Beloit. What is bad about Beloit? (Milwaukee, Madison: sale, insurance, crime)

[midwest1]

here are some more Beloit images...



http://www.hendricksgroup.net/news/abc.pdf

[Drover]

Those pictures are truly lovely... but neither they nor the prior long-winded editorial (next time, please just post the first couple paragraphs and a weblink to the rest) even pretend to portray a balanced picture of Beloit. They don't capture the rising crime rate, the struggling business centers, or the residential streets lined with tired old homes that have witnessed better days.

I've been in Beloit plenty enough times to see through the propaganda. I've seen the areas that are desperately trying to draw a breath or two of the "revitalization" oxygen so eloquently (and selectively) displayed and described in the prior two posts. I've seen first-hand how the interstate corridor has inhibited the downtown business district by drawing the commercial center of gravity toward the northeast fringe of the city where mom-and-pop businesses have almost no chance against the big-name corporate entities that set up shop out there to attract passing travelers. I've seen the neighborhoods full of houses longing for basic upkeep that their owners either can't afford or can't be bothered with.

None of these observations are meant to be derogatory or judgmental toward Beloit. These issues are not moral or civic failures by any stretch, and Beloit is hardly alone in struggling with them. In fact, Beloit has dealt with them better than most similar-sized post-industrial Midwest cities. As I have intoned previously in this thread, Beloit has it all over most similar-sized non-suburban Illinois cities that serve as my basis of comparison.

But an honest assessment of Beloit compels one to point out that Beloit still wrestles with basic quality-of-life issues and that there is another side to Beloit than is portrayed in the hard-core sale pitches. These are what makes Beloit "one of the armpits of Wisconsin" as the OP so colorfully describes it. And in the end, if Beloit is indeed "one of the armpits of Wisconsin," then it stands to reason that Wisconsin has precious little to be ashamed of.

Cheers,

-Drover

[midwest1]

Drover,

Get back to me in 10 years when Beloit will be emerging as a major hub of the Madison/Milwaukee/Rockford/Chicago Quadrangle.

The College is growing and rising in national rankings, Ken Hendricks is rising on Forbes list of billionaires, the city is pragmatically approaching economic development, and new housing and refurbished buildings are spreading throughout the city.

This isn't propaganda, it's fact.

there is a certain racial overtone in Wisconsin which brands city's like Beloit and Racine as armpits due to the fact that African-Americans live there.

Janesville, Beloit's "sister city" was historically a hotbed of racism and certainly helped label Beloit as "the other" in the region.

Well, trust me,

Beloit and Ken Hendricks will have the last laugh.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by midwest1

Drover,

Get back to me in 10 years when Beloit will be emerging as a major hub of the Madison/Milwaukee/Rockford/Chicago Quadrangle.

The College is growing and rising in national rankings, Ken Hendricks is rising on Forbes list of billionaires, the city is pragmatically approaching economic development, and new housing and refurbished buildings are spreading throughout the city.

This isn't propaganda, it's fact.

there is a certain racial overtone in Wisconsin which brands city's like Beloit and Racine as armpits due to the fact that African-Americans live there.

Janesville, Beloit's "sister city" was historically a hotbed of racism and certainly helped label Beloit as "the other" in the region.

Well, trust me,

Beloit and Ken Hendricks will have the last laugh.

Would this mean that Racine would be a horrible place to move to? Atlanta is not working out too well.

[midwest1]

and another Beloit company continues to grow,

Tecumseh Products Co. has agreed to sell most of its electrical components business to Regal Beloit Corp. for $220 million in cash.

The transaction will give Regal Beloit new factories and distribution centers employing about 3,000 people in Missouri, Mexico, Thailand and Australia.

The Beloit-based firm expects the acquisition to add to earnings in 2008 and boost sales by some $290 million - an 18% increase from 2006.

How many cities of 35,000 in Wisconsin have 2 multi-billion-dollar companies with national and global presence?

[midwest1]

pirate-

Racine is doing fine. It is very well-positioned to benefit from the increasing merging of Chicago and Milwaukee.

Don't listen to the haters...who I am beginning to see (on this site at least) as simple-minded racists.

[Drover]

Ah, here we go -- pull out The Race Card™. "Either embrace my Beloit Propaganda or you're a racist!" Whatever. I'm done with this thread.

[LML]

I just got back from spending the day house hunting in Beloit. I thought I knew everywhere there was in Beloit but oh my goodness....someone has been feeding my Beloit growth hormones while my back was turned. There is an entire new enormous area called the Gateway corridor now. There are so many new neighborhoods, companies, apartment complexes, homes, roads, etc. that were not there even a couple of years ago. How did all this happen so fast? I guess because I always came in on the west side and everyone I visited were on the west side, I had not been aware that this entire new world has grown up on the far east side. And the views from the homes and condos over there are breath taking. Now I'm going to have a tough time making up my mind.

[luebda92]

Originally Posted by spent

lots of crime, especially for a town that size. Not real pretty, either.

You must be a jealous flatlander because Beloit is a terribly BEAUTIFUL city with tons of things to do. I go to the high school and I couldnt be happier, Beloit is a great place to raise a family and start the rest of your life, or just have a little fun.

[luebda92]

Originally Posted by midwest1

and another Beloit company continues to grow,

Tecumseh Products Co. has agreed to sell most of its electrical components business to Regal Beloit Corp. for $220 million in cash.

The transaction will give Regal Beloit new factories and distribution centers employing about 3,000 people in Missouri, Mexico, Thailand and Australia.

The Beloit-based firm expects the acquisition to add to earnings in 2008 and boost sales by some $290 million - an 18% increase from 2006.

How many cities of 35,000 in Wisconsin have 2 multi-billion-dollar companies with national and global presence?

Make that 3 multi-billion dollar companies (ABC supply, Regal Beloit, Kerry Americas). NO other city in the state has three, Milwaukee has 2.