Crime in Chicago (Atlanta: neighborhoods, luxury, catholic schools)

[mhans123]

Anyone who follows the news knows that Chicago has had a lot of crime, especially in the last couple of years. It's a city that I would love to visit but the crime is holding me back. Is it really as violent as the media portrays it? How would the crime compare to say, Atlanta?

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by mhans123

Anyone who follows the news knows that Chicago has had a lot of crime, especially in the last couple of years. It's a city that I would love to visit but the crime is holding me back. Is it really as violent as the media portrays it? How would the crime compare to say, Atlanta?

https://www.city-data.com/forum/chica...ital-well.html

[NARFALICIOUS]

Originally Posted by mhans123

Anyone who follows the news knows that Chicago has had a lot of crime, especially in the last couple of years. It's a city that I would love to visit but the crime is holding me back. Is it really as violent as the media portrays it? How would the crime compare to say, Atlanta?

Chicago's crime has been in decline since the 90s.




/END THREAD.

[thebizkit]

If you are a young black male who wants to visit certain west or south side neighborhoods, then yeah I would think twice.

[Drover]

Yay! we hadn't had a "crime" thread here in, what, at least half an hour?

[marothisu]

Chicago is pretty much a tale of two cities. 99.8% of tourists will never have any want or reason to go into the areas that are dangerous and frankly, even near most any of them. You're totally fine. If Chicago was actually dangerous EVERYWHERE, there probably wouldn't be 40-50 million tourists who visit every year...

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Chicago is pretty much a tale of two cities. 99.8% of tourists will never have any want or reason to go into the areas that are dangerous and frankly, even near most any of them. You're totally fine. If Chicago was actually dangerous EVERYWHERE, there probably wouldn't be 40-50 million tourists who visit every year...

...the very mixed up priorities of both current Rahm Emanuel administration and prior Daley administration seems to have placed tourist centric development at the top of the heap and neglected any sort of development efforts that would do anything positive for massive swaths of the city that have been plaqued by loss of manufacturing jobs, poor schools and high levels of minority violence.

The decision to lavish scarce resources on quite literally over building areas of Chicago that were already attracting lots of private investment has done much to widen the gap between the haves and have nots. The developers that have benefited from TIF district developments have seen their fortunes grow. So to have the vast major of jobs created in Chicago gone to people that already live in nice areas on the northside or desirable suburbs.

While I can understand the OP being dismayed by media reports that catalog the large number of murders and gun related crime the posters that point out these things are largely confined to parts of Chicago that no tourist will have reason to visit...

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by chet everett

...the very mixed up priorities of both current Rahm Emanuel administration and prior Daley administration seems to have placed tourist centric development at the top of the heap and neglected any sort of development efforts that would do anything positive for massive swaths of the city that have been plaqued by loss of manufacturing jobs, poor schools and high levels of minority violence.

Why do you think this is? It's not just misplaced priorities. Tourist-centric development is actually something an administration can solve with simple investment of capital in to the downtown area and a few select spots. The "loss of manufacturing jobs, poor schools, and high levels of minority violence" is not something a mayor can easily solve, since the causes run deep in to socioeconomic and cultural roots that go back many decades in this city and other entrenched urban areas. I don't think any mayor can solve these problems without a massive effort from within the communities themselves.

[North Side Brandon]

The disaster that is CPS is a huge barrier to a big rebirth of the Middle Class in the city. In the old days Catholic Schools were cheap and even working class Chicagoans had an alternative to CPS. That isn't the case anymore. The Mayor should support School Vouchers which would be boon for the city in my view. CPS is just beyond hope. Look at schools like St. Angela's grammar in Austin and Providence St. Mell's High School in East Garfield Park. Every student who graduates Providence St. Mell's goes on to College remarkable considering who Impovished and dangerous that community is.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by North Side Brandon

The disaster that is CPS is a huge barrier to a big rebirth of the Middle Class in the city. In the old days Catholic Schools were cheap and even working class Chicagoans had an alternative to CPS. That isn't the case anymore. The Mayor should support School Vouchers which would be boon for the city in my view. CPS is just beyond hope. Look at schools like St. Angela's grammar in Austin and Providence St. Mell's High School in East Garfield Park. Every student who graduates Providence St. Mell's goes on to College remarkable considering who Impovished and dangerous that community is.

This is true, however, you cannot overlook the fact that students in private schools, by definition, have parents who care about their children's education. Public schools do not have that luxury.