Board to be formed to address crime in Hanover Park

Two homicides in a five-day period have left a "huge black eye" on Hanover Park, according to Mayor Rod Craig.

"I'm not going to sit around waiting for it to heal," he said.

Instead, he's launching a Crime Prevention Leadership Advisory Board to take a closer look at the recent rise in violence. On Tuesday, Craig met with U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, state Rep. Fred Crespo, Police Chief Ron Moser and other community leaders to start a dialogue.

They'll officially announce the initiative at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Hanover Park Park District community center, located at 1919 Walnut St.

"These two crimes have caught a lot of people's attention and we need to roll up our sleeves to see what we can do," said Crespo.

Officials want to send a message that Hanover Park is a safe place to work and live. Craig acknowledged a gang presence and an increase in home thefts, but statistics show a decrease in overall crime.

Who serves on the board is still up in the air. It will include legislators like Crespo and Roskam, clergy, school officials and other leaders.

A big focus will be on education at the grass roots level. Police may put on drug awareness programs for parents. Clergy could hold more neighborhood events. Crespo said he recently met with area principals, who said parents need to be educated on graffiti symbols and gang colors.

Community leaders will also look to resources at the state and federal level.

"I'll see what I can do in terms of state initiatives to combat some of these things," said Crespo, who wants to know how the gun used in the Nov. 25 murder of Elgin hairdresser Rocio Munez-Ramos was obtained. "We need to address the teenage moms and high school drop outs and support these folks because it curtails social illnesses."

Crespo says they'll check politics at the door, but the conversation is bound to come back to Hanover Park's strained police department. Moser and Craig have implored the village to hire more officers, only to be told time and time again there's no money.

Drug and crime prevention programs were cut long ago. Two officers were hired in the last several months, giving the department a total of 54 sworn officers. Craig said 61 are needed and again addressed the staffing issue at the village board's budget meeting earlier in the week.

"We're not going to hide and live in denial there's not a problem," said Craig.