Lakeview - News, Photos and More on the Windy Citizen

With less lawn, city dwellers are even more attached to their bit of grass.

“I think especially in the city, it brings them back to some of their childhood,” said Chris Shannon, who lives in Chicago’s Lake View neighborhood.

“I know I grew up in a house that had a much bigger lawn, a couple acres, out in New York. So for me, it was really important to have a nice little piece of grass to hang out on.”

“Plus I have a daughter who runs around and loves it,” he added.

Just after 6:30 p.m.Tuesday, Moby fans had already started a line outside the Metro’s Smart Bar to catch a secret (and free) DJ set from the dance music guru. Meanwhile, Atmosphere, the underground hip-hop sensation from Minneapolis, was kicking off its Paint Your City Gold tour with the first of two sold out shows inside the Metro. (Photos by Jim Collins)

Lorenzo Rowell spent the early part of his 20s living at a homeless shelter. He now lives in a college dorm.

Now in his second semester at Chicago State University, the 22-year-old is working to get a degree that will allow him to get a good job.

Rowell is like many youths struggling with homelessness who see education as a way out of their current circumstances.

When Asian longhorned beetles were discovered in Ravenswood in 1998, George Toma was 4.

"I just saw guys with chainsaws all around," said Toma, now 14. "I wasn't sure what was going on."

Soon, he knew. All of the trees on his block were gone.

So when Ald. Gene Schulter (47th) announced Thursday that the pesky, tree-killing bug officially has been eradicated from Illinois, Toma and his neighbors cheered.

Move aside, Bonnie and Clyde. Modern-day desperados could put Chicago on pace for another record year of bank robberies.

Instead of career robbers, people from many walks of life are gravitating to robbery, ranging from drug addicts to employed middle-class individuals, according to Gregory Scott, professor of sociology at DePaul University.

"We're coming to the end of the really well-plotted, well-organized bank robbery that results from long-term strategic planning. Now we're talking about lower-level bank robberies," he said.

In addition, Scott said, the new breed of robbers is more diverse than the old guard.

According to the FBI, 9,010 people were involved in 7,272 bank robberies nationwide in 2006. Black males executed 46 percent of robberies nationwide, white males 36 percent, and women only 6 percent. Of these robbers, the FBI identified 3,584 people; 46 percent were narcotics users and 22 percent were previously convicted for bank robbery, bank burglary, or bank larceny.

Today's robbers are spontaneous and opportunistic, according to a 2007 study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice, which identified three factors contributing to rising robbery rates: more bank outlets and extended hours creating greater opportunities, robbers' perceptions of banks as a lucrative target and because robberies are usually fast, low risk crimes.

After decades of fewer than 100 robberies per year, robberies in the Chicago metropolitan area shot up in the mid-1990s. In 2006, the number of robberies peaked at 284, more than in the entire state of Florida.

The Chicago office of the FBI collects bank robbery data for the five-county area surrounding Chicago - Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will counties. As of March 12, there were 52 bank robberies in the area, on par with numbers for the same 10-week period in 2007. The total robbery tally for 2007 came in at 226, down 26 percent from 2006.

By extrapolating the first several weeks of robbery activity for the remainder of 2008, "we could be on pace for another record year," said Ross Rice, a spokesman in the FBI's Chicago office.

Illinois is not the only state grappling with higher robbery rates. Nationwide, a new era of bank robbery is on the rise - and banks are paying the price.

In 2006, robbers hit 6,985 federally insured financial institutions, stealing a total of $72.7 million, of which law enforcement recovered $11.2 million. Although 90 percent of robberies are a "success," according to the Department of Justice study, nearly 60 percent of robbers are eventually caught.

And robbers face big risks for a typically small reward. For an average take of $2,000 to $3,000 per robbery in the Chicago area, robbers face federal punishment of up to 20 years in prison.

To the non-robber, these risks may be too much, but Scott said some robbers may not even be aware of the how little they'll nab or how long they'll sit in prison if convicted.

"When people reach a point of fiscal desperation, they're often not weighing the costs and benefits," Scott said.

In addition, security measures apparently do little to deter robbers. Of the 7,272 robberies or attempted robberies nationwide in 2006, 98 percent of victim institutions had an alarm system and/or surveillance cameras.

One man accused of robbing seven Indiana banks told a newspaper earlier this month that his only deterrent to robbing banks was security guards. However, fewer than 10 percent of banks robbed in 2006 had a guard on duty.

After two robberies at a North LaSalle Street branch of Builders Bank, president Chas Hall said the bank decided to hire a guard for that location. He said the bank took this additional security measure in part to deter would-be robbers, but mostly to provide peace of mind to the bank's employees.

"We don't want that to happen to our employees again," Hall said.

But if a recession is on the way, could employees like Hall's be subjected to the desperate measures of desperate robbers again? Not necessarily.

There is no direct correlation between crime and unemployment according to Scott, though economic crime rates may move with changes in the economy.

"When things change fast - unemployment suddenly spikes or it suddenly goes down - people are thrown into what sociologists call anomie," Scott said.

Anomie is marked by instability and a lack of societal norms and Scott said individuals are more likely to take greater risks during such periods.

In addition, robbery was on the rise even before the r-word was on everyone's lips. Rather, rising robbery rates may just be a by-product of changes in the banking industry.

Price said the FBI does not interpret robbery data, but said the most commonly touted hypothesis for rising robbery rates is the proliferation of branch banking.

"The theory is that this creates a greater opportunity for people who are so inclined," he said.

This theory sticks with Scott. As financial institutions have become more decentralized, he said, banks have become more accessible to consumers, but at the expense of becoming more accessible to robbers.

"This is a technological innovation that has legitimate pro-social goals, but . the underbelly of greater accessibility is greater vulnerability," Scott said. "Banks are far more susceptible to being robbed and they're easier to rob."

But even as banks continue to expand, they are fighting back, according to Debbie Jemison, spokeswoman for the Illinois Bankers Association.

"Banks are doing everything they can to protect their employees and customers," Jemison said.

She said several security measures thwart would-be robbers, including security guards, bank fraud task force programs, and participation in the association's thumbprint signature program and FRAUD-NET.

The thumbprint signature program requires non-account holders to provide an inkless impression of their thumbprints for certain transactions. Meanwhile, FRAUD-NET is an online collaboration for banks to share information about robberies with other financial institutions and law enforcement agencies.

Within minutes of a robbery, for example, a bank can electronically disperse a physical description and information about the robber's modus operandi to other banks in the network and law enforcement officials.

In addition, many Illinois banks are participating in a program to combat rising robbery rates, the "No Hats, No Hoods, No Sunglasses" program. The bankers association launched the program in 2006--security guards ask people entering the bank to remove hats, hoods or sunglasses-- as an inexpensive way for banks to deter so-called "note job" robberies, in which a person hands a note to a teller demanding money. In 2006, more than half of robbers demanded money using a note.

Beyond the take, there are other costs to robberies, according to Hall, the Builders Bank president.

"The biggest cost [of a robbery] is that is such a traumatic experience for our employees," Hall said.

Hall said the emotional cost far outweighs any financial cost and said banks should be very appreciative of their tellers.

Jemison of the Illinois Bankers Association agrees. "There is definitely a psychological cost," both for employees and customers, she said. If a bank is a robbed, it will often provide a program for affected employees and customers. And the effects of a robbery are felt even after the robber has fled.

Working with the FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force, victim banks provide valuable information to law enforcement to catch serial robbers - people who have committed at least three robberies.

And bankers are always looking for ways to keep robbers at bay, according to Jemison.

"Banks constantly review their procedures to better thwart robberies from occurring," she said.

But Scott, of DePaul, is not optimistic that these efforts are working yet. While he expects robberies to reach a saturation point, he said some security measures - such as surveillance cameras - do not effectively deter criminals.

Mayor Daley is expected to release a plan Wednesday to assist Chicagoans who are undergoing foreclosure, according to Ald. Ed Smith (28th).

Smith had no details on the plan, and the mayor's office had not released the mayor's schedule.

Foreclosures increased in Chicago by 46 percent from 2006 to 2007. What's worse is that the city thus far has done very little to help.

According to a study done by the National Training and Information Center, the number of new foreclosures in Chicago in 2007 was more than 14,000. The city has been able to help about 1,200 people, according to Molly Sullivan at the Department of Housing.

The neighborhoods with the highest numbers of new foreclosures were concentrated on the South and Southwest sides. West Englewood ranked highest with more than 220 foreclosures per square mile, more than 50 more than the next highest rank neighborhood, West Garfield Park.

Sullivan says the city is targeting neighborhoods at risk for foreclosure with outreach workshops. The workshops, which she said are attended by several hundred people on average, put homeowners in touch with their banks. The lenders can then assist about half of the people they meet with.

The city does not fund any programs to assist homeowners and some aldermen seem less than aware of the problems afflicting their wards.

Martha Ramos, a representative for Ald. Rey Colon (35th), said she was unaware of a high or increased foreclosure rate in the Logan Square neighborhood. According to the NTIC study, Logan Square's foreclosure rate has more than doubled between 2006 and 2007.

Sullivan says Logan Square residents would be helped by outreach programs in targeted neighborhoods such as Humboldt Park.

Smith said that "[foreclosure] is a major concern and it's not only hurting my ward . but the whole world is hurting from these foreclosures." He added that his office assists those who come with concerns and has contacted lenders in the past with requests to extend repayment periods or cut interest rates.

Sullivan contends that the majority of people in foreclosure don't seek help and thus the city cannot assist them. She added that the city funds non-profit counseling centers through which homeowners in foreclosure can go for free advice.

The only Chicago neighborhood with less than 10 foreclosures was Armour Square. Even trendy Lakeview had a foreclosure rate that almost doubled in 2007, with 126 new foreclosures last year.

MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

Don't think of dark, sleazy smut peddlers in run-down areas of town. The owners and employees of a new generation of self-described sex toy "boutiques" are marketing their wares as tools of sexual health and empowerment.

"We're more than a sex shop. We're about making women feel good," says Cheryl Sloane, co-owner of The Letter G Inc., which runs G Boutique, a lingerie and sex toy store in Wicker Park.

Sloane claims that her business grew 30 percent a year between 2002 and 2005, though sales have hit a plateau in the past two years. Plans are in the works to expand G Boutique's online presence at boutiqueg.com, says Sloane.

Sex shops in the Chicago area have benefited from a municipal code that does not explicitly mention sex toys. The language is vague, prohibiting some practices such as prostitution but leaving much else to community standards of decency. This has provided a way for sex shops to open in more centralized locations.

Dr. Laura Berman, director of the Berman Center, a sexual health clinic, sees the opening of stores like the G Boutique as part of a national trend she calls the "final frontier of the women's movement - stepping up and believing they have a right to a good sex life."

Hilda Hutcherson, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, sees the growth of female-oriented sex shops as an extension of what she calls the "Viagra movement".

"It became easier for men to talk about their sexual problems and easier for women to talk about theirs," says Hutcherson. "We realized it's good to be talking about it."

Berman prescribes a visit to a sex shop as part of her client's therapy. While she practiced in Los Angeles, she wrote out sex toy "prescriptions" for female clients. Though she recommends that clients pay an actual visit to a store, she concedes that Web sites are a good start for the faint of heart.

Online sales have allowed area sex shops like The Pleasure Chest Ltd. in Lakeview to increase sales without having to increase space in their brick-and- mortar stores. The Pleasure Chest revamped its image when it moved from Broadway to its current location on Lincoln Avenue.

Pleasure Chest owner Brian Robinson says most of the company's growth stems from online orders.

Sex boutiques are also marketing their own brands. Berman has a line of sex toys euphemistically described as "intimate accessories."

Tulip, a sex shop in Lakeview and Andersonville owned by Smart Girl Squared Inc., carries a line of house brand skin products and candles. The Pleasure Chest is trying to break into the hotel market by stocking minibars with a kit containing sex toys, condoms and lubricant.

While these stores see themselves as purveyors of sexual health, the communities into which they settled were less than enthusiastic at the outset.

"Daily, I was talking to mobs of people," says David Ballows, national manager of operations for The Pleasure Chest.

Tulip's initial window display featuring a painting of a naked man next to a chalkboard saying "masturbation"produced a community uproar that was short-lived but had a lasting effect on the store. Alease dispute stemming from the window display has engendered legal expenses large enough to deny the store a profit.

"I was making more in corporate America than I ever will here," says owner Keely Dinero, also known as Keely Newman. Dinero quit a six-figure job at Citigroup Inc. to open Tulip, the fruition of a business strategy she drew up while getting her MBA at the University of Chicago. She plans on moving to a new location at the end of her five-year lease.

Though Dinero contends she was trying to be "open, not provocative", Bennett Lawson, deputy alderman of the 44th ward,doesn't buy it. "I think part of her whole business plan is to be provocative," he says.