Why Have 2 Men Been Able To Assault North Siders For Years? Thousands Demand Answers

LAKEVIEW — Jenna Klotz was walking in Lakeview this fall when she spotted the stranger who had punched her days earlier. And for the third time that week, she called police.

Officers eventually found the man, Leon Jackson, on Surf Street. By then, Klotz knew his name. In a tense and emotionally charged moment, officers asked Klotz a question she still struggles with months later: What did she want them to do?

“I basically was not sure what I was supposed to do,” Klotz said. “But I felt very strongly that this is something that I can’t ignore, because what about the next person after me?”

Months later, Klotz still thinks about that encounter and worries about who might be next, she said.

Klotz’s concerns are shared by thousands of people calling for action regarding Jackson and Willie Wright, two men who neighbors say have spent years harassing residents and women in Lakeview and other North Side neighborhoods and who have accumulated numerous arrests and court appearances, according to court records.

An online petition launched this month has garnered more than 3,500 signatures calling on elected officials, police and prosecutors to use available legal tools to detain Wright and Jackson and meet with residents about public safety concerns.

The effort has reignited a longstanding debate about public safety, mental illness, the criminal justice system and what options exist when the same people repeatedly come into contact with police and the courts.

Mental health experts say cases like Wright’s and Jackson’s expose longstanding gaps in Illinois’ behavioral health system, where people can cycle between hospitals, homelessness, jail and the courts without receiving consistent treatment or long-term support.

For years, residents have used neighborhood Facebook groups to warn one another about sightings of Wright and Jackson and share information about the men’s court hearings. Organizers behind the petition say those efforts have helped neighbors stay informed, but they have done little to address what many see as a recurring problem.

“I think people are sick of feeling like nothing is being done,” said Amber Davidson, a Lakeview resident who helped launch the petition. “Posting sightings of them and places to avoid only goes so far.”

A Longstanding Concern

For some longtime North Side residents, concerns about Wright and Jackson are not new.

Wright first drew widespread attention in Andersonville nearly a decade ago, where women shared warnings on social media and reported being followed, harassed, groped and assaulted by a man they identified as Wright.

In 2019, women recounted to Block Club their years of encounters with Wright, including allegations that he followed women, exposed himself, grabbed them and, in one instance, attempted to drag a store employee into a bathroom.

That same year, a judge ordered Wright to stay out of part of Andersonville after a series of arrests and complaints. But residents say concerns followed him into neighboring communities, including Lakeview.

Jackson has become a similarly recognizable figure in Lakeview in recent years, with residents frequently sharing sightings and accounts of encounters in neighborhood Facebook groups.

Neighbors have accused Jackson of randomly striking pedestrians, threatening people and engaging in erratic behavior along commercial corridors, including Broadway, prompting repeated calls to police and warnings on social media.

Public court records show Jackson has been arrested numerous times over the past several years on charges ranging from battery and assault to aggravated battery and aggravated assault.

According to Cook County court records, Wright’s most recent criminal case stemmed from a 2024 aggravated battery of a peace officer charge. He pleaded guilty in March 2025 and was sentenced to three years in prison, receiving credit for time already served.

Jackson is currently being held in Cook County Jail after prosecutors successfully petitioned to revoke his pretrial release following a felony aggravated battery charge filed this month, according to court records. His next court appearance is scheduled for July.

While the circumstances of the men’s cases vary, residents behind the petition say both men have become symbols of a larger frustration about how to respond when the same people repeatedly come into contact with police, the courts and the community.

That frustration is what prompted Davidson to launch the petition.

What Neighbors Are Asking For

The petition is addressed to Alds. Bennett Lawson and Angela Clay, police Commander Amin Jessani and Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke, and it calls on officials to use available legal tools to keep Wright and Jackson off the streets and to meet with residents about public safety concerns.

Lawson, whose office uses email newsletters to regularly update residents on Wright’s and Jackson’s court proceedings, said issues with the two men have generated a steady stream of calls, emails and complaints from constituents.

But Lawson said cases like Wright’s and Jackson’s are often more complicated than they appear from the outside.

“Everything is a misdemeanor, and there’s no correlation between the type of victim, the location or the circumstances,” Lawson said. “You have a different assistant state’s attorney every time, a different arresting officer every time.”

While residents often view incidents involving the two men as part of a larger pattern, the criminal justice system generally evaluates individual cases on their own merits, Lawson said.

That can make it difficult for prosecutors, judges and police to address what neighbors see as a recurring problem, particularly when incidents involve different victims, varying levels of evidence and longstanding questions about Wright’s and Jackson’s mental health and access to treatment.

Dr. Stephen Dinwiddie, chief of forensic psychiatry at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, cautioned that he has not evaluated Wright or Jackson and could not comment on their individual cases.

But Dinwiddie said cases involving people with severe mental illness often expose gaps between the criminal justice system, mental health providers and public safety agencies.

“Our system is set up, therefore, to utterly fail at every level to address the kinds of problems that the violent severely mentally ill citizens represent,” Dinwiddie said.

Individual incidents frequently result in misdemeanor charges, courts evaluate cases one at a time and mental health systems often lack the resources needed for sustained intervention, he said.

“Mental health services nationwide, certainly in Illinois, certainly in Chicago, are grossly underfunded,” Dinwiddie said.

Lawson’s office has worked with police, prosecutors and community members for years to monitor the cases and encourage residents to report incidents, sign complaints and participate in court proceedings when appropriate.

Still, many of the decisions residents are asking about — including detention, prosecution and mental health treatment — ultimately fall outside the authority of alderpeople.

Lawson said the fact that both men remain frequent topics of neighborhood discussion after years of arrests illustrates how unusual the situation has become.

“For someone to rise to this level, they have to have been around a while,” Lawson said. “These aren’t three offenses, right? This is a dozen.”

A Repeat Offender

On Nov. 8, Klotz was walking to Mariano’s near Broadway and Wellington Avenue when she noticed a man walking toward her on the sidewalk. As the two passed each other, the man suddenly punched the side of her head, she said, causing a minor head injury.

“I was completely in shock,” Klotz said.

After reporting the incident to police, Klotz learned through neighborhood Facebook groups that other residents had identified the man as Jackson.

Days later, Klotz spotted Jackson again while walking in the neighborhood and called police. Officers eventually found Jackson on Surf Street and stopped him nearby.

As officers questioned Jackson, he appeared agitated and repeatedly tried to move toward Klotz before officers stepped in between them, she said.

Then came the question she hadn’t expected: What did she want the police to do?

Klotz ultimately decided to pursue charges.

In the months that followed, Klotz attended court hearings, spoke with victim advocates and followed developments in Jackson’s case. She said the experience also changed how she moved through the neighborhood.

For a period of time, Klotz stopped wearing a certain coat she feared would make her recognizable. She became more aware of her surroundings and found herself thinking about the possibility of another encounter.

At the same time, Klotz said the experience gave her a greater appreciation for how complicated situations involving repeat offenders can become.

Klotz said she believes residents deserve to feel safe in their neighborhood while recognizing that issues such as mental illness and substance abuse may play a role in cases like Jackson’s.

Still, Klotz worries about what happens when intervention efforts fail and the same people continue cycling through the criminal justice system.

“My biggest fear right now is that he will come right back,” Klotz said. “And then there’s going to be someone else.”

The petition’s organizers acknowledge there are no easy solutions.

Davidson said many residents recognize that mental illness, substance abuse and homelessness may play a role in such cases. But she said neighbors are frustrated by what they see as a lack of accountability when incidents continue occurring over a period of years.

“We don’t want to lock them up because they’re mentally ill,” Davidson said. “We want to lock them up because they are violent.”

In a statement, a Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office spokesperson said prosecutors sought and obtained pretrial detention for Jackson following his June arrest on an aggravated battery charge. A judge ultimately granted the petition, and Jackson remains in custody awaiting future court appearances.

The office also noted that Wright pleaded guilty in 2025 to aggravated battery of a peace officer and was sentenced to three years in prison, receiving credit for time already served.

Lawson said residents who witness criminal activity should continue reporting incidents to police, making formal complaints and participating in court proceedings when possible.

“If there’s no 911 call, there’s no record,” Lawson said.

For Klotz, the broader policy debates ultimately come back to whether people can safely walk through their own neighborhood.

“You shouldn’t have to watch over your shoulder or look to see if someone’s coming up to hit you in the head while you’re just walking down the street,” she said.