There is an ongoing fight over a former National Guard armory on Chicago’s Southwest Side. It was slated to become a new police station, but Mayor Brandon Johnson apparently has other plans for the building.
The disagreement is frustrating some lawmakers and others living in the community.
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For years, the population has exploded on the city’s far Southwest Side. The neighborhoods are not too far from Midway airport. Yet, there is one police district for over 250,000 residents.
“There’s 84 schools in the 8th District, 23 square miles. Our officer-per-resident ratio is nine officers per 10,000; it’s the worst in the city,” 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn said.
Southwest Side elected officials say the backlog for police calls in the 8th District has more than doubled in the past four years. They say the need is now for another police district. The solution is the old National Guard armory building that has been sitting empty for years.