'Extremely dangerous': West Lawn residents, alderman call for change amid disruptive drag racing
'My concern is that I'm not going to make it home one night after work,' one resident said.
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The sounds, the antics, the speed of recent gatherings in West Lawn has some eager for change.
"They are ignoring stop lights stop signs they know where to go so we need to keep pushing the button to keep them going other places away from here," said Eddie Guillen of West Lawn Neighborhood Watch.
Resident Lisa Dissette also weighed in.
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"They have a red light I'm trying to get across and they are flying through so my concern is that I'm not going to make it home one night after work because of the irresponsibility of these drivers," Dissette said.
On Tuesday, some residents met at the parking lot at 71st and Pulaski. It has scars of hot car wheels on pavement.
"I can't tell you the number of times I've been woken up 1:30, 2:30 in the morning and sometimes it goes on for almost two hours," said resident Pat Glatz.
Some aldermen came to the lot, urging a proposed ordinance that would allow police to impound cars involved with the drag racing and drifting be approved Wednesday in the city council.
"It's very, very dangerous. We're not only trying to protect the lives of our constituents, but we're trying to protect your life, and your audience's lives. So we're asking and pleading that you find a new hobby," said 18th Ward Alderman Derrick G. Curtis.
All this came after a video of drifting cars in the West Loop surfaced.
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The activity at 71st and Pulaski has calmed down with a new fence and barricades, residents said. They added that the activity has shifted a little south in the Ford City Mall parking lots, where rings and debris remain. It may be from a stunt in which cars do tricks inside a ring of fire.
"Just the people alone who are doing these stunts and the people standing around watching the stunts; it's extremely dangerous," said CPD 8th District Beat Facilitator Barb Ziegler.
The residents ABC7 spoke with said these are not just tricks. They fear it is activity that will cause harm and they hope participants would think twice if they could lose their cars.
