Suspicous package locks down Loyola Medical Center

By Loyola Student Dispatch Staff

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Loyola University Chicago’s Medical Center in Maywood is on lockdown after a suspicious package was found in a parking garage.

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Here is the alert from Loyola Campus Safety:

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Loyola Community,

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Earlier this morning, a suspicious package was found in Parking Deck A at the Medical Center campus in Maywood. The package is being investigated by law enforcement and fire officials and the entire Medical Center and Health Sciences Campus is on lockdown.

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Anyone on the campus should shelter in place until further notice. We are being told that no one will be allowed onto campus and all entrances are being blocked. At this time, law enforcement officials are not evacuating any part of the campus.

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For those in Maywood, please check your surroundings for anything suspicious and call incident command at 708.216.1999 if you find anything. Do not touch anything suspicious.

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We will share more details as we receive them from law enforcement officials in Maywood.

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Sincerely,

Thomas K. Murray
Chief of Police and Director of Campus Safety

Student homicide probe continues

 

 

 

By Jake Mazanke

The Cook County Crime stoppers have posted fliers across Rogers Park offering a reward for information about the 2014 murder of a Loyola University Chicago student.

Mutahir Rauf was a student at Loyola when on December 5, 2014 he was shot and killed on Albion Avenue, just blocks away from campus.

According to police, Rauf, 23, was walking with his brother when they were approached by two men who demanded their wallets at gunpoint. Reports said that Rauf seemed to believed that the gun was fake and tried to grab the gun from the attacker. The gun went off during the altercation, hitting Rauf, and both attackers fled the scene. Rauf’s brother survived the incident.

No arrests have been made in association with the murder.

Rauf was remembered by those close to him as a caring person who believed greatly in nonviolence.

“When being asked what kind of person Mutahir Rauf was, a few things cross my mind, the first is kindness,” said Rauf’s friend and recent Loyola graduate Austin Phelps. “He was the type of individual who would drop everything for the people he cared about.”

Since his death, Chicago and Loyola Police have investigated the shooting.

The Cook County Crime Stoppers are a branch of the Crime Stoppers USA program that aims to allow citizens to provide information, anonymously, that could aid the investigation of crimes. According to the Crime Stoppers USA website, information gained from the program has led to nearly seven hundred thousand arrests since it was founded in 1976.

The Loyola Student Dispatch attempted to contact the Cook County Crime Stoppers but it was unable to get any information about the fliers or the investigation.

Despite the investigations, Phelps is still stunned that Rauf’s attackers have still not been found.

“I understand that it is a matter of the law but I don’t feel closure and I know I am not the only one who feels that way,”  Phelps said. “My hope is that those responsible will be brought to justice someday and Mutahir’s family can have closure as well.”

Those who have any information about this case should call the Cook County Police Department directly or call the Cook County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-535-7867.

Rogers Park welcomes new restaurant

An outside view of Rogers Pier on opening night. Photo by Jake Mazanke

 

 

By Jake Mazanke

Alderman Joe Moore opened the doors to the community as he hosted the opening of Rogers Pier restaurant, located on Sheridan and Pratt, as a Follow Me Friday event.

Moore welcomed members of the community into the restaurant by offering free samples.

He believes that his Follow Me Friday events have been the most popular that he has hosted in the community.

“Events like this promote the neighborhood and they promote businesses in the neighborhood but it is also a community building thing as well,” Moore. “People meet other folks in the neighborhood and get to talk to each other.”

The restaurant will specialize in seafood. The owner, Quy An, will use her Vietnamese and Chinese heritage as inspiration for her dishes.

The restaurant is also reaching out to help the community. For every meal purchased, Rogers Pier will donate one dollar to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago’s largest food bank.

“It is very much a spirit of giving back, of sharing, and it is something that is very much a part of the fabric of the Rogers Park community,”  Moore said.

This Friday, June 10th, Alderman Moore will host a Follow Me Friday event at Anytime Fitness which is a new gym that is opening on Devon Avenue.

 

 

Police warn of armed robberies in Rogers Park

By Loyola Student Dispatch Staff

Chicago Police have issued an alert about two armed robberies that occurred this past week in Rogers Park.

Joe Moore, alderman of the 49th ward, which includes Rogers Park, issued the following information about the alert:

Dear Neighbor,

Chicago Police Department detectives issued an alert this weekend about two armed robberies that occurred 20 minutes apart last Tuesday  morning, May 24th,  in Rogers Park.

In both incidents, the victims were approached by a man who was armed with a handgun and announced a robbery, then took the victims’ property.

One robbery happened at 1:00 a.m. on the 1400 block of West Arthur and the other robbery happened at 1:20 a.m. on the 1200 block of West Columbia.

Police described the suspect as a 180-pound, 5-foot-11 black man, between 20 and 30 years old, wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt and black pants.

Police do not believe these robberies are related to the three strong-arm robberies, which occurred earlier this month. In those incidents, multiple assailants attacked their victims using fists and no weapons were brandished.

In response to the recent incidents, 24th District Police Commander Roberto Nieves has added more officers to his burglary and robbery team and shifted their deployment.

Police urge you to do the following:

• Pay attention and be aware of your surroundings.
• Walk along well lit areas and avoid alleys.
• Report any suspicious people or activity in the area.
• Be aware of any subjects loitering in the area.
• If confronted by an assailant, remain calm and remember any unique
  physical characteristics (scars, tattoos, missing teeth, etc.).
• Dial 9-1-1 immediately and remain on the scene when possible.

If you have any information that might lead to the apprehension of the offenders, please contact the Bureau of Detectives – Area North at (312) 744-8263. Of course, if you see any suspicious activity, call 911.

I will keep you apprised on any further developments.

Sincerely,

Joe Moore

 

Loyolan faces robbery attempt

By Loyola Student Dispatch Staff

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Chicago Police and Loyola University Chicago Campus Safety are searching for two men who used a handgun in an attempted armed robbery. One of the victims was a member of the Loyola community.

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Here is the bulletin from Loyola Campus Safety:

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Loyola Community,

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The Department of Campus Safety is writing to notify you about an attempted armed robbery that occurred just before midnight near the Lake Shore Campus.

Two individuals (one Loyolan) were in a vehicle at 6944 N. Wayne Avenue when they were approached by three offenders (all male) on foot. One of the offenders displayed a handgun and demanded money. The driver of the car quickly drove away. No items were taken and no injuries were reported.

The first offender is described as male, light complexion, 20 to 25 years old, 5’8” to 5’10”, and 140 to 150 pounds. He has a mustache and a physical impairment on his face, and he was last seen wearing a blue sweater. Detailed descriptions of the other two offenders are not available.

If anyone has information regarding this incident, please call Campus Safety at 773.508.6039 or the Chicago Police Department via 9-1-1 or 312.744.8263.

Please also keep the following safety tips in mind:

• If a person threatens you with a weapon, follow their demands and flee as soon as it is safe to do so. Once in a safe place, immediately notify Campus Safety or the Chicago Police Department.
• Investigative follow-up will be dependent on the amount of detail a person can recall. It is important to remember as many identifying characteristics about the offender(s) as possible. This can include physical characteristics of the person, their clothing, any weapons used, direction of flight, etc.

Sincerely,

Joe Bogdalek
Deputy Chief, Campus Safety

Loyola selects new president

By Loyola Student Dispatch Staff

Longtime educator Jo Ann Rooney was named Monday as the new president of Loyola University Chicago, becoming the first lay leader of the school.

Here is the announcement from Loyola:

Jo Ann Rooney, JD, LLM, EdD, has been elected by the Loyola University Chicago Board of Trustees as the University’s 24th president and its first lay leader.

Dr. Rooney was approved by the Board on Thursday, May 19, and officially introduced to the campus community today.

On August 1, 2016, Dr. Rooney will assume the role of president with an appointment that runs through 2021. She will succeed John P. Pelissero, PhD, who has served as interim president since July 2015, when long-serving president Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., stepped down and transitioned to the role of chancellor.

This new appointment expands Dr. Rooney’s leadership in higher education, as she has served as the president of both Spalding University—a private, Catholic, doctoral-level university in Louisville, Kentucky—and Mount Ida College, a baccalaureate-level college offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in Newton, Massachusetts. She has also spent more than 12 years in the classroom connecting with students and teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Athletes top of class

By Taylor Utzig, Editor

Eight Loyola University Chicago athletic programs have received Public Recognition Awards as part of the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR), the most of any Missouri Valley Conference school.

Six women’s programs and two men’s programs were given the award, with softball, women’s golf, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball recognized along with both men’s and women’s cross country and men’s and women’s track and field.

This award is given to programs that post APR scores in the top 10 percent of their sport.

Loyola’s academic recognition rate is second among Division I Jesuit universities, behind only Gonzaga.

The announcement came this afternoon, but full APR numbers will officially be released Wednesday, April 20.

Weekly Round-Up – 4/5/16

Blake Keller is your host for this week’s Weekly Round-Up.

He talks about the Women’s Head Coach, Sheryl Swoopes, making history, BLM comes to Loyola for a second time, and what Loyola is doing for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Let’s get caught up!

Weekly Round-Up 4.1.16

One biology professor is combining her love for painting and passion of science in a unique way.

Loyola is hosting a handful of events this weekend including Loyola Weekend and a Black Lives Matter conference. More details on and Loyola sports headlines, all on this week’s round-up with Madeline Kenney.

Weekly Round-Up 3/29/16

Blake Keller is back from Easter Break.

He has information on a new app that is hitting campus, SGLC Election results, and the new demonstration policy.