Gangs in the South Suburbs? (Chicago, Evanston: best towns, crime rates, house)
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I'm wondering what others here think about this. I recently spent the weekend at my parents house in Flossmoor and have some low levels concerns about a few things. Most notable on Saturday night I swear I heard gunshots (about 5 or 6) around 11:30pm. It was really windy that night so maybe it was a dead tree coming down somewhere... They live a few blocks from the Flossmoor Metra Station and it could have been the train couplers creaking when a train starts move since I know freight trains are often parked here waiting to get into the yard at Homewood. It did have that distinctive pop pop pop sound which concerned me for a few minutes. But for my sanity I wrote it off to someone setting off cherry bombs or fireworks for some reason....
Sunday I'm walking with them and outside of the Community House on Hucthinson a group of teenagers is hanging out
outside talking and gets up to leave on their bicycles when we head their way. One of them is wearing a ski mask (first time I saw this - what the heck?) and another casually drops the N word talking about someone they played basketball with as they ride by.
Later that day we're picking up something from the Walgreens near Governors Highway on Volmer Rd. I wait in the car and a few moments later I see a Dodge Charger pull into a space and a Nissan pulls up close next to it a min later. Money and something else is exchanged and they both drive off. I sit there wondering if I just saw a drug deal go down in front of me. I tell my mom this and she wonders if it's a good time to sell the house due to the property taxes there....1/2 of their neighbors they had on their block have moved away since they bought their house in 2012. They were elderly and stated property taxes increasing and them wanting to be closer to their grandchildern or moving to Florida or the Southwest to retire so that makes sense. Though, reading a story from 2018 the principal of H-F high school warned parents about gang activity in the school himself. There was a shooting in Calumet last year but I think that was a domestic violence case.
They moved from The North Shore after retiring down there since they were looking for a similar suburb to Wilmette where we grew up but without a North Shore budget... which I don't think is possible personally. Flossmoor, Homewood and Olympia Field are nice looking suburb but they are surronded by Chicago Heights and such. And they might have other concerns too...
Has anyone heard anything more about this/ seen anything similar who live in the area or am I wringing my hands for them over nothing?
I'm wondering what others here think about this. I recently spent the weekend at my parents house in Flossmoor and have some low levels concerns about a few things. Most notable on Saturday night I swear I heard gunshots (about 5 or 6) around 11:30pm. It was really windy that night so maybe it was a dead tree coming down somewhere... They live a few blocks from the Flossmoor Metra Station and it could have been the train couplers creaking when a train starts move since I know freight trains are often parked here waiting to get into the yard at Homewood. It did have that distinctive pop pop pop sound which concerned me for a few minutes. But for my sanity I wrote it off to someone setting off cherry bombs or fireworks for some reason....
Sunday I'm walking with them and outside of the Community House on Hucthinson a group of teenagers is hanging out
outside talking and gets up to leave on their bicycles when we head their way. One of them is wearing a ski mask (first time I saw this - what the heck?) and another casually drops the N word talking about someone they played basketball with as they ride by.
Later that day we're picking up something from the Walgreens near Governors Highway on Volmer Rd. I wait in the car and a few moments later I see a Dodge Charger pull into a space and a Nissan pulls up close next to it a min later. Money and something else is exchanged and they both drive off. I sit there wondering if I just saw a drug deal go down in front of me. I tell my mom this and she wonders if it's a good time to sell the house due to the property taxes there....1/2 of their neighbors they had on their block have moved away since they bought their house in 2012. They were elderly and stated property taxes increasing and them wanting to be closer to their grandchildern or moving to Florida or the Southwest to retire so that makes sense. Though, reading a story from 2018 the principal of H-F high school warned parents about gang activity in the school himself. There was a shooting in Calumet last year but I think that was a domestic violence case.
They moved from The North Shore after retiring down there since they were looking for a similar suburb to Wilmette where we grew up but without a North Shore budget... which I don't think is possible personally. Flossmoor, Homewood and Olympia Field are nice looking suburb but they are surronded by Chicago Heights and such. And they might have other concerns too...
Has anyone heard anything more about this/ seen anything similar who live in the area or am I wringing my hands for them over nothing?
I cannot confirm or deny if there is gang activity/organization in Flossmoor and surrounds. However, there is a moderate level of gang activity throughout pockets of the suburbs (north, south, and west). In the northern suburbs, I've heard gang conflicts described as "quarreling families," no joke. Unless you are directly involved in gang activity, it is more of a community concern rather than a personal safety risk. Over the last several years, I have heard of a gang-related shooting at a party in Lake Forest and a gang-related shooting at one of the Evanston beaches. It can happen anywhere, unfortunately.
The 4th of July Parade mass shooting in Highland Park (previously one of the safest suburbs and somewhere that was a long time winner of the best towns in IL), carjackings on the North Shore including one that lead to a crazy police chase down Sheridan Road ending with a major crash in Kenilworth and a gang related shooting of a teen in Glenview a few months ago do indeed prove stuff like this can happen anywhere. Even in the wealthiest and safest suburbs of Chicagoland. Thankfully, it's not a regular occurance though.
I'm wondering what others here think about this. I recently spent the weekend at my parents house in Flossmoor and have some low levels concerns about a few things. Most notable on Saturday night I swear I heard gunshots (about 5 or 6) around 11:30pm. It was really windy that night so maybe it was a dead tree coming down somewhere... They live a few blocks from the Flossmoor Metra Station and it could have been the train couplers creaking when a train starts move since I know freight trains are often parked here waiting to get into the yard at Homewood. It did have that distinctive pop pop pop sound which concerned me for a few minutes. But for my sanity I wrote it off to someone setting off cherry bombs or fireworks for some reason....
Sunday I'm walking with them and outside of the Community House on Hucthinson a group of teenagers is hanging out
outside talking and gets up to leave on their bicycles when we head their way. One of them is wearing a ski mask (first time I saw this - what the heck?) and another casually drops the N word talking about someone they played basketball with as they ride by.
Later that day we're picking up something from the Walgreens near Governors Highway on Volmer Rd. I wait in the car and a few moments later I see a Dodge Charger pull into a space and a Nissan pulls up close next to it a min later. Money and something else is exchanged and they both drive off. I sit there wondering if I just saw a drug deal go down in front of me. I tell my mom this and she wonders if it's a good time to sell the house due to the property taxes there....1/2 of their neighbors they had on their block have moved away since they bought their house in 2012. They were elderly and stated property taxes increasing and them wanting to be closer to their grandchildern or moving to Florida or the Southwest to retire so that makes sense. Though, reading a story from 2018 the principal of H-F high school warned parents about gang activity in the school himself. There was a shooting in Calumet last year but I think that was a domestic violence case.
They moved from The North Shore after retiring down there since they were looking for a similar suburb to Wilmette where we grew up but without a North Shore budget... which I don't think is possible personally. Flossmoor, Homewood and Olympia Field are nice looking suburb but they are surronded by Chicago Heights and such. And they might have other concerns too...
Has anyone heard anything more about this/ seen anything similar who live in the area or am I wringing my hands for them over nothing?
If you saw a Dodge Charger and a Nissan together, especially if it was an Altima, it was almost definitely a drug deal going down. You were correct to be suspicious.
As to the rest of your post, I am wondering if you are not from a suburb somewhere, or even Florida? If you are nervous when you see a group of black teenagers, I would say the south suburbs are not going to be for you.
I'm wondering what others here think about this. I recently spent the weekend at my parents house in Flossmoor and have some low levels concerns about a few things. Most notable on Saturday night I swear I heard gunshots (about 5 or 6) around 11:30pm. It was really windy that night so maybe it was a dead tree coming down somewhere... They live a few blocks from the Flossmoor Metra Station and it could have been the train couplers creaking when a train starts move since I know freight trains are often parked here waiting to get into the yard at Homewood. It did have that distinctive pop pop pop sound which concerned me for a few minutes. But for my sanity I wrote it off to someone setting off cherry bombs or fireworks for some reason....
Sunday I'm walking with them and outside of the Community House on Hucthinson a group of teenagers is hanging out
outside talking and gets up to leave on their bicycles when we head their way. One of them is wearing a ski mask (first time I saw this - what the heck?) and another casually drops the N word talking about someone they played basketball with as they ride by.
Later that day we're picking up something from the Walgreens near Governors Highway on Volmer Rd. I wait in the car and a few moments later I see a Dodge Charger pull into a space and a Nissan pulls up close next to it a min later. Money and something else is exchanged and they both drive off. I sit there wondering if I just saw a drug deal go down in front of me. I tell my mom this and she wonders if it's a good time to sell the house due to the property taxes there....1/2 of their neighbors they had on their block have moved away since they bought their house in 2012. They were elderly and stated property taxes increasing and them wanting to be closer to their grandchildern or moving to Florida or the Southwest to retire so that makes sense. Though, reading a story from 2018 the principal of H-F high school warned parents about gang activity in the school himself. There was a shooting in Calumet last year but I think that was a domestic violence case.
They moved from The North Shore after retiring down there since they were looking for a similar suburb to Wilmette where we grew up but without a North Shore budget... which I don't think is possible personally. Flossmoor, Homewood and Olympia Field are nice looking suburb but they are surronded by Chicago Heights and such. And they might have other concerns too...
Has anyone heard anything more about this/ seen anything similar who live in the area or am I wringing my hands for them over nothing?
Soooo…some teens riding bikes and casually using the N word = gang activity in your mind?
And I’m 99.8% sure what you heard was not gunshots. I lived a few blocks from the Homewood Metra stop myself and got use to all types of weird pops, rumblings, groans from the CN freight trains
Sounds like you’re scared of a certain demographic of people.Get a grip…move to the middle of nowhere since some petty weed dealer raises your spidey senses
When I was in Glenview, we had a police officer come and tell us about gang activity. He said there wasn't much there but that was 10 years ago. He showed us how to read graffiti so we would know which gang it was. I hear the crime is getting worse. I see posts on the social media app about carjackings and car break ins pretty regularly now.
I'm wondering what others here think about this. I recently spent the weekend at my parents house in Flossmoor and have some low levels concerns about a few things. Most notable on Saturday night I swear I heard gunshots (about 5 or 6) around 11:30pm. It was really windy that night so maybe it was a dead tree coming down somewhere... They live a few blocks from the Flossmoor Metra Station and it could have been the train couplers creaking when a train starts move since I know freight trains are often parked here waiting to get into the yard at Homewood. It did have that distinctive pop pop pop sound which concerned me for a few minutes. But for my sanity I wrote it off to someone setting off cherry bombs or fireworks for some reason....
Sunday I'm walking with them and outside of the Community House on Hucthinson a group of teenagers is hanging out
outside talking and gets up to leave on their bicycles when we head their way. One of them is wearing a ski mask (first time I saw this - what the heck?) and another casually drops the N word talking about someone they played basketball with as they ride by.
Later that day we're picking up so mething from the Walgreens near Governors Highway on Volmer Rd. I wait in the car and a few moments later I see a Dodge Charger pull into a space and a Nissan pulls up close next to it a min later. Money and something else is exchanged and they both drive off. I sit there wondering if I just saw a drug deal go down in front of me. I tell my mom this and she wonders if it's a good time to sell the house due to the property taxes there....1/2 of their neighbors they had on their block have moved away since they bought their house in 2012. They were elderly and stated property taxes increasing and them wanting to be closer to their grandchildern or moving to Florida or the Southwest to retire so that makes sense. Though, reading a story from 2018 the principal of H-F high school warned parents about gang activity in the school himself. There was a shooting in Calumet last year but I think that was a domestic violence case.
They moved from The North Shore after retiring down there since they were looking for a similar suburb to Wilmette where we grew up but without a North Shore budget... which I don't think is possible personally. Flossmoor, Homewood and Olympia Field are nice looking suburb but they are surronded by Chicago Heights and such. And they might have other concerns too...
Has anyone heard anything more about this/ seen anything similar who live in the area or am I wringing my hands for them over nothing?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like your consensus is founded on an unnecessary fear against the Black community.
Given the points you made in your text, I can see a generalization of the African American community and "gang-culture." This is a harmful assumption as a majority of Black people have nothing to do with this culture at all.
Any race can par-take in "gang-culture" as it is absolute not apart of the ethnic identity of African Americans. However, terms like the N-word, are apart of the cultural identity of African Americans.
The implication that most African-Americans live in inner-city neighborhoods with poverty rates above 40 percent is simply untrue in today's world. As more and more Black people move into the suburbs, families afraid of diversity in the Midwest are moving away.
I believe you asking your mom if it is time to sell her house because of "gang-activity" and "property-taxes" is a prime example of this phenomenon, dubbed White flight.
This fear of minorities are not logical as crime rates across all offensives are spread evenly amongst Americans given the number of crimes committed and the population of said race. Just because you or your mother are not enacting hate-crimes against anyone, I have reason to think that racism serves as the bastion of your beliefs. Overall, it's not a good mindset to have. Hope that helps!
EDIT: Assuming you live in the southern suburbs of Chicago, if a group of Black teens minding their own business disturbs you, I recommend you just move away to Iowa or something. That will at least make more space for the thriving community of Black and Brown people that reside in Flossmoor.
Funny story: Years ago, my mom and I were showing my ex-wife around the Homewood/Flossmoor area, where my mom grew up. My sister and I grew up on the southside of Chicago. My ex-wife is from small town Florida and had been there here whole life up to that point, so she was pretty uncomfortable with all the black people around. We were driving past a group of black kids just hanging out when my ex-wife shouted, "He's got a gun! He's got a gun!" pointing to one of the kids (the windows were down so the kids heard everything). We turn our attention to the group and the kid pulls his hand out of his pocket to show my ex-wife a cell phone while laughing his ass off, us as well. She felt so ashamed that she had jumped to such a conclusion like that. It really caused her to re-evaluate some things and check herself.
Luckily, the kids didn't seem bothered by it but rather amused.
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