Country Club Hills Double Murder (Chicago, Orland Park: low income, crime, catholic schools)

[ajolotl]

Do you include H-F in this assessment? I don't know the area extremely well but have trouble believing Homewood-Flossmoor is horrible. Maybe not what it once was but still pretty solid. I have quite a few colleagues who still live there and like it as much as always. It's still a beautiful place as far as I can tell.

Originally Posted by At1WithNature

i've tried to tell certain folk on this site before that country club hills is bad news and has changed. all the south burbs, in cook county, are pretty much horrible. the only borderline one left is Matteson, and yes that town is currently changing as we speak because the people who flee places like Dolton, The Heights, etc. move to Matteson. So, it might be OK now but will soon be bad just like country club hills. these aren't the first murders in country club hills. i remember the story of a young black teen coming home to his house at about 4am. he was shot on his porch, by some thugs doing a drive by, only to end up dying in his front enterance in his Father's arms. Screw that town and nearly all cook county southern burbs.



thus, why there is so much negativity. Section 8 residents aren't exactly contributors to society. in fact, they are the exact opposite!

[At1WithNature]

Flossmoor, Olympia Fields, etc. these are RICH suburbs. most people can't afford to live there so they are not normal towns and I don't really consider them since the majority of people discussing moving to the southern suburbs will not have access to these communities. they are more similar to hinsdale than they are to their neighbors. Look, I had a g/f that i saw for over a year who lived in homewood, right off halsted, and the town may be run right and the police force is excellent. but Homewood doesn't have city walls and a gate preventing the trash from neighborhing towns like Harvey, Chicago Heights, Markham, etc. coming into their town. I wouldn't live in homewood or flossmoor due to the neighboring towns and quality of people in those towns. And the public schools, such as HF, which have lots of kids from towns like Chicago Heights, for example, which is obviously home to many broken families and all the problems and statistics that go with that environment. Do you want to talk about negative influences and peer pressures...wow, that would be it.

[Mamama Mia]

Originally Posted by At1WithNature

Flossmoor, Olympia Fields, etc. these are RICH suburbs. most people can't afford to live there so they are not normal towns and I don't really consider them since the majority of people discussing moving to the southern suburbs will not have access to these communities. they are more similar to hinsdale than they are to their neighbors. Look, I had a g/f that i saw for over a year who lived in homewood, right off halsted, and the town may be run right and the police force is excellent. but Homewood doesn't have city walls and a gate preventing the trash from neighborhing towns like Harvey, Chicago Heights, Markham, etc. coming into their town. I wouldn't live in homewood or flossmoor due to the neighboring towns and quality of people in those towns. And the public schools, such as HF, which have lots of kids from towns like Chicago Heights, for example, which is obviously home to many broken families and all the problems and statistics that go with that environment. Do you want to talk about negative influences and peer pressures...wow, that would be it.

Actually Flossmoor and Olympia Fields (much of the OF area attends Rich Central High School) have great deals on very nice, affordable homes. The median home value in Flossmoor is about $300,000.00. You can get an updated home with more than 3,000 sq. ft. for less than you would pay for a condo in Bucktown or a garage in Hinsdale.
Median home value in Homewood is right around $180,000.00 - a huge bargain!

[ajolotl]

Hmm, I guess rich is a relative notion.

Anyhow, I guess that's a fair assessment. You just have much higher standards than I do. I've never lived more than three blocks from a slum so I just have come to consider thugs meandering through my neighborhood to to part of life. I can usually tell what they're up to with a quick glance.

Originally Posted by At1WithNature

Flossmoor, Olympia Fields, etc. these are RICH suburbs. most people can't afford to live there so they are not normal towns and I don't really consider them since the majority of people discussing moving to the southern suburbs will not have access to these communities. they are more similar to hinsdale than they are to their neighbors. Look, I had a g/f that i saw for over a year who lived in homewood, right off halsted, and the town may be run right and the police force is excellent. but Homewood doesn't have city walls and a gate preventing the trash from neighborhing towns like Harvey, Chicago Heights, Markham, etc. coming into their town. I wouldn't live in homewood or flossmoor due to the neighboring towns and quality of people in those towns. And the public schools, such as HF, which have lots of kids from towns like Chicago Heights, for example, which is obviously home to many broken families and all the problems and statistics that go with that environment. Do you want to talk about negative influences and peer pressures...wow, that would be it.

[ajolotl]

I have a friend of a friend who sold a stunning estate there for about the same price they had bought it for 15 or so years ago. If H-F high school (not the town, the school) is becoming rough (which I have some claim and others totally deny) then the property values are shot. Taxes are high and a major incentive to live there was the public school system. It's nuts to move to a place so far from the action with such high taxes and send the kids to a private school.

Originally Posted by Mamama Mia

Actually Flossmoor and Olympia Fields (much of the OF area attends Rich Central High School) have great deals on very nice, affordable homes. The median home value in Flossmoor is about $300,000.00. You can get an updated home with more than 3,000 sq. ft. for less than you would pay for a condo in Bucktown or a garage in Hinsdale.
Median home value in Homewood is right around $180,000.00 - a huge bargain!

[Mamama Mia]

Originally Posted by ajolotl

Hmm, I guess rich is a relative notion.

Anyhow, I guess that's a fair assessment. You just have much higher standards than I do. I've never lived more than three blocks from a slum so I just have come to consider thugs meandering through my neighborhood to to part of life. I can usually tell what they're up to with a quick glance.

Do you still live in Beverly? I grew up there - loved it!!

[Mamama Mia]

Originally Posted by ajolotl

I have a friend of a friend who sold a stunning estate there for about the same price they had bought it for 15 or so years ago. If H-F high school (not the town, the school) is becoming rough (which I have some claim and others totally deny) then the property values are shot. Taxes are high and a major incentive to live there was the public school system. It's nuts to move to a place so far from the action with such high taxes and send the kids to a private school.

Unfortunately as the area became more diverse, property values fell. I love Flossmoor, though. Friends who live there did a tear down about 15 years ago and live in a gorgeous home and love the convenience of walking into town for breakfast or to catch the train into the city, as well as all the park district has to offer.

[ajolotl]

Yep, just moved there recently, a few blocks from St. Barnabas. It's ideal for kids. Probably hasn't changed much since you were there, though more and more people with money are moving in, particularly north siders with young kids. We'll see if it can retain is unique charm over the next 20 years. Definitely survived the wave of blight that hit the nearby areas, though.

Originally Posted by Mamama Mia

Do you still live in Beverly? I grew up there - loved it!!

[Mamama Mia]

Originally Posted by ajolotl

Yep, just moved there recently, a few blocks from St. Barnabas. It's ideal for kids. Probably hasn't changed much since you were there, though more and more people with money are moving in, particularly north siders with young kids. We'll see if it can retain is unique charm over the next 20 years. Definitely survived the wave of blight that hit the nearby areas, though.

Actually, when we lived there people were moving out in droves because the area "was changing". Property values took a huge hit, much like what is happening in Flossmoor. (We lived one block from Longwood Drive, just south of 99th Street.) I was the only person on the block who went to Sutherland School and none of the neighbors sent their kids to Morgan Park High School in the 70's. Has that changed?

[ajolotl]

Beverly evolved more like Oak Park, where integration was managed and the exodus of whites ebbed. Now more whites than blacks move there but the area is well mixed (probably 2/3 white).

Property values have gone up steadily over the past ten years to the point where it is almost becoming an expensive place to live (it's all relative but finding something in normal condition under 300K can be a challenge and even recently some of the larger homes are selling between 700K-1M). Sutherland is a very popular choice for everyone and is racially pretty much 50-50 if not slight majority white. Morgan Park HS is mostly (95%) black. There is a big effort in the community to re-integrate Morgan Park but it's not clear that it will go anywhere. Most white kids attend high school in one of the local Catholic Schools or a magnet school in the city. Until that changes the area will have a major practical disadvantage vs. e.g. Orland Park, Palos, etc. to the south, even though it is a more interesting and attractive area and much closer to the action.

Originally Posted by Mamama Mia

Actually, when we lived there people were moving out in droves because the area "was changing". Property values took a huge hit, much like what is happening in Flossmoor. (We lived one block from Longwood Drive, just south of 99th Street.) I was the only person on the block who went to Sutherland School and none of the neighbors sent their kids to Morgan Park High School in the 70's. Has that changed?