“The issue at hand is we don’t see these murders in Lincoln Park. We don’t see this on the Magnificent Mile,” the Rev. Gregg Greer said. That's because Lincoln Park is a neighborhood where 1-bedroom apartments will set you back $2,000/month, and a house, even a tiny one, runs in the millions of dollars. The crime rate there is quite low. Rev. Greer is talking about the South and West sides - both are incredibly impoverished and have a serious lack of employment or even social opportunities for residents there. The crime rate, mostly due to gang activity which is a result of the aforementioned causes, is astronomical. I worked on the West Side in Loss Prevention. In the span of 3 years I apprehended over 5,000 people who were stealing, and all of whom fought with me. I have been stabbed once, cut more times than I can even count (my hands are all scarred up), and have been shot at and nearly killed 7 times - once by an 8 year-old boy, again, a gang member. He nearly blew my head off. After all that gun violence I can tell you that when bullets go past your head they sound like bees. And, you can actually see them if you're far away enough, maybe a block or so from the shooter. Bullets look like gray streaks going through the air. I saw a mother and her baby getting shot at; how mom instinctively shielded her baby with her own body. I held an older Hispanic man in my hands as he died - he was beaten by gang member with baseball bats, after which they stole his wallet. They killed him for $30.00. I saw a man dressed in all white that was covered with red paint - like it was splashed all over him. As he walked he left a trail of pain behind him, and I got angry at him, like, "what's this guy's problem, leaving a huge sloppy mess like that". I then watched as he fell forward, and when he struck the floor the red paint splashed all over the place. I went up to him only to see his clothes were covered in stab marks. I turned him over, and he was already dead from blood loss. He had been stabbed, presumably by gang member, around 75 times. I used to always check the back of the store for anything unusual - I'd follow my nose because I'd always find dead bodies back there. One body of a teenage boy was hog-tied (behind his back), blindfolded, and gagged, and had been beaten and stabbed to death - after which he was thrown in the trash. Dead homeless men and heroin addicts were also common finds. The prostitutes would come and go - they'd wash up in our bathroom between clients - then later you'd see them smoking crack or shooting heroin. These women led a very risky lifestyle, and often would wind up deceased after about 9 months of being on the street. Employees of the store were sexually assaulted in our parking lot on a regular basis. People were mugged for their groceries. One elderly woman (around 85 years old) was attacked by a gang who beat her so badly they knocked out most of her teeth - they then robbed her of her measly $10.00. I caught one of the offenders who at first refused to talk to me about who the others involved were But after some 'Chicago Persuasion', I convinced him to come around to my side of things and give up the requested information. I was slashed by a homeless 10 year-old kid; he nearly cut my finger off with a long-blade box cutter that he pulled on me. One man was attacked in the parking lot as he walked to his car - he was robbed of his groceries and his wallet. The suspect beat him senseless, and then ran into our store and hid. With the help of the Chicago police we secured every door, and found him hiding in a box in the cooler. The victim asked the police officers and I if he could just have 5 minutes alone with the criminal - and we all agreed that would probably be a good idea. We had to call an ambulance for the suspect after that. Street justice. I could go on and on and on, but the reality is that it's seriously, seriously doubtful there is any serial killer in Chicago, though I admire the Reverend's efforts to draw attention to the terrible problem of violence and murder in the city's poor and rough neighborhoods, but to me, having lived here for ages and having been in LE and having many friends who are CPD, his accounts seem dramatized. The areas where these women lived/worked/and were found are very dangerous - and unless you've lived there or worked there you have no idea. NO idea at all; humanity can get really, really bad....
