Emanuel Vows 'Full Force' Of Law Will Bring Street Thugs To Justice
UPDATED 06/07/11 7:39 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- While he is pleased with the quick arrest of suspects in a series of mob attacks over the weekend, Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday made no secret that he wants everybody involved "brought to justice."
"I want all the young men that were involved in this," Emanuel said. "Because I want to be very clear up front that as it relates to this crime, the full force of the law enforcement community and justice system will deal with it."
Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said yesterday that about 20 arrests were made in connection with the attacks, and five people were charged.
Emanuel said he spoke with McCarthy over the weekend and again this morning about the situation. The mayor said the city's reputation as a safe place to work and shop downtown is being endangered by the thuggery. Many of the attacks are happening near the biggest tourist and shopping attractions in the city.
But, CBS 2's Jim Williams reports, the problem of mob attacks downtown is much bigger than the weekend beatings, according to beat cops who wanted to remain anonymous.
The officers said some victims refused to file police reports, even though they been pushed around by mobs, knocked off bikes or even had their possessions stolen. They just don't want to get involved with the criminal justice system, the officers said.
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The first weekend attack happened around 8:25 p.m. Saturday when a man was attacked after parking his motor scooter near the Northwestern University campus in Streeterville.
A few minutes after that attack, man riding his bicycle on the lakefront path at 701 N. Lake Shore Dr. was attacked by a group of teenagers, who punched and kicked him.
Three teens – Dvonte Sikes, 17, of the 7500 block of South Normal Avenue; Travolus Pickett, 17, of the 8400 block of South Dorchester avenue; and Derodte Wright, 18, of the 3500 block of South State Street – have been charged as adults with felony robbery and mob action.
Sikes' bond was set at $250,000. Pickett's at $300,000 and Wright's at $200,000.
Two other 16-year-olds were also charged as juveniles and their names were not released.
Earlier this year, retailers on North Michigan Avenue reported several instances in which young people would suddenly gather inside a store and ransack the place.
Also, on Sunday morning, a male University Of Illinois-Chicago student was on a westbound No. 12 CTA bus on Roosevelt Road at Throop Street, when a group of eight to 10 men wearing white T-shirts boarded, UIC police said. One of the men hit the victim on the back of the head with a glass bottle and stole his iPad. Then the robbers got off the bus.
Police also shut down North Avenue beach on Memorial Day--officially because of the heat and huge crowds. However, police sources say, concerns about the potential for violence was behind the decision as well.
