17th District CAPS Meeting // Beats 1724 & 1713

The 17th District CAPS team discussed the recent increase in crime. Robberies are up but the police have also made 3 arrests related to recent robberies. One of the individuals in custody is tied to over 12 robberies. There is another individual in custody related to a shooting incident from February 12 on the 3200 block of Belle Plaine. This individual is not affiliated with a gang. There was also discussion about the recent shooting incidents that have taken place in the 17th District and have been tied to buildings owned by Mr. Carlson (I met with Mr. Carlson, the commander, and Alderman Ramirez-Rosa on Thursday, notes from that conversation can be found below).

Meeting with Alliance of Local Service Organizations (ALSO)

This organization has played a key role in the violence prevention work all around the City of Chicago. We discussed the unique role that violence prevention programs plays in a community and how that is distinct from the work of the police and very necessary. ALSO has been working with the Mayor’s team on bringing violence prevention services to the city. We talked about some of the potential services that can be brought to the 33rd Ward including outreach workers who can engage in building the violence interruption program here which can prevent members of our community from engaging in acts of violence. We reached out to the Mayor since this meeting and we are planning a meeting with her team soon to discuss this issue.

City Council Meeting

Here are some of the things we passed at this month’s City Council Meeting.

1. R2020-81 Declaration of Climate Emergency Climate Emergency passed in the City Council
2. Ethics ordinance about lobbying that prevents lobbying from aldermanic offices and defines “lobbyist”

We also spent some time discussing and approving the funds for police settlement

17th District CAPS Meeting // Beats 1722 & 1723

At the CAPS Meeting held at the 17th District Police Station neighbors heard from Commander Pontecore, Lieutenant Alexa, Landlord Gary Carlson, and Ward 39, Ward 35, and our office. We discussed recent shooting incidents that have taken place in the 17th District and have been tied to buildings owned by Mr. Carlson (I met with Mr. Carlson, the commander, and Alderman Ramirez-Rosa on Thursday, notes from that conversation can be found below). The police has individuals in custody who represent local gangs and they believe these arrests will impact local crime. They identified that gun-related incidents are up in the entire city. Alderman Nugent reminded residents that it is good to reach out to the Mayor’s Office to request more resources for the 17th District.

Poverty Summit

Read more about the day-long Poverty Summit where we discussed some of the issues that are deeply ingrained in the history of our city. I spent some time with Alderman Martin (47) and Alderman Vasquez (40), two of my colleagues in City Council who are also committed to fighting to address systems that keep our communities poor and without necessary resources.

Community Driven Zoning & Development (CDZD) meeting with Community Groups

Javier, our Economic Development Manager, hosted two meetings in the office to discuss CDZD in the ward with our community groups. Members representing 11 community groups from all around the ward joined us to discuss their important role in the process of determining how zoning changes occur in the word.

Meeting with 17th District Commander, 35th Ward Alderman, and Gary Carlson (landlord)

To establish roles and responsibilities of the police, the landlord, and the city of Chicago. Mr. Carlson evicted two tenants from after drugs and guns were recovered in the unit. We identified some issues in the methods of reporting issues to the law enforcement and clarified the roles of local police and the Cook County Sheriff’s office. Landlords have to go through the same eviction process with “unknown tenants” as they do with lessees. 

• Taking appropriate steps on all of his buildings so that police can enforce the affidavits when there are instances of trespassing
• Padlocks/additional security for the units that are vacant
• Gary exchanged personal contact info with the Commander so that Gary is accessible outside of work hours
• Gary to contact appropriate law enforcement to assure his building issues are addressed properly
• Gary will look into installing a camera in building where tenants are requesting it

Plan Commission Meeting

Meeting on large proposed applications and/or amendments around the city.

Court Support for 33rd Ward Resident

Supporting Jimmy Nuter, a 33rd Ward Resident, at his court hearing where he is fighting for more time in his eviction which was issued by an unsupportive landlord. Jimmy is fighting to preserve his life’s work. You can learn more about Jimmy’s architectural salvage work in this WTTW segment.