Democrats in La Grange, Oak Park, Riverside? (River Forest, Barrington: house, low crime)

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by RRConductor76

Lot of Democrats in Harvey, Dolton, Maywood, Bellwood. The 1940's home are a plenty too.

Now that's just mean...

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I can recall about a dozen people that I have talked to over the years that got 'advice' that was about as useful as saying "we want to pay more than a place is worth, live around some real thugs, always worry about your car, and help improve our little do-gooder score card then move to anyplace on this list". Oak Park Regional Housing Center

You know a dozen people that tried to rent apartments in Oak Park and went to the Housing Center?

The Housing Center is less effective than it used to be because many Oak Park landlords are wary of using it for listings. Also, apartment units declined sharply during the last condo boom (though I wonder how many "condo" units are now being rented out). I'm not sure it's a significant factor anymore, though I'm sure it will continue to get funding from the liberal Village government.

[RRConductor76]

Originally Posted by bzmatka

We are looking for a suburb with older (pre 1940) homes, good schools and lefty Democrats.

La Grange seems to have nice homes, but we're worried it's too Republican for us.

Riverside has lovely homes, and we like the fact that it's small, but we don't understand its politics.

Oak Park interests us, but it seems very divided rich vs poor areas, and it seems unsafe in parts.

River Forest has nice houses, but is it too conservative for us and not diverse racially?

Safety and schools are our first priorities, followed by political mix. (We lived in Barrington years ago, but were unhappy there because we were the only liberals in town. We loved the country feel of Barrington, but people thought we were freaks because we had no TV and voted for Democrats.)

Any comments on the political and social makeup of La Grange, Riverside, Oak Park and River Forest most appreciated. Thanks.

I thought diversity and tolerance are what liberals stand for?

[bzmatka]

We're still confused, but more informed. We drove through Oak Park, Riverside and La Grange and liked them all. There are definitely old houses we'd kill to live in in each suburb, so that much is great. And we saw Obama signs in each town, so felt OK there too.

We pretty much rejected Riverside because it has no town to speak of. It seems very quiet and safe (aspects we love), but I didn't see a single person walking down the street on a Sunday afternoon, nor did I see one child playing outside or riding a bike down the nearly deserted streets. We drove all around looking at the beautiful houses and the lovely winding streets on a beautiful sunny day, but only saw one man watering his lawn, and that was it. It looks like you can walk safely, but there's no where to go! It is a beautiful suburb, but we'd like to live somewhere we can walk to town, and with a more neighborly feel. It feels like a subdivision where you must get in your car and drive everywhere.

Oak Park has lovely houses, but it has a bit less "sheen" than does Riverside, even in the nice areas. We like the downtown, and the urban feel of Oak Park, but still feel uncomfortable about crime. Obama signs everywhere, which we liked, but we're uncertain....

La Grange we liked very much. It has a small-town feel, but you can walk to the train station, Trader Joes and Borders --yea! We only saw one Obama sign, but am not sure what to make of that. I did see children riding bikes and people on their front porches and in their front yards. I don't know how to ask this tactfully, but we only saw Protestant churches in La Grange -- is it a WASP-y town? We particularly liked the older (northern?) part of town with the lovely Victorian houses and beautiful streets that felt quiet and safe.

In response to someone's post, yes we are activists, and we do like to make some noise, join causes, and we like people who express their views (politely, not obnoxiously). We are not "in your face," but we don't want to be looked at askance because of our lifestyle (lefty politics, organic food, no tv, and no we're not like that Onion guy! We love Truffaut films tho!). In Barrington, we did not feel comfortable opening our mouths about pretty much anything we believe because the people we knew there were so conservative, and vocally intolerant of different views (they were the obnoxious ones, not us! We kept quiet.) People actually asked me why my husband and I have different last names. One woman told me she thought that was weird, I kid you not. That's what I call intolerant, and rude. I'd never call her weird for changing her name when she got married!

[Lookout Kid]

All of those towns were formerly WASP-y, especially Oak Park, which was a dry town for much of its lifetime. Hemingway talked about the "broad lawns and narrow minds" of Oak Park, which is why it's kind of ironic that it's such a liberal bastion nowadays. Oak Park started turning liberal in the 70s, and is now considered very "progressive".

La Grange is a very nice town indeed, but definitely doesn't have the liberal repuation of Oak Park--if this is really important to you. It's great from a walkability standpoint, but the big disadvantages it has compared to Oak Park are the lack of CTA trains (Oak Park has two) and the fact it's further from the Loop. Property crime is certainly less of an issue in La Grange, but I'd still put an alarm on my house in any near western suburb.

If I were you I'd talk to some Oak Park residents about their experiences with crime. You'll find varying opinions, but most people I know who live there don't seem to think it's a major issue. I do know one guy who was robbed at gunpoint in his garage ten years ago on the east side of Oak Park, but he still loves the town and wants to move back!

Did you also look at River Forest? It's probably more conservative than Oak Park, but shares the great OPRF High School and is connected quite nicely to Oak Park culturally.

[sukwoo]

I'd second the recommendation of River Forest if you're put off by the level of Oak Park crime. Its definitely more exclusive than OP (minimal racial diversity, fewer rentals, larger houses), but you can live in RF and literally be one block from downtown OP.

[CarolL]

I have lived in Oak Park for most of the last 22 years, and I'm a big Oak Park supporter, so stop reading if you dont' want to hear some rah-rah.

As a single mom with two toddlers, I got my first apt thru the Housing Center and lived on Austin (I can hear the gasps now). Other than someone trying to break into my car, we were fine. We moved to north Oak Park, where I bought a house two blocks from Austin. Lived there 7 years and the only incident was when someone cut a screen on one of my windows. No break-in, tho. Lived in a condo in the center of town for 10 1/2 years. One break-in. Now we live in an apt near Ridgeland; so far, nothing.

We moved out of Oak Park once (job transfer to east coast) but when that gig was up and we could have moved anywhere, we chose to come back to Oak Park because of the liberal, progressive attitude. Good schools. Excellent child care, libraries, shopping, farmers' market, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's soon, coffee shops, theater, music, restaurants. If it matters, there are at least three churches with missions to welcome gays and lesbians. Lovely homes and architecture that are appreciated and preserved. Overwhelmingly (89%) Democrat in the last prez election. Ten-minute drive to downtown. Two el lines. Not a bad route to O'Hare if you know the back way thru the forest preserves. You want activism? I don't even know where to begin: You can find whatever you're looking for here, from Communists to feminists to old hippies to Greens to gay activists...it's all here. There's been an anti-Iraq War rally every Friday night since the war started. One of the big immigrant marches a couple of months ago went right past my front window.

Yes, real estate is expensive, and prop taxes are high (my biggest gripe, since now I can't afford to retire in my hometown unless I rent). I also think the village fathers and mothers are absolutely irresponsible and completely crazy to continue to permit condos to be built. (Took me two years to sell mine, and all the time, they're glutting the market with more). And of course, parking is an issue in "Oak No-Park," as we call it.

But I will never regret having raised my children in a place where policies are based on progressive, liberal attitudes, where the schools are 30+% minority, where the town actually orchestrates racial integration by controlling housing in the right way, not just to be fair and decent but also to preserve real estate values. Yes, Oak Park can go over the top sometimes, even for me, but in general, my kids benefitted from having been raised here.

So I'm putting my pom-poms away now.

[cdc3217]

Here's another way of looking at it...

For a politically active couple, if they want to maximize their voting power, they should select a town that's politically centrist, where their votes can help carry the district for their chosen candidate.

[chet everett]

Not sure what you are calling "wasp-y". In terms of actual religious affiliation I would put money that the ethnic types at St. Cletus and St. Francis far and away outnumber any of the other non-african american churches in terms of membership: Church List for La Grange, Illinois

The convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph is always hosting the liberal causes, it ain't one of those "Mother Angelica" type orders, way way at the other of the spectrum. The "dead man walking" nun was from that order, but down in Louisiana..

[NearWestSider]

In my experience, La Grange people are far more eager to talk about their renovation projects than their political beliefs. In fact, I'd say people in La Grange are sometimes TOO eager to talk about their renovation projects. Of course, when you walk through the side streets of the historic district and see the beautifully restored old homes, a lot of work has gone into them and it really is impressive, so I give them credit, even if I don't always want to talk about plumbing and drywall.

So if this person was into historic preservation, I'd say La Grange is a really good choice because there is a lot of opportunity for hands-on historic preservation. But politics? I really don't think people are terribly political in La Grange. Besides the issue of teardowns, which are universally frowned upon within the historic district, La Grange is your basic live and let live kind of place.

I have been told that it is not hard to find Moveon.org meetings or get togethers (or whatever they call them) in the area, so there must be some lefties around there.