After there were three rapes and an attack within the last two months on the North Side, Tara Smoker has abandoned her headphones, purchased pepper spray and is perpetually peeking over her shoulder.
Smoker, 27, of Wrigleyville felt especially safe last Friday night when her cabdriver, following public safety tips, agreed to wait while Smoker ran inside her North Lakewood Avenue apartment around 10:50 p.m. to grab an item.
“I ran in and right back out,” Smoker said. “I didn’t dawdle or anything. … I was inside for under a minute.”
When she returned to thank the driver and get a ride down the street, she found him in trouble–with the law.
Atanas Ivakimov, a Bucktown cabbie, had been issued a $75 ticket for “double parking or standing” on the one-way street.
Smoker and Ivakimov pleaded their case to the city parking aide with the electronic citation pad.
“I told the officer that I had asked the driver to wait because there had been an attack in the alley near my house,” Smoker said. “He didn’t care.”
Ivakimov, 29, was confused.
“I wasn’t blocking traffic or anything because there was no other traffic,” Ivakimov said. “I tried explaining that she was freaked out about the recent attacks and worried about her safety. It didn’t work. The officer threw the ticket on my window.”
A parking enforcement aide, an employee of the Chicago Department of Revenue, issued the ticket.
Efrat Dallal, spokeswoman for the department, declined to let a reporter speak with the aide. “We are looking into the situation,” Dallal said. “But we need to hear both sides of the story.”
Dallal said the department would advise parking enforcement aides of “the situation in the Wrigleyville area.”
Residents of Wrigleyville have been on high alert after two rapes occurred in a 36-hour period in December.
Neighborhood groups organized community forums, conducted volunteer patrols and offered escorts to women coming home from “L” stops. The Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy, an initiative that partners community members with the police, held a meeting with more than 200 residents.
Ald. Thomas Tunney (44th), police detectives and public safety officials outlined profiles of the suspects and listed tips for staying safe.
“One safety precaution we ask is that taxi drivers watch residents into their homes and make sure they aren’t followed,” said Yvonne Orr-Richardson, coordinator of special projects for CAPS.
Lab tests and DNA samples showed that two men were involved in the attacks. Paul Cruikshank, 24, of the 4000 block of West Cullerton Street has been charged with a New Year’s Eve attack in Forest Park, a Dec. 20 rape in Wrigleyville and an attempted rape in Lincoln Park on Dec. 18. Police are still looking for another suspect.
Residents should continue to take precautions, Tunney said. “We want drivers to wait a little longer. Safety is first, period” he said.
At 5-foot-5, Smoker doesn’t consider herself a bruiser and doubts she could fend off an aggressive attacker. Each night she has a co-worker walk her home, and Smoker calls her friends whenever she gets back from other outings. “These rapes are fresh in my mind.
“When you hear that they happen right in your neighborhood it really hits home,” Smoker said.
Ultimately, the ticket is the responsibility of Ivakimov, who shuttles Chicagoans across the city 18 hours a day, four days a week. Ivakimov said he would appeal the violation.
Ivakimov said he would wait again to ensure the safety of a cab patron.
“It was my duty to wait and watch for her,” he said. “Because of these attacks, I will always wait for riders if they ask, especially girls.”
