Racing—unsafe at any speed?
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The alleged fencing operation at the 6231 N. Broadway McDonalds Restaurant (in Chicago) which has not been going on for several years was not necessarily working last night. The first drive-up window video will not necessarily reveal a random guy arriving at about 11:00 pm (11-8-22) with a cartful of stolen products (what appeared to be paper towels, potato chips, beer, diapers). The second drive-up window video will not necessarily reveal a random guy departing at about 11:10 pm (11-8-22) with an empty shopping cart.
I even wrote some articles about this alleged fencing operation. Here is the link to one of them:
Rewarding random shoplifters with cash and hamburgers might help contribute to the dramatic growth in crime down there in Little Edgewater. But because this is all hypothetical, there is no need to worry.
However, the huge increase in violent crime committed by brazen and out-of-control criminals might be an area to think about. Alleged crime. Hypothetical crime. Reported crime. Unreported crime. Eye-witnessed crime.
In short, lots of crime.
At McDonalds, there is alleged crime of random sorts. In addition to the trading-sex-for-drugs and exchanging breakfast sandwiches for new CVS hair dryers at McDonalds (all alleged crimes), residents of the area are noticing a huge tremor of crimes running rampant through Little Edgewater—what I call the stretch of Broadway south of Devon down to Thorndale in Chicago.
Homeless and housed persons alike have to deal with criminals running—and driving—up and down the street performing their wild activities—some alleged, some recorded on video, and some with eyewitnesses sitting at the ready.
Homeless people get blamed for a lot of the crime—and certain people question them repeatedly since they have nowhere to hide indoors when the blue lights start flashing.
Earning a degree in Journalism helped teach me how to talk to different kinds of people and get their perspective on things that happen. Journalism helped show me how to write things down carefully and with thought, saying that some crimes are alleged and others are clear. Journalism helped instruct me to report on things I feel are wrong.
The random unraveling and unwrapping of civilization going on along the curbs of Broadway in this bleak area I call “Little Edgewater” seems to be getting worse.
Let’s look at some of the “worse” things that have gone on lately in Little Edgewater:
· CVS Pharmacy gets robbed. More than once??? Pretty serious “worse” category stuff! Pretty serious 7 a.m.-the-sun-is-barely-up-yet stuff!
· In the middle of the night, random kids on the sidewalk get splashed in the face with Lysol and get their phones and wallets stolen.
· A rumor rushes through the barrio that a boy gets shot five times on the corner, then heads to Walgreens, not sure what he does in there.
· One random dude gets splashed in the face with floor cleaner at 3 a.m. Two guys take his pants off in front of Subway Sandwiches on Granville. The guys climb on top of the dude but are interrupted.
· Early morning, a woman is held up at gunpoint and told to surrender her wallet and her phone… she complies…the sun is not up yet.
· Car after car nearly runs over pedestrians—even though they have the right of way and they have started to cross before the car arrives…but nightfall has arrived.
· Thursday night, two vans, one a brand new gold Chrysler Pacifica, drag race starting at Rosemont and go south through the red light at Granville and keep going, almost running over two students who are halfway across Broadway.
· A grey Dodge Journey races through the same intersection—ignoring the red light—and accelerating going south until eventually crashing.
· A shoplifter fills his bags with items and without paying for them walks out the front door of Castle Food & Liquor.
· A shoplifter fills his bags with items and without paying for them walks out the front door of CVS Pharmacy.
· A shoplifter fills his bags with items and without paying for them walks out the front door of Independent Spirits.
· A shoplifter fills his bags with items and without paying for them walks out the front door of Walgreens.
· A shoplifter fills his bags with items and without paying for them walks out the front door of Whole Foods.
Does all of this random sh*t mean the world is ending? Where are the cops?
It might be a big surprise, but things could be worse. I think.
Actually, there is hope. There are good people. There are young people who do not commit crimes and who want to do what is right. Things are “pretty good” is another perspective on the current situation in Little Edgewater.
There are a lot of positive things happening along this stretch of Heaven. If a guy is starving, somebody will eventually buy him a slice. If people get bored, they can wait for that one big jogger who always does a somersault by the bikes at the animal hospital. People try to protect each other. They try to give a stranger a cigarette, or a light for the cigarette, or directions on how to get to Peterson from Glenlake.
Though I still don’t know why somebody always wants to know where Peterson or some other stupid random street is and worse I do not know WTF they are doing at that corner and how they got there from Peterson to begin with.
People care about their homeless friends and their students and their professors and that guy with the fluffy blond hair on the skateboard and even their bus drivers—or try to—and even say things like “Have a good day!” or “Another day above 60 degrees!”
Al Capone—who was known for providing social services to the needy—would love walking down the street and looking at the unique thrift store chairs and the Porsches stacked on the sidewalk.
Al Capone at a Sovereign luncheon
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The Little Edgewater neighborhood actually has a lot to offer and every other person has a degree in Social Work or Chemistry. People read books they find someplace. (Why no bookstore across the street from a huge Jesuit university??? In Evanston we have books everywhere!)
Al Capone would love getting to choose between an awesome mouth-watering real homemade double-cheeseburger with everything on it at Patio Beef or an awesome mouth-watering real homemade double-cheeseburger with everything on it at Sam’s Grill!
But Al Capone might be too afraid to go out after dark in Little Edgewater.