Since its founding in 1997, River North Residents Association has been a strong and vocal supporter of all efforts on the part of the Officers of the 18th District CPD, and the leadership of the 42nd, 2nd and 27th Wards to make our community more secure. For more than 20 years, these efforts were largely successful. However, recent dramatic increases in the incidence of serious crime in River North have made it clear that our organization must do more than just encourage people to attend beat meetings and call 911. The fear, anxiety, and general deterioration of residential quality-of-life have become intolerable and, understandably, our roughly 24,000 members demand action.
In the 12 months from August 2021 through July 2022, the portion of the 18th Police District south of North Avenue, which includes the River North neighborhood, has experienced unprecedented levels of serious crime. According to the City of Chicago Data Portal Crimes Map, this includes 177 aggravated batteries, 36 vehicular hijackings, 269 weapons violations, 163 aggravated or armed robberies, 138 aggravated assaults, and 8 homicides. These examples represent a material increase over historical averages for index crime, and clearly require a commensurate response. Source: https://data.cityofchicago.org/Public-Safety/Crimes-Map/dfnk-7re6.
While local residents and businesses are reeling from this relatively sudden increase in criminal activity, RNRA is well aware that incidents like these have been all too common occurrences in many Chicago neighborhoods for years. The inescapable truth is that no person anywhere in our city should have to live or work in fear for their safety, or that of their family, on a daily basis.
RNRA also understands that crime is a multicausal problem with no quick or simple solution. Many of the underlying societal issues that contribute to criminal activity have been present for decades and cannot be solved by police, prosecutors, courts, licensing agencies, or elected officials alone. Though our representatives on the City Council neither manage nor direct the CPD, RNRA appreciates their efforts to improve public safety, such as Alderman Reilly's work to install additional police cameras and license plate readers, advocate for new Officer recruitment incentives, and establish new Command Posts in collaboration with Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. Incremental progress requires all stakeholders, including the private and non-profit sectors, working in concert towards the common goal of a safer and more secure city for all citizens, workers, and visitors. With this goal in mind, RNRA has developed the recommendations set forth below, some of which, we are pleased to note, are already underway or under consideration.
We've chosen to release these recommendations in the form of a survey, to give our members, and other interested parties, an opportunity to express support or opposition, as well as to offer other serious suggestions. As has been our practice with other public surveys, the top-line results will be published on our website, shared with city, county, and state officials, and periodically updated. Please note, although every effort has been made to be as concise as possible, reviewing this material may take some time. The survey allows you to respond to each recommendation without reading the explanation, but these are complicated issues, and we encourage everyone to review the background information provided. Either way, RNRA appreciates the time and attention given by respondents to this important matter.
There are few endeavors more challenging than big city policing and we have the utmost respect and appreciation for the public safety professionals who risk everything to protect us. We do not claim to be experts in this field, nor to suggest that these proposals alone will solve the problem. As concerned citizens, our purpose is to encourage, support, and assist where we can. We urge all individuals and organizations who love this city as we do, to participate in this important dialogue. Thank you.
