Record #: Or2018-304   
Type: Order Status: Passed
Intro date: 6/27/2018 Current Controlling Legislative Body: Committee on Transportation and Public Way
Final action: 7/25/2018
Title: Call for construction and implementation of enclosures at Chicago Ave/Lake Shore Dr underpass to prohibit access during specified hours from July to October
Sponsors: Hopkins, Brian
Topic: CITY DEPARTMENTS/AGENCIES - Transportation
Attachments: 1. Or2018-304.pdf
ORDER


WHEREAS, The City of Chicago is a home rule unit of government pursuant to the 1970 Illinois Constitution, Article VII, Section 6(a); and
WHEREAS, Pursuant to its home rule power, the City of Chicago may exercise any power and perform any function relating to its government and affairs including the power to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals and welfare; and
WHEREAS, In the first six months of 2018, over 1,000 people have been shot in the City of Chicago;- and
WHEREAS, On the late evening of Sunday, January 2018, a man was shot by a driver in another vehicle and severely injured while driving in the 800-block of North Lake Shore Drive; and
WHEREAS, In addition, on Memorial Day weekend of 2018, a mob of hundreds of brawling teens on Michigan Avenue was stopped by Police Officers, which resulted in a continued police presence in the area the following day; and
WHEREAS, The location of both these instances is nearby the Chicago Avenue underpass beneath Lake Shore Drive, which provides Chicago residents and tourists alike with access to the lakefront trail; and
WHEREAS, Since February 28, 2018, there have been reported incidents of almost thirty larcenies, three criminal sexual assaults and three aggravated batteries all within a two-block radius of the Chicago Avenue underpass; and
WHEREAS, In many of the City's neighborhoods, the underpasses along the lakefront are the only means by which joggers, cyclists and beachgoers are able to cross Lake Shore Drive, and these underpasses are heavily trafficked throughout the day and on weekends during the summer; and
WHEREAS, Underpasses are also notorious locations where residents have been attacked, robbed, or knocked from their bicycles; and
WHEREAS, The ongoing instances of violence near the City's lakefront, especially during late night hours when law enforcement resources are thin and safety cameras are scarce, make it increasingly difficult to ensure the well-being ofthe City's resi...

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