By Mark Weyermuller –
Yesenia Vargas, 22 years old, was murdered just over two years ago on Sunday, September 20, 2020. She was beaten and stabbed, then her body was dumped in the Chicago River at Addison Street on the edge of Clark Park. To our knowledge, no arrests have been made in this case.
Richard Clark Park, just west of Lane Tech High School on the site of the former Riverview Amusement Park is named after a Chicago Officer killed in the line of duty responding to a disgruntled tenant being evicted nearby on Lill Street at Southport on 1986. That offender also killed the landlord and two dogs. He was later shot and killed by police in an all-day standoff.
Yesenia Vargas’s murder remains unsolved. There were 774 homicides in 2020 with 845 homicides in 2021. This year as of today in 2022 there have been 545 homicides with 2284 shot so far in Chicago. Last year of the 845 homicides, 80 were students at Chicago Public Schools killed after school hours.
There is a shine set up for Yesenia Vargas on the river. Here are some photos are shown here. I see no media coverage of her murder since that week 2 years ago. This is a link to local television coverage two years ago: https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/woman-found-stabbed-to-death-in-chicago-rivers-north-branch-identified-as-yesenia-vargas/
Last week I went to a crime scene where a female off-duty Chicago Police Officer was shot. They are reporting it as a “road rage” incident and no arrests have been made. The official shot has since been fired due to a failed drug test that was taken prior to the incident. No description or photos of the suspect have been released as they are still at large.
The officer who was shot in the head was transported to Illinois Masonic Hospital where she was reported as alert and reported in good condition. A couple of hours after the shooting, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown held a news conference outside the hospital where he indicated it was a road rage incident. It’s unclear if Mayor Lori Lightfoot went to the hospital to check on the injured officer.
On Tuesday, the group Ex-Cons for Community and Social Changed led a march in downtown Chicago. The group is led by Tyrone Mohammed. They marched from the Water Tower to Medinah Temple, the future site of a Chicago casino. From there they were to Sunnyside Cannabis at 636 North Clark Street. They were joined by Darren Bailey running for Illinois governor and Tom Devore running for Illinois attorney general, both as republicans. They were also joined by Beverly Miles who ran against J.B. Pritzker in the Democratic primary for governor. They discussed crime in Chicago along with issues of inequities with licensing and construction of these businesses.
“The mission of ECCSC is to provide dedicated community servants who are armed with the training needed to change the dynamic of trauma and violence in our communities. This is achieved by providing innovative violence prevention and intervention programs and/or resources that are aimed to: prevent violence at the source, reduce recidivism, support positive re-entry, build strong youth, families and communities and provide non-traditional public safety emergency support to underserved communities.”
On December 31, 2021, Illinois Lieutenant Governor candidate Stephanie Trussell and I marched with Reverend Jesse Jackson and Father Michael Pfleger to remember the 845 people killed in Chicago in 2021. Stephanie held a photo of Kentrell McNeal a 15 year student from Simeon High School who was shot and killed on September 22, 2021. Jamari Williams, a sophomore, was killed in a shooting the same day in a separate incident, also a student at Simeon. Again, 80 students from Chicago Public Schools were victims of homicide in 2021.
People in Chicago are demanding change along with the support of law and order. There is an election on Tuesday, November 8, 2021 for governor and other state-wide offices. After that, the election for Chicago mayor and the 50 aldermen will be on Tuesday, February 28, 2023. After that local Illinois suburbs have elections on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Follow Illinois Review for extensive coverage of Illinois politics.
Mark Weyermuller also known as “man on the street” is a small business person, retired real estate professional, law & order supporter, tax payer advocate, and conservative activist in Chicago. He is a citizen journalist, frequent guest on talk radio, speaker at public hearings, and regular contributor to Illinois Review.
