Nonstop police helicopter flights (over 200 per day!) over West Loop/Western Chicago causing a SERIOUS noise nuisance. Local residents can't open windows or get adequate sleep throughout the night because the noise is so loud and incessant. How is this is passing legal FAA standards?? 

There is ever-present helicopter harassing Western Chicago residents and pilots should be ordered to change their flight paths in order to reduce the impact of the noise over residential areas. Here's an example of a short window spent tracking these helicopters on 9/29/24: 7:44PM, 7:46PM, 7:54PM, 8:04PM, 8:16PM, 8:28PM, 8:39PM, 8:40PM, 8:47PM, 9:07PM, 9:17PM, 9:24PM, 9:36PM, 9:41PM, 9:49PM, 10:02PM, 10:11PM, 10:18PM, 10:21PM, 10:28PM - and continuing into all hours of the night.

Beyond the disruptive noise, helicopters circling overhead can mean serious health consequences for residents, including poor sleep and anxiety. We don't mind once in a while if there's actually a murderer on the loose, but ALL day and ALL night, circling overhead for over 24+ hours on end?? What exactly does this achieve apart from wasting money (roughly $50M a year of taxpayer dollars!) - which is more than the annual budget of dozens of city agencies, including Civil and Human Rights.  It’s also causing MASSIVE amounts pollution (each helicopter produces 950 pounds of CO2 per hour, and burns over 40x the fuel of a passenger car per hour, qualifying them as one of the most polluting, carbon-intense modes of transport), while also making sure that no one can sleep, including babies and children?  Why can't they use drones instead?? Another report conducted said there was NO conclusive evidence to show helicopters reduce crime and that patrolling pilots spend a significant amount of the time awaiting calls for emergency response, circling around at their discretion, costing taxpayers $2,916 per hour.   

The noise from these helicopters is affecting quality of life in Chicago and causing mental health problems - it MUST be stopped and an audit of misuse of taxpayer dollars needs to be conducted at the soonest. 

Immediate steps we can take today:

1.    Call your local non-emergency, District 12 Police, and let them know there needs to be a better solution that does not disturb the public peace: 312-746-8396

2.    Call Alderman Walter Burnett and let him know this is affecting our neighborhood’s quality of life: 312-432-1995 (M-F)

3.    Sign and share this petition with as many people as possible, the sooner we act together, the quicker this problem will be solved, 

THANK YOU FOR CARING ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD!

~Concerned Residents of Chicago