The Reality of Calling 911 in Chicago - You Are On Your Own

They had no one to send to a home invasion. The response time was measured in hours. Chicago Police Response Time: A Wicker Park Incident

A Chicago mom is questioning the police response time after two men broke into her Wicker Park home, causing her to wait over four hours for officers to arrive following her 911 call.

Wicker Park is a part of West Town, which itself is one of the 77 neighborhoods in Chicago. When I was living and working in Chicago in the 80s and 90s it was sort of an artists' area. Boys Town, and River North, and Lakeview were already becoming expensive, and so it was one of the areas people were moving into. Not sure what it is like today.

She made 6 calls to 911. In the last call, she was able to speak to a supervisor. He admitted that the simply did not have any police available to send.

“He recommended I call my alderman to encourage him to hire more police,” she recounted. The dispatcher also asked if she would consider defending herself, suggesting she get a firearm.

When the people taking you 911 calls tell you to get a firearm and defend yourself, in a blue city no less, you no things are not as they are advertised to be.

Calling 911 is a fine thing to do in an emergency. They can send all kinds of help to you. But they can't always do that, and the system is not perfect. You might want to consider what is "Plan B," in case they can't send help. There was another story, about a father waiting for an ambulance that didn't come. The problem isn't about police. The problem is about depending on the state.