Homeowners Clean Up Neighborhood

WHEELING, IL - After 15-year-old Chavario White was shot and killed near his home at the Colonial subdivision in 2006, residents of the Wheeling townhouse complex decided they needed to take some action. The area had become known for its crime and gang activity, but the killing of White, a Buffalo Grove High School student and a nice kid according to friends and family, pushed residents into action. Residents who were sick of the status quo took up the challenge to reform.

Police and residents met at a neighborhood watch picnic last year to put together a plan of attack, and the homeowner's association was also resurrected. One had been formed three years ago, but it fell apart a year later. "If none of the homeowners wanted to help the police, there's nothing the police can really do," said Ellen Barnes, secretary of the association. She has lived on Colonial Drive for more than four years.

But this group was different from the one that quickly collapsed two years ago. It took action right away - installing cameras all over the subdivision paid for by Colonial residents' association fees. The cameras send images directly to the police department so that they can monitor crime 24 hours a day. More lights were also put into the parking lot to curb crime. "We had a lot of issues with cars being broken into and vandalism and graffiti," Barnes said.

Residents set up a citizen's patrol where at least two people would walk around the 12 buildings together to make sure nothing suspicious was going on. "It's been really helpful," said Officer Scott Laverd, who has been working with the residents. "They make notes and share them with us." The police have always put time into monitoring Colonial, Laverd said, but there's only so much police can do. "We just can't do it alone," he said. "We absolutely need the input."

The police have been sending patrols on bicycles instead of in cars so officers are more accessible and easier to communicate with. Wheeling police also signed a contract with the association that allows them to aggressively pursue trespassers. The police have been warning anyone who is not supposed to be in the area, and then arresting them if they return. Many of the problems at Colonial started with people who came to visit the townhouses and not with the residents who actually lived there. The gang activity gradually built up until the neighborhood took on a reputation.

A vacant lot that many people used as a makeshift meeting place ­- it even had its own couch - was cleared away so loiterers would no longer be attracted. Barnes said many trees and bushes were cut back so people can no longer hide their illegal activity. "People are now starting to plant flowers. People are really starting to care," she said. Barnes said she's noticed neighbors go out of their way to say hello to each other now when they would have been afraid to do so before.

The community is a mix of various races, and the neighborhood has Hispanic, Indian, African-American and Jamaican residents. Barnes said the association has been trying to work around the language and cultural barriers that have stopped residents from communicating with each other. However, while it's been receiving praise for its work, the group has also met with resistance, especially from those who are used to the lifestyle that allowed crime to linger on Colonial.

Acting Village President Pat Horcher, at a recent board meeting, said he was proud that the homeowners who want to change things in the neighborhood haven't backed down. "That development has so much potential," he said. "They are huge residential units. They have the potential to be some of the best multifamily residential units in town."

The neighborhood also seems to be taking more of an interest in being part of the village. Colonial Townhomes took part in National Night Out for the first time earlier this month. As is tradition in Wheeling, various neighborhoods had block parties. A second Colonial neighborhood watch picnic is planned from 3-6 p.m. Sept. 6. "Last year we did one together," Laverd said. "This year they're pretty much taking it over."