Business interests and police are doing their best to minimize attention to the slide into mob rule of the streets in Chicago’s nicest, most famous neighborhood. But shoppers, tourists, and ordinary working Joes and Janes can no longer take for granted the freedom to walk around Chicago’s upscale shopping district along North Michigan Avenue near the famous Water Tower. Four times this year, mobs of “urban youths” have taken to “wilding” and attacking random pedestrians while looting stores.
The latest instance happened on Tuesday. CBS Chicago reports:
A brawl involving dozens of teenagers broke out near Chicago’s Water Tower Place Tuesday night, prompting a flurry of 911 calls as the mob spread to Chicago Avenue and State Street.
The disturbance grew so large at one point that some businesses in Chicago’s busiest tourist district were forced to shut down
One person who witnessed the fight asked to stay anonymous, but told CBS that a group of about seven teenagers jumped a person walking down Chicago Avenue between Wabash Avenue and Rush Street.
How much longer are people going to feel free to spend a carefree hour or two browsing among the fine stores, restaurants and other establishments under these circumstances? How much longer are merchants going to continue to operate there, when:
Witnesses reported seeing teenagers and adults fighting at Chicago Avenue and State Street, prompting McDonald’s and Chick-Fil-A to lock up.
The police resorted to barricading the streets and forcing the crowd toward train stations to take them out of the area.
There is clear evidence that the merchants and real estate interests are seriously concerned, and trying to avoid public panic