Carjacking Forum Review

18th District Public Safety Forum

Recycling Hearing

New Site for Vaccine Sign-Ups

Dear Neighbors,

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our virtual forum on carjacking. Block Club covered the story.

So far this year we have had six in the ward, after having had 15 for all of 2020; there were seven in 2019. The community is rightly alarmed, and we have been communicating with the police and the State's Attorney's Office to demand solutions.

The enhanced city-wide Carjacking Task Force includes the Cook County State’s Attorney, the Chicago Police Department, Office of Emergency Management and Communications, and federal law enforcement. Local beat and tactical police are assisting to respond and investigate; their efforts have led to arrests for vehicular hijackings. As you can see from the chart below, the largest group of the offenders have been 15-20 years old.

At our webinar, Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said that the rise in carjackings is not a Chicago-specific problem, it is a nationwide issue. The consensus among law enforcement agencies is that school closings have been a major contributing factor to this trend.

The chief difficulty in prosecuting these cases is the inability of the victim to identify the defendant - not surprising when an encounter lasts seconds. Detectives are relying on video footage as well as social media. In one case, an offender posted on social media almost 40 times admitting the crime. The prosecutors and the police are working together to develop the best cases that can be brought to court.

How Many Cases Have Been Prosecuted?

Maryam Ahmad, Chief of the Juvenile Justice Bureau for the Cook County State’s Attorney, said in 2020 her office received 87 carjacking cases from the Chicago police and charged 77 of those cases in court. Sentencing range for juveniles is five years court probation up to incarceration in Illinois Dept. of Juvenile Corrections until age 21.

Chief of the Criminal Division Natosha Toller told us that in 2020, her office received 76 adult vehicular hijacking cases and approved 74 for charges; so far this year, they have approved 5 cases. The mandatory minimums for carjacking range from 4 years for simple carjacking to 21 years an armed offense.

In almost all cases, armed offenders are being detained pre-trial, but there are statutory limits on how long a juvenile can be detained.

What Can We Do Now:

While police are becoming more successful in apprehending offenders and bringing cases, more needs to be done. They need our help:

Review social media to try to locate offenders. Here is an example. If you discover people on-line bragging about or showing footage of carjackings, please report it immediately to the police at 911
Check again to make sure your license plate is securely fixed to your car.
Our office will be funding additional license plate readers and security cameras for our ward.
Call 911 whenever you see something or someone suspicious in the neighborhood.
Join our court advocates so that you can represent the community in these cases before the courts. Here is the application. Fill it out and send it to alfred.robinson@chicagopolice.org (for the 18th District - South of Fullerton) or kellee.simz@chicagopolice.org.

We will be:

Funding additional cameras and license plate readers in our ward.
Working with our state legislators to craft legislation to give the police the tools they need.
Continuing to communicate with you, the police and State's Attorney and other elected officials to keep this the priority it demands.

Safety is a fundamental need of all communities. I will continue to work with law enforcement and prosecutors to ensure that we are doing everything we can to combat this problem, and encourage your input.

Today and tomorrow, you have the choice of attending one of two webinars offered by the Chicago Police. Please sign up.

Carjacking Webinar

CPD Chicago Youth Investigation Division and Community Policing Office

Today, Friday, February 5

4:30 p.m.

Webinar

To register, email alise.bufordjohnson@chicagopolice.org.

18th District Anti-Vehicular Hijacking Webinar

Saturday, February 6

2:00 p.m.

Webinar

The 18th District is having another webinar about carjacking on Saturday. Please join them for this important public safety webinar, Saturday, February 6 at 2 p.m.

Zoom ID: #835 0743 2553

Passcode: 053223

For additional information, please contact the Community Policing Office: 312-742-5778.

Hearing on Commercial and Large Residential Building Recycling

My Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight, and the Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy will be holding a joint hearing on Wednesday, February 10, 2021 at 1 p.m. regarding the Inspector General’s Audit on the Department of Streets and Sanitation's enforcement

of recycling requirements for commercial and high-density residential buildings (those with five or more units).

If you would like to attend and/or offer public comment, please go now to the

Chicago City Clerk’s website.

Written public comment on any of the items listed on the Agenda will be accepted here

until Monday, February 8 at 1 p.m.

Chicago Partners with ZocDoc for Vaccine Scheduling

Chicago has established a partnership with Zocdoc, the online healthcare scheduling leader, to serve as the main platform for eligible residents to find and book COVID-19 vaccinations.

Zocdoc will collect and manage appointment availability from Point of Dispensing sites and leading local care organizations to create a central point of access to help Chicagoans receive vaccinations.

We are the first city use Zocdoc Vaccine Schedule r to streamline the process for residents. Please visit here to confirm eligibility and location.

If you eligible under Illinois guidelines, Zocdoc will guide you to nearby vaccination locations and appointment availability. From there, you can select date, time, and location, and schedule an appointment online. ZocDoc also offers translation support for more than 100 languages and includes a variety of accessibility tools for those who need additional support or modifications.

Although vaccine supplies remain limited, we expect more health care providers to begin offering vaccines as they become available.

The Chicago Department of Public Health still encourages all of us to seek a vaccine appointment with our primary care providers or through local pharmacies or employers, if available.

The Zocdoc Vaccine Scheduler is intended as a free, public resource for Chicagoans who otherwise might have difficulty finding and accessing a vaccine.

The city continues to vaccinate individuals in phase 1a of the vaccine rollout – healthcare workers and residents and staff of long-term care facilities – and recently moved into the early stages of 1b; those age 65+ and specific groups of highest-risk and front-line essential workers are now eligible for vaccinations.

Even for those eligible, it can still take weeks to get an appointment. Phase 1b is expected to last for at least another month. The vaccine is offered at no cost to all Chicagoans who want it, but please remain patient.

For more information on Chicago’s vaccine rollout, visit here.

Prevent Frozen Pipes

Make sure you are doing everything you can to prevent frozen pipes and costly repairs! Chicago’s Department of Water Management reminds everyone to follow these easy steps:

Maintain proper heat throughout your home. This means everywhere there are pipes in your home.
Insulate pipes. Particularly those outside or on the perimeter of the residence.
Continuously run a trickle of water. Make sure to keep the water moving on each floor of your home especially in areas farthest from the from where the main water service comes into the home.
If pipes do freeze, use a heating pad or hair dryer to thaw them.

Click here for more helpful tips.

Community News

Former Alderman Martin Oberman Appointed Chairman of Federal STB

Congratulations to my friend and former 43^rd Ward Alderman Martin J. Oberman who was named Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Jan. 21 by President Joe Biden.

He was sworn in as an STB member on Jan. 22, 2019 and has held the Vice Chairman position since Jan. 6, 2020.

He is serving in his first, five-year term on the board, which expires Jan. 31, 2023, following confirmation by the U.S. Senate on Jan. 2, 2019.

Before his STB appointment, he was a Board member for the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.

He also served as Chairman of Metra after serving our community as alderman from 1975 to 1987. The STB largely regulates surface freight rail, an important industry in Chicago, and also handles the "rails to trails" process.

Dan O'Donnell 1940-2021

We are sad to announce the passing of our friend Dan O’Donnell, whose commitment to our community and to helping others has been an inspiration since he became co-owner of Armitage Hardware in 1969. From running the hardware store, he became a prominent property owner on Armitage who appreciated and restored his historic properties, leading to the renaissance of the area as a boutique shopping district.

Dan also became famous for his stewardship of a program to help thousands of Irish students come to Chicago to work for the summer. He found the kids jobs, places to live and made sure they had a good experience in the United States.

Our condolences to Dan’s wife Kathleen, his children, and grandchildren.

Dan gave so much to our community, if you are inspired to do the same in his name, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Kiwanis Club of Lakeview, where they will be immediately directed to community food pantries.

Donations can be sent in care of Armitage Hardware, 925 W. Armitage Ave. Chicago Illinois 60614.

Brick By Brick

Lincoln Park High School Fundraising Campaign

Friends of Lincoln Park High

Do you walk through Oz Park? Then you walk by Lincoln Park High School, one of the city's top schools.

Show your support - and become a permanent part of the Oz Park area - by purchasing a brick and include a message for or from an individual, group or corporation.

Click here for more information and to purchase a brick.

Help Our Local Restaurant

Urban Nomads

Avoid Eviction

Order Now

We often mention in this newsletter the importance of supporting our local restaurants during this pandemic.

Today, I'd like to ask for your help for one small restaurant, Urban Nomads at 2439 N. Clark Street.

Zuke, his wife Jane, and Mike have put their life savings into this Asian Fusion restaurant, where you can get both a Nomad burger (pictured here) and very good bulgogi. Check out their Menu.

The owners have applied for a PPP loan, but it has not yet come through, and they are behind in their rent. They'd love your business so they can make a rent payment while waiting for their loan. Please think about them this week, and order a nice meal - or stop by to dine in.