Fatal Shooting near Walnut and Edwards

[Danno]

Heard there was first a stabbing and then later a fatal shooting near Walnut and Edwards last night.

[TypesWithFist]

There was a shooting last week at Brookside and Berwick.

Now that the school year is opening, the gang recruiting and fighting will have a big surge.

[ClassicalLib17]

Illinois needs to pass a conceal/carry and castle doctrine law now. With only twelve policeman on duty at any one time, it is getting to be dangerous to walk your dog at night. If you feel the need to protect yourself you are forced to break the law. Last summer, a neighbor of mine, walking his dog at night, was slashed by two youths with boxcutters. This required an ambulance ride to the emergency room. It won't be long before our local politcos will be asking for more money to 'help' these 'unfortunate' youths, once again. I say " you wanna cha-cha? Let's get down!"

[corndog]

It's just the sign of the times and it's only going to get worse, much worse. Gang activity is going to rise because it's only a matter of time before the gang bangers are going to find out that we will no longer have a gang unit or NET unit. Chief Greathouse finds it necessary to cut back on the speacial units to "beef up" patrol, the only problem is that you can't do that when the police force is already down 30+ officers with a possiblity of losing 18-20 more in the near future. I'm sorry but Chief Yancey might have had a problem with his personal life but Chief Greathouse just has a problem. He has said that his concern is the citizens of this city, which is all fine, but when you are all for cutting your police department down your not showing much concern for your citizens. Chief Greathouse is not a policeman, he has not been a policeman since he was promoted 15 years ago. That's the problem with this system, that the Mayor continues to apply, nothing will ever change, and in the long run, citizens will pay. Just ask the family of the victim in this shooting, ask them if they feel that they had enough police protection on that block, when you are short police officers you are not going to have many patrols come though your neighborhood, and in turn things will get out of hand. Chief Greathouse and our city managment were partially responsible for this tragedy, maybe now the eyes will open, come election time we need to ask ourselves if we want to continue to live like this or do we want a better life. If so, then we need to find a Mayor that's concerned to the well being of the citizens and that starts with him and works it's way down to the department heads. We need a mayor that will place the right people in charge, people that are far more experienced than those that have been in these positions in the past. We don't need people who want to be politicians we police officers to be chiefs, we need fire chiefs that are firemen. And we need the politicians to stay politicians and leave the police and fire work to the policemen and firemen.

[gmg77]

Mom falls to gunfire
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/2633724,5_1_WA25_WSHOT_S1-100825.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 25.article</a><!-- m -->

August 25, 2010
By JIM NEWTON <!-- e --><a href="mailto:jnewton@stmedianetwork.com">jnewton@stmedianetwork.com</a><!-- e -->
A 29-year-old Waukegan woman died early Tuesday after being shot while on the porch of a Walnut Street apartment building Monday night.

Amy Williams, who lived in the 2100 block of Lorraine Avenue, was pronounced dead at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday at Vista Medical Center East, according to Lake County Coroner Dr. Richard Keller.

Keller said an autopsy showed Williams had been shot in the chest.

A Walnut Street property owner and member of a local Neighborhood Watch group said Williams was a mother of three who may have been caught in the crossfire of a dispute that didn't involve her.

Waukegan police issued a statement that the department received calls about shots fired in the 700 block of Walnut at about 11:40 p.m.

When officers arrived, they found Williams lying on a porch at 722 Walnut. She was taken to Vista, where she died of the gun shot.

Police said Tuesday afternoon that there had been no arrests and that an investigation was ongoing.

Todd Gordon, who owns property on Walnut Street and is an organizer of the annual Walnut Street Festival, said he talked to a cousin of the victim who said she had been visiting at the apartment building when Williams was shot.

Gordon said he was told that the shooting was apparently a retaliation attempt for a non-fatal stabbing that occurred earlier Monday, and that Williams had been standing among several people on the porch when she was shot.

Gordon said he was told Williams was an innocent bystander. Police declined to comment on that information Tuesday afternoon.

In December, Williams and her three children, ages 11 through 5, received gifts from city employees through the Making Christmas Possible program, which provides holiday necessities for families in need.

Wendy Beshel, who organizes the annual effort, said Williams and her family were recommended for the program by the Waukegan Public Schools. She added that she didn't know Williams personally, but recalled giving the family a couch purchased by donations from city employees.

Gordon, a member of the City of Miracles group that is affiliated with Neighborhood Watch, said the shooting was the first homicide in the neighborhood since the late 1990s.

"It's a sad day, both for her family and the whole area," said Gordon, adding that the neighborhood has become safer and cleaner due to a concerted effort by Neighborhood Watch volunteers, landlords, police and city officials.

"I've been fighting for this neighborhood for a long time," Gordon said. "We were getting 1,200-some-odd phone calls (a year) to police, and it went down to 200 something. And then something like this happens."

News-Sun staff writer Dan Moran contributed to this report.

[Frankzilch]

It's just the sign of the times and it's only going to get worse, much worse. Gang activity is going to rise because it's only a matter of time before the gang bangers are going to find out that we will no longer have a gang unit or NET unit. Chief Greathouse finds it necessary to cut back on the speacial units to "beef up" patrol, the only problem is that you can't do that when the police force is already down 30+ officers with a possiblity of losing 18-20 more in the near future. I'm sorry but Chief Yancey might have had a problem with his personal life but Chief Greathouse just has a problem. He has said that his concern is the citizens of this city, which is all fine, but when you are all for cutting your police department down your not showing much concern for your citizens. Chief Greathouse is not a policeman, he has not been a policeman since he was promoted 15 years ago. That's the problem with this system, that the Mayor continues to apply, nothing will ever change, and in the long run, citizens will pay. Just ask the family of the victim in this shooting, ask them if they feel that they had enough police protection on that block, when you are short police officers you are not going to have many patrols come though your neighborhood, and in turn things will get out of hand. Chief Greathouse and our city managment were partially responsible for this tragedy, maybe now the eyes will open, come election time we need to ask ourselves if we want to continue to live like this or do we want a better life. If so, then we need to find a Mayor that's concerned to the well being of the citizens and that starts with him and works it's way down to the department heads. We need a mayor that will place the right people in charge, people that are far more experienced than those that have been in these positions in the past. We don't need people who want to be politicians we police officers to be chiefs, we need fire chiefs that are firemen. And we need the politicians to stay politicians and leave the police and fire work to the policemen and firemen.

Police are reactive. How do you propose this woman would have been kept safe by more police unless of course you propose that a policeman be posted on her porch 24/7. Do you really think gang members think about whether we have a gang unit or a net unit before they do a drive by shooting?

[corndog]

Well Frank,

They apparently think so now, there was an officer posted in front of the building last night for pretty much the whole shift. A little too late don't you think. You don't have to have an officer sitting there 24/7, but you reduce the chances of something like this happening if there were more patrols a little more often. But when people see that no patrol cars drive by for most of the night even after a stabbing, they do feel that they can come back and shoot someone. Police are reactive, when you're short handed, and gang units and NET units if run properly can be proactive, actually they are much more proactive seeing that they don't have to answer calls. No excuses on this one, the failure of the city's management and penny pintching mayor just cost this mother her life.................hey but I bet he saved the city about $500 somewhere along the line. And yes the gang members do care if there is a proactive gang unit or NET unit, they know when they are out there. And when the gang members figure out when the gang unit is working, then you might have to change things up and throw them off guard by changing hours or days off. If gang members are out all hours of the night then the gang unit needs to be out at all hours of the night, being reactive, proactive is all about taking care of buisness out there, no one ever said that gang unit or NET unit is a Monday-Friday job. But when you have someone in charge that can't seem to figure that out, then you find someone who can. And getting rid of the gang unit or NET unit is surley not the answer.

[ClassicalLib17]

It is almost too late to solve our problem. What societal benefit has been derived from political correctness and tolerance for every individual group of people who have moved into this town? These groups and, especially, their so-called leaders need to learn our laws. Do you wonder why most of the law-abiding citizens who once lived here have moved someplace else? The PC crowd didn't want our police to enforce the low level crime laws because that, they say, is racial profiling. Why aren't these peoples names and faces reported on in our daily newspaper? They would rather report on city workers dressed in halloween costumes. That front page article, last fall, was the reason I canceled my subscription. If you know what is good for you, you'll seek out a qualified firearms instructor, buy yourself a pistol that comfortably fits in your hand, and learn how to protect your families and yourselves, because 12 patrolman can't be in all places at once. Our police dept. is no longer concerned with quality of life issues because their plate is now full with serious felony crime. Thank you very much, you community activists and organizers, quite a utopia you have created here.

[WT Reader]

It is tragic when a police department/community is no longer able to satisfactorily address "quality of life" issues due to being overwhelmed by more "serious issues."

Because in the final analysis, IT is "quality of life" issues that IF not dealt with early on usually subsequently lead to more serious issues, e.g., criminal.

-- WT Reader

[ClassicalLib17]

Thank you for your thoughtful response WT, Our elected officials are more concerned with maintaining their overly generous salary and pensions than they are with serving the public good. Why do we allow this to continue to happen to us? What problems have these people solved, ever? I am sick over the decline of my community. How many times have we heard these birds say " we work so well together. F--- 'em.