Form e rly th e W.I. M.

Block Association

SPECIAL GUEST
CHA Executive Program
Director Janice Stewart
We now have new neighbors
in Chatham that are not the
actual homeowners. Learn
how we can all live together as
JU N E 2010 M eet ing one strong community family!
S
Saattuurrddaayy,, JJuunnee 1199 Dear GCA members & Chatham neighbors:
1111::0000 aa..m
m.. 1122::3300 pp..m
m.. Th e ultimat e Ame rican d re am is
St. James Lutheran Church to purchase a home and to se e th e
8 0 0 0 S. M i c h i g a n home increase in value. Chatham has
always had a r e p utation of b eing
No w a c c e p t i n g GCA $ 3 0 y e a r l y a middl e class c ommunity wh os e
m e mb e r du es p er f ami ly fo r 2010. residents take pride in their homes.
On e vot e p e r m e mb e r ship
Th e CHA scatt e r -sit e p ro g ram
is p l a c i n g CHA r e s i d e n t s i n o u r
7 7 3 . 6 3 5 . 6 5 0 0 for more info community. H e r e s you r chanc e to
REQ UE ST O UR E - NE W S L ET T ER V I A express to CHA our concerns about
e m a i l: g c ah ono r @ s b cglob al.n e t
maintaining the Chatham lifestyle and
values, so we can keep Chatham
Light Refreshments Served safe, prosperous and beautiful.

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1. Meeting Open & Minutes Read

Committee Chair updates:
5. Safety & Security Chair Toya Bey
2. Treasury Report Report: Financing the patrol garb
Apparel; frequency of crime alerts &
3. Presidents Opening Remarks More.

4. Results from the GCA Survey. Learn 6. Membership Chair Arthur Turnbull
what topics rank as the most important to Report.
this community. Then help us to examine
ways to effectively solve our problems. 7. Lawn Patrol Chatham Foods is
Your suggestions and opinions are sponsoring it. But we need a GCA
most welcomed. WECoordinator
GOT A GREATVolunteer.
RESPONSE FOR
GCA PATROL VOLUNTEERS. WE
8. Misc. ALWAYS USE MORE See
COULD
 CRIME ALERTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS: mid May to June 11
Reported to Toya Bey, GCA Safety & Security Chair We cant know whats
happening in our area unless you call me at 773.635.6500 after you call the
police. Then I can let everyone know whats up! Afraid? I will report the crime for you!

After hearing about recent 911 calls made by neighbors in our area that were
reported to me & the way 911 responded to those calls, I recommend that you
FIRST c a l l t h e 6 t h D i s t r i c t W a t c h C o mm a n d e r s D i r e c t P h o n e :
312.745.3610 to report a crime in action or suspicious people & THEN CALL 911.
First of all I want to apologize for not sending out the email crime alerts because of illness.
However, I am back in full swing & ready to start the GCA Community Patrols. WE HAVE 24
COMMITTED PEOPLE. BUT WE STILL NEED MORE VOLUNTEERS! Call 773.635.6500 and step
up to the plate! You can identify GCA volunteers because they will be wearing lime green caps
and vests. BE SURE TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!

Be aware of ANYONE coming to your home, unannounced & asking for various people who
do not live there. On two occasions a person went into the 80th block of Prairie on this pretense
& asked for money. If you don't know the person, don't open your door. In addition, there is a
man saying he is with GCA & he approached a neighbor regarding security doors. GCA Patrol
volunteers will always have an identifiable Greater Chatham Alliance lime green cap & vest
on. The old man riding the bike is back! I have discovered he locks his bike at a house on
the northwest corner of the 8200 block of Wabash. He was seen late at night, walking & casing
houses on 86th & Prairie. Remember, I stated before that the man was caught by Police & on
parole for burglary. So be cautious! A neighbor on the 8200 Block of Wabash was going to
his garage & two people were driving through the alley, between the Wabash & State alley, tried
to rob him. His was lucky enough to run back to his home. There are MAJOR drug dealings
going on in the alley of the 8200 Block of Wabash & State Street. I suspect this is also going on
in the 84th Wabash & State Street alley too. Both areas are close to the expressway for a get-
away. When you see this stuff, don't call 911, call the District Watch Commander: the number
is 312-745-3610. The Police Commander recommended this. A neighbor who lives on the 8400
Wabash block had his garage broken into on April 17.On May 12; he had workers over to repair
his garage. While the workers were inside repairing the garage, a man attempted to break into
the workers' van parked outside of the garage. On May 6, a neighbor on the 82nd block of
Michigan said a group of teen boys in a car drove into her garage door & smashed the door in.
They had to rebuild the garage. Parents & grandparents make sure you know whom your teen
kid is riding with. Ask questions!! These teens were lucky no one got hurt! But if someone had
gotten the license #, those kids would be dealing with the police and the adults would have been
held liable. There was a neighbor who reported seeing Hispanic junk men driving in a van
looking at garbage cans for junk. But one of the men jumped her neighbors fence & stole a
barbeque pit. CHECK THIS OUT! It was reported to me that a neighborhood policeman was
returning home to find his house burglarized. Guess what? It was the guys in the purple van
that folks earlier had reported seeing driving around. They got caught this time! See what
happens when we work together! June 10: David Anderson, a former GCA Vice President &
a policeman, who lives on 82nd & Michigan, right across the alley from me, was burglarized just
10 minutes after he left his home. A neighbor saw the entire incident but forgot to call the police.
They saw the men exit from a purple car (Lemans?). Another neighbor has seen a purple car
with gangster-type chrome on the wheels) & 4 men in the car several days before. If anyone sees
this car, please call the Watch Commander's office & report it. There is no license plate info.
Unfortunately, I was at Sam's Club when this happened. Otherwise, things would have turned out
differently! The Black Kia SUV has been spotted casing homes in the neighborhood again.
 Summer 2010
GCA LAWN PATROL
Designed to help Fixed Income Seniors &
Financially Stressed Neighbors who really need
help this Summer to maintain their lawns.

Dear Chatham Neighbor:

Former 6th Ward
The economy can playAlderman
havoc with our lives. Staying ahead often
means sacrificing some aspect of our daily life just to stay afloat. But as a community, we need
to make sure that we always look like the middle class neighborhood that we are. It is most
important to maintain and enhance our property values.

GCA again is offering any neighbor, who lives between 78th and 87th Street from State Street
to King Drive assistance with the maintenance of their front lawns. In order to take advantage
of this essentially FREE ASSISTANCE, you must meet the following criteria.

1. BE A SENIOR OVER 75 YEARS OLD WHO IS RETIRED AND ON

A FIXED INCOME: We will mow your lawn once a week for FREE:
STARTING JUNE 26 to OCTOBER 1!

2. BE A SENIOR OVER 65 YEARS OLD TO 75 YEARS OLD. We only

require that you volunteer three (3) hours this year with GCA.
DISABLED SENIORS CAN RECEIVE AN EXEMPTION! We will mow
your lawn once a week for FREE: STARTING JUNE 26 to OCTOBER 1!

3 . UNDER 65 YEARS OLD? BUT FIND YOURSELF CONFRONTED WITH A

STRONG HIT FROM THE ECONOMY? We only require that you pay the
$30 membership feeand volunteer for one of our GCA committees.

Call 7 7 3 . 6 3 5 . 6 5 0 0 t o s i g n - u p
ATTENTION NEIGHBORS:
If You Know a Home on Your B l o c k W h o R e a l l y
N e e d s T h i s H e l p , Please Call Us & Give Us the Address.
W e Will R e a c h O u t t o Th is N e i g h b o r!

THIS GCA SERVICE IS BEING SPONSORED BY:

327 E. 79th St. Chicago, IL 60619 773.783.2880