Hey Rich,
You guys have my support in the struggle with city hall and J-Fed. It's just moral support and doesn't mean anything, but good luck with that contract and the challenges you face doing your jobs. I served with more than a few Chicago cops in the reserves and have generally had good interactions (especially compared to some of the Suburban departments) and it sucks that the city leadership and the local media sell out the force when anything questionable (virtually any tough policing) happens.
The CPD receives about the same level of support from da mayor and da local media as the 2nd Amendment in Chicago.
You can get into trouble quickly in any big city in the world. As an LEO I personally consider the smaller, meaner cities more dangerous for coppers. Places Like Philly, Detroit, B-more, Cinci, places like that. The cities of 300,000 to 800,000 with a lot of economic bad news and poverty. Some of these towns have very few, if any, decent neighborhoods to live in and/or travel thru. POs in these small mean cities generally have it worse then we do.
It wasn't always like that. When I first started ALL of the High Rise housing projects were up and jammed packed. We didn't have bullet proof vests and only carried wheelguns, "usually 2 or 3". I worked those projects, almost all of them, and got shot at in almost all of them. You might get a call at 0300 that there are 4 people shot on the 14'th floor of a high rise and you had to run the gangster gauntlet to get the medics up there, "and the elevators never worked". Nor was there any help coming cause all the other cars were down on jobs or in the station with pinches. So we drew our guns and walked up those 14 flights of stairs. And we did it all the time.
Now they tore the high rises down and its much harder for street crews to operate. Making it harder to sell dope on the street brought some of the killing down. Advances in emergency medicine saves many a shot gangster nowdays that would have died before. The city has gentrified and some of our crime got pushed out to the suburbs by the simple fact they cant afford to live here anymore. Sentences got a lot stiffer for full time criminals and prison populations are at an all time high.
But you cant afford to "feel safe" in any big city and certainly not this one. Everybody should follow a lifestyle of self defense I believe, even in cities that unlawfully violate the 2nd amendment rights of its citizens. Just keeping your head up and being aware of whats around you is a good start. Stay out of bad neighborhoods, "I never go in one unless I'm working", and learn to accept the fact you can be victimized even in a supposedly good neighborhood. Stay fit, karate, boxing, lifting...all good stuff. I'm a big believer in a good dog too.
The homeless are the least of your worries here. Just off duty alone Ive had guys try and rob me twice and at least 1/2 dozen attempted attacks on me with weapons. And the BGs lost every time. A citizens safety is his/her own responsibility. The Police are there to help, and want to, but often just cant be. In the end its all on you.
The older I get the more I despise the fact that working, law abiding citizens are denied their 2nd amendment rights in the big cities where they are most likely to be victimized.
And thus, you have learned an essential truth about living in Chicago.
It is a giant city with a large homeless population. Since I sample it every day, downtown, my observation show it is equal part white and black. Very few Hispanic homeless in Chicago. I have never seen an oriental homeless person, ever.
Many of them turn hostile, especially late at night. Near the trains.
There is only one way to deal with them. You must be aggressive. If they approach you, or step towards you - put them down. I have learned a few moves studying martial arts, and I have used them. I have broken homeless men down at the knee and sent them backwards when they reached out at me. Try to never use your hands, use your elbow across the throat. I am also 6'3" and 230 pounds and can send most people backwards. But even a 5'4" woman can do it, if she trains and prepares and is willing to show open aggression.
They do not expect aggression. But after you do it, you must retreat, as the others will come to the rescue. Treat it like dodging zombies.
It is a drawback of living in Chicago, there is no doubt.
