Garfield Ridge's Blue Porch Lights Show Support For Police After Shootings

By Mae Rice in News on Jul 19, 2016 6:04PM

Throughout Garfield Ridge on the Southwest Side, residents are installing blue lightbulbs on their porches to show their support of police officers in the wake of shootings in Dallas and Baton Rouge that killed a total of eight police officers.

There's a "huge, huge population of Chicago police officers that live in our area," Al Cacciottolo, president of the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch, told Chicagoist. His organization is giving away the blue-tinted light bulbs, donated by Bridegport's Midwest Lighting, in exchange for $1 donations to police departments affected by the shootings (though most people give more than that).

The first $2,500 in donations went to the Dallas police department, Cacciottolo said. The next chunk of donations will go to the Baton Rouge police, and it will likely be more than $1,000. (So far, Cacciottolo said the Neighborhood Watch has raised $700 of that, but they have another fundraising event scheduled for Friday.)

Midwest Lighting donated the first batch of lightbulbs—about 1,200 of them—on July 11, and another 300 on Tuesday, the company's head, Michael Noonan, told Chicagoist.

"We were really looking to purchase them," Cacciottolo said, but when Noonan heard about their project, he donated them for free.

"I had 'em in stock, and they asked for them... I have a son-in-law who's a Chicago copper, so I was glad to help," Noonan said. He added that he also has a lot of red lightbulbs in stock he'd be happy to donate, if anyone needs them.

"We really wanted to show these guys and girls [in the police force] that we have their back and we support you," Cacciottolo said, of why his organization is giving out the bulbs. Even Garfield Ridge residents like himself, who aren't cops, "all of us either have friends or relatives who are in the police," he said.

Local support for the bulb project has been strong, Cacciottolo said, as has local support for Chicago police in general. The Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch held a meeting on Monday night, termed a "Pro Police Rally" on Facebook, that attracted more than 200 people, Cacciottolo said. "It was amazing."