Beat 2431 News - Rogers Park 24th Police District

Next Beat 2431 meeting is Monday, March 15

Our next CAPS meeting for Beat 2431 is set for 7 pm on Monday, March 15, at 1530 W. Morse.

We'll discuss crime problems in the beat and the latest beat news, including news about the Morse Avenue Streetscape coming this summer.

Alderman Moore supports zoning change for proposed bar/restaurant on Morse

Alderman Joe Moore (49th Ward) recently announced that he supports a zoning change to allow Alex Samardzija to open a bar/restaurant at 1412 W. Morse Ave.

Here's the text of his announcement, made on March 3:

Dear Neighbor,

I sponsored a community meeting last January on a proposal for a zoning change and special use permit to allow for a restaurant and bar in the commercial space of the new building at 1412 W. Morse.

The proposal was met with overwhelming support at the community meeting, which over 40 community residents attended, and in e-mails sent to my office.  My Zoning and Land Use Advisory Committee recommended I support the proposal, as well.  Accordingly, I have decided to support the zoning change and special use permit.

The owner of the building at 1412 W. Morse, Alex Samrdzija, will be the proprietor of the proposed new business, which will be similar to Xippo, a restaurant and bar that Mr. Samrdzija owns in Lincoln Square at 3759 N Damen.

The property at 1412 W. Morse currently is zoned B3-3.  A zoning change to C1-3 will be required because no tavern may exist within 400 feet of another tavern in a B zone.  A special use permit is also required to allow for seven off-site parking spaces.  If Mr. Samrdzija receives the requested zoning change and special use permit, he will then be eligible to apply for a tavern license.

A few individuals have expressed concern about allowing another business to apply for a liquor license in the Morse/Glenwood area.  While I understand their concern, Morse Avenue needs more quality businesses, especially in the evening hours when most of the stores are closed and dark.  A vibrant tavern and restaurant on the block, with large windows facing the street and a sidewalk cafe in the warm months, will bring more positive activity on the street and drive away the negative elements that remain.

One need look no further than Jarvis Square where my ward office is located.  While certainly Charmers Cafe and Gruppo di Amici have helped to transform the area, the Irish pub, Poitin Stil, is the only business open late at night in Jarvis Square.  Even though they are a tavern only, Poitin Stil's late-night presence has created a safe welcoming environment that has driven away the last remaining drug dealers and loiterers that remained on the block.

If Mr. Samrdzija and his family have a twenty-year track record of running a nearly identical bar and restaurant in the Lincoln Square neighborhood.  My office and I contacted both the local alderman and the local police district, and both indicated to me and my office that they have had no problems with the Samrdzija family business.  The City's Department of Business Affairs confirmed that the Samrdzija family business has a clean record with no license suspensions or revocations.

This was confirmed by several Rogers Park residents who attended the community meeting and who used to live near Mr. Samrdzija's business in Lincoln Square.  They related they experienced no problems with his establishment, and supported his plans to open up a similar bar and restaurant on Morse Avenue.

Finally, it's in Mr. Samrdzija's own self-interest to run a clean establishment.  He owns 16 condominium units in the same building that he wishes to rent and evenutally sell when the market eventually turns around.  It's not in his financial interest to run a noisy and disruptive business that would drive away his renters and potential purchasers.

If you have any questions or further comments, please reply to this e-mail or call my office at 773-338-5796.

Sincerely,

Joe Moore

Notes for February 2010 Beat 2431 meeting

Under the threat of 12 inches of snow, about a dozen citizens attended the Feb. 8 Beat 2431 meeting. In addition, five police officers attended, including 24th District Cmdr. Michael Wick.

Police reported that the following were the Top 10 crimes on the beat in January 2010:

1. Domestic battery, simple -- 11
2. Criminal damage to vehicle -- 6; hint: don't leave valuable in your auto to tempt thieves
3. Simple battery -- 4
4. Simple assault -- 3
5. Theft over $300 -- 3
6. Motor vehicle theft -- 3
7. Possession of 30 grams or less of cannabis -- 3
8. Theft under $300 -- 2
9. Theft from building -- 2
10. Robbery with a handgun -- 1

Police noted that a man who lives on our beat was arrested in January and charged with robbery with a handgun, though not the crime noted above.

In January, there were 20 arrests made on the beat, and 360 district-wide. There were a total a 750 calls for service on the beat, compared to 11,302 district-wide. 

Sgt. John Delgado shared some tips on how not to become a victim. He reminded people to always beware of their surroundings, especially while talking on a cell phone or listening to an MP3 player. Try to walk in well-lit areas, walk in groups if possible, and avoid alleys.

A neighbor from the 1100 block of W. Morse reminded police that spring is just a couple of months away, and asked them to stay in front of the homeless problem. Homeless people often camp out in Loyola Park and intimidate park-goers, including children. He said the police and 49th Wark Ald. Joe Moore were both helpful in the fall in alleviating the problem.

The meeting ended with a reminder that meetings for the rest of the year will occur on the regular schedule -- the third Monday of the month. The next meeting is March 15. The meeting adjourned at 7:50 pm.

Beat meeting set for Monday, Feb. 8

CAPS Beat 2431 will hold its regular monthly meeting at 7 pm Monday, Feb. 8, at the office of Rogers Park Community Council, 1530 W. Morse.

If you can't make it to the meeting check back later in the week for a recap on this blog.

EveryBlock has the latest crime news

This is just a reminder that EveryBlock.com has all the latest crime news about Beat 2431 or any area in the city.

Police camera installed at Greenview and Morse

A blinking blue light camera was installed this week on the light pole at the northwest corner of Morse and Greenview. At the November beat meeting, a resident in a building at that corner had reported witnessing drug dealing, and police made an arrest there in December.

Betsy Vandercook, the chief of staff for 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore, wrote me earlier in the week that a camera was slated to be installed there "based on an analysis of emerging crime trends and intelligence."

Workshop set for Jan. 23 on troubled buildings, gang awareness

All community members are invited to the next Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy workshop. This workshop will entail in depth discussions on burglary "Keepin It Real", troubled buildings, and gang awareness by the pros in these crime areas.

No reservation needed. For more information contact the CAPS Project Office at 312-945-5907.

Date: Saturday, January 23, 2010
Time: 9:00 am to 12:30 pm
Location: 3510 S. Michigan Avenue

Most residents support zoning change for bar/restaurant on Morse

About 35 residents from around Morse Avenue heard Alex Samardzija explain his plans to bring a bar/restaurant to the new commercial space at 1412 W. Morse. These plans would require a zoning change from B3-3 to C1 because there is another tavern within 400 feet. So 49th Ward Alderman hosted the community meeting to get feedback on the plans.

Judging from comments made, those in attendance overwhelmingly support the development and required zoning change. About 15 people spoke in favor of the bar/restaurant concept, while two neighbors opposed it.

Samardzija said the unnamed bar would be very similar to his other bar/restaurant in Lincoln Square at Damen and Grace called Xippo. The decor would be modern, seating about 50-60 people. He will serve a light fare -- paninis and salads priced from $5 to $10. He also expect to feature acoustic music. Samardzija sid his family has been in the bar and restaurant business in Chicago for 40 years. Alex himself is a real estate developer who has been working in the 49th Ward for about 10 years. He built the 16-unit mixed use development at 1412-14 W. Morse three years. It is now all rentals until the condo market turns around.

Here is a sampling of comments from the audience: "We need something like on Morse." - "We need sidewalk traffic on Morse and this will bring it." - "We can make our neighborhood safer by having more people spend their dollars here." One person described Xippo as having a "lovely, understated decor -- like out of Crate and Barrel II."

A person who opposed it said there are enough taverns in the area, and said she has seen problems with taverns in mixed-use buildings. Samardzija said there would be a a restaurant focus here rather than a bar focus. He wants the tavern license so he can keep food costs lower and serve liquor after the kitchen closes. Samardzija said he would employ 12-16 people.

Alderman Moore said folks could still comment on the zoning change via email or by calling his office at 773-338-5796.

Serious crime and overall crime in beat drop 20% in 2009, compared to 2008

Index crime in Beat 2431 fell by almost 20% in 2009 compared to 2008, according to the latest crime stats released at the January beat meeting. Overall, there were 63 fewer index crimes in 2009 compared to 2008 -- 261 vs. 324.

Total crime in the beat dropped 20.1% in 2009 over 2008. That improves greatly on the 2008 figure of a 4.5% reduction in overall crime compared to 2007. Overall there were 78 crimes on the beat in 2009, compared to 983 in 2008 -- a drop of 198 crimes. 

Index crime increased in 2008 vs. 2007 bu 2.2%. So that's a swing of more than 22 percentage points, comparing 2009 to 2008 index crimes.

Theft and car theft dropped the most among index crimes in 2009 over 2008. There were 28.1% fewer thefts (120 vs. 167), and 50% fewer auto thefts (14 vs. 28). There was a slight increase in both burglaries and robberies -- 3 more burglaries (50 in 2009 vs. 47 in 2008) and 2 more robberies (44 vs. 42). 

Simple domestic battery is the second highest crime category in the beat after theft. And there was a slight increase in domestic battery in 2009 vs. 2008 -- 71 vs. 67. Simple assault is the next most common crime, and its prevalence dropped in 2009 by 18% -- 67 vs. 78 in 2008.

Incidents of narcotics use dropped in 2009 over 2008. In 2009 there were a total of 93 vs. 130 in 2008, for a 28.5% decrease. Possession of 30 grams of marijuana was by far the biggest drug crime in the beat. There were 61 incidents vs. 77 in 2008, an almost 21% reduction.

In 2008, index crime increased 2.2% over 2007, while overall crime dropped 4.5%.

In 2007, index crime dropped almost 12% compared to 2006.

Minutes from Jan. 11, 2010, beat meeting

About a dozen hardy Beat 2431 residents and business owners braved cold weather and heard good news that crime on the beat was down about 20% in 2009 compared to 2008.

Index crime (eight crime categories - homicide, criminal sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault and battery, burglary, theft, car theft and arson) was down 19.4% in 2009 over 2008. Non-index crime was down 20.5%, and crime overall dropped 20.1% in 2009 compared to 2008. See this post for more details.

Police reported that the following were the Top 10 crimes on the beat in December 2009:

1. Domestic battery, simple -- 9
2. Simple battery -- 5
3. Simple assault -- 4
4. Burglary by orcible entry -- 4
5. Possession of 30 grams or less of cannabis -- 4
6. Criminal trespass to land -- 3
7. Possession of crack cocaine -- 3
8. Aggravated assault, dangerous weapon -- 2
9. Theft over $300 -- 2
10. Theft from building -- 2

There were 38 arrests in December. Police noted there were two arrests for robbery in the area. One person was arrested and charged with three robberies/muggings, while another juvenile was expected to be charged with up to 13 open robbery cases.

Some of the robberies occurred around the Lunt exit of the Morse El stop. And often, the perpetrators would target victims with iPhones. Police were hopeful these arrests would reduce the number of robberies in the area.

Cmdr. Michael Wick of the 24th District told attendees that a burglary bike mission team was working in the area.He also mentioned that an Area Three midnight Tactical Unit had begun operations. One mission was in response to a complaint at the November beat meeting from the owner of the Glenwood Bar about a patron being mugged. The team targeted the area and made an arrest for robbery.

Also, a narcotics arrest was made at Morse and Greenview after complaints of drug dealing at 6957 N. Greenview were made at the November beat meeting.

Bottom line: bring your crime problem to the beat meeting and police will give it top priority.

Two neighbors reported problems with drug dealing and general nuisance-making at 6812 N. Ashland. A resident noted there were almost 300 calls for service to that address in the last 18 months. It was suggested he work with Alderman Joe Moore and his office to arrange a meeting with the building owner, Willie Barker.

Under general announcements, we noted that the Morse Theater was due to reopen under new management and a new name: Mayne Stage and Act One Cafe.

The meeting adjourned at 7:40 pm. The February meeting is set for Monday, Feb. 8, a 7 pm at 1530 W. Morse.

New Year's resolution: Update this blog frequently with beat and neighborhood news

A new year, and a new decade begin with a New Year's resolution to do a much better job on posting beat and neighborhood news here. It won't be difficult to improve, since the last post was late in January in 2009.

So that is my resolve. Post more.

-Kevin O'Neil, Beat 2431 facilitator

Soo Liquors hearing: Must continue to monitor the good progress

Following are minutes from the Soo Liquors Community Meeting on Jan. 13 before the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection; written by Beat 2431 co-facilitator Jayne Hoffman.

Soo Liquors Hearing
Tuesday, January 13, 2009, 11:00 – 11:35 am
Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP)
City Hall, Room 805

Hearing Officer: Shawn Burnett Whittaker

Attendees: Attorney for Soo Liquors, Rene Camargo (DevCorp North), Jay (Soo Liquors), Officer Norma Guerrero (CPD), Jayne Hoffman (CAPS 2431), Alicia Lopez (49th Ward), John (Rogers Park citizen)

Comments from the Community: Jayne Hoffman began the session stating that loitering and gang activity overall are down along the 1400 block of Morse Avenue, but pointed out that winter weather must be considered a factor in the decrease of activities.

Hoffman commended Soo Liquors, 1420 W. Morse, on two points:

• The recent decrease in criminal activity was also due to Soo Liquors’ participation in safety actions, such as calling 911 and implementation of cameras and lighting at the store.

• Jay attended the CAPS 2431 Beat meeting on January 12, 2009 with the owner of Morse L Liquors, which shows participation in CAPS program by the two retailers. Hoffman emphasized that Soo Liquors must maintain diligence in its efforts to help keep loitering and gang activities away from the store when the weather warms in order to help the community continue increasing safety, and later added that she would like to see Soo Liquors’ management expand its relations with other businesses and community constituents.

Rene Camargo stated that he would help Soo Liquors implement improvements inside and outside the store if they were willing. Camargo also suggested that Soo Liquors consider increasing the quality of wine and liquors to meet the needs of the changing clientele coming into the neighborhood due to an advent of new restaurants and entertainment establishments. A citizen suggested that Soo may want to collaborate with Los Portales restaurant who may offer a “bring your own” policy.

Officials from Alderman Moore’s office, Chicago Police Department and one Rogers Park citizen all noted that the 1400 block of Morse Avenue is much quieter and easier to get around. Officer Guerrero stated that emergency calls were down in November and December demonstrating substantial improvements in that area. Guerrero pointed out that some 911 calls were made from Soo Liquors, which demonstrates that the retailer is actively participating in safety measures.

Response: Soo Liquors’ attorney responded that Soo Liquors would sustain the level of diligence to continue with community safety efforts. Counsel asked the BACP for an extension of the next hearing into the summer because of the good results found here today.

Wrap Up: Officer Whittaker responded positively about the progress in thwarting criminal activity, and said the winter weather is a significant factor. Whittaker directed Soo Liquors that as the weather warms continued diligence on their part is warranted and that Soo Liquors should seriously consider suggestions about upgrades and collaborating with other businesses. Whittaker moved the next hearing from April to May in response to the request by Soo Liquors’ Counsel, and scheduled it for 11 a.m. on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.

Total crime in 2431 drops 4.5% in 2008 over 2007; index crime up 2.2%

In 2008, there were 46 fewer total criminal acts in Beat 2431 compared to 2007 -- 967 in 2008 as opposed to 1,013 in 2007. That represents a 4.5% decrease. (Beat 2431 is bounded by Pratt Avenue on the south (6800 North), Lunt Street on the north (7000 North), Clark Street on the West (1700 West) and the lake on the east.)

Meanwhile index crime increased slightly over 2007 -- there were 7 more victims in 2008 compared to 2007, with 323 in 2008 vs. 316 in 2007 -- a 2.2% increase.

There were five more criminal sexual assaults in 2008 than in 2007. There were 6 "non-aggravated sexual assaults" in 2008, and none in 2007.  A sergeant at the January Beat 2431 meeting explained that "non-aggravated sexual assaults" charges usually are made in cases where the victim knows the offender.

Meanwhile, there were 9 fewer robberies in 2008 (42 vs. 51) and 7 fewer thefts ( 165 vs. 172).

Aggravated assaults and batteries rose by 7 (34 vs. 27), burglaries increased by 5 (46 vs. 41), and there were 5 more auto thefts (28 vs. 23). There was 1 arson (at the Morse Theater) in 2008, none in 2007.

Non-index crimes down 7.6%

While index assault and battery increased last year, non-index assault and battery dropped by 12% (215 vs. 245). This category showed a large drop in simple domestic battery (31.2%, 66 incidents vs. 96), and in simple assault (21.2%, 78 vs. 99).

Narcotics-related incidents fell almost 17%, from 156 in 2007 to 130 in 2008. In the final catch-all category of "other non-index crimes," we saw a slight increase of 1% -- 299 in 2008 vs. 296 in 2007.

There were 53 fewer non-index crime incidents in 2008 vs. 2007 -- 644 vs. 697, a 7.6% decrease.

(Note: Beat 2431 runs from Clark and Pratt to Lunt and Clark on the west, and the Lake and Pratt and the Lake and Lunt on the east.

Index crime in 24th District dips 1.9% in 2008; total crime drops 3.2%

The 24th Police District saw total crime drop by more than 3% in 2008, while index crime fell almost 2%, according to police reports distributed at the District Advisory Committee meeting in January.

In 2008, there were 4,812 total index crimes, compared to 4,907 in 2007 --  a 1.94% decrease.

Less serious, non-index crime fell to 7,851 in 2008, against 8,171 in 2007 -- a 3.92% drop.

Combining those totals, the 24th District saw a drop of 415 total crimes in 2008 compared to 2007 -- with 12,663 in 2008 against 13,078 in 2007. That's a 3.17 decrease.

Here's a snapshot of the details from an Excel worksheet:

 

First Beat 2431 meeting of the year: Jan. 12, 2009

The first beat meeting for Beat 2431 will be held at 7 pm on Monday, Jan. 12, at the Rogers Park Community Council office, 1530 W. Morse.

Agenda items include a review of the 2008 crime stats in the beat and a discussion of overall beat goals and strategies for 2009.

Note that both the January and February meetings occur on the second Monday of the month, not the usual third Monday, because of federal and state holidays occurring on the third Mondays of those months.

You can view meeting dates for the whole year here.

Minutes from November 17, 2008, beat meeting

You can download a PDF of minutes from the 7/21/2008 Beat 2431 meeting here. Below is the text version of the minutes.

Rogers Park, 24th Police District, Beat 2431
CAPS Meeting, November 17, 2008
Rogers Park Community Council Office
 1530 W. Morse Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60626

Officiates:
Kevin O’Neil, Beat Facilitator
Jayne M. Hoffman, District Advisory Committee (DAC)
Sergeant John Delgado, CAPS Team Leader, Chicago Police Department
Sanfilipo, Sgt. Marafino-Internal Affairs Division.

I.    Welcome and introductions – Kevin O’Neil. Announced no meeting in December, and the January and February meetings are scheduled for the 2nd week of each month due to National holidays.
Sgt. Maravolo presented on racial profiling, which is defined as arrest, detention, interdiction solely on perceived race, color, national origin of person. Biased-based policing: Activities expressly prohibited. The Chicago Police Department provides annual training to prevent biased-based policing and when there are changes to policies.
Complaints or compliments: 99% of cops do good job. We try to weed out bad apples. Tel: 312-745-3594, or web site www.iprachicago.org. Anonymous or not. Can also call as a third party complainant, on someone else’s behalf.
Review of accomplishments in Beat 2431 for 2008. (See details at the Beat 2431 Web site post.)
O’Neil: Showed CAPS training book: Can get copies from Sgt. Delgado.
Stats at first are pretty straight forward and sometimes boring. But the analysis tell a story.
Sgt. Delgado: Contact cards tools used to document interaction with the public. Individual selling drugs, offering the overall description of the individual. In database, and other like descriptions matching similar crimes get references.

Some Key Arrests:

• Milton Ervin on multiple narcotics in 2432 at Pratt/Bosworth resulted in significant decrease in activity on Morse. CHA is taking steps to evict him. Last hearing was October 24, 2008. O’Neil: Beat Facilitator of 2432 will notify when the next hearing is (February?).
• Sgt Delgado: August, one-man robbery spree on Sheridan, suspect arrested.

O’Neil: This year we celebrate the formation of three new block clubs, and opening of two RoPA, The Morse Theatre, and Century Public House.

II.    Police crime report. Index crimes were flat. Narcotics were the highest in the top ten crimes which is unusual for this beat..

III.    On-going issues: An update.
Citizen: Reminded us to stay aware of neighboring buildings that are abandoned or boarded up. Watch for signs of activity, forced entry, etc., and Call 911 if you see anything suspicious.

Monitoring children to-from school is in some cases, police assigned.

Sullivan High School. Citizen: 5-6 gang members, 11pm (November 1st & 6th) both had police response. Wolf-pack mentality. Citizen from Methodist Youth Services on Touhy. Student at Sullivan High School has been beat up twice. Sgt Delgado: Try to get the student to take different routes to/from home. Citizen: We need to strategize on diverting students from Gang recruitment. Hoffman: Contact the CAPS office at District 24 at (312) 744-6321 to get involved with programs to help students at Sullivan High School. Citizen: Why is it such a problem? Sgt Delgado: Sullivan High School has approx. 2000 students arriving/leaving at the same time each day which results in issues. Officers apprehend juveniles, takes 3 hours to complete the process, which takes the arresting officer off the street. Juvenile arrests attached to point system. Zero points for gang loitering.

IV.    Announcements

• Public Safety Town Hall Meeting at 7 pm Monday, Nov. 24, United Church of Rogers Park, 1545 W. Morse. Co-sponsored by State Rep. Harry Osterman, 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore, State Sen. Heather Steans and 24th District Police Cmdr. Steve Caluris.
• The next beat meeting will be Monday, January 12, 2009. Happy Holidays!

Beat 2431 once again reports fewest crimes for the year in 24th District; crime down in beat, district

Beat 2431 once again ranks as the safest beat (fewest crimes) in the 24th District for 2008, and is one of the safest beats in the city, according to year-end Chicago police crime stats.

In 2008, there were 967 total crimes in Beat 2431, 71 fewer crimes than the next closest Beat 2423 (1,038), the beat directly to the north of 2431. Beat 2413 (in the southwest corner of the 24th District) and Beat 2422 (centered around Howard near the lakefront) had the most crimes in the 24th District at 1772 and 1770, respectively.

The 967 total crimes in 2008 also is 40 crimes fewer than reported in 2007 (1,007).

Out of 281 police beats citywide, Beat 2431 was the 51st safest beat in the city -- 229 police beats in Chicago reported more index crimes in 2008 than Beat 2431.

Beat 2431 also had the fewest number of index crimes in the 24th District in 2008 at 321 -- 52 fewer than the next closest Beats 2423 and 2424 (373 each).

Beat 2431 saw an increase of 12 index crimes in 2008 over the total (309) in 2007.

Here's the total number of crimes and index crimes for the 24th District in 2008.

All crimes

24th District: 12,548 (267 fewer than in 2007) - Ranks 9 of 25 police districts citywide

24th District Beats, all crimes
2413: 1772 (1756 in 2007)
2422: 1770 (1803 in 2007)
2412: 1538 (1328 in 2007)
2433: 1526 (1621 in 2007)
2432: 1408 (1511 in 2007)
2411: 1347 (1385 in 2007)
2424: 1145 (1279 in 2007)
2423: 1038 (1115 in 2007)
2431: 967 (1007 in 2007) - Ranks 51 out of 281 beats citywide

Index crimes

24th District: 4727 total crimes (40 fewer than in 2007) - 6 of 25

24th District Beats, index crimes
2413: 712 (653 in 2007)
2433: 666 (704 in 2007)
2412: 606 (475 in 2007)
2422: 589 (594 in 2007)
2411: 578 (592 in 2007)
2432: 493 (559 in 2007)
2424: 373 (461 in 2007)
2423: 373 (418 in 2007)
2431: 321 (309 in 2007) - Ranks 30 out of 281 beats citywide

2008 successes in Beat 2431

Beat 2431 has seen many successes this year -- both by the police and the community in the form of economic development.

The following police accomplishments were reported by CAPS Sgt. John Delgado.

Comparing Jan. 1 to Oct. 31, 2007 to 2008

                2007                            2008

Incidents    904                              852

Arrests        601                            494

Service calls    13,192                11,724

Contact cards    2614                  2,782

Incidents/case reports down 6% over 2007 -- This reflects a decrease in criminal activity. 

Arrests down 18% over 2007 -- This is because there is less crime occurring on the beat.   

Service calls down 11% -  People are not finding the need to call because of less illegal activity.

Contact cards are up 6% -- This is an indication that the Officers are actively engaging the individuals on the street.  Because contact cards are up, this could be one reason why the other three categories are down.  The officers are preventing crime from occurring, not just responding to crime after the fact.

The arrest of Milton Ervin. Even though he lives on beat 2432, the officers tell me that after his arrest, Morse Avenue became very quiet for a period of time. 

The arrest of Jacob Westerhoff in August -- The offender attempted to rob several stores on Sheridan and Morse while using a knife.

Three new blocks clubs registered on the beat.

Economic Development in the Beat

• Opening of RoPa Restaurant, Pratt and Sheridan
• Opening of Alhambra coffee house at 1622 W. Morse
• Opening of Morse Theatre, 1328 W. Morse.
• Opening of Century Public House Restaurant, 1330 W. Morse.
• Opening of rehabbed Reside On Morse Apartments, 1340 W. Morse and 1345 W. Lunt
• Condo conversion at the corner of Morse and Greenview, plus the continued success of the Common Cup at that southwest corner have stabilized that busy corner.
• Construction of two new mixed use commercial/condo buildings in the 1400 block of Morse.

2009 beat meeting schedule

Here is the beat meeting schedule for Beat 2431 in 2009.  (Click here for a pdf of the schedule.)

One goal for the coming year is to feature more speakers on policing topics.

*January 12, 2009
*February 9, 2009
March 16, 2009
April 20, 2009
May 18, 2009
June 15, 2009
July 20, 2009
August 17, 2009
September 21, 2009
October 19, 2009
November 16, 2009
December -- no meeting

*Beat meetings convene on the third Monday of the month except in January and February;
e.g., Martin Luther King Jr. and Presidents’ Day holidays.

Minutes from October 20, 2008, beat meeting

You can download a PDF of minutes from the 7/21/2008 Beat 2431 meeting here. Below is the text version of the minutes.

Rogers Park, 24th Police District, Beat 2431
CAPS Meeting, October 20, 2008
Rogers Park Community Council Office

Officiates:
Kevin O’Neil,  Beat Facilitator
Sergeant Delgado, CAPS Team Leader, Chicago Police Department

I. Welcome and introductions, Kevin O’Neil, Meeting Chair.
II. Guest Speaker, Office of Emergency Management and Communications. Officers Francesca Masurkiewicz and Valerie Howard gave a presentation about the OEMC, also known as the 911 center. About 15,000 to 18,000 calls for service are made to the OEMC each day – and about 25,000 to 35,000 daily in the summer. Event types are assigned a priority level. Level 1 is a threat to life, such as a battery in progress. A Level 2 is assigned to an incident that has occurred in the last 10 minutes. A Level 3 event is the lowest priority, such as parking problems or loud music. Calls are ordered by priority to the dispatcher.
The officers stressed the need to gives call takers accurate descriptions from top to bottom. They also said cell phones don’t always give police a precise location. They can usually pin down a location within 600 feet. Finally, they reminded citizens to call police when they need to see an officer immediately – such as if your driveway is blocked. Call 911 for incidents that don’t require immediate police presence.

III. Police crime report. Officer Acquilly outlined the stats for September. The top three crimes for the month of September were Battery (13, mostly due to fights among Sullivan students), Theft from Buildings (10), and Criminal Damage to Buildings (7). There were 58 arrests in September;  there were 67 arrests on the beat in August.

III. On-going issues: An update.
Sullivan High School: Fights after school have continued north of Sullivan High School. Police are at the school every day. Regular officers also go to the school at 1 pm daily to see what’s going on after school.

Pratt & Ashland: Milton Irwin of the 1500 block of Pratt was arrested in early September. Police said criminal activity in the beat and on Morse had fallen while he was in jail. But he was bailed out. He lives in a CTA property, and the CTA is trying to evict him. An eviction haring is set for 2 pm Friday, Oct. 24, in Room 1402.

1340 W. Morse/1345 W. Lunt: A representative from Reside on Morse said the rehabbed units are 62% leased and 50% occupied. The Morse side is nearly fully occupied. He said security will continue indefinitely.

Soo Liquors, 1420 W. Morse Avenue: A second community hearing with the Bureau of Business Licenses was Oct. 16.  The Soo owners showed a log listing calls to 911 in the last two months. Police and neighbors reported it has been fairly quiet with little gang loitering. A final hearing will be held Jan. 15, 2009 at City Hall, Room 805.

IV. Identify new problem areas.
Morse cul de sac at Loyola Park: A citizen reported that the problem of homeless people partying at Morse and the park is continuing. Police said they patrol the park daily at the beginning and end of their shift. But ultimately, they said the problem of homelessness is much more difficult than the police can solve alone.

The last beat meeting of the year will be Monday, November 17, 2008.
Meeting adjourned by Kevin O’Neil at 8:10 pm.