THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | NEWS 7
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018
Officials: search warrant executed in murder case By ALANE LIM
the daily northwestern @thisisalane
City officials announced to residents at a 5th Ward meeting Thursday that officers executed a search warrant on a residence in connection with a murder case as the suspect still remains at large. About 40 people attended the meeting during which Mayor Steve Hagerty, police officers, residents and Ald. Robin Rue Simmons (5th) discussed updates in the investigation into the shooting death on Feb. 8. In the incident, a 20-year-old man, Yakez Semark, was shot in the chest following a physical altercation in the 1800 block of Hovland Court. Deputy police chief Aretha Barnes said officers executed a search warrant earlier Thursday on a residence related to the murder. At the time of the meeting, the search was still ongoing, but Barnes said she could not share any additional information. At the meeting, Hagerty said safety in the community is a priority, adding that the Evanston Police Department and the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force are working on the case. “Anything that we can do as a city to increase the safety in that area, we are going to look to do,” Hagerty said. “I just wanted you guys to hear that directly from me.” Evanston resident Vanessa Alvarado, who lives on the block where the Semark was killed, told The Daily that the residents on her block have been very
upset and confused since the incident. They don’t feel safe with the suspect at large and are looking for updates, she said. “I’m hoping that, first of all, they catch the person that is responsible for the murder,” Alvarado said. “But also I was asking why was it that they were in that particular area.” Rue Simmons told The Daily she planned to encourage all neighborhoods who did not have a “block club,” a group of neighbors who make sure the block is safe by sharing information and identifying potential concerns, to form one. Block clubs work with the ward alderman and the Problem Solving Team — an EPD patrol squad — and foot patrol officers, Rue Simmons said. At the meeting, Rue Simmons said she had previously started a block club in the 2000 block of Dodge Avenue, working with officers and making sure residents were calling them directly. That block is “great” now, she said. Alvarado told The Daily that a block club would hopefully allow her to get in contact with all the residents on her block, especially those she does not see as often. Alvarado added she is already friends with many of the block residents who have young children. “I just want to make sure somebody with a gun is not running around … right in front of my house,” Alvarado said at the meeting. “We have young children that are terrified right now.” alane.lim@u.northwestern.edu
Daily file photo by Katie Pach
Ald. Robin Rue Simmons (5th) speaks at a meeting. Rue Simmons said she planned to encourage all neighborhoods who did not have a “block club” — a group of neighbors who make sure the block is safe by sharing information and identifying potential concerns — to form one.
Illinois lawmakers call for action after Florida shooting By SAMANTHA HANDLER
the daily northwestern @sn_handler
Illinois politicians and candidates for office called for lawmakers to take action to reduce gun violence following a shooting at a high school in Florida that left 17 dead. On Wednesday afternoon, a 19-year-old gunman opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 people, according to CNN. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Thursday in a post on Twitter that the “only action” Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump have taken on gun violence is making it easier for people with mental illnesses to purchase firearms. Durbin
cited a bill Trump signed last year that revoked a ban on gun purchases by people who receive disability checks for mental illness or who have been determined unfit to handle their finances. “Is Congress doing all it can to keep our nation’s students safe from gun violence?” Durbin wrote Thursday in a different Twitter post. “This has to change. It’s long past time we close gaps in our laws that make it easy for dangerous people to get their hands on guns.” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) wrote in a post on Twitter on Wednesday that the shooting was “tragic, needless” and that her heart goes out to all the families impacted. She added that there is more Congress can do to prevent violence. Gubernatorial candidates from both parties also weighed in on the national conversation. State Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-42nd) said on Twitter that
her heart breaks for the families and teachers at the school. “Children should feel safe in their schools,” Ives tweeted. “I pray for their healing.” At a gubernatorial candidate forum in January, Ives said “fathers in the home” would help solve the gun violence problem in Chicago, according to the Chicago Tribune. Democratic candidate Chris Kennedy (Kellogg ’94) blamed Ives for “ignorance and stupidity” with this solution, the Tribune reported. Kennedy said in a Twitter post that he and his running mate both know the “devastating” impact of gun violence. The son of Ra Joy, Kennedy’s running mate, was killed in a robbery last year. “We must turn pain into purpose and purpose into action,” Kennedy tweeted. “We must resolve that these mass shootings will not become a fixture
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of our lives.” Kennedy also posted his eight-point plan for combating gun violence in Illinois, including providing trauma treatment and mental health services, curbing illegal gun access and revitalizing afflicted communities, according to the plan. He also proposed investing more in public schools and job programs. State Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) posted a video of the speech he made after the shooting at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas, saying his message then is still true now. “Offering thoughts and prayers aren’t enough,” Biss said on Twitter, “we have an obligation to enact real change to reduce gun violence and stop the next tragedy.” samanthahandler2021@u.northwestern.edu
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