GWNA Public Safety Update

Busy week for Unnatural Deaths in Uptown

Our neighborhood continues to experience unprecedented violence and April brings more violence and deaths to our community.

On Tuesday, April 14, afternoon the police were summoned to Truman College after a body was discovered at the southeast end of the Truman parking structure.  A male, later identified as a teacher at Truman College, appeared to have committed suicide by jumping off the taller of the parking garages.

Early Wednesday morning, at approximately 1:49am a female passenger in a car on the 4500 block of Broadway, by Sunnyside, was shot in the head and later died.  The victim has not been identified. See DNAinfo coverage below. We have no details on if this shooting is gang related at this time.  GWNA will be requesting the alderman and others begin a more productive conversation with the community to actively address the gangs and out-of-control violence being committed on our streets.

Click here for DNAInfo coverage:  http://tinyurl.com/msvt4sw

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.

Indeed—it is the only thing that ever has.

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GWNA April Newsletter: Early Voting Ends Tomorrow!

                                       Graceland Wilson Neighbors Association

                                              GWNA Newsletter –April 3, 2015

 

Get out and Vote—Early Voting Now until Saturday, April 4

 

Public Safety Amuck in Uptown—March Madness

 

Block Clubs want Wilson L Station Public Plaza Project

 

Get out and Vote—Early Voting now until Saturday

Early voting for the municipal election ends tomorrow! Avoid the heavy lines on Tuesday and GO VOTE EARLY!

This election is extremely important to our neighborhood and we need as many people to get out the vote as possible.

Be the voice in our neighborhood…..VOTE!

 

Public Safety Amuck in Uptown—March Madness

Uptown has its own version of March Madness with another string of shootings and a murder this month.

March kicked off with the gang related murder of Troy Phelan on Monday, March 9 at 2:45 PM, just as children were coming home from school.  The  murder occurred in the 900 block of Agatite.

Gang retaliation followed on March 18 at 5PM with another shooting at 4509 N Clarendon Ave.

Victim didn’t die this time.

The most recent attempted gang related shooting occurred this past Thursday, March 26 at 4:11 PM.

Multiple shots were fired at a male running into the Voice of the People property at 4431 N Racine. This building and other nearby Voice of the People buildings on Clifton have been criminal housing properties for many years. GWNA is actively researching other tactics to rid the neighborhood of the gangs that live among us.

 

Block Clubs Formally Request the  Wilson L Station Public Plaza Project

While construction has started on the $210 Million Wilson L Reconstruction Project and work has begun on the Wilson and Sunnyside CTA stations, a major component for a truly remarkable TOD—Transportation Oriented Design—is missing.

The project sadly lacks a cohesive public space and pedestrian pathway plan to activate all the surrounding land to connect people with the stations, retail and entertainment venues.  Current plans bring more fences, gravel and parking lots, nothing more.

The block clubs in Sheridan Park—Graceland Wilson Neighbors Association, Beacon Block Club and Dover Street Neighbors have been in touch with Alderman Cappleman and formally requested he initiate and establish the Wilson L Transportation Oriented Design—Public Plaza Project.

Using the excellent project model for the Argyle Street Project in Ald. Osterman’s ward, you can see how the alderman led a collaborative effort with urban planners, CDOT, landscape designers and citizens to transform Argyle Street. Click on the link below for more detail on Argyle’s transformation.

http://48thward.org/your-ward/argyle-streetscape-project

We are still waiting for Ald. Cappleman’s confirmation he will establish the Wilson L TOD Public Plaza Project as a key component in Uptown’s revitalization and economic development.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.

Indeed, that’s all that ever has.

 

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