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Maine South High School
Farmer's Field—the problem that nobody wants to face ,
by Lisa Kosmicki
Touhy Avenue
On the southeast comer of Dee and Devon, within sight of Maine South, lies a plot of land. The land is open; the land is not heavily guarded; the land does not "belong" to anyone. In the view of many, this plot of land, popularly called Farmer's Field, has no real assigned name or obvious purpose except to cause trouble. The plot is an undeveloped forest preserve—there are no established foot trails or bridle paths, no shelters or pavilions, no vehicle entrance for the public. Because it is an area in which the public is not made
...no one wants to believe the crime reports...
Special investigative report particularly welcome, there is no problem with safety or crime in the forest, right? Not necessarily. The land, which is legally under Cook County jurisdiction and protection, is a hangout for teens to loiter and drink. However, when questioned about the area, the Cook County Forest Preserve office states that generally, the area is crime-free: no homicides or criminal assault cases came to the mind of Chief Castans of the Cook County Forest Preserve when he was asked about the crime in the area. Therefore, the land is not heavily patrolled. The average preserve under Cook County jurisdiction, for example Dam #4, directly across Dee Road from Maine South, belongs to a district that has assigned to it 14 patrol officers. Squad cars, snowmobiles, motorcycles, horseback officers, and foot patrol officer's scan the area for suspicious conduct generally when they are in the area. The office does not have one car specifically designated to patrol the Farmer's Field land.
night before. "The residents are disturbed by the wild parties," says senior Joe Curcio, who lives near the field area. The parties can be heard late into the night, punctuated by the sound of police sirens as patrol cars chase offenders on the side streets adjacent to the Field. During the summer, some residents, such as the Sheehans, find automobile skid marks on their front lawns. The McCabe family also livesrightoff of the forest preserve; their back yard leads directly into the forest within sight of Dee Road.
Possibly because of the affluence of Park Ridge, no one wants to believe the crime reports that do occur as a result of activity in the unpatrolled area. Cook County states that the major activities in that area are the teen drug/alcohol parties, motorbikes, and trespassers that frequent the empty land. The Forest Preserve District reasons that, because the area is undeveloped and access-proof, with no vehicle parking areas, there should be no problem with safety or crime. But they cannot explain the complaints from residents of the Field area, such as the Metzingers, who have awakened Saturday mornings to see beer cans tossed all over the sueei from the wild party in the preserve the
Senior Heather McCabe has mixed feelings about living so close to the Field. She likes "to see the little foxes and deer," but her parents "don't like anyone going into the back yard after dark. Anyone could be out there." She thinks it's scary to live by an openfieldwhen the area has no protection. "Just because there's no place to park [by the field] doesn't mean people don't walk through," says Heather. Approximately two years ago, a man with a powerful handgun haphazardly shot holes in trees, traffic signs, and a house near the McCabes'. The bullet went through an outer wall of the house, an inner wall, and lodged in a water pipe. While many incidents go unreported, many others are reported to officials. The Park Ridge police have on file a record of criminal assault in the area, including a recent aggravated sexual assault. None of the events, however, have created enough of an impact to come to the mind of Forest Preserve Chief Castans. Clearly, the logic of the Forest Preserve District is a sword that cuts both ways. The inaccessibility that should prohibit the activities of law breakers can also prohibit the activities of law enforcers. For their part, the lawbreakers have found that "inaccessibility" not a hindrance, but a blessing. And that, at least for now, is the end of the story.