Leadership, not denial, needed in fight vs. gangs

The city of Elgin knows how to fight gangs and violence. Or at least it used to. Winning takes neighborhood involvement and the full engagement of city hall, from the police department to code inspectors to city leaders.

The battle does not begin with denial of the problem, which has marked the reaction of city leaders in this most recent reincarnation of the Wild West in the city. Neighborhood groups, at least, were organizing to fight the violence, much of it gang-related, that has wrought multiple shootings, two deaths and four injuries on the city's east side in the last six weeks. What has poured forth from city hall, though, are platitudes and outright fantasy.

People were overreacting, said Mayor Ed Schock, of a shootout last weekend near youth football opening day activities. A team of Elburn, Sugar Grove and Maple Park kids left the incident vowing never to return and called in counselors for their shocked children.

While it's true that Elgin residents don't call for psychological counselors every time there's a ripple in their lives, they also do not accept shootouts in their parks and near their schools. What also was needed, Schock suggested, was more parental involvement, despite the obvious truth that lack of parenting skills is what tends to create gang members in the first place. Or maybe more preventive programs are what the city needs. That suggestion came from City Councilman Juan Figueroa, apparently unaware of dozens of such programs in the community and that at least some of the shooters came from out of town and wouldn't be aware of them.

All those suggestions might merit discussion for the long term. But in the short term, the city has a serious public safety problem, and that is very much the responsibility of the police and local government. The mayor's dubious contention that arrests in some of the incidents will serve as a deterrent is unsettling when felons on parole felt free to shoot up the city in broad daylight in front of hundreds of people.

What's needed is every available police officer on the street, engaged in highly visible and highly aggressive enforcement. If temporary roadblock screening is required to keep the residents in certain neighborhoods safe, do it. Move against homes that serve as drug houses or violate city codes. Make the city unwelcome to those who would disturb its peace.

To date, the city's response has been unacceptable. Last Wednesday night, a teen bicyclist was caught in the crossfire between two vehicles just blocks from downtown. Police did not even discuss the shooting at roll call the next morning, and the chief and all her deputies were unavailable all day. A brand new public information officer couldn't even answer the question of who was in charge, let alone any significant safety questions.

That apparent lack of urgency was only exacerbated by the ludicrous comments of police Lt. Cecil Smith, who said in a Friday story: "Right now we're going through hopefully a short trend of disruption. Police are aware of it. The citizens of the community should feel as safe as they normally do."

A disruption? There's growing evidence of at least two gang wars going on simultaneously. Safe? How many corpses would it take to make it unsafe?

For east-side residents, the tepid response only serves to support their contention that the city has abandoned them in favor of downtown condos and the bigger money on the west side. For others, the denials appear to be an attempt to downplay problems that might upset developers or home buyers to the west. Or maybe, the lack of urgency is a reflection of the continued detachment of a council that failed to notice poor street conditions and a lousy after-storm response last year, too. Yes, new councilmen were elected, but that didn't change the critical mass.

Thankfully, Elgin residents know they aren't really safe and that denial won't make them so. Now if only city leaders would join them in the fight rather than cowering in the corner.