Burbank, ill (Chicago, Cicero, Oak Lawn: middle-class, crime, house)

[citygrl707]

I went there yesterday and i saw a nice quiet neighborhood. Tell me what you think. My aunt also lives there and says its nice. I have two kids so tell me about the schools. thank you

[chet everett]

Not a bad town, but not too convenient to a whole lot of the Chicago area. It has done well with the boom at Midway Airport, but lacks good transportation otherwise. Oak Lawn is probably more expensive and nicer in most ways. The public high school, Reavis, is run pretty well -- the kids have a strict dress code and look a lot like those at the Catholic High School in town, St. Lawrence. The elementary schools are not bad at all, mostly smaller and close to the neighborhoods they serve, which people seem to like. The racial profile is mostly white, with some schools about half Hispanic. Interactive Illinois Report Card You could do a lot worse, but unless it will be real close to the airport or otherwise fits your commuting needs there are other towns that are higher on the general desirability list.

[NYrules]

Burbank is fine if you can deal with the TONS of traffic on Harlem and when you need to hit up the Wally World over on Cicero, but, other than that, its fine. Homes have nice big yards surprisingly, especially along 83rd between Harlem and Cicero. Schools are ok, not bad, but also not the best in Chicago either. Homes are going up in value steadily, not fast, but not slow either. Hey at least they are still going up! Overall its a fine town with alot of young families and plenty of homes that could use a good family in them to take care of them (the house that is).

[nJohn]

Burbank is mostly compromised of blue collar workers who are conservative and keep to themselves. Transportation to the Loop isn't too bad since you have various options ranging from the Orange Line at Midway and Pulaski, I-55, and the Metra in Oak Lawn. About five years ago the place was predominately white, but Latinos and African Americans (mostly of low income) are slowly moving in. Burbank is a town that seems to NOT change due the native residence being there for generations. I attended a private elementary school in Burbank and my family had no trouble being a minority; all the teachers I had seemed to be color blind to my skin and treated my family with the up most respect.

Education in this town is okay to say the least. The public elementary schools seem decent but if your child is gifted, he'll feel held back. Be weary of Maddock Elementary - has a rep. for the towns delinquents. Tobin or Burbank Elementary seems like your best bet if your kids aren't in high school. Burbank has three high schools, two being catholic (all male and female) and one public. The public school, Reavis, last time I've heard (about four years ago) has been on academic probation, not sure if it's gotten better. . .and Reavis uniforms are completely new to me.

I'm an alumni of St. Laurence High School (STL), the all male school. The education is decent. Some departments are severely lacking (Foreign Language and Science) while others (English, Math, History) are strong due to the faculty who have been there for ages. STL does not offer home economics or shop class, unfortunately. The faculty, like in most high schools be it private or public, is a mixture of athletic coaches that can't or can (highly doubt it) teach, old and senile but effective teachers, and young ones fresh out of graduate school who don't have a clue in what they're doing. It's a hit or miss. The clubs at STL, blah. I was in the Improve Club and that was rather good. The sports at STL aren't great: baseball is the only consistent sport that does well, basketball and cross country are so-so, and football is just plain bad. The student population, rather small I might add, is a mix of suburbanites and inner city kids. The majority are middle-class white Catholics while others are Latino or African American - during my days the mixture of culture really helped in my maturity and is a plus if you want your kids to be exposed to some diversity. Definitely not your North Face, Mercedes-Benz crowd. If STL was just as good as QP (see below) academically, I would actually consider sending my future children here.

The all girls school, Queen of Peace (QP), is by far the best academically out of all three high schools. STL's sister school. Small, academically challenging, Catholic, and anti-male (or pro-feminist, whichever way). I have/had siblings that attended QP and each one enjoyed their experience. QP and STL have a system if a class (most likely an AP) isn't offered at the school a student can take it at the other and vice versa. I had a friend who took AP Chem. at QP while some girls came over to STL for Calculus BC. About three years ago the school's president was fired, one year before her contract ended, causing the students to revolt and hold a picket line outside. The reason for the picket line is unknown to me. Either they really liked the president or they just didn't like the way she was dismissed. Their sports teams are decent, some actually have a break out year every now and then. I can't speak for their clubs - I do know for a fact the students at QP are much more involved in their extracurricular activities than STL students.

In terms of entertainment, not including the park fights against STL and Reavis, their isn't much to do. The local bars are few and there are two malls within driving distance, one located on Cicero and the other on Ridgeland Ave. What you can't find in the town itself may be found in the surrounding suburbs (Bridgeview, Justice, Oak Lawn, Evergreen Park) or neighborhoods of Chicago (West Lawn, Ashburn, Beverly, Mt. Greenwood) in terms of amenities. If you want to visit the Loop, it's about a 30-45 minute drive depending on the traffic.

Crime in Burbank isn't much of a problem. Probably an idiot stealing from the local bread store, but nothing extreme. In saying that, Burbank's eastern border is West Lawn and Ashburn neighborhoods of Chicago. Some of the residences in West Lawn tend to come over to Burbank for work, but seem to mind their own business.

Burbank isn't a pretty face, granting there are some spots that are nice. The residential areas on the southern side of Burbank are quiet, neat and are lined with trees, the northern section, same thing but a bit less. Small to medium sized homes and parks compromise Burbank, but recently mini mansions are being built along Central Ave. -- which look really odd standing next to grandma's small yet cozy house.

Like the previous posters have said, Burbank is not a bad town. IMO, it's one convenient suburb. Friends of mine who grew up in Burbank turned out fine and received an education decent enough to succeed in their respective college. Most of the residences are down to earth people and are willing to help. I had my share of bad and good experiences with the residences, but that's everywhere you go.

[citygrl707]

Thank you all for answering. What newspaper is out there so i can look at it online? Its seems like a nice area. I beleive im going to give it a try.

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by citygrl707

Thank you all for answering. What newspaper is out there so i can look at it online? Its seems like a nice area. I beleive im going to give it a try.

The SouthtownStar

[citygrl707]

Our there no jobs in burbank i work in accounting and have a good job in chicago . I was looking into the job market in burbank and have came out puzzled. Thank you

[myrc60]

Originally Posted by citygrl707

Our there no jobs in burbank i work in accounting and have a good job in chicago . I was looking into the job market in burbank and have came out puzzled. Thank you

Burbank is mostly retail. You will probably over time find few jobs in your field. Look in neighboring towns; Justice, Oak Lawn, Bridgeview, Hickory Hills. You might want to consider keeping your job in the city.

[citygrl707]

i am going to be coming from burank to franklin park ill, does anyone know how long its going to take me. I have map quest the directions. I traveled at night so i have no ideal how it is when there is traffic. thank you

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by citygrl707

i am going to be coming from Burbank to Franklin Park IL, does anyone know how long its going to take me. I have map quest the directions. I traveled at night so i have no ideal how it is when there is traffic. thank you

Remember what I said about Burbank not being super convenient to a lot of places? That would be exactly the sort of commute that, while not the hell of driving 40 miles in bumper-to-bumper madness, is not real good either. I can't say that for certain that getting on 294 or 290 would do much to make this more tolerable, though I suspect that the automated services like mapquest/google will try and route that way by default. Similarly, no matter which combination of surface streets you select I can't think of any way to be completely immune for the large number of RR crossings that you'd encounter. Plan on spending about 40 tedious minutes no matter what you do to cover what couldn't be more than 15-20 miles...