Chicago police and metropolis employees on Thursday performed what Ald. Invoice Conway (thirty fourth) described as a “large-scale clear up” of Fulton River District viaducts, a few of which have lengthy been hassle spots for open-air drug markets.
In an e-mail to residents, Conway stated that the operation centered on the Halsted Avenue viaduct at Kinzie Avenue, in addition to viaducts beneath Jefferson and Hubbard Streets.
“At each websites, a number of people had been apprehended for suspected drug dealing, quite a few deserted tents had been eliminated, and each websites had been totally cleaned,” he wrote.
The Halsted and Kinzie location has been an ongoing drawback. Three years in the past, a Reddit person posted a photograph of the realm, asking, “How can we clear this?”
Conway credited months of complaints from Fulton River District residents and coordination with a number of metropolis companies for prompting the motion.
“This comes after months of enter from residents of the Fulton River District neighborhood and coordination with the Chicago Police Division, the Division of Household and Help Providers, and the Streets and Sanitation workforce,” he stated.
The alderman added that his workplace will proceed working with the town “to deal with security considerations, eliminate hazardous supplies, and provide housing & different assets to these residing beneath the viaducts to make sure that the realm is protected and clear for all.”
He additionally urged residents to name 911 to report unlawful or suspicious exercise and to attend neighborhood policing conferences.
Conway’s workplace has beforehand coordinated comparable efforts elsewhere in his ward, most notably close to the Clinton L station, the place he stated vital drug dealing from a homeless camp resulted in ongoing issues and a number of shootings, together with a homicide.
As he pressed the town to deal with that drawback in 2023, Conway alleged {that a} high aide to Mayor Brandon Johnson tried to withhold metropolis providers from the clean-up effort except he supported laws favored by the mayor.
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