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Old 04-04-2007, 10:54 AM
j33
 
4,626 posts, read 14,042,579 times
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VVG2001 - hey! I remember that house too!

There is a small section of park forest that goes to Rich Central HS (or at least there was 20 years ago)
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Old 04-23-2007, 04:44 PM
 
1 posts, read 3,803 times
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I'm actually the guy who ran for mayor against the current incumbent. I also happen to be a real estate broker and school board member. 162 would be the school district that is rated higher as an elementary district and both 162 and 163 feed into Rich East H. S.
My kids attended K-12 in the 163/227 districts and both got into great colleges. Although the demographics have changed in the past 10 years, the schools still offer ample opportunities to those with parents who are fully engaged in their children's education. There is a lack of after school opportunities for our youth with the demise of the Downtown area and the lack of economic re-development has caused a large increase in the property tax rate, thereby keeping home prices below where they should be. What you save in price, you will more than make up for in property taxes. There is also way to many non-owner occupied homes which have been bought up by investors and rented to low income subsidized renters. Overall it isn't as nice a place to live in as it was 20 years ago when I first moved to PF, but it still is a nice place to live, with all the parks, the excellent library and the long time residents who are determined to keep this community from suffering the fate of many of the south suburbs. It is definitely worth checking out!
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Old 08-05-2007, 09:28 PM
 
Location: Park Forest, IL
9 posts, read 26,002 times
Reputation: 10
I know it's been a while, but you might want to check out eNews Park Forest, an online news magazine for Park Forest:

eNews Park Forest - vol.2, num.31, 7-30-07

Last edited by frodojrr; 08-05-2007 at 09:29 PM.. Reason: URLs are broken
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Old 10-11-2007, 04:35 PM
 
162 posts, read 800,288 times
Reputation: 84
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcus23 View Post
Well, I saw an ad about Park Forest hiring Police Officers, but its so far south. It seems like a diverse area from the data I looked at here city data, but I'm wondering what that city is like since I've never been there.
Park Forest is an OK place that seems to be going downhill (based on school test scores and crime rates - not racial makeup).

The problem with diversity in the south burbs is that it is short-lived. A community that is diverse community is one that used to be primarily white, that is turning primarily black, and will be all black at some point in the near future. So, anyplace in the south burbs that is diverse will not be diverse in another 5-10 years, unfortunately (yes Homewood and Flossmoor included).

Maybe someday that trend will have too stop, but not anytime soon.

From the outside looking in, it seems that in communities on the south side, you don't have a couple black families move into a predominantly white neighborhood then settle in with the community - there are all of a sudden many, many black families that move in to that neighborhood or sub-division. This then freaks out the white folks who then leave the area as fast as they can, and when they do, more black families move in causing more and more whites to leave.

Really crazy to see it happen, but it is reality and a shame (and to clarify - by shame I mean that we still cannot/do not live together like we all should, regardless of skin color, religion, race, etc).
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Old 01-03-2008, 01:40 PM
 
Location: IL
51 posts, read 135,388 times
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Hey gang.. well I did it. I moved to Park Forest in June of this year. Yes it is very diverse. I see that house all the time on Orchard. So far so good, except for one thing those darn taxes, they have gave me the blues.. This will be my first full year there in 2008 but I don't think I'll be there after my daughter graduates from Rich East. Thanks for all of your help.
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Old 01-04-2008, 03:12 AM
 
324 posts, read 414,026 times
Reputation: 189
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drover View Post
I got real skeptical when you mentioned Markham. So I checked out the crime stats here on city-data. I have to confess, I simply do not believe the data there. The place went from Hell with the Lid Off -- it made Gary look safe and stable by comparison -- to relatively normal levels of crime, literally within the span of one year. I realize that some places have been cleaning up and seeing crime rates drop, but Markham's crime stats drop is so drastic and instantaneous that I am extremely loath to believe it. Any idea what's up with those crime stats? Are they for real or was there some sort of data error either before or after the alleged transformation?
MArkham police are on the job. They stay very active. Also there has been a slight housing boom in Markham the last 4 years or so. I think the police have stepped things up a bit to make those homes more attractive. Many of those new homes are attracting older families. Not much hanging out is seen in these areas. The taxes in Markham are extremely low also. 200K homes are paying about 1800 in taxes, so Ive been told.

With the excpetion of Homewood & Flossmoor, you will probably lack good decent schools in the south burbs. You can get good housing and even a safe neighborhood. But the schools will probably not be of quality. Grade school are pretty good. But Jr High and up, a drastic decline is usually seen.
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Old 01-06-2008, 03:19 PM
 
Location: IL
51 posts, read 135,388 times
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thanks for the info
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Old 01-06-2008, 05:15 PM
 
2 posts, read 12,724 times
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Cool Umm..

I am not sure if you are still checking these responses, but I wouldn't move to either city Park Forest or Lansing. I lived in the city of Chicago for a while and relocated to Park Forest in my early teens. I had a chance to check out the Park Forest school system it wasn't very bad, but as the years progressed the schools began to crumble as the city demographics changed less money was put into the school system. It's not like Park Forest is a bad place, but as a single woman it's not the most exciting place to be. The people have a strange mentality, and aren't the nicest people to spend time with. It's not very much crime there, but it's a huge teenage pregnancy population.

Lansing is much better than Park Forest. Lansing is closer to Chicago, and has a better educated population. People aren't very friendly, but people aren't known to mistreat eachother. If you are African American you would definately, want to stay away from Lansing it is an openly racist suburb. If you aren't African American it could be a very nice place to live.

Honestly, I don't think very highly of either city, but if I had to pick between the two, I would pick Lansing.

Sincerely,
Trainer
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Old 01-12-2008, 07:58 AM
 
Location: IL
51 posts, read 135,388 times
Reputation: 24
Default thanks

I can agree with you that all of these south burbs have their seedy areas so-to-speak. Yes I am african american but racism is everywhere including certain parts of the city. So I am aware of it all. We haven't had any problems here in Park Forest and the block I live on is very block club neighbor watches out for neighbor type of block. I do notice an grand number of teens in the summer esp up at the park. When I decide to leave I would either be moving out of town or back towards the Alsip area where I moved from. While looking I couldn't really find anything in Lansing that stuck out to me but that's just my opinion.

Thanks for the info
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Old 02-02-2008, 09:45 PM
 
7 posts, read 23,362 times
Reputation: 14
Default I don't think so

Quote:
Originally Posted by NSH View Post
I would go with Park Forest. it is on the brink of national acclaim since it was the first modern chicago suburb. It was the model for all other suburbs in the midwest. Books are being written about it, historians are lecturing on it, and university classes are studying it. Beautiful homes on winding streets sell for 30% less than they would in oak forest and 50% less than they would sell for in Orland or Tinley. No downside to Park Forest!

here is a book about the history of Park Forest
Amazon.com: America's Original GI Town: Park Forest, Illinois (Creating the North American Landscape): Books: Gregory C. Randall
Yes, at one time Park Forest was a super great place to live..take it from me who spent 50 years of her life living there. We moved out 5 yrs ago. We were victimized two times in a three month period after living in our home for over 30 years. I wouldn't reccommend the shools there now either.

If I were you I would look into South Chicago Heights or Steger, or even Crete.
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