The other night, my husband and I were watching a movie and our attention was interrupted by a series of "shrieks" outside our back door which I immediately recognized as sirens.
I got up to look and saw at least three firetrucks, five, Elgin PD squad cars, and a couple of ambulances. At least that amount.
Immediately, I knew where they were going, or, had a good idea as the same fleet of first responders made the same trek to the exact location a couple of weeks prior.
It was the apartment complex in the Blackhawk neighborhood where two men died and five people were hospitalized after a shooting in April of this year.
There always seems to be something going on at this complex, most of it noisy and disruptive. Some of its residents see nothing wrong with blowing off fireworks before, during and long after a holiday.
Whatever occurred there the other night, it had to be a big deal as, I referenced, there was a long stream of police, firetrucks and ETs responding.
But, responding to what? And that's what I'd like to know. In fact, as a longtime Elgin resident and tax payer, I believe it's my right to know.
In order to find out just that, I called the Elgin Police Department the next morning and asked the cop who answered what transpired at the complex.
She wouldn't tell me. Instead, she sidestepped, avoided answering and instead, told me that if the safety of the neighborhood was threatened, the residents would be alerted.
I asked her how they would achieve that.
Her answer? "We'd go door to door."
Yeah. I'm sure that would happen.
In my opinion, that's not good enough. If the residents who live in the vicinity of a "hot spot," don't deserve to know what's going on around their homes in order to preserve the safety of their families, then who does?
I'd love your opinion on this. And, thanks for reading.
Sherry McGuinn, 2022. All rights reserved.
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