Morgan Park

Chicago could be one of the first cities in the nation to give double duty to its fleet of street sweepers now that the mayor has proposed an ordinance that would approve the use of cameras to identify parking scofflaws.

The city is considering a three-year contract worth $7.2 million that would allow Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), one of the nation's largest parking enforcement services, to conduct image verification of potential violators. The city would issue $50 tickets to violators.

By Rob Heidrick
Medill News Service

Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis defended his officers' performance in the midst of a rise in the city's murder rate - one that has affected Mount Greenwood, Beverly and Morgan Park twice in the last week. But he acknowledged a need to beef up some policing tactics while improving communications with city aldermen, including Ginger Rugai.

A 26-year-old Beverly man was shot dead July 10 after he and another man were the targets of a gunman who approached them while they were sitting in their car in the 9600 block of South Charles Street.

A 19-year-old Morgan Park man was killed and another man wounded Tuesday night in another fatal shooting - the second in a week - in the 1000 block of West 108th Place.

Police say that Scotty Prater was killed outside his home at about 9 p.m. when two men, described by police as 18-20 years old, walked up and shot Prater in the chest and a 40-year-old man in the leg.

The other man was reported in stable condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said.

Robbery is not believed to be the motive, according to police.

Calumet Area detectives are investigating.

Eighteen-year-old Morgan Park High School student Deonte Collins says he now has a much better idea of what it takes to pursue the same career as his father - a Chicago firefighter - since he graduated from the Chicago Police and Firefighters Training Academy program.

He tells the Daily Southtown that a job in public sagety is anything but fun and games.

The nine-year-old program mentors about 125 students and is open to sophomores from both public and private high schools who live in Chicago.

To learn more about the program click here.

You've only got a few days before the deadline to purchase vehicle stickers in Chicago. Current city stickers expire on June 30, but the new ones are easy to come by.

Residents may purchase them online, at the clerk's office in Room 107 of City Hall and satellite clerk offices as well as at some local banks, and currency exchanges (although those locations typically add surcharge fees).

Fees are $75 for small passenger vehicles that weigh less than 4,500 pounds and $120 for passenger vehicles 4,500 pounds or more.

The Ridge Historical Society will host its fourth annual "Party on the Hilltop" July 11. Guests will be able to watch the Sixth Annual Beverly Hills Cycling Classic from strategic locations on Longwood Drive and Seeley Avenue while they enjoy a catered hot buffet dinner and wine, beer and soft drinks.

She's known for her steadfast support for sterilizing pit bulls, but now Ald. Virginia Rugai is taking her campaign against dangerous pets even further.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Rugai and Ald. Ed Burke (14th) have teamed up to introduce an ordinance that would require all dog and cat owners living in Chicago to spay or neuter their pets within six months of taking responsibility for the animal.

By Elizabeth Riley and Chloe Wiley
Medill Reports - Chicago

It's afternoon in nearby Englewood, and on one block, kids fill the streets, laughing and riding their bikes. In a halfway house nearby, four registered sex offenders are inside, watching TV or sleeping.

This is a common scenario in this low-income community, in which more than 300 sex offenders live.