CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Elected officials from Chicago's Southwest Side, including state senators and representatives and Alderpersons, are joining community groups in pushing for a new police district.
They gathered at a community meeting at the Clearing Branch library. 13th Ward Alderman Marty Quinn is leading the effort to get the district split in half.
"To say we are overdue for more police support is an understatement," he said. "The 8th District ranks number one for all crimes committed across the city of Chicago. The 8th District is the biggest and busiest district in the city."
Quinn said it also has ten officers for every 10,000 residents, which is the lowest officer-to-resident ratio of any district.
Police response times are low, but Quinn said that's not the officers' fault.
"When you call for help in the scariest moment of your life, we want to make sure that somebody's there to help as quickly as possible," said Alderwoman Silvana of the 23rd ward.
Alderman Ray Lopez, from the 15th Ward, also weighed in.
"I swear we've been having this conversation for 45 years now. It's long overdue, because the southwest side isn't just under-staffed, its under-policed," he said.
"We don't have the resources to keep over a quarter of a million people safe on this side of town. That is unacceptable."
The estimated cost of a new district station is about $30 million, Quinn said.
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