DeKALB | It seems hard to believe, given the police reports. Sitting on the corner of Pleasant Street and Ninth Street, one sees what appears to be a peaceful neighborhood. During the day, one wouldn’t feel any misgivings about leaving a car there to go for a stroll.

On the corner of State Street, somebody is improving his house, and there’s the sound of a hammer swinging. A few houses down, a man and his wife are jumping their car. There are dogs in back yards and women speaking with one another as they go for a walk on a sunny day.

This is also the street that has become the epicenter of a fatal shooting, an attempted arson and a stabbing. While not all those events occurred on this tree-shaded street, they all come back to it in some way or another. The trail always leads to Pleasant Street.

A Diverse Neighborhood

Harold Russie, 62, of DeKalb, has lived in the Pleasant Street neighborhood for over 50 years. He keeps a neat house and teaches classes at Kishwaukee Community College. His dining room is quaint and cozy, with a feeling that everything is in its proper place.

Russie’s cheery disposition doesn’t change as he speaks of the things he’s witnessed on his street over the past few years. He’s seen shootings, fights and people’s possessions stolen from their cars and garages.

He demonstrates the close proximity of his living room to where a shooting occurred just outside.

“My friends told me I need to learn to watch television laying on the floor,” Russie said.

Russie sees the problems that have plagued the area in recent years through the eyes of one who has lived in it for a long time.

“We’ve got a problem here because people don’t want to work together to change things,” he said.

Russie thinks the public’s perception of his neighborhood is not always accurate.

“This is not a Hispanic neighborhood,” Russie said. “This is a melting pot neighborhood.”

There is truth to Russie’s claim. Black, white, and Latino people all live on Pleasant Street. Property owners range from single families to property renters to retired persons, all living within a few houses of one another.

Symptomatic of Society

Mike Newman, 28, of DeKalb, lives on Pleasant Street and works at the Hope Haven Homeless Shelter at 1145 Rushmoore Drive. In the evenings, people come and go, bringing along their few belongings. Newman has dedicated his career to working with the homeless.

He has a small office in the building where a knock on the door will occasionally interrupt to tell him somebody new has been admitted, somebody needs their medication or somebody else needs his help.

As he speaks, he becomes animated. His opinions are clear. He calls Pleasant Street a “nucleus” where there is a high concentration of poverty and lack of job stability.

Newman grew up in Chicago, where he saw a much more prevalent presence of gangs.

“Pleasant is just as quiet as any street in DeKalb at 9:00,” Newman said. “What I’m seeing [in DeKalb] isn’t remotely close to what I grew up with.”

Like the other residents of the area, Newman stresses that while efficient police action has curtailed incidents recently, it can’t get to the heart of the problem.

“For every one you arrest, two, not one, two go on the street to take his place,” Newman said. “Arresting is part of the answer, but the other part is to show these kids there are better things than what is at hand.”

Newman sees the root of gang violence in DeKalb and everywhere else as an extension of other, more deep-seated societal issues.

“People are a reflection of their community,” Newman says. “If people wake up to adequate pay, health benefits, a car that works, then they’d feel good about where they live.”

Newman said part of the problem is the attractiveness of gangs to young people who are in unstable households due to situations forcing parents to work long hours for low income. The acceptance that a gang offers can provide the stability such a household might not.

“There’s positives to being in a gang, even though people don’t want to say it,” Newman said.

The People’s Response

Carrie Anderson, 51, of DeKalb, just had the exterior of her house improved. She was the chair of a now-inactive neighborhood association that dealt with common problems on Pleasant Street.

Many steps have been taken in conjunction with the city to try to improve the neighborhood and prevent the continued activity of gangs, Anderson said.

“They put new lighting on the streets, we had new sidewalks put in,” Anderson said. “We had a bicycle patrol started in our neighborhood. They met with us whenever we had problems. They did a lot.”

The recent violence stems from many problems, Anderson said.

“This is another cycle in the age group of the children who live in the neighborhood,” Anderson said. “The summer time added to it. A lack of activity added to it for the young people.”

Like Newman, Anderson appreciates the increase in police presence for the safety it has brought to the neighborhood, but doesn’t think it solves the underlying problem of gang violence.

“I know the residents appreciate the presence of the police,” Anderson said. “One of the things I would like to see is for us to be more proactive in education and working with the parents in the neighborhood.”

The consensus is that an effort on the community’s part will be required to solve the problem.

“DeKalb should ask itself, ‘Are we doing enough about the situation on Pleasant Street?'” Newman said. “What are we doing as a community, for the community?”

Kenneth Lowe is the Police and Fire Reporter for the Northern Star.