This rusty sign regurgitates Chicago's prohibition on open alcohol. It is perched high on Chase and Damen and has historic symbolism. It is rises on a street just north from where local bums used to congregate with impunity.
A once popular Chinese Banquet Hall was demolished. The space made way for the Dubin Development just west of Summit Grocery.
The Hall had built-in tile shelves for plants or other displays. My recollection was that the local drunks, who liked to hang out here, planted themselves in these shelves as a convenient place to sit.
The buzzed would guzzle their brownbagged Colt 45 or Old English 40s within the cubicles. I don't recall if Police found the need to ruffle the feathers of these pissing human pidgeons. However, I did not miss the stench from the west side of Damen before the first owner's son sold the Banquet Hall to developers.
Now, we are left with this perched sign, little enforcement, and wandering alcoholics. Summit Grocery persists from its ancestral predecessors as does the Pantry. Our local Otis, or Otises, still occasionally waltzes through. As they dip, empty cans of Ice, Malt Liquor quarts and pints of Schmirnoff appear on the lawns and sidewalks.
Yet, this is an ongoing issue that has persisted for decades. What if Police reasonably cited with better discretion? How about all of those minor things like disturbing the peace, verbal assault, open liquor, underage drinking, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, not picking up the dog poop, and littering?
Would Otis Campbell and company actually begin to care and not escalate their insensitivity to 'deaf con 5?'
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