There are calls for quicker police response after mobs of teens seriously injured a man last weekend and then, an alderman says, came here to the Mag Mile jumping on cars and intimidating shoppers.
Neighbors say they don’t feel safe and one restaurant manager nearby told me off-camera she locked the doors when she saw dozens of teens fighting.
"I’ve lived here all my life," said Andre Baker. "I’ve never seen this kind of madness."
Neighbors worry about recent violent mobs of youths who come to River North on the Red Line.
"When I hear about violence in this area and this intersection it makes me more nervous," said Paul Brinckerhoff.
Police responded to about 50 teens fighting last Saturday here at the corner of State and Chicago.
"The punks are coming everywhere," Brinckerhoff said. "They seem to, no area’s really safe."
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Earlier that same evening nearby on Lake Shore Drive a couple dozen teens beat up a man walking with his girlfriend.
Ald. Brian Hopkins called police days later when the victim’s parents say the cops never filed a report of the attack.
"They were leaving beach to go downtown when the unprovoked attack happened," he said. "I don’t have explanation for what went wrong. Police are looking into that."
While some want more police, others say there’s not much officers can’t do much to stop juveniles.
"What are you going to do, call their parents? Lock them up?" Baker asked. "They’re out there again within an hour or two."
Hopkins says police have leads on the teens who beat up the man on Lake Shore Drive.
That man is now out of intensive care.
