Huge Swastika on N. Clark Street, Chicago

I spotted this while walking on N. Clark Street in late July. A huge swastika on a wall inside an apartment building courtyard at 5043 N. Clark Street. It's very visible to anybody driving north on Clark between Winnemac and Carmen. I hope it's been removed by now. Who painted it?

Artists of the Wall at its Best

The "Artists of the Wall" is a long concrete bench in Rogers Park neighborhood on Chicago's North Side. It runs north-south along a stretch of Loyola Park Beach, near the lighthouse pier. Every year, locals pay a fee to paint horrible art on the otherwise beautiful bench. Here's a photo, taken on June 10, 2009, after it was sandblasted clean (properly, for the first time in years) and before it was defaced again on June 20 by amateur "artists." Leave a Comment... See Our Online Store Chicago News Bench RSS Feed We're on Twitter...

Anger in Rogers Park Over Police Protection of Gang Graffiti, Shrines

The following open email letter was received today at 12:11 p.m. It was sent to various Chicago police and elected officials is a response to the recent revelation that police officers are following policy when they allow gang graffiti and "shrines" to remain undisturbed on public property as makeshift memorials to murdered gang members. In my opinion, this would be like allowing the Hatfields and McCoys to deface and a litter on public or private property to memorialize one of their murdered kinfolk. It is bad policy because it allows the legitimization of murderous gang activity, it allows the gangster punks to believe that the cops are afraid of them, and it allows vandals to deface public and often private property without fear of legal consequence. It is ironic that the average person would be fined and/or arrested for spraying graffit on a wall not owned by them, yet the authorities tacitly bless the same activity if it is preceded by a murder. That's the logic of our local elected and police officials. From: Michael Luckenbach <luckenbach@rcn.com>" To: ward49@cityofchicago.org>, "David Sobczyk" <david.sobczyk@chicagopolice.org>, "Jody Weis" <police@cityofchicago.org> Cc: "Julie Hamos" <julie@juliehamos.org>, "Jen Walling" <jen@heathersteans.com>, "Jan Schakowsky" <jan.schakowsky@mail.house.gov>, "Jeffery Schoenberg" <senator@jschoenberg.org>, "Heather Steans" <hsteans@senatedem.ilga.gov>, "Ben Joravosky" <joravben@aol.com>, "Bruce Rottner" <bruce.rottner@chicagopolice.org>, "John Kass" <jskass@tribune.com>, "Tom Mannis", "Craig Gernhardt", "Grammar Gal", "Lorraine Swanson" <lswanson@chicagojournal.com> An Open Letter to: Police Superintendent Jody Weis 24th District Commander Dave Sobczyk Alderman Joe Moore Gentlemen: A response to this concern, which was e-mailed to each of you last week, has not yet been received. The residents of the 24th District and 49th Ward await your response and clarification on this matter. Sincerely, Michael Luckenbach North Howard Neighbors Association Bcc: NHNA Membership 'GANG SHRINES' AND THE 24th POLICE DISTRICT In regard to the crime situation in our community, I want to relate the following to all 49th Ward residents: I attended a meeting the evening of Friday, Jan.16th, as a member of the NoH Parks' Advisory Council's Security Committee. In addition to Chicago Park District personnel (program, facilities and security), Sergeant John Delgado, 24th District, was in attendance. When the subject of 'gang shrines' came up, Sgt. Delgado informed us that it was the 'policy' of the 24th District to allow 'gang shrines' to remain, in place on public property, for up to 48 hours. I was dumbfounded by this revelation, as I'm sure all law abiding RP residents will be. I strongly voiced my objection to this 'policy' as completely absurd and ridiculous on a number of levels, from enabling and glorifying to coddling the gang lifestyle and activity in our community. This 'attitude'/policy is a serious affront to our residents and our community. It should be OFFICIALLY discontinued immediately. There must be ZERO tolerance to glorification or tolerance of ANY gang activity, period, particularly on the part of our 24th District Police officers. I intend to pursue this matter further, with STRONG objections, to Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis, 24th District Commander David Sobczyk, as well as 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore. I strongly urge ALL residents of our community to do the same. Voice your feelings and opinion now to: jody.weis@chicagopolice.org David.Sobczyk@chicagopolice.org ward49@cityofchicago.org

Chicago Cops Protect Gang Shrines

Chicago Police are actively protecting gang graffiti and "shrines." That's the disturbing report from Rogers Park, Chicago today. "Serve and Protect" is the motto of the Chicago Police Department. However, CPD seems to be taking that a bit too far as regards gang graffiti and gang "shrines." A Rogers Park blog reports today on a shocking admission by Chicago police that they deliberately allow gang shrines. In effect, CPD is protecting them. You may have seen a gang "shrine," which is meant to honor and commemorate a recently-killed gang member. The "shrine" is usually nothing more than a tacky, unsightly pile of crap, most likely consisting of a teddy bear or two, balloons, candles, and a variety of miscellaneous discount store crap. Whenever possible, a shrine is hastily put up on or very near the actual spot where the gangster was killed, which is usually on a public sidewalk. I photographed the one shown here in June, 2007 at the spot where a parolee was shot by CPD officers on a residential stretch of W. Pratt Avenue. The dark area where the dirt and sidewalk join is blood from the shooting on the previous night. Sometimes, a shrine is nothing more than graffiti scrawled on wall near the point of death. Chicago News Bench recently reported on an incident of Chicago police officers protecting gang graffiti in the north side neighborhood of Rogers Park. The site, across from Alderman Joe Moore's 49th Ward service office, was where a young man was killed in a gang scuffle. Police officers swooped in to prevent neighbors from applying a clean coat of white paint to cover the gang-glorifying graffiti across from the Jarvis CTA Red Line station. Whether a shrine is just graffiti or a pile of crap dumped on a public sidewalk, an unsightly mes has been created. The pile-of-crap variety usually does no harm; it can easily be picked up and removed in moments with no lasting damage. Nevertheless, it is littering and dumping. Graffiti, however, is vandalism, and even after being "removed" can leave a permanent stain. Today, a report on the blog of North Howard Neighbors Association (NHNA) reports that it is official policy for Chicago police to allow gang shrines to be undisturbed for two full days. (NHNA's blog is always a good read and should be checked often; I recommend their RSS feed.) I hope NHNA will forgive me for republishing their post in full here, posted by "mcl": Gang Shrines and the 24th Police District In relation to the crime situation in our community, I want to relate the following to residents: I attended a meeting last night as a member of the NoH Parks' Advisory Council's Security Committee. In addition to Chicago Park District personnel (program, facilities and security), Sargent John Delgado, 24th District, was in attendance. When the subject of 'gang shrines' came up Sgt. Delgado informed us that it was the 'policy' of the 24th District to allow 'gang shrines' to remain, in place on public property, for up to 48 hours. I was dumbfounded by this revelation, as I'm sure all law abiding RP residents will be. I strongly voiced my objection to this 'policy' as completely absurd and ridiculous on a number of levels. This 'attitude'/policy is a serious affront to our community and should be discontinued immediately. There should be a zero tolerance to ANY glorification or tolerance of gang activity, period, particularly on the part of our Police. I personally intend to pursue this matter further, with STRONG objections to 'the powers' that be, i.e., Superintendent Weis, Commander Sobczyk, as well as the Alderman. I strongly urge ALL residents of our community to do the same. Voice your feelings and opinion now to: police@cityofchicago.org jody.weis@chicagopolice.org David.Sobczyk@chicagopolice.org ward49@cityofchicago.org Subscribe to Chicago News Bench

Chicago Police Protected Gang Graffiti

Chicago police officers threatened citizens with arrest yesterday if they went ahead with plans to paint over a growing wall of gang graffiti on CTA property at the Jarvis Avenue Red Line station. The station is just steps away from 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore's ward service office. (Click photos here to see larger images.) The Rogers Park residents who gathered for a bit of civil disobedience were shocked when police officers swarmed into the area to prevent them from doing exactly what Mayor Daley's Graffiti Busters charge taxpayers to do. The would-be painters decided that lockup was too high a price to pay for something that is not a life-and-death matter, and so they backed off. After letting the graffiti fester for nearly two weeks, CTA finally painted it over today. Nobody knows why Alderman Moore allowed this to continue right under his nose, or why this area - one block from his office and a block and a half from his home - continues to be the site of so many murders, muggings, assaults, and ongoing prostitution and narcotics sales. More reports here and here. Subscribe to Chicago News Bench

ARSON AT MORSE THEATRE

CHICAGO - AUG. 10, 2008 (RPB) - Arson nearly destroyed a major theater construction project, just weeks from its hoped-for opening. Gang graffiti on the walls An athletic shoe print on the inside of one of the rear doors. A fire in the middle of what will become the main seating area of the theater. A can of beer. All suspicious items in the midst of what was obviously arson in the greatest project yet to be accomplished on the run down W. Morse Avenue in Rogers Park. As I was getting dressed just after 3:00 a.m., I heard confusion on the police scanner over the address of the fire. I ran over to the Morse Theatre. I could smell smoke as I left home three blocks away, sirens screaming in the background. Arriving on the scene, there were six fire trucks on the street and one in the alley west of the theater. The police made no attempt to secure what was obviously a crime scene, and it was not until 4:30 a.m. that a cop put a thin yellow across the three open rear doors. He left immediately, leaving nobody to stand guard, evidence within easy reach of anybody walking by. I could see gang graffiti scrawled on a rear wall and door, as well as on the rim of the mezzanine. A fire official on the scene later said that the graffiti looked like authentic gang tagging. Police crime scene tape covers the back of the building to preserve the evidence. City of Chicago and State of Illinois Fire Investigators are on scene also. Footprints and gang tags were also left behind. Theater owner-partner Andy McGhee said that the kitchen and restaurant were not entered or damaged directly. However, Mr. McGhee said the heavy smoke from the intense but short lived fire caused "some damage" throughout the theater. The vandals also broke two glass windows on the sound booth on the second level. The Morse Theatre was hoping to open in mid-September. Mr. McGhee said that this will "put us back a month or two, but we'll continue on. This won't stop us." At 6:30 a.m., Mr. McGhee was still speaking with the arson investigation team on the scene. Hookers walked by with their johns. A crack whore sat motionless on a front stoop half a block away. 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore did not bother to show up. Neither did 49th Ward Democrat Committeeman David Fagus.

Que Es? Mystery in Rogers Park Alleys

These signs are posted on phone poles in many alleys of Rogers Park. What the heck are they? Who is posting them?

What I saw en route to a CAPS meeting

Grafitti - big, spray painted graffiti - on a CTA Red Line car, northbound near Jarvis. I was on my way to cover a CAPS Beat 2422 meeting. One wonders: Which CAPS beat does one report this kind of vandalism to?

Writing on the Wall, and Everywhere Else

Writing, writing on the wall, who da baddest uv dem all?

Thank goodness dog pee more or less disappears when they mark their territory. Not so with these dawgs.

Seen at Lunt and Sheridan in Rogers Park on July 2, these are just two examples of what many have noticed recently: A seeming explosion of grafitti activity in da hood.

Related: Fastest Grafitti Removal on Record

Paint the Bench for $30

Oh boy!
2007 Artists of the Wall Festival
14th Annual Rogers Park Event
June 16th & 17th
Theme:“Our Secret Garden"

Every summer, on Father's Day weekend (whoops! we don't want to be "divisive," and "father" is a sexist, exclusionary term; we regret the error), the concrete bench between Pratt and Morse in Rogers Park is painted over by local residents. The program was originated as a way to combat gang graffiti.

The "Artists of the Wall Festival" will be at Loyola Beach Park on June 16-17, 2007. Artists who paint the bench have to shuck over $30.00 per "square" to paint on the bench. Where the heck that money goes is anyone's guess, but we're guessing none of it will go to repair the massive potholes along the beachfront.