Neighborhood residents and local officials supporting the division of the Chicago Lawn (8th) District came out in force for a rally Saturday outside the former National Guard Armory at Midway Airport, which they hope will house a new police station.
Police directed traffic as large crowds crossed 63rd Street to attend the 11 a.m. gathering at the vacant building at 5400 W. 63rd St. Many residents held signs urging Mayor Brandon Johnson to approve a plan to turn the building into a new police station. State officials have agreed to sell the property to the city for $1 if it is used as a police station, but Johnson is pushing for an ordinance limiting its use to “storage, maintenance, and operation of police vehicles and aircraft.”
Chicago Chief Operating Officer John Roberson has been quoted as saying that due to its location on the perimeter of Midway Airport, the site could only be used for aviation or aeronautical purposes. However, local officials and residents are skeptical of that claim.
Ald. Marty Quinn (13th) has spearheaded efforts to split the 8th District, the largest by population in the city and the second-largest by size. The district, home to more than 250,000 residents, stretches from Bell to Harlem avenues and from 39th to 87th streets.
“We started this journey back in January, and in the March 19 primary, over 88 percent of residents in the 13th and 23rd wards voted in favor of a new police district,” said Quinn. “Our residents show up. We do what is asked of us in the city. We attend CAPS meetings and clean up graffiti. Now it’s time for the mayor of Chicago to step up and give us what we deserve.”
State Rep. Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar (D-22nd) agreed. “It’s a choice. The voters made a choice, and they decided they wanted a new police district,” she said, asserting that Johnson should respect that choice.
Guerrero-Cuellar and state Sen. Mike Porfirio (D-11th), who was also present, were among the local legislators who drafted the state bill allowing the city to take possession of the building.
“It’s a two-foot putt. The mayor needs to do what’s right for the residents,” Quinn added.
“We want to be safe in our neighborhoods, go shopping, and attend church,” said Ald. Jeylu Gutierrez (14th).
“It’s not a fight against someone. It’s a fight for something,” said Ald. David Moore (17th), who serves the eastern end of the district. “We’ve been talking about this for years. The 8th District is just too large.”
Ald. Derrick Curtis (18th) echoed the sentiment, saying residents of his ward on the southwest side of the district have also lobbied for a new district to serve the area west of Pulaski for decades.
When asked if he had enough support in the City Council for the new district, Quinn noted that passing anything requires 26 votes. “I won’t be supporting [the mayor’s] budget if a new police station isn’t included in it,” he said.
“That’s a non-starter,” agreed Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd).
Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara recently said the proposal to split the district “is not feasible” due to the city’s chronic shortage of officers. “Where are they going to get the officers to staff it?” he asked.
“If we build it, they will come,” said Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), with a wry smile.
“Johnson isn’t for the Southwest Side. He isn’t for the Northwest Side,” Lopez asserted, warning that the next election is just over 800 days away and that residents will vote him out if he refuses to support the new station at the armory. “It’s not going to be a self-storage facility for the city like he wants.”
“It’s a step-by-step process,” Tabares said, confident that the project can be realized.
“It’s just a matter of fairness,” Quinn added. He pointed out that the neighboring Englewood (7th) District has 301 officers serving 69,000 residents, while the 8th District has only 259 officers for 250,000 people. “How is that fair?” he asked.
Their effort received some congressional support on Friday when a letter signed by U.S. Reps. Sean Casten and Chuy Garcia was sent to Mayor Johnson.
In the letter, Casten urged Johnson to convert the former National Guard Armory into a police precinct.
“Earlier this year, the Illinois State Legislature passed, and Governor Pritzker signed, House Bill 478, a law to transfer the former National Guard Armory at 5400 West 63rd Street to the city for the purpose of adding an additional city police precinct near the Midway airport. We urge you to use this space for its intended purpose and convert the armory into a police precinct,” the letter said.