Two Chicago aldermen wanted to incorporate private security services to the Wicker Park and Bucktown neighborhoods to supplement what police are already doing to control the increased number of crimes.

Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) and Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) planned to use the tax-payer surplus Special Service Area, or SSA, funds for the guards to help Chicago police patrol through the Northwest Side communities. On Friday, the aldermen and 14th District Police Commander Fabian Saldana asked the residents to gather for discussing the proposal.

Moreno said, "It's no different than snow removal, beautification or the other things that SSA does. I believe security is important, and it's important to augment it, not replace it,". Since May, nearly 1700 crimes from battery to arson were reported in the area, but only 200 of them were arrested.

Hopkins told, "We're trying to get a handle on that with this proposal". The proposed budget would use $100,000 of the $1.2 million SSA budget, for the hiring of off-duty and retired police officers for late-night patrols.

Some residents supported this initiative. Community resident Gretchen Vermuelen said, “it would be "egregious" to not do anything about the crime. It's a really good idea, but we need to think about standards and oversight," while others were not interested, about the idea. Steven Lipe said, “police service is a fundamental service that the city should be providing on its own. We should not be providing that," .

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By Prakriti Neogi