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Crime down but aggressive panhandling still problem says police commander About 50 attend River North Residents Association quarterly community meeting Jan. 6, 2010 – “We all want to give to people who we feel are in need,” says District 18 police commander Kenneth Angarone, “but when you put a saucer of milk out, you’re going to get cats.” Speaking to about 50 River North neighbors packed into an upstairs room at Sullivan’s Steakhouse for the quarterly RNRA meeting Tuesday night, Angarone urged residents to find other ways to help panhandlers than by giving them money. He says when police arrest someone for shoplifting, for example, they will find the suspect has “20 arrests for shoplifting, five arrests for burglary, and 100 arrests for aggressive panhandling.” Calling it an attack on “our lives and property here in the 18th district,” Angarone says there is a fine line between aggressive panhandling – following people and making physical contact – and robbery.
Generally, though, he says 2009 was a good year. “We’re down in virtually every category. We are substantially down in burglary – almost 32 percent. We’re down 18 percent in robbery. We’re down in shootings. We’re down in murders.” Angarone was promoted to commander last September. The 18th police district is bordered by the Chicago River south and west, Fullerton Avenue to the north, and Lake Michigan to the east. Marina City is located within Beat 1831 in the southwest corner of the district.
(Above) Map of District 18 Beat 1831. Click on image to view larger version. Source: Chicago Police Department, Information Services Division GIS. He admits he does not always follow his own advice on handling panhandlers, often giving money to one near his home. “Every time I pass that corner, I give him a dollar. He’s only got one leg. I know he’s not faking.” Natarus voices concern of crowds near Ontario Street Former 42nd Ward Alderman Burton Natarus, who lives near Ontario & Kingsbury Streets in River North, shared his concerns with Angarone about crowded sidewalks in his neighborhood. “I want to know why at three in the morning I can’t walk down the street on Ontario…because there are so many people standing,” he told the police commander. “You ask the doormen, ‘Can you move the people over so I can walk down the street?’ And they tell you to mind your own business.” Nataras says the sidewalks are for everyone, not “just for the saloon people.” Numerous establishments in the district have liquor licenses, says Angarone, many have late-night liquor licenses, and most of the owners are good citizens. But when a bar or restaurant gets a complaint, “we plan on bringing them in and talking to them right away. We intend to hold the business owner’s feet to the fire on the true meaning of an incidental liquor license.” According to the City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs, an “Incidental Activity License,” costing $4,400 and good for two years, allows the retail sale of alcohol at a place where alcohol sales is not the primary activity. He says when they see complaints, violence, or police being called to a bar or restaurant, “we will call that owner in. We will go over their safety plan, talk to them about their video system, their lighting, their security staff. From there, if there is no compliance, [Department of Business Affairs] will get involved and the beginning of the end will start for that establishment.” He reminded the group about Ruby Nightclub, formerly at Ohio & LaSalle Streets, the scene of a shooting last July, “now out of business for this exact reason.”
Current 42nd ward Alderman Brendan Reilly was scheduled to speak but a family health emergency forced him to cancel.
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