Public safety: Let your voice be heard on crime

By -

A public safety meeting Thursday will discuss personal safety, crime prevention and advocacy to increase police presence.

Capt. Phil Kwasinski will be guest of the East Village Association and Ukrainian Village Neighborhood Association in a special meeting at 6:30pm in Bath House Cultural Center, 1019 N. Wolcott Ave. Aldermen Proco Joe Moreno (1st Ward) and Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) will attend.

We're asking our members to write letters demanding urgent action on crime. Sample letters will be available to sign at the meeting, and letters will be collected to be presented to city officials. Those who can't attend can download and send letters directly to Mayor Rahm Emanuel and their alderman (find your ward here).

Kwasinski will address crime levels and police strategies to address crime. He's a 31-year Chicago Police veteran, promoted to 12th District captain in 2015. Previously he spent five years as tactical lieutenant in the 10th District. As a sergeant, Kwasinski managed the non-emergency Alternate Response Section and acted in tactical and patrol roles. The Taft High School graduate holds a master's degree in criminal social justice from Lewis University and a bachelor's degree from Western Illinois.

Unease over crime has risen this month after a string of carjackings in the area. One recent arrest potentially cleared 10 vehicle thefts or carjackings, police said at an an Aug. 23 antitheft seminar at St. Helen's Church.

Police have had to operate under anpower limitations. The number of officers assigned to the 12th District has dropped from just over 500 officers when the 13th District closed five years ago to 300 officers today.

Community members at the meeting will learn how to avoid burglaries, assaults and carjackings, and will discuss neighborhood efforts to prevent crime, including more political action.

Anselmo @properties business card,
Ask Nagel business card.

Popular posts from this blog

Crime puts La Spata on the spot

By -
Image
Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st Ward) speaks to East Village Association members June 13, 2022. Weekend gunfire turned a scheduled meeting with Ald. Daniel LaSpata into an hourlong discussion of public safety. Residents pressed the alderman on police response to calls and his own response to violent crime. The June 13 meeting was streamed on EVA's Facebook page . La Spata stated that the number of aggravated batteries and carjackings had fallen in East Village's two beats but a rise of robberies had been "frustrating." In weekly calls with 12th District Cmdr. Beth Giltmier, La Spata said he pushed for Chicago Avenue foot patrols. Residents asked if more street cameras would be installed in the ward, noting that early morning shots fired on their block two days before had no police response for more than an hour. La Spata said cameras were funded from the ward's discretionary "menu money" but he would not commit to funding cameras without consulting Giltmi
Read more

Ald. Villegas gets to know East Village

By -
Image
36th Ward Ald. Gilbert Villegas meets East Vlllage Association members Sept. 12, 2022 at Roots Pizza. East Village Association membership meeting Sept. 12, 2022, at Roots Pizza, 1924 W. Chicago Ave. Presiding: Dan Johnson, director East Village again is split in Chicago's City Council redistricting. Ald. Gilbert Villegas introduced himself to East Village Association members Sept. 12. In turn, members sounded him out on how he works with community groups on neighborhood issues. The remap pushes Villegas' 36th Ward boundaries east along Grand Avenue from Belmont Cragin into East Village. A West Town satellite office at 2246 W. Chicago Ave. is staffed Tuesday through Thursday. "I ran in 2019 under an acronym that I still use today, which is PEACE—Public Safety, Education Accountability, City Services and Economic Development," Villegas told EVA members before taking questions. "I'm not an alderman that's about defunding the police. I'm an alderma
Read more