Peoria , Illinois questions about crime (Chicago, Joliet: homes, neighborhoods, colleges)

[puckluvr]

My son who is 18 , may be heading to Peoria , Illinois to play hockey. They play their games at a place called the Owens Recreation center. A few people have warned me that the city has been suffering alot of crime in the last few years . Any thoughts on sending somebody there on his own. We do not exactly live on Sesame Street here in Calif , but in comparing the 2 cities , Peoria is about 5 times as bad and comparable to Compton , Ca. which has a very bad reputation here in So Cal.
Any advice ?

[Trainlady]

Crime in Peoria is on the rise and not good. I have lived in CA, born in LA lived in Santa Ana for 37 years so I am familiar with the Compton area. If your son is a very strong minded individual and not easily swayed and has alternative things to do after playing hockey and can align himself with solid establishments such as one of the local colleges then he could make it here on his own. But if he is at loose ends and is easily swayed this is not the place for him. A lot of good things are going on in Peoria but you have to have the experience, which usually only comes with age and experience, in order to make use of these things. We have some terrific colleges here with easy access if he wants to further his education. Also where he plans on living has a lot to do with how dangerous it is. If he is going to play hockey in Peoria at Owens he could live anywhere in the area, across the river in East Peoria, Morton, Washington, or any of the other out of the city limit areas that are far safer and do not have such ready access to dangerous parts of the city. Personally I don't go downtown after dark into the heart of the city because it is dangerous and I am a former cop. So take that for what its worth.
Trainlady

[puckluvr]

It is not him I am worried about , but you know kids and the possibility of wandering into the wrong neighborhood kinda worries me . I got an email saying not more than 2 miles from the rink are dining establishments with bars on the windows like it was Fort Knox or something . At least where we live , he can go about 8 miles in any direction without much worry . Plus I hear people are moving out in large numbers along with the fact that the river is so polluted that nobody will swim or fish in it . I don't know, but it does not sound like a very nice place , but hard to say from here .

[medicgirl]

I live about 1/2 hour from peoria, I would recommend you have him live in one of the suburb towns like Elmwood, Kickapoo, Brimfield, Morton, or Washington. But I am a small town girl and dont like the city life evreyday, just when I want to visit. Peoria does have its violence, it is becoming known as Little Chicago, but the violence isnt random, its concentrated in the ghetto neighborhoods with the crackheads and thugs so unless your son is into those things you shouldnt worry too much. I would read the Peoria Journal Star, which is their newspaper and available online, for a while ot get a feel for the area.

[creative-mess]

Hi- I just happened across this website and saw "Owens". I have practically lived at Owen's center since my son figure skates there. Yes, a lot of moms sitting around watching our children. Owens is small and safe. Most of the figure skaters have been going there since they were very young and many of the coaches grew up there. I see a lot of familys come in with there young hockey players getting them all geared up. Many of the workers have been there like forever. Only problem I ever heard is occasional car theft out in the parking lot at night. It is not downtown, but because the parking lot is dark and has some trees around, it is a target at times.

[puckluvr]

Originally Posted by creative-mess

Hi- I just happened across this website and saw "Owens". I have practically lived at Owen's center since my son figure skates there. Yes, a lot of moms sitting around watching our children. Owens is small and safe. Most of the figure skaters have been going there since they were very young and many of the coaches grew up there. I see a lot of familys come in with there young hockey players getting them all geared up. Many of the workers have been there like forever. Only problem I ever heard is occasional car theft out in the parking lot at night. It is not downtown, but because the parking lot is dark and has some trees around, it is a target at times.

We were there last weekend and I was pleasantly surprised . The Owens Center seems like a pretty nice place and the area where he is living is very quiet and nice . The pool at owens was closing ther following day so they had a dog swim day in the shallow child's pool. It was really quite a sight seeing all of the pooches frolicking in the water, some going through the mazes or down the slides. My son is staying in a neighborhood around Prospect and Lake . I took the drive down Grand View and was very impressed with the view and the homes along the drive .

[lender]

Originally Posted by puckluvr

It is not him I am worried about , but you know kids and the possibility of wandering into the wrong neighborhood kinda worries me . I got an email saying not more than 2 miles from the rink are dining establishments with bars on the windows like it was Fort Knox or something . At least where we live , he can go about 8 miles in any direction without much worry . Plus I hear people are moving out in large numbers along with the fact that the river is so polluted that nobody will swim or fish in it . I don't know, but it does not sound like a very nice place , but hard to say from here .

This is simply not true. People are not moving out in herds because of the river. It is polluted like any river but people are boating every weekend. It personally is not a recreation of choice for me but to each their own. As far as there being bars on the windows 2 miles within owens center that is not true as well. Owen is in a decent area of town with lots of shopping and restaurants.

[vicky]

I was born in Peoria and I now live in Joliet. Most of my family lives there and I go all the time. I was from the North end. Some places are bad just like any other city. But it also has to do with what kind of kid you have. If you are not worried about him then he will do fine.
The river is dirty always has been but we had fish from it not long ago. The North end and South end is a place you might not want your son in. Grandview drive is very nice Parts of Peoria heights is nice. Over by Northwoods Mall is nice.
But you know evan the best of places have their trouble also just doesn't make in the news as much.

[illini_69_2000]

i live in peoria, and it is a very good city. there is a line in peoria called war memorial drive, or route 150. anything north of that is the best, but there are a lot of areas south of it that are good too. just once you get too far south into and past downtown it isnt the best area.

PEORIA IS NOT COMPTON, and actually people are not moving out b/c of the river they are choosing to move b/c of urban sprawl, peoria has stayed the same population over the last 50 years, yet sq milage has quadrupled. there are over 300,000 people in the area, morton, kickapoo-edwards,bartonville, e.peoria, peoria heights, west peoria, dunlap, morton, pekin...they are all connected really.

[jwhittak]

Trainlady was referring to a specific crime....I'm guessing. Crime is down 11%in Peoria overall. That is from the Peoria police department. Their was 3 more murders in 2006 than 2005. I'd bet most of those were in the same area.