When and why did Lakeview turn nice? (Chicago, Wilmette: crime, home)

[williepotatoes]

Wow! the Fohrman Brothers massacre. What a sad and horrific story that was. A psychotic angry customer shows up armed with a double-barreled sawed-off shotgun, 25 shotgun shells and a Luger to boot. At close range he literally de-capitates and dismembers three men. Then he takes three women hostage, before being dispatched with a bullet to the head by a heroic cop.

As a kid, I was haunted by the gruesome reports that followed in the press. We were further terrorized later that year when Speck did his dirty deed. Those were the "sometimes not so good old days" I guess.

[gomexico]

Originally Posted by Chi-town Native

Dangerous means a lot of things to different people. And if ya ain't spelling it Lake View you are automatically disqualified from commenting on it- that's the post-gentrification re-branded Lakeview not the one dotted with factories, gypsies, appalachian hoodlums, Insane Unknowns, Latin Eagles, polish-irish blue collar types right out of A Streetcar Named Desire, the infamous tranny hookers of Belmont and Clark, the brief skinhead war between some nazi-styled thugs and local guys who shaved their heads and thew regularly threw each other through the Fleet's Inn window on Belmont. Seedy also works, but it was a seedy on the eastern edge that slowly got steeped in neighborhoods of people that still worked on their cars in the streets and fought for kicks when they got bored. Drive by shootings? Nope. Crazy drunk bastards shooting out their own windows out of depression and ignorance? Yep. Predators in general flocking to Clark St? Yep. Gay bashing bigot thugs from lord knows where? Yep. Drunken sports/concert goers fighting either one on one or in massive gang-sized brawls? Oh, you better believe it.

Interesting writing. Probably based more on fiction, imagination than factual. That's my recollection. And I've either lived in the neighborhood or frequented it since the early 1970s.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by gomexico

Interesting writing. Probably based more on fiction, imagination than factual. That's my recollection. And I've either lived in the neighborhood or frequented it since the early 1970s.

That be would be first-person testimony there, chief. Lake View is a huge place, and I am still there almost daily. Lots of crazy still lurks just under the sports bar-yuppie veneer.

[Mister Mappy]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

Abe Gibron and Melody. Jim Moran the Courtesy Man. The Polish Disneyland at Crawford and Diversey. Willie Lee Lassiter. The Foreman Brothers murder. Two Gun Pete.

Sorry, don't know where "Crawford" & Diversey is. I remember going to the waterfall a few times when I was a little kid before Marshall Field's closed it in the late 70's, but it was at Pulaski & Diversey. Isn't Crawford the name of Pulaski Rd. in some boring suburb?

[jgardener]

Olson Waterfall | Forgotten Chicago | History, Architecture, and Infrastructure

[chirack]

Originally Posted by Mister Mappy

Sorry, don't know where "Crawford" & Diversey is. I remember going to the waterfall a few times when I was a little kid before Marshall Field's closed it in the late 70's, but it was at Pulaski & Diversey. Isn't Crawford the name of Pulaski Rd. in some boring suburb?

Crawford was the name of Pulaski Rd. a long time ago. The city renamed it. There are some buildings in the city with exits labeled Crawford on that street!

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by chirack

Crawford was the name of Pulaski Rd. a long time ago. The city renamed it. There are some buildings in the city with exits labeled Crawford on that street!

My favorite head-scratchers are the stretches of Pulaski that also have those brown honorary street signs recognizing - yes, wait for it - other people named Pulaski.

[SmartGXL]

Lakeview (or Lake View) has always been an interesting place, has always been a place that is "entertainment oriented". It actually was a "suburb" of Chicago at one time back in the 1800's; it was Lake View, Illinois. It was later annexed by the city and became part of the city grid.

It has gone through many changes over the decades, and the gentrification over the last 20 years or so, was just one more wave of change that took place. But just because a place turns good, doesnt mean that it cant reverse course and change again. Last year's terrible crime was a reflection of several factors;
1. Center on Halsted attracting rough "urban youths" and young urban gays, who before hand had no experience with gay culture;
2. Drug dealers fighting over control over the local drug trade to the gay community;
3. An increase in Section 8 residents being located into Lakeview, and, last but not least...
4. Movement of police patrols from Lakeview to other high crime areas, such as Englewood - but without hiring more police. This was part of Rahm Emmanuel's new platform - increased police presence in high crime areas, at the cost of police patrols in areas that have already gentrified. What Rahm didn't plan for however, was the idea that when the police showed up in Englewood, some criminals simply left and headed over to other areas of town where the police were not at. And Lakeview was one of those places that took the hit.

So even though the streets of Boystown feel safe at this time of year, the sketchy creeps will most likely be back next summer. This is a change for the worst, but I do know that the community is working hard to get the city to hire more police to replace the ones that were moved to places like Englewood. Other steps taken were to implement the parking ban on Belmont and Halsted; that did have a noticable effect on the area.

[Aleking]

Originally Posted by SmartGXL

Lakeview (or Lake View) has always been an interesting place, has always been a place that is "entertainment oriented". It actually was a "suburb" of Chicago at one time back in the 1800's; it was Lake View, Illinois. It was later annexed by the city and became part of the city grid.

It has gone through many changes over the decades, and the gentrification over the last 20 years or so, was just one more wave of change that took place. But just because a place turns good, doesnt mean that it cant reverse course and change again. Last year's terrible crime was a reflection of several factors;
1. Center on Halsted attracting rough "urban youths" and young urban gays, who before hand had no experience with gay culture;
2. Drug dealers fighting over control over the local drug trade to the gay community;
3. An increase in Section 8 residents being located into Lakeview, and, last but not least...
4. Movement of police patrols from Lakeview to other high crime areas, such as Englewood - but without hiring more police. This was part of Rahm Emmanuel's new platform - increased police presence in high crime areas, at the cost of police patrols in areas that have already gentrified. What Rahm didn't plan for however, was the idea that when the police showed up in Englewood, some criminals simply left and headed over to other areas of town where the police were not at. And Lakeview was one of those places that took the hit.

So even though the streets of Boystown feel safe at this time of year, the sketchy creeps will most likely be back next summer. This is a change for the worst, but I do know that the community is working hard to get the city to hire more police to replace the ones that were moved to places like Englewood. Other steps taken were to implement the parking ban on Belmont and Halsted; that did have a noticable effect on the area.

not this again...don't you have some 9/11 conspiracy theories to be talking about instead?

[urza216]

Originally Posted by Aleking

not this again...don't you have some 9/11 conspiracy theories to be talking about instead?

Not this again, indeed.