Bundled against the winter wind in an overcoat and warm cap, police officer Art Munin surveys a stretch of businesses from his vantage point at West 95th Street and South Western Avenue and prepares to start his day.
He begins at 8 a.m., and before he is done, he will have walked 6 miles, talked with business owners, ticketed cars and helped children get to and from school safely. Sometimes he hops on a CTA bus to get to the scene of a crime. Munin, who has been a police officer since 1973, patrols a mile-long beat on West 95th between Western and Ashland Avenues.
”I try not to have a fixed routine,” says Munin, 40, as he begins walking along the street. ”That way the criminals would get an idea of when I come around.”
Munin looks carefully around the business district of which he is guardian. There are 140 businesses, including grocery and furniture stores, a health club and restaurants. He walks the stretch, back and forth, about three times a day.
The district also contains the Beverly Hills branch of the Chicago Public Library and a Rock Island commuter station.
The station, which draws hundreds of commuters, was the cause of parking complaints from business owners until the Police Department began using the Denver boot about two years ago.
Many commuters were parking on the street, and customers could not park in front of the shops. As a result businesses suffered, Munin says.
”People would just park along the street, ignore the meters, get tickets and throw them away,” recalls Munin, who has been on the West 95th beat since 1989.
”There was one car that I ticketed 150 times,” he says. ”But after you put the boot on a vehicle, you never see that car parked illegally again.”
If a driver has more than 10 parking violations, police can clamp the device on a wheel of his or her car, which makes it impossible to move the car. The driver must pay a $100 fine in addition to the parking tickets to have the boot removed.
Munin`s attention to the parking problems and his concern for people along West 95th draws praise from the business owners.
”I had a couple of customers who were getting hostile, and Art happened to be walking by,” says Larry Rundle, owner of Larry`s Auto Repairs in the 2000 block. ”Art came right in, and that quieted them down in a hurry. There`s something about having a policeman show up that makes people become more cooperative.
”With Art on the beat, I feel very secure.”
”It`s crucial for 95th Street that we have a patrolman,” says Fred Richard, owner of Chicagoland Bicycle and Fitness in the 1900 block. ”We like Art because he`s friendly, and he watches out for parking violators. I had a problem with people hogging parking places in front of my store, and Art has helped out greatly” by ticketing.
Munin sometimes gets called to deal with a crime. He carries a radio to keep in touch with the Morgan Park District police station, which serves the Beverly Hills and Morgan Park neighborhoods.
”Sometimes I`ll get a call to go to a business for an alarm or some other purpose, and I`ll see a CTA bus going by. I`ll hop right on the bus and go to where I`m headed,” he says.
Munin also is called to remove riders on buses when they refuse to pay their fares.
One memorable encounter happened in summer 1990 when he was talking with a police lieutenant in a car at 95th and Hamilton Avenue. They noticed that a passing motorcyle was missing its ignition, a clue that the vehicle had been stolen. So the two began to pursue the motorcyclist, who was carrying a passenger.
At 95th and Loomis Streets, the motorcyclist made a sharp left turn, throwing off the passenger. The motorcyclist then left the bike and took off running through apartment building gangways and alleys to elude police.
”The lieutenant said I should stay with the passenger, but after he left and I determined the person was OK, I kick-started the motorcycle, got on it and pursued the driver,” Munin says.
In a four-block chase, Munin followed the suspect, radioing his whereabouts to the headquarters. ”They didn`t realize I was on a motorcycle. They thought I was running, and they were amazed” that he was moving so fast, he says.
The suspect surrendered at 95th and Ashland. He was charged and later convicted, Munin says.
Munin has been attracted to police work since he was a 3rd grader at St. Ailbe`s Elementary School on the Southeast Side. ”I wrote an essay when I was in 3rd grade-my mother still has it-in which I said I wanted to be a policeman when I grew up.
”I guess I was interested in becoming a policeman because I like being with people.”
Munin graduated from Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago in 1969. He then studied business at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, for a year and returned to Chicago to operate an aluminum-siding business. He took the Police Department examination and joined the force in 1973.
His first assignment was in the Englewood District where he worked until 1976, when he was transferred to the Morgan Park District. He worked on car patrol most of the time before being given his current assignment.
”I think the most important thing about Art is that he is so good with the local businessmen,” District Cmdr. Dennis Lesniak says. ”They know if they have a problem he is there right away for them.”
When off duty, Munin spends much of his time with his family in their home on the Southwest Side. He and his wife, Donna, have four children, ranging in age from 4 to 18.
A sports enthusiast, Munin is president of the Mt. Greenwood Little League Association, which organizes games and practice for 300 boys and girls each year. Two of his children participate.
”I`ve been involved for eight years in Little League,” he says. ”Our biggest thing is sportsmanship. That`s what we try to teach the kids, and we all do it because it`s a lot of fun.”
