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

Invasion of Feral Pigs (Video)

One week ago tonight, thousands of inconsiderate slobs invaded Loyola Park in northern Chicago. They left behind incredible amounts of paper and plastic cups, liquor and beer bottles, mounds of still-burning coals on grass and next to nearly every tree. None of them, apparently, gave a damn about why green matters here.

Fine Young Gentlemen on Morse Avenue

I saw six nice young men walking down beautiful Morse Avenue in Rogers Park, 49th Ward of Chicago this afternoon. These young gentlemen, ages 15 to 17, were dressed so nicely in their ass-exposing baggy jeans, topped with nice white tee shirts, and they seemed to be very considerate of others.

They were so considerate, in fact, that one of them gently set his Bacardi rum bottle down - right in the middle of the driveway of the Fambly Dolla store. How nice of them to put their litter where it could be found easily! Another of the fine young honor students gently dropped his plastic juice bottle nearby.

I bowed my head and silently celebrated our "sustainable diversity."

Lots of less civilized honor students might have thrown the rum bottle at a passing car. Not these buckaroos, no sir. They were obviously raised right! It's young gentlemen such as those fine youngsters that make us all so proud of the 49th Ward!

The Great Outdoors!

Ah, this is the life. Drag half of your furniture, the baby and a bunch of crap to the park, drop litter all around you, light up a smoky fire and slap some kind of meat on the grill. Would it be easier to stay home? Sure, but then you wouldn't be outdoors, enjoying all that fresh, smoky air!

One Classy Beach

These photos were taken around 6:30 a.m. on June 24. Let's see, we have a tent person in Katy Hogan's bird sanctuary. We have a chair set up under a tree, which is reminiscent of a couch in somebody's front yard. We have an a cucina set up in the park, complete with leftover, rotting fruit. Man, this is one classy beach.

Busch Gardens, Chicago!

Welcome to "Busch Gardens" in Chicago! That's right, here in the Rogers Park neighborhood, you see, we have more than our fair share of drunkards and dope addicts.

They love to hang out in Loyola Park and drink by the "Circle Garden" near the east end of Morse Avenue.

Despite the beautiful tulips planted by the Rogers Park Garden Group, this bad behavior continues. Can we expect the same at the Metra Station on Ravenswood?

Big Belly Burps Up Response to The Bench

Big Belly's Vice President Richard Kennelly reads The Bench, and he didn't like our criticism of the expensive, mechanical trash cans that they are foisting on many U.S. cities. In the post "Big Belly Chokes" on May 7, The Bench wrote that it is only a matter of time before they are vandalized on Morse Avenue here in Rogers Park, Chicago. But we also quoted other writers' criticisms of Big Belly. We did not, however, quote anybody from Big Belly, so to be fair we will publish Mr. Kennelly's response here (with an occasional injection of editorial interruption). From: "Richard Kennelly" To: rogersparkbench@yahoo.com Subject: Blog on BigBelly - Rogers Park Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 12:14:41 -0400 Dear T. Mannis, Regarding your post from Wednesday on the BigBelly solar compactors, while I am sure there are very real issues with trash, litter, recycling and other sanitation issues in Rogers Park (as in every neighborhood and every city), and I appreciate your effort to push the city to help make the neighborhood better, there are a couple of factual errors in your article that I’d like to address, and a few points to put solar compaction in perspective. (There did not appear to be a way to comment on your blog…) Editorial Interruption: Uhm, you are commenting on this blog. You - wrote - to - us. Right? And you got the email from the big banner at the top of this blog, right? And now you're reading your comment, right? Okay, on with it, then. 1. Misconceptions about solar compaction: You cite EcoMetro as a source of objection to the BigBelly – but if you read through that posting and the comments (and the original Treehugger posting from 3 years ago it refers to, which also has been long since corrected but remains a frequently cited article despite its factual errors), you’ll see that the concerns and complaints originally raised were answered and the author agreed the solar compactors were a good part of a solution and a work in progress (i.e., the city will be adding recycling containers too). Editorial Interruption: Fine, they think an electronic, mechanical trash compactor is "the answer" to our trash problems. They did not, however, stand down on their objection to the oxygen problem caused by tightly compacted trash in land fills. Continue. a. Landfills: garbage is compacted in trucks, and at the transfer station and finally at the landfill – they drive huge vehicles over the landfills to pack the trash in tight, to maximize space utilization (so they don’t have to make new landfills as often). So whether you have a BigBelly or not makes no difference to the compaction in the landfill – it just saves the fuel and pollution of driving to pick up a lot of air-filled trash at each can location. (Also, EPA regulations require landfills to have plastic liners and to be capped with clay to avoid contaminating groundwater – so they are designed to seal in the trash…) While landfills and solid waste present many environmental problems, and we all need to throw away less stuff (reducing consumption, reusing stuff, composting and recycling), the solar compactors at least help reduce part of the problem (reducing truck fuel consumption and resulting pollution 75% or more) without creating or exacerbating the landfill or incineration issues. b. Recycling: Another erroneous objection to compaction is that it hinders recycling – but cities can recover recycling from the BigBelly as easily as any other can (Palm Springs, CA does this, e.g., at a “Material Recovery Facility”) because the BigBelly does not make a “brick” or tight block, it just squeezes out most of the air. We also offer recycling containers for those who want the public to separate out paper, cans, bottles, etc. (and many of our customers place their own recycling containers next to the BigBelly), but that is also a question of how the material is collected (separate truck trips?) and where it is taken to (material recovery facility? Transfer station?), etc. Of course, a city recycling program costs money, mostly in the collection/transportation and transfer of the material, and it is not easy to do well (partly because people do not separate recycling well on the street – putting trash or wrong materials in the recycling bins, and recycling in the trash – which results in contaminated materials and wasted resources…). Nonetheless many cities are making progress on public-space recycling, which we need to encourage. 2. Broken machine: we will look into this reported problem immediately, but please understand that the BigBelly has a great track record of reliability and low-maintenance: the machines have been in Queens, NYC for 3 years and in hundreds of other locations, and have demonstrated a 99.9% uptime – very high for a product that, as you point out, is out on the street and subject to abuse and neglect. We hope that people will respect them and appreciate the effort to keep the neighborhood cleaner. 3. Too few trash cans – it is indeed important to have the right number of receptacles in the right locations, based on convenience and capacity for the specific area. You and other residents of the area have a great perspective on what is needed, where. There are a couple things to consider: a. There is a balance where BigBelly is better for high-volume locations, and non-compacting receptacles are fine in lower-volume locations where a can is still needed so people won’t be tempted to litter if the nearest can is too far away. b. Cost: the solar compactors are indeed just under $4000 for one unit, and much less for 25 or 50 units, but the majority of trash collection costs is not the can itself, it’s the collection trips with a garbage truck to empty the can – these 10-ton trucks typically cost $75 - $100 per hour to operate, and burn a lot of fuel (typically getting only 2 or 3 m.p.g.). So the BigBelly can pay for itself in 2 years or less, meanwhile preventing overflow, keeping out rats, birds, etc., and demonstrating another way solar power can reduce the need to burn fossil fuel. A $500 street receptacle may be a lower initial investment, but it will require much more money over 2-3 years in collection costs, and create more pollution (from litter and the diesel trucks, etc.). Editorial Interruption: Are you kidding?!? See my next Interruption... So you conclude that the city will soon have to “put up another kind of green,” which is true – litter control and garbage collection are expensive and getting more so every month. The question is how to get the most results out of the money spent on receptacles and collections over time. And solar compactors are a proven way to help make that money go farther, helping make for cleaner, more efficient communities. I hope Rogers Park is among them, and that you and other residents will continue to encourage the city to do what makes the most sense and is responsive to local needs and concerns. Editorial Interruption: Are you kidding?!? Just because compacted litter does not have to be emptied from the cans/containers as often as from standard trash cans, that does not mean that fewer are needed on the streets. Therefore, if we replace the old ones with Big Bellys on a 1:1 ratio, that's going to cost a HUGE amount of money. Additionally, ongoing maintenance of the hi-tech garbage cans will be a perpetual budget drain. You can't spin that reality away, sir. Thank you for your consideration. Best regards, Richard B. Kennelly Vice President 50 Brook Road Needham, MA 02494 USA t: 888-820-0300 x802 or 781.444.6002 c: 978-500-3992 http://www.bigbellysolar.com/ BigBelly® Solar Bright ideas for waste management Thanks for writing, Mr. Kennelly. When I run for Congress, I want you to be my speechwriter and media manager. You're not a bad spin doctor. Thanks for writing, and best regards to you too.

Big Belly Chokes (Updated)

UPDATE: Big Belly Vice President Richard Kennelly responded to this post. Read his response here.

Another stupid idea comes to Chicago: Hi-tech garbage cans on the streets. After a decade of the failed Blue Bag recycling program, the Idiot Mayor Daley has decided that a complex, very expensive (about $4,000 each), tempting-to-vandals trash can will keep our streets cleaner and save the city some money.

The 49th Ward of Rogers Park has its own Big Bellys. Alderman Joe Moore and his Band of Fools are so blinded by anything that calls itself "green" that they just can't help themselves. Pictured here is a brand new Big Belly near the CTA's Red Line Morse Station in Rogers Park. A few days after this photo was taken, the damned thing was already broken (next photo below), choking on trash with a trash stuck open on Tuesday night, May 6th. I tried to close it but could not.

According to DevCorp North, "The Mayor's office and the Department of Street and Sanitation purchased 50 Big Bellys to be placed along Michigan Avenue and in Millenium [sic] Park. The Department of Planning and Development is encouraging economic development agencies throughout the city to implement this program. The 49th Ward Street and Sanitation Superintendent Mike Erickson is committed to servicing the four Big Bellys." (Source)

Not everyone is blindly enthusiastic about this overpriced, over-engineered trash can.

According to EcoMetro, "Other than the argument that these trashcans are ridiculously expensive, Treehugger.com has the best argument against this “solution,” stating the fact that naturally occurring microorganisms in compacted trash do not obtain enough oxygen, and thus work slower to decompose the trash. Treehugger.com suggests that these trashcans should instead be used to compact separated recyclables, reducing service and transportation costs for recycling paper, cans, and plastics." (Full Article...)

So the 49th Ward has four Big Bellys. One of them is already broken. It's a matter of time before the local hoodlums start vandalizing them. However, the 49th Ward seems to now have fewer trash cans on the streets than before the Big Bellys invaded.

I first noticed the removal of standard trash cans on April 19, before Big Belly came to Rogers Park. The trash can in front of the 7-Eleven at N. Sheridan and W. Pratt was missing. I snapped this photo of the spot where it stood for years. The trash can that was at the southeast corner of W. Morse and N. Greenview is also gone (next photo, down).

Do the geniuses at DevCorp and Ald. Moore's office think that there is now a lesser need for trash cans, because they have four new Big Bellys? Just because Big Belly can hold more trash, does that eliminate the need for trash receptacles at other locations, be they standard or solar powered?

It is said that fewer trash pickups will be required because Big Belly compacts trash and therefore holds a bigger load. But nobody is saying how often the machinery inside will have to be serviced.

This is dumb, magical thinking on the part of an Alderman who told us all to just ignore that little asbestos problem recently. It is idiocy on the part of DevCorp North and the SSA #24, who are probably more interested in the status of having the Big Bellys than in actually reducing the amount of trash and litter on the streets. If they were truly concerned about reducing litter on W. Morse Avenue, for example, they would not have removed the old fashioned cans and would actually bring more in.

In the two-block stretch of W. Morse between N. Ashland and N. Glenwood, there are now only two trash cans: One Big Belly and one standard can. Litter, a chronic problem here in Joe Moore's Ghetto, will only increase with the warm weather unless more cans are brought in.

Although Big Bellys are expensive, they are allowing some cities, such as Chicago, to test them at no charge. "The Big Belly trash can company gave 50 solar-powered compacting trash cans to the city as a test run, to show the city how much money it can save with them," writes The Green Beat.

Eventually, however, the trial period will run out and the city will have to put up some green of another kind.

RELATED:
- BigBelly Solar (Corporate Web Site)
- BigBelly’s $4K Solar Powered Trash Compactor: Making Trash Worse ...
- High-tech trash bin uses solar power
- Big Belly solar compactor now squeezes recycling
- 'Big Belly' Arrives, Ready To Eat Trash - Or at Least Crush It ...

Suffredin, Deratany, and Che Guevara

What do all of these signs have in common? Each one is illegally placed on public property. Each of these signs promotes socialism in varying degrees. Each demonstrates a disregard for the public way. Each shows disrespect for the taxpayers, on whose common property these signs were placed.

Heather Steans Using Illegal Campaign Tactics

Heather Steans's campaign is violating the law. Period. How? Take a look at the photos, above (courtesy of The Broken Heart). They are campaign signs for Stean, who is running for Illinois State Senator in the 7th District. She's not the only candidate who does this, certainly, but the slogan "Progress Now" at the top of these illegally placed signs seems a bit cynical. This is progress? Politics as usual? Machine hacks out sticking your propaganda wherever they damn well please? That's progress? The Bench fully agrees with The Broken Heart on this:

SHAME ON YOU, HEATHER STEANS!

CLEAN UP YOUR MESS

Filthy Corner of Schakowsky, Fagus, Moore

These are public servants? How can they look at this crap every day and not take action?