21st and State: A Place to Walk Around at Night? (Chicago: job, housing)

[zzguy2]

Hello,

I want to go see a concert at Reggie's (probably a Saturday night) and wanted to know how the area is. I would probably be taking the Red Line down to Chinatown and then walking there. The concert starts at 7, so Im guessing it would go until 9 or 10, after which I guess it would be best to take a taxi because I have to go to Union Station to go back to the burbs (unfortunately).

1.) What's the area like? I've been to Lincoln Park/Lakeview a lot, so is it anything like that safety-wise?

2.) Should I get the number of a cab company or will there be ones to flag down, and how much would it cost to go to Union Station from there (Adams and Canal)?


Thanks

[chet everett]

While your are basically about 6 block west and north of McCormick Place I gotta tell ya that this is NOTHING like Lincoln Park/Lakeview. The area is mostly safe and cleaner that it has EVER been because of all the work that the expanded convention center and growing residential area has done for the area, but it has far less retail or resturants and almost a ghost town sort of street feel.

It should be no problem to walk over to the Hyatt which often has cabs in a stand, or they will call one for you, but I would NOT call one to Reggie's as the mere call of 'south State St." address makes some cabbies think this is going to be a "bad fare"...

There are buses that run up and down State St too, and that is going to be a lot cheaper.

[bluchidog]

21st & State is exactly at the border of one of the city's most infamous projects: Harold Ickes Homes. The projects is on 22nd & State ( a mini ghetto). Its changing for the better, but for right now, do not go past 21st & State. You would have greater chance of getting rob or even worse than that.

[supernerdgirl]

Originally Posted by zzguy2

Hello,

I want to go see a concert at Reggie's (probably a Saturday night) and wanted to know how the area is. I would probably be taking the Red Line down to Chinatown and then walking there. The concert starts at 7, so Im guessing it would go until 9 or 10, after which I guess it would be best to take a taxi because I have to go to Union Station to go back to the burbs (unfortunately).

1.) What's the area like? I've been to Lincoln Park/Lakeview a lot, so is it anything like that safety-wise?

2.) Should I get the number of a cab company or will there be ones to flag down, and how much would it cost to go to Union Station from there (Adams and Canal)?


Thanks

It's a little sketchy, but I generally walk from the red line to Reggies by myself and haven't encountered a problem.

Cabs are pretty scarce around there, so you might want to call one. (I usually have a cab number in my phone all the time anyway.) I'm not sure how much it would be to get a cab to union station. Not too much, I wouldn't think.

Who are you going to see? I plan on being there on the 12th and the 20th, if my job isn't stupid about scheduling.

[Manigault]

Originally Posted by bluchidog

21st & State is exactly at the border of one of the city's most infamous projects: Harold Ickes Homes. The projects is on 22nd & State ( a mini ghetto). Its changing for the better, but for right now, do not go past 21st & State. You would have greater chance of getting rob or even worse than that.

If you think the Ickes project is one of the most notorious in Chicago, you are sadly mistaken. Ask at the police station at 18th and State. However, the south side is no place to walk at night if one is unfamiliar with one's surroundings.

[superwoman]

If you are going with a friend I would walk with them or share a cab. It's not a place to get lost around or look like you are unfamiliar with - - it is nothing like Lakeview.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Manigault

If you think the Ickes project is one of the most notorious in Chicago, you are sadly mistaken. Ask at the police station at 18th and State. However, the south side is no place to walk at night if one is unfamiliar with one's surroundings.

I don't doubt that at some point in the past there may have been some entrenched criminals in Ickes Homes, but now it is been used for people that get moved out of the demolished high rises and want into a nicer more permanent CHA housing situation and/or find another option.

If you get kicked out transitional housing you basically have to move or find something that is A LOT more expensive on your own, so it is a really bad idea to get involved with criminals there. Not saying there are none, but as it is right on top of police station there is not much possibility that crime will go unnoticed, and when that happens the CHA boots 'em out...

CHANGE - Chicago Housing Authority | Housing Developments | Family Developments | Ickes Homes

[zzguy2]

So if I walk there from the Chinatown stop at like 6-7 PM, and then call a cab when it's over (say 9 or 10 I assume--and any recommendations on cab companies?) will I be OK? Consensus seems like I should be OK...

[supernerdgirl]

Originally Posted by zzguy2

So if I walk there from the Chinatown stop at like 6-7 PM, and then call a cab when it's over (say 9 or 10 I assume--and any recommendations on cab companies?) will I be OK? Consensus seems like I should be OK...

Yeah, you should be fine.