Chicagoist: Muggings At Logan Square CTA Worries Residents

Tower18

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:50:50 -0600

Given a good economy, the slow creep of gentrification is inevitable. Everything being said about Logan Square right now was probably being said about Wicker Park 10-15 years ago, and Lincoln Park 20-25 years ago.

Ingrid

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:18:41 -0600

Please don't be so frikking condescending and sanctimonious. I am very aware of my surroundings as well as involved in my community and I don't walk the streets afraid or thinking that I'm going to get mugged. I am definitely no fraidy cat. But, if I lived in an area where I had to use a train that was the site of over a half a dozen attacks in recent weeks, and I had to use that station at a time when few people were around, I would feel a tad safer with some Guardian Angles around...or a cop...whoever happens to be handy. I am a volunteer counselor for rape victims/survivors...I see first hand what CAN happen out there. Shit happens sometimes no matter how aware and with it you are. Did some GA's push you around once, or did you read an article that was negative towards them? I have known several people in NYC who have actually benefitted from their presence.

Albanyparkour

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:04:07 -0600

I'd feel safer knowing that there aren't ill-trained vigilantes looking for "troublemakers" dressed in goofy costumes larking about. Comfort yourself with ration and reason and statistics on crime. Prepare yourself by being alert, getting involved in your community policing and taking basic precautions for your safety. All much more effective than some guy who got rejected from Paul Blart's gig "watching out for you".

jimbo

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:23:41 -0600

my neighborhood lol

Albanyparkour

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:51:37 -0600

And that's my issue with the Guardian Angels organization, Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? A good community policing organization isn't just about bodies on the street looking tough, it's about cleaning up vacant lots, encouraging new businesses, helping cops get more and better information about gang activity. I just don't see the logic in replacing one cop (who is trained and ultimately accountable, however nebulous the system for that might be) with an untrained cop. I'll confess to a bit of a personal bias here, when I was in NY a few years back I saw some GA's harassing kids on the subway. They took on a really racist tone (the GAs were white and latino, the kids were black) almost instantly. When I confessed my surprise to my NY friends they just shook their heads at my simple midwester naivete.

magooisim

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:35:11 -0600

matilda

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:24:58 -0600

I guess I've seen no evidence they are vigilantes in Chicago. Can't speak for New York, though I've seem some reports. I see them as a roving neighborhood watch, I guess. I wish more people would get together and provide the protection that, apparently, our tax dollars can't provide in Chicago. Granted, there is a fine, fine line between being a neighborhood watch and a vigilante, and it takes wisdom and massive amounts of self-discipline not to cross that line.

Albanyparkour

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:19:07 -0600

I'm all for neighborhood watches, community "night outs" and people generally working together to improve their neighborhood. Vigilantes? Not the answer. You don't improve a community as a whole by putting dopes in berets with superhero complexes on the street. Here's the thing, the economy is going poorly, people are desperate, petty crime increases. The reason this is news is it's unusual, for the most part Logan Square is fairly safe. You don't hear about all the muggings and robberies in Austin. Curtis Silwa, founder of the Gaurdian Angels, makes Rush Limbaugh look like a UC Berkley professor. The Gaurdian Angels have a long and dubious history of intimidation, violence and racial bias in New York. The police in this city have PLENTY of issues, no question, no argument. But I'll take a half-assed house mouse with 50lbs more than he needs over a self-appointed crime-fighter any day of the week.

JawsOfJosh

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:17:27 -0600

No, I propose that crime is gonna happen anyway, and if a side effect of that crime is keeping yuppies and hipsters from migrating in my general direction, so be it. Who said I lived in Logan Square? I didn't. I specifically said I didn't want my neighborhood converted into another cultural domicile for twentysomethings. I don't live in a hip neighborhood, and I like it that way.

honus

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:12:30 -0600

Amen. Roving packs of vigilantes scare me. With their uniforms and air of self righteousness they've appointed themselves our guardians and decided that they're angels for doing such. They can suck an ass. When you see them on the train posting their fliers, chastise them for breaking the law and littering.

matilda

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:06:42 -0600

Seriously, you propose that it is good for some unlucky people to be mugged in order to keep your neighborhood hip and cheap enough for you? Do you know if these victims were Chad, Trixie, Miguel, Maria, Stanlislaw, Petr, Bill or something else?

JawsOfJosh

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:01:04 -0600

Don't worry, Sears - you've got your happy camper right here. Personally, I don't mind Lincoln Park being filled with "yuppie douchebags" or Wicker Park being filled with "hipster douchebags". Somebody has got to live there! I just don't want them following me when I move to another neighborhood. I'm grateful for little pockets of the city like Logan Square because they keep the yuppies and hipsters in their place and prevent them from moving too far south or too far west, placing them near the rest of us who don't want our property taxes any more higher and don't want to live in a neighborhood looking to cater solely to twentysomething trends. It's too bad that people got mugged at the Logan Square Blue Line station, but if it keeps the Chads and the Trevors parked on the north side where they belong, well good. I don't mind yuppies and hipsters, I just don't want them and their culture freakin' everywhere.

Ingrid

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:56:24 -0600

Most violent crimes are committed by family and not strangers? When I read my weekly local crime log it doesn't look to me like it's family. There actually happens to be a surge in heroin usage/dealing in my area which coincides with break-ins and personal assaults and whatever needs to get done in order to get money to buy drugs, be it knocking one down to get an ipod to sell or a purse to snatch. I don't walk around afraid, but if I'm on the train or standing in a station, I'd feel a lot safer with a smattering of Guardian Angels.

matilda

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:45:24 -0600

I'm no expert on the Guardian Angels, but I've always understood they are trained to carry out citizen's arrests, which are legal under certain circumstances; that they carry no weapons; and that hotheads usually are ejected from the group. Do you have evidence to the contrary? I see no reason, if the above are indeed true, why a group of people can't offer protection. I mean, we are not really allowed to defend ourself in this city with anything more than pepper spray (only a slight exaggeration), nor does the CPD or CTA have the resources to offer daily protection to the majority of riders. While I too worry about any degradations in the social compact, I think you are being a bit melodramatic here, Albany. Good points about overall trends in crime rates, but when crime is on the upswing, I think people are prudent to take advantage of means to protect themselves.

Albanyparkour

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:34:49 -0600

A letter from those supporting the "Guardian Angels", The time has come to abandon the social compact. No longer will we accept that those accused of a crime have a right to due process or that an accusation is not necessarily any metric of proof. No, things have gotten too extreme for that. Yes, statistics and evidence show a decrease in most violent crime, and even the 500 murders of 2008 are less than half that of the violent early 90's and yes most violent crimes are perpetrated not by strangers but by family, friends and associates over a myriad of issues. But these facts don't matter. We are scared and demand action. We demand unregistered, poorly trained vigilantes led by a notorious right-wing zealot with a history of inciting racial violence to patrol our streets and "watch out" for trouble. We demand that these vigilantes operate outside the law, because clearly the law is broken if crimes are being committed. We demand no accountability, only the promise of safety delivered via brass knuckles. We demand a terrible solution, we demand it now. Sincerely, A right pack of nitwits

that_girl

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:04:55 -0600

Really? Chains versus local places is what distinguishes suburbs from "the city"? Huh. Guess I'll have to start counting local places in some of the burbs around me -- I might live closer to Chicago than I thought! What's the percentage that makes a tipping point, eh?

BlueFairlane

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:58:26 -0600

I live in Logan Square and always try to go local. I get my breakfast from the Dunkin Donuts on Fullerton, my lunch from the Subway at California and Milwaukee, my afternoon coffee from the Starbucks at California and the Boulevard, my dinner from the McDonalds on Milwaukee just north of the square. I love how Logan Square just feels so much more real, like its actually in the city. Don't you?

magooisim

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:44:44 -0600

Hey Sears, sorry, it's kind of hard to hear you from all the way up on your high horse. I live live in logan/humboldt, my neighbors all take care of their lawns, shovel their walks, take care of their kids, and believe it our not, patronize local shops. The "evil rich people" of lincoln park get a bad wrap because the majority go local as a thing to do, which is fine, support is support. But LP has only about 15-20% local retail (I do love you meatloaf bakery). the other 80-85% is chain (starbucks, chipotle, mcd's). Because of that, LP is no longer a neighborhood, it's a suburb. nothing wrong with that, but I prefer the city. Any dipshit bragging about how tough they are cause they live in a shitty neighborhood, is actually a dipshit. Crime sucks but is a part of life, it's up to people (neighborhoods)to look out for each other. Jesus, that was a rant. i should have just told you to go fuck yourself.

jmagic

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:28:37 -0600

hey I hate crime just as much as the next person (unless you're a mugger), but lets not go around pointing fingers at "yuppie douchebags" or "hipsters" or whatever other social class that is bound to have a beef with another. The thing is, crime is up everywhere around this city. Whether it's the economy, lack of cops, or just plain being bored and needing money for blow and smack, people are out there looking to hurt other people. We've got folks getting iPod-jacked, taking whatever they can even if it has no real material value. It doesn't matter what hood you live in, you can get mugged anywhere and anytime.

Sears Tower

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:17:44 -0600

A lot of the posters should be happy to see additional crime and further urban decay in this neighborhood. I recall seeing several posts on this blog railing against "evil rich people" moving there, with their unholy practices of maintaining their lawns/homes, patronizing local shops and restaurants, and raising their kids in a responsible manner. Just think, these posters can further brag about what a rough neighborhood they live in, and how real they are compared to those "yuppie douchebags" in Lincoln Park, or some other similar neighborhood with less crime and more educated residents.

RaggedyAnne

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:02:53 -0600

Anyone know when the muggings were happening at the Logan Square stop?

Spook

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:22:06 -0600

Damn moustache! I hope he got in some good blows at least! Was it a lot of em?

magooisim

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:53:18 -0600

Damn. Hopefully Tastee Freeze will open soon. It's impossible to be violent near ice cream.

moustache

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:37:12 -0600

fisticuffs. broken eye socket.

magooisim

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:33:01 -0600

fuck, gun or knife? i'd just like to be prepared.

moustache

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:29:57 -0600

A friend of mine was mugged at armitage and california at 4 o'clock in the afternoon yesterday. There were also muggings outside of bars in that neighborhood this weekend. Apparently there are more going on.

magooisim

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:23:38 -0600

Saw one Angel on the blue line a couple of months ago. If you see them, Thank them. Maybe they'll come around a little more.

Thunderbelly

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:18:40 -0600

Ingrid- We used to have Guardian Angels here. At least growing up on the red line (that's right born and raised on the red line! HA!) in the 80's I would see them all the time. Not sure what happened to them though, you definitely don't see them around anymore. Or anyone doing a similar service.

magooisim

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:17:55 -0600

Guardian Angels - Chicago, IL Chapter Leader: Miguel Fuentes Mobile Phone: 312.217.7245 Email Address: Chicago@GuardianAngels.org That's my neighborhood and my stop. The Angels look out for Chicago and should get all the respect in the world.

Ingrid

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:59:49 -0600

Chicago needs to organize it's own version of The Guardian Angels, that group that patrols the streets on a volunteer basis started by Curtis Silwa in NYC in the 70's.