Calumet City, so very sad! (Harvey, Ford Heights: real estate, crime, credit card)

[I_HATE_Cal_City]

I'm 22 years old and I, until very recently, lived in Calumet City for the better part of my life. My family and I moved to Calumet City when I was about 5 years old.

It was such a nice place to live when we first moved there. It was mostly older retired indaviduals.

...however

When the city decided to tear down Cabrini Green and give all the trash that lived there housing vouchers (because we all know its not a hand out, its just a hand) my home town, in just a matter of 3 or 4 years, turned from a nice middle class neighborhood to worse than Harvey.

It makes me sick!!!!!

And how funny that if you read the homepage, so delicately worded by honorable mayor Michelle Qualkenbush, it states how safe of a place Calumet City is to RAISE YOUR CHILDREN.

Let me please inform anybody misguided enough to want to bring your children to Calumet City, your better off sending them to Iraq, at least that way they have a possibility of coming out alive.

I now live in Las Vegas, NV and went home this past October to visit my family. It has now gotten so bad over the past year that I have been gone, that I refused to walk the block and a half down to McDonalds because the sun had already set.

My grandmother, during a phone call last week, informed me they arrested 4 teenage girls for beating people with wrenches and robbing them outside Moderator cut: rude River Oaks.

Sad to see what the department of Housing and Urban Development actually see's as urban development, destroying perfectly nice cities by bussing in trash.

[skyeINIL]

I would never call Calumet City a great place to live, but neither would I compare it to Harvey (which is suffering from apathetic residents and governmental corruption in addition to other problems), or even worse, Iraq (which is an insult to the men and women who are actually putting their lives in danger everyday in an actual warzone). I'm sure if you asked any of the soldiers, they would choose to be in Calumet City rather than in Iraq right now.

I won't even comment on the racist statement you made. However, it does show me the motivation behind your words.

[enelrad1230]

I work in the mall and there is violence every day. I had a shoplifter that left her 7yr old son in the mall because she was being chased and didn't want to give up her stolen merchandise. I had a woman that tried to hit me because i wouldn't return her $500+ stolen merchandise with no receipt. It's bad enough they steal the merchandise, but then they have the nerve to come back in and return it. When I go on break on Friday and Saturday nights, there are teenagers right outside the doors smoking weed. At least someone taught them enough respect to step outside.
These people are worse than animals.

[enelrad1230]

Skye, Don't judge or criticize what you obviously don't understand.

[skyeINIL]

Originally Posted by enelrad1230

Skye, Don't judge or criticize what you obviously don't understand.

I wasn't judging or criticizing what the op said, moreso how he said it. I wouldn't live in Calumet City if you paid me. I'm don't like to see people comparing bad neighborhoods to Iraq, which is a very real warzone. Also, he made a very racist statement that I cannot repeat since it was cut out.

I agree the mall is horrible. I never go there because of the issues you mentioned.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by enelrad1230

When I go on break on Friday and Saturday nights, there are teenagers right outside the doors smoking weed. At least someone taught them enough respect to step outside.

It's the new no-smoking law. They don't want to risk a $100 fine.

[shoefareek]

I haven't been near River Oaks Mall since 2003. I was shopping at a children's store and the clerk who appeared to be appx. 19 or 20 years old "neglected" to return my credit card. By the time I realized it was missing, the mall had closed. I called to cancel the card but it was too late. In just over 1 hour $1500.00 in charges had been made at stores in the mall. When I reported the crime to the Cal City Police, they were completely uninterested, even though I knew who the prime suspect was. They told me not to worry that the Card company would "just have to eat it".

[Avengerfire]

Get your family out of there before the housing value and their safety drops even more.

I cant comment on the comments that were edited since I never saw them.

Your post is a rant and it is at least paritally justified and true. However, instead of complaining about it, do something about it that is positive in whatever way works best for you and everyone else.

The Iraq comment is in poor taste, but I do know what kind of analogy was trying to made. I dont think something like that should be censored.

[HsvMike]

I lived in NWI for most of my life, and unfortunately, that is what River Oaks is called.

Who didn't know that this would happen. You had projects sitting on prime real estate, it is a mystery why Daley didn't do it a lot sooner. But of course he didn't want to keep everyone in the city, so he shipped them all out to the south suburbs. From Cabrini Green to everything down State St. the Taylor homes, Stateway etc. Now with everyone out of the city, and when crime numbers start dropping, Daley can get the credit for making Chi safer.

Cal City is a hole. It hasn't hit rock bottom like Harvey and Ford Heights, but it's getting there.

[LIS123]

I've also been living in NWI for many years and can verify that the derogatory term for River Oaks has been in use for a long time.
That area has been getting much worse. We used to shop there often, but I couldn't tell you the last time I went there for shopping, movies, dining or anything else. It probably won't be that long until Cal City is at the Harvey level, as it has been slipping quickly.