Crime News
Beat 912 of the Chicago Police Department enjoyed falling crime rates in late summer, according to reports shared at the Beat 912 Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) meeting in September 2019. Ninth District Community Policing Officer Jason Sollis reported crime falling "right back in line" with historic neighborhood lows following a summertime increase, including a July 23 homicide on the border of the 12th and 25th wards.
New 25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez attended the September 11 meeting as part of increased involvement from his ward, which covers parts of the northwest and northeast areas of the McKinley Park neighborhood.
"We want to make sure you know we haven't forgotten about McKinley Park," Sigcho-Lopez said.
Read more: Cops Report Late Summer Crime Drop for Neighborhood
Ninth District Community Policing Officer Jason Sollis wants McKinley Park neighborhood residents to get to know the Chicago Police Department through its Citizens Police Academy, he said. Now accepting applications for the free 10-week course, the academy is designed to educate, build community trust and improve engagement with police.
"Everyone who has been to the Citizens Police Academy said that it was extremely informative and enjoyable," he said. The program, which runs for three hours on Tuesday nights, offers a condensed version of the instruction that police recruits receive at the academy.
Read more: Learn What It Takes to be a Cop at the Citizens Police Academy
Youth baseball players and parents scrambled for cover during a gang shoot-out at Hoyne Park on Tuesday, July 23, an incident likely linked to the nearby drive-by slaying of McKinley Park neighborhood teen Anthony Finley two days later, police said at the Wednesday, August 14, meeting for Beat 912 of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS).
"It's a horrible thing," said Community Policing Officer Jason Solis. Kids and parents had to "duck and hide away from the gunfire," he said.
Read more: Hoyne Park Gang Shoot-Out Preceded Slaying of Neighborhood Teen, Cops Say
Chicago Police Department and media reports state that a 19-year-old man was shot and killed during a drive-by shooting in the vicinity of West 34th Street and South Bell Avenue during the evening on Thursday, July 25. McKinley Park neighborhood resident Anthony Finley was shot from a white-colored SUV coming out of an alley between South Bell Avenue and South Leavitt Street, police said. This is near the rear of Everett Elementary School at 3419 S. Bell Ave.
Finley was shot in the abdomen while walking on the sidewalk and sent in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The white SUV fled west on 34th street after the shooting.
Lifelong neighborhood resident Dayna Calderon shared her memories and updates about the McKinley Park Community Area on the Thursday, July 18, Extension 720 with Justin Kaufmann show from WGN Radio. During the broadcast, which also featured other Chicago topics, Calderon expounded on activities in the park and neighborhood, what the future may hold for development and gentrification, and general life in McKinley Park.
"We've got a really strong community right here," Calderon said on the show.
The McKinley Park segment begins at approximately 13 minutes, 45 seconds into Kaufmann's broadcast and runs for 15 minutes. Click here to visit the WGN Radio website and listen to the episode.
