Regarding the Aug. 4 letter titled “Wakeup call”:
I, too, exercise along the lakefront each morning around 5:30 a.m., but I do it in Rogers Park. I, too, look around me to see who is nearby; however, I look forward to seeing police cars parked along my route. I don’t care if the police give the appearance of being asleep. Just seeing the cars makes me feel safer because I believe they are a deterrent to crime.
Two summers ago while waiting with a woman for the police to arrive (after the woman had been raped), I couldn’t help but think that if a police car had been parked there that morning, maybe she wouldn’t have been assaulted. There were people on the beach, but they were all looking east watching the sunrise.
I also pay taxes in Chicago, and the Rogers Park police have always been there when we needed them, so if they have a slow period in the early morning hours and want to park along the lakefront, it’s fine with me.
