Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of stories that explores policing and the drug trade on Chicago’s west side.
“The idea,” McCarthy said, “is to go at it like a ground war.”
The drug market is a fact of life for everyone who lives in west Humboldt Park. Some people—scores of them, perhaps more—have a stake in it themselves.
And it’s not just an inconvenience—violence follows the drugs. Earlier this year someone was beaten outside the house next door. A couple weeks ago the Bishops awoke to the sound of gunfire. They called the police but still aren’t sure what happened.
As we spoke by phone recently—about 10:30 on a Friday morning—Bishop said a deal appeared to be going down across the street from her home. “I see two buyers, both Caucasian. One guy looks like a roofer or something. The other’s dressed like a student, with a backpack. It’s right in your face. And this is what we live with.”
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Still, numbers can only hint at what’s happened to the community.
