Easter weekend, 45 people shot in Chicago, six of them children. (Washington: 2013, violent crime)

[lenniel]

Originally Posted by nana053

Wrong. Close the straw purchase loopholes and you can go pretty far to solving the problem.

frontline: hot guns: "How Criminals Get Guns" | PBS




How about we put these gun dealers out of business.

Guns don't shoot people. People shoot people....

[mjd07]

Originally Posted by Freefall18

Is Rogers Park considered the South or West side?

Rogers Park is the first area south of outside the city limits. IOW, it is very, very far north.

[mjd07]

Originally Posted by nearnorth

Same here, but the same is also true of people I've known who live on the South and West sides. Some of the safest neighborhoods in the city are on the South Side. Even in the most dangerous neighborhoods, it's not like you see people getting shot outside your window every day, which is how the media makes it appear sometimes.

That's what annoys me about these news bits. I was born and raised in Chicago and lived there my whole life until four years ago when I relocated the family to NC. I have met quite a few people here that actually believe Al Capone types inhabit ever corner and there is open gunfire everywhere there. My father is retired now, but was a Chicago cop while I was growing up, so of course I heard about officers dying or some crime more often than other people. However, every person (other than a cop killed in the line of duty) I know who had died by gunfire committed suicide or were "accidently" shot by a family member. I have been all over the city and lived in all part of town there and have NEVER been a victim of a random crime. I'm not saying it doesn't happen and that it's perfect there, but the media is doing a huge injustice and keeping hatred alive between groups by spinning these stories in such a ridiculous manner.

[Midwest Revival]

Originally Posted by jman07

Al Capone isn't around anymore. Cicero is not the north side. I live on the North Side. I haven't heard a gunshot yet. I haven't seen a gang yet. There is no gang culture from Irving to Downtown.

And..That shows how Chicago is one of the most divided, segregated cities in America

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by jonnynonos

Sounds roughly alligned with population loss. WOOT!

Uh yeah, no. The Census department estimated that Chicago has gained population since 2010, not lost population.

[Ace Rothstein]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Uh yeah, no. The Census department estimated that Chicago has gained population since 2010, not lost population.

Aren't there estimates pretty inaccurate though? I seem to remember Chicago losing population throughout the 90's according to census estimates. Then after the 2000 census, bam, population gain. Then throughout the 00's, Chicago was gaining population according to the estimates and after the 2010 census we found out that wasn't the case.

[jonnynonos]

It made an extremely modest gain one year compared to a 10-year trend of significant loss.

The city lost 200k people from 2000-2010, has lost about a million since peak population, and apparently gained 10k from 2011-2012.

I was of course talking about more broad trends.

[treemoni]

This whole thread is racist and ignorant.

Yes, you can walk from certain parts of the south side to downtown without crossing "gang territory". This isn't the 90s.

ETA

Keep in mind, group of people made up of certain minorities automatically = gang, whether it's true or not.

Some of you can REALLY benefit from visiting some of the neighborhoods you think are so dangerous. It will open your closed minds.

[Ace Rothstein]

Originally Posted by treemoni

This whole thread is racist and ignorant.

Yes, you can walk from certain parts of the south side to downtown without crossing "gang territory". This isn't the 90s.

ETA

Keep in mind, group of people made up of certain minorities automatically = gang, whether it's true or not.

Some of you can REALLY benefit from visiting some of the neighborhoods you think are so dangerous. It will open your closed minds.

How is the thread racist when nobody was discussing race in this thread? There are certainly some parts of the south side where you can walk downtown without crossing gang territory but those areas are far and few between. Fact of the matter is that there are more neighborhoods than not on the south and west sides where shootings are a common occurrence.

Shootings -- Crime in Chicagoland -- chicagotribune.com

[rvernsey]

Originally Posted by nearnorth

It hasn't worked because Chicago is surrounded by places that practically give you a free gun when you cross the state line. Trying to have a gun-free city in the middle of a gun-obsessed nation is like trying to have a smoke-free booth in a cigar lounge or a pee-free zone in a Wrigley Field urinal trough.

That being said, I agree with you that guns aren't at the root. Poverty is at the root. Our nation doesn't show any desire to address that anytime soon, though, so I have a feeling we can expect more of the same in the future.

There are dirt poor trailer parks all over the south where you can buy a gun at every hardware store. They don't have Chicago's violence issues.

Try again.