What's the deal Chicago? (Oak Park, Phoenix: crime rates, how much, hotel)

[llama214]

Chicago is a great, world class city, with the most amazing things to do, but I just can't seem to get over what I have just read. Maybe this will silence the people that keep saying that for it's size, Chicago doesn't really have that much crime. All of my info comes from city-data.com andare records from 2005. I'm sure 2006 reflects in the same way. Out of the three biggest cities in the US this is what I found: (cities smaller then this like Houston and Phoenix were much more then these averages so Chicag isn't that bad overall.)

Crime Index(average is 325.2)

New York 275.2
L.A. 402.3
Chicago 565.2

What is the deal Chicago?! I know you are a big city, and I know that you have a lot of people, but lets do some population subtraction. This is what bothers me.

Population

L.A. - Chicago = 912730(and they have far more illigal immigrants then we do. i guess illigal immigration does not account for so much crime as many here think.

New York - Chicago = 5198065

How can two cities that are so much bigger then you, have so much less percentage of crime. Not only is the percentage less, the overall number is too. What is happening up there? I only hope that we can see some change with the new year upon us.

[ahava]

I doubt that the majority of forum users here are responsible for the high crime index. If anyone knew how to make criminals stop committing crimes, prisons wouldn't be overcrowded and hey, maybe we'd have world peace. Unfortunately, crime is a complicated problem with equally complicated solutions. As for Chicago, perhaps if our mayor was setting a better example...but I won't get into that.

[Steve-o]

Quite simply its two things (that Chicago has struggled with for decades): gangs and drugs. Theyre a fact of life in every major city, you cant avoid it, sadly. But with that being said, you encounter 95% of these crimes (or more) in the bad neighborhoods. Downtown is the safest and probably the cleanest downtown Ive ever been in, and thats really the only place I need to go. Id like nothing more than to see the crime rates drop, but the more people that move in, the more crime comes along with it usually.

And why all the attacks on Chicago lately? We all know how much you hate it, so why bother stirring the pot? All you do is find ways to nit-pick it, why dont you bother to take the time and write an essay on the POSITIVES about this city, they FAR outweigh the negatives, and we all know that. Its a special place that has its faults, we'll leave it at that. Besides NYC, Chicago is the only place I know that actually breathes, it has a unique quality/soul/vibe to it that no other city (spare NYC) can come close to, thats why I (and 3 million other people) love it. I just wish I could work there and live there.

[j33]

Quite frankly, Chicago has had more crime than new york for awhile, sadly, this is nothing new. If I knew what 'the deal' was then it would be solved.

However, take a good drive around the west-side sometime, or if you don't have a car get on the green line and go west, I've done both and in my opinion it is the forgotten part of the city and you can see the dispair that might lead one to down that path. Certainly one way to decrease crime is to take a look at the areas that are the breeding grounds for it. There is absolutely no excuse whatsoever for the conditions of certain neighborhoods in this city, no excuse at all.

[Paxtonian]

Sometimes it's not so much the areas as the people. When I was growing up, Austin was about like Oak Park. Today, I wouldn't want to walk through Austin during the day. It still looks very much like neighboring Oak Park, though much more run down.

[llama214]

Originally Posted by j33

Quite frankly, Chicago has had more crime than new york for awhile, sadly, this is nothing new. If I knew what 'the deal' was then it would be solved.

However, take a good drive around the west-side sometime, or if you don't have a car get on the green line and go west, I've done both and in my opinion it is the forgotten part of the city and you can see the dispair that might lead one to down that path. Certainly one way to decrease crime is to take a look at the areas that are the breeding grounds for it. There is absolutely no excuse whatsoever for the conditions of certain neighborhoods in this city, no excuse at all.

I totally agree. I hate even driving with my kids to Chicago, because they have to see the thousands that are in complete and utter poverty outside. I feel bad even spending a night in a hotel there, knowing that so many are living in third world country conditions. I think Uptown Sinclair would be very disturbed that the conditions he described, are still very much alive and well in that city even in the 21st century. It must be even worse then we know. Every year new 'homes' and shelters move in downstate, because I guess the 3RD LARGEST CITY IN AMERICA, WITH ALL IT'S VAST CULTURE has forgtten these folks, and I guess the quick fix is to just ship them off down here. We have our own poverty(although it doesn't compare in the least) and I don't think it is right or fair for the city to not keep it's own. You created it, now you should deal with it!

[Drover]

Originally Posted by llama214

I totally agree. I hate even driving with my kids to Chicago, because they have to see the thousands that are in complete and utter poverty outside. I feel bad even spending a night in a hotel there, knowing that so many are living in third world country conditions. I think Uptown Sinclair would be very disturbed that the conditions he described, are still very much alive and well in that city even in the 21st century. It must be even worse then we know. Every year new 'homes' and shelters move in downstate, because I guess the 3RD LARGEST CITY IN AMERICA, WITH ALL IT'S VAST CULTURE has forgtten these folks, and I guess the quick fix is to just ship them off down here. We have our own poverty(although it doesn't compare in the least) and I don't think it is right or fair for the city to not keep it's own. You created it, now you should deal with it!

Yeah, we just put 'em on buses and ship 'em down there. That's how it happens.

What the hell is this "keep our own" crap as if they were animals in a zoo? Can you get any more disgustingly crass? Guess what: we have something called freedom of movement in this country, which means anyone who can afford a bus ticket or a running '78 Oldsmobile can come or go as they please. That in turn means poverty isn't Chicago's problem, or a big-city problem. It's EVERYONE'S problem. I don't have all the answers, but I do know this much: your self-righteous "your poverty is not our problem" attitude isn't going to resolve it.

And yeah, we just "forgot" about them, except for the hundreds of millions of dollars a year the city, county, state and private charities spends on services for them, which is what attracts many of them here in the first place. They can't get the same level of social services in small cities. If you made half as much effort to provide services for the poor as Chicago does, you'd probably have more of them too. So drop the "we have less poverty therefore we are morally superior than you" bullsh*t.

[llama214]

Well, how would you feel if we took all of our poverty and moved it up there. Since you obviously have the resources to handle it. I don't think you would respect us for it. And these people hardly move here by choice. The 'Chicago Machine' buys land down here, and then builds these establishments right in the midst of everything. Those people have no choice were they go. They need a home, so they will go were they can find it. While it may be a nice ending for them, it drives our land values down and gives the area a bad image with more crime. And don't attack me for not caring. I served my time with Habitat for Humanity while I was younger, and aided in fixing many of these problems. Poverty is everyone's problem, yes, but let us deal with the load that our cities can manage, and not the overflow that seems to constantly be coming our way from the north.

I did not start this thread to show my hatred for Chicago. I love Chicago, and I bet I go there far more frequently then many on here(Unless you live in the city granted). Just thought I would set some people on here straight about the facts, since many of you are ignoring the problem, and slandering these people by almost ignoring their exsistance.

[j33]

llama214 – Chicago is no different than any large US city in this regard. I have family that grew up in new york city and I’ve been to some nasty bits of Brooklyn that are just as funky as the west-side and the southside (a part of town that, growing up in the south burbs, I had lots of friends from). So before that chip on your shoulder about Chicago gets any bigger, know that we are in no way alone in our problems with some of the more unpleasant bits of town. I’m not entirely sure what you ‘totally agree with’. I love Chicago, I’ve lived here my whole life (city for 11+ years, burbs, and not the nice ones, for 18 years), but I’m with Nelson Algren, “loving Chicago is like loving a women with a broken nose”. I see it for it what it is, not through the rose colored glasses of someone whose just lived for a couple of years on the northside. But I still love it, warts and all, and it is home to me.

[llama214]

lol! I've never heard Chicago described like that. I agree with you that there are unexcusable places up there. I'm only trying to show people what there really is. If no one addresses the problem, then how can it get better. Maybe there is more then I know that goes on for the poor. Probably is!!!. Who am I? I don't live there, so I really don't know. But from what I have seen here, it seems that everyone just sugarcoats it, but when it comes to 'number crunching time' the truth hurts. Just trying to open some people's eyes, that's all. There is no need to become all defensive. On a lighter note, the bright side is that it looks like some of the other cities on the pop. top 100 list actually out do you in crime, and sadly, most likely in poverty. And these are cities that are not very big by Chicago standards at all! I lived outisde of Indianapolis, I know you don't walk this road by yourselves. I count my blessings everyday for not ever being exposed to that lifestyle. Now hicks and redknecks?, that is another matter. Central and Southern Illinois know that far too well. I was just BLOWN AWAY when I saw how much bigger NYC was then us, and how little crime there was for a city of that caliber. I hope that the people that turned NYC around can come here and help ours as well.