EDGEWATER — During a series of town hall meetings designed to address 48th ward residents about the state of their community, Ald. Harry Osterman said safety continues to be his priority — though he's "not comfortable" about the state of violence throughout the city.
"There's been a lot of support given to the superintendent of police and his officers by the mayor, but we see the violence that goes on in the city of Chicago. And that has me very, very concerned," Osterman said Tuesday night.
The effects of the thousands of shootings across Chicago since 2010 eventually make their way north to Edgewater, he said.
Those charged with shooting crimes in the ward are often from outside the neighborhood, he said.
"Those shootings that happen on the South and West sides affect us here," he said. "Violence that happens in our city affects us here, even though we are making great strides when it comes to public safety."
So far this year, the neighborhood has been the site of at least eight shootings, with ten victims. One man, Devone Matthews, was fatally shot while working his shift at the Super Spray Car Wash in June.
Shootings in Edgewater have cooled since the summer, though two men were shot in separate incidents about two weeks apart in late September and early October.
On Sept. 20, a 35-year-old man was shot in his hip and leg at the Shell gas station at the corner of Hollywood Ave. and North Broadway, and on Oct. 3 a 41-year-old man was behind the wheel when someone shot him in his leg a block south.
Osterman said he believed that giving police the support they need to "be able to do their job" is important, but with the number of shootings reaching over 10,000 in the last five years, something needs to change.
In September, Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposed moving 319 officers from desk duty to the streets as part of his 2016 budget proposal. The 48th ward alderman said he understood the intent, but didn't believe shuffling officers from offices into areas where crime tended to spike was the solution.
"I'm not comfortable with just moving some guys from behind their desk out to the streets and say 'You know what, we've done it.' Not when there are 10,000 shootings that have happened over the last four or five years. Not when there's a record number of homicides," he said.
One way to help combat violence in the ward is with strong economic development in problem areas, he said.
The area near the Granville CTA Red Line station was a good example of how a business, like Metropolis Coffee, can transform an area for the better.
After the locally-owned coffee company moved in at 1039 W. Granville Ave., in an area that was once considered a crime hot spot, other reputable businesses followed suit, he said.
"There were guys out there doing bad things," he said. "But when we have jobs, when we have people working, when we have a vibrant business district, that adds to safety."
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