How safe is YOUR Chicago? (Lincoln: renting, stats, safest)

[UriAvnery]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

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.

I totally agree with that. However non-handgun firearms for protection of the home (the best is the shotgun) are legal.

Petty crime in Chicago can get annoying, broken car windows (smash/grab) for even coins in the ashtray, vandalism, and also the home burglary is common enough. It's impossible to go on a long job and not see someone's leftover broken glass on the street from a smashed window.

By biggest fear is just being at the wrong place at the wrong time for a full-blown armed robbery which videos routinely make the news -- and yeah at times like that the Chicago handgun ban is utterly useless and counter-productive.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by UriAvnery

By biggest fear is just being at the wrong place at the wrong time for a full-blown armed robbery which videos routinely make the news -- and yeah at times like that the Chicago handgun ban is utterly useless and counter-productive.

Why? Do you really have visions of pulling out a handgun in public to stop a robbery? That sounds like a good way to get yourself and others killed. 99% of robbers just want a smooth transaction without any trouble If someone decides to get all Charles Bronson during a robbery, it will escalate the situation and probably end up with someone getting killed. I'd like to see criminals get what's coming to them as much as the next guy, and have little empathy for someone who points a gun at innocent people to rob them. But conceal/carry laws have no reall effect on violent crime.

Gun control will only work if the sale of most guns is outlawed and the supply is completely disrupted. This is impossible under the Constitution, however, so we'll just have to suffer. In the mean time, if you really want to defend yourself with a gun, get a rifle or shotgun and keep it under your bed in a locked case.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by 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.

Bulls___. The link I provided has annual reports going back to 1996. In 1996 and 1997, the reports didn't break stats down by community areas. But in the 23rd "Town Hall" district (which includes all of Uptown and Lakeview) there were 10 murders in 1996 and 11 in 1997. 1998 does give us numbers for the Uptown Community Area, and there were 4 murders in Uptown that year.

Assuming that Lakeview had at least one murder in 1997, Uptown hasn't had more than ten murders since before 1996. The neighborhood has consistently averaged in the single digits since 1996 (and probably before that for at least a few years as well).

[womaninchicago]

This thread is interesting. Moderator cut: off topic
I've seen a lot of crime in Chicago. I live in River North now. It's a super nice neighborhood with beautiful houses and new restaurants but something criminal is always happening. I think your definitely more at risk if your a woman. There have been several occasions when I wished I had a stun gun

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by womaninchicago

This thread is interesting. I was on another thread mentioning some of the unfortunate things that have happend to myself and friends and I got told I was a liar and that I needed therapy. And people actually got angry at me 'cause I said that's part of the reason I'm unhappy living in Chicago right now!

I've seen a lot of crime in Chicago. I live in River North now. It's a super nice neighborhood with beautiful houses and new restaurants but something criminal is always happening. I think your definitely more at risk if your a woman. There have been several occasions when I wished I had a stun gun

River North has crime issues for the following reasons (though it's largely a safe place to be if you're careful):

1. It's a major destination neighborhood, so it's a target-rich environment for criminals.

2. Cabrini Green is nearby

3. It has a lot of nightlife options, and nightlife usually brings some crime along with it.

4. The Salvation Army Shelter and YMCA house a lot of panhandlers and pickpockets.

[womaninchicago]

In my opinion (other than young, drunk, immature young adults being obnoxious) Lincoln park is the most "safe" neighborhood.

[womaninchicago]

Lookout kid - Very true. Although, it's changed quite a bit since most of Cabrini has been torn down.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Bulls___. The link I provided has annual reports going back to 1996. In 1996 and 1997, the reports didn't break stats down by community areas. But in the 23rd "Town Hall" district (which includes all of Uptown and Lakeview) there were 10 murders in 1996 and 11 in 1997. 1998 does give us numbers for the Uptown Community Area, and there were 4 murders in Uptown that year.,,,

Town Hall does not cover the whole community of Uptown nor does it cover the whole community of Lake View.

Want a map? Here it is.

City of Chicago - District 23 Map

Uptown is in portions of the 19th,20th,23rd Districts.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Town Hall does not cover the whole community of Uptown nor does it cover the whole community of Lake View.

Want a map? Here it is.

City of Chicago - District 23 Map

Uptown is in portions of the 19th,20th,23rd Districts.

It covers all of the Uptown neighborhood except for the portion north of Lawrence up to Foster (note that the neighborhood boundary is Clark, but the Community Area boundary is Ravenswood once you're north of Montrose).

Crime stats for the Uptown Community Area weren't available in those annual reports until 1998, so 23rd district was the best I could do. Either way, your "ten years ago" hypothesis isn't correct. You have to go back to the early 90s to see any real consistent murder numbers above double digits.

Uptown has changed dramatically in the last ten--even five years, and will never go back to its pre-gentrification state. Perhaps we'll have an occasional spike in the crime rate, but that can happen anywhere. The neighborhood does has crime problems, but isn't nearly as dangerous as the reputation given to it. And that Truman student being shot is the exception here, not the rule.

To live in central Uptown you do need thick skin to deal with all of the skeevie homeless people, public urination, prostitution, crack whores, etc. And you're definitely a bit more likely to be mugged in Uptown than you are in Lakeview. But Uptown is definitely NOT one of Chicago's more violent neighborhoods. It's just one of the north Lakefront's worst neighborhoods for crime (though Rogers Park has now overtaken it in terms of crime).

[allenk893]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

In this forum we constantly get bombarded with questions about whether one particular area of the city is "safe". It seems that people from small towns, foreign countries, or New York City have a perception that Chicago is a town full of crime and violence. Part of this is clearly media sensationalism. While large parts of the city have tremendous problems with this, I still feel that much of Chicago is safe and that the crime and violence are blown out of proportion. Do you agree? Outside of what you hear in the media, is YOUR Chicago, i.e. the place you inhabit on a daily basis, a safe place to live and work?

The U.I.C area where I used to live was pretty safe. It was okay. But I never really had that many problems even in rundown neighborhoods. Nobody attacks you out of nowhere. It's the drama inside the school that you need to worry about. I got beat up most of the time when I first moved there. It was a bad school anyway.