Chicago "wildings" - not just in Southside?? (Chatham: crime rates, school)

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by raleightransplant

Spend time in Chicago, and you see what is just common sense. Come on. It's a major city, not some clean well kept suburb. Stuff happens from time to time (as it would in comparable foot traffic neighborhoods in NY, SF, DC, etc.), but it's hardly the norm and certainly no worse than anywhere I've been that has any kind of urban population.

Exactly.

Here's my best guess: The OP came from a lilly-white suburb or small town. She moved to Chicago, living in the most lilly-white ritzy "safe" neighborhoods she could find, and was naively blissful for a long time until one day she realized that, ZOMG, crime can still happen in those places! She was scared. She moved Dallas, where she lives in either a lilly-white suburb or one of those equally so faux-urban "urban renewal" kinds of neighborhoods. She now feels safe again, or will until she realizes there is crime there, too.

Now she must warn us all! The actual facts (i.e. the crime statistics) aren't going to scare us enough, though, so she has to invent outrageous racist BS. Black people are invading white neighborhoods to attack them! There are stabbings constantly every night on every block everywhere! There's a conspiracy to make sure nobody finds out about it! It's such a good conspiracy, in fact, that nobody who lives right where it's happening even knows about it, but a random chick in Dallas has the inside scoop!

Or she's just a troll, in which case, congrats to her for her little victory. She could even be the same person who started the thread.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

You are so wrong to generalize about the west and the south sides.

You're talking to someone who thinks Lakeview is a war zone. The South and West sides may as well be Venus and Mars to her.

[Chi-town Native]

I'd caution against pretending that specific area isn't full of crimes. Go do a search on the police database and you will be stunned. The key piece of data that counters it is crime per capita, which is hard to determine when you're talking about an area which such massive pedestrian traffic. There is lots of crime, it just isn't likely to affect the vast, vast majority of people. I don't think that can be said for Englewood.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by Chi-town Native

I'd caution against pretending that specific area isn't full of crimes. Go do a search on the police database and you will be stunned. The key piece of data that counters it is crime per capita, which is hard to determine when you're talking about an area which such massive pedestrian traffic. There is lots of crime, it just isn't likely to affect the vast, vast majority of people. I don't think that can be said for Englewood.

I don't think anyone is debating that. If she had just reported the actual crime statistics, nobody would have had a problem with it.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Lorielicious

Yeah, dude, your depiction of Lakeview as a scene out of the movie "Colors" is totally accurate.

Heh. Gang violence in Boystown is more likely to resemble "West Side Story" -- well-choreographed and with adorable "tough guy" costumes.

[Lorielicious]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

Here's my best guess: The OP came from a lilly-white suburb or small town. She moved to Chicago, living in the most lilly-white ritzy "safe" neighborhoods she could find, and was naively blissful for a long time until one day she realized that, ZOMG, crime can still happen in those places! She was scared. She moved Dallas, where she lives in either a lilly-white suburb or one of those equally so faux-urban "urban renewal" kinds of neighborhoods. She now feels safe again, or will until she realizes there is crime there, too.

Now she must warn us all! The actual facts (i.e. the crime statistics) aren't going to scare us enough, though, so she has to invent outrageous racist BS. Black people are invading white neighborhoods to attack them! There are stabbings constantly every night on every block everywhere! There's a conspiracy to make sure nobody finds out about it! It's such a good conspiracy, in fact, that nobody who lives right where it's happening even knows about it, but a random chick in Dallas has the inside scoop!

Quoted for hilarity.

[Link N. Parker]

Although I live in Lincoln Park, I have walked up to Lakeview, like around Belmont and Halsted, and have seen the groups of teenagers hanging around there. The SMARTGXL is not lying about that; it is a real phenomenon. How serious or intense, I dont know. I have also seen them down on Chicago ave before too. It is a nuisance, but for now, I just ignore it.

-Link Parker, esq.

[JBVirtuoso]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

I think it's also quite frequently people who couldn't hack it in Chicago, moved away with a chip on their shoulder, and are devoting their lives to bashing the city on the internet.

This is the one and only thing I've learned from my countless hours wasted reading the comments to Trib articles online. Most of the posts say things like, "I live in Phoenix now. Thank God I got the hell out of Chicago when I could!" The people who actually experience the city on a daily basis know better.

[mas23]

Originally Posted by Lorielicious

Look, OP, just move to Lakeview or Lincoln Park like everybody else and you won't have to worry about those bad, scary black people. Problem solved.

lol!!

[kanhawk]

Originally Posted by thirtysomethingtransplant

I thought crime in L.A. was bad, but it sounds like Chicago is on its way to becoming the next Detroit. Am I making a mistake? I don't want to fear for my safety on a regular basis. This is very alarming.

Instead of reading anecdotal reports from posters, city-data has lots of good crime stats which gives you a better idea. If you think Chicago is worse than LA, you're right. The good news, the crime has dropped over the years, even in Chicago.

US average crime rate
311.4

Chicago
586
//www.city-data.com/crime/crime...-Illinois.html

LA
301
//www.city-data.com/crime/crime...alifornia.html

Other cities:
NYC
243
//www.city-data.com/crime/crime...-New-York.html

Atlanta
583
//www.city-data.com/crime/crime...a-Georgia.html

Dallas
485
//www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Dallas-Texas.html

Minneapolis
541
//www.city-data.com/crime/crime...Minnesota.html

Washington DC
556
//www.city-data.com/crime/crime...-Columbia.html

San Francisco
365
//www.city-data.com/crime/crime...alifornia.html

Miami
533
//www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Miami-Florida.html