KENWOOD — The University of Chicago Police Department’s new chief, Fountain Walker, said Monday that some of the university’s emergency call boxes may be disconnected.
At a community meeting on violence in Kenwood, Walker said one of two phones had been turned off in Kenwood Park, the site of the Aug. 25 fatal shooting of a 25-year-old man.
“The phone no longer works because someone didn’t want to pay the bill,” Walker said.
Walker said that a portion of the approximately 380 emergency phones are maintained by homeowners who requested their installation and not the university.
He said that the person who had requested the phone was responsible for paying the electrical bills to maintain the emergency call box. If the bills are not paid, it's turned off.
"If the power source is no longer available, which can occur for a number of reasons such as nonpayment, etc., the E-phones are no longer operable," said Marielle Sainvilus, a spokeswoman for the university. "To help ensure the safety and security of the communities served by UCPD, the university is working to maintain these phones and is working with community partners to find a solution on continued management and operations of these particular emergency phone boxes."
She declined to say how many of the call boxes were partially supported by homeowners.
“I thought the University of Chicago was taking care of it,” said Lucius Mackey, a Chicago Public Schools security officer who was in the park Wednesday watching kids from the neighboring Shoesmith Elementary School.
“The homeowners shouldn’t be responsible for that, they’re not even the ones out here, it’s kids,” he said.
He said the university police were good about patrolling and responding to problems in the park, but the call boxes improved safety for kids and caregivers who might not have a cell phone.
In Kenwood Park, there are two older-model phones: a metal box with a button and speaker inside, which do not include the lights or cameras that some newer call boxes have.
A university police technician was taping a bag over the call box Wednesday on the 49th Street side of the park.
He declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the press, but explained the box was just malfunctioning. He said there was no way for the average person to know whether the phone was working without placing an emergency call, but all the phones are regularly tested.
While the reasons for the Kenwood Park call box malfunction are unclear, Walker’s comments have called into question which of the call boxes off campus are being covered by private individuals and which are up to date on their bills.
The call boxes, which connect directly to dispatchers at the university police’s Emergency Communications Center, are located as far north as 40th Street and Oakenwald Avenue and as far south as 64th Street and Kimbark Avenue.
The majority of call boxes are on university property and thus more likely to be maintained by the university, but particularly in Kenwood and sections of East Hyde Park, the boxes are on private property.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
