is lansing IL going down the tube? (Oak Park, Calumet City: crime rate, houses)

[Chuckity]

Originally Posted by skyeINIL

How do those affect you when you are driving through? Of course, I could see those things being an issue for a resident, but those of us who just drive through on the main streets (Torrence, Burnham, Wentworth, 159th, Sibley) don't usually see those things.

I've never been hurt by or scared of 2-foot tall grass or people hanging out on corners, but if you feel you need an armored car to protect you from that, then by all means...

I never said I just "drove through" Cal City.

All those things I mentioned also effect people who own property in CC - like me - not just residents.

Please don't make assumptions that the people who post about the problems with the south suburbs don't have indepth knowledge about them.

[skyeINIL]

Well, I don't just "drive through" either. I do business and visit friends and family in Calumet City and other south suburbs. I tire of the gross exaggerations about some of these places. If you have "indepth knowledge" about the south suburbs, then you should know you don't need an armored car just to visit or make brief trips through Calumet City.

That other poster (1962-1965) obviously has little to no knowledge about the area and feels free to post, yet you do nothing but co-sign his/her mistakes.

[Chuckity]

Originally Posted by skyeINIL

Well, I don't just "drive through" either. I do business and visit friends and family in Calumet City and other south suburbs. I tire of the gross exaggerations about some of these places. If you have "indepth knowledge" about these places then you should know you don't need an armored car just to visit or make brief trips through Calumet City.

That other poster (1962-1965) obviously has little to no knowledge about the area and feels free to post, yet you do nothing but co-sign his/her mistakes.

Armored car alludes to the fact that it's a war zone. And if it doesn't have the complete bombed out look of complete and utter urban decay, CC is well on it's way.

And yeah, I do have "in depth" knowledge. I grew up in the area - my husband is from Harvey - so let's just say, my in depth knowledge runs very deep.

We watched Cal City go from a very middle of the road, blue collar working suburb to basically, a crap hole. In the space of SIX months (where we never had any crime whatsoever) - my car was stolen, my in law's apartment was broken into, our storage facility was cleaned out, my MIL was held up in the parking lot of the grocery store and our dog was stolen. Our DOG for crying out loud. (And no, we're not guessing - we saw the kid take him and run ... and we caught him.)

The year? 1993. And it's been on a downward spiral ever since.

There are, and always have been, a lot of untruths about the entire south suburban area - but there's a lot of truth too.

As for the other poster, he/she does have knowledge - of when it was a safe, family area. Now, while I don't go back THAT far, I do recall the peacefulness of the 70s - and the comparison between then and now is HUGE. And his mistakes? I'm pretty sure he probably meant 162nd and Lansing does share a border with South Holland in a spot or two - but he makes no mistake about how crappy most of the south side has become.

[skyeINIL]

Believe me, Chuckity, I'm not saying that Cal City is a great place to live. I lived there myself from 1995-1998. We didn't have any bad experiences, but my husband and I knew that it wasn't a place we wanted to call a permanent home, especially since we wanted children.

My only point is that many posters on here exaggerate the dangers of the south suburbs. Of course, there are a few towns (e.g. Harvey, Ford Heights) that I wouldn't frequent, but for the most part, the south 'burbs are not "war zones" that cannot even be driven through.

Now, as for Lansing? It is nowhere NEAR the current state of Calumet City. It is still a nice place to live. The same goes for South Holland.

[Chicagoland60426]

Originally Posted by skyeINIL

Believe me, Chuckity, I'm not saying that Cal City is a great place to live. I lived there myself from 1995-1998. We didn't have any bad experiences, but my husband and I knew that it wasn't a place we wanted to call a permanent home, especially since we wanted children.

My only point is that many posters on here exaggerate the dangers of the south suburbs. Of course, there are a few towns (e.g. Harvey, Ford Heights) that I wouldn't frequent, but for the most part, the south 'burbs are not "war zones" that cannot even be driven through.

Now, as for Lansing? It is nowhere NEAR the current state of Calumet City. It is still a nice place to live. The same goes for South Holland.

I agree, South Holland is still fairly nice. Most of the south suburbs don't look like war zones.

[At1WithNature]

They don't have to look like a war zone to be filled with guns and violence. Just ask Park Forest or Country Club Hills. Heck, C.C. Hills looks great when you drive through. Then the next thing you know, they'll have 5 murders in 10 days. It all depends on your subjective viewpoint on what good is...

[Opkl]

Originally Posted by At1WithNature

They don't have to look like a war zone to be filled with guns and violence. Just ask Park Forest or Country Club Hills. Heck, C.C. Hills looks great when you drive through. Then the next thing you know, they'll have 5 murders in 10 days. It all depends on your subjective viewpoint on what good is...

At1WithNature, what is your opinion of Lynwood? Do you think its safe? etc. Out of 1-10 with 1 being the best, what would you give Lynwood?

[skyeINIL]

Originally Posted by Opkl

At1WithNature, what is your opinion of Lynwood? Do you think its safe? etc. Out of 1-10 with 1 being the best, what would you give Lynwood?

Who cares what he thinks? You live there, you tell us what you think. And, besides, I'm sure you already know what he's going to say...

[Opkl]

Originally Posted by skyeINIL

Who cares what he thinks? You live there, you tell us what you think. And, besides, I'm sure you already know what he's going to say...

That was the whole point in me asking him.
Just to see if his views had changed

[crbcrbrgv]

These anti-Elmwood Park, anti-Lansing posts really crack me up. Do you people even bother to look at crime statistics before you declare a town being headed towards the some sort of imaginary ghetto abyss? If you actually bothered to look up the crime statistics of Lansing, you would find the last ten years have been almost exactly the same.