City launches Operation Clean in Back of the Yards weeks after woman found dead in trash bin

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Three weeks after the body of a woman was discovered in a trash bin in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood, city agencies coordinated a large-scale cleanup effort in the area as part of Operation Clean.

The Chicago Police Department joined several city departments Friday in the neighborhood near 54th Street and Union Avenue to address service requests and complete community improvement projects.

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Officials said multiple agencies worked throughout the area to respond to residents' concerns and perform needed maintenance.

"It's very good to see the group out here," said Cmdr. Joseph Mark of the Chicago Police Department's 9th District. "The day is positive the weather is great and it just shows the collaboration with the community and all the city services."

Debbie DeLopez, deputy commissioner of the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation, said the effort was aimed at improving conditions in the neighborhood.

"I'm very prideful when we can make a difference in a community and leave it better than we found it," DeLopez said.

Craig Turner, first deputy commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation, said the work provides an opportunity for both city employees and residents to engage with one another.

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"It's good to be a part of, you know, making a positive change and also being in areas where we can hear and, and the people can be seen," Turner said.

The cleanup comes weeks after the body of Zenobia Weatherspoon was found in a trash bin in an alley behind 54th Street on July 11. Weatherspoon lived nearby and was part of a well-known family in the neighborhood.

Ald. Stephanie Coleman said she had requested an Operation Clean initiative before the Fourth of July while Weatherspoon was missing, but the effort was postponed because of storm cleanup operations.

"Unfortunately out of pain you see what support looks like," Coleman said.

She added, "A clean community is a safe community, and a safe community is a better community. We want better. We deserve better. And that is, as alderman, I demand better."

Residents said a streetlight on 54th Street had been out for more than a year. Some expressed mixed feelings about seeing city resources deployed only after Weatherspoon's death.

"It's sad that something like this to happen for the neighborhood to be recognized," resident Kenneth Perkins said. "This should have been taken care of even before a tragedy like this even happened."

Other residents said Weatherspoon would have supported the cleanup effort had she been alive.

"I'm glad somebody paying attention some phones get ring I see I'm glad to get this type of reaction," resident Lincoln Martin said.

Weatherspoon's death remains under investigation.

Coleman said she has requested additional targeted cleanup projects and hopes Friday's Operation Clean will be the first of eight such efforts in the area. She and other residents said they hope the work will lead to a safer neighborhood.