Eryn Rogers/MEDILL

Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposed closing three district police stations next year to save money. This map shows the affected stations.

Chicago residents concerned about being shut out of the police station shutdowns

BY ERYN ROGERS
OCT 18, 2011

Eryn Rogers/ MEDILL

Chicago police patrol the streets in the Belmont District. City officials say the police station closings will create more officer presence on the streets.

Related Links

A summary of crime by police districtA map of the stations closing 

Ald. Scott Waguespack has a ward in the middle of what looks to be a losing battle.

The Chicago Police Department plans to close three police districts as a part of the mayor’s budget cuts, and two of those districts serve Waguespack’s 32nd Ward.

“They are literally both right across the street from our office,” Waguespack said.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed to close the Wood station, servicing parts of the West Side, the Prairie station which services areas on the South Side, and the Belmont station which serves parts of the North and Northwest Sides.

However, the problem is that the aldermen – and, consequently, residents – were never made aware of the possibilities of the closures. In fact, Waguespack said many of the aldermen were led to believe there weren’t going to be any stations closing.

  

“It was really a horrible process,” Waguespack said. “For them to put it in the newspaper before they told the aldermen was really upsetting.”

After the article was published, Waguespack said the aldermen’s offices in the affected areas were swamped with calls and e-mails.

“We had no answers about why they’re doing it and how it could affect our neighborhoods,” Waguespack said.

The mayor’s office did not respond to numerous calls and interview requests regarding the closings and how it was handled.

Chicago police said the closures won’t affect police presence on the streets, just the buildings themselves. The initiative is said to even increase police visibility on the streets by moving some officers from desk duty to beat patrol.

Some Chicago residents know they won’t be able to see the impact right away but are wary about whether the mayor really made the best decision for public safety.

“As long as he checked every other resource,” said Rekha Iyengar, who lives on the Near North Side. “I hope he really checked to see if these areas are free of crime.”

According to the Chicago Police Department’s Police District Crime Summary, the three stations closing generally have had some of the lower crime statistics in the city this year. In fact, the murder rate in one of the city’s most violent districts —Englewood – is 3.6 times higher than the combined total of all three districts slated to close.

To inform the communities, the city’s elected officials have teamed up with the mayor’s staff and Police Supt. Garry McCarthy to hold community meetings for residents regarding the possible changes.

The first meeting was Monday night for residents of the 4th Ward in Hyde Park which is serviced by the Prairie police station.

Police officials said Tuesday that no other meetings have been scheduled yet.

Even though police say the closures won’t affect safety, residents remain skeptical.

“I’m looking for an apartment right now, and depending how this transition goes and if it doesn’t continue to be as safe of a neighborhood, then I might move out of the neighborhood,” said Beth Lynk of Lakeview.