It started with a middle-aged man in a Chicago Cubs jersey and green cap.
Gradually, neighbors trickled in until six men, seven women, two girls and three dogs gathered at a South Evanston street corner to protest crime.
"We're not threatening anybody, we're just saying, 'We're here and we're peaceful and we want you to be peaceful too,' " said Michelle Oxman, 54. "People stealing and selling drugs, they need to know it's really not OK with us."
The 15 south Evanston and Chicago residents gathered at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on the corner of Howard Street and Custer Avenue for a "positive presence" walk against youth delinquency. The group included members of Evanston's Brummel Park Neighbors and Chicago's Network 2424 Neighborhood Watch groups, but also citizens unaffiliated with the groups. For Oxman, a one-year resident, the walk around problem areas near the Evanston-Chicago border was her first.
The group was followed by several Chicago Police Department squad cars who came to show their support for the gathering, which had been planned in response to a disturbance in the neighborhood Saturday night.
"There had to be about 50 teens … on either side of Custer screaming at each other," wrote Bernard Garbo, the leader of the Chicago neighborhood group, on its message board Saturday night. "They're basically into screaming at the top of their lungs and strutting around like they own the block."
The neighborhood groups make their presence known after major incidents, and they go on frequent walks during the spring and summer.
The Howard Street area is one of the worst in the city in terms of crime, the residents said.
Resident Kate Lindsay, who attended the walk, has seen her share of crime. The Northwestern graduate student said she was the eyewitness to a double homicide when she first moved to the area.
"I'm tired of this behavior," she said. "I'm tired of not being able to sleep because there are fights going on, I'm tired of hearing gunshots. I want to think there's something that can be done on a community level."
2008 Woodie Awards
The DAILY encourages you to share your thoughts on this story. Please help us keep the discussion lively, but civil. Comments that are abusive to others, off-topic or vulgar, or comments that misrepresent someone's identity, will not be tolerated. We reserve the right to delete any comments in violation or to close comment threads on articles.
Please e-mail online@dailynorthwestern.com to flag a comment or for more information.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
billyjoe
posted 4/08/08 @ 9:47 AM CST
Good move on the part of this group, but I wonder how many of them realize just how utterly diligent they will have to be in order to reclaim this area of Evanston and make it safer. (Continued…)
Michelle Oxman
posted 4/08/08 @ 12:35 PM CST
Who says nobody is watching or paying attention when we are not walking?
We're doing what we can. What are you going to do to help?
Do you think your attitude will help make peace in our community?
billyjoe
posted 4/08/08 @ 1:52 PM CST
Michelle asks:
"Do you think your attitude will help make peace in our community?"
Ms. Oxman: Sorry, but I'm not clueless enough to want to buy property, rent, or even walk through this section of Evanston. (Continued…)
Dr J
posted 4/08/08 @ 7:18 PM CST
To anyone who thinks the South Evanston community does not know what it means to be "utterly diligent", I would invite you to join us. This is NOT Cabrini-Green circa 1975. (Continued…)
Post a Comment