Chicago police vow to have more downtown presence during holiday season

[December 05, 2024]  By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) – Chicago Ald. Chris Taliaferro is voicing his full support for top Chicago Police Department brass after officials revealed they plan to increase police presence in the downtown area.

Authorities said they will take on a more “present and visible” approach during the holiday season after gunfire erupted as throngs of people convened in the area of the famed Macy’s store for the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival and the Michigan Avenue Parade.

Authorities later transported a 19-year victim to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and took another teen into custody in connection with the shooting.

“I've said in the past, I do trust the leadership of our police superintendent and if he believes that increases in manpower in an area where we’re having increases in violent crime, I support it and I believe that it will have the impact that he's hoping for,” Taliaferro, a former CPD sergeant, told The Center Square.

A recent study by the Council on Criminal Justice reports that, along with a nearby small strip on the city’s near North Side, the area has become even more of a magnet for crime, with shoplifting increasing by 46% through October, ending in the highest shoplifting rate in the area over the same period in any of the past six years.

Taliaferro argues much of the problem boils down to one of manpower.

Greg Bishop | The Center Square

“We can't operate the same as we did with 13,500 police officers,” he said. “We can't offer the same coverage; we can't offer the same response time and we certainly under the budget crisis that we're under can’t continue to offer overtime the way we've done. I think it's a matter of we need to prioritize what's most important to us and that comes with passing a responsible budget.”

Taliaferro said the city's problems don’t end there, stressing that the steady influx of migrant arrivals over the years may also be taking its toll.

“We had tens of thousands of people that have come here by way of immigration that came without any benefits, came without any resources,” he said. “And so, often times when you have that, folks will make a way and I don't care where they come from. They make a way to survive and if that means burglaries are increasing, or thefts are increasing, shoplifting is increasing, that may be a contributing factor.”

With the city already struggling to revive the downtown area since the pandemic, Taliaferro is also calling on businesses to do more to help cut down on the carnage.

“They could do so many different things when it comes down to internal security measures,” he said. “Higher security, monitor better, place security at the doors. Loss prevention measures should include some of those as well as others.”