CAPs Meeting Tomorrow

Free Concert @ Cultural Center Feb. 22

Opera!

Reminder-- Events for Youths. . .

THIRD DISTRICT YOUTH EXPLORERS

When: Every Wednesday, 4:30 p.m. until 6 p.m.
Where: 3rd district auditorium, 7040 S. Cottage Grove
What: Fun events like skating; bowling parties; info regarding upcoming events (Lock-ins approaching at fun locations like Safari Lnda and Hollywood park); visiting elderly citizens in our neighborhood senior building, College tours, and MORE!

Contact Officer Parlor or Nakia Fenner at 312-747-5477

SAVING HOMES, SAVING FAMILIES, SAVING LIVES

From the 3rd District CAPS Office:

An Area-wide Housing Symposium

Area 2: January 27th, 2009 Tuesday 3:OO PM to 6:OO PM 5th District Police Station Auditorium - 727 E. 111th Street

Join us as we strive to make 2009 a better year for Home Owners and Buyers!! Information and direct services will be available on mortgage assistance and financing options for home owners and landlords. A representative from the State Treasurer's Office will discuss State programs designed to provide direct assistance for home owners. Representatives will be available from financial institutions to provide information on Short Sales, Foreclosures, Not for Profit Partnership Programs, Below Market Place Rates and Public Safety (Police) Incentives. A representative from the Chicago Police Department's Detective Division will discuss ways YOU can Protect Yourself from Fraud.

Your financial future is in YOUR hands!!! Make the right choice and join US!

For additional information please contact the Office of the Chief of Patrol Field Group A:

Sgt. Saadia Griffin Carter 312-745-6231

Community Awareness Vehicle Hijacking

From the 3rd District Caps Office:

What You Can Do

Attend your monthly Beat Meetings and become pro-active in your community. Be alert to any and all suspicious persons and activity. Have your car and house keys out and ready to use. Call 911 to report any criminal activity.

Never leave children alone in the car! !!!!!!!

If you have information regarding any crime please contact:

3rd District CAPS Office: 312-747-7004
3rd District Tactical Office: 312-747-5484

Area 2 Detective Division: 312-747-8272

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE OUR COMMUNITY SAFER!

Attention Beat 331 Residents-- Weigh in on this month's focus problem

As you may know, we will not be having a CAPS meeting in January or February. We will need to vote on a new focus problem for this month, and we will do this again next month, so that our officers can remain responsive to our community's needs. We will resume voting on the focus problem at CAPS meetings during the March 2009 meeting.

Officer Parlor was kind enough to provide updated maps showing the location of burglaries, roberries, and batteries in our area. We would propose asking the police to focus on 67th Street and 68th Street between South Shore and Jeffrey to address the multiple burglaries that have occurred in those areas.

Please comment regarding whether you agree with the proposed focus problem, or whether you would propose another focus problem. We will take all comments/votes into consideration and advise Officer Parlor of the new focus problem on January 23.

Robberies:
Burglaries:
Batteries:

KISS Christmas Caroling! CANCELLED

UPDATE-- IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE BELOW ZERO TONIGHT. To prevent frostbite, we are canceling caroling tonight. We will need to plan a community event when the weather permits! Please let us know if you have any suggestions!


We will be assembling a team of Carolers to sing this season! If you have a voice (or just want to humm along) please join us!

Starting place: Park at corner of 69th and Oglesby

Time: 5:00 p.m. (for an hour or so)

Date: Sunday, December 21, 2008

Lyrics for several songs will be provided on December 21 at our meeting place. Just bundle up, bring the kids, and be prepared to spread some holiday cheer! Warm up with cookies and hot cocoa after the caroling at Steve & Carly's: 6726 S. Oglesby.

CAPS MEETING

Don't forget, the Next CAPS meetings will be on Monday, December 15, 2008, at 7 p.m. This meeting will take place in the South Shore Cultural Center. Please come upstairs when you arrive.

See the flyer below for more information:

Text Your Crime Tips

If you feel uncomfortable calling 911 or the police, you can now text message your crime tips anonymously.



Hopefully, this can be of help if you're reticent about calling; however, it is always better to report a crime directly and be willing testify. We will never get criminals off the street if we can't convict them.

Next CAPS Meeting & Community Alert

Don't forget, the Next CAPS meetings will be on Monday, November 17, 2008, at 7 p.m. This meeting will take place in the South Shore Cultural Center. Please come upstairs when you arrive.

See the flyer below for more information:



Also, the CAPS office has recently released a community alert regarding burglaries in the neighborhood. See below...

Featured South Shore Business of the Month:

Give Me Some Sugah (A Bakery)

Where: 2234 E. 71st St.
Phone: 773-363-9330
Hours: Tues. - Friday 8:30 a.m.- 7:30 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Email: givemesomesugah@yahoo.com
Website: www.givemesomesugah.com
Proprietor: Lenore Lindsey

We have thoroughly enjoyed the baked goodies we've sampled at Give Me Some Sugah. Proprietor Lenore Lindsey started this bakery nine months ago. She said it was going to be her way of retiring-- a relaxing job she can enjoy. No wedding cakes (and the stressed out brides that inevitably go with them), nothing too fancy-- just delicious bakery items made from real ingredients.

If you stop by, you will find Lenore baking her pies, cookies, and assortment of other delicious items. So far, we have sampled (and loved) her sugar cookies, bread pudding, red velvet cake, and sweet potato pie. The sweet potatoe pie was particularly fantastic-- it is a must have for your upcoming holiday feasts!

If you're looking for friendly service and delicious fresh baked sweets, Give Me Some Sugah is it!

ARMED ROBBERY ON OGLESBY

A resident of the 6700 Block of S. Oglesby Ave was robbed on Saturday afternoon. She was arriving home and exiting her vehicle when she noticed two young men in her garage. The men smiled, and our victim dropped her guard. She walked to her building's entry, and as she was preparing to enter she realized the two men were behind her. She was smart-- she didn't use her key to get into her building, which would have surely given the two young men a chance to push their way in as well. She turned to the young men and said, "you're not getting in here." The taller boy had his hand in his pocket-- indicating he had a gun. They snatched the victim's purse, injuring her slightly, and then they ran away. Thank god the victim-- our neighbor-- was not seriously harmed.

On Sunday afternoon, another neighbor noticed suspicious activity nearby and was able to snap the two attached photos of two young men. The boys appeared to be attempting to illegally gain access to the building located at 2315 E. 68th Street, between Oglesby and Crandon.

The photographer called 911 immediately and was surprised to see the young men react to an electronic communication device as though they knew police were on their way. They fled the scene and disappeared.

We can't know for certain if these men were the same two adolescents who committed the earlier Oglesby robbery, but they do fit our victim's description. These photos are not clear, as the photographer was not able to get a shot looking head on at the possible perps. Still, if you are able to recognize these young men, please advise the police. If you do not feel comfortable contacting the police you can email the blog information and it will be kept anonymous. For the safety of our neighborhood, the police need our help and assistance.


If you would like a higher resolution copy of these photographs, please email me.

Meeting with the Alderman Tonight:

Gary Coner Youth Center located at 7200 S. Ingleside @ 6 p.m. If you are available, please attend and convey to the Alderman the concerns you have, questions you have, and the interest you have in our community!

South Shore Featured in Chicago Magazines' "Where to Buy Now" Article

South Shore receives some LONG overdue praise in the most recent issue of 'Chicago Magazine'. Catch the full article here: http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/October-2008/Where-to-Buy-Now/

South Shore summary on page 8!

Aren't you glad you live here already? :-)

March for Peace- A Success!

As many of you know, Last night we attended a March for Peace and Roll Call in the business district around 73rd St. and Jeffrey. I want to thank those who came-- around 25 community members were in attendance, not to mention the at least 15-20 police officers! We walked from business to business chanting things like "Hey, ho, the Gang Violence has got to go!" The response our group got from community members was great-- lots of applause and people joining in-- particularly the business owners and operators! The roll call was great too- we had an opportunity to meet our officers, shake their hands, and hear from them how glad they are to see that there are people around here who support the hard work they do. We also got to witness some excitement when, suddenly, about 5 or 6 officers got an urgent radio call and had to break formation from the roll call to run down the block to catch a bad guy!

I also realized while I was walking around that I haven't done much walking in our business area. There is a cute bakery with delicious looking treats on Jeffrey, and there are quite a few other nice looking cafes and shops that I don't remember seeing before, not to mention some extremely fancy looking salons!

I want to encourage you all to check the area out and support these local businesses-- While we're making the criminal element feel unwelcome, we must do all we can to keep the good people and struggling small business owners right where they are!

Link To Crime Info:

Check out the Chicago Police Department's Clearmap page, which provides information about crime occuring throughout the City:

http://gis.chicagopolice.org/CLEARMap/startPage.htm#

Input your address, and define the dates and proximity perameters desired. Then Clearmap will list the crimes committed within your defined search terms. This is a good way to keep track of what's happening in our area and to determine whether arrests are up.

VOTE EARLY

Early voting started on October 13, 2008.

The location for the Fifth Ward is the Jackson Park Field House at 6401 S. Stony Island Ave. Voting is held at this site Monday through Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm through October 30, 2008.

You may also vote at the Chicago Election Board office at 69 West Washington, Lower Level Monday through Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm and also on Sunday from 9 am to noon.

Every person who votes early, makes it possible for more people to vote on election day.

NEED TO REPORT A CRIME?

We all know that when we call 911, it usually will take a considerable amount of time for the 911 operators to send officers to us. 911 prioritizes emergencies, and by the time 911 sends the police to you, the perp may be long gone. Here's what you can do to get better results:

(1) Call 911 and make a specific report. Give a good description of the offender (think shirt, pants, coats, hats, shoes, accessories, height, weight, license plate is a big one, etc.).

(2) If the event is occurring during normal business hours call 773-324-5555 (the Alderman's Office) and ask for Rosalind. We have implemented a phone tree system where Rosalind places a call to another community member, that person calls another community member, and so on. Here's the kicker: Every person on the phone tree calls 911 and reports the offense! Contact me by email if you're interested in starting a community phone tree-- obviously there will be lots of crimes that occurr outside normal business hours when the alderman isn't working.

(3) Call the number below that pertains to your situation. For instance, if you're constantly dealing with gangs nearby, and you and your neighbors keep logging calls on the gang hotline, there is a much better chance the police will focus on the gang activity in your area (think stakeouts, undercover work, other efforts that simply calling 911 can never accomplish).

3rd District CAPS Office

312.747.7004

3rd District Tactical Office

312.747.5484

Narcotic/Gun Tip Hotline

877.CPD.GUNS

877.273.4867

Gang Hotline

773.533.GANG

773.533.4264

Illinois Liquor Commission

312.814.2206

3 Great Upcoming Events For Youths!

(1) The Haunted Station

When: Friday, Oct. 31 from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m.
Where: Third District Station, 7040 South Cottage Grove Ave.
Cost: $1 donation

For more information call 3rd District Community Policing Office at 312-747-7004

(2) THE 2008 LOCK-IN

When: Sat. Nov. 22, 2008, 8 p.m. until 6 a.m.
Where: Chicago Police Academy, 1300 W. Jackson Blvd.
Cost: $10 (per Youth or Adult)
Registration Deadline: Nov. 14

This lock-in will provide an opportunity for you to enjoy arts & crafts, basketball, volleyball, music, movies, games, and food! Youths should be accompanied by an adult chaperone. Please contact Officer Parlor, Officer Millison, or Officer Hutchinson at the Third District at 312-747-8122 or 312-747-7004 for more information.

(3) THIRD DISTRICT YOUTH EXPLORERS

When: Every Wednesday, 4:30 p.m. until 6 p.m.
Where: 3rd district auditorium, 7040 S. Cottage Grove
What: Fun events like skating; bowling parties; info regarding upcoming events (Lock-ins approaching at fun locations like Safari Lnda and Hollywood park); visiting elderly citizens in our neighborhood senior building, College tours, and MORE!

Contact Officer Parlor or Nakia Fenner at 312-747-5477