Officials: Beefed Up Security May Deter Vandals in Wicker Park

Doug Wood has aggressive plans for cleaning up Wicker Park—and ensuring it stays that way.

The Wicker Park Advisory Council secretary once again broached the issue of vandalism Tuesday evening, which he says has been plaguing the area. He briefed attendees on his proposal to hire park district security guards who would monitor the park for one month at the beginning of the summer to "send a message" to vandals.

He hopes to set a precedent early in the season, he says, so transient rail riders and "crusty punks" known to set up camp in the park—as well as the late-night post-bar crowds—are aware their behavior won't be tolerated.

The beefed up security would cost about $4,000. Wood hopes to raise those dollars by late February or early March through donations from neighborhood businesses and community organizations. He plans to speak with bars in the area, as well as the local chamber of commerce, the Bucktown Community Organization and Aldermen Proco Joe Moreno (1st) and Scott Waguespack (32nd), he said.

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His goal is to have security in place for four weeks beginning sometime in May when warm temperatures beckon overnight activity to the park.

"That's when the rail riders come back," he said. "That's when the bar people get wild. Whenever it gets warm. And it's flexible, because it's the park district, so we would have that caveat in there."

Wood also said that the Friends of the Parks Park Advocacy Conference, which will be held at the South Shore Cultural Center on March 9, will address several security issues that Wicker Park and other parks around the city have been facing for some time.

Wood is a member of the conference's planning committee, and said it will end with a summit on park security. That meetup should help establish standardized protocols among the park district, police districts and the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications for reporting damage and having security camera footage reviewed, he said.

Another park security issue on the docket for the conference is the code of conduct document, which Wood says could give the park district more legal authority to deal with people who repeatedly cause problems.

"It's to control people who are constantly harassing people and park staff and are a detriment to it all," he said. " … They keep reporting the incidences, and then the downtown people are supposed to create a document and evict the person from the park."

The 2013 Park Advocacy Conference will take place at the South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Drive, at 8:30 a.m. on March 9.

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