Summer nights—and days—are very hot as random people wander around raising heck and breaking laws. However, reports to police bring little or no relief. Police arrive so late it almost seems like they show up by accident, driving by and seeing people assembled, trying to call for help but to no avail.
Little Edgewater seems to be getting more ragged every day. There are not a lot of police officers available, or they just don’t care, it seems.
“Sometimes they know they absolutely have to stop,” weighed in Paul R., who said that if there are too many people standing around it looks bad if the officers drive right past stuff.” Paul said he keeps moving fast after dark in the neighborhood and does not want to get trapped by what he called “crazy BS from people who are on drugs.”
Call the police, don’t call the police, it does not seem to go anywhere.
It is hard to understand, but apparently the police simply do not respond to some calls. The pattern seems to be that if the person seems to be wealthy, the police will stop.
The more the persons calling the police are “connected to the street” the less chance cops will stop. Poor people, homeless people, people from some certain communities—they get no service from law enforcement in Little Edgewater. Because these people belong to a “different world” they do not expect much from the police.
Said one random guy who was planning to beat on a homeless guy: “Call the police, go ahead, they will never show up for you!” The individual threatening to hit the unhoused person went on to say, “Get out of my neighborhood or I will beat your f#*king ass!”
The attacker went on to claim, “When they see me, they will protect me!” He laughed and went on, saying, “When they see you are dirty and homeless they will arrest you and they will never believe I hit you first!”
Baiting the homeless into a fight is a common bullying tactic among rich individuals in many parts of Chicago—not just Little Edgewater.
Video cameras routinely catch any number of assaults, chaos, and other rowdiness in this neighborhood—including violent attacks. One night, a car was stolen in front of a McDonalds—but management insisted they knew nothing about it at all.
When told police were on their way, the manager went ahead and closed the restaurant anyway—over an hour earlier than posted on the door—and stating nobody knew anything about the crime.
There is often a huge disconnect between the crime (meaning proof of it) and the stack of videos that would prove it. Employees simply do not produce the videos—only under duress—or insistence on the part of police.
The night of June 1 saw a big hassle at the McDonalds at 6231 N. Broadway because of apparent competition among persons selling drugs on the patio. The argument almost turned physical several times. Families left the area to protect their children. Language being used was good and shocking.
Managers know about the drug sales there and in the mensroom but do nothing about it.
There are a couple men who sell drugs in the stall of the mensroom. They do require payment, but they will often accept sex instead of cash.
“Bootleggers” bring in stolen booze from Whole Foods and other stores for the McDonalds employees to purchase, plus makeup and laundry detergent from Walgreens. Dangerous, drug-selling criminals hang out at the restaurant and are well-known in the neighborhood. They and their associates will bring in most anything people want to buy if they need money badly enough.
Is there proof of the fencing operation in the McDonalds? Ask most customers who go there on a regular basis and they can attest to it. You can ask any McDonalds employee—or any manager—and they can tell you about the steady stream of stolen goods coming into the café.
McStolen is okay, but being tired and poor is a crime.
McStolen is okay, but being 7 cents short for a cup of coffee is a disaster.
McStolen is okay, but expecting the restaurant to open on time is a shock.
It is ironic the employees of the restaurant call the police on customers they do not like and who they say are “trespassing.”
The employees buy stolen merchandise all day long. It is quite a perk—great deals on shampoo, baby powder, hair brushes, curling irons, Fireball, vodka, sunglasses, and Tide. All items are sold there “at a fraction of the price,” as they say.
Mentioning how illegal the stolen-goods-selling is gets your average citizen into a lot of trouble. People—including employees—who do not condone the sale of stolen goods become enemies of the key managers who allow the constant sale of stolen items in the restaurant.
Enemies of the bootleg business get threatened, thrown out of the restaurant, and blacklisted.
McDonalds employees—including some of the managers—are becoming better at coming up with supposed “crimes” committed by the enemies of the bootleg business. They apparently feel the owner will believe any random story they come up with to get rid of the people who complain about the drug sales and frantic people running in and out of the place to get cash—perhaps for booze, drugs, or cigarettes.
Maybe the owner of the McDonalds was “not born yesterday” and he will find out who the real enemies to his restaurant truly are.
It is hoped that the McDs owner will put an end to other store’s products being sold all day long at his place.
Said my best friend Jessika: “I wonder what he would think if he went to Walgreens and found out he could buy a Big Mac Meal there for one dollar.” She laughed and added, “What would he do if he saw somebody sitting in Walgreens had a bag of 30 Quarter Pounders that could be bought for $4?”
The night of June 2, some random woman in front of the Subway Sandwich shop on Granville spent several hours mooning passing cars and pedestrians. She was Caucasian, about 40, and wearing a dark green jogging suit with no undergarments on. She would bend over, as if picking up something from the sidewalk, exposing her entire backside, and remain in that position for several minutes. People implored (yelled, urged, begged, screamed, pleaded) her to cover up and leave the area.
Some people called the police; others took photos and video of the moon lady. This went on til after midnight, and it is unknown if the police ever did show. The next morning, she was seen at McDonalds enjoying a cup of coffee.
The morning of June 3, a completely naked man walked around outside the CVS Pharmacy on Broadway. It was unclear why he was doing this. This gentleman was not just showing the moon. He did not have one stitch of clothing on.
Thorndale folks participated in the craziness of Little Edgewater also. The night of June 3, two young gentlemen beat on another one, punching him in the face and knocked him down. Then they started kicking him in the ribs. People at the scene flagged down an unmarked SUV only to be told police were already aware of the fight and officers were on their way.
The officers asked if the attackers were homeless. It is unclear why the homeless always get blamed for so many crimes.
Why would it matter if any of them were homeless? It is still violence happening right out in the open. Why blame the homeless?
Suddenly, the SUV left in a hurry, blue lights flashing, off to some nearby disaster. The officers said they would be right back. Taxpayers themselves eventually broke up the fight.
The morning of June 5, a shoplifter ran into the CVS store on North Broadway at 7:15. Moments later, he ran out with sunglasses and a bag full of hair products. He also stole two boxes of soda pop. He wished everyone a good day and ran past the manager of the store and another CVS employee. He ran north on Broadway and into the McDonalds (6231 N.).
Every night of the year starting at dusk, at the corner of Broadway and Granville, drivers ignore the red traffic light. Some stop at the red light, then proceed. Others do not stop at all. The light is red before they enter the intersection. Especially if there are no other cars around, drivers ignore the red light.
However, even if there are other cars, drivers will still defy the rules. Racing through red lights when there are other cars and running pedestrians.
There are no police cars present. There are no officers present. There are no flashing blue lights present.
Particularly dangerous is the scenario of people crossing—when they have the “walk” sign and the green light in their favor—and almost being killed at that intersection. Drivers rolling through the red lights seem to think they have the right of way.
Drivers will “hurry people along” by forcing them out of the way with their car, or they will honk or yell for the pedestrians to move. Another move is to drive between pedestrians crossing, so you get walker 1, then car, then walker 2. Sometimes drivers will turn and go down the wrong side of the street—somehow in their mind perhaps forced to do that because there is a pedestrian in the way. They will drive down the street on the wrong side for a while, and then slowly steer the car over to the correct side. These moves happen even if there are other cars “in the way” in their mind or if there are other people walking in the street or opening the doors to their cars. These moves are part of a solid tradition at this intersection.
Sometimes to show their dominance, once they have turned and mastered the “conflict to gain space” drivers will accelerate up to 40 or 50 or 60 miles an hour down the street.
Moral of the story: you must have eyes in the back of your head and rotate your head 360 degrees as you attempt to cross the street. Drivers starting up from a corner must do the same thing. Cars sail through the intersection, and the drivers who “have the light” often have to slam on their brakes so they will be not be killed in their car.
Still no police.
It is hard to understand what is happening to Little Edgewater—especially after dark.
Scary-looking people running around, raising heck, and breaking laws. However, reports to police bring little or no relief.