Beat 2431 News - Rogers Park 24th Police District

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.

Crime rate remains flat in Beat 2431

Total index crime in Beat 2431 was down by less than 1% for the first eight months of 2008, compared to the same period in 2007.

There was just one less index crime through August than last year -- 211 total this year compared to 212 last year. Looking more closely at the crime categories, there were four more robberies and five more aggravated assaults and batteries. There were nine fewer thefts and one less car theft through August 2007 compared to the same period last year.

And in 2007, crime dropped almost 12% compared to 2006.

Minutes from Aug. 18, 2008, CAPS 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, Aug. 18, 2008
Rogers Park Community Council Office
1530 W. Morse Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60626

Officiates:
Kevin O’Neil and Jayne Hoffman, Facilitators
Sergeant Delgado, CAPS Team Leader, Chicago Police Department

I. Welcome and introductions, Kevin O’Neil, Meeting Chair. O’Neil began by holding a moment of silence for Detective Soto, who recently was fatally shot.

Changes in staffing the CAPS program. Sgt. Delgado announced that due to budget cuts and a reduction in overtime by the City of Chicago, only on-duty officers would attend CAPS meetings. Thus, first and second watch Beat2431 officers who previously attended no longer would come to the meetings.

National Night Out was a big success. Hoffman thanked the RPCC, Alderman’s office and all of the local retailers who provided volunteers and give-a-ways which made NNO 2008 a success.

School safety program overview. Kevin offered anyone who is interested in reinstating this program to see him. Last school year, volunteers walked the streets of the beat after school, trying to create a positive presence and working with students.

II.    Police crime report. Officer Acquilly outlined the stats. The report is available here in pdf. The top four crimes for the month of July were Simple Battery (8), Simple Domestic Battery (7), Theft under $300 (7) and Criminal Damage to Property (7). Hull House building at 6700 block of Bosworth in question with teens loitering out on the street.

III.     On-going issues: An update.

Pratt & Ashland: Call to construct a fence so that teens protected. If the teens linger outside of the fence, CPD can call a dispersal.

1340 W. Morse/1345 W. Lunt: Peter Tortorello of Newcastle Realty Ltd., is on hand to answer any questions. Units at Reside on Morse continue to lease at market rate.

6916 N. Lakewood: Jayne Hoffman summarized problems brought up at the last meeting about graffiti, odors and noise issues in the building. Hoffman introduced Dan Koulianos, General Manager for Bil Mar, who provided an update on safety and maintenance upgrades to the building. Historically, rental were made at market rate in accordance with good credit, etc. Helping out people with some issues has resulted in evictions: Over the past year, six people have been evicted. Improvements: repainted all hallways, laundry room and corridor. Carpets cleaned and all glass doors and ground-level windows replaced. New pumps, fire extinguishers, and pipe replacements went in last winter. An off-duty Cook County Police Officer works on the weekends. Tenants have received a handout requesting complaints, suggestions.

A citizen offered a letter from a neighbor not present. Citizen2: lives in the building, called 911 Friday night with issue on problem tenant and is nervous about signing complaints. Koulianos: Part-time janitor John said he would sign complaints. Citizen3: How about refusing rent from problem tenants to speed up the eviction process? Citizen4: Is it worth it to stick around after calling 911? Officer Acquilly: by the time we arrive to a scene after a 911 call, so much has happened that we really benefit from callers who stay on and sign a complaint.

Soo Liquors, 1420 W. Morse Avenue: License hearing is scheduled for August 19, 2008, at 11 am at City Hall in Room 805. Jay Kim, owner of Soo present. Alderman Moore: How can you still have stock that we asked you to quit selling more than six months ago? O’Neil: Morse L Liquors voluntarily signed the same agreement and stopped selling small packaged liquors immediately. Have you been calling 911 about loitering in front of the building? One citizen who walks passed twice daily two & from work has noticed great improvement. Citizen2: How late can you sell liquor? O’Neil: 2 am: However, the liquor stores on Morse both close at 11 pm.

IV. Identify new problem areas.
1328 Morse Avenue, Morse Theatre: Devin McGhee gave a summary about the fire started just after 3 am on Sunday, August 10. The update included that the Morse Theatre will open soon and impressed that the entire community has been influential in helping in the recovery process.

6932-6934 Lakewood/1301-1307 Morse: Citizen distributed a picture of a white female allegedly living on this property or being allowed entry to the premises. The female, known as Amanda Sabin, or Diamond, may be a prostitute and selling drugs. Attempts to contact Pana Properties were unsuccessful as the phone number was disconnected. The Alderman’s office will contact Pana Properties.

1523-25 Morse, Smart Mortgage: Owners of 4 years have had a problem with tenants not paying rent. Owners were verbally threatened by former tenants who now live down the alley. Their building has been vandalized. The owners called 311 and filed a police report once, and have upgraded the security system. Monday, August 11, recorded conversation of a possible conspiracy. Sgt. Delgado offered to talk with them after the meeting. 

Increased activity at Field School. Officer Acquilly: the activities are from people who live at Lunt and Greenleaf. Kevin: Call the police (911): give good descriptions.

V. Announcements
Rogers Park Garden Group, Tuesday, August 26, 2008, “Keeping your trees terrific”
The next beat meeting will be Monday, September 15, 2008.
Meeting adjourned by Kevin O’Neil at 8:10pm.

Minutes from July 21, 2008, CAPS meeting

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

Rogers Park, 24th Police District, Beat 2431
CAPS Meeting, July 21, 2008
Rogers Park Community Council Office
1530 W. Morse Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60626

Officiates:
Jayne Hoffman, meeting Facilitator
Sergeant Baranowski, Beat Team Leader, Chicago Police Department
Jayne Hoffman, notes. Meeting notes are paraphrased, quotations are marked accordingly.

I. Welcome and introductions, Jayne Hoffman, meeting Chair. Hoffman welcomed everyone to the Beat meeting, and introduced 24th District Commander Steve Caluris is who greeted everyone. She continued with a brief outline of the longevity of the CAPS program and Kevin O’Neil’s extensive knowledge of Beat 2431.

II. Police crime report. Officer Zaccanino summarized last month’s crime report.   

III. On-going issues: An update.
* 1340 W. Morse/1345 W. Lunt: Rick Lopez from Wexenthaler Management announced that they are leasing apartments as units become available during renovations. Parking spaces are still available. Lopez confirmed one citizen’s comment that they were also marketing to Loyola students.
* Soo Liquors, 1420 W. Morse Avenue: Jay, business owner and an advocate were on hand to respond. Hoffman provided an overview of why Soo Liquors is undergoing this challenge: Gang-related activity takes place near the storefront and out in the street during the overnight hours. The same faces are seen entering and leaving the store, often without a purchase in hand. It took Soo Liquors more than four months to comply with most of the demands on the agreement with the Alderman’s office and signed by the owner. Soo Liquors’ advocate spoke for the owner claiming that the agreement was not a legally binding contract. Hoffman stated that the premise of tonight’s discussion was to provide updated information, and that the status of the agreement was not in question, but could be presented at the hearing. The license hearing is scheduled for August 19, 2008, at 11:00am at City Hall in Room 805, and is open to all concerned citizens.
* Duke’s Bar, 6920 N. Glenwood Avenue: Owner Neil Lifton responded about the noise and smoking complaints from tenants residing at 1430 W. Farwell. None of the complainants were present. Lifton stated that the business passed inspection from the Health Department and he received a clean bill. Lifton stated that he would keep his patrons out of the alley.

IV. Identify new problem areas.
* 6916 N. Lakewood: Bad smell in building, Bil Mar not taking it seriously. Graffiti inside. Citizen called the management who “whited out” the graffiti within reasonable time. Lots of yelling, fighting heard from inside the building by neighbors living to the north of the building. Currently no lock on the outside door. Hoffman stated that this building has been an issue in the past. Management needs to address tenant issues in addition to building upkeep. Hoffman referred the tenant to Sgt. Baranowski to exchange contact information so that District 24 could obtain keys to the building.
* Citizen: Still there is loitering and panhandling during am rush hours at the CTA station. One loiterer, known as Laura, greets passersby and hands them the Red Eye news. It’s a nuisance.

V. Announcements
* National Night Out 2008 is on Tuesday, August 5th. Anyone interested in helping out with preparations can contact Jayne at jayne1mh@gmail.com. 
* Benefit for Mary Jane Haggerty on Tuesday, July 15th at Heartland Cafe was a big success. More than $23,500 were collected by 8:30pm and the checks were still rolling in. The house was packed. To give something, contact Jennifer Caruso at the Rogers Park Community Council at jennifer@rogerspark.org.
* Rogers Park Garden Group meeting, Tuesday, July 29th. 
* Next beat meeting is on Monday, August 18th, 2008.
* Meeting adjourned by Sgt. Baranowski at 7:38 pm.

(Our apologies for the delay in posting these minutes.)

Minutes from June 16, 2008, CAPS meeting

You can download a PDF of minutes from the 6/16/2008 Beat 2431 meeting here. Below is the text version of the minutes.

Rogers Park, 24th Police District, Beat 2431
CAPS Meeting, June 16, 2008
Rogers Park Community Council Office
1530 W. Morse Avenue

Officiates:
Kevin O’Neil, Facilitator
Sgt. John Delgado, in place of Bet Team Leader Sgt. John Baranowski
Jayne M. Hoffman, notes taker
Meeting notes are paraphrased, quotations are marked accordingly.

I. Welcome and introductions.
Questions from attendees:
Can I install cameras in front of my property? Officer Aquilly: Yes, but you cannot prevent people from walking on the sidewalk.

II. Police crime report. Officer Acquilly outlined the crime report.

III. Update on issues from last meeting.
* 1340 W. Morse/1345 W. Lunt. Pete Tortorello with Newcastle Realty gave update: purchased the building in September 2007, emptied the building, and began leasing in early May and 20% of the apartments in the complex are leased. They identified that many women who want to rent feel unsafe, others on Morse noticed new people hanging around in front, may be identified as drug dealers. 24-hour security continues along with security cameras. Wexenthaler Management, Mr. Rick Lopez. Leasing begins for September 1st move-in. Go to www.ResideonMorse.com for more information. Forty-three parking spaces will also be available. Will have two Zip Cars on site. Kevin: Are you monitoring the cameras in an attempt to ID loiterers? Pete: We can. Also, no children are being exploited in anyway in regards to property renovation.
* Soo Liquors: Both Soo Liquors and Morse L Liquors, owners who are present this evening, asked not to sell the cheap bottles of liquor under $3. Morse L Liquors, located beneath the Red Line L responded appropriately. Soo Liquors failed to respond in a timely manner. Alderman Joe Moore’s office intervened by discussing the issues with the proprietors of Soo Liquors and Soo began to abide by the contract it had signed. Soo Liquors failed to comply with terms of the contract which required the removal of all small packaged liquor items priced under $3. This further resulted in complaint forms being filled out by Rogers Park citizens and submitted to the Department of Business Affairs who then conducted a series of investigations resulting in one minor violation. A narcotics investigation is the final assessment to take place. Beyond that, five letters from citizens identifying the issues and how it is a detriment to the neighborhood are required in order to go to the next step which is have a community meeting.
* Los Portales restaurant: Owner present asking for continued assistance with loiterers in restaurant.

IV. Identify new problem areas.
* A Citizen reported that her children are being exploited on the internet. A neighborhood blogger has been identified as the person recording children and posting on the internet. Police recommended the citizen ask the blogger to remove the photos.
* Pratt/Ashland: Girls jumping rope around 9 pm in the middle of Bosworth last evening. A call was made and responded to. Officer said the girls immediately moved to the sidewalk. Beat 2432 has been conducting Friday night walks targeting Bosworth and Pratt.
* Duke's Bar: Citizen 1: Noise issues affecting the senior housing on Farwell. Cookout in the alley at 11:30pm. Officer Aquilly: spoke to owner who said would try to keep people away from the back. Kevin: spoke to owner who said would refrain from letting patrons smoke in the alley. Citzen 2: Smoking out front is illegal within 15 feet of the doors. Sgt: Is there an ashtray out there for people? Citizen 2: not that I have seen.

V. Announcements
* National Night Out 2008 is on Tuesday, August 5th. Note: Date correction. Anyone interested in helping out with preparations can contact Jayne at jayne1mh@gmail.com. 
* Garden Meander sponsored by the Rogers Park Garden Club on Tuesday, June 24th. Cost $10. Contact rpgardengroup@comcast.net for more information.
* Benefit for Mary Jane Haggerty on Tuesday, July 15th at Heartland Cafe. For more information, contact the Rogers Park Community Council at www.rogerspark.org.
* The next beat meeting will be Monday, July 21, 2008.

Meeting adjourned by Kevin at 7:55 P.M.

(Our apologies for the delay in posting these minutes.)

Soo’s Liquors promises more security cameras, cooperation with community and police

In an Aug. 19 City Hall community meeting, owners of Soo Liquors promised to continue to work with the community, call police about crime problems in front of their storefront, and security cameras on the exterior of the store at 1420 W. Morse.

The community meeting, hosted by the city’s Dept. of Business Affairs and Licensing (DBAL), was called after the city got a number of written complaints from neighbors regarding loitering, drug sales and public drinking around Soo Liquors. The meeting is the first of at least three meetings where the community and Soo owners come together to discuss crime problems and work to resolve them.

At the hearing, Police Office Rich Heinosch reported that in the last year there were about 30 calls for service to Soo’s at 1420 W. Morse. He also said there were four arrests on the street at the address.

Kevin O’Neil, CAPS Beat 2431 facilitator, noted that there were 84 calls for service for narcotics loitering and drug sales to 1418 W. Morse, the Los Portillos restaurant. Juan Gonzales, the restaurant owner, has aggressively called police about the loitering in front of his establishment and Soo’s Liquor.  Soo’s shares an entryway with Los Portillos.

By contrast, only about 25 similar calls for service were logged at 1400 W. Morse, home of the Morse El Liquors in the last year.

O’Neil also reported that recently, the Soo’s management has been attending beat meetings, and have agreed not to sell cheap wines, malt liquor and cheap half pints selling for less than $3. Gonzalez also noted that there has been a recent reduction in loitering. Community members also emphasized the importance of Soo's continuing to abide by the agreement.

Mary Lou Eisenhower, acting director of the DBAL, said there have been no major license violations recently, and that recent investigations, including those looking at illegal sales to minors, came back negative.

Peter Lee, an attorney representing Soo’s, said that sometimes management is afraid to call police for fear it could be used against them in license hearings such as this one. But Eisenhower said that was false, and that a condition of holding a license is that licensees must report criminal activity in and around their place of business.

Eisenhower also asked about security cameras on premises. When told there were four cameras inside, she suggested installing an exterior camera. The manager, Mr. Kim, agreed to do so.

In the end, Soo’s owner and manager agreed to continue attending beat meetings, not to sell the products mentioned above and to install the exterior camera. The next community meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 16 at 11 a.m., in Room 805 at City  Hall, LaSalle and Randolph.