Today is the one-year anniversary for Crime In Wrigleyville and Boystown.
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| Precocious. |
Our motivation for starting this blog is exactly the same thing that motivates us to this day: To inform our neighbors about a very serious and growing street crime problem and the dangerous erosion of police protection in two neighborhoods that we sincerely love and have called home for up to 24 years.
There have been some successes in our first year. All of them were the result of actions taken by readers like you.
CWB has never organized a single meeting, protest, or march. We’ve never called to or spoken with the alderman (well, not since we started this blog). The pressure on politicians, police, and service agencies has come from you. And it is from you that future changes will flow.
One thing is very clear to us. More and more of our neighbors are learning about the facts of the issues we write about. They’re noticing the disconnect between “crime is down” press releases and what they see with their own eyes.
We know more people are catching on. CAPS meetings are attended and participated in with, shall we say, vigor. On crime issues, some politicians are starting to say things that are slightly closer to the truth. Alderman Tom Tunney now speaks of robberies as being a problem. He hadn’t done that in 10 years. Some service agencies have stepped up and accepted some responsibilities, too. Again, it’s due to your efforts.
Needless to say, somebody somewhere is starting to care about this stuff. And we thank them…you, that is.
Another spring and summer of insanity is coming. We promise that CWB will be here to see this effort through. Lower robbery rates. More cops. Less bullshit from politicians and police executives. The issue here is serious and people’s health, safety, and property are at stake.
For our second year, we’re going to try to get the voices of the police department, politicians, businesses, and service agencies into our reports more often. Rest assured, though, we will be cutting no slack.
We’re confident that—with your help—more, bigger changes will happen this year. And we are very grateful and thankful to have you as our neighbors.
