Tell me what you love and hate about oak park (Chicago: low income, crime)

[pete6032]

Originally Posted by sfcambridge

Which coffee shops? There aren't any decent coffee shops... Mostly the usual chains, and no hipsters there.

Prairie Bread Kitchen, Red Hen, Buzz Cafe.

I guess those are more like restaurants than coffee shops.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by smittyjohnny38

No. What you want is a few token minorities so that you can pretend you live in diversity. Why does Oak PARK HAVE THE 3RD largest police force in the state? To protect itself from the "true diversity" that the surrounding neighborhoods provide. people can justify anything in their minds. Like I said, they like diversity as long as those minorities have money.

Honestly, I don't even like Oak Park but what you are posting makes no sense. People can be poor without being violent/dangerous/criminal. I think part of what many people like about Oak Park is that there are residents from many economic backgrounds.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by smittyjohnny38

No. What you want is a few token minorities so that you can pretend you live in diversity.

Not that I want to pile on, but Oak Park has quite a bit more than a "few token minorities", with 22% of the 50,000+ population being African American. But there are several suburbs of Chicago with a greater level of black/white racial balance than Oak Park. For example:

Homewood: 59.5% White, 34.1% African American
Flossmoor: 46.4% White, 47.8% African American
North Chicago: 47.72% White, 36.26% African American
Chicago Heights: 38.0% White, 41.5% African American
Park Forest: 33.4% White, 59.8% African American
South Holland: 45.04% White, 50.81% African American

Note that many of these suburbs seem to be in the middle of a period of "racial change", so this could be a snapshot of a period before the white residents leave, assuming the current trends continue. Oak Park has differentiated itself by remaining somewhat stable and keeping the quality of the schools high.

Most of the suburbs with that level of racial integration in Chicagoland have a mix of Hispanic and white residents. It's unusual to find a suburb with an equal balance between black, white, and Hispanic residents.

[chet everett]

If it the OP is looking for a place to settle down and have a family / utilize the public schools it would be wise to check out some of the details about the towns that LK listed...

When it comes to the police force of Oak Park it is true that it is rather large given the size of the town (both population and physical limits) but the fact is there are few complaints about the police being other than well trained / professional and very likely a major factor in why the town is able to prosecute crimes that other neighboring areas just let slip through the cracks.

For better or worse no matter what the crime the police in Oak Park are all over it -- I know from experience if a car is stolen in Oak Park the police force will be much more responsive than those inside Chicago or any neighboring town, and odds are that what is left of the stripped out hulk will eventually be recovered, even if the "chop shop" is in Maywood or some other undesirable neighboring town. So too will foolish criminals that attempt other kinds of property crimes be pursued vigorously in Oak Park. The town has a relatively low incidence of violence and the police force is largely responsible for that -- even when they are out following up on theft of a lawnmower from a garage or similar "annoyance level" crime their presence makes it far less likely for thugs to escalate to more destructive crimes. I am far from the biggest supporter of Oak Park but having a visible police presence in the area ought not be a negative...

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by chet everett

If it the OP is looking for a place to settle down and have a family / utilize the public schools it would be wise to check out some of the details about the towns that LK listed...

I'm not recommending these towns, just pointing out that pure "diversity" exists in many Chicago suburbs that are not called Oak Park or Evanston.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Oak Park has differentiated itself by remaining somewhat stable and keeping the quality of the schools high.

Most of the suburbs with that level of racial integration in Chicagoland have a mix of Hispanic and white residents. It's unusual to find a suburb with an equal balance between black, white, and Hispanic residents.

How many other towns have maintained a high level of minority population (>20%) for SEVERAL DECADES while simultaneously maintaining or increasing property values and educational achievement? My guess is Evanston is the only other one in Chicagoland.

[chet everett]

I suspect that most towns have seen an increase in both diversity by any measure and general upward trends in real estate values over the the past 40 or more years.

I don't find anything "magic" about a 20% mix of minorities, the total US population is about 14% and sadly the economics are skewed against folks of this racial background, with a poverty rate of about 27%, nearly double the overall US average -- https://www.census.gov/newsroom/rele...cb12-ff01.html

America's Poverty Rate Stuck At 15 Percent For Second Straight Year

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I suspect that most towns have seen an increase in both diversity by any measure and general upward trends in real estate values over the the past 40 or more years.

I don't find anything "magic" about a 20% mix of minorities, the total US population is about 14% and sadly the economics are skewed against folks of this racial background, with a poverty rate of about 27%, nearly double the overall US average -- https://www.census.gov/newsroom/rele...cb12-ff01.html

America's Poverty Rate Stuck At 15 Percent For Second Straight Year

What you say is definitely true, however, you know very well that the vast majority of suburbs in the Chicago metro area have demographics that are nowhere close to representing the average metro demographics. Historically, suburbs tend to be near exclusively white or minority with very few in between. As LK alluded to previously, the in between situations tend to be temporary as they represent a town in transition from one state to the other and not a stable equilibrium.

Obviously past performance is no guarantee of future results and with the decreasing (soon to be gone) white majority in the country as a whole, this may no longer be the case going forward.

[Alsgirl2002]

Originally Posted by chitownperson

It's true that the village has a lot of liberals, but I have a few neighbors that are conservatives, and people seem to get along just fine. Good people are good people after all.

While we as a family may be conservative, we are not closed minded and have family and friends of all walks and political persuasions. I agree, good people are good people, it doesn't really matter who they support during election time.

[Alsgirl2002]

Originally Posted by oakparkdude

FYI, the high school district (District 200) actually voted to decrease their tax levy this year which is unprecedented. This is due to the election of a new school board which recognizes that the stockpiled surplus is excessively high ($110+ million, equivalent to 2 years operating budget). The stated long-term goal is to decrease the surplus to about 6 months of the operating budget.

This is great news. I was really concerned that the taxing authorities felt they could just keep increasing the taxes year after year. Good to see our democratic system working!