A fatal shooting happened in Chicago and it was all perfectly legal.
Jose Guzman became the first hunter in more than 150 years to shoot a deer inside Windy City limits earlier this week, when he bagged a doe with a crossbow. Guzman brought down the animal from a tree stand in William Powers State Recreation Area on the city’s Southeast Side.
“I was sitting on the edge of the woods and it came up behind me,” Guzman told the Chicago Sun-Times. “She came out with other does and within a minute I had taken my shot.”
Thanks to ethically responsible hunters like Jose Guzman, featured in this @Suntimes story, IDNR has been able to expand hunting opportunities to every part of Illinois, even in Cook County, where Chronic Wasting Disease has been detected. https://t.co/5iXMZd87GZ
— Illinois DNR (@IllinoisDNR) October 5, 2022
The last known deer to be taken legally by a hunter in the city was in 1865, by first ward alderman William Cox, according to Joel Greenberg, author of “A Natural History of the Chicago Region.” That hunt took place in an area described as “where a forest of cottonwoods and oaks contested with a reluctant prairie, land that was to become the great stockyards.”
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources opened the first deer hunting season at the state park this year, awarding eight hunters 14-day permits. Guzman’s was first, from opening day of archery season on Oct. 1 through Oct. 14.
Guzman spoke with the newspaper before he made history, and sounded like he had a plan.
“I know where they are bedding,” he said. “This is suburban hunting, so they are used to people and people in the woods. These deer are used to smelling humans. There are houses 50 yards away on either side.”
State conservationists said allowing controlled hunts is important for managing the Cook County deer population, which is vulnerable to chronic wasting disease and poaching.
“It is a great privilege to be allowed in the area, I get to set the tone,” Guzman told the newspaper. “We’re helping to manage the deer population. It’s not like we don’t need the management program. Deer and wildlife management as a whole is really important.”
Guzman, who butchered his prey and had it tested for disease before eating it, said he plans to continue hunting through the duration of his permit in hopes of bagging a buck. Although he is only allowed to shoot deer, he said there are plenty of other critters living in the park.
“The surprising thing is the amount of wildlife in those woods,” Guzman said. “There are coyotes in there, raccoons and opossums, lots of wildlife in that little area. There were three other does with that one.”