Bar owners, Greater Grand Crossing residents at odds over crowds, violence on East 75th Street

Rodney Johnson at the site on 75th Street of past gatherings that erupted in violence. He’s part of a neighborhood group fighting to get bars to keep the large gatherings under control. (Anthony Vazquez / Sun-Times)

Concerned about a mass shooting and spontaneous block parties at which hundreds of people have gathered on East 75th Street, a group of Greater Grand Crossing residents is waging a campaign against bars and other businesses in the iconic Black business district.

They’re demanding that the business owners and the Chicago Police Department do more to control unruly crowds on the street in the summer. For a year, they’ve been gathering petitions and filing complaints with City Hall about businesses in the six blocks east of the Dan Ryan Expressway.