Several public safety surveillance cameras are scheduled to be installed at various locations in Naperville's downtown, with the goal of having them operational by the end of October.
The city plans to install five fixed cameras at the Central Parking Facility, 75 E. Chicago Ave; and four movable cameras at four intersections: Washington Street and Jefferson Avenue, Main Street and Jackson Avenue, Main and Jefferson and Main and Chicago Avenue.
In addition, a public safety camera pod will be placed at the intersection of Washington and Chicago. The camera pod consists of five fixed cameras and one movable camera. While the fixed cameras continuously point in one direction, the movable camera provides the ability to focus on a particular location and record video should an incident take place. The camera pod will be placed at Washington Street and Chicago Avenue.
The city already has cameras at the Municipal Center, the Van Buren parking deck, downtown Metra station (Route 59 has cameras, which are under the jurisdiction of Aurora) and the city's auto test track.
The city says these cameras are needed to prevent crimes and to identify suspects when crimes are committed. What do you think of more government observation of public activities?
some type of surveylance is required as long as people act irresponsibly, if not malisciously. Cameras are there full time, and cost far less than adding to the police force..who can't possibly be in one spot full time.
I think its great that they are installing more cameras. People may view it as "Big Brother" is watching, but in the long run, it will help solve crimes and keep the citizens of Naperville safer.
1.
As a proponent of camera's in public areas, I have a strong preference for them to be owned and operated by the businesses or local business association.
If the DBA wanted to install 50 cameras downtown taking 1 second HD snap shots of the entire downtown, I would fully support this. Just like a shopping mall.
This allows the police access to the camera data when a crime is reported, without falling into the hole of the police surveilling the citizens electronically. This would provide the best of both worlds.
If you litter in Chicago Ave, do you get a ticket in the mail? Not today, but this is the path I want to avoid.
I suspect that the reason the NPD will be operating the downtown cameras is not for Orwellian reasons, but because the DBA and Downtown property owners are experts at dumping off costs onto the rest of the community.
2.
The parks (and parking garages) are another matter, as the proprietor, the city should provide camera surveillance monitored by their security guards, the police.
Government should not be monitoring people. Big Brother is out of line. What the heck are the police doing ??? What do we pay them for?
Where has our privacy gone? I would rather take the chance with crime than to loose my privacy. Also, I guess the crime rate in Naperille must be HIGH or is this just another excuse to take away our privacey. And I don't want to hear that if I am doing nothing wrong then I have nothing to worry about.
As for me (and I really don't count in the grand scheme of things) I will do my shopping somewhere else.
First is was Red Light Camera's (which should be taken out as they have nothing to do with safety and it is all about the money) and now monitoring to people.
What's next ??? How about a body search before entering town or perhaps ID badges would be in order.
Wake up people ---------- Your loosing more right !!!
This sure isn't what our For Fathers planned when this country got started. But I guess that as long as we can drive out Escalades to to Startbucks for over priced coffee then all is well.
By Mr.77 on August 27, 2009 10:35 AM
Where has our privacy gone?
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How can you have an expectancy of privacy on a public street in the middle of the 5th largest city in the state? Public is public; private is private.
Big Brother watching you...... ??
Lets get this one right folks. The cameras at City Hall and the Parking Garages are NOT monitored, they are REVIEWED if something happens. The cameras were placed at the 9-11 memorial (behind city hall) help stop the vandalism. When vandals did strike, they HAD TO REVIEW THE TAPES.
The cameras that are going to be installed downtown are NOT going to be monitored 24/7, they are going to be REVIEWED if something happens.
Big Brother is not taking way your rights, they are putting cameras in place FOR REVIEW if someone does something to you.
You can still be private in public. Anytime you are being watched in public it is not private. Our rights are being taken away ------- It's called privacy.
What's next -------- Chipping??? If we have camera's to watch us why do we need police ???
Mr. 77 asked:
What's next -------- Chipping??? If we have camera's to watch us why do we need police ???
If you're being mugged would you rather be within view of a camera, or a police officer?
By Mr.77 on August 27, 2009 3:40 PM
You can still be private in public.
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No you can't. You step onto public property and you no longer have an expectancy of privacy.
Got to keep up with the Big City Jones. All this High Tech stuff that we simply just have to have. Makes our lives richer in so many ways. Remember when all we had were hard line phones in our homes and phone booths out in the public? How in the world did we function as a society? Now cameras to monitor our streets. Is this foolish spending of taxpayer dollars. But then again perhaps in the years to come, we`ll ask how did we ever survive without being monitored?
I have been a critic of red-light cams for a long time. They are unnecessary, primarily a revenue generator, and ultimately harmful to my profession of law enforcement. I sincerely hope people begin to really oppose them wherever they pop up or are considered.
These cameras are different. Way different.
They are NOT to monitor you. They are not manned to track everythng you do, or even a little of what you do. They CAN be, if there is a need for real-time observation in the event of an unfolding incident, but their main use is as an evidence gathering tool for use when something does happen.
You are filmed upon entering almost any retail establishment of any size. You are filmed when you go through a fast-food drive-thru, you are filmed as you do your business at the bank or post office. For the most part the video is stored for a period of time, in the event anything does happen or is discovered later to have happened, and then it loops out and disappears. These cams will be the same.
It is good to keep an eye on the government; it is how your rights are protected and how those of us in government are kept honest (most of us, anyway). Just don't let caution morph into paranoia.
If we do put cameras in the downtown, I hope we never see 17 Naperville Police Officers and a canine dog on one intersection ever again.
When I saw that sight this summer, I felt the NPD was abusing my real estate tax bill in an unimaginable ways. It is enough we let them retire at the young age of 52 with 75% of their highest salaries for the rest of their lives which has put us in a $61.4 million pension deficit despite our very generous 21.16% contribution to our police and fire fighters.
Let us hope these cameras can free the army size downtown police beat detail to take positions in our subdivisions and fight heroin distribution to our youth which is rampant and completley out of control. Many of our youth have now died due to heroin and we are awaiting the numbers which should be reported in the Sun soon. Will County had 20 heroin fatalities in the first half of this year.
I expect the Chief of Police next year to send the school cops to monitor our subdivisons on bikes instead of our downtown which should have video surveillance by then hopefully. At least the cameras can not hassle you if you are minding your own business.
Bringing on the cameras will make us look much less like a police city-state than having an army of cops roaming and riding downtown for the most part needlessly and endlessly.
Now if these surveillance cameras are going to issue automatic tickets for someone who cruised the downtown three times instead of 2 times, I say blow them up. Let us hope the city does not try to pull a RED LIGHT ZONE on us to raise money to help decrease their humongous police pension deficit. I would not put anything past the NPD OR CITY HALL. I simply don't trust them fully. Let us try to monitor what they are up to before we give them our approval or disapproval assuming they are willing to listen.
I can only hope that the Cop-In-A-Box cameras being placed downtown will cut down on all of the crime we have in our downtown area. We stopped going there years ago and things have only gotten worse. Hopefully this will encourage people to return to the downtown area and it will no longer be a ghost town on Friday and Saturday nights. It’ll be nice to see more than just hoodlums and empty store fronts.
These cameras are the right idea! This is why I support these crime catcher cameras and the red light cameras. They should be standard issue at all intersections.
I also believe that with the technology we have available today we could mandate that cars sold in the United States be able to detect what the speed limit is for the road it is on and automatically issue a citation with a fine automatically charged to the driver’s credit card or debit card account. The driver would be required to insert this card into the dash AND blow into an alcohol detector before being able to start the car. The on-board computer would then check the driver’s blood alcohol level and also check if they have a valid driver’s license and if there are any outstanding warrants for them. The cost of these mandated systems would be offset by the increase in fines from the on-board computer and the red light cameras. The on-board computer would also act like an airliner’s black box, recording all of the driving info such as speed, gas consumption, driver and passenger conversations and GPS location. Remember that you are operating a motor vehicle on a public street and that driving is a privilege not a right. I would even suggest adding an in-car camera as well. This would truly reduce the crime rate at little or no cost at all. It may even lower the cost of public safety because we could eliminate the police who spend most of their time on these types of crime right now.
And to those who would oppose this … Just what exactly are you wanting to hide?? If you are not doing anything wrong then there should be no worries.
I find it interesting the levels people would go to offer control measures to the local area. I agree with keeping crime to a reduced level, but at what point are we going to stop spitting on the constitution? Some of the comments within this one blog would be seen as reminiscent of 1930's Germany. Aren't you concerned that levels of control such as these comments suggest are only a manner to reduced freedoms that we all cherish and value?
I'm concerned as well to the bubble mentality is the cause for a mass of police officers standing in line, doing nothing. The higher police presence on corners is a testament to how incredibly reduced the crime rate is in this hollowed town. Why are cameras needed in an area that already has one of the lowest crime rates in this region?
Or, is this just an excuse to keep the taxes higher by spending the money that could easily be given back to the taxpayers. If the money for the enforcement of laws is not needed, why not lower the property taxes to match the actual needs, not the PD wants?
IS it just me, or are people in this area so numb to government encroachment into their lives, that they beg for it. Yes, there needs to be some work done to effectively reduce crime. One action that would help, cut the power from the police unions. If someone's more concerned about their pension than protecting others, Do we really even want them holding such an authority?
Better yet, lets sit down and read our constitution. Is this what our founders had in mind? Big Brother watching over like 1984 is not my idea of a sound way of protecting our union; only a fond memory of the mentality of 1930's Germany and present day China.
Christian-
… Just what exactly are you wanting to hide?? If you are not doing anything wrong then there should be no worries.
Besides, no one has suggested putting any cameras in our homes. Just public places where we have no privacy now anyway.
Christian, rumor has it that your tin foil hat will deflect any attempt to film you when downtown. Check with Scott, I am sure he can verify this.
Cameras have been proven as an effective crime deterrent. I'll bet the people living in the Chicago neighborhoods that are running rampant with muggings of late. The muggers will go elsewhere when they know there is a good chance their crime will be caught on camera.
Bring the cameras on. The naysayers obviously have something to hide and don't want to get caught. Possibly not being where they told their spouse they were going to be?
By Naper Jane on August 29, 2009 12:52 PM
I can only hope that the Cop-In-A-Box cameras being placed downtown will cut down on all of the crime we have in our downtown area. We stopped going there years ago and things have only gotten worse. Hopefully this will encourage people to return to the downtown area and it will no longer be a ghost town on Friday and Saturday nights. It’ll be nice to see more than just hoodlums and empty store fronts.
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Cameras don't work as well as you think. Retailers are almost all loaded with cameras these days. They are robbed everyday everywhere and rather easily.
The reason is these hoodlums you refer to wear hoods and sunglasses over their faces that hide their identity.
The real problem is Dupage County is giving these cats that commit armed robbery 9 lives. Did you see the story in the Sun earlier this week about how they gave the armed robber who held up Extra Value Liquors at gunpoint only 180 days and released him immediately because the sentence was cut in half for good behaviour while he was in jail. It is hard to be bad when you are in a jail cell and cuffed when you leave for your appointment to the court house.
As long as our City Council worries about Furstenau and Huber instead of armed robbers, the downtwon will never be safe again. I have been asking on other threads that people demand the City Council condemn Dupage County for releasing an armed robber with such a light jail sentence and even a lighter fine of 415 dollars that included court costs. Is this some kind of joke? A driver who speeds in a construction zone gets a $375 fine plus $150 in court costs.
Were the prosecutors in this case possibly BRIBED? Were the Judges sleeping in their offices or smoking reefer that the armed robbers may have got for them through their criminal connections? If not, why would they be more lenient on a repeat armed robber who brandished a loaded gun, than over a civilian who may have gone a few miles more than the speed limit accidentally in a construction zone? Am I the only on this blog site besides Mr. Scott M. Huber, the permanent protestor, who thinks Dupage County may be corrupt. Cook County had Greylord a while back while they cleaned their county of corruption. Maybe we need Hound or something to purge our system clean of corruption in Dupage County.
The message Dupage is sending to criminals is that it pays to commit crimes in Naperville. If you rob a retailer of 1200 dollars, have no fear we will only fine you 400 dollars and give you a bed and pillow for 90 days. If you got some booze or cigs on your way out of the estbalishment you robbed, feel free to bring them along as we have smoking jail cells for your utmost in accomodations and satisfaction. We aim to please criminals regardless of the atrocity committed. Look at how we have not even convicted Brian Dugan, the alleged killer of 11 year old Jenine Nicarico of Naperville. Imagine she would be 37 years old now if she was alive. Imagine her feelings in Heaven these days that her alleged killer still has not been convicted of murdering her. No wonder her parents left Naperville and Dupage Country to a safer place to live. Imagine after 26 years we have to still call him the ALLEGED KILLER of Jenine or he could sue us and clean us out.
I hope we can all do something before they release the second armed robber on Sept. 14 who held up Extra Value Liquors. Maybe CM Bob can express his feelings about Dupage County releasing armed robbers with 90 day sentences and 400 dollar fines. Armed robbers who endangered many police officers whom chased them at speeds of 115 miles an hour before State Police Dispatchers ordered the chase to cease and desist immediately for the safety of the police and residents. Armed robbers who were going so fast they flipped their jeep over while negotiating turns in residential neighborhoods in Downers Grove. They could have easily ran some children over after their car flipped into a residential lot or sidewalk...don't remember all the exact details from the articles I read in the Sun, Herald, Sun-Times and Tribune. Sorry folks!
If the city is not going to act, it would be nice if the Naperville Sun in conjuction with all newspapers in the Chicagoland area condemned Dupage County for laxity and stupidity towards criminals that endanger our lives and property. It is high time Dupage sotpped giving 9 lives to hard core criminals with loaded guns they use in armed robberies. Thank you!
CIG
It really amazes me that in the land of the free nearly everybody is up for 24x7 monitoring by police camera. It might make the police's job easier, but countries where the convenience of the police comes first are called police states.
I don't recognize downtown Naperville from the descriptions on this page. If you want to see real antisocial behavior, out of control drinking, violence and crime, just go to any British city on a Saturday night. And yet there are so many cameras monitoring British cities they have lost count.
And now a study has found that for each 1,000 cameras installed you get on average one crime solved. And this report appears on the government news channel, the BBC - the government which was responsible for installing them all.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8219022.stm
So what do the cameras end up being used for in the UK?
Mainly parking enforcement and ticket in the mail programs.
Naper Jane was definitely being sarcastic in her comments.
The sad truth is that our criminal justice system has degraded to the point where those who commit crimes have move "rights" and "freedom" than good law abiding people who end up being victims. Anyone who has ever been a victim of a crime knows full well that criminals totally exploit what they can get away with when there are no witnesses or no record of what they have done. Most criminals are sneaky cowards who would not do the same thing in a room full of witnesses or knowing their every action was being recorded. I see absolutely nothing wrong with exploiting this weakness in criminals for the benefit of society and do not feel that my rights are being infringed in any way. In many ways the less crime we have the more freedom we all truly enjoy.
The criminal element has much more to fear from public surveillance than good law abiding people. If that means "big brother" is watching those who chose to commit crime, so be it. People who are minding their own business and going about living life honorably and peacefully have absolutely nothing to fear from public surveillance.
As an interesting side note.... if a public surveillance camera had been strategically located way back when during the Furstenau case and if the camera had captured what had really happened that day the entire City of Naperville would have been saved from months of drama and all the wasted time and expense. Instead of hearing two polarizing tales of what happened the citizens of Naperville might have had a better shot at knowing what really happened and the whole thing would have been over before it ever started. People lie. Attorneys get paid big bucks to lie. Video recordings tell the truth.
By Anonymous on August 30, 2009 12:43 PM
As an interesting side note.... if a public surveillance camera had been strategically located way back when during the Furstenau case and if the camera had captured what had really happened that day the entire City of Naperville would have been saved from months of drama and all the wasted time and expense. Instead of hearing two polarizing tales of what happened the citizens of Naperville might have had a better shot at knowing what really happened and the whole thing would have been over before it ever started. People lie. Attorneys get paid big bucks to lie. Video recordings tell the truth.
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You have a very good point my friend. Yes, if we had some sophisticated cameras that even cost 100,000 dollars we would have saved 1.4 million dollars in the Furstenau Case and still had the cameras for the next incident.
As you know CM Bob has informed us we paid outside legal firms $1,082,000 for this silly "he said, she said" touching incident. He would not reveal the pro rata cost allocated to the in-house attorneys so I am estimating it at $418,000 dollars until the city coughs up the number. I will also continue to estimate the costs of the 10 year Napergate Trials at 10 million until a number is released by the City of Naperville. I believe it is availabe but buried and hidden somewhere....folklore has it buried in the the coffin of former Mayor Samuel McCrane who was responsibe for Napergate II. Former Mayor Margaret Price was responsible for Napergate I that ended with a unanimous 9-0 decision in the Illinios Supreme Court against the City's first revocation of Extra Value Liquors in the mid eighties. It is not far fetched that Napergate II was an attempt by city officials to avenge the Napergate I loss...(pure speculation on my part but a possibility due to the insanity of the mess and the inflated egos of some of our city officials.)
I agree with your statement that sometimes attorneys get paid big bucks to lie. Sometimes they also lie on their own to make big bucks.
Keep in mind that the incident that led to the 10 year Napergate II Trials of the 90's was actually recorded on video surveillance. The video surveillance told the truth as you indciated. However, in-house attorneys of the City of Naperville and outside hired legal guns refused to believe what they saw and held an 11 day Naperville Kangaroo Trial and still convicted. They did not care that the glove did not fit. Imagine they assembed their own courtroom with the power of their own ordinaces and hand picked the Judge who was an employee of the City. Anyway, they were biased and were determined to get a conviction at any cost or price and went through the lengthy and necessary motions to get it.
But how stupid they were! Did they gamble that a small liquor store owner would not have the money to appeal and expose their lies, lynching and framing? That is my guess....or maybe make a deal with them after they revoked his license permanently on a "sale to a minor" which turned out to be a legal "sting operation."
Anyway the Kanagaroo Conviction worked its way through the courts and Appellant Courts until the City of Naperville pretty much surrendered and indirectly admitted they framed and lynched an innocent man.
So I guess the point I am trying to make is highly paid attorneys will rip apart the best video and reinterpret it....so don't have 100% faith that videos will bring unemployment to law firms and city lawyers. H@ll, they tried to spin the Rodney King video even though the beating by numerous police officers was ever so obvious. H@ll, if he was resisting could not 11 police officers hand cuff one man instead of beating him relentlessly with billy clubs? Would not a person resist or attempt to defend himself if he was being beaten by billy clubs? It seems that would be a normal human reaction to me.
I am still for video taping the downtown despite the fact that the hoodlums will be wearing hoods and sunglasses while committing their crimes. Sometimes the hood falls off or the sunglasses drop and we may get lucky.
My only suggestion is for it be a running video and not a snap shot video that is incremental. An incremental video that frames every other second will be GOLD for attorneys from both sides. They will simply state whatever happened or did not happen took place during the spot incrementing.
Finally, there is one very frightening thing about video surveillance controlled by the NPD. If it is found that a police officer or officers abused a civilian, you can be assured the video surveillance will disappear....as the costs to the Napergate Trials disappeared.
If a police officer is caught punching a hand cuffed arrestee due to frustration on video tape, that could be a million dollar judgment against the City of Naperville. Are you going to tell me that the legal department is going to produce this video and lose one million dollars and be shamed and humiliated publicly? And also give up its last chance to be the "Best Place to Live" and the "Best Place to Rasie Children" in the Mony/CNN bi-annual ranking for large cities. We are already at a disadvantage according to Mayor Pradel because we don't have a "MOUNTAIN."
I would rather see the video surveillance paid for by the City but controlled by an independent agency such as the Downtown Business Alliance. It is important that we not only protect the rights of the City and its Police Department but the rights of every citizen who walks the streets of downtown Naperville.
Let us go ahead with these cameras and see how it goes. Let us hope they will work and if the City of Naperville controls them they will be well maintained. Let us hope we don't have excuses that the cameras did not work every time a citizen makes a complaint against the NPD. If there is no video, then we should be able to properly assume the NPD is guilty of something....if nothing else gross negligence for not maintaining the cameras.
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We must also not forget the Naperville is much larger than the downtown. Taxpayers outside the downtown area need to see some benefits if they are going to foot the bill for these downtown cameras. If we can eliminate the school cop bike detail from downtown and assign them to our subdivisions to break the back of the heroin drug war lords, I think that would be a fair deal.
No more 17 cops and a canine dog standing on one INTERSECTION in downtown Naperville checking out and drooling respectively over the young, pretty, mini-skirted, long legged high heeled ladies. At least, if that happens again you won't have to believe me. You can watch it yourselves on video surveillance.
And as an after thought, I think this video recording should be piped live on the internet so any citizen can watch any time he/she pleases by logging in through his/her home computer. Many retailers can now watch their stores live over the interent from their homes so the technology is availabe. And this way we will never have to worry about an NPD cover up ever again. That is my solution.
CIJ
MHB:
As long as our City Council worries about Furstenau and Huber instead of armed robbers, the downtwon will never be safe again.
So is it now your position that the $1 million plus that was spent on the Furstenau case should instead have been spent on having more police officers patrolling downtown?
By John Q. Public on August 30, 2009 4:43 PM
MHB:
As long as our City Council worries about Furstenau and Huber instead of armed robbers, the downtwon will never be safe again.
So is it now your position that the $1 million plus that was spent on the Furstenau case should instead have been spent on having more police officers patrolling downtown?
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JQP,
I think once again you missed my point.
As you know the City Council wasted several sessions trying to CENSURE CM Furstenau and then finally censured him 8-0 with of course DF not being able to vote. That was a waste of time.
Now they are trying to pass a discriminatory and specific ordinance/resolution removing a 24/7 protestor from the sidewalks of Naperville. Mayor George "Charles" Pradel admitted SMH is not a homeless man on video tape. CM Bob admitted that internal e-mails exist that show this new ordinance is directed specifically against Mr. Huber after many members of the council lied publicly and on video tape stating it was not directed against him personally. Does anyone really want these bozos running our town to be engaged in any further litigation at your cost and my cost? Does anyone really not see another Napergate here? It is so crystal clear to ME and I am not even a lawyer.
My point was that if the City Council wants to get armed robbers off the streets of Naperville, they need to pass a resolution 9-0 condemning DuPage County for releasing the armed convicts who robbed Extra Value Liquors at gun point. And then took the NPD and several other police depts. on a high speed chase reaching speeds of 115 miles an hour in which brave police officers were risking their lives and limb until a State Police dispatcher coordinating the 15-20 mile chase asked all departments to cease and desist as there was extreme danger to many parties as soon as they got off the N-S Tollway and headed into the residential streets of Downers Grove.
The first of these armed robbers who used a loaded pistol on unarmed clerks and customers was already released after serving 90 days in jail a few days ago. He was fined 415 dollars for stealing a 4 digit dollar value from Extra Value Liquors plus cigs and liquor. Here is the link to the article again so we can keep Former WV Mom happy by following her rules that I must admit make sense.
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http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1734696,Liquor-store-robbery-sentence_na082509.article
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The second armed robber has a hearing coming up on Sept. 14 in Dupage Courthouse. If the City of Naperville, the NPD, and the citizens of this town do not speak up and CONDEMN the CORRUPT Dupage Country Court System that allows armed robbers back on the streets of Naperville after only 90 days, our kids will soon be in the line of fire. Does everyone want to wait until we have another 10 year old Jenine Nicarico killed before we do anything? Why is this sleepy town so reactive instead of proactive when dealing with CRIME and CRIMINALS?
And no, I do not want more cops in downtown Naperville. I want video recording in downtown Naperville and less cops. Seventeen cops on one intersection is OVERKILL and UNAFFORDABLE. I want the school cops patrolling the subdivisions in the summer instead of downtown and breaking the backs of the heroin drug lords that operate freely in our subdivisions and kill our teenagers with their poison.
I don't know how you missed my point so badly, John Q. Public, but you did. Try not to be against ME for the sake of being against ME. It will honestly get you nowhere. Let us work together to fix what is wrong with our city and county.
Do you think 90 days for a repeat armed robber offender is proper? Do you think our retailers both downtown and outside of downtown should be subjected to armed robbers? Are you willing to stand up and condemn Dupage County Judicial System as I am? Please answer some questions and don't try to be against me for the sake of being against me.
If you think 90 days jail is adequate for a repeat armed gun slinging gang banging thug, than just say so!!! Cut through the chase and make your point.
Thank you,
CIJ
Here's a good one from the Court Dispositions section today...
"
• Robert S. Rogers, 1513 Rapids Road, Portland, Tenn.: Driving with license revoked, charges dropped; DUI-1st or 2nd offense, charges dropped; transportation or possession of open alcohol by driver, charges dropped; leave scene of accident involving damage to attended vehicle, charges dropped; improper lane usage-change lanes unsafely, charges dropped; driving too fast for conditions, or failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, charges dropped; operate uninsured motor vehicle, charges dropped; fail to give aid or information in accident involving death or personal injury, charges dropped; failure to report accident to police by passenger, charges dropped. Court dispositions
"
Begs the question: Why?
MHB wrote:
I don't know how you missed my point so badly, John Q. Public, but you did. Try not to be against ME for the sake of being against ME. It will honestly get you nowhere. Let us work together to fix what is wrong with our city and county.
It is you that missed my point. You are the one who constantly complains about the excessive (in your opinion) number of cops downtown, and then turns around and accuses the city council of not taking measures to keep the area safe.
And, for the record, I think 90 days for an armed robbery is an outrageous miscarriage of justice. If you wanted to launch a campaign to change the laws and/or the judges and prosecutors who allow this to happen I might have been willing to get on the bandwagon. But your dislike of our city officials is apparently so great that you just can't direct your energies to the only avenues where they can possibly make an impact: on the state and county officials who have actual authority to change sentencing laws and guidelines. Instead, you use this as yet another opportunity to bash the city council.
-JQP
P.s. Doesn't the Napergate Man still own Extra Value Liquors? Maybe it's time for him to start a new series of ads.
Correction of my August 31, 2009 9:58 AM post:
MHB wrote:
It is you that missed my point. You are the one who constantly complains about the excessive (in your opinion) number of cops downtown, and then turns around and accuses the city council of not taking measures to keep the area safe.
And, for the record, I think 90 days for an armed robbery is an outrageous miscarriage of justice. If you wanted to launch a campaign to change the laws and/or the judges and prosecutors who allow this to happen I might have been willing to get on the bandwagon. But your dislike of our city officials is apparently so great that you just can't limit yourself to directing your energies to the only avenues where they can possibly make an impact: on the state and county officials who have actual authority to change sentencing laws and guidelines. Instead, you use this as yet another opportunity to bash the city council.
-JQP
P.s. Doesn't the Napergate Man still own Extra Value Liquors? Maybe it's time for him to start a new series of ads.
Let's keep in mind that the highly touted successful use of cameras at the Shanower Memorial is misleading. After the vandalism, the police department stated that they did not have the staff needed to review the tapes. Only after numerous organizations volunteered their time did the police find staff to review the tapes. Then, the matter was settled by "station adjudication" which I am told means that the police settled the issue. Crimes should be settled in the courts, not the police station. anyway, if they didn't have time to review those tapes, how will they have the time to review tapes from more cameras?
sam on August 31, 2009 12:28 PM
Sam, I believe the tapes are only reviewed if vandalism is discovered. The intention was never for the police to simply review all the tapes or maintain a 24 hour watch / monitor (live). With the latest camera proposal, tapes would only be reviewed "if" a crime is committed, or the belief that something on the tape will help answer any questions. It is my understanding that this isn't going to be like in Vegas casinos, with monitored 24 hour security constantly scanning the area.
By John Q. Public on August 31, 2009 9:58 AM
MHB wrote:
It is you that missed my point. You are the one who constantly complains about the excessive (in your opinion) number of cops downtown, and then turns around and accuses the city council of not taking measures to keep the area safe.
You are twisting and turning, dicing and slicing and writing out of context. I never said the downtwon was not safe. How could it not be safe when up to 17 police officers and a canine dog partol one intersection.....that being Chicago Ave. and Washington St??? What I said is this is being done at the expense of the subdivisions where heroin drug lords are selling poison to our teenagers and killing them. We are still awaiting the Sun Report as to how many heroin deaths we have had in Naperville in the last year. I have confirmed 2 and know of 3 others that are unconfirmed or may be in the unincorporated portion of Naperville.
And, for the record, I think 90 days for an armed robbery is an outrageous miscarriage of justice. If you wanted to launch a campaign to change the laws and/or the judges and prosecutors who allow this to happen I might have been willing to get on the bandwagon.
I am glad you think 90 days is also an outrageous miscarriage of justice for armed robbery. Hopefully this will go from your lips to the ears of the Naperville Sun who needs to provide the publicity in order to rally forces for a march on the corrupt judges and prosecutors who allow this happen. I would love to see hundreds of residents at the possible sentencing of the next armed robber on Sept. 14 to send a statement that we Napervillians will not tolerate the release of armed thugs in our neighborhood this quickly after committing a heinous crime. That we feel an injustice has been done when armed thugs are fined less than a person who speeds 5 miles over in a construction zone accidentally at 75th St. and Washington St.
But your dislike of our city officials is apparently so great that you just can't limit yourself to directing your energies to the only avenues where they can possibly make an impact: on the state and county officials who have actual authority to change sentencing laws and guidelines.
I am upset at the entire City Council, Furstenau included, for wasting 1.5 million dollars of your and my money. Do you expect me to be happy that we may now have a 13 million budget deficit instead of only 11.5 and more city employees will be cut and services curtailed? I have 4 kids, a dog, and kitten to feed and care for. I can not afford higher taxes. I have 2 kids in college who are receiving no scholarships, grants or government loans. One is receiving a university backed loan at 6.25% that pays about half of her tuition.
I am upset at the City Council because while they are willing to censure a fellow council man, while they are willing to pass an ordinance directed specifically at a homeless man/stirker, thay are NOT willing to pass a resolution condeming DuPage County for releasing armed robbers back on the streets of Naperville to further endanger employees and customers of retail shops in our lovely and peaceful city.
I am upset because the NPD performed a heroic job in arresting these armed criminals, risking limb and life, during a high speed chase to make our community safer, and Dupage flushes their extraordinary efforts down the toilet in a split second. Speaking of rallying, Chief David Dial should lead all his off duty police to Dupage on Sept 14, 2009 and raise his voice like he never has before. The City Council should also be there to raise their voice and show us they care about us and our safety. If they want to win these MONY/CNN National Titles they have to earn them by doing their duties to keep our town and children safe. (Let us not forget that are former Police Chief in 1929 did in fact get killed while chasing armed robbers in Naperville for those who may not know the history of Naperville as well as I do....I am not exaggerating when I say "risked life and limb." It does surprise me that the NPD would not be OUTRAGED as I am about this MISCARRIAGE of JUSTICE as you so correctly labeled it. Let us not let this heroic former Police Chief to have died in vain...why not learn a lesson from his heroics....why not honor him by pulling the plug on armed robbers instead of releasing them to commit more crimes???)
P.s. Doesn't the Napergate Man still own Extra Value Liquors? Maybe it's time for him to start a new series of ads.
I do know during the time frame of the Napergate Ads, that I read in the old Naperville Sun Editions at Nichols Library that spanned 10 years, he did own both Extra Value Liquor stores in Naperville. I do not know if he still owns them or sold them and retired. I do not drink at home so I never go to liquor stores. I drink non-alcoholic beer in bars and lounges at Seven Bridges and Downtown Naperville. Maybe someone on this blog site knows the status of the ownership of the Extra Value Liquor stores.
MHB wrote:
You never said the downtown was not safe??? Then it must have been another blogger posting as Citizen Investigative Journalist who wrote:
You've often accused me of "twisting and turning, dicing and slicing". I do not think those phrases mean what you think they mean.
-JQP
"As long" is a condition........
I did not say it was not safe but will become unsafe.
You are twisting and turning, slicing and dicing as I stated correctly.
By stating it will never be safe again, I have clearly stated it is still safe.
PLEASE TRY TO COMPREHNED AS I TRY TO CHOOSE MY WORDS VERY CAREFULLY.
You are mincing your own words. But even if I were to accept your explanation, I think most people would agree that keeping or putting seventeen police officers on the downtown beat, among other possible measures, would keep it pretty safe, regardless of what transpired with Furstenau or will transpire with Mr. Huber (who, I should reiterate, should be left alone).
JQP,
Let us let the bloggers interpret who is mincing. But keep in mind it is you who focuses on my words instead of discussing the subjects posted on the threads or responding to my general statements instead of trying to slice and dice my words on a consistent basis to see if you can create an inconsistenty whether one exists or does not exist.
Original Joe tried to use this same tactic when he was simply Joe during the infancy of this blog site and many if not most bloggers felt his tactic was reprehensible. It really does not get you anywhere other than a reputation of being a nitpicker. OJ has really changed and has become an impressive make-sense respective blogger.
While keeping 17 police officers does keep the downtown safe, it does the exact opposite to the rest of Naperville. It makes it unsafe. I have heard that only about 20 police officers work the graveyard shift so if 17 are found on one intersection it pretty much means 90% of Naperville is unprotected. Do you think this is adequate, JQP? Do you think this is fair to the rest of Naperville?
If you want to put 17 officers on every major intersection in the city and only one police officer on every minor intersection, your real estate tax bill would be 10 times what it will be TODAY.
Don't forget to pay it today, JQP. I have yet to pay mine.
Have a good day!
CIJ
to Anonymous August 31, 1:30 pm.
I beleive that you are correct that the tapes will only be reviewed on an as needed basis. My point, however, was that after the vandalism at the Shanower Memorial, the police department stated that they did not have sufficient resources to review the tapes to find out who was repsonsible for the vandalism. This report was followed by an outpouring of volunteers to review the tapes to catch the perpetrators. Only then did the police decide they could indeed make time to review the tapes. The offenders were never prosecuted.
If they couldn't review them after that crime, how will they do it in the future?
MBH/CIJ,
I am more than willing to let other bloggers decide. Yes, I only argued with a small part of your message, but "focusing on (your) words" is what we all do on this site. What else would I focus on? As for Original Joe, why don't we let the other bloggers decide about him, too? My recollection is that, while OJ has had his share of disagreements with other bloggers (including me), the only ones who found his style "reprehensible" were the Napergatians, and they turned out to be not quite as (ahem) numerous as it appeared.
-JQP
John Q. Public,
Let us try to move forward.
You always wanted me to have one handle.
I am now one handle on all blogs as you and so many wished.
You still don't address me properly.
Do you wnat me to call you Joan Q. Public or Jane Q. Public?
Obviously not! I did not today but if you continue addressing me improperly I will if the Moderator allows me.
So please address me as the Citizen Investigative Journalist until I decide to change my handle if I ever do. Anyone can slice and dice the meaning of a word. Former Bill Clinton tried to reinterpret the meaning of "IS" to explain he did not have oral sex with Monica Lewinsky.
As long as I am not attacked as I have not been in the last few weeks, I am comfortable with one handle.
I use to change my handle the last 9 months mostly to take a reprieve from the personal attacks so we can stay focused on the topics of the threads. Since the Moderator really has done a great job in stopping them, there is no reason to change my handle anymore.
I know I am a credible person and wish to be a credible person. I am basically honest as to what I say and I wish to be honest. You can only build your credibilty if you are honest. You can only get your message across if you are credible and honest.
If you are not, your message will not get across. I want my message to get across. And I want City Officials like CM Bob to communicate with me and provide me actual numbers that replace my estimates. He has done that repeatedly and I am looking forward to more help from him. And my many thanks in advance to him for being a TRANSPARENT public official who goes against the grain.
I am awaiting the Pension Deficit Liability number which was $61.4 million last year for both the police and fire fighters combined. Experienced suspected it would go down. I suspect it will go up and be worse than last year. I really don't know for sure but it is a gut feeling on my part based on bank and stock market conditions. I suspect this even though the City of Naperville was under orders from the State of Illinios to reduce it. I am curious to see how Naperville responds to orders from the State.
We will see. Rather than research my words, how about seeing if the City posted this new number on its Web Site as it is suppose to be posted some time this month according to the former Experienced.
At that point you can become a productive member of this blog site who brings new infomation to post as opposed to being a professional "butcher of words." Keep in mind when I write on a blog site, I am not writing a legal brief or argument that I expect to be put under a microscope. So I do not analyze every meaning of every word I use to make sure it can not be sliced and diced in a way to be used against me. Try to dispute my overall message without worrying about the individual words. Then we can have a real debate and roll. I suspect you will be a great debater when you get over your "word fetishes and infatuations."
Who cares how the first week was. I don't. All I have to do is look at my tax bill. That will tell you how my first week was.
School bus problem, a third high school or shall I say country club with declining enrollment and a school board that is still running amok, but you people are still buying into it.
When you are forced to move out of your homes when you retire, maybe you will finally wake up.
It is really amazing that you people who voted for the third high school,the referendum, and so on would are above average wager erners and with above average educations continue to be duped.
It is kind of like walking through Fermi Lab where the rocket scientists are staring at the walls yet can't change a flat tire on a car. Highly educaded but no commoner sense.
CIJ wrote;
But keep in mind it is you who focuses on my words instead of discussing the subjects posted on the threads or responding to my general statements instead of trying to slice and dice my words on a consistent basis to see if you can create an inconsistenty whether one exists or does not exist.
Original Joe tried to use this same tactic when he was simply Joe during the infancy of this blog site and many if not most bloggers felt his tactic was reprehensible.
________________________________
Actually CIJ, the only ones who found it reprehensible were you and your imaginary friends. Granted, the numbers appeared large, until Chris revealed that you had 30 to 40 aliases.
Also, please provide proof of 17 officers standing at Chicago & Washington. I know you claim to have witnessed this, but I have yet to have seen anywhere near that many. Possibly you used the same calculator to add them up as you did for tallying the Napergate supporters on this Blog?
BTW, for the record, I have to agree with JQP. A condition would have been prefaced with an if, as in IF our City Council worries about Furstenau and Huber instead of armed robbers, the downtwon will never be safe again.
Let's not again get into the whole number of aliases and all that stuff.
CIJ wote:
I will make a deal with you: as long as you continue to use this handle, I will address you by it (or use the initials); if you change again, I’m going back to MHB.
Your handle makes no difference in this regard.
And how well did that work for you?
Herein lies part of the problem. You want to build your credibility, but you are not willing to be held accountable for what you say. For example:
And yet, earlier in this blog, when we were discussing the exact issue we’re discussing now, you wrote:
So which is it? Do you choose your words carefully, or not? You can’t have it both ways, just as you can’t constantly harp on the city for having too many cops downtown and then turn around and say that the city’s focus on the Huber and Furstenau situations will ensure that downtown will never be safe---not if you want to be taken seriously anyway.
I am not talking about individual words here; I am talking about entire phrases, sentences and paragraphs. You are the one who is trying to wiggle out of this be redefining the meanings of two or three words in an effort to twist your statement into meaning something different than a normal, intelligent person would understand it to mean.
If you are serious in wanting to establish credibility, as well as in wanting to move on, I suggest, for a start, that you just admit that you overreached when you wrote, “As long as our City Council worries about Furstenau and Huber instead of armed robbers, the downtwon will never be safe again.” This is a pretty weak assertion all by itself, even if had been someone other than you who wrote it, and even if we accept your explanation that you intended it as a prediction of the future of downtown and not a description of the present.
-JQP
BY CIJ
"While keeping 17 police officers does keep the downtown safe, it does the exact opposite to the rest of Naperville. It makes it unsafe. I have heard that only about 20 police officers work the graveyard shift so if 17 are found on one intersection it pretty much means 90% of Naperville is unprotected. Do you think this is adequate, JQP? Do you think this is fair to the rest of Naperville?"
Every Community operates in Police Districts or Beats. So whatever is in the downtown would be in addition to those beat officers, not instead of. Didn't Furstenau tell you that?
By Anonymous on September 1, 2009 11:02 PM
BY CIJ
"While keeping 17 police officers does keep the downtown safe, it does the exact opposite to the rest of Naperville. It makes it unsafe.
Every Community operates in Police Districts or Beats. So whatever is in the downtown would be in addition to those beat officers, not instead of. Didn't Furstenau tell you that?
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I don't believe the downtown has 17 police officers on the beat. I personally think most of the cops leave their beats and head to the downtown area towards closing to check out all the good lookin girls with long legs, big boobs, mini skirts and high heels exiting the bars. Of course, if you asked them they would say we have 17 officers on one intersection to prevent a possible brawl when the bars let out.
For whatever reason so many police officers converge on the downtown around closing during summer time, the rest of Naperville is up for grabs. One evening an armed robber managed to hold up 2 gas stations one right after another, in South Naperville and there were no cops in sight and none came for a long time. The robber cleaned out the first gas station but the clerk in the second gas station was so scared he could not remember how to open the register. The robber eventually left without shooting the panicking clerk.
I don't know if this stuff is reported in the newspapers but if you ask an employee how he or she is doing, they will tell you about a nightmare that came upon them in Naperville. They will tell you how unsafe and frightened they feel working late hours in Naperville.
Due to the lack of protection outside of downtown, it is just a matter of time before we have a mass killing like the one that took place at Brown's Chicken a decade ago. At least I am on record as informing the Police Chief that his cops are checking out the pretty girls instead of patrolling the entire town properly, instead of just the downtown, while he is sound asleep.
Maybe it is time he checked on his town between the hours of midnight and 6am to try to understand what is taking place. We all love normal sleeping hours but sometimes we have to adjust them to be on top of situations.
By Anonymous on September 1, 2009 11:02 PM
BY CIJ
"While keeping 17 police officers does keep the downtown safe, it does the exact opposite to the rest of Naperville. It makes it unsafe.
Every Community operates in Police Districts or Beats. So whatever is in the downtown would be in addition to those beat officers, not instead of. Didn't Furstenau tell you that?
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I don't believe the downtown has 17 police officers on the beat. I personally think most of the cops leave their beats and head to the downtown area towards closing to check out all the good lookin girls with long legs, mini skirts and high heels exiting the bars. Of course, if you asked them they would say we have 17 officers on one intersection to prevent a possible brawl when the bars let out.
For whatever reason so many police officers converge on the downtown around closing during summer time, the rest of Naperville is up for grabs. One evening an armed robber managed to hold up 2 gas stations one right after another, in South Naperville and there were no cops in sight and none came for a long time. The robber cleaned out the first gas station but the clerk in the second gas station was so scared he could not remember how to open the register. The robber eventually left without shooting the panicking clerk.
I don't know if this stuff is reported in the newspapers but if you ask an employee how he or she is doing, they will tell you about a nightmare that came upon them in Naperville. They will tell you how unsafe and frightened they feel working late hours in Naperville.
Due to the lack of protection outside of downtown, it is just a matter of time before we have a mass killing like the one that took place at Brown's Chicken a decade ago. At least I am on record as informing the Police Chief that his cops are checking out the pretty girls instead of patrolling the entire town properly, instead of just the downtown, while he is sound asleep.
Maybe it is time he checked on his town between the hours of midnight and 6am to try to understand what is taking place. We all love normal sleeping hours but sometimes we have to adjust them to be on top of situations.
The Police Chief can check his computer to see exactly where his squads were the night before. They all are equipped with GPS tracking. So you can believe what you like but you are wrong. The extra officers are school resource, special assignments, etc. and you know it. Those neighborhood beats are not left empty. Additionally, any CAD system worth its weight in chips can give exact and average call response times. Quit the conjecture as it will not build your credibility. The armed robberies you described were close to the downtown, were they not? So if all the officers are just hanging around there, how do you explain a poor response? Police cannot be everywhere at all times.
By Anonymous on September 2, 2009 9:15 PM
The Police Chief can check his computer to see exactly where his squads were the night before. They all are equipped with GPS tracking. So you can believe what you like but you are wrong. The extra officers are school resource, special assignments, etc. and you know it. Those neighborhood beats are not left empty. Quit the conjecture as it will not build your credibility.
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1. First and foremost I believe my eyes.
2. When I say I counted 17 police officers and a canine dog on the intersection of Washington and Chicago Ave one Friday or Saturday evening/morning at 1:45 am, be assured I counted not once but 3 times. Usually it is more like 12-14 cops on summer evenings.
3. I understand there are 6 school cops that work the downtown in the summer on bikes. They were part of the 17. I understand 2 or 3 officers work the downtown beat. That gives us 9 police officers at the most. Where do you think the other 8 or 9 police officers came from that evening?
4. My understanding from careful observation for a very long time, is that beat officers from other areas of Naperville join downtown beat officers and the school bike cops the last hour or two of Friday and Saturday when the bars close for the evening.
5. I believe an excess amount of police is put in the downtown deliberately to send a message to drunk drivers that they better not drive home and take a cab or call for a ride. Nothing wrong with that but we don't need 17 cops to send that message and make it clear. The 6 bike cops and 2 or 3 beat officers should be more than enough to handle the closing of the bars.
6. If 17 police officers work the downtown beat on Friday and Saturday I apologize for being wrong. But I am 99% sure this is not the case and the officers are converging on downtown at the late hours of Friday and Saturday from other parts or beats of Naperville.
7. As far as what 2 gas stations were held up consecutively before the police showed up:
a. The gas station near the 7-11(formerly White Hen) on the West Side of Washingotn near Foxcroft or some street with Fox in its name. I believe it was a Shell at one time and I am not sure if it is still is or not. This is just north of 87th St. and Washington. The armed robber according to the clerk emptied the register and he did not know the exact amount that was stolen.
b. After he robbed the Shell, he proceeded to rob the Mobil on NE corner of Bailey and Washington. He spent a few minutes holding a gun on the clerk who is a doctor from India/Pakistan without a medical license to practice in America. He stated he was in such shock that he simply forgot how to open the register/computer with a gun pointed to his head. The robber left without money and did not fire his loaded pistol at the frightened and terrified doctor.
After the Mobil robbery was over, the clerk indicated seeing police cars heading to the Shell Station from the downtown area. Of course he called after seeing all the cops heading south not realizing there had been another armed robbery 5 mintues before his robbery.
8. On that specific night, I feel the NPD failed the 2 gas stations. Why would I not have credibilty? Was I not the one who has reaped tons of praise on the NPD for catching the 2 armed robbers from Extra Value Liquors on Rt. 59. I called them heros. If I had anything against police, why would I praise them numerous times for that professional operation that was a success. I have yet to see anyone else praise them including yourself after that heroic operation which resulted in the apprehension of both suspects after a high speed chase through many suburbs.
9. I do not work for the NPD and do not have any inside information. But I have a very strong gut feeling that the beat officer or officers for that part of Naperville was probably downtown helping shut the bars down. I suspect this robber learned the pattern of the NPD and must have known the cops converge on the downtown at closing as they have been doing for years in a very obviously established pattern.
10. The robber knew he had enough time to rob 2 gas stations about a half a mile apart and pulled it off and got away. If I can observe something like this, a professional robber can and in fact did and apparently knew how much time he had before the NPD would show up.
11. You can attack my credibility all you want. It has been attacked by hundreds of others who don't like my Citizen Investigative Reporting but not one person has been able to put a dent in it. The reason being is I am an honest journalist who only reports what I see. I don't depend on heresay. I tell it as it is.
12. Why don't you try to find out how many police are assigned to the downtown beat. I will bet you when you take the 6 bike cops out of the 17, it will be a lot less than the 11 I saw. I stand firm in my belief that Naperville Cops from other areas and beats converge on downtown in large numbers especially on Friday and Saturday evenings.
If I am wrong, Police Chief David Dial should come on this blog site and state that no police officers from other beats assist in downtown crowd control and the orderly evacuation of the bars at closing time. I wil bet you 100 dollars he would never come on here and make such a statement as it would be most probably UNTRUE.
And finally if you want to be a Big Shot and attack my credibility use a handle other than Anonymous so I can hold you accountable for your remarks. You know there are over 100 Anonymous's on this site. How can I hold you accountable when you do not have a specific moniker? It is like you are betting me without putting up money...without putting your credibilty on the firing line...without allowing your reputation to be challenged.
You are saying I am wrong while hiding. When I prove you are wrong you will run and hide and be another anonymous or create a new handle.
If you want to play this game of right and wrong, credible or not credible, you need to be a MAN OR WOMAN AND take some responsibility for what you say as most bloggers do.
I put my credibility and reputation on the line every single day with my investigative journalist reporting. I allow anyone to challenge me. If I am wrong as I am on ocassion, I apoligize. If I am right, I take credit and build my reputation. It is that simple. Why don't you come out of hiding and join the real world and play fair and square with the rest of us?
Have a good day!
Thank you,
CIJ
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Moderator Magee,
Does anyone in the Sun know how many police officers work the downtown beat excluding the 6 school bike cops who are added in the summer? Can anyone find out so we can get a better handle of the situation? Due to my desire to remain Anonymous, I obviously can not call the police dept. Thank you!
PS. It just occurred to me the massive construction on 75th St. and Washington could have been partially responsible for the delay of police cars coming to help from the downtown. If any cars were in the one lane Washington St heading south the police could probably not get around them until the traffic light turns. If the police officer on that beat was south of Washington as he should have been, he should have been able to get to the Shell Gas Staton before a time I estimate at 8 minutes which is the time the bandit took to rob 2 gas station and travel between them. Something went wrong that night. This is Naperville and not the South Side of Chicago. In my opinon no armed robber should be able to pull a consecutive double robbery in Naperville before police come to the rescue.
You should probably think about another handle change then. You're hardly any kind of "investigative journalist" if you're scared to call the police department.
Keyboard Rambo,
I think one of my successes as an Citizen Investigative Journalist is due to my anonymity. I am here on this site with the goal of being and remaining anonymous. If I call the NPD and identify myself, I am no longer anonymous. If I file a FOIA under an assumed name, in my opinion I would be committing perjury.
Very few local newspapers due investigative reporting because they don't want to deal with the wrath of the town police department.
The Napergate Man experimented with public investigative reporting and the NPD was not very kind to him. He ended up entangled in 10 years of legal battles for daring to expose improprieties in the NPD and other departments of the City of Naperville. There was a great cost to him and the City of Naperville. Even a great cost to the Naperville Sun who engaged in CENSURING paid ads that blasted the NPD. Specifically Napergate V and VI. All documented. The cost to the City was so horrendous, they buried, shredded, lost or misplaced the records....something documented by current Opinion Editor Tim West in an article in the Naperville Sun. While it is my opinion and belief, that Mr. West was involved in the censure of those 2 ads, one can see after the court rulings against the city, he was outraged at City Hall and demanded production of all cost records pertaining to the Napergate Trials and they pretty much heehawed him. In my reveiw of the Napergate history at the Nicohls Library, I recall reading the article in the Sun in which Mr. West blasted the City especailly over the costs.
Keep in mind at this moment we have another individual, Homeless Striker Mr. Scott M. Huber, attacking the NPD and the City of Naperville and the City is attempting to retaliate by passing a specific ordinance against him personally and throwing him out of town. While I do not support the views of Mr. Huber after a throrough investigation, I support his right to strike not only for 8 years but for 18 years or if he chooses till he dies. That is his right. That is his choice. And the City of Naperville is harassing him like they harassed the Napergate Man. I think the City is heading down a slippery slope again.
Why would I want to identify myself and have the NPD start stopping me for going over 5 miles, forgetting a turn signal, alleging I am weaving or running over a yellow line momentarily. Police Depts. don't like to be criticised so the best way to deal with them is the way I am dealing with them.....ANONYMOUSLY but FAIRLY!
It would be nice, Keyboard Rambo if you could provide some insight to any topic instead of attempting to attack your fellow bloggers. All this indicates to me is you may have a problem with low "self esteem." I suggest you see a psychiatrist and get over your low "self esteem."
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Moderator Chris,
Anyway calling someone scared because they wish to remain anonymous in my opinion is a personal attack, a comment personal in nature or heading in that direction and really serves no purpose. I presented a detailed analysis after another blogger requested to know the gas stations that were robbed consecutively in a span of what I estimated was 8 minutes. If Keyboard Rambo can shed some light on this topic it would be great. Otherwise his comment simply wants to take us down the old road which I know you have done all you can short of implementing full censorship to prevent such personal comments and attacks from escalating.
All I am doing is CONSTRUCTIVELY CRITICISING the NPD for less than desired performance on one specfic day. I also heaped a lot of PRAISE ON THE NPD for perfomance on another specific day when Extra Value Liquors was robbed and the the culprits were caught after a high speed chase that reached 115 miles an hour that was called off by State Police Dispatchers monitoring the multi dept. chase due to risk to "life and limb."
My only problem in that situation is Dupage County which released one of the armed robbers with a 90 day get out of jail card and is expected to release the second one on Sept. 14 with another 90 day out of jail card. I hope the Naperville Sun publicizes this case before the second robber is released who is reported to be a heroin addict and may up holding other establishments in Naperville to support his addicition. Let us save "life and limb" by being PROACTIVE instead of REACTIVE. Is there one person in Naperville who sees my point or agrees with me in Naperville?
Thank you!
CIJ
Citizen Investigative Journalist on September 3, 2009 4:32 PM
Why would I want to identify myself and have the NPD start stopping me for going over 5 miles, forgetting a turn signal, alleging I am weaving or running over a yellow line momentarily.
---------------------------
Excuse me for asking, but aren't each of these offenses against the law?
1. Going 5 mph over the speed limit.
2. not signaling when turning
3. weaving or crossing a yellow line.
They should stop you ..... for breaking the law!
According to the Naperville Website, there are 8 resource officers plus their Sgt./supervisor. Some of the others could also be shift supervisors (where else in town should they be when there is the most activity downtown?) I agree that unless they were having a tactical on-site meeting, they should not be on one corner, but my opinion is that the police chief is aware of what his staff is and is not doing and he is the one with decades of experience to direct their course. I do not feel qualified to criticize him due to my lack of expertise and fail to understand why you continually criticize the NPD, unless one of your degrees is in criminal justice. Being an observer does not qualify you as a law enforcement professional.
You accuse them of harassing Scott Huber. I hope that was not based on his allegations! Dial has said that he has not found cause to force him off his protest. You criticize their response time to the gas stations, yet you have no idea whether the closest beat cars were on other calls at the time. You claim they do not patrol neighborhoods and are negligent and covering up a heroin problem. Of course we know you to be a hater of the pension system- you are entitled to your opinion on that but you should really think twice before you start telling them how to perform their duties. That is where you lack credibility.
You constantly make them out to be incompetent overpaid fools, overtime abusers, taking unfair advantage of your tax dollars and you praise them ONE time and that should make up for all the bashing??!! It is not "constructive criticism" unless it is based in facts, not conjecture. I don't think you are the kind of parent who accuses your children of doing things unless you have at least some of the facts. I am hoping that you do give them constructive criticism based on their actual behavior.
Your theory of throwing out accusations and believing an official will respond has only worked with Councilman Bob. Don't hold your breath for Dial to respond to your "constructive criticism" or he will be sending his officer to assist the ambulance who carries you out...unconscious. Read his columns. It is not his style to hang out here.
I look at my tax bills and feel that I receive a lot of services for the percentage dedicated to the City of Naperville, including police and fire protection, well maintained roads, parkways, reasonable sewer, water and electric services, snow removal, brush and leaf collection, etc.
I wish you could direct your energy and efforts toward the school district, as they are the ones taking the lion's share of my tax dollar! The tea party should move down to Webster and Hillside. Did we really have to have astro turf on both fields?
Finally, you can call yourself whatever you like and I will do the same. I happen to prefer to skip the first line and the Sun just fills that in for me. Have a happy labor day weekend.
Citizen Investigative Journalist on September 3, 2009 4:32 PM
Why would I want to identify myself and have the NPD start stopping me for going over 5 miles, forgetting a turn signal, alleging I am weaving or running over a yellow line momentarily.
It's quite clear that you're scared of the NPD paying additional attention to you.
So why the freak out about being called 'scared'? You are. It's not a personal attack in the least, it's an observation, based on exactly what you said, right? You're scared of how the NPD might treat you if you're no longer anonymous on this blog.
Given the state of privacy on the internet, if your anonymity is a real concern, you might want to do a bit of research on recent court decisions and the expectation of privacy in anonymous and pseudonymous blogs sites.
Seriously.
By Anonymous on September 3, 2009 8:47 PM
Citizen Investigative Journalist on September 3, 2009 4:32 PM
It's quite clear that you're scared of the NPD paying additional attention to you. So why the freak out about being called 'scared'? You are. It's not a personal attack in the least, it's an observation, based on exactly what you said, right? You're scared of how the NPD might treat you if you're no longer anonymous on this blog.
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Choosing to be anonymous and wanting a private life out of the limelight is not about being scared. It is about enjoying the peace and quiet of life in the slow lane instead of fast lane.
It is very well known in this town if you are in with the ESTABLISHMENT, you are extended PROFESSIONAL COURTESY on minor infractions such as going 5 miles over, forgetting a turn signal, or momentarily going over a yellow line. None of us are perfect drivers. Mrs. Police Officer who is married to a Naperville Police Officer admitted on this blog site that PROFESSIONAL COURTESY is alive and well in Naperville. She soon disappeared. I would not be surprised if the Police Chief called her husband and asked him to hush his wife up. (Pure speculation on my part just for the record.)
If you want to hold you police dept. accountable for anything, they will put you under a MICROSCOPE. They can make you live in Dupage County Courthouse and ask for continuance after continuance to make your life miserable. My time is valuable and I do not wish to engage in a Napergate Style Battle against the NPD as the Napergate Man chose to do for 10 years, Furstenau for 1.5 years, and Homeless Striker Huber for 8 years and still going.
Thus by doing this anonymously, they can not harass me. If they can not harass me, I don't have to sue them. Both the taxpayers and I avoid litigation and we all save a lot of money.
You don't need to be a genious to figure this out. I have always been about saving tax dollars for the taxpayers and myself. The sting of my real estate tax bill of Sept. 1 is still very painful.
CIJ wrote:
Even a great cost to the Naperville Sun who engaged in CENSURING paid ads that blasted the NPD. Specifically Napergate V and VI. All documented.
Just curious: where and how is it documented that the Sun censored those two ads?
By John Q. Public on September 3, 2009 10:37 PM
CIJ wrote:
Even a great cost to the Naperville Sun who engaged in CENSURING paid ads that blasted the NPD. Specifically Napergate V and VI. All documented.
Just curious: where and how is it documented that the Sun censored those two ads?
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The Napergate Man wrote a series of ads titled Napergate I to Napergate XXXXIV. All were published in the Naperville Sun except for Napergate V and VI. If you read the whole series of ads it is all discussed. They were paid ads subject to libel review by the Naperville Sun. The corporate office in California at the time for Copley Newpapers whom owned the Sun made sure there was no libel in the ads and if there was deleted it. Also attorneys for the Napergage Man reviewed the ads for libel before they were submitted to the Sun according to information supplied by the NGM in his own ads.
So if the Sun had a right to remove anything libelous assuming there was libel, what other reason could there be for non-publication???
Keep in mind these were paid ads and were not subject to the same rules of "Letters to the Editor" or "Opinions." Also space was not an issue as they were full page ads and the Naperville Sun could be 50 pages or 80 pages depending on how many ads they had per week.
I believe from memory the Napergate Man used the words "perceived pressure" from outside sources on the Naperville Sun as the reason for non-publication. At the time Establishment Edtior Tim West seemed to have a lot more power at the Naperville Sun than he currently has. He was and remains very well connected to the Establishment. To the best of my knowledge his wife works for the famous Brestal Law Firm which pretty much controlled 99% of the zoning taking place at the time within the boundaries of the City of Naperville.
By Anonymous on September 3, 2009 8:06 PM
According to the Naperville Website, there are 8 resource officers plus their Sgt./supervisor. Some of the others could also be shift supervisors (where else in town should they be when there is the most activity downtown?)
Why do all these resource officers or school police have to be dedicated to the downtown every summer? All residents pay taxes to support them so some should roam the subdivisions looking for heroin war lords that are killing our youth.
I agree that unless they were having a tactical on-site meeting, they should not be on one corner, but my opinion is that the police chief is aware of what his staff is and is not doing and he is the one with decades of experience to direct their course.Being an observer does not qualify you as a law enforcement professional.
I doubt the police chief was aware of 17 police officers on one intersection until he read it on this blog site. Since he read it, there have not been that many police officers on that one intersection. No one said I am a law enforcement professional but you also noted that 17 officers do not belong on one intersection unless there was a tactical on-site meeting. I can assure you there was none. Later on that night there was a fist fight at Quigleys involving 4 guys fighting another 4 guys. They beat each other up pretty badly and when 3 bike cops came from that infamous intersection the fight was over and all had been gone for a few minutes. I doubt the Chief would approve of cops hanging together on one intersection like there was a social party if he was aware. He obviously is not aware since he is sleeping and it is doubtful he has time to check the GPS recording of every cop when he comes to work in the morning. He is a very busy man. Do the bikes have GPS too....lol?
You criticize their response time to the gas stations, yet you have no idea whether the closest beat cars were on other calls at the time.
You could be right but I believe they were downtown watching the bars close. Another Anonymous said only 20 NPDs work the night shift. So only 3 beat cops may have been in there respective beats. Maybe you have additional information. Even if a beat car was giving a ticket, I suspect when there is an armed robbery he could or should drop what he is doing and deal with the armed robbery where someone's life may be at stake.
You claim they do not patrol neighborhoods and are negligent and covering up a heroin problem.
I don't claim they do not partol subdivisions properly. I know they don't. And yes, the NPD has not told us about the heroin deaths in Naperville yet. I confirmed 2 so far and suspect there are many more that will surface with the Sun Article that is overdue.
Of course we know you to be a hater of the pension system- you are entitled to your opinion on that but you should really think twice before you start telling them how to perform their duties.
I don't like all government pensions. Police, fire, school and especially POSTAL which gives 80% after 30 years and now is adding an amount equal to half the Social Security from age 55-62 to force 55,000 employees to retire due to an 8 billion dollar deficit. We are borrowing money from China to pay all these government employees and our kids will have to pay up the wazzzzooooooo for this unfair and unjust system. Civilians are getting screwed so government employees can live like Kings and Queens in retirement at ages as low as 50. Did you see the ads by the kids saying we have 500 million of interest due to China every month to pay our debt costs to that country?
You constantly make them out to be incompetent overpaid fools, overtime abusers, taking unfair advantage of your tax dollars and you praise them ONE time and that should make up for all the bashing??!!
Those are your words that are nothing but fabrications. I never made such statements. I said when you factor in pension benefits, they are overpaid. I never said they were fools. I never said they abused OT. I said the City of Naperville permitted a sham transaction while transferring funds from Seca to the Naperville Police for OT which is not a cultural event as we taxpayers agreed when we accepted this additional 1% tax. I praised the NPD more than once. When did you begin blogging?
It is not "constructive criticism" unless it is based in facts, not conjecture. I am hoping that you do give them constructive criticism based on their actual behavior.
I do exactly that. I give them constructive criticism based on their actual behavior and my observation of that behavior.
Dearest CIJ-
"Pure speculation on my part just for the record."
This is exactly the attitude that walks you down the path of low credibility. You make things up, then cloak them from outright libel by adding comments like the above.
If you kept your faulty intuition, conjecture, "healthy paranoia", and bold speculations out of your posts and stuck to just the facts Ma'am, you could actually be a Citizen Investigative Journalist. You bring some really good information to the table but would greatly benefit by:
Not guessing the past or future actions of others.
Stop the name calling permanently, not just a temporary truce.
Reserve your constructive criticism until you have all the facts.
Understand that others have a right to disagree with you and that does not make them stupid. Nor are they implying that you are stupid because they do not happen to agree with you.
I know you can't teach an old dog new tricks but I will tell you that reading the same complaints over and over again gets annoying. You seem to have a lot of positive things going on in your life and maybe this is the way you blow off steam, but the Napergate thing is almost 2 decades old and most of the players are no longer on the field. I know that we should learn from the past but to continually refer to that now historical event in thread after thread is beating the dead horse.
By Anonymous on September 4, 2009 4:52 AM
Dearest CIJ-
If you kept your faulty intuition, conjecture, "healthy paranoia", and bold speculations out of your posts and stuck to just the facts Ma'am, you could actually be a Citizen Investigative Journalist. You bring some really good information to the table but would greatly benefit by:
Reserve your constructive criticism until you have all the facts.
You seem to have a lot of positive things going on in your life and maybe this is the way you blow off steam, but the Napergate Thing is almost 2 decades old and most of the players are no longer on the field. I know that we should learn from the past but to continually refer to that now historical event in thread after thread is beating the dead horse.
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You are funny. Almost hypocritical.
You don't want me to discuss the present because obviously during an investigation there is no concrete proof. You have to develop the proof gradually. That is what I attempt to do on a daily basis. You don't like to discuss the past such as Napergate because there was proof and a solid condemnation of the City of Naperville by the Federal and State Judicial Branches.
The Napergate Thing ended in 2001. Many of the players from that case are still around and in high positions. You continue defending Chief David Dial as if he could do no wrong. But he more than anyone else is responsible for the Napergate Thing as you call it. If he knows what everyone one of his cops is doing and can track them through GPS what was he doing when his cops were allegedly conspiring to set up and frame the Napergate Man?
Chief David Dial never apologized to the residents for the Napergate Mess despite losses in the Illinois Appellate Court and 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. In most towns a Police Chief would be forced to resign after costing the taxpayers 10 million dollars. He is lucky he has a job. And you want him to be off limits to criticism. BTW, I have been criticising the NPD generally and it is you who wants to put it all on the shoulders of Chief David Dial. I have no problem going down that path if that is the path you wish to take.
And history has a lot to do with the present and future. If a Police Chief exhibited such bad judgment in the past, his judgment could fail again and must be watched closely. We need to keep a close eye on him since you are holding him responsible for every wrong move his soldiers make in the downtown. His soldiers also made a lot of wrong moves and perjured themselves under oath in the Napergate KANGAROO TRIALS held in City Hall. This is part of Chief Dial's credibility and history and the citizens who are new to this town need to know the WHOLE and FULL story and not the HONKY DORY STORIES you read in the Naperville Sun where he and his soldiers can do no wrong. Where they are portrayed as border line Saints and Angels. You should be happy this town has one Citizen Investigative Journalist that is willing to tell it as it is the way Walter Cronkite once told the news on the CBS Evening News.
While I am not a Police Chief, I have the common sense to know that if 17 police officers are working the downtown beat with many on bikes, they should be spread out. Why can't we have a couple always on the corner of Washington and Jefferson where they could be right between Rizzo's and Quigleys. They could have seen that fight between 8 guys at Quigleys if they were in that location. It was sad to see female servers try to break it up since a very large and muscular African American bouncer felt it was none of his business since it was on the sidewalk outside of Quigley's and not on Quigley's property. One of the servers had to make the call to police who came on their bikes many minutes after the fist fight was over. You can call this competence all you want. I call it INCOMPETENCE.
You don't want your dear friends in the NPD to be constructively criticised. How do you expect them to improve? You don't need a graduate degree in Criminal Justice to know how police should function. If you are a real time oberver as I am, it is better than going to any university and getting graduate degrees. I have graduate degrees in business fields and I can tell you I learned nothing compared to my REAL LIFE TIME experiences in the business world.
If you want to hold Chief David Dial responsible for everything that takes place downtown, than he needs to be responsible for this incident of a fist fight breaking between 8 bar patrons. If you want to hold him responsible for everything, than you also need to hold him responsible for the drug trafficing of heroin in our town and the deaths of our children. If he knows everything that is going on, why does he allow this incompetence to continue?
There should be never an excuse for 17 police officers to be on the same intersection unless their is a RIOT going on. Most of these establishments have security and can usually handle situations until more police arrive. There are a lot of eyes in the downtown and soon we will have video cameras recording every move.
When are the residential taxpayers going to get their fair share of police protection that they pay for with their real estate tax bills in their subdivisions? When are the retailers outside of the downtown going to get their protection that they pay for with real estate tax bills and sales taxes? When can they have the peace of mind that an armed robber will not hold them up just like the downtown retailers have that peace of mind. NEVER!
And finally nothing on this blog site is required reading. You are not required to write. If you are annoyed why are you annoying yourself by reading and writing. Do something that makes you happy like going to the Zoo, Centennial Beach which will be closing this weekend, or the Last Fling? Go on match.com and get a date instead of being miserable if you are single and lonely. I actually enjoy reading and writing more than I enjoy watching sports. So I am doing what I enjoy. Why don't you do what you enjoy and stop being a hostile person?
The Police Chief and the Men in Blue are Big Boys. If they don't like what I am saying or want to dispute my findings, they are free to come on here and dispute anything I am saying. They have not come on here to dispute anything I have said. They know everything I said has been truthful and they know the best way to deal with someone truthful is to ignore him.
I know their strategy and therefore I am not going away and will repeat myself as many times as I like until they come out and debate me or give better protection to the residents of Naperville.
The NPD are not God like figures that are above constructive criticism. Quit making them inhuman. They are human and capable of making mistakes. They need their mistakes pointed out to them so they can become a better police dept. Chief David Dial is older and may be stuck in a box as far as his way of thinkng. If he can not think out of the box, then we need to think for him and hope he listens to us, his constituents.
If what I am saying is repetitious, please don't respond to it....or you will be repetitious youself. Practice what you preach. Stop being such an obvious hypocrite.
If a town is unwilling to change for the better and make the basic reforms needed for betternment, it needs to be hounded until it takes action. That is all I am trying to do here on this forum that I know City Officials and Council Members read religiously and diligently while pretending not to know it exists...lol...
This blog forum is the best thing that ever happened to the City of Naperville. Period!
I wonder how hard the City Officials and Council Members laugh at the statements made here?
Me, hostile, POT...KETTLE, don't make me laugh!!! Call CM Bob or Furstenau with your issues. If it comes from them, maybe Dial will listen, but he is not on this site and not ever likely to be here. So you can continue to complain here but it is going no where.
No one said the NPD was above mistakes but you are the one calling them incompetent in you last post. Maybe you should sign up for the citizen's police academy so you really know what they do. Now that would be some investigative journalism.
Finally, in the Huber thread Moderator Chris directed this statement to all bloggers, especially YOU:
"Please don't turn this into a discussion on the Furstenau suit or anything else".
Even if Napergate is relevant to all situations as you seem to believe, does anyone else here want to hear about it in every thread? Show of hands? I wish Chris would direct Napergate to it's own thread and you could keep the story alive there. I know I can just skip over it and believe me I DO!
By Anonymous on September 4, 2009 4:38 PM
Even if Napergate is relevant to all situations as you seem to believe, does anyone else here want to hear about it in every thread? Show of hands? I wish Chris would direct Napergate to it's own thread and you could keep the story alive there. I know I can just skip over it and believe me I DO!
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Napergate is not relevant to many situations. It has no relevance to the pet shop, to the Mideast Crisis, to my kitten, Xtreme Dance and many other topics I discussed here. When it is not relevant, I do not bring it up.
When I feel it is relevant I bring it up. I am bringing it up to remind the City Council that engaging in legal battles is costly and not always a win for the city. I don't want the city to write a discriminatory ordinance and engage us in Scott Huber v Naperville with a Napergate Style battle. Mr. Huber while having a history of failure in the courtrooms can engage our city attorneys in lengthy litigation if he chooses to....the cost will be to the taxpayers and not the City Council. We need to be concerned if we do not want 11% annual increases in our real estate tax bills since Naperville is a home rule community that can pretty much do anything it chooses and historically has acted like a town run by drunken sailors.
You don't seem to be able to skip Napergate as you bring it up as often as I do by responding and discussing it. That would be my wish that you and others who are bothered by it would simply skip over it and allow me to document the history of this town as I see it. No one complains when I mention that brave Police Chief who was killed chasing armed robbers on his motorcycle in 1929. Is that not history going back almost 80 years instead of only 10 years? What is wrong with studying and understanding history. I believe Moderator Magee is a history major if my memory is serving me right.
This last time you mentioned that Napergate is not relevant because the players are different. I brought it up to remind you Chief David Dial was in charge during the Napergate Era as he is now. A Police Chief is judged by his history and present. Sometimes it is the accumualation of failures that leads to ones resignation or termination.
If some of the allegations I am making bear fruit, such as a weakness in the NPD over controlling heroin trafficing in sundivisions and armed robberies in Naperville, the resume of the Police Chief may not look so good when combined with his historical record. Our police chief seems obsessed with National Terrorism according to his columns which really is not his field of expertise and not what we are paying him for. He should focus on the problems of Naperville and let Homeland Security deal with international terrorism.
We have never had an international terrorism incident in Naperville. We are not New York City or LA. We don't own an AIRPORT. The terrorists don't even know we exist. I assure you they never heard of Naperville. We need to focus on armed robbers being let loose after 90 days to attack our retailers again. We need to focus on heroin drug dealers who kill our youth and come back to kill even more. The Chief needs to focus on Naperville. He is on our payroll and not on the payroll of Homeland Security.
A career is not a still picture. It is rolling motion picture. We need to know the whole story of Chief David Dial....not part of it. That is all I am trying to do.
And next time try to skip over Napergate when you see it. Show us your are capable.
Have a nice evening!
While we citizens are paying for webcams to be installed in public places how about adding one to every single city of naperville building where city workers are assigned? Heck throw some in all of the Naperville Township buildings too. Let all of the webcams broadcast live over the internet 24/7 so we can all take a look whenever we want. It would be refreshing for us to see just how much or how little work is actually getting done on our nickel.
Interesting how the city wants to watch the public, but I doubt they would ever be transparent enough, much less accountable enough, for us to be able to watch them. Absolutely perfect balance to appease all of those "Big Brother" conspiracy theorists out there.
Anonymous,
Good idea!
If we had Web Cams watching employees in City Hall we would know where the Napergate Cost records were hid and which employees hid them.
Instead they want Web Cams to see who is donating money to Homeless Striker Huber in order to find out who has fueled his 8 year strike each time he gets on "fumes."
Maybe we can find out which CIA agents are spying on Huber and lift the allegation of "being a CIA agent off of me."
I am CIJ for the record and not CIA.
By Anonymous on September 2, 2009 9:15 PM
The Police Chief can check his computer to see exactly where his squads were the night before. They all are equipped with GPS tracking. So you can believe what you like but you are wrong. The extra officers are school resource, special assignments, etc. and you know it.
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Regarding these 8 resource officers and their Sergeant who are assigned to the downtown in the summer while schools are closed, it makes me wonder if they are truly needed or if we are just putting them to work because a strong union contract demands they be guaranteed work whether it is needed or not. Imagine they work the weekdays when downtown is dead in the summer but not the weekend of Labor Day when downtown is overwhelmed. People were still on the streets at 225am and 125 am looking for cabs that could not be found. The Demand exceeded the Supply but eventually the cabs keep coming back until they get everyone home safely. The cabbies really do a good job servicing the downtown.
I was in downtown Naperville for Labor Day Weekend which is the second busiest week of the summer after 4th of July Weekend due to Last Fling and holiday reasons. There were no resource or school bike officers anywhere in sight in the downtown area after 11pm as they are in the summer both on slow weekdays and busy weekends.
If these resource officers were truly needed on the summer weekdays and weekends, they would also be needed on the second busiest summer weekend of the year. But the reason they were not there is that schools opened up and they got their 40 hours without having to ride their bikes endlessly and pretty much uselessly just to make sure they got a PAYCHECK.
The Police Chief, assuming he makes the final decision, can not have it both ways. Either we need 12-17 police officers on that one intersection or only 3-4 as was seen on Labor Day weekend which had a much busier crowd than the average summer weekend and 10 times as busy as the average weekday.
The 3-4 officers did a remarkable job and there were no incidents that I observed the 3 nights I was there. No officers were stationed on the corner of Jefferson and Washington despite it being between 3 bars and soon to be 4 when BlackFinn American Saloon opens up at the old Tessa location.
Anyway, BlackFinn American Saloon is broadcasting they will be open 7 days a week from 11am to 2am. Either the City gave them exceptional status on the hours of operation or they did not review the ordinances that were given to them. To the best of my knowledge they should be required to close at 1am on Sunday-Thursday like everyone else.
They even have their hours engraved on their doors and windows. We will see if our City Officials read this blog site. We will see if they demand they change their hours IF it was a mistake. If they actually gave them those hours, they can expect a visit from every downtown liquor establishment which will require EQUAL TREATMENT under the law and in my opinion they would be entitled to it or the City will be sued by the other establishements in a Class Action Lawsuit.
Let us hope it is an error by the BF American Saloon despite being a national chain. We have no money to test an EXCEPTION in a Class Action Lawsuit for 1 Liquor Licensee downtown even if it is expected they will haul in 5 million in revenue.
All good points about the waste and the incestuous cronyism within the Naperville Police Department. The pay system and especially the overtime pay system is corrupt and the fault starts with the bad apple at the top of the food chain which is the mayor himself. When it comes to the boys in blue don't expect any less cronyism or corruption while the mayor is still in office. It will most likely not happen before we all finally get few up and elect a new mayor.
I'd like to see the Naperville Sun do an investigative style report on all of the overtime collected by the Naperville Police Department. What day of the week is most of it collected? Which shift earns the most overtime?
Who are the top 10 overtime collectors in the police department and how much did they rake in... plus what did they do to earn it? Was it patrol duty, was it court appearances, was it special events, or something else?
Even better I'd love to see a special focus on how much overtime pay the "school resource" officers worked during the regular school year vs how much overtime they earn during the summer months when they are on downtown patrol? I'm willing to bet that instead of using these 12-18 additional officers during the summer to REDUCE total department overtime because of vacation and other scheduling problems that the school resource officers are bellying up to the proverbial trough to get their fair share. Prove me wrong.
I noticed that Citizen Investigative Journalist keeps bringing up how certain members of NPD chased and caught the armed robbers from the Extra Value Liquor store. The real crime there is that the robbers got off with a slap on the wrist. This case is really interesting to read...just go to the NPD records section and ask for a copy of the "Buddy Stone" arrest. Stone was one of the thugs that robbed the store. I read that Officers Black, Lindgren and Hull (yes, the same Hull that was the victim in the Furstenau case) were the ones that apprehended these fools. After reading that report, I suggest everyone go the the City of Naperville website and nominate these fine officers for their heroic actions. There is a Citizens Appreciate Police for that gets mailed to Jerry Feldott. Very nice job by those boys in blue!!!!
Clark Kent,
I do agree that these 3 officers were heros and should be nominated for their heroic efforts.
And I do agree fully with you that the true CRIME was that these robbers got off with a slap on the wrist.
Not only armed robbery using loaded guns, but a high speed chase that involved several police departments and endangered children in many suburbs. A high speed chase that was so fast, it finally had to be called off by the Illinois Police Dispatcher coordinating the chase. The robbers were going so fast they finally flipped over even though the police had halted the chase a few miles back on the highway where the armed robbers threw their guns out of the car windows.
What puzzles me is why the City of Naperville and the NPD do not raise hell in Dupage County for allowing these thugs released with a slap on the wrist??? In 1929 the Police Chief of Naperville was killed during a high speed chase. So high speed chases are very dangerous.
I am glad I found someone who finally agrees with me.
I would like to see the Naperville Sun run an Editorial condeming the system of justice in Dupage that allowed these 2 armed thugs released with a slap on the wrist. One really has to wonder if their attorneys bribed a judge or a prosecutor since this is as OUTRAGEOUS as it gets!?!? Imagine the fine was one third the amount they stole and less than speeding in a construction zone. Where is CBS 60 minutes to investigate corruption in Dupage County when you need them?