Controlled Chaos Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 Alderman wants on-site hearings in Wrigley arrests July 14, 2004 BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter Advertisement Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) demanded Tuesday that police eliminate what one community leader has called the "Bourbon Street" atmosphere around Wrigley Field by cracking down on drunk and rowdy fans and holding court hearings the same day, possibly on a bus parked outside the stadium. Working with commanders of the Belmont and Town Hall districts, Tunney said he's exploring the possibility of using the bus to detain fans arrested for public drinking and urination, and either holding hearings on the bus or transporting them en masse to the Belmont District station, 2452 W. Belmont. "We still haven't fleshed that out yet. That's one of the ideas. They would be detained on the bus to either be adjudicated on the bus or go to the 19th [belmont] District," Tunney said. Town Hall District Cmdr. Gary Yamashiroya acknowledged that the idea of using a bus to "temporarily detain people until they were adjudicated" has been discussed in a preliminary "brainstorming session" with Tunney. "I don't know how operationally it would work or who would be responsible. . . . Obviously, we don't want to discount it completely and say we don't want to do it. He may have a great idea. We need to look into it. We need to do some research," the commander said. Police Department spokesman David Bayless said the idea of using a bus to either detain or adjudicate rowdy fans is "an idea at this point. We're going to take a look at it and determine if it's feasible." But Bayless said he's not at all certain that anything quite that dramatic needs to be done. "Considering there's been record attendance and more people coming down to the area, we've been hearing from business owners, elected officials and the Cubs themselves that things are going very smoothly," Bayless said. Not according to Tunney and community leaders. They contend that police officers "don't write enough tickets" or make enough arrests against rowdy Cub fans because they're afraid of being pulled off the street while transporting arrestees to the Belmont District two miles away. That attitude has allowed the sell-out crowds packing Wrigley for virtually every game -- and thousands more who jam area bars and restaurants -- to run roughshod over the community, the alderman said. "There's too much leniency about conduct around the stadium. There's this perception that it's a ballpark . . . and people like to party. It's a basic premise of containment -- a concern that if somebody is working on a small violation, that takes them off the street," Tunney said. "Instead of [police] turning the other way and saying, 'That's what happens,' people need to be aware that this is a different kind of baseball stadium. We need to arrest more people for disorderly conduct and have the ability to bring somebody to court that same day to send people a message that they need to be more respectful when they go to a Cubs game." The bus could serve a valuable purpose, now that the lock-up at the nearby Town Hall District, 3600 N. Halsted, has been closed, said Charlotte Newfeld of Citizens United for Baseball in Sunshine. "It's like Bourbon Street. People openly tell you, 'I'm gonna have 10 beers. They're getting drunk and throwing up. They pee wherever they can. They're treating our community like a bathroom," Newfeld said. "Their behavior is not in any way conducive to having fun at the old ballpark." Jim Ludwig, president of the LakeView Citizens Council, said the bus makes more sense than "transporting somebody 30 blocks across town in traffic" to Belmont and Western. "People would like to see an immediate justice situation. Put some fear in the minds of disorderly people and get some respect for the neighborhood." Community leaders have been demanding zero-tolerance against drunk and disorderly fans ever since May 6, when an altercation between a motorist and a pedestrian outside Wrigley killed 26-year-old Frankie Hernandez. http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-wrig14.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Controlled Chaos Posted July 14, 2004 Author Share Posted July 14, 2004 Anyone think this is gonna get any air time?? Clearly there has been incidents going on over there....why haven't they been discussed. Where is the back page story on fans pissing and puking all over their own park and neighborhood?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 This is in the Sports Bar already.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Controlled Chaos Posted July 14, 2004 Author Share Posted July 14, 2004 oops! delete...or merge please. Why is it over there....not really talking about sports. Talking about degenerate flub fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 oops! delete...or merge please. Why is it over there....not really talking about sports. Talking about degenerate flub fans. Probably because it deals with the Cubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreye Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 Probably because it deals with the Cubs. Again, why is it the "Sports" Bar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 Again, why is it the "Sports" Bar? The Sports "Bar" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreye Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 The Sports "Bar" Touche! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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