Street takeover with fireworks in Lakeview has neighbors demanding action

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preCharge News ILLINOIS — Cars are taking over Chicago streets for raucous stunt demonstrations, and neighbors want to know what is going to be done about it.

One of the latest places hit this week is the intersection of Ashland Avenue and Diversey Parkway in the southwest corner of the Lakeview community. Video shows a car circling as people hang out the windows and set off fireworks.

Neighbors say the street takeovers are noisy, dangerous, and annoying, and they want to know why more is not being done to stop them.

“I woke up in the middle of the night to this terrible racket — cars screeching and tires squealing,” said Anne Jewell. “I couldn’t tell if it was fireworks or gunshots. But it went on for quite a long time.”

Street takeover with fireworks in Lakeview has neighbors demanding action. Chicago, Illinois.

It was fireworks rather than gunshots, but that still wasn’t very comforting. The source of the racket was that street takeover in Lakeview — just blocks from Jewell’s house.

Video taken by another person visiting the area shows the fireworks exploding on the buildings nearby.

Video posted by the people involved showed the Ashland and Diversey street takeover — as well as another one near Columbus and Lower Wacker drives downtown — are a growing problem. Such incidents have been making headlines for the past few years now.

“Well, I had one about a hundred yards from my house, you know, a couple, three months ago — and it was so quick,” said Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd).

Waguespack, who represents the ward where the Lakeview street takeover happened, said his office started getting calls as soon as the takeover started.

The alderman said police are having a hard time tracking down some of the drivers because they take the license plates off, but still, police are going to start cracking down when street takeovers pop up.

“The only thing they can do is try to contain them,” Waguespack said, “and you know, we changed the law so that they could do that. We changed the law so that they could do the impoundment, and I think that’s really where they’re going to have to double down on efforts.

When police arrived at the Lakeview takeover early Sunday morning, the onlookers scattered. They drove off before police closed off the streets — leaving only tire tracks and social media posts behind.

“I just wonder why they can’t stop it,” Jewell said. “I mean, why do we have to put up with this? It’s just ridiculous.”

The alderman said his office is preparing for more street takeovers as the temperatures warm up. He also said police haven’t made any arrests.