More than 1,500 Chicago Police Officers will work overtime or on adjusted schedules this weekend — 100 of them patrolling parks and the lakefront — in an attempt to prevent, yet another July 4th holiday in Chicago from turning into a bloodbath.
The Chicago Fire Department will also deploy two additional rescue boats — the water equivalent of an advanced life support ambulance. Onewill be dedicated to the Chicago River and the city’s wildly popular downtown Riverwalk.
Last year, 1,500 additional police officers hit the streets during the long holiday weekend. Even so, seven people were wounded citywide between 1 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. on July 4 alone. Ten people were killed and 58 shot over an extended holiday weekend that ran from July 3 through July 9, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
The year before, the Independence Day weekend was a bloodbath, with 14 people killed and 87 wounded across Chicago.
In 2016, 66 people were shot, four fatally, over a Fourth of July weekend that was one day shorter than the year before. It was Chicago’s lowest death toll for a July 4 weekend in nearly a decade.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson are expected to outline this year’s security plans during an afternoon news conference at Milton Lee Olive Park near Navy Pier. Hours earlier, Chicago Police were to announce another gang and gun takedown that’s become standard fare in the run-up to a holiday weekend in Chicago.
It’s the CPD’s second big test under the new mayor’s leadership.
After “flooding the zone” over Memorial Day weekend by putting 1,200 more police officers on the streets and partnering with dozens of religious leaders — and touting more than 100 events and youth programs as alternative activities — Lightfoot came away with results tragically similar to previous years.
Seven were killed, same as last year. And 34 were wounded, two more than last year.
After the following weekend was even worse — with 10 dead and 52 wounded — Lightfoot started what she’s calling “Accountability Monday.”
That’s when she summons top brass to a meeting in the mayor’s office to hash out the violence that took place over the previous weekend.
Lightfoot has acknowledged pushing Johnson and his team to have a “sense of urgency” about reducing the traditional summer surge of violence. If they don’t have that sense of urgency, she says, they’re in the wrong line of work.
She wants them to use all the data analytics and other tools at their disposal to implement a winning crime-fighting strategy.
“I’m asking tough, probing questions. And as I said to them last week, `If you don’t want to be here, I’m happy to have a meeting where no one shows up because everybody’s doing their work and the violence is starting to de-escalate. That’s certainly the goal,” the mayor told reporters before one of the early accountability sessions.
Last week’s “Accountability Monday” was the best one yet, with “only” four people dead and 20 shot over the first weekend of summer. It was the least bloody weekend Chicago has experienced since she took office.
The new mayor was obviously pleased, but she was reluctant to talk about it because, “I frankly don’t want to jinx it.”
“A lot of it is because we are saying, ‘You must come in and you must give account for what’s happening in your districts.’ It’s not just gonna be same old, same old with nobody looking, no accountability as it has been in the past,” she said.
“We can’t build libraries, we can’t do economic development, we can’t strengthen neighborhood schools … if people are pinned down with fear in their homes.”
Added security for Navy Pier fireworks
As always, Navy Pier will be a focal point for the city’s 4th of July celebration with a 15-minute fireworks show accompanied by a patriotic soundtrack. That’s in addition to the regular — and shorter — fireworks display that occurs every Wednesday night.
In an emailed newsletter to his constituents, local Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) warned that security checkpoints will be back in place for the 4th and “all guests must pass through” those checkpoints before gaining entry to Navy Pier.
“Multiple inspection points will [also] be located through Navy Pier and all bags are subject to inspection,” Reilly wrote.
In addition, a so-called “youth escort policy” similar to the at Water Tower Place will be implemented July 3 and 4 starting at 6 a.m. each day, the alderman said.
“Guests may be asked to present a valid driver’s license, state ID or military ID upon entering all Navy Pier’s facilities or grounds. Guests to Navy Pier under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian at all times,” Reilly wrote.
If Navy Pier attracts more crowds than it can safely handle, the Police and Fire Departments will once again “reserve the right to cut off public admittance,” the alderman said.
“This has occurred in the past and can happen at any time during the day,” Reilly wrote.
“Residents and visitors who have tickets or official reservations at the Pier are encouraged to arrive several hours in advance of the event start time, although they will be allowed entry to Navy Pier grounds if the gates are closed due to crowds reaching capacity.”
Several “traffic safety initiatives” are also planned along Lake Shore Drive, according to Chicago Police.
