Police say a 52-year-old man said he saw the three suspects as he walked down the 1600-block of West Lunt at about 10:45 p.m. Friday. Police say the suspects approached the victim and began beating him about the body and head before robbing him.
The victim was sending a text messge just before the attack, according to Rogers Park District police Lt. John Franklin. The victim apparently did not look up and one of the suspects "cold cocked him'' and "knocked him out....'' Source/Read more.
31 comments:
Two middle-aged men beaten and robbed in Lakeview this morning, one close to School & Clark, the other in th 3200 block N. Wilton. Lakeview and Lincoln Park have experienced a tremendous surge in violence and thuggery in the past year.
Expect more crap around here. More stuff happening in Edgewater, too.
The index crime statistics for year 2009 won't be compiled for many months yet, but methinks they will show a tremendous uptick in violent crime and street thuggery everywhere.
Our mayor has decimated and de-powered our police dept and the aldercreatures don't seem to give a damn. They're as unresponsive as ever, and they say nothing as the mayor strips the TIF slush funds to fund Olympics-related projects. They say nothing as police manpower is reduced.
It may have been gratifying to Uptown residents to chase Helen to her car and cause her some momentary discomfort, but she will still draw her $100K-plus salary and so will our other alder-cretins. Schiller's attitude tells me that nothing in Uptown will change for the better and that the residents there can expect no assistance from their aldermen in combating the wave of crime there.
And we in RP know what we can expect.
And it's all only going to get worse, not better, as the city faces falling tax revenues and higher debt levels.
The only silver lining is that maybe the IOC will be scared off by the crime and reports of severe budget shortfalls, if not by citizen unrest over yet another massive, useless vanity project, and award the games to another city.
So be extra careful of your personal safety, because help is NOT on the way.
Once again, why I moved out of RP!
Is it time to implement a curfew for our law abiding citizens?
No, never infringe on my freedom to go out and about. Curfew never.
Let this be a lesson folks. While I try to refrain from changing the way I do things because of thugs (the more you make consessions to them, the more "ground" you give them, the more control of the neighborhood they gain), I would advise against texting while walking down the street, no matter what time of day. I had my iPhone stolen from me while I was looking down texting. Some punk rode sped by on a bike and snatched it out of my hand. I wasn't jumped like this guy (I'm a pretty decent sized guy so that may a little to do with it), but texting distracts you from everything around you. Sure, you can look up every few seconds to make sure you don't run into a building or get hit by a car, but that does nothing to your ENTIRE surroundings: those guys sitting on that porch a block and a half ahead, the footsteps coming up quickly behind you, the duded looking at you from across the street. I'm not saying that this guy wouldn't have been attacked had he just been walking down the street, but there's definitely less of a chance he would have been caught COMPLETELY off guard. And I saw a woman yesterday walking down my street texting and looking down and completely unaware of the guy walking up behind her. Not that I was automatically sure he was going to try to rob her, but she had no clue he was there (she was also listening to music on head phones so she was pretty much shut off to the world.) So, please, hold off on the texting and walking. Like texting and driving, it's become too dangerous. They know you're cut off from the world and as uch are easy prey. Whatever it is you're texting, it can wait until you get to a secure place.
I believe we need to put the curfew on anything with a felony record.
My comment about the curfew was supposed to be a joke. My sense of humor is normally not understood in text version.
Nonetheless, this isn't a problem confined to RP alone, this is happening everywhere in Chicago. I agree with Man on the Street that you have to be aware of what you're doing. It seems like common sense, but not for everyone. You have to know the pockets of the city or neighborhood to avoid, when it is safe to be where, and how to be generally alert and aware of your surroundings.
Unfortunately it feels like this year that the areas that are generally problematic are expanding.
I'm joking about the curfew, too, ms21.
However, I'm not joking when I say that maybe the best solution is throw them back in the slammer where they belong. Most of these losers have long rap sheets. What are THEY doing out on the streets?
According to a news report I heard today, there is a town in New Jersey where crime is so out of hand that a curfew for adults has been suggested. I don't recall the name of the town or the details, but it's no joke!
Here it is: http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20090818/US.Paterson.Curfew/
mcl, if that is true, that means that the criminals own the streets there and the citizens are their serfs.
It's the final outrageous inversion when the innocent have to live in prison while the thugs have the run of the city.
Things at the CPD could soon become worse than they already are. I'm hearing that Weis is on his way out only to be replaced by:
Hubermann!. God, if this is true can you please help us rid ourselves of the most incompetent political system in the entire world? Please? Please bring us a real policeman to be our leader. Please? No more ex fed's or political hacks. Please? We are slowly drowning in a sea of mediocrity at the upper managment level. Please help us so we don't experience any more incidents like this one or the one in Uptown. God, we need help!
Give me the right for Concealed Carry. It would involve testing and licensing. Not every gun owner would be, or is entitled to concealed carry automatically.
It would change thug life's thinking if there was uncertainty as to whether or not a potential victim was carrying.
It only takes a small percentage of people to change behaviors, something like 10%-15% would probably be enough to change street life's thinking.
The North Coast said...
mcl, if that is true, that means that the criminals own the streets there and the citizens are their serfs.
mcl said....
IMO the conditions in the streets of a number of Chicago neighborhoods are fast approaching that reality.
I was in Oklahoma over the weekend and we stopped in a club that wouldn't let anyone in if they were not concealing.
Shameless plug. If you're ever in OKC, stop in Club Rodeo.
Big Daddy, I personally think YOU should be the person in charge. I think you'd make a good person to be in charge :). And, plus, you have about 30 years of experience so I think you would know more about this stuff than Weis or Huberman.
I thought Huberman would know about the CPD because he used to be a cop, then he rose through the ranks and everything (at least that's what the media said, but I don't believe them anymore). But, seeing how he operated the CTA and now CPS, you do have the right to be upset and/or angry.
Huberman . . . that's a joke, right? No, seriously, that's gotta be joke! Common!?! Tell me it ain't so, Joe!
HUBERMANN!!???? Holy crap, what's next?
If this is indeed true, it only proves that Daley has total contempt for the CTA, the CPS, and the CPD. He clearly thinks that these are departments that will somehow run themselves and that the only requirement for success at them is to show up once in a while and be a Friend of Da Mare.
But why wouldn't he think that? After all, the city is still somehow sort of intact after 20 years of his ineptitude and financial insanity. Somehow, the sewers and water mains haven't all collapsed and the city's bond rating is still investment grade and the water is OK.
But there's only so much abuse and neglect and ineptitude even a city like Chicago can take before it starts to collapse. This city's resilience has been greatly compromised by 20 years of financial irresponsibility and neglect. How we will hold up if this economic downturn is as prolonged as the bubble that preceded it was, is a big question.
Come ON, folks, let's find a way to get this monster out of our house. Our alderman is worthless, but he's not the biggest problem we have. Our worst enemy is on the 5th floor downtown.
Who are we gonna run against this guy who could even show, let alone win?
Fargo Woman, it hasn't been confirmed, just a rumor right now. But the mere thought of it scares me.
Scott- I agree. CCW would be a big plus for the residents of this city, county. As a member of the CPD, I say yes to ccw for all qualified.
Timmy- Thanks buddy. But don't believe the newsmedia hype of the guy. Because that's all it is, hype.
Weis has a lock on the job until Oct. 2!
He was hired to impress the Lords of the Rings at the IOC!
If Chicago gets the Olympics [NO, Please NO!], then Weis will keep his job for a few years.
If Chicago doesn't get it, then Weis is gone in 6-8 months.
Big Daddy, agreed. It is all hype about him.
Who are we gonna run against this guy who could even show, let alone win?
Amen. I try to explain this to people all the time, from people who live in other cities to "newcomers" here who, after living here six or seven years, think they know the Chicago psyche and think we're all patsies for allowing Daley to win term after term. But the problem lies in (among other things) not having a viable candidate to run against him. I mean, look at the last election. Our alternative choices were Dorthy Brown and political non-entity William "Doc" Walls. Really? Daley has managed an effective system that eliminate all legitimate opponents, either by buying them off with a post somewhere or overshadowing them with an army of ward bosses whose sole job is to get out the vote. if only he ran the city as effectively as he runs his political campaigns.
And as for the Huberman rumor, I can believe it. Daley seems to think that this guy is working wonders. But somehow the CTA and the schools are both still mediocre as best. Makes me think Huberman must have something on Daley that keeps him in the mix. Say, what DOES go on in that Daley house in Michigan anyway?...
You have to know the pockets of the city or neighborhood to avoid, when it is safe to be where, and how to be generally alert and aware of your surroundings.
Well, just to clarify, I didn't say AVOID areas, just be aware. When you start avoiding areas, you basically give it over to the thugs. It's what happens in troubled neighborhoods: There's thugs hanging out in the park. People stop going to the park because of it. Now the thugs "own" the park. There are thugs hanging out on the corner in front of your favorite store. You stop going to the store to avoid them. Now the thugs "own" that storefront. The more you change what you normally do and the way you do it, the more of the community you give to the thugs, until they own everything and you're sitting in your living room afraid to go out or send your children outside. It's what happens in every "dangerous neighborhood" in the city. I'm not saying don't go to the park, or jog in an alley anymore or even stop waking down the street while wearing headphones. Just be aware.
Will someone please help me here, and tell me if this is true?
Which is that the entire process of electing the mayor in this city is rigged to present so many obstacles to a new aspirant as to make it utterly pointless to even aspire to run?
Someone told me that it takes 25,000 verifiable voter signatures on your voter petition to be a candidate for Mayor.
I know it takes 200 verifiable voter signatures to run for Alderman.
It takes 600 to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, I remember reading, and 800 for the U.S.Senate.
And 25,000 to run for Mayor of Chicago.
So help me out here. Is that number correct? If it is, it would constitute an impossibly high hurdle for anyone who might run against Daley.
I could see 2500 signatures, but 25,000?
What is the correct number?
North Coast, I found this on a website:
"Chicago also requires petitions to get on a ballot. In its nonpartisan elections, candidates have 90 days to gather signatures. For the citywide offices of mayor, city clerk and city treasurer, office seekers need to get 12,500 valid voter signatures. Aldermen -- Chicago's City Council members -- need to collect signatures equal to at least 2 percent of the total vote cast in the last general election in their ward. For example, in 2007, candidates in ward 22 needed 67 signatures, while in ward 23, they had to have 306."
Getting On The Ballot
Also, North Coast, it takes money, which Daley makes sure he has a lot of. Here's some info from the last race.
Last Election
Ya, Daley has a distinct edge when it comes to raising money.
The odds against a newbie are intimidating. There is almost no one who could get the kind of backing that is needed. It would need to be someone with Obama's charisma and knack for getting attention. That person would have to start now, by announcing his or her intention to run, and by starting a grassroots campaign to raise money over the net from supporters among the general public. He/she would have to have a really well-defined platform and would have to campaign constantly between now and 2011.
I don't see anyone on the scene who looks likely.
I don't see anyone on the scene who looks likely.
Nope. Despite the anger that RPers may feel for Joe Moore, the problems now all seem to step from the fifth floor at City Hall. The criminal impunity going on now is a direct result of Daley's lack of support for the cops. Hell, the city's penchant for bending over like a gay porn star for every brutality complaint that comes along is costing the taxpayers almost as much money as the city got paid for the parking meters. The cops don't feel supported by the city, the city hires an accountant as superintendent and rather than take the gloves off to get this crap under control, they seem to be doing just enough to say they're doing their job (if Second City Cop is to be believed). Can't really blame them. Add an ineffectual alderman to the mix and, well, you get guys having a gunfight down the middle of a residential street without a care in the world of suffering any kind of penalty.
I'm with Man On The Street. Once people start giving up freedoms to the thugs, game over.
When I was growing up on the wild, wild West Side, the thugs marked their targets. However, they also were aware of the people who always paid attention to what was going on on the block and they tried to stay out of their eyesight. They knew about the people who always called the cops and they stayed from around them. They also knew the people in the neighborhood who wouldn't hesitate to light up the thugs' behinds if they pulled something on them. Citizens have to be one -- or all -- of those people.
Dear Fellow Rogers Parkers.
All of this anger will only hurt your own souls. Shouldn't we feel sorry for those who are shooting each other? What kind of life must they lead? The aldermen and mayor love this city and try their best to make a good and safe place for all of us to live. I think we need to support them and pray for them.
Rachel Slur- you must be new here. Either that or very naive. Or you have a poor sense of humor. Which is it?
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