how safe is Chicagao in 2020 (Chicago, Ogden: city hall, crime rate, house)

[CCrest182]

Originally Posted by Frugal Audiophile

People forget that in the 1960's there were more riots and people were burning flags at anti war protests. Study your history and you'll learn that this is not new and it was much more extreme in the past.

Yup. The BLM riots, even the George Floyd riots are a joke compared to the 1968 MLK riots. If you wonder why there's so many vacant lots and blocks on the west side along Madison and Roosevelt, it's because those buildings were all torched from the rioters back then. A couple idiots smashing the windows of a Nike store, while still bad, doesn't even come close to that.

[CCrest182]

Lot of posts saying it isn't safe downtown, I would agree, but only for the short term. I would also say short term to avoid most big cities.... including, NYC, LA, SF, Seattle, Portland, and others, because the same exact problems are happening there, in some cases even worse. None of this is exclusive to Chicago in any way. Just look at all the rioting going on in Portland, it is far worse.

[Z'Dig]

What do you think? Do you want your children or family here?

[Atlanta_BD]

Originally Posted by TBideon

There have been an abnormal number of downtown shootings and hotel incidents due to hoodrats visiting hotels that have offered deep discounts. Plus many places are still boarded post riots.

The trains have become s-hitshows since the normal people have been utilizing them less, resulting in the mentally ill/homeless/hoodrats using them disproportionately. Tensions are at a nine year high (when I moved here).

It's been a very bad year for downtown neighborhoods. At least Bottled Blonde just closed and El Jefe likely won't reopen; no good came from those two.

Before being furloughed because of the pandemic, I worked in streeterville. I had to go and to streeterville late Friday night, Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago.

I usually work at night and I am in Streeterville that time of night for my job and I also noticed far more hoodrats than I have ever seen before down there.

I definitely think because of the pandemic and the protests, criminals are out more because they feel like they can get away with it.

[ToriaT]

I would really try to stay away from downtown Chicago now and adjacent areas. I would not dream of going there right now. Too much crime and protesting, too many criminals on the loose. I had great hopes for Lori Lightfoot. She seems smart and tough but the only thing she seems to be tough on is shutting down things about COVID. People do what they can do. Its easy to smack down COVID violations but harder to deal with the criminal element. I would not have a big problem going to neighborhoods on the outskirts of things such as Norwood or Portage Park, Lincoln Square, Edgebrook, Pilsen, etc. they are kind of off the beaten path and I don't thing the criminal element has taken root there. Yet you have to watch your back.

[Z'Dig]

and survived the 60's here in Chicago but, I don't ever remember 584 shootings and 100 murders in one month so, maybe there were more riots in the 60's but, not more shootings and murders.

[fusillirob1983]

Yes, if more than half of people who work in the Loop still weren't working at home, the Loop would likely be different right now.

[personone]

Yeah, the crime numbers are sky high. This perpetuates the negative image of the city:

https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2...ders-shootings

[Master Jay]

Z'Dig, et.al. it makes me think of what are the factors that differentiate those times of the 1960's and now. If you see the differences, then MAYBE change can take place.

I think people in our generation tend to be more selfish (ONE example is when I was young in the 1980s and 1990's, we had cameras but no one I knew would have really taken "selfies." I remember clearly we would make fun of someone for taking a picture of their SELF, and ask them, "what's wrong with you?!?") I'm almost 50 years-old. Anyone else remember what I'm talking about?

Also, our society is too fast paced. I mean, we went from fast-food restaurants to now having people DELIVER it to us?!? And when I text I still write in complete sentences and punctuation because growing up you had to write things out properly. Nowadays the attitude is , "well, you KNEW what I meant."

Of course, I imagine the access to guns, and guns of higher power force is different as well.

And with the increase in crime, it seems people are not afraid of being caught with a gun, or of breaking MOST laws since the overcrowding causes a slap on the wrist for many people. So therefore, how are people learning about consequences?

THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am a proponent of teaching my martial arts classes to youth in the city. Children need alternatives to gangs as the family and models in their life. They need to learn the value of empathy and sympathy. they need to learn self-control. They need to learn about the benefit of following laws and the ills of negative consequences.

I DO Believe in change. If I didn't, I could never be remotely good at what I do as a Social Worker and Tae Kwon Do Instructor.

PEACE, CHICAGO!

[Curly Q. Bobalink]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

Z'Dig, et.al. it makes me think of what are the factors that differentiate those times of the 1960's and now. If you see the differences, then MAYBE change can take place.

I think people in our generation tend to be more selfish (ONE example is when I was young in the 1980s and 1990's, we had cameras but no one I knew would have really taken "selfies." I remember clearly we would make fun of someone for taking a picture of their SELF, and ask them, "what's wrong with you?!?") I'm almost 50 years-old. Anyone else remember what I'm talking about?

Also, our society is too fast paced. I mean, we went from fast-food restaurants to now having people DELIVER it to us?!? And when I text I still write in complete sentences and punctuation because growing up you had to write things out properly. Nowadays the attitude is , "well, you KNEW what I meant."

Of course, I imagine the access to guns, and guns of higher power force is different as well.

And with the increase in crime, it seems people are not afraid of being caught with a gun, or of breaking MOST laws since the overcrowding causes a slap on the wrist for many people. So therefore, how are people learning about consequences?

THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am a proponent of teaching my martial arts classes to youth in the city. Children need alternatives to gangs as the family and models in their life. They need to learn the value of empathy and sympathy. they need to learn self-control. They need to learn about the benefit of following laws and the ills of negative consequences.

I DO Believe in change. If I didn't, I could never be remotely good at what I do as a Social Worker and Tae Kwon Do Instructor.

PEACE, CHICAGO!

Guns don't scare me - I imagine that Switzerland, where gun ownership is very high, is still one of the safest places in the world. What scares me are guns in the hands of people that have very little emotional maturity, impulse control, and respect for human life, coupled with political leadership who feels it's "racist" to prosecute people who commit gun crimes. Welcome to Chicago.

Agree with your comments that there is so little "stability" present in our everyday lives. I attribute this partially to advances in technology creating job insecurity, plus the short shelf-life of said technology to begin with. I still remember when a Blackberry was the 'must have" device for the sales guys I purchased from, and wonder how long I-Pads will be around. My Space turned into Facebook which morphed into You Tube which is being taken over by Tik Tok, LOL, don't get me started of Skype vs. Zoom vs. FaceTime. A company purchases a million-dollar Building Automation System to replace most of its Stationary Engineers, only to find out in less than ten years that the system is no longer supported in either hardware or software terms and needs to be replaced with another million-dollar system. In the meantime, all those former Stationary Engineers are at home cranking out emails sharing videos on "What's wrong with the country", when what's really wrong, is that they shouldn't haven't been replaced by a bunch of junk technology to begin with, largely made by people in China instead of people who live in Chicago, who now are pizzed off they have lousy service jobs instead of good manufacturing jobs. Did I mention they also have guns?

Sorry for the rattling noise, I can't stop shaking my head.