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Chicago, IL — Joined by 23rd District Chicago Police Department (CPD) Commander Kathy Boehmer and 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney (D), two separate walks held in the late night hours of Friday drew about 150 supporters of the Lakeview community.

The walks, held at midnight and 2:00 a.m., toured the streets and alleys along and adjacent to Halsted Street between Belmont and Waveland, and were organized in response to several recent violent muggings in the Lincoln Park and Lakeview neighborhoods.

"Tonight is not the first time we have marched, but it needs to be a recurring theme" said Tunney. "This is our representation of what CAPS really should be. Engaging the community, understanding the cultural differences and diversity, not just in the LGBT community but the city at large is really an interesting experiment."

Boehmer offered: "The robberies are obviously a crime of opportunity" and by walking through the darker streets and alleys "we're filling it with people, making less opportunity for someone to come out there and attack."

Long time Lakeview business owner and resident Ben Allen said "I don't know if any one thing is going to work. This is an element toward perhaps a solution. The solution has to be a cooperation of the businesses, the government, the neighborhood and I think as long as we can achieve that down the road that something can be done."

"Obviously the Supreme Court has made it quite clear that people have the right to be in neighborhoods that they don't live in and they have a right to be on the streets, so we're not trying to deny people rights, but we are trying to make people more comfortable and definitely when it comes to safety issues we definitely want to take action and now it has become a safety issue," Allen added.

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