Jarka assures continued police presence at Lane

By Nathalia Mercado

& Sophia Swenson

Under Mayor Emanuel’s new leadership, three of Chicago’s police stations will close, including the station located at 2452 W. Belmont Ave. just two blocks south of Lane.

These closings are due to Emanuel’s 2012 budget cuts for Chicago, which aims to save $636 million. Police from these units will be taken from their original stations and spread out over Chicago, working in areas that have higher crime rates.

The three condemned stations were picked based on the age of their buildings, low crime rates of their surrounding areas, and the ability of neighboring stations to pick up what little slack the closed stations will leave behind.

Apart from the police station closings, Emanuel is also planning to reduce the five police detective areas of Chicago into three. Once all police officers have left, the Belmont station will be used as one of the three new detective headquarters.

Although officers at Belmont’s station were told of the cuts six months ago, the idea of a different work environment is taking a while to get used to.

“People don’t like change,” said Officer Ratledge.

Ratledge and Officer Herrera, who both belong to the Belmont police station, agree that closing down the Belmont police station will cause more problems for the officers who work there and the neighborhood it protects.

“For some people, it is getting there on particular days that can be hectic,” said Herrera.

Not only will officers have a hard time getting to work, but cutting down the number of Chicago police stations might mean a longer wait for 911 callers who need help. If a station is taken out of a neighborhood and moved to another, then that neighborhood has no headquarters nearby to send help quickly and efficiently.

When the station is closed, Belmont officers will move to another police station on Halsted and Addison, which is already occupied by its own officers. Herrera and Ratledge worry that tensions might arise between officers when the Belmont station moves in on the Halsted station’s “turf.”

At the beginning of the school year, Mr. Jarka made a deal with the Belmont station, which sent officers to increase security at Lane. The deal included extra security at football and basketball games, weather permitting, and extra police cars patrolling after school.

“Students think I’m the bad guy,” said Jarka. “They think they’re mistrusted, but I just want them to be able to enjoy their campus.”

Fortunately, all of the police officers that supervise school functions and roam the halls of Lane will remain in their current positions.