A Night with the Guardian Angels

It's a few minutes past 11 p.m. on the relatively quiet streets of downtown Oak Park and the Guardian Angels aren't saying much. 

They're passing out fliers to commuters exiting the CTA Green Line train at the Oak Park Avenue stop and offering escorts home to anyone who asks. On this chilly Thursday night, no one takes them up on it.

"We still go anyway," said Michael Fuentes, 39, leader of the Guardian Angels Chicago chapter, as two of the bicycle-bound Angels pedal down South Oak Park Avenue, past a woman walking alone toward an unlit stretch of road. 

The group has been making frequent appearances around local CTA stations after a series of have put Oak Parkers on high alert. 

In a 90-minute span late Thursday, they'll watch as six police cruisers and three unmarked squad cars cruise past the intersection of South Boulevard and Oak Park Avenue, likely evidence of the police department's pledge to step up patrols in the area. 

One officer gives a half wave; another stops for a brief chat. 

But the relationship between volunteer Angels and trained police officers isn't always cordial. One of Thursday's crew members, 25-year-old Quintin Batteast, said he was harassed recently by a Chicago police officer who profanely ridiculed the group for their outfits and their volunteer attempts at peacekeeping.

Asked about the Guardian Angels' recent cameo in Oak Park, Deputy Chief Anthony Ambrose said "we didn’t ask for them. And that’s all I can say."

"We're a trained police department and we're certified by the state's training board and we have continual education on laws and rules and so forth," he said. "They have not contacted the police department at all. Nor have they contacted us to request assistance."

And a lack of communication from the Angels is probably a good thing. They only call police when they have someone surrounded for a citizen's arrest. 

Fuentes and the other Guardian Angels who've assembled at this corner — and occasionally on the Green Line from the Harlem Avenue to Austin Boulevard stops — say they'll stick around a "couple more days, maybe weeks."

"We'll be there to raise a bunch of awareness, pass out more sketches," Fuentes said. "And hopefully he doesn't strike again."