Democrats in La Grange, Oak Park, Riverside? (Chicago, Evanston: apartments, renters)

[chet everett]

Thanks johnm -- I tend to get a bit cheesed off at some of the ideas people try to put forth and I guess this can be interpreted as rude. I think blunt honesty is more accurate.

I have several close friends in Riverside and I am sure that they would not feel comfortable with anyone trying to suggest their town is some sort of haven for maniacal arch conservatives -- Judy Barr-Topinka's base was / is mostly people that do not like the "behind closed doors" style of government that is the norm in Cook Co. She did a lot to help older folks not be driven out of their homes by rising taxes, and she was a a darn good treasurer for the State. She was / is a support of gay rights, limits on handguns and whole host of issues that are completely inline with mainstream views.

On the other end of things, the folks that I know from Oak Park mostly have a sense of humor about their views of many in their town when it comes to national political issues. Despite the more left leaning reputation the town has, it is also a pretty legalistic place -- if you get a ticket or need a building permit don't expect a "kumbayah" experience from the public officials.

You are not going find anyone living a costly home eager to see some sort of commune set up shop in town either. People get into ugly fights over the tax situations, school performance (lack there of...), lights on the football field and all the other stuff that makes for local government. I also have a few friends in River Forest and they are even more acutely aware of the economic challenges of living in town with a rather small tax base. If being liberal involves believing that the government is a better spender of money than individual then RF does not live up to that ideal.

The reality is that almost every person has some tendencies that might be identified with various political parties / line of thought. When it comes to how one feels about what they should be allowed to do with their home who does not identify with the Libertarian? When it comes to healthcare options or workplace pay issues who would not want a "true believer" Democract standing beside them? When it comes to issues of pork barrel spending who wouldn't want that rare penny pinching type of fiscal conservative scrutinizing every cent?

[bzmatka]

Thank you all for your responses.

We lived in Barrington 10 years ago, and left after the last presidential election. We were LITERALLY afraid to post an Al Gore sign in front of our house. Our neighbors and pretty much everyone we knew was extremely pro-Bush and very conservative, and they were very vocal about their political beliefs. So much so that we did not feel comfortable expressing ours. Many people lived in large McMansions and drove huge cars, both of which we found excessively wasteful and not kind to the earth. Lots of people we knew in Barrington belonged to that big church, or to other Bible-based churches, which lean quite conservative.

We are liberals, and we don't want to be afraid to open our mouths to express our political views or that we read the new York Times and listen to NPR. In Barrington, no one we knew did either of these things, so we had trouble finding common ground with our neighbors. They were nice people, but we didn't have much to share with them. We want to be involved in our community, and in the schools. We would like to feel that there are enough like-minded people in the community, and enough liberal Democrats that we can put up election signs, and speak our minds without being looked at askance.

We've heard Evanston and Oak Park over and over again, but we'd like to explore some other areas. Plus the nice parts of both Evanston and Oak Park are extremely expensive. We're hoping to find a community with a lot of liberals, but also where houses are a little less expensive. We know we have to compromise somewhere, so it may have to be a smaller house.

[oakparkdude]

Barrington wasn't expensive?

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by sukwoo

Barrington wasn't expensive?

I wouldn't be surprised if Oak Park is more expensive than Barrington on a dollars per square foot basis.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by bzmatka

Thank you all for your responses.

We lived in Barrington 10 years ago, and left after the last presidential election. We were LITERALLY afraid to post an Al Gore sign in front of our house. Our neighbors and pretty much everyone we knew was extremely pro-Bush and very conservative, and they were very vocal about their political beliefs. So much so that we did not feel comfortable expressing ours. Many people lived in large McMansions and drove huge cars, both of which we found excessively wasteful and not kind to the earth. Lots of people we knew in Barrington belonged to that big church, or to other Bible-based churches, which lean quite conservative.

We are liberals, and we don't want to be afraid to open our mouths to express our political views or that we read the new York Times and listen to NPR. In Barrington, no one we knew did either of these things, so we had trouble finding common ground with our neighbors. They were nice people, but we didn't have much to share with them. We want to be involved in our community, and in the schools. We would like to feel that there are enough like-minded people in the community, and enough liberal Democrats that we can put up election signs, and speak our minds without being looked at askance.

We've heard Evanston and Oak Park over and over again, but we'd like to explore some other areas. Plus the nice parts of both Evanston and Oak Park are extremely expensive. We're hoping to find a community with a lot of liberals, but also where houses are a little less expensive. We know we have to compromise somewhere, so it may have to be a smaller house.

10 years ago there was a GOP governor in IL, one GOP US Senator, state house was run by GOP, there were a balance of GOP statewide office holders and congressional delegation. The in a 50/50 national election the current President was triumphant after unprecedented voting recounts and Supreme Court intervention. After a boringly quiet few months the economy fell off the internet bubble, and a little something changed on a sunny day in September... After a some rah rah times to try and make things seem not so bad a not real popular military intervention was undertaken in Iraq.
Governor was indicted, GOP naively nominated guy with same last name, GOP senate candidate with same last name and kinky history. Nationally, GOP President has been in unprecedented tailspin of popularity...


Don't think there is place in the entire state (maybe nation) that is especially happy to be associated with ANY of the above...

Factor the pretty much universal embrace of hybrids, CFL bulbs, commuter trains and other left of center stuff now in the mainstream and I cannot fathom that you would not be pretty normal in any town in the region.

[Lookout Kid]

The liberal credentials of Oak Park are often over-stated. Don't forget that real estate is freakin' expensive there, and so people tend to have high-powered jobs and are quite vested in the Capitalist system. I think Oak Park is socially liberal, but fiscally conservative. Taxes are high, but largely because there is very little tax base outside of residential property and the schools are good. Oak Park would have much lower property tax bills if they were better at attracting businesses (who are scared off by the high taxes in a vicious spiral).

[nanannie]

Originally Posted by bzmatka

Thank you all for your responses.

We lived in Barrington 10 years ago, and left after the last presidential election. We were LITERALLY afraid to post an Al Gore sign in front of our house. Our neighbors and pretty much everyone we knew was extremely pro-Bush and very conservative, and they were very vocal about their political beliefs. So much so that we did not feel comfortable expressing ours. Many people lived in large McMansions and drove huge cars, both of which we found excessively wasteful and not kind to the earth. Lots of people we knew in Barrington belonged to that big church, or to other Bible-based churches, which lean quite conservative.

We are liberals, and we don't want to be afraid to open our mouths to express our political views or that we read the new York Times and listen to NPR. In Barrington, no one we knew did either of these things, so we had trouble finding common ground with our neighbors. They were nice people, but we didn't have much to share with them. We want to be involved in our community, and in the schools. We would like to feel that there are enough like-minded people in the community, and enough liberal Democrats that we can put up election signs, and speak our minds without being looked at askance.

We've heard Evanston and Oak Park over and over again, but we'd like to explore some other areas. Plus the nice parts of both Evanston and Oak Park are extremely expensive. We're hoping to find a community with a lot of liberals, but also where houses are a little less expensive. We know we have to compromise somewhere, so it may have to be a smaller house.

I have been here 20 years. I am beyond liberal and an ex hippie chick. Still have my birks. I have no idea what you are talking about or who you are referring to in this town.There are many different kinds of people, plenty of types to choose from. Afraid to put an AL Gore sign up I dont know what part of Barrington you found such close minded people, but I have yet to encounter them. As far as materielistic people, please find me a decent burb in anywhere USA that does not have Hummer-lovers.

[Anthera]

Originally Posted by nanannie

I have been here 20 years. I am beyond liberal and an ex hippie chick. Still have my birks. I have no idea what you are talking about or who you are referring to in this town.There are many different kinds of people, plenty of types to choose from. Afraid to put an AL Gore sign up I dont know what part of Barrington you found such close minded people, but I have yet to encounter them. As far as materielistic people, please find me a decent burb in anywhere USA that does not have Hummer-lovers.

There might have been a shortage of Al Gore signs in Barrington during the last election because John Kerry was the Democratic nominee.


My cousin in Barrington certainly had a Kerry sign in her yard, as did some of her neighbors.

[Anthera]

Originally Posted by bzmatka

Thank you all for your responses.

We lived in Barrington 10 years ago, and left after the last presidential election. We were LITERALLY afraid to post an Al Gore sign in front of our house. Our neighbors and pretty much everyone we knew was extremely pro-Bush and very conservative, and they were very vocal about their political beliefs. So much so that we did not feel comfortable expressing ours. Many people lived in large McMansions and drove huge cars, both of which we found excessively wasteful and not kind to the earth. Lots of people we knew in Barrington belonged to that big church, or to other Bible-based churches, which lean quite conservative.

We are liberals, and we don't want to be afraid to open our mouths to express our political views or that we read the new York Times and listen to NPR. In Barrington, no one we knew did either of these things, so we had trouble finding common ground with our neighbors. They were nice people, but we didn't have much to share with them. We want to be involved in our community, and in the schools. We would like to feel that there are enough like-minded people in the community, and enough liberal Democrats that we can put up election signs, and speak our minds without being looked at askance.

We've heard Evanston and Oak Park over and over again, but we'd like to explore some other areas. Plus the nice parts of both Evanston and Oak Park are extremely expensive. We're hoping to find a community with a lot of liberals, but also where houses are a little less expensive. We know we have to compromise somewhere, so it may have to be a smaller house.

What you describe sounds much more like South Barrington, than the village. Why don't you look into Prairie Crossing in Grayslake. Its Ecofriendly, liberal and organic. The houses are reasonably priced, and there is lots of open space.

[vandre]

Anybody has any experiences about Geneva? is it really very republican?

I was reading in wikipedia that the current mayor, Kevin Burns was elected in 2001 with 72% of the vote... (in 2005 he ran unoppossed)

Also why is that there is such a stark contrast between Cook County and the other Chicagoland counties? If you look at the results for 2004 presidential election, only Cook county voted democrat. Kane, Dupage, Lake, Willl,etc.. voted republican


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._by_county.jpg