How safe is YOUR Chicago? (Lincoln, Humboldt: sale, houses, YMCA)

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

I have to say that about two-thirds to half of the city in terms of land area is totally unsafe to unsafe.

Chicago is huge, so that still leaves a lot of safe area. That area is still larger than the city of Boston or San Francisco.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Innocent people don't usually get shot in Uptown. With about five murders a year (and never over ten), Uptown is hardly one of the more dangerous neighborhoods in the city--even though it is dangerous for the North Side.

I think there is more than that per year. Can you show me some proof of these numbers?

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Chicago is huge, so that still leaves a lot of safe area. That area is still larger than the city of Boston or San Francisco.

And the area that is crap in Chicago is at least twice the size of Boston or San Fran.

Chicago land area:227.2 sq mi

Boston land area:48.4 sq mi

San Francisco lane area :46.7 sq mi

[Humboldt1]

I feel pretty safe within a few blocks of where I live and along north avenue east of pulaski. South of grand I would feel much safer with a gun.

I know most of you guys live in lakeview, irving park, and bucktown or lincoln park areas. Uptown may have its problems for the north side but this is nothing compared to the ghettos of austin, lawndale, englewood and garfield park. Those areas are bombed out war zones where many of the residents burned down their own neighborhoods in 1968 in response to the shooting of Martin Luther King Jr.

You don't have to be a gun nut to know that the handgun law does not work and may in fact make it less safe as criminals pretty much can rob whomever they like so long as they are not a security or police person.

Please, someone tell me why we ban handguns in Chicago? Btw, I do not have a handgun in Chicago as I follow the law unlike those who would rob me if I were to walk along the wrong streets in certain south and west side neighborhoods.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

I think there is more than that per year. Can you show me some proof of these numbers?

I hate it when you make me work. If you look at this page City of Chicago - Annual Reports, you can see all of the annual reports by the CPD. In each one, they break down all of the "Index Crimes" (anything serious enough to be reported) by community area. For instance, if you look at 2006 (the last year available) and go to page 34 of the PDF, you can see that Uptown had three murders in all of 2006. If you go back through each year, you see the average is actually less than five, and doesn't go over ten unless you go back really far. For instance, Uptown had only one murder in 2005, and two in 2004. Considering that the Uptown Community area is large with over 65,000 people, the neighborhood is definitely not a killing field.

In fact, looking at Uptown crime, you'll see the following:

1. Rogers Park is now worse than Uptown in terms of violent crime

2. Uptown looks worse than it is because of the abandoned storefronts and homeless people milling about.

3. Crime in Uptown is still higher than in "nicer" neighborhoods like Lakeview, so that comparison is what seems jarring. If you're used to Lakeview or the whitest suburbs (like most Lakefront gentrifier types seem to be), Uptown crime is going to seem too high compared to your comfort level.

4. And yes, Uptown crime IS too high, since one crime is too many, but it's not half as bad as it's reputation. Most of what makes life in Uptown challanging is "Quality of Life" crime. For instance, if a homeless guy sleeps in your entry or defecates in your front yard, you're going to be upset. And if you see prostitution and drug dealing on a daily basis, it also makes life difficult for families. But your chance of getting gunned down in Uptown as an innocent bystander is almost nil. Gun battles do NOT break out on a daily basis like the do in the REAL ghettos of the city.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

And the area that is crap in Chicago is at least twice the size of Boston or San Fran.

Chicago land area:227.2 sq mi

Boston land area:48.4 sq mi

San Francisco lane area :46.7 sq mi

Duh. My point is that you can't compare Chicago to a smaller city like Milwaukee which only has a few safe neighborhoods. There are MANY safe neighborhoods in Chicago, and they don't feel isolated because the combined area of all of them is large. In Milwaukee, St. Louis, or Detroit, the safe neighborhoods feel isolated.

[Drover]

A dude shot and killed filling his gas tank on Sheridan and Touhy yesterday. Joy.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Drover

A dude shot and killed filling his gas tank on Sheridan and Touhy yesterday. Joy.

An Uptown resident shot in Rogers Park, in fact! He should have stayed in Uptown where it's safer.

The level of crime in Uptown and Rogers Park is not acceptable to me, and I don't want anyone to get the idea that I'm defending the criminal element in either neighborhood. I'm just trying to put Uptown into perspective within the greater Chicago area. It's not nearly as bad as most people think it is, but parts of it are still worse than most middle-class residents are comfortable with.

[Avengerfire]

You really need to look at the numbers of at least the last 10 years in Uptown to get a true gauge. The last few years have been unusually low in murders. But that is only for maybe a 3-4 year span. Look before 2000 and you will get a better angle on what Uptown will go back to.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Duh. My point is that you can't compare Chicago to a smaller city like Milwaukee which only has a few safe neighborhoods. There are MANY safe neighborhoods in Chicago, and they don't feel isolated because the combined area of all of them is large. In Milwaukee, St. Louis, or Detroit, the safe neighborhoods feel isolated.

Ok, name the "safe" communities of Chicago.