WEST TOWN — Near West Police District Cmdr. Ed Kulbida on Monday told anxious residents that two foot patrol cops would be returning to street beats on Chicago Avenue and Division Street and that a mix of 32 newly hired and veteran officers are joining the district.
"I believe in foot [patrols]; I believe in people being out there," Kulbida told residents at a public safety meeting.
Referring to two longtime beat officers who were taken off their street beats last year and reassigned, Kulbida said, "Now that we are having more officers, I will be putting them back out there as soon as tomorrow."
Kulbida said the sprawling district, headquartered on the border of Little Italy and Pilsen, employs just over 300 officers and is one of the city's most populated districts. It spans almost nine square miles and also includes parts of the West Loop, Ukrainian Village and East Village.
The veteran commander eschewed statistics, telling residents, "I can give you all the statistics in the world but you don't want to hear that."
"I look at each and every police report every week and can see that there has been a spike [in crime]," he said.
Kulbida was joined by 1st Ward Ald. Joe Moreno and state Reps. Cynthia Soto and Melissa Conyears-Ervin, both of Chicago.
Drawing more than 250 residents to the basement of the Goldblatt's Bros. Building, 1625 W. Chicago Ave., the special meeting was organized by Kim Shepherd, a volunteer community policing facilitator, along with several neighborhood group leaders.
During the gathering, Kulbida addressed recent incidents, such as a two-car shootout on a Friday afternoon near a busy intersection that saw a bullet fly through the window of a medical office.
Kulbida said it is unknown whether that gunfire was from road rage or gang ties and that the investigation is ongoing. No one appeared to have been injured by the gunfire.
A shooting in the 2200 block of West Chicago Avenue on Jan. 16 that killed a 36-year-old man was gang-related and "a case of retaliation," Kulbida said.
According to Kulbida, many of the recent robberies are juveniles who break into car dealerships and steal cars to drive around and commit crimes.
Frustration over juveniles led many in the crowd, including small-business owners, to demand that State's Attorney Kim Foxx be petitioned to end her office's policy of requiring a $1000 shoplifting threshold be met in order to classify the crime as a felony. Previously, shoplifters could be charged with a felony for stealing $300 to $500 worth of merchandise.
When asked by an audience member if he thinks citizen police patrols are needed, Kulbida replied, "I am not against citizen patrols. One of the things I do stress is more citizen awareness. I think each one of us, instead of turning our heads to what we see, [should] report what they see. Get to know your block."
Kubida said he's been on the job for 33 years and has "never seen a community get together like this."
"This is tremendous; this is what we need throughout the city," he said.
"If you see something, say something. My officers will get there as quickly as possible. To make a long story short, I'm not opposed to [citizen patrols]," Kulbida added.
A point of contention between residents and Moreno is a long-promised "satellite police station" to replace the Wood Street station at 937 N. Wood St. that closed in 2012 when the now-defunct 13th District merged with the Near West District.
Liz Tomka, president of the West Town Neighbors Association, read off a list of 16 things that citizens are requesting of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Supt. Eddie Johnson, including "While working toward building a new 13th District station which will provide a sustained level of police presence, open the much-ballyhooed, but never opened, satellite office in the old [Wood Street station] from which officers can write and file reports instead of returning to the [Near West] station."
Moreno said bringing that station back "would cost millions of dollars" and placed the blame on the promised satellite office not happening on former police leadership "who did not sign off on that."
Moreno said that the 2013 Cook County Sheriff's Office relocation of its warrants unit to the former Wood Street station was an example of "making lemonade out of lemons" and told the crowd he's not done with advocating for the importance of a police satellite office to augment the Near West District station that is several miles south, at 1412 S. Blue Island Ave.
"Stay tuned; I'm still on it," Moreno said.
Monday's meeting resulted in the formation of a new West Town Public Safety Committee of volunteers who will provide reports to aldermen, police, neighborhood groups and the chamber of commerce, Shepherd said.
Another goal, also spearheaded by citizens, involves securing a bulk discount when buying surveillance cameras, and using the same vendor so crimes can be documented and shared over "a cloud" online that could be seen by the public and police.
After the meeting, resident Aaron Joidan said it was "great to see all the people who showed up" but wondered, "How can we as individuals turn the tide to make a difference? The commander said force and numbers can make a difference, but it was not clear how."
