Nearly 30,000 crimes were reported in 27th Ward precincts between January and October 2010. More than one-third of these crimes were theft, armed robbery or battery, up 10.2 percent from last year and up 19.1 percent from 2005, according to the Chicago Police Department crime index.

“This bad economy has resulted in terrible job loss,” said Ald. Walter Burnett Jr., whose 27th Ward includes the Near North Side and West Loop neighborhoods. “Without enough jobs, people are turning to more and more petty crimes and burglaries to get by.”

“All I know is, I don’t feel safe walking down the street once the sun goes down,” said Ryan Tomassoni, a 25-year-old sales representative who has lived in the West Loop for two years. “And there’s no way I’m letting my girlfriend walk up and down these streets without me.”

Burnett’s plan to combat crime includes attracting new business to the area and working with local businesses to expand and create more jobs. If the community is mobilized to get involved, Burnett said, people won’t resort to crime when given more attractive alternatives.

“It’s like the dog chasing his tail,” Burnett said of often-repeat offense criminals. “We’re missing the beat by just locking people up all of the time.”

“We need alternatives to just police,” Burnett added. “We need to have programs and jobs for when they get out.”

Greg Walker, a 27th Ward resident and former Cook County prosecutor, isn’t so sure.

“I think we need more of a police presence and people realizing they will be held accountable for their actions,” Walker said. “I know it sounds generic, but it’s common sense.”

Although most people agree criminals should face consequences and jail time for committing crimes, some don’t believe putting more police on the street is the answer.

“You put a million police in the street on any given day, you’ll get a million arrests,” said Howard Ray, a police officer and 11th Precinct CAPS spokesman. “We need to change the laws.”

“These people have records when they get out,” said Ray of the difficulties released criminals face when searching for a job.

Although Ray agrees with Burnett’s plan to create more jobs and any skills-training programs for released convicts, he said it may be a good solution in theory, but in actuality, it falls short.

“They have families to support, and $10-per-hour isn’t going to do it. They just end up stealing or drug-dealing again, sometimes just to pay their lawyer.”

Ray recommends implementing a citywide “special conditional bond” where released convicts are confined to an eight-block radius from home and are subject to nightly curfews. If after two years their behavior and records remained clean, past convictions would not be used against them when applying for higher-paying positions for which they are now qualified after job training.

“The Chicago Police Department does a great job arresting people who get out in four hours,” said Ray. “We need to give the community a chance to get the upper hand to help themselves and the people freshly released from prison.”

“One robbery, one battery, one person selling drugs outside your home is one too much.”

Born in Manila, Carla N. was 5 years old when her family brought her to this country. “Our papers haven’t been fixed, and I have been undocumented since,” she said.

Now 21, Carla N., who asked that her full name not be used, attends the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she is a senior studying art education and English.

Still undocumented, Carla said she worries about her future. She is one of many young immigrants who were brought to the United States while still children by parents who were looking for a better life. Like many others, Carla was disappointed when the House of Representatives passed the DREAM Act this week but was pulled from a vote by the Senate leadership on Thursday to avoid defeat. The DREAM Act is legislation that would create a path to citizenship for a special category of illegal immigrants, those who were brought to the U.S. as children.

Under the act, qualifying undocumented youth will be eligible for permanent residency if they enroll in college or serve in the military and wait for six years. They can then apply for full citizenship.

Like so many other young people seeking permanent status here, Carla is involved in many advocacy organizations such as Immigrant Youth Justice League (IYJL), Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and the Asian American Institute.

“A lot of us are living in the shadows,” Carla said. “I knew I wanted to go to college; I was like a straight A student…but in my junior [year] I thought I wasn’t going to be able to go to college.”

Carla’s older sister went to a community college because she didn’t have the money to pay for a four-year institution and did not know how to apply to a university due to her legal status.

Carla asked her counselors, and they directed her to schools that were more lenient in their admissions policies. She applied at UIC but since she didn’t have a Social Security number, she had to apply as an international student.

Carla’s parents pay in-state tuition, but she can’t get government help such as loans or grants. She said all she can apply for are private scholarships.

In one more year, Carla will graduate, and she is hoping that she will have the opportunity to obtain residency to be able to work using her degree.

Many other young adults want to continue college but are afraid of what is going to happen when they graduate. Evelyn Perez, 24, a student and worker, said she got her residency when she was graduating from high school but that she feared her dreams would never come true.

“I live for my dreams. I always wanted to go to college and be someone in this life. I’m the first one from my family to actually go to college, and I’m very proud,” Perez said. “I can imagine what these kids are going through, and I really hope the DREAM Act will be approved.”

Perez said she has a cousin who is undocumented and she wishes she could help her because she knows she is struggling.

“She is only 21 years old. Her first language is English. She is American, all her family is here, and she can’t go to college because she can’t afford it,” said Perez. “She has a daughter and she works in a factory for the minimum wage; she is very smart and she wants to become a better person not only for herself but for her daughter.”

Perez said she doesn’t understand why Congress won’t pass the DREAM Act, since it is not the young immigrants’ fault they were brought here as dependent children. She said this is beyond an immigration issue and more like a human rights issue.

“The right to be able to help these kids to be educated — what if one of those kids is going to be the person that will discover the cure for cancer?” Perez asked.

Not everyone agrees with Perez.

Marco Garcia, 20, lives in Logan Square and was born in Chicago. He said the bill is not fair for all the immigrants who live in this country. He said there are older people who are hard workers who also deserve the opportunity to become legal residents, but they will not be covered by the DREAM Act.

“It’s either help everybody or help none because not everyone is in college or the army,” Garcia said.

Others oppose the DREAM Act as well.

An article posted by the PR Newswire, United Business Media, said the DREAM Act might reduce educational opportunities available to U.S. citizens.

The article said each immigrant who attends a public institution would receive a tuition subsidy of about $6,000 from taxpayers each year. According to the article, the DREAM Act will cost taxpayers $6.2 billion a year and since funds to attend college are limited, this will reduce U.S. citizens’ opportunity to obtain an education.

According to the DREAM Act website, the path to citizenship would include conditional permanent residency, which is similar to legal permanent residency. This would allow applicants to work, drive and travel as well as be eligible for student loans and federal work-study programs. They would not be eligible for federal financial aid such as Pell grants.

The requirements are: They must have entered the United States before the age of 16, must have graduated from a United States high school, or have obtained a GED or have been accepted into an institution of higher education, such as a college or university; must be between the ages of 12 and 35 at the time of application and must not have an arrest record.

This DREAM Act was introduced in 2001, said Catherine Salgado, director of communications of ICIRR. “We have been working. It’s an ongoing work generating support form different schools, Democrats and Republicans,” Salgado said.

She said ICIRR is working to get more support and joining events to create awareness about this issue.

“Every minute is important,” Salgado said. “The DREAM Act impacts every generation.”

Maria De La Torre, an admissions officer at Northeastern Illinois University, said when students apply to enter college, they need a Social Security number. Since they don’t have one, they have to answer the question by either writing zeros or nines.

De La Torre added that undocumented students can’t fill out an application for federal loans or grants because it is a federal document.

Jeff Hoker, 48, a resident and employee in Chicago, said the DREAM Act is like an investment, because immigrants grow up in this country and they are not going anywhere; therefore, educating them will make the country better.

“They are already here. They learned the language. They don’t know anything about the [country they left behind], they know this culture,” said Hoker. “I just think that it will be beneficial for everybody and humanitarian.”

The peddlers license and Chicago’s Park District policies that prevent artists from selling their art in public have destroyed street art culture in Chicago, according to Chris Drew, Executive Director of Uptown Multi Cultural Art Center. “Artists have more opportunities to survive by their art in traditionally repressive Moscow than we have in Chicago where the First Amendment is supposed to protect our speech right to survive by selling our art in public. Not one free open-air arts market exists in Chicago where artists can sell their work. None – zero – zilch!” says Drew. In Chicago, since 1994, street artists are required to get a peddler’s license, and are prohibited from selling their art “downtown.”

On Tuesday, Dec. 21 at noon, under the “L” train at State and Lake, Drew and some volunteers for the Uptown Multi-Cultural Art Center (UM-CAC) will give free art away as part of the Art Patch Project, and risk arrest in their effort to reclaim some downtown territory in the name of free speech.

What are "art patches?" Chris & artists at work

Drew contends that art is a form of free speech, and the small art patches he gives away or sells on the streets or through his website, Art-Teez, combine powerful statements expressed as art.

Before this law was enacted, artists were free to sell street art in any public place, and at many public demonstrations artists joined demonstrators to sell posters, T-shirts, and other wares, typically sporting political messages and slogans. What Drew is protesting in particular, is the way the law is enforced downtown. Corporations and private business owners can call the police to remove people who are exercising their First Amendment rights from their premises in Chicago’s downtown and Loop, if the protesters are artists. Beggars can beg, but an artist with a political message needs to buy a license to be present in these downtown public spaces.

Drew is attempting to get people to think about this through his Art Patch Project. Artists are invited to submit art to be printed on cloth by volunteers, who then give away the art patches to educate citizens. The art patches have images and messages about freedom of expression and other kinds of freedom.

The message the artists are trying to get out to the public these days is that the current laws about selling and giving away art in public are unfair. Drew says that “unconstitutional laws and policies in Chicago discriminate against artists who try to survive by selling art in public and to create enjoyable art scenes which enable the public to meet artists presently hidden in their midst.”

What may seem like much ado about nothing is being taken very seriously by Anita Alvarez, Cook County State’s Attorney. The State of Illinois is prosecuting Drew, who was initially arrested for selling art patches for $1 on State Street, but is being prosecuted now for making an audio-recording of his own arrest at the time.

In Chicago, it is illegal for the public to record the police in action, though in 47 other states this is legal. A policeman-turned-legislator got this law passed in 1994, according to Drew. The police can record the public, but if the public wants its own record of events, that is called eavesdropping. Rodney King and his attorneys might have an interesting view of that law.

Drew is getting some help. The ACLU is suing Cook County State’s Attorney in federal court for prosecuting Drew and others on wiretapping charges for audio-recording police in public. The ACLU is contending that it is legal to monitor police in public. Chris Drew faces to 15 years in prison because of this case, which may seem out of proportion with the initial violation of selling art for $1. Clearly, the public right to monitor public behavior of the police is coming into play in the case.

The Art Patch event on Dec. 21 will be a celebration of the winter solstice. It marks a slow rebirth when the sun begins to climb back toward us, the days begin to lengthen again and results eventually in the warmth of summer. The giving away of art is intended to gradually increase the acceptability of artists on Chicago’s streets and the rebirth of street art culture in Chicago.

The Art Patch Project is ongoing and will continue to add artists and designs until artists have attained their full First Amendment right to survive by selling art in public. The art-patches will be given away at public events and exhibited in a series of traveling exhibits planned for years to come. This long range project is designed to educate the public about First Amendment rights and our fight for expressive freedom in Chicago.

The goal of the Art Patch Project is to increase support for “common sense laws to make Chicago more friendly to artists through allowing artists to survive by selling art in public and to create enjoyable art scenes which enable the public to meet artists presently hidden in their midst,” according to Drew.

Drew writes that “During these difficult economic times it is important for cities to help their citizens survive and create their own jobs by increasing the freedom to use public space for legitimate public purposes. Allowing speech vendors their First Amendment rights makes great economic sense. The artist who makes a dollar spends a dollar. The arts encourage greater enjoyment from life increasing the attractiveness of a city. Tourists like to meet a city’s artists and want to discover its local character. Those who would ban artists from public spaces have a narrow vision of the City and do not demonstrate a concern for free-speech. Art has an important role to play in our society. Chicago can’t continue to force artists to be marginalized.” Come out on the solstice, Dec. 21st and see and judge for yourself.”

Here is contact information for Chris Drew
773/678-7545
773/561-7676
773/973-1863

http://www.art-teez.org/free-speech.htm
http://www.c-drew.com/

Tunney and Winner both filed as candidates with the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners by the Nov.22 deadline. Winner reported receiving 600 signatures and Tunney reported receiving 2,000 signatures.

Winner considers Tunney part of the city council’s old guard and criticized the alderman for not having a “ward night” where neighbors can meet the alderman face-to-face.

“I feel he’s out of tune. We’re a few months out (from the election), he should be out there,” said Winner in a phone interview.

That’s news to Tunney.

“I believe I’m relatively new (to city council). I’m hitting my stride,” said Tunney in a phone interview.

Tunney said that while there is no official ward night, his office is open six days a week.

“Every voice has been heard,” he said.

Tunney said some of his accomplishments the last four years were getting a state-of-the-art police station built at 850 W. Addison St. and donating 90 percent of Wrigley Field concert proceeds to Lake View schools.

“When I walk around, I think I’ve made a difference,” he said.

Bob Clarke, vice president of South East Lake View Neighbors (SELVN), said Tunney brings potential land developers to SELVN meetings and listens to SELVN’s input about approving liquor licenses for establishments.

“If SELVN doesn’t want it, he won’t give it to them,” said Clarke.

He said Winner hasn’t attended a SELVN meeting yet.

Winner said he does have a presence in the community and that would make him an effective alderman. He has lived in Lake View for 12 years and is the former president of the neighborhood group Lake View Citizens Council and a board member of the Lake View East Chamber of Commerce.

“We have to run the city like a business,” said Winner, who is president of DLW Business Consultants, a financial consulting firm.

Winner is against raising property taxes and said he would oppose any plan to do so.

“It cannot happen,” he said.

Other residents of the 44th Ward shared their concerns about crime.

Elliott Fredland, a 10-year Lake View resident, said crime needs to be kept low. Fredland is concerned about Police Supt. Jody Weis’ plan to shuffle officers to neighborhoods that have a high volume of 911 calls.

“The South Side needs more police officers, but what will happen to crime on the North Side? No one really knows,” said Fredland.

Winner agreed. He said while 44th Ward crime stats aren’t high, the area can’t afford to lose any more police officers. He said he would work with the police department and new mayor on this.

“You have to make the mayor aware,” he said.

Winner also discussed his plan to re-draw the ward’s police district lines. Currently the ward consists of two police districts: the 19th District is west of Clark Street and the 23rd District is east of Clark Street. Winner wants to cut off the district line from Clark Street to Racine Avenue, making Clark Street itself one of the districts. Winner said this will ensure the correct district officers are dispatched to the correct address. He said a 23rd District cop can get called to the 19th district and not be able to do anything.

Clarke said the next alderman has his work cut out for him. He mentioned the 1 percent budget cut for Streets and Sanitation in 2011.

“Maintenance and repairs will go down, there’s no money. It will be managing in a reduced environment,” he said.

Clarke referred to the city’s budget deficit, currently at $650 million, as a “train wreck.”

Winner laughed when he was asked why he wants the job of alderman.

“Because I’ve been a community activist and I want to bring the ward back to a grassroots level,” he said.

This is the third aldermanic election for Tunney. His first election was in 2003 and he was the overwhelming winner. Out of 10,125 votes cast, he received 59 percent of the votes. Rick Ingram received 23 percent of the votes and Dean Maragos 13 percent. Winner has never run for alderman.

The 2011 election will be held Feb. 22.

The benefit, “Jazz for Justice,” was held in the Grace Gallery at 1741 N. Western Ave. and was attended by about 150 people. Over $2,000 was raised.

Koger’s new attorney, the well-known defense lawyer Jed Stone, spoke briefly to the crowd. He began by saying humorously, “It is a privilege to talk to the Wicker Park Humanist Society,” and then stressed the importance of the case. “This is about the right of peaceful assembly, the right of free speech, the right to videotape, the right to speak out without repression.”

Gregory Koger also spoke, saying he was uncomfortable in front of an audience, but thanking everyone and telling of his discovery of the newspaper “Revolution” when he was in isolation in Pontiac Correctional Center on a previous conviction, and how that changed his life from negative to positive. He also handed out a one-page statement of his views on the larger implications of his case.

Koger was released Oct. 22 on appeal bond after serving two months in Cook County Jail for his conviction on three misdemeanor counts: criminal trespass, resisting arrest, and simple battery. His trial before the Appellate Court will take place “probably some time in the spring of 2011″ according to his attorney.

The original fracas on Nov. 1, 2009, occurred when the Ethical Humanist Society of Skokie canceled an invitation to Sunsara Taylor, a social philosopher, feminist, and communist to speak on the subject, “Morality Without Gods.” The EHS, which proclaims it is “for those who seek a rational, compassionate philosophy of life without regard to belief or nonbelief in a supreme being,” apparently hired a plainclothes policeman and called in the Skokie police to prevent Taylor from making an appearance and short speech in defiance of her rejection.

Gregory Koger was there to record this event by videotape when the police grabbed him. (More on this can be found at dropthecharges.net) Some members of the EHS who resigned over the incident were present at the benefit.

Musicians at the benefit were outstanding. The brilliant avant-garde cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm seemed wedded to his instrument as he soared and shivered with his trio, and Ted Sirota, in what he called he called his first appearance in a solo set, wove magical intonations and mini-explosions on his drums and cymbals. It made one realize that the avant-garde could be full of soul.

iPhones

A CAPS meeting on Nov. 4 for Districts 111, 112, and 113 alerted local building security managers about a]string of recent iPhone thefts in the South Loop area, and urged them to take safety precautions with the oncoming cold weather.

The iPhones are taken for their SIM cards, which are then sold at small phones-to-go type stores at strip malls on the South Side.

“We are trying to determine how many other articles are being sold in the same manner,” said officer Mary Pannick.

According to police, officers have staged thefts and traced stolen phones from the original thief to locations where they are being illegally sold, resulting in the arrest of several shop owners for selling lost or misused goods. October iPhone thefts at 160 W. Monroe led to a charge for felony theft, and a 229 W. Jackson iPhone theft led to a charge of aggravated robbery.

“Are they [police] able to go in to the stores and use the serial numbers on the phones to locate them?” asked a local building security manager. “Should owners know their serial numbers?”

According to Chicago police officer Angela Winburn-Wright, a 1st District CAPS leader, police can use the serial number to identify the phones, and doing so is helpful to the police and the individuals whose phones have been stolen. With the serial numbers of the phones, the stolen goods can be found and brought back to the owners, and can help police track the path of the stolen goods.

“Society now, everyone’s walking around with both headphones in. You have to be more conscious about what’s around you,” said Larry Strong, security manager of 2 N. LaSalle. Strong’s position as security manager places him as the man dealing with thefts and other issues discussed at the CAPS loss and theft prevention meetings.

Homelessness was also brought up at the meeting. “The homeless gather here because it’s like a candy store,” said Pannick, referring to a plethora of individuals with pocket change to spare and the heated buildings in which the homeless can stop to warm themselves. The officers made sure to mention that building security has the right to have any loitering individuals relocated via the police if they so choose, whether a person is disruptive or has outstayed their welcome.

The next CAPS meeting for Districts 111, 112, and 113 will be held in January, as meetings have been cut to bi-monthly due to a lack of officers.

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Crime is down 3.7 percent compared to last October, according to The Chicago Sun-Times, but Weis continues to be scrutinized.

“I think he has done a lot, but he’s not born blue,” said Deputy Sheriff Mike Coleman, a five-year veteran of the sheriff’s office. Coleman believes Weis is not respected because he did not come up through the ranks of the Chicago Police Department, but was hired from a federal agency – the FBI.

Weis served 23 years in various areas of the FBI on investigations of major gangs, domestic and international terrorism, organized violent crime, public corruption and white-collar crime. Coleman believes Weis’ appointment was justified because of his FBI credentials.

William Hudson Jr., a 30-year veteran of the Cook County sheriff’s force, thinks Mayor Richard M. Daley made a mistake in appointing Weis to the high-paying superintendent position over locals with greater tenure on the Chicago streets.

“There were other people with more knowledge and more experience than Weis,” he said.

Weis earns $90,000 per year more than Daley himself. Daley has justified Weis’ salary by saying he wears two hats: that of top cop and emergency officer.

A Chicago police officer for 18 years, who didn’t want his name used, said he “hates” Weis.

“He’s an outsider looking in,” he said.

At a luncheon in his honor, Weis said he wants officers equipped with better squad cars, weapons and radios. Nonetheless, hundreds of officers have taken to the streets demanding his resignation.

On Sept. 15, officers marched with signs demanding more manpower and protesting assault claims filed against officers. “Morale is low due to the lack of support from Superintendent Weis,” said Coleman, adding that officers are put in dangerous situations where they don’t feel safe protecting the community.

Weis was also criticized Aug. 28 when he met with gangs along with other law enforcement and community leaders. Weis sent a message to gangs that immediate law enforcement action would be taken against the gang responsible for the next homicide. As an alternative to crime, he offered job programs to help gang members leave the streets.

Some officers were critical of the meeting, but Weis’ FBI experience in other cities, such as Boston and Cincinnati, has proven meetings of this caliber work. According to Coleman, Weis arrested 60 gang members to show he meant what he said.

Coleman said that although Weis “is no Terry Hilliard,” Weis does seek advice from the well-respected former superintendent.

“(Weis) is not aggressive enough,” said Coleman. He referred to an especially bloody June weekend, saying “28 shootings would have never happened under Hilliard.”

Jesse Torres, a father of three children, called the violence “scary.” He believes crime has gotten worse since Weis has become the superintendent.

“This is America, not some third-world country,” he said. “All this crime should not be happening.”

Chicago’s murder rate was three times higher than New York’s in 2009, according to an analysis of FBI records by The Chicago Reporter.

“It seems like (Weis) does not care,” said Torres, who supported the call for National Guard troops to come to Chicago. Weis and Daley strongly rejected the idea, seeing it as an insult to the police force.

“I would love to come out of my house and see the National Guard standing on the corner,” said Torres.

The kids call it “spice.” Older users give it the more dignified and literal nickname: “synthetic.” It’s sold in three-gram packets at 30 bucks a pop. The label on the package says, “For fragrance purposes only. Not for consumption.” The label’s not exactly to be trusted; inside is an herbal blend sprinkled with a chemical compound designed to, when smoked, mimic the effects of THC. In fact, it’s much more powerful than THC. It may be “fake weed,” but it will really get you high.

Secrets Smoke Shop in Lakeview.

K2 has been on smoke shop shelves in Chicago since 2006. On Jan. 1, it will become illegal in Illinois, officially categorized as a controlled substance. It’s the first such ban on a substance since the state outlawed pure-form powdered Dextromethorphan (DXM, the ingredient in cough syrup that can make having a cold kind of fun) in 2007, and, most recently, in 2008, Salvia Divinorum, a plant with hallucinogenic properties. It’s not a new story: too many kids figure out how to get high on something, so state and local governments outlaw it. But the little-known secret about K2 is that it isn’t just kids using; in fact, most of its users are adults — many of them even government employees.

Many people like to get high — it’s nearly an axiomatic truth — and marijuana is the preferred recreational drug of choice (outside of alcohol and prescription meds) for the average, upright and functional citizen who longs for distraction from his or her oppressive existence. But “functional citizens” these days occasionally have jobs, and jobs sometimes require random drug testing, government jobs especially. And so, faced with the option of employment vs. smoking marijuana, many have gone the K2 route.

“Before I got hired on, I smoked weed from time to time,” said one CTA employee who wished to remain anonymous. “But with the random drops they give us, smoking weed…too risky. Once I tried K2, I realized it was the next best thing. You piss clean with it, too. I’m just gonna’ stock up before the ban.”

In these weeks preceding the ban, “stocking up” seems to be the key phrase for Chicagoans who, for one reason or another, have turned to K2 as their marijuana substitute.

“I warned all my customers to start placing their orders in November. There’s a lot of interest in buying in bulk,” said one employee at Pipes and Stuff, a smoke shop with locations in Wicker Park and Lakeview where K2 is displayed next to the register, as it is in most head shops where K2 is sold. “There’s definitely going to be a big rush leading up to the ban.”

Another employee at a popular smoke shop in Uptown acknowledged that his customers run the full gamut of adult professionals.

“We get nurses, army guys, government employees…anyone who gets drug-tested, really.”

The main draw for these unlikely users is the money-shot substance drizzled on the K2 herbal mix, the chemical JWH-018, named after John W. Huffman, the organic chemistry researcher who developed JWH-018 during the 1990s to aid in medical research. It didn’t take long for people to pick up on the recreational drug-use potential of Dr. Huffman’s work, and it was JWH-018 that was honed in on as the compound of choice for best replicating the THC high.

For users, the most attractive quality of JWH-018 and other similar synthetic cannabinoid compounds is the fact that it will not show up on any standard drug test. Among the first groups of people to realize the urinalysis-circumventing potential for such a drug were members of the Armed Forces. The military is now screening for the compounds commonly found in K2. Government and private institutions, thus far, are not, meaning that for now, K2 and its myriad variations are considered by many to be the closest substitutes for individuals who wish to enjoy a marijuana-like high, sans the risk of a pink slip.

Short term, the most commonly-reported effects of K2 Summit (the most powerful blend in the K2 lineup, which includes Blonde, Standard and Citron) include increased heart rate, paranoia, mild hallucination, and an enhanced appreciation of music (seriously). Sounds pretty familiar; the only thing missing are reports of intense late night White Castle cravings and ensuing hilarity (the drug reportedly does not induce appetite). The high is much shorter-lasting than your typical marijuana buzz, but much more intense: Many users report heavy trips well outside and beyond the realm of any marijuana high. The biggest single complaint is the taste: a mix between mud and cheap potpourri.

The long term effects, on the other hand, are the biggest problem with K2: namely, the fact that nobody has any real idea what they may be.

“People are taking a huge risk when they smoke this stuff,” Dr. Huffman said, when asked about people’s abuse of the chemical compounds created in his lab. “We really don’t know what the health effects might be.”

Scrolling through the K2-related posts on www.bluelight.ru, a community of often-times freakishly knowledgeable recreational drug users, one comes across an alarming 13-page mega-thread devoted entirely to one undesirable lingering K2 side effect in particular: severe, chronic headaches.

“I smoked it on only about five occasions total, the last two it totally took me to a bad place. The feeling is indescribable, but I remember I could only sit there with my hands on my face, my brain in intense pain, feeling as though it was just melting into itself. About a week later I started getting horrible headaches. They got worse and worse and worse, “ one user writes, setting off a deluge of sympathetic user comments.

It is for reasons such as this that at least one smoke shop will go unaffected by the ban, having never sold K2 to begin with.

“We miss out on a lot of money by not selling it, definitely. We’ve gotten 10-15 calls per day asking for it, on average, and it’s been going up in the past few weeks. Several people come in asking for it every day: government employees, military people, people on probation, people from all walks of life, ” said Seth Fox, an employee at Adam’s Apple in West Rogers Park, a smoke shop that refuses to sell K2 or any similar products.

“We’re just not willing to sell a drug that has never been scientifically tested on humans. ”

In the world of Chicago smoke shops, Sheldon Miller, the owner of Adam’s Apple, is something like The Smoke Shop Godfather: He’s been in the business for decades, and he won’t have any of his people dealing in synthetic drugs. For all the buzz about K2, the “deadly new legal marijuana sweeping the nation,” one might think that this sort of thing was a new phenomenon. But actually, legal drug substitutes have been sold on smoke shop shelves for years. Some may remember Wild Lettuce Opium, an opium-like extract from the plant Lactuca Virosa which was quite a big head shop seller back in the ’70s. In the ’90s came Salvia, before it too was banned in the state of Illinois. Slowly gaining in popularity right now — and still off the media’s drug panic radar — is Kratom, another plant extract with opioid properties. The one thing they all have in common: Sheldon Miller has refused to sell any of them in his store over the years. Although he was unavailable to be interviewed, Fox and his other employees had nothing but fervent praise for Sheldon Miller.

“He’s steadily resisted the temptation to get into any of that stuff. He could own a chain of stores by now if he had, but he’s just not a greedy person. There’s a school nearby, children play near here. He doesn’t want to sell anything that could be unknowingly endangering people’s lives,” said Fox.

Whether K2 really has been endangering people’s lives — some kind of highly toxic death herb, worthy of the government’s reefer-madness-like condemnation — or whether it is a relatively harmless marijuana substitute, as its users believe, one thing is certain: It sells in Chicago, especially right now. And come Jan. 1, Chicago smoke shops will be taking a big hit.

“The owners of other smoke shops tell us they’re profiting $10-$30,000 per month off K2 alone,” said Fox. “After the ban, they’re all going to be scrambling for the next JHW-018 substitute. But even after JHW-018 goes illegal, it’ll just go underground, anyway.”

Chicago has always been somewhat of an underground city, as the dusty Prohibition-era smuggling tunnels buried beneath it will eternally attest, a city with no shortage of opportunistic souls. And so, of course, the synthetic marijuana trade will go on the black market. The thing about the upcoming ban is that it only applies to JWH-018 and JWH-073, the specific compounds most often used in K2 and similar products. So it won’t be long before another THC-like compound is substituted, and another K2-like “herbal incense” is back on smoke shop shelves.

And so the government’s game of whack-a-mole will continue: Keep marijuana illegal, and up pops K2. Bat down K2, and up pops an alternative — an alternative which is usually more harmful than the original thing being banned. History has shown that if people want to get high, they will find a way, and that goes double for prohibition-resistant Chicago. Every K2-selling head shop is already inundated with bulk orders from users eager to exploit K2′s upcoming scarcity, and even non-selling shops are assailed by offers from enterprising individuals peddling homemade K2, since JWH-018 can be easily ordered online.

“We get people coming in from the neighborhood sometimes, trying to sell us pounds of synthetic marijuana they made in their basements ,” said Fox. “That’s another problem with people getting high off this stuff. It’s unregulated, so people have no idea what’s giving them that rush.”

The rush is on indeed, and, every day, as the ban deadline approaches, a search of “K2” on Chicago Craigslist’s for sale “General” forum brings up more and more ads such as this one:

“I noticed the news of the banning of synthetic marijuana in your state as of Jan 1. 2011. I have about 60 packs of 3gs a piece I am willing to sell for a low price. I have too much! Please contact me email or txt phone. Go Cubs!”

Alienation of the Sox fan demographic aside, one must admire her entrepreneurial instinct.

A minor who lives on Chicago’s North Side and decides to come out can find support and information at several locations. Lakeview’s Center on Halsted is the city’s first community center geared toward homosexual Americans, and is located in a neighborhood recognized as the nation’s first officially-recognized “gay village.” The center offers after-school and weekend youth group meetings. At Howard Brown’s Broadway Youth Center (3179 N. Broadway), LGBT teens have the option to receive counseling, STD testing, shower, or just hang out (hours are varied).

The Chicago Public Schools’ online Student Policy Handbook was modified in late July 2010 to include gay-bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination. This means that, at least on paper, young LGBT Chicagoans should feel protected in any public school.

Because LGBT youth often face hostility from their classmates, several gay-straight alliances (GSA) have been in existence in Chicago for more than a dozen years. The first such group was formed at Whitney Young High School, in 1996. Lane Tech, Senn, Mather and Walter Payton College Prep high schools have GSAs. The South Loop’s Jones College Prep, itself headed by an openly-gay principal, began its own GSA in 1999.

But what about Chicago LGBT youth on the South Side? Though the resources aren’t as out in the open, they are there.

Currently, there are high school GSAs near the Back of the Yards at Curie Metropolitan (4959 S. Archer) and Thomas Kelly (4136 S. California) high schools.

To the east are the University of Chicago Charter Schools. According to Math Department Chair Joshuah Thurbee, Woodlawn School (serving grades 6-12) will be starting an LGBT after-school program next month. Additionally, there is a “Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays” (PFLAG) chapter at 5400 South Kimbark, to support LGBT youth who need assistance in educating those in their lives on what’s happening to them.

Education is the key, says Peace And Education Coalition Alternative High School Principal Brigitte Swenson. Creating a safe learning space for LGBT youth, she said, is “not just a North Side issue.”

Peace And Education Coalition Alternative High School provides a safe place.

The Peace And Education Coalition Alternative High School has two campuses: Upton Sinclair, located at 4946 S. Paulina, and Second Chance, at 4747 S. Marshfield. Though their main purpose is to serve under-achieving students who are “farmed” out of the larger public schools because they are 20 or 21 and haven’t graduated yet, Swenson says that LGBT students do seek them out.

“They may not say that the reason why they weren’t successful with their traditional high school was because of their sexuality,” Swenson said. “But they will have other reasons that contribute to it: family problems, or not having a consistent place to live.”

“We see everything,” Swenson continued, “and sexuality is a huge issue. I think that some kids don’t even know that they’re struggling with it, they can’t even verbalize it.”

Violence, gang and otherwise, is a big issue in the Back of the Yards neighborhood; the Peace and Education Coalition schools have a zero-tolerance policy as a result. Swenson said that during her 13 years in the program, she’s seen only about one act of violence a year. The students involved were usually withdrawn from the program, serving as a deterrent to the others.

“You’ll hear a lot of talk in our program about, ‘You’re not worth me getting kicked out of this school, so I’m just going to forget it,’” Swenson said. “And I tell the kids, ‘If that helps you save face, then that’s fine.’”

And LGBT discrimination? “The staff and the school are really communicative with the kids, and if we hear things that are happening, we don’t ignore it. We bring it in, we do a ‘sit around the table, let’s talk about this … What does this mean?’”

Nearby, Holy Cross Church (4541 S. Wood) and Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation both also offer assistance to LGBT youth without publicizing this service. They provide counseling and resources to young people struggling with violence, bullying and homelessness — all issues that touch LGBT youth.

On the P&EC’s collaboration with Holy Cross, Swenson said, “I think what you’re going to find in this neighborhood is a lot of tolerance. We’re dealing with a lot of different kids with a lot of different issues. If we have a young gay student who is struggling, people are going to reach out to help him. And the church — not this church — isn’t going to turn its back.”

P&EC LGBT students’ feedback indicates that they feel safer in a smaller school environment, if not a bit more ostracized. But, Swenson said, things are changing.

“It’s more of a curiosity thing. Maybe it is that ‘South Side versus North Side’ thing; they are kind of sheltered. But more and more we find kids who speak out in class, on tolerance and understanding: ‘My cousin is gay,’ or ‘my sister is a lesbian’… Usually when there is talk, it’s about ignorance, and then we try to make an effort to educate the kids.

We say, ‘this school is here for everybody.’”

Related articles

• LGBT Community Mourns String of Suicides (chicagoist.com)
• Dan Savage Tells LGBT Youth “It Gets Better” (chicagoist.com)

Featuring a green and reflective roof, state-of-the-art security, computerized crime-fighting tools, a physical fitness room, and a special room for community policing meetings, this new building, located at 850 W. Addison St., offers incentives not only to officers, but residents as well.

Deputy Alderman for the 44th Ward, Bennett Lawson, has said there are many benefits that come with the opening of the new station, including the fact that Lakeview residents will now be able to park on Addison Street, where a long row of police cars used to reside. Since a four-story parking garage was built to house the police cars that once sat on the street, residents as well as those who visit the Lakeview community will be able to use the 111 parking spots that were set aside to generate revenue.

“We’re very excited about it; we’ve been talking about a new station for 30 years now. The community is very pleased,” said Deputy Ald. Lawson.

While the Lawson has said that they are looking into repurposing the 80-year-old “Town Hall” station and possibly turning it into a landmark, one Chicago police officer who has served the 23rd district for 32 years believes the building would best be renovated into a retirement home, but feels that the force will lose a sense of intimacy once they move to the new building.

“I’ll tell you something you can’t see, and that’s the comradery that’s going to be lost because of the closeness and the smallness of the station, the coziness of the station. When guys come in off the street to wash their hands or process an arrest they sit around and talk with you and because of the sterile and openness of that [new station] that’s all going to go away,” said police officer Don Eichler.

Arlene Cozzi, who manages a high-rise building located four blocks away from the new station, believes the enormity of the new station will bring better relations between residents and the police.

“I think the new police station is better for us because it means there’s going to be more people able to go in that section. I saw through the window that they have all those tables and chairs and I think that’ll make the police more open to the people in the community,” said Cozzi.

The official opening of the station, scheduled for Nov. 22, will end the almost two-year wait for the $53 million building, which was funded by the Public Building Commission.

“The Public Building Commission builds municipally-owned facilities that provide cornerstones to communities and neighborhoods throughout Chicago, so we expect that the new police station will bring a state-of-the-art police station to the Lakeview community as well as an anchor for the community,” said Mimi Simon,  spokeswoman for the Public Building Commission.

McGhee, 48, said earlier this month in a street survey in the Back of the Yards neighborhood that gang activity is prevalent in the area. “It’s not as open as it was before, but it’s there,” he said.

McGhee grew up in Back of the Yards on the city’s Southwest Side, and his mother still lives there. He said pedestrians should be aware of their surroundings to avoid becoming crime victims.

“If you walk around with your purse hanging open and flaunting your jewelry, you’re asking for trouble,” he said.

McGhee was one of a handful of Back of the Yards workers and residents who agreed that the neighborhood is frequently plagued by gang rivalry. Most agreed it is not safe to walk around the area alone.

Despite residents’ worries about crime, Back of the Yards is not as crime-ridden as many other Chicago neighborhoods. The Austin area on the city’s far West Side recorded 1,945 crimes from Sept. 8 through Oct. 8, according to www.EveryBlock.com, a website that tracks crime in major U.S. cities. That total was the largest number recorded in any Chicago neighborhood during that time period.

Meanwhile, 707 crimes were reported in Back of the Yards during that same month, according to EveryBlock.

Some Back of the Yards residents said they have taken extreme measures to protect themselves.

“I do not feel safe because one year ago I was stabbed with a machete in the hand and forearm,” said 42-year-old resident named Jorge, who declined to give his last name. “Now I carry a weapon with me wherever I go.”

Maria Teresa, 50, said crime is more prevalent on weekends and worsens every summer. “You can hear a lot of shootings and someone always gets hurt,” she said.

Ald. George Cardenas, whose 12th Ward includes Back of the Yards, said in a phone interview, “We’re trying to make that neighborhood safer. But the high rate of poverty is a concern for us.”

The average annual income in Back of the Yards is $29,600, compared to $46,911 for the city of Chicago, according to www.city-data.com, a website that provides data on Chicago neighborhoods. More than 36 percent of the residents in Back of the Yards live in poverty, the website said, compared to 20 percent citywide.

The website also said more than 21 percent of the households in Back of the Yards are headed by single women, compared to 13 percent of the households in the city as a whole.

The number of non-English speaking households is very high in Back of the Yards. According to the city-data website, 21 percent of the residents of Back of the Yards do not speak English, compared to 9 percent in Chicago as a whole. The number of residents in Back of the Yards who never finished high school is twice as high as Chicago overall.

Cardenas said he hopes new development will bring more jobs and improve the standard of living in Back of the Yards. He noted that the Chicago Public School system is constructing a $100 million high school at 47th and Hoyne streets.

He also said the city is trying to develop Damen Yards Plaza, a shopping center that includes Food for Less and Burger King. “We’re trying to get more companies to move to the area,” Cardenas said. He said he is hoping Wal-Mart will open a store there as well.

The area is becoming more safe, he said, because of the greater police presence and more surveillance cameras.

“We’ve put the gangs on notice: They will not be tolerated,” Cardenas said. “We’re trying to hold the line against them. We don’t want to be overly optimistic, but we’re trying to do better for that area. We’re also trying to improve the sidewalks, streets and lighting.”

Although the crime in Back of the Yards is substantial, there are still residents who said they feel comfortable living there.

Enrique Avila, 79, has lived in Back of the Yards for 10 years. “I don’t think this neighborhood is really bad. It does have gang problems,” he said.

Some residents agreed that the police presence and surveillance have helped with crime and gang-related problems.

Chicago police officer Alonso Garza of the 9th District said thefts and burglaries are the most commonly reported crimes in Back of the Yards. He said this trend was partially related to the economic recession.

“Houses are broken into when no one is home,” said Garza. “They case the place and know when people are away all day at work. They look for vulnerabilities. They take things, especially electronic equipment like TVs. They take jewelry.”

Garza recommended residents use dead bolts on their doors. He also said residents should install bars on their windows to keep people from breaking in.

The Chicago Police Department has started many anti-gang programs in the past three years, according to Garza. “We’ve crippled the street gangs. Many members are in jail,” he said.

Gangs active in the area are Latin Saints, La Raza and 2-6, according to Garza.

“Those three knucklehead gangs — those are what we’re focusing on,” he said. “They’ve been fighting a lot in Back of the Yards. We’ve made numerous arrests. A lot of them are in jail.”

He said gang members usually stay busy selling drugs and causing disturbances. “We often find violence out of control, especially aggravated assault. We see them out there screwing around. We stop them and ask for their IDs. We put them on notice: ‘We’re here, so we see you. We know what you’re doing.’”

Gang members caught carrying a weapon without a permit are arrested, Garza said. He said arresting gang members is very “manpower intensive.”

The Back of the Yards is named for the Chicago Stockyards, which was the largest meatpacking plant in the country until the 1950s. The old gates to the entrance of the stockyards have been preserved.

Once home to Eastern-European immigrants, Back of the Yards is now home to a large Hispanic community.

The Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council is one of the oldest community organizations in America still functioning, according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago. Founded in 1939 by Saul Alinsky and Joseph Meegan, the council was dedicated to the motto, “We the people will work out our own destiny.”

The council set the pattern for what is known as the Alinsky school of organizing. An outside organizer would work with local leaders to create a democratic organization in which people could express their needs and gain improvements in their conditions, according to the encyclopedia.

At a debate held in Glencoe last Thursday, illegal immigration was a topic over which Dold and Democratic candidate Dan Seals disagreed.

“As much as it’s about who’s working in our country, it’s also very much about national security,” Dold said. “Let’s not forget we are in the midst of a war on terror, that there are people out there who do not like us because of the freedoms we enjoy.”

Democratic candidate Dan Seals said he also thinks that securing the Mexican border is critical, but unlike Dold, who favors building a fence along the border, Seals supports increased border patrols.

Seals also said that Dold had not addressed the issue of undocumented immigrants who are currently living in the United States.

“A lot of people say, let’s pull them out of their beds and ship them off somehow. I don’t know how you can do that. How much would you spend to do that?” he said.

Seals vowed to crack down on companies and businesses that hire undocumented immigrants. His plan for reform would also have undocumented immigrants pay a fee for being in the country illegally, undergo a criminal background check, and be able to  demonstrate financial independence.

When asked about his political stance on the Dream Act, legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children to remain in the U.S. conditionally, Dold said he thought it was a step in the right direction.

“I would like to see come changes made. I’d like to see it going from two years to three years. I’d like to see the military and AmeriCorps or something else like that and then allow them to go into education after that,” Dold said.

Currently the Dream Act requires only two years completion of college or two years of military service in order to be eligible for conditional permanent residency.

Seals spokeswoman Aviva Gibbs said while Seals supports the tenets of the Dream Act, he believes the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act (CIR ASAP) is the first step for undocumented immigrants seeking citizenship.

The Dream Act legislation is actually a part of the CIR ASAP bill; however, instead of being offered only to minors, CIR would extend conditional residency to all eligible undocumented immigrants.

Dold’s views on immigration mirror those of Republican Rep. Mark Kirk, who voted for the Secure Fence Act, legislation that increased border surveillance and required fencing and additional barriers to be installed along the Mexican border. Kirk has represented Illinois’ 10^th District for the past decade.

A recent nationwide poll by Quinnipiac University asked 1,905 registered voters for their opinions on immigration reform. The question asked, “Do you think immigration reform should primarily move in the direction of integrating illegal immigrants into American society, or in the direction of stricter enforcement of laws against illegal immigration?”

Only 24 percent were in favor of integration; 68 percent said they favored stricter enforcement of existing immigration laws.

Educating people of all ages would be the most efficient way to curb violence on Chicago’s Southside, according to Ald. Carrie Austin.

Ald. Carrie Austin (34th)

“We’re trying to work at the core of why our areas are so violent now,” said Austin, 34th Ward alderman and chairwoman of the city council’s budget committee. Austin, 61, talked with a Columbia College journalism class Monday morning.

“We have to teach them a different way of having to react; that’s education,” said Austin about the young people in her ward.

The 34th Ward gained national attention in September 2009 after the beating death of a Fenger High School student was caught on a cell phone camera.  Austin said the incident was not related to Fenger.

Apathy is a major cause of violence in the 34th Ward because the only future the children see for themselves is in drug trafficking and gang activity, Austin said.

“When you try to tell a young man who is pushing drugs [to] earn an honest dollar, what do they tell you? ‘I make more in a day than I can in a whole entire honest week,’” she said. “How do you get that individual away from that kind of mind set?”

According to Austin, the school system is in place to turn youth away from drugs and street violence. She said she works closely with the school principals of the 34th Ward to ensure they have everything necessary to educate their students.

Education should not stop with children, she added.

“Most of the young people that we target have not always had a good upbringing. That’s education of the parents,” said Austin. “You can’t put all the blame on the child.”

Austin said parents need to be taught how to raise their children properly.

A mother of seven, Austin grew up across the street from the Cabrini Green housing projects and attended Chicago public schools on the near North Side of Chicago.

“I’ve been on the South Side longer than I’ve been on the North Side, but my roots come from the north,” said Austin. She said she has lived in the 34th Ward for 40 years.

Austin said she never planned to be an alderman, but fell into the job after the death of her husband, Lemuel Austin, who was alderman at the time of his death in 1994.  She had served as ward secretary under her husband.

Austin began her political career in 1971 as an election judge. She was appointed chairman of the Budget and Government Operations Committee by Mayor Richard Daley in May 2007.

Looking toward the mayor’s race, Austin said she was “devastated” when Daley announced last month that he would not run for a seventh term. “I had the rug pulled out from under me when I heard the announcement,” she said. “I feel [Daley] is sympathetic to the city and knows its heartbeat.”

She added that Daley is “not perfect,” but everyone is “subject to mistakes.”

Austin questioned whether mayoral contender Rahm Emanuel has an existing network of support in Chicago. She praised Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart for his handling of the Burr Oak Cemetery, where employees were caught selling grave sites and removing the remains of people buried there without the knowledge of their family members.

Austin attended DePaul University and said she was “a breath away from becoming a dietician” but had to leave school to take care of her children.

“My intent was to be the best mother, the best wife that I could be,” said Austin. She said she raised her seven children “pretty much by myself.” She has 28 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Austin said she was very proud to see the opening in June of the Marshfield Plaza Mall on the city’s far South Side.

One of her aides, who declined to give her full name, called Austin a “strong advocate for her community. She has fought hard for the economic engine of her community. She’s a uniter.”

“People are presumed innocent until proven guilty,” he said. “They’re entitled to a day in court before they go to prison.”

Isaac has been working on behalf of detainees since the Bush administration began transferring inmates to Guantanamo in early 2002. He has lobbied Congress and urged lawmakers to vote in favor of closing the Guantanamo prison. Isaac talked about these experiences and more when he spoke to a Columbia College Chicago journalism class last week.

Isaac explained the habeas corpus rule, which is written in the body of the U.S. Constitution. Under the rule, which literally means “produce the body” in Latin, a defendant has the right to test the legality of his or her detention before a neutral judge. This is fundamental to the concept of civil rights in the United States, Isaac said.

“All of the freedoms in the Bill of Rights really rest on the notion that the police can’t throw you in jail,” said Isaac. “Or the president can’t lock you up on his own say-so without having an independent judge review it.”

These rights weren’t automatically granted to America’s enemies in the war on terror. In fact, when prisoners were first transferred to Guantanamo Bay by the Bush administration in 2002, the detainees weren’t even allowed access to attorneys. It wasn’t until 2004 that the Supreme Court ruled that detainees did have a right to file petitions of habeas corpus in federal court, Isaac said.

And even then the fight wasn’t over. Shortly after habeas corpus rights were granted, Republicans in Congress tried to change the law to take away the jurisdiction of the court to hear these cases in an attempt to overrule the Supreme Court and circumvent the Constitution.

Working closely with President Barack Obama, who was then a U.S. senator, Isaac and colleagues started lobbying Congress. Isaac and other attorneys walked the halls of the U.S. Senate office buildings, talking to anyone who would listen. Isaac said they worked out of Obama’s office, and Obama took a lead role in the fight on Capitol Hill. While he was campaigning for president, Obama frequently brought up the plight of the jailed prisoners in Guantanamo. When Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin criticized him for “protecting terrorists,” Obama called on her not to “mock the Constitution,” Isaac recalled.

“Part of what we had been dealing with all along was that the detainees’ cause is not a popular cause, or at least it hasn’t been perceived as a popular cause,” Isaac said.

But in many of the Guantanamo Bay cases, there was no basis for imprisonment at all, Isaac added.

“Most of them had nothing to do with Al Qaeda. They had nothing to do with the Taliban,” Isaac said.

Many detainees were also imprisoned based on “suspect intelligence,” Isaac said, and some prisoners were tortured to force them to offer up information that implicated others. Other prisoners were turned in for money, he added.

“The U.S. was offering bounties in Afghanistan,” Isaac said. “Literally $5,000, $10,000 – dropping fliers from planes basically saying you could become rich beyond your wildest dreams if you turn people in.”

Between 600 to 700 lawyers are working on Guantanamo cases, Isaac said. In about 75 percent of the cases that have been reviewed in courts, judges have ruled there was no evidence implicating the individuals. Soon after he became president, Obama signed an executive order to shut down the prison. That has not happened because of Congressional opposition, Isaac said. Some prisoners have had no connection with terrorist attacks on the United States, and they should be released, Isaac said.

“Each of these men, they’re individuals. They have wives and children and people who love them, and they’re entitled to have a day in court,” Isaac said. “And most of them turned out not to be who the government said they were.”

The jury deliberated for about two hours at Cook County’s Criminal Court Building before announcing the verdict.

Alfonso Figueroa was arrested on a DUI charge and driving without a license on June 11 on West Grand Avenue. According to two Chicago police officers who testified Monday, Figueroa failed several sobriety tests at the scene and refused to take alcohol tests for breath, urine and blood.

“At one point, I felt he was too intoxicated to stand on one leg,” said police officer Adrian Wallascetti.

He also said Figueroa had “glassy eyes,” swayed while walking and leaned against his car for support. Figueroa also smelled of alcohol and was unable to walk a straight line, according to Wallascetti.

Wallascetti, who is certified to administer sobriety tests, was dispatched to the scene to assist in Spanish translation. Figueroa was first stopped by officer Benjamin Rhodes.

At the trial held before Judge Vincent Gaughan, defense attorneys said the officers failed to ask Figueroa if he had any medical conditions, whether he was using medications or suffered from allergies when they stopped him. They suggested that any of these conditions could have contributed to the behaviors the officers noticed.

Attorneys for the defense and prosecution agreed that Figueroa was driving without a license when he was arrested, so he was found guilty on that charge.

Rhodes testified that he stopped Figueroa after he was observed driving erratically, crossing over the center of the road into oncoming traffic at about 3 a.m. Figueroa pulled into a nearby grocery parking lot and stumbled when he climbed out of his vehicle, said Rhodes.

“In my opinion, the defendant was under the influence of .08 or higher alcohol volume,” said Wallascetti.

Defense attorneys also pointed out that Wallascetti’s statement of events was not on the arresting report.

Figueroa first agreed to a sobriety test, but after a short observation period he refused the breathalyzer at approximately 4:30 a.m., the officers said.

He said he then offered blood and urine testimg to Figueroa, who declined them. Figueroa was then placed under arrest.

His attorneys pointed out, however, that the portion of the sobriety report reserved for documenting Figueroa’s compliance or refusal was left blank.

Wallascetti said he has worked with the police department for four years and has seen hundreds of people under the influence of alcohol. Since the incident, he said he arrested 40 people, 15 of whom failed the sobriety test.

Figueroa could have received a sentence of one to three years in prison if he had been found guilty of the aggravated DUI charge.

Gunned down on July 18 while chasing robbers in front of his South Side home, Bailey was set to retire this year as he turned 63. Not only did Bailey serve and protect the city of Chicago for the past 20 years, but he also served in the United States Air Force until 1969, worked as a firefighter at Glenview Naval Station, and was a member of the local school board.

The chambers at the city council meeting were about halfway full for the ceremony, with an audience that included Bailey’s wife and children, as numerous aldermen rose to speak on the officer’s behalf. One alderman in particular spoke about the peaceful way in which Bailey kept local community meetings under control while still keeping his nice guy image.

During his time serving as a Chicago police officer up until his recent passing, Bailey personally guarded the home of Mayor Richard M. Daley, who also spoke fondly of him at the meeting. Daley said he was outraged that community members have yet to come forward with information leading to Bailey’s killer, especially since Bailey was such a prominent figure in his neighborhood.

A large, illuminated picture of a smiling Bailey in a tuxedo was projected for all to see at the meeting. The ceremony was brought to an end with final remarks from the mayor, who walked over to Bailey’s family members and shook each of their hands.

The shiny new Buick that Bailey had bought as a retirement gift for himself still stands as an everlasting memory, while Chicago police vow to catch his killer.

Austin, the largest of Chicago’s 77 communities with a population of roughly 117,527, is part of Chicago’s West Side, which also consists of West Garfield Park, East Garfield Park, North Lawndale and Near West Side. U.S. Census Bureau statistics show the area to be predominantly African-American.

Ralph Johnson, a Social Service Agency Senior Employment Program volunteer, said the Austin community has slowly been in decline since he moved there 30 years ago. “Austin’s pretty much the same. The crime elements have become a little more brazen as of late. The economic conditions have contributed to their boldness,” said Johnson.

A lack of education coupled with a weak job market have contributed to the increasing number of gang members in the community. “Violence spreads across all ages,” said Terrayne Ellis, a program coordinator at the Austin YMCA. “It starts out as bullying in elementary school. Kids get into fights to established position. These kids grow up to be teenagers and, true enough, through peer pressure, become involved in gang-related activities.”

Pastor Anthony Hall, who has worked with reforming gang members and has mediated gang-related disputes as part of the New Birth Christian Center for the last six years, believes depressed communities like Austin continue to be challenged because residents live with challenging situations all their lives.

“When all you’re exposed to are beauty shops, fast food restaurants and auto shops, that is all you aspire for. The lack of motivation, the lack of drive, is what leads to people taking things that are not theirs. This type of criminal behavior will continue to become a recurrent fact unless there is major community involvement,” said Hall. “We must teach kids to aspire for more.”

Danette King started Young Creative Minds, an Austin-based nonprofit organization that provides mentorship programs to at-risk youth, in 2007. Through her work, King has given troubled teenagers an environment where they can learn the value of self-respect, motivation, integrity, leadership and education. “Kids are able to express themselves here, and with that release comes a decrease in violent behavior,” said King. “These kids need to know someone is listening, someone cares for them.”

Caroline Edwards, a long-time Austin resident, agreed that change in the community would be a result of a collaborative effort between the local police and community workers to find productive ways with which to occupy the youth of Austin. “Job shadowing with police officers will give young adults a first-hand account of the demands and responsibilities of the job. The experience leaves them with greater respect for the hard work these police officers put into their work everyday,” said Edwards.

Despite constant policing efforts via blue-light surveillance cameras and strict curfew laws (persons 17 and under must be in their homes by 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and at 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday) in the neighborhood, many Austin residents still feel police presence is not enough to curb the increasing incidents of violence in the community.

In April, State Rep. La Shawn Ford (8th) encouraged Gov. Pat Quinn to work with Mayor Richard M. Daley in bringing the Illinois National Guard to at-risk neighborhoods in the South and West Sides of Chicago. Many residents opposed the controversial move.

“There is no need for the National Guard. We are not a war zone,” said Ald. Ed H. Smith, of Chicago’s 28th Ward. “Bringing in an outside resource implies the police is not effective. It is a poor reflection of city and local government. It suggests we are not doing the job we are paid to do.”

For Ellis, the Austin YMCA program coordinator, getting violence under control is an effort that requires the work of the whole community.

“The police can’t solve these problems on their own. Parents need to take responsibility in rearing their children,” Ellis said. “It takes a village to raise these kids.”

The Judicial Performance Commission Pilot Project is a joint effort by the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, a research and advocacy organization focusing on criminal justice reform, judicial election and selection reform, and government effectiveness and the Chicago Council of Lawyers, a public interest bar association dedicated to improving the quality of the legal system by advocating for fair and efficient administration of justice in Chicago.

The two organizations often work together to further our mutual goals of reform, accountability and justice. Together, Chicago Appleseed and the Council comprise a public interest partnership working together through joint projects and publications including:

• The 2009 edition of the Legal Services Directory of free and low cost legal services is now on the website, www.chicagoappleseed.org, and is available in a hard copy edition. We have been publishing this listing and description of free and low cost legal services since 1982.
• A brochure on consumer fraud, Consumer Rights in Illinois, a full-color brochure that includes state and citywide information for Illinois residents to use when reporting complaints. This brochure is printed in English and Spanish, and is distributed free of charge.
• A new edition of the Judicial Directory containing the Chicago Council of Lawyers’ judicial evaluations of all judges sitting in Cook County through March 2009.  The Directory is published both on the website and in hard copy.
• And the soon to be published, 2010 edition of the Tenant-Landlord Handbook, a discussion of rights and obligations for Chicago tenants and landlords that has been publishing for more than 25 years.

Chicago Appleseed’s comprehensive examination of Chicago’s felony trial courtrooms, supported by the Chicago Community Trust, has led to these changes:

• Successfully negotiated the end of videoconferencing in bond court.
• Created an ongoing court watching program at the Criminal Courts Building.
• The addition of five  judges assigned to the Criminal Courts Building at 26th and California.

Chicago Appleseed works with the national Appleseed organization and its pro bono partners, Latham & Watkins LLC and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP,  on immigration reform and issues. They produced a comprehensive report on the immigration courts, Assembly Line Injustice. The Chicago Appleseed and Chicago Council are working with the Chicago Kent College of Law to operate a court watching program for the immigration courts in Chicago, and working with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago on self-help materials for immigrants appearing pro se (represent yourself) immigration courts.

If you’re mad as hell about fraud and corruption, and sick of the government wasting your money, you don’t have to take it anymore.

The Better Government Association is hosting two Citizen Watchdog Training sessions from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on July 20 and July 27. Both sessions are free and will be held at Loyola University’s Quinlan Life Sciences Building, Auditorium 142, at 1032 W. Sheridan.

The big dogs at BGA will train everyday citizens how to monitor government in their communities, publicize what they find and advocate for real change in government. Veteran investigative journalists, political reporters and legal experts will share their tricks of the trade with watchdogs to identify stories, research and analyze government reports, writing bullet-proof FOIAs, develop sources and report on their findings in all areas of government. More importantly, watchdogs will be equipped with the tools to advocate for change and demand better government.

Former ABC 2 political reporter and BGA executive director Andy Shaw will make an appearance. Citizens will also have the chance to meet a real government whistle-blower and learn how she stopped corruption in her own government agency.

Both sessions are identical so watchdogs-in-training need only sign up for one session. The sessions are expected to fill up fast so RSVP early at [email protected].

The Better Government Association (BGA) is an independent, non-partisan watchdog group committed to improving government.  With hard-hitting investigations and timely litigation the BGA exposes government corruption, waste and mismanagement.  We promote effective public policy and engage citizens to advocate for a transparent, accountable and honest government.

Beat 1724 has been relatively quiet in comparison to other beats, said Chicago Police Sgt. Kristin Barker in a monthly CAPS meeting last night at Horner Park Field House.

Horner Park Field House

Barker told those present—six residents and one other officer—that the city average is 100–125 incidents per beat per month, but last month Beat 1724 (covering Ravenswood Manor south of Wilson) reported 88 incidents. This month, it was down to 78. “Ever so often there’s an anomaly [in 1724], and that number will go up,” Barker told me. “But citizens are very active on this beat.”

Read more at the source. Thanks to Center Square Journal.
This story has been updated to remove the entire text and direct readers to the original story.

For local art activist Chris Drew, following this common sense advice has landed him in court. Drew faces a eavesdropping charge that comes with a harsh penalty of up to 15 years in jail. (see Drew’s blog for the full story.)

I caught up with Chris Drew recently at the Making Media Connections Conference, and asked him about his arrest for selling small art patches without a peddler’s license, and the eavesdropping charge.

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The Chicago Police Department has said that they cannot alleviate the situation alone, and are looking for assistance from the community. This summer, much like others in the past, the police are looking to the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy program, a 15-year old program that provides a unique outlet to Chicago communities.

“CAPS is about the best thing that happened to the community,” said Willie Morrow, a lifelong resident of Gresham and beat facilitator of the 6th police district.

CAPS, a problem solving tool that opens communication and partnerships with the community, has consistently had the support and input from communities. The 6th district has been an active participant of CAPS, but that hasn’t stopped violent crime in the neighborhood which is leading to residents questioning its effectiveness.

The 6th district has close to 100,000 residents, which has undoubtedly been a contributing factor to violence in the area. The district, nine miles big, has 310 officers to patrol the streets. And when the public housing projects were vacated nearly five years ago, there was an influx of residents relocating to the neighborhoods.

“We can’t arrest our way out of the situation,” said Rich Wooten, officer and CAPS liaison for the 6th district.

He said instead, CAPS offers a variety of programs and services to the residents each month. Residents can get involved in by attending any of the events including, crime prevention seminars, family service resources, record expungements and job fairs. The programs are not exclusive to the 6th district, but all are oriented toward helping the community and building a symbiotic bond.

“This helps CAPS bring down crime and help the people at the same time,” said Theresa Hubbard, a Gresham resident and organizer for the CAPS jobs fairs.

The 6th district jobs fairs have become so popular that they were forced to relocate to a bigger venue. On May 20, the job fairs were moved to the AFC Center, which has more space and is more practical, Hubbard said. She added that at last month’s job fair there were over 1,000 people, the largest turnout yet, lined around the block to get in contact with the 38 vendors.

Chicago has 25 police districts divided into 279 beats. CAPS has monthly beat meetings to share information, discuss strategies and problem-solve. All beat residents are encouraged to attend – participation is calculated by attendance.

“We got this opportunity, don’t let it go because what’s better than knowing who your officer is?” said Beverly Williams, CAPS community organizer.

Williams started working in CAPS when it was a pilot program funded by federal grants in 1993.  After proven successful in its five test districts, the 6th being one, the program was adopted by the Chicago Police Department and expanded to all 25 districts. Since 1995, CAPS has evolved greatly because of community involvement, Wooten said.

In the past the police department would primarily run the two-hour beat meetings, that has since changed due to its ineffectiveness, Morrow said.

“We’d get nothing done,” said Morrow, who’s been beat 614 facilitator since 1995.

Morrow and the CAPS office joined forces in 1998, and implemented a new strategy which included implementing an agenda and systematic order of running the new one-hour meetings.

At each meeting, residents and the police department bring forth new business, and remedy old, unfinished business. Each month’s crime data, as well as maps that include where crimes were committed are provided. The meetings are the essential effective component of CAPS, Wooten said.

“It creates a better understanding of the police department and what they’re doing for the community,” said Mary Castle-Enyard, co-facilitator of beat 614.

There are 12 beats in the 6th district, and although community participation has been increasing, crime is still prevalent.

“We’re not problem solving enough,” said Williams.

Problems are solved block-by-block. Williams said knowing your neighbor is crucial in crime prevention.

She said that a clean, orderly block deters criminals while uncut grass with vacant buildings is a breeding ground for illegal activity. She added that generally when a crime occurs it’s usually because the offender knows somebody on that block.

“The only way to solve problems in the neighborhood is you got to reach out to your neighbors,” said Morrow.

In 2007, Williams and Morrow started a new strategy in the 6th district – total block organization.  They gathered polling sheets that had the names and addresses for everyone in beat 614; then four teams of two spent roughly four hours a day knocking on the doors of the 120 blocks in the beat.

“This is something that’s never been done in CAPS before,” Williams said, although she has been advocating it for a while.

The teams introduce themselves, and talk about the importance of getting involved with CAPS. Most residents were unfamiliar with their neighbors, and there were a handful that had been living on the same block for over 30 years, Castle-Enyard said.

“You can’t be in jail in your own home, you have to get involved,” she said.

As a result of the new program, Morrow organized 60 block representatives who report to him weekly. The widespread intelligence gathered has assisted in prevention, and kept crime low in beat 614. The program also increased the attendance at CAPS meetings.

Community involvement is even more instrumental after budget cuts have scaled down police resources, Wooten said.

“Community members have to step up their game and help the police department take back their streets,” he said.

Two US Bank representatives joined locally elected officials and community activists in search of a partnership that appeared to be a way’s off.

After listening to several people speak, Robert McGhee, vice president of Community Development for US Bank, said the foreclosure situation affects every neighborhood in Chicago.

McGhee said US Bank, which took over Park National Bank last fall after federal regulators seized it. wants to form a partnership with the community. But when pressed on when the two parties could “come to the table,” McGhee couldn’t give a definite answer.

“We are here to work ,and we want to find a constructive way to work with the community,” he said. “We are willing to do pretty much whatever it takes to slow this problem down, but it is going to take time. We can’t just slam the breaks and stop it overnight.”

Virgil Crawford of the Westside Health Authority continued to push McGhee on a partnership, saying that this is a “right now issue.”

“It is time for you to step up, US Bank,” he said. “We want to form a partnership, and we want to come to the table and get to work. But we need both sides at the table.”

McGhee’s response: whenever the call has come through, we’ve answered. We are here tonight, I am here tonight, but these things take time.

Steven McCullough, president and chief executive officer of Bethel New Lifeand a member of the Coalition to Save Community Banking, repeated the coalition’s desire for US Bank to establish a $25 million foreclosure pool to be used for rehabbing foreclosed properties that families can then live in.

“We need somebody that will go to the wire for us,” he said. “We need a partner that believes in our community, in our residents, in our schools and business. In order to have a partnership, we need to have terms, and that is what we are trying to establish.”

McCullough shared some alarming statistics – facts like in the last 16 months, US Bank has been involved in 366 foreclosures on Chicago’s West Side and neighboring suburb of Oak Park. And in 2009, US Bank filed 1,927 foreclosures citywide, the third highest for any financial institution, but he said it is not all US Bank.

“US Bank is what we are talking about today, but they are not the only bank,” he said. “All banks need to be held accountable, and today it’s US Bank; tomorrow it’s going to be Wells Fargo, and then it’s going to be Chase. We are going to go after all banks, everyone in the food chain that has hurt our families and our communities.”

A study by the Chicago Rehab Network found that in March 2010 alone, there were 1,763 newly filed foreclosures and 1,896 completed foreclosures in Chicago. In Austin’s three wards – the 28th, 29th and 37th – there were 102 newly filed foreclosures and 128 completed foreclosures.

According to the same Chicago Rehab Network study, JP Chase Morgan leads all banks in Chicago with 235 forecloses, followed by Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. with 171, US Bank with 167, Wells Fargo Bank with 110 andCitiMortgage Inc. with 109.

A common theme of the night was praise for Park National Bank and its long record of serving and investing in the community.

David Pope, president of the Village of Oak Park, said there needs to be a financial institution that will continue the commitment Park National Bank had to the residents, businesses and communities of the West Side.

“The takeover of Park National Bank amounts to the largest bank robbery in the United States,” Pope said. “The foreclosure crisis is killing these communities, and it’s profoundly harming the Austin neighborhood. We need a partnership with US Bank to bring back the community banking that these neighborhoods used to grow and need to survive.”

McGhee said US Bank is very away of the positive impact Park National Bank had on the community.

Jacqueline Reed, president and chief executive officer of the Westside Health Authority, said the West Side used to have a banker in the neighborhood who understood the needs of the residents and invested in the needs of the community.

“Now we have streets that are lined with boarded-up houses and a banker who is not taking stepping up to help the residents who need help,” she said. “The government gives handouts to the banks, the banks ought to give handouts to the people. When they don’t, something ain’t right.”

Delia Ewing, 84, who lives in the 5300 block of West Congress Parkway, pleaded with McGhee to clean up the property located next to her house, recounting how just last week someone carried a dead dog out of the foreclosed home that is not boarded up.

“I look out my window and can see the abandoned house next door with weeds as tall as I am. There are nights when dogs are barking all night, and people are going in and out of the building at all times,” Ewing said.

“My husband and I are 86 and 84 years old. We have tried to clean up the property, but we can’t do it anymore. All I am asking for is help, we just need help. I don’t know what is going on over there, but I am scared.”

Reed pushed McGhee to make a commitment to deal with the property today, and he assured the lively crowd that something would be done Wednesday morning.

The Westside Health Authority’s Crawford then interrupted McGhee, insisting these are “right now issues” and asked McGhee if US Bank is willing to commit the $25 million to a community stabilization.

McGhee sidestepped the question, saying “that’s an unrealistic question.”

Ald. Deborah Graham (29th Ward) challenged the audience to commit to taking money out of US Bank if a partnership and a plan of action is not reached.

“We want to work with you (US Bank). But if the issue isn’t resolved, we need to take our money out of the bank,” she said.

Rep. Karen Yarbrough (D-Chicago) said US Bank has to do better for the West Side community and communities all across the city. She said the community standard set by Park National Bank will not be forgotten and it’s time for US Bank to “step up and become a community banking leader.”

“We need you to step up US Bank, and let me tell you, the people in the room aren’t going away,” she said.

Article cutesy of AustinTalks.org.

If you missed it, check out Tuesday’s story: Elected Officials Take Foreclosure Tour on West Side

More than 30 people took part in the “tour” and heard Steven McCullough, chief executive officer and president of Bethel New Life present alarming statistics – facts like in the last 16 months, US Bank has been involved in 366 foreclosures on Chicago’s West Side and neighboring suburb of Oak Park.

McCullough also noted that in all of 2009, US Bank filed 1,927 foreclosures citywide, the third highest for any financial institution.

A representative from US Bank could not be reached for comment.

Elce Redmond of the South Austin Coalition, a grassroots community group that advocates for the area’s low-income residents, said no one seemed surprised by the numbers. That’s because when driving the streets of Austin, Redmond noted, there’s rarely a block that doesn’t have at least one boarded up or abandoned house – a tell-tale sign of foreclosure.

“’Do Not Enter’ signs and ‘Foreclosed’ signs are becoming a commonality in this community, and that is where the problem lies,” Redmond said. “This is what is happening in the community, and the elected officials, as much as the residents, want to put an end to foreclosures and start the next step, which is getting people back into their homes.”

McCullough said abandoned and boarded-up buildings are a dire problem on the West Side because vacant spaces get taken over by drug dealers and gangs.

“These vacant homes lead to increased gang activity and violence,” he said. “It is time for US Bank to be held accountable, and we want them to meet the same community standards and the same level of community involvement that we had with Park National Bank.

Park National Bank was seized by federal regulators in October, and its operations were turned over to US Bank. Park National was widely praised for its relationship with the community and its residents.

A study by the Chicago Rehab Network found that in March 2010 alone, there were 1,763 newly filed foreclosures and 1,896 completed foreclosures in Chicago. In Austin’s three wards – the 28th, 29th and 37th – there were 102 newly filed foreclosures and 128 completed foreclosures.

According to the same Chicago Rehab Network study, JP Morgan Chase Bank leads all banks in Chicago with 235 forecloses, followed by Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. with 171, US Bank with 167, Wells Fargo Bank with 110 and CitiMortgage Inc. with 109.

The Coalition to Save Community Banking and McCullough are asking US Bank to establish a $25 million foreclosure pool that would go directly to rehabbing foreclosed properties so families can live in them.

“Basically, we are asking them to create a community stabilization fund for families on the West Side,” he said. “In addition to rehabbing foreclosed properties, we are asking US Bank to provide more support for our residents in the form of counseling and also using loan modification to give families a chance to stay in their homes.”

Redmond said elected officials and everyday residents need to know what’s happening in their community.

“We live in this community, and we drive the streets of this community, but it is rare to stop and look around at what is happening in this community,” he said. “It was important for us to get out on the streets and take a walk and realize what is happening.”

McCullough said Austin residents must speak up and be heard. He said the livelihood of the West Side community is relying on a partnership with US Bank that doesn’t exist, and without it the foreclosure problem will only continue to get worse.

“They can do more,” he said. “The meeting is about putting a face on the problem and putting the pressure on the bank to step up and be accountable.”

US Bank and locally elected officials have been invited by the Coalition to Save Community Banking to a town hall tonight at 6:30 in Hope Community Church, 5900 W. Iowa.

The meeting is designed to put pressure on US Bank to work with the community and the residents of Austin on the foreclosure problem, Redmond said.

Article curtsey of  AustinTalks.org

‘Tis the season to renew your Chicago vehicle registration sticker. All city vehicle stickers expire June 30, regardless of the purchase date.

If you plan to purchase your sticker in person, head to your local Ward Office on Tuesday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Chicago City Clerk’s Office will be on hand to facilitate sales of 2010–2011 Chicago vehicle registration stickers, residential zone parking (the permit parking zone number is printed on the vehicle sticker), and guest passes. You will need to pay by cash or check, but you’ll receive your sticker the same day.

Read more at the source. Thanks to Center Square Journal.
This story has been updated to remove the entire text and direct readers to the original story.

When she leaves for the night, they are still outside roaming the block, which is why Barfield closes her store at 7 p.m.

“I wouldn’t want to be here after eight,” she said. “The area changes drastically.”

Barfield, along with other business owners and workers on Broadway Avenue, said loiterers are keeping people away from their businesses — and the Chateau Hotel, located at 3838 N. Broadway St., is the main cause of their headaches.

“That is the problem,” Barfield said. “That’s where they come out and loiter.”

According to Barfield, the Chateau Hotel is an inexpensive, transient hotel where prostitution, drug use and violence are common.

A hotel manager said he could not disclose prices over the phone but said a one-night stay would be under $100.

Barfield said she understands the people in the hotel need a place to stay, but they are keeping customers away from her store, located directly across from the hotel at 3837 N. Broadway St.

“I don’t want them in front of my store because it discourages customers from coming in, but where do they go? They move down to Subway. They go by Starbucks,” she said.

Fabian Aguirre, 18, an employee at Subway, located at 3821 N. Broadway St., said because the restaurant is open until midnight, loiterers from the hotel try to hang out inside or receive free food.

“Sometimes we have them come in here and try to stay here, and we kick them out,” Aguirre said.

He said when loiterers are not in Subway, they stand in front of the hotel, smoke cigarettes and “do nothing.”

Over the 36 years Barfield has been in the community, she said she has done everything from community walks to meetings with police and residents in order to clean up the hotel.

“We’ve addressed the issue with them across the street. We’ve addressed it with the commander,” she said. “It’s like, well, what do we do?”

According to Barfield, the community has brought Chateau Hotel owner Jack Gore to court multiple times, and altogether the hotel has 89 building and code violations.

Gore could not be located and did not return phone calls for this article.

Denice Davis, chief of staff to Ald. Helen Shiller (46th), could not confirm the number of violations, but said she knows the city previously asked the hotel owner to take care of a flooding issue in the basement as well as a rodent problem. The Chateau Hotel is located at the border of Uptown within the 46th Ward.

Barfield said she sometimes speaks with guests of the hotel, and they tell her of the unsafe conditions inside the building.

“A few people come into the store who live there, so I talk to them to find out what’s going on, and they tell me how bad it is in there,” she said. “It’s a problem, and they move these people in until an ambulance takes them away or something.”

In 2008, three people died in a room at the hotel from an apparent drug overdose, according to news reports.

Despite the hotel’s bad publicity, Davis said the Chateau Hotel, which has been in business before she began working for the ward in 1989, is not as bad as some say.

“The Chateau has been there for years, and unfortunately, just like a lot of other things in our area, when people move in they see what they deem as eyesores,” Davis said. “If you think it’s bad, help to make it better, don’t just sit back and judge it.”

Davis said hotel management follows strict safety precautions such as requiring a state identification card or driver’s license and also run a criminal background check before allowing someone to stay there.

Management runs background checks in order to prevent sex offenders from staying there because of the hotel’s close proximity to Gill Park, located at 825 W. Sheridan Road, and Horace Greeley Elementary School, located at 832 W. Sheridan Road, according to Davis.

She said she does not want to paint a “pearly picture of heaven” about the hotel, but the reality is some people need a place to stay, and business owners should take that into consideration.

“If they’re so worried about it, why don’t they go in there and offer one of them a job?” Davis said. “Let them clean your sidewalk. Let them mop your floors, if you’re so concerned. If not, then run your business.”

Barfield said she relies on the 23rd District police officers to patrol the area, but they can only do so much, because loiterers usually come back.

That is where the local community groups come in.

Jay Lyon, executive director of Lakeview’s Northalsted Business Alliance, said the alliance established a safety council, which works with the police department, neighborhood groups, and social service organizations such as the Center on Halsted, Broadway Youth Center and Night Ministry to keep the community safe.

Lyon said cracking down on loiterers is not as easy as it sounds due to the lack of anti-loitering laws.

“The United States Supreme Court struck down anti-loitering laws, so from a legal standpoint, unless someone is breaking the law, including disturbing the peace, the police are limited in what they can do,” he said.

However, the council found a different approach to the overarching issue of loitering in Lakeview and recently began to coordinate educational programs such as court ad/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=6988vocacy seminars, which train residents how to represent their community in a courtroom after police make an arrest.

The next court advocacy meeting for the 23 rd District is scheduled for May 25.

Jim Ludwig, owner of Roscoe’s Tavern, located at 3356 N. Halsted St., and member of the Northalsted Safety Council, said at a CAPS meeting he believes speaking directly to individuals who are disrupting businesses is the best solution to the problem.

“Hanging out is not an illegal activity, and the more we can engage the people that are just hanging out looking for nothing to do, we’re going to have more success as the time goes on,” Ludwig said.

But Barfield plans to stay inside her store for now.

As she fixed the antennas on the small TV she keeps next to her register, she glanced out her door, across to the hotel, where a group of men stood outside.

“What are you going to do?” she said. “It is all a part of the area here. And I don’t think we’re going to clean it up. Not when you have places like that.”

Read an October 2007 ChicagoTalks article about the Hotel Chateau.

By the time he was released from prison for the last time in December 2007, Canser had spent about a third of his life behind bars for crimes ranging from drug dealing to armed robbery, and had become familiar with 14 different Illinois correctional facilities.

Canser said St. Leonard's helped him turn his life around.

“I did wrong,” said Canser.

Canser credits St. Leonard’s Ministries, a program devoted to rehabilitating offenders, with getting him on the right track in life. With the help of  $6 million in federal stimulus funds set aside by Gov. Pat Quinn, Illinois recently launched a program with the same goal in mind.

Adult Redeploy 2010, a program developed out of the Illinois Crime Reduction Act of 2009 (Public Act 96-0761), allows offenders convicted of minor crimes that could be eligible for probation to bypass prisons and began the rehabilitation process in the community — a move meant to prevent ex-offenders from recidivating, or going back to their lives of crime.

Those incarcerated for violent and/or other non-probationable offenses like rape, murder and aggravated battery, are ineligible for the program.

According to the latest data from the Pew Center on the States, nationwide spending on corrections has gone from $11 billion to more than $50 billion over the past two decades. The center estimates about one out of every 100 adults is behind bars.

Each year, about 40,000 people enter and leave Illinois prisons — many for nonviolent, low-level crimes, according to Chicago Metropolis 2020, an organization with the mission of improving the global image of Chicago by combating the issues facing the region.

The estimated yearly cost to incarcerate each prisoner is about $21,200. More than half of those prisoners cycle through the prison system multiple times — leaving the state paying for crime in more ways than one.

So far, about a handful of the 102 Illinois counties have taken the first steps to incorporating Adult Redeploy in their communities by applying for non-competitive program start-up grants ranging from $10,000 to $30,000, said Mary Ann Dyar, Metro 2020 program manager.

“It’s a lot cheaper to provide treatment in the communities than in the criminal justice system,” said Dyar. “State funds are just so tied up right now. Adult Redeploy couldn’t be more critical.”

Rep. William Burns (D-Chicago) mentioned Illinois’ $13 billion deficit as a definite reason to encourage the creation of programs like Adult Redeploy. “We’ve got to figure out a way to balance our state spending priorities,” he said.

Burns, one of the initial sponsors of the legislation that led to Adult Redeploy 2010, said using community programs is a more cost-effective way to deal with low risk offenders.

“Prison is counterproductive” for low risk offenders, said Burns. When a low risk offender is put in community programs for rehabilitation, he said, “the odds of the person recidivating decreases.”

A main goal for Adult Redeploy, said Dyar, is to cut prison expenses by 25 percent. “It not only uses taxpayer dollars wisely — you have safer communities,” she said.

Lindsay Bostwick, research analyst for the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, said communities are often also able to provide more assistance to an ex-offender than that of prison rehabilitation programs.

“If you keep them in the community, it’s better,” said Bostwick. She said she hopes Adult Redeploy will be as successful as the first version of Redeploy Illinois that was developed for juvenile offenders.

That program, she said, had been loosely based on Reclaim Ohio, another rehabilitation program for juvenile offenders with strong emphasis on community support.

Ryan Gies, Ohio Department of Youth Services subsidies bureau chief, has been involved with Reclaim Ohio since its 1994 pilot launch in nine Ohio counties.

The program went statewide in 1995 and since then, said Gies, a lot of things have changed — one being the number of juveniles being put in state institutions.

Gies said that when Reclaim Ohio first launched, there were more than 2,000 youths in state custody. Now, he said, that number has been cut in half. The program has also had an effect on the state as a whole, he said.

“We’ve seen a huge array of programs develop across the state,” said Gies. “There are [now] a lot of options for kids,” he said.

A 2005 evaluation of Reclaim Ohio found that juveniles in the program recidivated at less than half the rate of juveniles placed in state institutions.

It’s evidence-based programs like Reclaim Ohio, said Bostwick, that Adult Redeploy will be funding. Much of the evidence, she said, shows incarcerating low risk offenders creates worse offenders.

Canser agreed.

He said there is “no doubt about” a person learning worse crimes in prison. “You learn about better crimes and how to do them,” he said.

Leaning back in a chair in a quiet conference room in one of St. Leonard’s Ministries’ buildings, Canser reflected on his first experiences with the criminal justice system.

Canser grew up in Rockwell Gardens, the now-demolished housing project, in Chicago. He said he witnessed a lot of crime while living there.

“I could see the criminals chasing the cops — all of that had an influence on me,” he said.

Canser was put behind bars for the first time at the age of 13 for refusing to give police officers the names of men he saw murdering a drug dealer. Canser said the reason he didn’t tell the officers anything was because the men who’d murdered the dealer had threatened to harm him and his family if he told.

After that first jail experience, said Canser, things went downhill fast.

Canser got involved with the drug trade and although he was never put in prison for it, his dealing impacted him in another way: two years after he started selling drugs, he started using drugs.

Then Canser went from using drugs to taking money from the drug dealers and from taking money from dealers to robbing stores. A Walgreens robbery had Canser serving 4 ½ years at Stateville Correctional Center, a maximum-security prison in Joliet, Ill.

“It was pretty hard,” said Canser. And even harder, he said, was the adjustment to post-prison life.

Canser said he was fortunate to have his family members and friends for support when he was last released from prison because many offenders, he said, don’t have that support.

“Once you get out of jail, you have nothing, and if you’re going back to a poor neighborhood, they already have nothing,” said Canser. For an ex-offender used to having “three meals a day and getting a place to sleep,” he said, that can be a recipe for disaster.

In 2005, 82 percent of Illinois’ formerly incarcerated returned to regions of the state that suffer some of the highest poverty and crime rates, according to the 2009 IDOC Governor’s Reentry Commission Report.

The report outlines five important factors for successful transition from prison to the community: public safety, employment and education, health and behavioral health, housing and faith, family and community —  key areas emphasized at St. Leonard’s Ministries.

Victor Gaskins, program director at St. Leonard’s, said Adult Redeploy would be a good way to “prevent further damage” from happening that might keep an offender from being rehabilitated.

“We have a tendency to want to deal with the problem after it’s already occurred,” said Gaskins. But the thing to do, he said, is to “catch them while they are still low risk.”

Canser said he wished programs like Redeploy Illinois had been around when he was first incarcerated.  “Your past always seems to haunt you,” he said. But Canser’s outlook on life seemed little affected despite the years he spent behind bars.

With help from St. Leonard’s, Canser was able to get a job at the Chicago Medical Examiner’s Office and get his barber’s license. He’s also involved with Smart Decisions, a program geared toward encouraging at-risk youths to stay on the right track.

“Life comes full circle,” said Canser. “I’m just blessed to still be here.”

Chicago Public Radio’s “Inside and Out” series reports on Illinois’ s juvenile justice system.

A van used for transport and processing of detained undocumented immigrants in Broadview, Ill.

An all-night vigil was held April 27 outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) daytime staging facility in Broadview, Ill., culminating in a planned civil disobedience action. Around 100 supporters and various immigration reform organizations participated throughout the night in protest of U.S. immigration laws, which they say break up families and violate human rights.

“We want to send the message to President Obama that he needs to stop raids and deportations” said Padre Jose Landaverde. “We want legalization for all.”

Members of local religious groups, students and supporters sat down in front of the ICE immigration center in a move aimed at stopping the relocation of detainees for deportation. Two dozen protesters were arrested during the peaceful demonstration.

“If the fight is going to be fought, then we need to escalate,” said Rabbi Joshua Salter. “Civil disobedience is the next step for the good of all,” he added before being taken away by police.

For the moment, the 24 protesters were successful as the van began to back up into the processing center parking lot while chants of “We shall not be moved” rose from the sidelined crowd.

But white vans full of detainees arrive and depart from Broadview on a regular basis.

According to Gail Montenegro, an officer of ICE Public Affairs, the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) staging facility in Broadview processes approximately 250 undocumented individuals each week.

This year, nearly 400,000 undocumented immigrants around the U.S. will be deported, according to an ICE memo subject titled “removal goals.” The quota for deportations has risen during the Obama administration.

According to a report from the Office of Immigration Statistics, the number of deportations over the last 10 years has doubled; the lowest point being around 160,00

Rabbi Joshua Salter and Padre Jose Landaverde demonstrate at the ICE detention center in Broadview, Ill., prior to their arrest.

0, in 2002. It has risen steadily since.

In 2008, nearly one-third of deportations were due to criminal activity. The remaining two-thirds were largely a combination of work-place raids, denied applications for legal residency and travel violations.

Individuals in this ‘two-thirds’ category vary greatly in circumstance. While some, as adults, may have overstayed a visitors’ visa, many have been brought to the U.S. as children. As these children grow to reach adulthood they frequently find they are ineligible for many social services afforded to citizens, though they may have spent equal amounts of time in the country. This becomes apparent in cases of such as employment, as well as higher education; many states prohibit undocumented immigrants from attending college.

The issue of rights and liberties becomes complicated when applied to the nearly 12 million individuals in the country illegally. Many Constitutional rights are guaranteed to any person residing in the country, even illegally; these are ‘natural rights,’ as exemplified through many U.S. Supreme Court rulings affecting immigrants, such as Wong Wing v. U.S., in which the Supreme Court ruled that the “the 14th Amendment to the Constitution [civil rights] is not confined to the protection of citizens.” Many civil liberties apply to undocumented immigrants as well, such as the right to free expression and due process.

In short, once inside U.S. borders, undocumented immigrants have the same protections as all U.S. citizens.

“Immigration didn’t use to be this political,” said Justin Randolph, a Chicago immigration attorney. “There’s a lot of abuse of the system.”

According to Randolph, detention of immigrants is now a multi-billion dollar business, which on a local level includes “arbitrary decisions” that create a “disparity between cases as far as where a person lives.”

“It’s about who’s coming in, and not that they’re going through the process,” said Randolph. “What you’re running into now is ‘keep all the brown people out’.”

Nationwide, many citizens and undocumented residents are calling for comprehensive immigration reform. The debate has escalated in the wake of Arizona’s S.B. 1070, which was signed on April 23 and is seen by many as a law that promotes racial profiling. Acts of civil disobedience, including a hunger strike and organized resistance to detainee transportation, have emerged around the country in protest to current U.S. immigration laws.

“I think [civil disobedience] lets everyone in the nation know that the current system is so broken that people have had enough,” said Tom Walsh, director of Advocacy and Public Policy at the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs. “I hope it’s waking people up to the severity of the issue.”

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/11721836[/vimeo]

After their arrest at the ICE processing center, Walsh and the 23 other protesters were taken to Broadview police department holding cells and charged with misdemeanors and disorderly conduct. This, according to Walsh, is from having “knowingly failed to obey a lawful order of dispersal, causing substantial inconvenience by blocking traffic.”

The group has been released and awaits a court date on May 24.

Chicago Public Radio’s City Room reports on protests for immigration reform.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/11438244[/vimeo]

Chicago Public Radio’s City Room reports on the protests.

“We needed the businesses to get involved because they see everything,” said 21st District police officer Denise Gathings, who is in charge of her district’s Safe Haven and Safe Passage program. “They see the people walking in the community on a regular basis … and the kids going to school.”

The Safe Haven and Safe Passage program designates certain homes and businesses as places where people can go if they need help; “safe havens” are businesses and “safe passages” are homes. Participants place a sign in their window to alert people that they are members.

The program has been in the city of Chicago for years, but the 21^st District recently decided to activate the program in Hyde Park.

“A Safe Haven’s primary responsibility is to act as a protected environment for a person in distress,” according to the program’s manual. This includes children on their way to school, the elderly and commuters going to work. If someone feels they are in danger, they can run into the store or business as a “safe haven” and someone will call the police. The program’s guidelines require businesses to let citizens into their facility if they need help.

However, homeowners shouldn’t allow people off the street into their homes, even if they appear to be in distress, according to the program’s rules. If a person is in trouble and arrives at a “safe passage,” the homeowner should ask the person to wait while he or she calls the police, Gathings said. This is the program’s way of keeping owners safe.

One restaurant and “safe haven” in Hyde Park goes above and beyond when it comes to lending a hand in the community.

“Plenty of kids will come in the restaurant to wait for their parents to pick them up,” said Kristen Esterly, general manager of Medici on 57th, a restaurant and bakery located near Ray Elementary School at 1327 E. 57th St. “Their parents will be running late and the school will be closed … to make the kids feel safer, we allow them to wait here.”

In the late evening, there can be some “unsavory characters” in the area, Esterly said; by letting kids sit in the restaurant, community members know they will be safe.

“My kids attend that school,” Esterly added. “And I feel we’re just doing our part.”

Esterly said their restaurant has had some issues with crime, namely complaints of pick-pocketers.

“For the most part, though, I feel good about the neighborhood,” she said. “I feel good about this program and I don’t think people should really have a reason to feel unsafe.”

Hyde Park doesn’t have a lot of crime because community members do come together to prevent it as much as possible, Gathings said. But this false sense of security can put residents at risk, she said, especially for theft.

“People here for some reason like to leave things in their vehicles,” Gathings said. “Especially cell phones and computers … a thief will either rob them or tell one of their friends to hit up the area.”

Most of the people carrying out the robberies aren’t from the community, Gathings added, allowing them to commit the crime and then leave.