West Haven

I was coming home on the bus and they re-routed it at Michigan and 24th. A man and I decided to get off and walk the rest of the way to 26th St. There were police who were blocking the street. I figured all I needed to do is show my driver's license and they'd see where I lived and let me through. After all, the police notified our building to keep an i.d. on us for the duration of the NATO conference. I told the cop that I live in South Commons. He said "Sorry, we can't let you through." I asked why. He replied "You don't wanna know." Another officer said at the same time "They've found a bomb in a car." He pointed about a block down.So the Chinese man (who's visiting from China and been here about a week visiting relatives) followed me to Wabash, where we then walked South. We walked till we got near I-55 and came to a border of security fences. I didn't know if we tried to walked along the fence, we could get through to Michigan Avenue. I saw some police driving slowly past on the other side of the fence. I flagged them down. I asked if we could get through if we walk along the side of the fence to Michigan Ave. They said yes. We squeezed through the area and came out on Michigan Ave. at the I-55 bridge. We saw cop cars blocking access to the bridge from 26th St. When the man and I got to 26th St. they didn’t question us. I don’t know if the info on the bomb has been on the news yet, but we were re-routed at about 6:45 pm.

This is a problem at all of the parks. I totally understand that the responsible dog owners with gentle dogs would like to let their dogs off leash.

Unfortunately, other people have no way of knowing what type of dog owner or dog they are encountering. Many children and adults in urban areas have strong (with reason) fears of dogs. Also, it just isn't safe for other dogs.

I even see large groups of dogs off leash at school yards where there are clear signs that say no dogs at all. Otis School on Grand and Armour has a severe problem with dogs off leash. The principal has even had to send children home from school because they have had dog feces on their clothes after recess :(

I think the city could create more dog parks to help out the dog owners. I heard there might be one going in Humboldt Park! But in the meantime, dog owners should just follow the park rules and keep everyone safe (and clean!)