CBS 2's Walter Jacobson's Perspective on the Gangs in Chatham

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http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=73860@wbbm.dayport.com

Teen shot dead in Chatham alley

A Chicago police officer searches an alley near 79th and Cottage Grove where a teen was shot dead Thursday afternoon. (Mike Anzaldi/ for the Chicago Tribune)

A 17-year-old boy was shot and killed this afternoon in the Chatham neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, authorities said.

The shooting happened about 2:15 p.m. in an alley near East 78th Street and South Cottage Grove Avenue.

The teenager was shot several times by one of two people who confronted him, Chicago police Sgt. Antoinette Ursitti said.

The victim staggered behind a church near 78th and Cottage Grove and was taken to Jackson Park Hospital by ambulance, officials said.

The shooting may have been gang related, Ursitti said.

Police turned out in force in the neighborhood, with a swarm of officers in the area with M4 rifles, because, a police source said, the victim is the younger brother of a top member of the Gangster Disciples and police fear a retaliation shooting.

Officers were searching for the suspects in the area of 78th and South Champlain Avenue.

The 17-year-old boy -- identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's office as Jeremy Brooks -- was shot at 2:16 p.m. in an alley near the 700 block of East 78th Street, police News Affairs Officer Veejay Zala said.

Two gunmen approached the teen and one fired in his direction -- striking him multiple times, police said. The suspects fled after the shooting.

Brooks, of the 7800 block of South Ellis Avenue, was pronounced dead at 2:30 p.m. at Jackson Park Hospital and Medical Center, according to the medical examiner's office.

A large number of gang-enforcement officers were sent to investigate, police said. The slaying is believed to be gang-related and may have been a retaliation murder.

Per Alderman Lyle and representatives of the 6th district police this WAS NOT an act of random violence but the settlement of "Beef" over a female.

Put this web link into your browser for WGN-TV 9 News video:

http://www.wgntv.com/search/wgntv-teen-shot-killed-chatham-sep2,0,7661166.story

Blogger Wanted!!!

We, at the Chatham Avalon Park Community Council, are looking a blogger willing to report stories about our community to the viewing audience. If you know computers, Internet, and website architecture, join our blog as a contributor. For more information, please call the CAPCC Office at 1-866-272-1215 or visit the CAPCC Blog at chathamavalonparkcommunitycouncil.blogspot.com. You may also visit our website at http://www.capcc.org/.

CAPCC Wants Chatham Restaurant Review Critics!

We, at the Chatham Avalon Park Community Council, invite any of our residents to be restaurant review critics of our Chatham neighborhood restaurants and provide reviews of the local cuisines and report to this blog about their culinary experiences. For more information, please call the CAPCC Office at 1-866-272-1215 or visit the CAPCC Blog at chathamavalonparkcommunitycouncil.blogspot.com. You may also visit our website at http://www.capcc.org/. Also leave your comments on the comment line. Bon appetite!

Annual Labor Day Outdoor Cookout at the Chatham Food Market!!!

Stop by for the annual Labor Day Outdoor Cookout, from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m., Saturday, September 4, 2010, with great grocery shopping at Chatham Food Market, 327 East 79Th Street in the heart of the Chatham retail strip!

Man injured in East Chatham shooting

A 29-year-old man was shot in his leg this morning while he was talking on the street with friends in the East Chatham neighborhood.

Officers were alerted about 3:30 a.m. to the 7900 block of Ingleside Avenue, said Police News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak.

Preliminary reports said the man was outside talking with friends when the group heard shots and the victim realized he had been shot.

Soon after, the victim and his friends saw a green or blue Chevy fleeing the scene, Kubiak said.

The man was taken to Jackson Park Hospital and Medical Center where he was stablized, Kubiak said.

No one was in custody. Police are investigating.

Chatham residents to camp out to honor slain cop

In the weeks before he was gunned down across from Cole Park in the Chatham neighborhood, Chicago police Officer Thomas Wortham IV had been a leader in efforts to reclaim the park from encroaching trouble and violence.

Two shootings at the South Side park in the spring had shaken the sense of security long enjoyed by area residents and led officials to take down the basketball rims in an effort to stave off further trouble.

As head of the park's advisory board, Wortham worked to restore the park as a haven for children and families. On Friday, the slain officer's mission will be carried on with an overnight campout at the park in the 300 block of East 85th Street.

Set to sleep beneath city lights and the open sky are about 50 young people from the neighborhood. They will be joined by officials including Gresham District Cmdr. Eddie Johnson, 6th Ward Ald. Freddrenna Lyle and members of the military who served with Wortham.

"It will send the message that the park is safe," Johnson said.

Lyle said the campout is one way to show shaken community residents that they should continue to use the neighborhood's parks and amenities.

"We want to keep a sense of normalcy," the alderman said. "We're not giving up on (the kids) and we can't give up on the community either."

The campout will be a chance for the children of Chatham to experience sleeping outside and roasting s'mores -- new experiences for most of the kids who plan to attend.

"It will provide our children an opportunity to sleep under the stars," Lyle said.

It's also a way to make a dent in the violence that's been troubling the community, she said.

"You eat an elephant one bite at a time," the alderman said.

Wortham was shot in May outside his family home, just across from the park, by robbers who were trying to take his new motorcycle.

He was an Iraq veteran, and Lyle and Johnson both said they were impressed that Wortham's military peers are coming to lead the camping activities.

"This is what Tommy would have done," said Sgt. Canada Killam, who served with Wortham in the Wisconsin National Guard and was his college roommate. "Those of us who are left want to make sure just because he was stolen, his ideals are not."