Fun Illinois question 4/2/08 (Aurora, Naperville, Elgin: hospital, house, companies)

[GoCUBS1]

I despise Carpentersville. The town is filled w/ gangs, bad schools, bad local govt. (that tries to sell back donated guns and includes a councilman arrested for wife abuse), stinky toxic chemical plants dumping on the Fox River, illegal immigration (it is hard to conduct business in English in this town), ugly storefronts w/grafitti, no library/park district, etc... The town once had a bright spot - Santa's Village - but it closed. Even the Wal-Mart is closing. The west-side on Randall Rd. is filled w/ugly cookie cutter homes and bad traffic. Every person I know who lives in this town is disappointed.

I have no idea why anyone would choose to move there. I guess you can get a cheaper, bigger house. But there are nearby towns in the same price range (e.g. Dundee, Elgin) that have so much more to offer.

[LakeShoreSoxGo]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

It was still ok in the late 80's/early-mid 90's.

I don't recall it being ok in the mid 90's. Even before the place was 'over run' with illegals. Back in the 90's I remember going there for my friends soccer game. The Fenton HS fans were a bunch of white trashy looking kids with baggy JNCO pants and tank tops(wife beaters). I can still remember the dirt on some of those kids faces.

[LakeShoreSoxGo]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Stone Park. The cops are more crooked than any I have ever seen. And the bars---they used to be good for all night partying...Now they are just filled with scumbags and gangbangers.

Are you talking about that club "energy" or what ever. Whooo that place is a skeezy-pit!. I saw someone who was selling extacy get chocked out by a bouncer at that club. I think the guy ate his stash because the bouncer kept saying "spit it out, spit it out". The guy neve spit it out and was thrown out of the club. I must say I was not impressed with the scene.

[gardener34]

Yeah - stone park always had a rep for sure. I remember being dragged into one of the clubs one time, at closing time, a bunch of "goodfellas" suddenly came in there... OK - we're leaving NOW.

[BUalumni]

Originally Posted by breer23

Naperville - too snobbish for my taste. I much prefer Wheaton, which at least has some character.

Naperville really isn't that snobbish compared to others like Downers Grove. The city has a huge turnover in population which accounts for the endless tract housing in the area. However, while I don't "despise" Naperville it is highly overated. I mean, any city that has over 150K people, and boasts a well built downtown and riverwalk as its major attractions, is, sorry to say, wimpy. For goodness sake, Shaumburg reflects its population better than Naperville does. I find the city to be a good visit the first time, but after that it is just a place to stop and eat on your way into Chicago. Maybe if it had about 50K in population, it might be able to pull off the whole "new urbanism" thing better.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by BUalumni

Naperville really isn't that snobbish compared to others like Downers Grove. The city has a huge turnover in population which accounts for the endless tract housing in the area. However, while I don't "despise" Naperville it is highly overated. I mean, any city that has over 150K people, and boasts a well built downtown and riverwalk as its major attractions, is, sorry to say, wimpy. For goodness sake, Shaumburg reflects its population better than Naperville does. I find the city to be a good visit the first time, but after that it is just a place to stop and eat on your way into Chicago. Maybe if it had about 50K in population, it might be able to pull off the whole "new urbanism" thing better.

Naperville did a horrible job in city planning and they had pretty much a blank canvas 15-20 years ago .The traffic out there is unreal with no public transit to speak of really whatsoever.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Naperville did a horrible job in city planning and they had pretty much a blank canvas 15-20 years ago .The traffic out there is unreal with no public transit to speak of really whatsoever.

The city only has 150K people. I think its served pretty well for its size. There are Pace buses that routinely run in the area, 2 Metra stations, a buttload of cabs that service the area. But people need to remember that its a suburb, you need cars to get places. Ive seen a gajillion cities that are Naperville's size and have absolutely no PT whatsoever. In fact, I think Chicago's burbs are amongst the best when it comes to public transportation.

[breer23]

Originally Posted by BUalumni

Naperville really isn't that snobbish compared to others like Downers Grove. The city has a huge turnover in population which accounts for the endless tract housing in the area. However, while I don't "despise" Naperville it is highly overated. I mean, any city that has over 150K people, and boasts a well built downtown and riverwalk as its major attractions, is, sorry to say, wimpy. For goodness sake, Shaumburg reflects its population better than Naperville does. I find the city to be a good visit the first time, but after that it is just a place to stop and eat on your way into Chicago. Maybe if it had about 50K in population, it might be able to pull off the whole "new urbanism" thing better.

You're right, I suppose. There are things wrong with several other areas of Illinois. It was more of a smart-aleck remark than anything. I think the areas of E. St. Louis, Brooklyn, or Harvey are in much worse shape than Naperville.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

The city only has 150K people. I think its served pretty well for its size. There are Pace buses that routinely run in the area, 2 Metra stations, a buttload of cabs that service the area. But people need to remember that its a suburb, you need cars to get places. Ive seen a gajillion cities that are Naperville's size and have absolutely no PT whatsoever. In fact, I think Chicago's burbs are amongst the best when it comes to public transportation.

They still have way too much traffic for a "burb." If and when it gets much larger they are in for some big trouble.

If it is a true city it is no longer a burb and needs to think about the future. Only time will tell if I am correct or if you are.

[BUalumni]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

The city only has 150K people. I think its served pretty well for its size. There are Pace buses that routinely run in the area, 2 Metra stations, a buttload of cabs that service the area. But people need to remember that its a suburb, you need cars to get places. Ive seen a gajillion cities that are Naperville's size and have absolutely no PT whatsoever. In fact, I think Chicago's burbs are amongst the best when it comes to public transportation.

This is mindset that has created the mess that is modern day Naperville. St. Charles, Elmhurst, Downers Grove, and Wheaton, are 'burbs' and can get away with it. Naperville gave that title up when its greedy builders and council men consumed the city with sprawl, and replaced quality of life with money signs. Face it, Naperville is a city, but is not acting like it and is going to have serious problems in the future if measures are not taken now. It is interesting to note that Aurora and Joliet saw similar patterns of growth many years ago, that Naperville is seeing now. Now look where they are at. Traffic is a huge problem up there, because people still like to think of Naperville back in the days when it was a truck stop. Friends of ours are deperate to move back to the Eola area of Aurora, but guess what, they can't sell there house, and are having to offer less than they paid for it. Why? Because Naperville is no longer the newest, and no longer the most popular burb. Now places like North Aurora, Plainfield, Oswego, New Lenox, and cow towns like ugly Wasco have become the newest and the best, which like it or not, has always been the driving force behind Naperville's growth. Like I said before, a city of over 150K that boasts a riverwalk and downtown as major points of interest really needs to take a serious look at their infrastructure, and see what they are offering there citizens. Sure, the schools are great. So are many down here, but the town I live in is only about 5K! But for Naperville, I'm afraid it is too late. There is no room for a convention center, a major retail center, or a zoo, or anything else that cities like Peoria, Bloomington, Springfield, and Aurora have. Heck, there is hardly room for their new high school.