North Avenue Beach Assaults?

I've been hearing rumors that North Avenue Beach was closed do to out of control thugs and gangbangers groping and assaulting people, not due to heat, as has been widely reported. Rumors of cyclists knocked from their bikes... I know a few cyclists were picked up and dropped in the lake by some thugs early last month. The sources are somewhat suspect, but I wanted to know if anyone had heard or experienced anything. Generally my least favorite part of the trail, but I'm debating whether to avoid it completely this summer. As the CPD is undergoing regime change, we should be diligent about reporting incidents like this, even if front-line CPD staff are dismissive... so that resources get allotted appropriately.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 10, 2011 at 9:13am

By world standards, perhaps. By Chicago standards, far from it.

David said:

By world standards, I think it's safe to say that everyone participating in this thread is extremely wealthy.

Mike Zumwalt said:

Wealthy/rich people are paranoid,out of touch, belligerent and behave in a far more Heinous way than thugs but then again the wealthy use the same fear, aggresive tacticts to gain wealth and the are afraid someone will do the same to them.

Maybe someday we'll learn this mutual respect thing. Oh yeah LOL! Keep dreaming.

Now there are a few really rich people who came up with a great idea and got rich that way but it's not the rule.

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Permalink Reply by millenial removing Bernie tattoo on June 10, 2011 at 9:54am

David said:

By world standards, I think it's safe to say that everyone participating in this thread is extremely wealthy.

By world standards the people commiting these crimes are extremely wealthy.

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Permalink Reply by John Krause on June 10, 2011 at 9:59am

I think Liz and Vando are both right. We should be doing what we can to eliminate the social forces that cause crime, and we should hold the individuals who commit crime under any circumstances responsible for their actions. I think we should expect more of society and also expect more of our individual citizens.

Jane Jacobs's concept of "eyes on the street" is that people are less likely to attack others when they know they're being seen, more likely to feel the weight of social pressures to behave ethically when they know they're not anonymous and invisible. Watchful neighbors are more effective than police presence, but only if the neighbors aren't afraid or unwilling to help the police. Bring your phone with you to the lakefront. Know how to use the camera. Take pictures of crime in action and call the police. Stay close enough to help out. Make sure these kids know that people are watching and aren't afraid to take pictures and help the police.

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Permalink Reply by Joel on June 10, 2011 at 10:02am

And the "other people are even worse than us, so what we do is ok" defense doesn't hold up.

envane x said:

David said:
By world standards, I think it's safe to say that everyone participating in this thread is extremely wealthy.

By world standards the people commiting these crimes are extremely wealthy.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 10, 2011 at 10:08am

There are two kinds of people in this world:

Net Creditor
Net Debtor

Rich or poor it doesn't matter -it's not really that applicable. Using any standard that counts one can put all people in one or the other of the above categories.

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Permalink Reply by John S. on June 10, 2011 at 12:42pm

What an incredibly ignorant comment Mike. I've always told my children that it's okay to dislike someone, but first you have to meet them. You can't dislike them from a distance, you have to know the person. Once you've met them, you can make your decision. Racism, sexism and in this case classism (if there's such a thing) are all the product of pure ignorance.

I wonder why some drivers believe that all cyclists deserve to be doored? Or some drivers believe all cyclists deserve to be "taught a lesson". If you think about the number of drivers that pass us everyday, without hitting us, without shouting at us, giving us ample room and respect, it's the small minority of drivers that make life dangerous for us. What would this world be like if ALL drivers looked at ALL cyclists with the same prejudiced eye you have for the rich. We wouldn't live very long would we?

You certainly didn't tell us anything about the rich, but you sure showed us who you are.

Mike Zumwalt said:

Wealthy/rich people are paranoid,out of touch, belligerent and behave in a far more Heinous way than thugs but then again the wealthy use the same fear, aggresive tacticts to gain wealth and the are afraid someone will do the same to them.

Maybe someday we'll learn this mutual respect thing. Oh yeah LOL! Keep dreaming.

Now there are a few really rich people who came up with a great idea and got rich that way but it's not the rule.

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Permalink Reply by dan brown on June 10, 2011 at 2:27pm

John S. - I completely agree with your comments here below.

FWIW - one of the (many) definitions of the word 'idiot' is this :

"Idiot : A person that comments about something that they are unfamiliar with".

Mike's comment reminds reminds me of just that....

Dan (my $.021 (adjusted for inflation))

John S. said:

What an incredibly ignorant comment Mike. I've always told my children that it's okay to dislike someone, but first you have to meet them. You can't dislike them from a distance, you have to know the person. Once you've met them, you can make your decision. Racism, sexism and in this case classism (if there's such a thing) are all the product of pure ignorance.

I wonder why some drivers believe that all cyclists deserve to be doored? Or some drivers believe all cyclists deserve to be "taught a lesson". If you think about the number of drivers that pass us everyday, without hitting us, without shouting at us, giving us ample room and respect, it's the small minority of drivers that make life dangerous for us. What would this world be like if ALL drivers looked at ALL cyclists with the same prejudiced eye you have for the rich. We wouldn't live very long would we?

You certainly didn't tell us anything about the rich, but you sure showed us who you are.

Mike Zumwalt said:

Wealthy/rich people are paranoid,out of touch, belligerent and behave in a far more Heinous way than thugs but then again the wealthy use the same fear, aggresive tacticts to gain wealth and the are afraid someone will do the same to them.

Maybe someday we'll learn this mutual respect thing. Oh yeah LOL! Keep dreaming.

Now there are a few really rich people who came up with a great idea and got rich that way but it's not the rule.

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Permalink Reply by Moc Artsy on June 10, 2011 at 5:59pm

Unfortunately?

Dr. Doom said:

Unfortunately, none of the commenters in this thread are (as far as I know) policymakers.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on June 10, 2011 at 7:05pm

Oh of course let me rise up to the social circle they're in then make an informed decision. Maybe you haven't been watching the news the past few years.

GM exec's asking for Taxpayer money after flying to Washington in private jets. Enron, AIG, BP passing the buck and now reports of the claims they said they were going to pay being delayed or caught up in litigation...etc.

I'm much less worried about a group of kids/thugs/gangbangers beating me up and taking my (whatever) than I am of a giant Corporation of snakes/sharks ripping me off, firing me, denying benefits to me just so their tax rate doesn't go up next year while I lose my car,house and whatever else.

I'm sure that not all people who are wealthy are like that but Philanthropy usually is self serving as well.

John S. said:

What an incredibly ignorant comment Mike. I've always told my children that it's okay to dislike someone, but first you have to meet them. You can't dislike them from a distance, you have to know the person. Once you've met them, you can make your decision. Racism, sexism and in this case classism (if there's such a thing) are all the product of pure ignorance.

I wonder why some drivers believe that all cyclists deserve to be doored? Or some drivers believe all cyclists deserve to be "taught a lesson". If you think about the number of drivers that pass us everyday, without hitting us, without shouting at us, giving us ample room and respect, it's the small minority of drivers that make life dangerous for us. What would this world be like if ALL drivers looked at ALL cyclists with the same prejudiced eye you have for the rich. We wouldn't live very long would we?

You certainly didn't tell us anything about the rich, but you sure showed us who you are.

Mike Zumwalt said:

Wealthy/rich people are paranoid,out of touch, belligerent and behave in a far more Heinous way than thugs but then again the wealthy use the same fear, aggresive tacticts to gain wealth and the are afraid someone will do the same to them.

Maybe someday we'll learn this mutual respect thing. Oh yeah LOL! Keep dreaming.

Now there are a few really rich people who came up with a great idea and got rich that way but it's not the rule.

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Permalink Reply by Alderman Hopkins on June 13, 2011 at 6:19pm

I just want to confirm that North Avenue Beach was NOT closed on Memorial Day weekend due to "thugs and gangbangers" but rather the high temps, much larger than anticipated crowds, and quick series of alchohol-related medical calls that paramedics could not propertly respond to in the dense crowd. The concern among the senior police command on the scene was that someone would die on the beach due to heat stroke and intoxication, while paramadics were looking for them. There have been occasions in the past when authorities closed North Ave beach due to sudden and widespread gang activity, but this was not one of those instances. Also, the rumors that cyclists and their bikes were dropped into the lake have not been confirmed by anyone, and a search of 911 calls reveals NO such incidents were reported. Lots of people seem to have heard this happend, but not a single person it supposedly happend to has been identified.

While the media have certainly done their share of sensationalizing some of the recent incidents that actually did happen, I give them credit for not reporting the numerous unconfirmed rumors that have spread on message boards and comment sections. It does not help the discussion to post things you merely heard as if they are confirmed facts.

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on June 13, 2011 at 7:05pm

If you'll forgive me, Brian, you seem to be speaking on behalf of the CPD or CFD or the CoC, but if that was established in a previous post I missed it. Can you clarify?