"I loved police work. It was all about helping people. In those days, when you had to answer a call in a high-rise, your radio was in the car. If you got into trouble, if the neighbors wouldn't call for help, you wouldn't get any help. But I never felt scared or threatened, even in public housing. The people respected you and even the gangs feared you." former Alderman William Beavers 2006.
"We need every possible resource in our neighborhoods to commit to stopping crime. It can't rest on the police alone. We have money in the SSA in Wicker Park, let's use it for the security of our residents," Alderman Proco Joe Moreno
Chicago Police Department shields millions of people from idiots, thugs, syrupy nit-wits who get simple folks to put themselves in harms way (activists) and thieves and has done so ever since Archibald Clybourn was named High Constable in 1837.
Cops are wonderful - no equivocation whatsoever. They are my neighbors; they protect the kids going to Leo High School in Auburn Gresham: they birth babies - I know six who have done so and they take the heat and the light of scrutiny for the corrupt, venal and cowardly politicians.
The police officers I know are African American ( many, many Leo High School alums), white ( many, many, many Irish, Italian, Polish, Lithuanian Catholic League athletes, military veterans) woman and men ( only men are Leo graduates) who happen to be tough, energetic, ethical, great-hearted and the wittiest of human beings. Cops are the greatest humorists this side of hell's elevator doors.
Politicians? I know one who actually works -Alderman Matt O'Shea. One of the most great-hearted politicians was former Alderman William Beavers, who spent 21 years in the blue shirt of CPD. Alderman Beavers was and is the real deal. He fell afoul of the Hyde Park Mafia and found the news media and the Feds crawling all over him. The Tribune and Sun Times and WTTW could have dialed up the heat on Mother Theresa. Bill Beavers is no Mother Theresa and did six months for gambling with his Campaign funds. Some Progressive tulip dime'd him out to the G. Beavers was always a gentleman and never put himself above the people of Chicago neighborhoods.
One Chicago neighborhood is home to the hip and the hip eat where it is hip to dine, drink where an Old Style is considered ironic and groove to the tunes all over Milwaukee Avenue - Wicker Park. Wicker Park is so hip that Spike Lee decided to film Englewood, Auburn Gresham, Grand Crossing and Chatham in Wicker Park for his epic pandering Race Hustle ChiRaq - starring John Cusack as Pastor Pfleger. Wicker Park is home to 26,000 residents.
The Aldermen for Wicker Park (there are two - Brian Hopkins & Proco Joe) want to hire private security for Wicker Park. Proco Joe Moreno, the Chick Fil A clown and Mayor Emanuel's Number One Go-to-Rump-Muncher, is testing the waters for Rahm Emanuel's eventual privatization of the Chicago's policing.
This is fine. President Obama will push for his Civilian National Security Force today as he meets with Activists and a couple of compliant cops, after talking about himself at the Dallas Memorial for five slain officers on Tuesday.
You see Wicker Park is a Chicago Lab School for Police Outcome.
Politicians want something, usually to benefit themselves, or their brothers Ari and Zeke, and get the Paul Simon Institute* to do polling ( I'll bet Ald. Proco Joe already put in the call to Carbondale) and feed outcomes and data to Eric Zorn and other media myna birds with the caveat "THIS can't Wait! The Time Has Come! Chicago is ready for its own Sturmabteilung
Alds. Brian Hopkins and Joe Moreno said Tuesday they want to use $100,000 from a Wicker Park/Bucktown taxpayer fund surplus to hire security guards from private firms who can augment the local police force.
“This is a common sense measure with the goal of enhancing security for the Wicker Park and Bucktown communities within the [Shakespeare Police/14th District],” Hopkins said. “It’s unacceptable not to use available resources in addressing issues that are impacting the safety and security of our communities.”
Special Service Area districts, sometimes called Business Improvement Districts, levy a special tax on property owners for communal services such as snow removal, landscaping, sidewalk cleaning and graffiti removal.( emphasis my own)
Both Aldermen vote with Rahm and would argue that there are "plenty of cops" serving the city.
This is the opening step to the long awaited destruction of Chicago Police Department.
If you like this common sense measure to provide hired guns in Wicker Park, you will love Barack Obama's National Police Force - a Progressive Geheime Staatspolizei.
It can not wait!
*Governments, whose police exceed the use of force, violate
fundamental individual rights. Changes are necessary to balance
police performance with current rules. Although the mechanisms of
control are part of this perspective, police reform does not primarily
intend to punish those who abuse the force. Changes focus on
correcting faults and improving the structure of the police
organization in order to improve the performance of individual police
officers, so that it is possible to prevent the occurrence of abuse.
Such changes also seek to increase the capacity of the police to
control crimes as well as violence. In this sense, police reform is a
determinant of democratic development - Paul Simon Institute 2010
