POLICE BLOTTER FOR MARCH

When I think about it, sometimes it's amazing to see the things that make it into the local police blotter. They say the blotter is just as popular as, say, the obituaries. And while we have yet to delve into that treasure trove of news, give us time.

From time to time, I forget I am not working for a publication covering a gadzillion number of towns like my last place of employment and my beat is just good old La Grange (and its sister city to the north when I feel the urge). S0 it doesn't seem too odd to report news like this little nugget I came across a few days ago:


Little Stevie Luna, not quite 16 months old, was rushed to Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital shortly before 4:30 a.m. March 3 after a 911 call from his home in the 500 block of South La Grange Road ... to undergo treatment for a high fever. Let's hope he's OK by now.
But with much thanks to that little-known federal statute called HIPPA, neither we -- or the paramedics who rescued him -- may never know.

Well, while we are NOT the OnLaGrange.com your grandmother so often waxed on about, we still have that hometown feel. The kind of website you can really wrap your hands around, but one that won't soak up water like a, er, wet sponge on your doorstep in the morning.

So, La Grange-ites (is that what we're called?), here goes the latest from Officer Friendly. Most of this is a week older (or more), but we promise to be more timely next time:

As usual, Good Samaritans come in all shapes and sizes. Some are just more observant or civic-minded than others.

Good Sam I
Sometimes Good Samaritans warn authorities of impending danger, in this case on not-so-solid ice. A passerby noticed the red "don't skate" flag up in the Gordon Park skating rink on the afternoon of March 1 and people out there skating. Since the Park District had nobody available to check it out, the police went and found no people and no damage to the ice.

Good Sam II
Sometimes, Good Samaritans tell the police about a crime -- committed by themselves! As went the case with Oakbrook Terrace resident James Dvorak. He reported, also on March 3, that his vehicle struck a barricade five days earlier at Ogden and Burlington avenues. Oops. Or the La Grange guy who admitted he struck another car in the Walgreens parking lot, 2 N. La Grange Road, shortly before noon March 1.

Good Sam III
And other times, it's just paranoid people being good neighbors and reporting crime they THINK is happening. Such as the "suspicious person" seen after dark Feb. 28 -- with a flashlight -- inside someone's neighbor's house in the 400 block of South Kensington Avenue that had previously burned down. Turned out to be the homeowner checking, albeit late, for measurements.

Good Sam IV
Then there's those who discover criminal behavior, sometimes on their own property. Such was the morning of March 2 for a building owner with property in the first block of 6th Avenue who found graffiti on his east wall scrawled by an unknown member of the Latin Kings. A day earlier, residents in the 900 block of South 6th and 7th avenues reported that initial graffiti was scrawled in blue paint on alley garages. On the morning of Feb. 27, Brookfield police reported finding Lenzi Avenue (Hodgkins) Latin Kings graffiti on a train box at the tri-village intersection of 47th Street and East Avenue (where La Grange and McCook also meet). On the morning of Feb. 26, graffiti was also found written on the south side wall of the new La Grange Public Library at Cossitt Avenue and La Grange Road.

And, occasionally, spouses turning in each other, such as the woman who used a cell phone on the night of Feb. 27 to accuse her intoxicated husband of reckless driving after he left their home in the 300 block of Bluff Avenue and headed northbound toward Ogden Avenue in his blue Nissan. Lucky for him, police never caught up with him. Let's hope he pulled over and fell fast asleep.

Under the heading "fights, riots, brawls," police also never located four Hispanic men with short hair spotted fighting at 2:30 a.m. Feb. 27 outside a silver vehicle at 6th Avenue and Plainfield Road.

And, of course, our men in blue, just doing their jobs. And not always meting out punishment for high crimes and misdemeanors but people being (allegedly) bad. Such was the case with Michael Bates, 51, a homeless man arrested on an outstanding warrant for allegedly resisting and obstructing a peace officer. Bates, picked up by Brookfield police and turned over to La Grange after 9 a.m. March 2, posted bond and has a Thursday, March 19 court date in Bridgeview.

An "unruly" subject at the St. Francis Xavier Church BEDS homeless shelter, 145 N. Waiola Ave., caused police to show up at about 10:20 p.m. March 2, to remove him from said premises. Seems the 41-year-old Maywood man had a disagreement with a site manager, but was assisted to find shelter elsewhere and escorted away, without incident.

That's not the half of it, though. What seems to be a growing epidemic (could it be the economy?) is the growing number of homeless showing up in police reports. Or is spring just finally here?

No room at the inn (or the parking deck)
Earlier that night, for instance, a 21-year-old homeless man showed up in the Police Department lobby seeking assistance. He was helped out and directed to the nearest food pantry. Two days earlier, a homeless female showed up asking for help at Walgreens, 2 N. La Grange Road, after 8 p.m. Feb. 28 and was sent to the BEDS shelter that night in Western Springs. At 8 a.m. the
previous day, a Public Works employee found a homeless man sleeping in the heated lobby area of the parking deck and he was gone when the cops showed up. The previous afternoon, at about 3:15 p.m. Feb. 26, the same worker found the same man sleeping in the upper level of the lobby. At 4:30 a.m. Feb. 26, another homeless man -- (get this) identifying himself as 51-year-old Woodrow Wilson -- was found sleeping under a counter in the lobby of a building in the 100 block of West Hillgrove Avenue.

That's not to be confused with the report of a homeless man, not 90 minutes later on the morning of Feb. 27, soliciting passing motorists for money. Village records found him to be legit: he was with a group which was issued a permit to solicit for a homeless womens shelter.

Idenity theft
The wife of a La Grange police officer reported her son was a victim of identity theft after receiving a service reminder in his name from a Honda dealer advising it was time for scheduled repairs. The dealer said they had no vehicle listed in his name. The woman told police she believes an ex-boyfriend may be responsible or may have bought a vehicle in her son's name.

Burglaries & thefts
Undisclosed items were reported stolen when a car window was broken as the vehicle was parked in the first block of North La Grange Road, it was reported at 12:30 p.m. March 1.

Later that day, a theft was reported at the 7-Eleven/Citgo food mart, 9600 Ogden (at East Avenue). The clerk originally thought the two kids stole juice and candy before running from the store, but the pilfered goods only turned out to be two bags of chips worth $2.

A sterling, turquoise and coral ring valued at $45 was reported stolen at about 3 p.m. Feb. 28 from a building in the 200 block of South Kensington Avenue. Earlier that day, a theft of parts from a business vehicle was reported in the 300 block of Washington Avenue, police said. That same morning, two businesses in the 1000 block of South La Grange Road were discovered closed but unlocked with no employees around, and burglar alarms triggered when customers walked in. Police contacted the store owners to assure the stores were properly secured.

Someone hit another vehicle in the parking deck, 80 S. 6th Ave., and took off on the night of Feb. 28. Earlier that afternoon, a La Grange teenager also found their vehicle struck by an unknown offender as they were parked outside of Blockbuster in La Grange Park.

One perusing the reports might discover lots of barking dogs. But at closer look, it might just be one noisy canine (or none at all), either in the 1000 block of Waiola or Spring avenues -- and one seemingly annoyed. In one report before 7 a.m. March 1, police investigating discovered a dog only being allowed outside when it has to relieve itself and not just whenever because its master is going through hospice and is thus unavailable. The previous three mornings also found police, same times, on the same block and no barking dogs.
.....Then there was the "dog at large" at 6:50 p.m. Feb. 28 at 7th and Harris avenues, who also was gone by the time police arrived.

This one sounds like it's taken right from a popular 1960s sit-com (the one about bubblin' crude): A resident in the 400 block of Blackstone Avenue reported at 9:55 a.m. March 1 "a black, oily substance" coming from their sump pump. Leave that one for the plumber, or Jethro.

Good News Last Dept.
Detective Dave Rohlicek conducted a tobacco compliance check on several village businesses on Feb. 25 and found all of them to be in compliance by not selling cigarettes to minors.


Rain, rain, go away
So you think this week's torrential downpours left us all high and dry. Take late February, when police, fire and public works crews were bailing folks out around the clock:

Feb. 27:
-78-year-old man from 600 block of South 6th Avenue refuses treatment after having trouble breathing when, at 12:45 a.m., water rises to above electrical outlets, Comed notified
-Resident from 1000 block of South Catherine Avenue feeling nauseous and dizzy, 5:40 a.m.,
after sewage backs up into basement

Feb. 26:
-Ogden Avenue bridge shut down due to standing water at 8:30 p.m.
-flooding at 1100 S. Spring Ave.
-flooding along 48th Street, at Ashland Avenue & La Grange Road
-flooding at Malden & Ogden avenues
-flooding at Franklin & Tilden avenues
-flooding at 100 N. Peck Ave. and basements, street in 200 block
-flooding at Catherine & Maple avenues
-flooding at 53rd Street & Spring Avenue
-flooding at 500 S. Madison
-flooding on street in front of house at 700 S. Kensington Ave.
-flooding in 200 block of South 8th Avenue
-flooding in 800 block of Community Drive
-flooding in 700 block of South Madison Avenue
-flooding at Edgewood & Dirksen avenues
-flooding near 52nd Street & Brainard Avenue
-flooding at 47th Street & East Avenue
-people trying to free vehicle trapped in water, 800 S. Brainard Ave.
-basement flooding in 800 block of South Spring Avenue
-flooding in 500 block of South Sunset Avenue
-basement flooded at 218 W. Harris Ave.
-one foot of water in basement at Lorraine & Harris
-flooding at 600 Glenwood Lane
-vehicle stuck in water, 328 E. Calendar Ave.
-flooding in house, coming up through toilet, 609 S. Catherine Ave.
-Indiana Harbor Railroad gate stuck down east of Bluff at Lincoln Avenue
-basement flooding at 439 S. Madison Ave.
-smell of smoke in house, 3824 Rosemear, Brookfield

AND THAT'S JUST THE PEOPLE WHO CALLED.
Hat's off to all those who helped bail everyone else out -- this and last time!