South Side neighborhoods before you condemn a whole side of Chicago. There are many that are comparable to the Gold Coast/Near North Side. Hyde Park, where I was visiting yesterday, comes to mind.
Second of all, I agree that Morse needs to be cleaned up. It is unfortunate that the alderman and the police and some of the business owners there appear not to be more proactive about keeping the nonsense and confusion off of that street. Morse Avenue has been problematic ever since I've been in RP, and I've been in this area 25 years. It is always a good idea to keep your eyes open and Mace handy when down there any time of day.
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