Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st Ward) speaks to East Village Association members June 13, 2022. Weekend gunfire turned a scheduled meeting with Ald. Daniel LaSpata into an hourlong discussion of public safety. Residents pressed the alderman on police response to calls and his own response to violent crime. The June 13 meeting was streamed on EVA's Facebook page . La Spata stated that the number of aggravated batteries and carjackings had fallen in East Village's two beats but a rise of robberies had been "frustrating." In weekly calls with 12th District Cmdr. Beth Giltmier, La Spata said he pushed for Chicago Avenue foot patrols. Residents asked if more street cameras would be installed in the ward, noting that early morning shots fired on their block two days before had no police response for more than an hour. La Spata said cameras were funded from the ward's discretionary "menu money" but he would not commit to funding cameras without consulting Giltmi...
Under the city's handbill ordinance, fliers can be distributed house to house if they include the business license number. In setting the record straight at tonight's East Village Association meeting, 1st Ward aide Ronda Locke acknowledged that most fliers don't include that information. Also, ads should not block the locks on doors and gates. Typically, fliers hung on doorknobs do exactly that. Nonetheless, Locke says the 2007 city ordinance is not as sweeping as the draft that 1st Ward Ald. Manny Flores introduced at the urging of the East Village Garden Club's Jeanne Felknor. And in practice, the fines of $200 to $1,000 are not imposed. "Streets & Sanitation will only go after non-compliance if it is very blatantly excessive," Locke said. "If. however, you post something that says 'No Soliciting' at the entrance, the handbills cannot be distributed."