Betty Howard | Homicide Watch Chicago

Murder of beloved special ed teacher Betty Howard spurring efforts to revive Chatham neighborhood to former glory

Jeff Mayes — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 12:40:29 -0500

By FRAN SPIELMAN
Chicago Sun-Times

Slain teacher Betty Howard is inspiring a movement to revitalize Chatham. On Wednesday her brother, Orlando Long, a Chicago Police officer, on the left, and her son, James Washington, a truck driver, attended a press conference announcing the effort. | Fran Spielman/Sun-TImes

Not a day or even an hour goes by when James Washington doesn’t grieve for his mother, Betty Howard, a beloved special education teacher caught in the crossfire between rival gangs two years ago on a once-thriving Chatham commercial strip.

Last Wednesday was the exception. It was a day to celebrate Betty Howard.

Her murder—in broad daylight by a bullet that went through the wall of a real estate office where Howard worked a second job—had started a movement that may someday restore a neighborhood that was once the paragon of the black middle-class.

The so-called Greater Chatham Initiative is a massive public-private partnership with a noble mission: To break down “silos” and harness the resources of government agencies, social services, community groups and private investors to bring jobs, businesses, housing and public safety to Chatham and the nearby communities of Auburn-Gresham, Greater Grand Crossing and Avalon Park.

Betty Howard and her son, James Washington | Facebook

“It’s like a good hurt. It’s painful. I don’t think it’ll ever change because she’s not here. But hopefully, it’s a positive out of a negative,” said Washington, who still lives in his mother’s Chatham home.

“She was a people person. She loved to help others. She’d go the extra mile. She put forth an extra effort with everything. She was not a selfish person. She would love the fact that she is honored and she touched so many people.”

Howard’s brother knows better than anyone how far Chatham has fallen since its heyday in the 1950’s and '60’s. Orlando Long is a 19-year-veteran Chicago Police officer.

“Chatham right now is at an all-time low ... It’s pretty much just violence-related, gang related ... I don’t know if the pillars or the older families that moved out of the community caused the younger adults to come in and cause the violence that’s going on today. But something took place. There was a turn,” Long said.

“But now that we have more people involved, more elected officials, maybe we can bring it back to what it used to be. I don’t think it’s an overnight thing. It’s gonna take some time. But as we take the small steps, it’ll end up in a bigger outcome. My sister would very well love this. Just to know that, behind her, there was something bigger.”

The prime mover behind Wednesday’s announcement was U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush.

When the 58-year-old special ed teacher at Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep was killed down the street from Rush’s office—one of seven murders over a 20-month period along the same stretch between 5 p.m. and 4 a.m.—the South Side congressman had seen enough.

He summoned every elected official, community leader and business person he knew to a meeting that was more like a command performance.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush and Nedra Fears, executive director of the Greater Chatham Initiative, at press conference. | Fran Spielman/Sun-Times

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle put their frosty relationship aside and threw the weight of city and county government behind it.

Michael Sacks, Emanuel’s chief fundraiser, friend and business adviser, rearranged his schedule to be there and donated so much money to the effort, Rush wanted to name an award after Sacks.

CTA Board Chairman Terry Peterson and City Treasurer Kurt Summers, sons and grandsons of Chatham, both said the effort was “personal” to them, as it was to Rush.

“Today marks a new beginning for the center of the South Side of Chicago—communities that have, for far too long, suffered from disinvestment and economic disruptions of every kind,” Rush said.

Rush harkened back to a happier time when Chatham was “the place to live for the Baby Boomer generation—my generation.”

“Everybody thought they would have to live in Chatham in order to be recognized as having arrived ... Chatham was the community that we all aspired to live in, to raise our families in, to recreate in,” Rush said.

“Today, we are announcing the plan to restore the name and prominence ... to their rightful place at the top of Chicago’s aspiring middle-class ... This work will be a model for the entire nation as it struggles with how to revitalize its urban areas.”

Nedra Fears will serve as the first-ever executive director of the Greater Chatham Initiative. She will coordinate and manage more than 30 programs and partnerships, including the Greater Chatham Workforce Center, the Neighborhood Housing Resources Center and expanded youth programming for elementary school students.

She’ll help attract venture capital and create an “online presence” for local retailers who don’t even have a website.

During the grand unveiling at a Chatham movie theater built with help from millions in tax-increment financing, Fears told the moving story of what happened when her police officer father was gunned down in the line of duty.

“Mayor [Richard J.] Daley said, `If you ever needed anything, please let me know.’ So, my mom called him up and said, `I need to get a house in Chatham.’ And like what Chicago does best, he made it happen,” Fears said.

Now, it’ll be up to Fears to make it happen for Chatham and restore the once-proud community to its former glory.

“As a child, I took this wonderful middle-class African-American community for granted. I assumed that its robust business sector, Johnson Products, Soft-Sheen, Seaway National Bank, would never go away. I know now that Greater Chatham peaked in the 1970’s,” she said.

Prosecutors: Dominique Hodrick was aiming for rival, but shot veteran Brooks teacher Betty Howard instead

Michael Lansu — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 17:12:27 -0500

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

Dominique Hodrick had an ongoing dispute with a man nicknamed “Nookie,” so when Hodrick saw his rival driving in a car on the South Side he allegedly opened fire.

Hodrick missed “Nookie,” but he shot and killed veteran special education teacher Betty Howard in the chest while she worked her second job at Kale Reality in the 700 block of East 79th Street, Cook County prosecutors said.

A 58-year-old man who was also working at Kale Reality suffered a graze wound to his abdomen when the bullets went through the office wall in the May 29th shooting.

And a 23-year-old woman walking her dog outside was left with a graze wound to her hand, Assistant State’s Attorney Glen Runk said before Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. ordered Hodrick held without bond Thursday.

Hodrick, 23, was inside a building on the opposite side of 79th Street when he saw “Nookie,” Runk said.

He then opened the front door, pulled a handgun from his waist and started shooting, Runk said.

According to a police report, another offender was with Hodrick at the time.

Dominique Hodrick / Photo from Chicago Police

Howard, a 58-year-old special education teacher at Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy, immediately fell to the floor when she was shot.

Hodrick went back into the building he was in after the shooting, Runk said.

He was caught on surveillance camera looking out the front door, opening the door and pulling out a weapon, Runk said.

Hodrick, of the 7900 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue, allegedly admitted he fired the shots and identified himself in the video stills.

He was also identified on tape by various police officers who had contact with him before.

Hodrick, who was arrested while riding in a car in Lansing Tuesday, was sentenced to two year’s probation in 2012 for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and for having a defaced firearm.

He has three previous misdemeanors for aggravated assault, reckless conduct, and criminal trespass to land. He will be back in court for the murder charge on July 1.

Following Thursday’s bond hearing Howard’s husband and niece said they were glad Hodrick was off the streets and behind bars.

Howard had only started working at the real estate office three to four months ago, Kristal Long, 34, said.

Betty Howard/ Photo from Family

She was trying to make “ends meet” and never felt as if she was in danger at the real estate office, Howard’s husband, Major Howard said.

Major Howard said his wife was a wonderful person who was “full of life” and “deserved to live.”

Long described her aunt as a “happy” and helpful person who was active in her church.

“If you can shoot a gun in broad daylight, with no regards for anyone out there, then absolutely, he [Hodrick] is a danger to society,” Long said.

“To know that she was at work. She was just trying doing her job and for something like this to happen, it makes it that much more harder to deal with.”

Dominique Hodrick charged with murder in death of Brooks teacher Betty Howard

Michael Lansu — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 01:00:36 -0500

Dominique Hodrick / Photo from Chicago Police

Dominique Hodrick has been charged with murder for allegedly shooting 58-year-old Brooks special education teacher Betty Howard last month in the Chatham neighborhood.

Hodrick is accused of shooting Howard about 5:30 p.m. in the 7900 block of South Evans Avenue, authorities said.

Howard, of the 2200 block of South 14th Avenue in Broadview, was shot working her second job in her Chatham real estate office, her family said.

As a teacher at Brooks, Howard would travel to homes to teach disabled students — doing whatever it took to help some of the city’s most challenged youth, Brooks College Preparatory Academy Principal D’Andre Weaver said.

Howard, who taught at Brooks for seven years, even rode school buses to help out when school aides were absent, Weaver said.

Betty Howard/ Photo from Family

“It’s crazy, she wasn’t a thief, she didn’t harm anyone,” Long said, noting Howard’s brother, Orlando Long, is a police officer. “This isn’t how it was supposed to end for her.”

Hodrick, 33, of the 7900 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue, was charged with one count of first-degree murder, police said.

A 23-year-old woman was also wounded in the shooting and Hodrick was charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, police said.

In 2011, Hodrick was charged with possession of a firearm and not having a Firearms Owner ID card. The gun charge was dropped. He pleaded guilty to the FOID charge and was sentenced two years of probation, which he completed on March 4, according to court records.

Hodrick is expected in bond court later Thursday.

-- Chicago Sun-Times staff

WEEK IN REVIEW: 14 murdered throughout Chicago

Michael Lansu — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 09:17:44 -0500

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

Fourteen people were murdered throughout Chicago last week -- including two people in their 50s.

Nine of the murders happened on South Side, four on the West Side and one on the North Side. The Austin community had the most killings last week with three.

The most recent murder happened when 27-year-old Eric Kall was shot multiple times in the 6200 block of South Francisco Avenue shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday, authorities said.

Kall, of the 5100 block of South Moody Avenue, died at Holy Cross Hospital about 20 minutes later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

In the South Deering community, 31-year-old Denero Appleton was shot while standing outside in the 9600 block of South Brennan Avenue when several people walked up and opened fire at 8:48 p.m. Sunday, authorities said.

Appleton, of the 9900 block of South Calhoun Avenue, died later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the medical examiner’s office.

In the Austin community, 17-year-old Donald Williams was standing with a group of females near North Lavergne Avenue and West Ferdinand Street when several gunmen emerged from a nearby alley and opened fire about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.

Williams, of the 3000 block of West Dickens Street, was shot in the back and died at Mount Sinai Hospital at 1:19 a.m. Sunday, authorities said. Two teenage girls and three women were also wounded.

On Saturday, 16-year-old Nicholas Keener was walking with a group in the 3800 block of North St. Louis Avenue in the Irving Park community when shots were fired from a passing vehicle about 10:30 p.m., authorities said.

Keener, of the 4800 block of North Hamlin Avenue, was shot in the chest and died at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center less than an hour later, authorities said.

In the South Chicago neighborhood, 33-year-old De Angelo Russell was walking with a friend in the 2600 block of East 83rd Street when at least one gunman walked up and fired shots about 10:15 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.

Russell, of the 8200 block of South Marquette Avenue, was shot in the thigh, leg and arm and died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the medical examiner’s office.

In the Chatham neighborhood, 21-year-old McArthur Swindle was sitting in a sport-utility vehicle in the 700 block of East 87th Street when someone walked up and fatally shot him about 3:20 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.

Swindle — who went by the name Nuski as a rapper — was a relative of prominent Chicago rapper Lil Durk.

On Friday, 51-year-old Charles D. Short was standing with another man in the 4200 block of South Princeton Avenue in the Fuller Park neighborhood when a vehicle drove up and a male exited and started shooting in their direction about 6:30 p.m. Friday, authorities said.

Short, 51, of the 6700 block of South Indiana Avenue, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, according to the medical examiner’s office.

On Thursday, 19-year-old Malcolm Stuckey was on a porch in the 5700 block of South La Salle Street in the Englewood neighborhood when someone walked out of a gangway and fired shots about 6:10 p.m., authorities said.

Stuckey, 19, of the 16000 block of Carrington Drive in South Holland, was shot in the head and declared dead at 10:35 p.m., authorities said. Two other men, 23 and 24, were also wounded in the shooting.

On the South Side, 58-year-old Betty Howard was shot in the head in the 700 block of East 79th Street about 5:25 p.m. Thursday, authorities said. Howard, of of the 2200 block of South 14th Avenue in Broadview, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital less than an hour later.

Howard was a special education teacher Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep and was working her second job in her Chatham real estate office when she was shot.

In the South Shore neighborhood, 21-year-old Craig Mitchell was shot multiple times in the 2400 block of East 74th Street about 12:30 p.m. Thursday, authorities said. He was declared dead on the scene.

On Tuesday, 21-year-old Paul Pyron was driving a black Ford Expedition in the 2300 block of West 80th Street in the Ashburn neighborhood when two people approached and shot him during a carjacking about 10:25 p.m., authorities said.

Pyron died later that night at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the medical examiner's office.

Friends said Pyron was an aspiring rapper who was always telling jokes.

On Monday, 33-year-old Monte Tillman was fatally shot about 3:15 p.m. in the 5200 block of West Lake Street in the Austin community, authorities said. Tillman, of the 1100 block of Thomas Avenue in Forest Park, died about an hour later at Stroger Hospital, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Tillman’s cousin, the Rev. Ezra Tillman of First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in Flint, Mich., said Monte Tillman got involved in Chicago’s gang culture and the family was “hurt but not shocked” to learn of his death.

In the East Garfield Park neighborhood, police found 47-year-old Vincent Simmons in a vacant apartment in the the 2800 block of West Arthington Street about 7:15 a.m. Monday, authorities said. Simmons and a 43-year-old man were each stabbed and shot in the head.

Simmons, of the 2700 block of West Harrison Street, was dead at the scene, according to the medical examiner’s office. The other man survived, police said.

The killings started when 25-year-old Lance Stanton was shot 5400 block of West Haddon Avenue in the Austin neighborhood about 1 a.m., authorities said. Stanton, who lived on the block, died at Stroger Hospital.

Nobody has been charged in any of the murders.

Overall, the medical examiner’s office has ruled at least 156 Chicago deaths in 2014 a homicide — including seven people killed by police.

Additionally, the state’s attorney’s office filed first-degree murder charges against a speeding motorist who killed an off-duty police officer while trying to flee police even though the autopsy ruled the death an accident.

Chicago Police, which counts murders different, recorded 134 murders through May, ruling the other homicides as involuntary manslaughter, justified self-defense or accidents.

Husband: Slain Brooks teacher Betty Howard 'was all about the children'

Michael Lansu — Fri, 30 May 2014 10:13:38 -0500

BY STEFANO ESPOSITO AND EMILY BROSIOUS
Chicago Sun-Times and Homicide Watch Chicago

Betty Howard taught at Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep on the South Side, but her daily work often stretched far beyond its walls.

The beloved special education teacher, a innocent victim of gun violence Thursday evening, was also the “first lady” of New Light Holiness Church at 4740 W. Chicago Ave., where her husband of five years, the Rev. Major Howard is pastor. She worked as a case manager at the church and organized a tutoring program.

“Betty was a good woman ...” her husband said Friday. “She was all about the children.”

Howard, 58, of the 2200 block of South 14th Avenue in Broadview, was shot in the head about 5:25 p.m. in the 700 block of East 79th, police said.

Family said Howard, who had two sons and two grandchildren, was shot working her second job in her Chatham real estate office.

A 58-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman were also shot and treated on the scene, police said. The man suffered a graze wound to his abdomen, and the woman sustained a graze wound to her hand.

Betty Howard grew up in Englewood and valued education, persevering until she earned her doctorate, her husband said.

“She was always interested in educating children,” said Lynne Long, Howard’s sister-in law. “She wanted to give back in that way.”

“I used to tease her that she was a professional student. .... Dr. Betty Howard — the title meant a lot,” Long said.

As a teacher at Brooks, Howard would travel to homes to teach disabled students — doing whatever it took to help some of the city’s most challenged youth, Brooks Principal D’Andre Weaver said.

Howard, who taught at Brooks for seven years, even rode school buses to help out when school aides were absent, Weaver said.

Betty Howard/ Photo from Family

“She did it willingly, every single day — making home visits, working with kids after school, before school,” Weaver said. “We truly miss her, we love her and we’re really thinking about her family at this time.”

Inside Brooks, grieving students were writing “thank you” letters to Howard.

Shortly after noon, about 25 students from Howard’s home room released green and pink balloons, the colors of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the teacher’s Chicago State sorority with whose members she remained close.

“Betty’s death is an enormous loss of someone who meant so much to others,” Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said in a statement, “especially through her work as a special education teacher serving children with unique needs who required exceptional care.”

The randomness of the crime left her family with unanswerable questions.

“It’s crazy, she wasn’t a thief, she didn’t harm anyone,” Long said, noting Howard’s brother, Orlando Long, is a police officer. “This isn’t how it was supposed to end for her.”