Oak Park vs. Evanston (Chicago, Washington: apartments, condo, house)

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by adele115

I currently live in Oak Park but am considering relocating to Evanston for a job on the north shore. While I love all that is great about Oak Park, there is really a crime problem. While many find ways to justify/rationalize the issue, there are hundreds of bike thefts each summer, and more brazen assaults happening during the day. One wouldn't know this if they didn't read the local papers and visit the police website crime maps. I'm wondering, while I know Evanston also has crime issues, and I've read many posts here...HOW BAD IS IT?? I could go further north but find Wilmette/Winnetka etc to be less interesting to me. Thanks!

Crime in Oak Park is MUCH lower than it was in the 80s and 90s, by the way. It's been cut in half. To say things are getting "more brazen" isn't quite right. Crime has been an issue in Oak Park for decades now, and it's not really getting worse.

[Anthera]

If there's going to be an Evanston vs. Oak Park smackdown, could someone please address OPRF vs ETHS. There's never any talk about the school, but its supposed to be as good or better than ETHS.

[Lookout Kid]

Any time I see any school rankings in the popular press, OPRF is ranked quite a bit higher than ETHS. Whatever that means. OPRF was one of the top schools in the state for many years, but has slipped a bit in the 25 years. It's still a highly regarded high school, however.

Like ETHS, OPRF has a sizeable minority of kids from poor black families. These kids tend to do poorly at both schools (i.e. the widely publicized "achievement gap"). But OPRF dillutes its poor minority student base because River Forest is largely white and affluent. I think this (demographics) is a big reason for the better overall performance of OPRF.

[Nysee53]

Does OPRF have a hispanic population? Apparently ETHS has a growing hispanic population. I have only seen one list where OPRF was ranked higher than ETHS.

I love the boycott of the CPS that they are trying to do. Comparing spending per pupil at New Trier to CPS schools. New Trier is not even the highest. ETHS is really high over $20,000 per pupil.

[adele115]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Evanston has a comparable index crime rate to Oak Park. If you want something safer than Oak Park, Evanston is NOT it. One year Evanston will be a bit better, and Oak Park will be better the next.

Evanston is more segregated than Oak Park, and the criminal element that victimizes Evanston mostly lives in Evanston, not in some adjacent neighborhood. People in Oak Park tend to blame most of the crime on residents of Austin or Maywood, I often wonder if this is really the case. Evanston's segregation means that the crime is more concentrated in certain parts of town, however. And northern Evanston is really very safe. Evanston is surrounded by some of the safest suburbs in Chicagoland, afterall. And Rogers Park is a little rough, but it's definitely no Austin!

The Evanston vs. Oak Park smackdown needed to happen on this site. I know many people in both suburbs, and they both like to talk smack to each other. Let's hear it.

Thanks for the comparison, this is helpful. Yes, I compared crime stats after someone said that Oak Park has twice the robberies of Evanston, and it's not true. Plus, Evanston's crime map has a "bullet symbol" for where shots have been fired. A review of a monthly crime map is not a pretty picture, nor is it for Oak Park. I definitely prefer the "urban suburb" hybrid but, to me, the crime in OP does seem worse. Or at least I am paying more attention especially after the police started posting the crime stats/maps online. Plus, I just don't like the idea of a 10 year old riding his bike to the park being accosted by other kids w/ oozies. A few years back the police instituted a "whistle program" whereby terrorized 10 year olds could carry a whistle distributed by the police, and if they face the barrel of an oozie while riding to little league, they can blow their whistle and hope grandpa runs from the porch to help. Effective!

Regarding the High Schools, I do believe that OPRF is superior, though I would have to check school report cards. Our taxes in OP are so high in part to keep that school's rep up. If the school goes down, so does the ship.

OP looks GREAT these days - lots of good development, great architecture as always, great people. but the crime SUCKS.

[Nysee53]

I think that if all you are able to afford in Oak Park is a "crime ridden" neighborhood, you will probably be in a more crime ridden neighborhood in Evanston. Evanston is more expensive than Oak Park especially the better areas of Evanston and along the Lakefront. Evanston is a large community like Oak Park and crime is not spread out across the city. It is highly concentrated in the Southwest side of the city and the area around Emerson Street along with the area around Evanston Township High School keeps getting better and better. Evanston taxes are lower but to my knowledge ETHS spending is higher for education, certainly Evanston is a more noted school than Oak Park-River Forest partly because of its location on the North Shore.

[adele115]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

I think that if all you are able to afford in Oak Park is a "crime ridden" neighborhood, you will probably be in a more crime ridden neighborhood in Evanston. Evanston is more expensive than Oak Park especially the better areas of Evanston and along the Lakefront. Evanston is a large community like Oak Park and crime is not spread out across the city. It is highly concentrated in the Southwest side of the city and the area around Emerson Street along with the area around Evanston Township High School keeps getting better and better. Evanston taxes are lower but to my knowledge ETHS spending is higher for education, certainly Evanston is a more noted school than Oak Park-River Forest partly because of its location on the North Shore.

Pls don't assume - I don't live in a crime ridden area of Oak Park nor do you know my $ situation.

The "north shore location" notwithstanding, a tour through the Illinois Interactive Report Card shows that both schools are A) on academic watch for not making Adequate Yearly Progress for two years, and B) score very comparably on the Prairie State Exam, with OPRF scores actually being slightly higher. So, while it might be nice to look at the lake, the stats tell the story.

[kindrakindra]

How common is that scenario where the ten year old gets his bike stolen from kids with guns? I have been researching Oak Park for at least 6 months and have never heard of any stories like that. After asking everyone and their mother, it seems that bike theft is common from garages, but not in an assault and/or battery situation or children. Have I just missed these stories?

Also, Lookout Kid, awhile back I thought you posted a careful analysis of crime in Oak Park and I can't find it. I thought you concluded that the crime in the central area of Oak Park was not so good, defying the east of Ridgeland theory. Was that not you? Do you recall what I am talking about?

[adele115]

Originally Posted by kindrakindra

How common is that scenario where the ten year old gets his bike stolen from kids with guns? I have been researching Oak Park for at least 6 months and have never heard of any stories like that. After asking everyone and their mother, it seems that bike theft is common from garages, but not in an assault and/or battery situation or children. Have I just missed these stories?

Also, Lookout Kid, awhile back I thought you posted a careful analysis of crime in Oak Park and I can't find it. I thought you concluded that the crime in the central area of Oak Park was not so good, defying the east of Ridgeland theory. Was that not you? Do you recall what I am talking about?

I weekly read: Wednesday Journal online/Crime link, Oak Leaves online/Crime, and the Oak Park Police web/Crime stats. They speak for themselves.

Yes, it is more than "common" from garages, but there are the ocassional assaults and if you read the WJ especially, there are often kids who have their bikes stolen from them while riding, sometimes strong armed.

OP is a GREAT place with GREAT people. I love it - though I am increasingly becoming bothered by what I am reading about. (personally, I've had bikes stolen from our garage and copper gutter taken off our house, but nothing else though that is bad enough)

[Rusty_Shackleford]

Originally Posted by adele115

Yes, I compared crime stats after someone said that Oak Park has twice the robberies of Evanston, and it's not true.

I was going by the stats on city-data, which show Oak Park as having roughly twice as many robberies per capita.

One thing that could be skewing that stat is maybe Oak Park residents are more likely to report robberies. Considering the lack of 'bad' neighborhoods there compared to Evanston... are people in high crime neighborhoods are less likely to report crimes?