THE SOUTH LOOP (WBBM Newsradio) -- A Chicago alderman says the new tenants of a former mattress store in the South Loop are helping make a busy area safer.
There's a lot happening in the area around Roosevelt and State, including three active CTA "L" stops, a Jewel-Osco and Trader Joe's, and a growing number of condo owners, renters and college students.
But Downtown Alderman Bill Conway says there's another constant presence: crime.
"There have been problems there going back decades, certainly including rampant drug-dealing," said Ald. Conway (34th Ward), who says that's why he called on Cook County Sheriff's police to partner with Chicago police in the First District to crack down on criminals.
That partnership has now led to sheriff's police opening a satellite office on the southeast corner of Roosevelt and State, in a storefront that once held a Mattress Firm store.
Ald. Conway said it's already paying dividends.
"Since then, they have made more than 100 arrests," he said. "Those 100 arrests have essentially led to seven arrests for drug dealing."
And he hopes that continued presence will change a troublesome trend in a busy corridor.