Business owners in the 5800 and 5900 blocks of North Avenue tell THE VOICE they are staying all night in their stores to protect them from break-ins and damage by patrons of two illegal private clubs who are causing mayhem in the area, breaking windows, urinating in doorways, getting into fights, and throwing garbage around. Chicago police are fully aware of the dangerous situation, but are ignoring it.
The business owners are openly asking, “Is it because this is a Black neighborhood or are the cops being paid off to leave these illegal clubs alone?”
Police raided the after-hours club at 5952 West North Avenue in June, seizing firearms and narcotics, according to a police report read to THE VOICE Newspapers over the phone by a 25th district officer. A large orange sign was affixed to the front door by the City of Chicago declaring it illegal for the place to open for business. The sign was scraped off and the club immediately reopened. It operates every Saturday and Sunday beginning at 2:00 AM and continues until 5:00 AM, without police interference.
The business owners asked the owner of the building housing the illegal club to evict the club. His response to them was, “I don’t care what they do in my building as long as I get the rent – it’s not any of my business.” Neighbors say his building is in very bad condition, with electrical problems, and is infested with rats.
THE VOICE sent a memo to 25th district police, with the business owners’ suggestion they not raid the club until after 2:30 AM, when it is operating full-blast. Instead, police visited at 10:00 AM, giving rise to neighbors asking whether this was to warn the club operators to remove all contraband or whether it was to pick up a pay-off for not bothering the club. In either case, the club opened as usual at 2:00 AM and police did not return.
The other problem location is an illegal club operating each weekend at 5849 West North Avenue. Neighbors report frequent loud and drunken brawls with fights spilling onto the street. It, too, is open until dawn on Saturdays and Sundays. It also was raided in June and the police report read to THE VOICE verifies that the club is open illegally and has no licenses or permits of any kind.
One thing these situations prove is that breaking the code of silence that Superintendent Weis is always talking about doesn’t work when the police don’t want to listen!
“A Toxic Atmosphere”
Apparently, the problem goes much deeper at the 25th Police District. For years, Black residents have complained about the attitudes of police at the station’s front desk. THE VOICE was told the district only has about ten Black officers. Former White commanders have expressed frustration in trying to recruit African American officers to the 25th district. One current Black officer calls the racial atmosphere in the district “Toxic” and says he doesn’t trust his fellow officers to “have my back in case of an emergency.” An African American female officer says she only chose to work in the 25th district because she has a teenage son and lives in the district. “If anything happens to him at the hands of my fellow officers, I want to be close by to protect him. Other than that, I’d transfer the hell out of here,” she declares. There are reportedly no Black officers in the Tactical Unit, and for special gang and drug operations, Black officers have to be imported from other districts.
Several years ago, North Avenue business owners meeting in Alderman Emma Mitts’ office asked a Hispanic commander for more police patrols and were bluntly told, “North Avenue is NOT my priority!” Commander Michael McCotter reassigned Officer Chris Hogan to be the North Avenue walking patrolman, over the strong objections and threats by Alderman Suarez, who, according to McCotter, wants the 25th district to be his private security force. McCotter refused and was promoted to get him out of the district.
A White officer says she doesn’t pay attention to “the parade of Hispanic commanders moving through the station. I don’t know who the current commander is,” she told THE VOICE. “I don’t even buy a program anymore. He’s rarely in the station, so at least we get to pretty much do what we want without interference.”
But, with Officer Hogan taking a month’s furlough, business people worry North Avenue will get even rougher without police protection and a lot more summer left.
TO DEMAND MORE AFRICAN AMERICAN OFFICERS BE ASSIGNED TO THE 25th DISTRICT AND FOR MORE PATROLS IN THE 25th DISTRICT PORTION OF AUSTIN, CALL SUPERINTENDENT JODY WEIS AT 312/745-6100. SEE IF BREAKING THE CODE OF SILENCE REALLY WORKS!
The business owners are openly asking, “Is it because this is a Black neighborhood or are the cops being paid off to leave these illegal clubs alone?”
Police raided the after-hours club at 5952 West North Avenue in June, seizing firearms and narcotics, according to a police report read to THE VOICE Newspapers over the phone by a 25th district officer. A large orange sign was affixed to the front door by the City of Chicago declaring it illegal for the place to open for business. The sign was scraped off and the club immediately reopened. It operates every Saturday and Sunday beginning at 2:00 AM and continues until 5:00 AM, without police interference.
The business owners asked the owner of the building housing the illegal club to evict the club. His response to them was, “I don’t care what they do in my building as long as I get the rent – it’s not any of my business.” Neighbors say his building is in very bad condition, with electrical problems, and is infested with rats.
THE VOICE sent a memo to 25th district police, with the business owners’ suggestion they not raid the club until after 2:30 AM, when it is operating full-blast. Instead, police visited at 10:00 AM, giving rise to neighbors asking whether this was to warn the club operators to remove all contraband or whether it was to pick up a pay-off for not bothering the club. In either case, the club opened as usual at 2:00 AM and police did not return.
The other problem location is an illegal club operating each weekend at 5849 West North Avenue. Neighbors report frequent loud and drunken brawls with fights spilling onto the street. It, too, is open until dawn on Saturdays and Sundays. It also was raided in June and the police report read to THE VOICE verifies that the club is open illegally and has no licenses or permits of any kind.
One thing these situations prove is that breaking the code of silence that Superintendent Weis is always talking about doesn’t work when the police don’t want to listen!
“A Toxic Atmosphere”
Apparently, the problem goes much deeper at the 25th Police District. For years, Black residents have complained about the attitudes of police at the station’s front desk. THE VOICE was told the district only has about ten Black officers. Former White commanders have expressed frustration in trying to recruit African American officers to the 25th district. One current Black officer calls the racial atmosphere in the district “Toxic” and says he doesn’t trust his fellow officers to “have my back in case of an emergency.” An African American female officer says she only chose to work in the 25th district because she has a teenage son and lives in the district. “If anything happens to him at the hands of my fellow officers, I want to be close by to protect him. Other than that, I’d transfer the hell out of here,” she declares. There are reportedly no Black officers in the Tactical Unit, and for special gang and drug operations, Black officers have to be imported from other districts.
Several years ago, North Avenue business owners meeting in Alderman Emma Mitts’ office asked a Hispanic commander for more police patrols and were bluntly told, “North Avenue is NOT my priority!” Commander Michael McCotter reassigned Officer Chris Hogan to be the North Avenue walking patrolman, over the strong objections and threats by Alderman Suarez, who, according to McCotter, wants the 25th district to be his private security force. McCotter refused and was promoted to get him out of the district.
A White officer says she doesn’t pay attention to “the parade of Hispanic commanders moving through the station. I don’t know who the current commander is,” she told THE VOICE. “I don’t even buy a program anymore. He’s rarely in the station, so at least we get to pretty much do what we want without interference.”
But, with Officer Hogan taking a month’s furlough, business people worry North Avenue will get even rougher without police protection and a lot more summer left.
TO DEMAND MORE AFRICAN AMERICAN OFFICERS BE ASSIGNED TO THE 25th DISTRICT AND FOR MORE PATROLS IN THE 25th DISTRICT PORTION OF AUSTIN, CALL SUPERINTENDENT JODY WEIS AT 312/745-6100. SEE IF BREAKING THE CODE OF SILENCE REALLY WORKS!
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