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| The biggest danger on the Riverwalk is someone stepping on your toe. Other areas of the city have more crime, but all told, Chicago is not the especially violent place it is being accused of being by President Donald Trump, trying to justify sending in the military |
My wife and I took the 2:36 Metra Downtown so I could co-host the Sun-Times Roast of the Chicago Skyline architectural boat tour. We could have taken the 3:36 and still made the boat. But, cautious man that I am, it seemed smart to build in time for train delays. I was worried enough about giving the tour without also having to worry about getting to the dock.
Arriving at Union Station with two hours to spare, we decided to walk the 45 minutes to the Ogden Slip, so I could eyeball the riverfront I’d be describing. We took the Riverwalk, mobbed with young people on a gorgeous summer day, doing what young people do — drinking and talking and standing around. Some spots were like pushing toward the bar at a crowded party.
None of this was extraordinary, and I only mention it here because we’ve got President Donald Trump calling Chicago the “worst and most dangerous city in the world, by far.”
That’s ridiculous, or would be, except fear is contagious. Lots of readers echo him.
“Hardly a night went by regardless of season that I did Not hear gunshots in Chicago,” wrote Mike Elmore, now a resident of Florida, who lived in the South Loop, two blocks west of Grant Park, and must have extraordinary hearing.
“People who live and work in Chicago should feel safe there (just like the folks in Washington DC do now),” wrote Patricia Bajek, of the western suburbs, showing a surprising ability to read the minds of everybody in our nation’s capital. “I do not live in Chicago, nor do I visit it anymore. ... My last few times coming to Chicago before pulling the plug, I did not feel safe.”
Maybe she didn’t. And some people feel unsteady trying to walk across the room. That is not, in itself, an indictment of walking.
I shouldn’t mock these people — it isn’t entirely their fault. Not with the president slandering Chicago on a daily basis to rationalize sending in the military. Some obviously believe the man, which to me is dumbfounding, akin to sending $3,000 as a sign of good faith to the purported widow of an African businessman who reached out to you via email, trying to give away $200 million in gold bars.
Throwing mud at Chicago is a kind of armchair sport. Anyone can play.
“From what I have been told the absolute worst area is the West Garfield Park area,” Dan Baldwin wrote. “It got so bad there everyone moved out. Now nothing but empty building and empty lots. ... It’s a lot worse than anything in Baltimore or DC.”
He’s never actually been there. I have. Al Raby High School. Garfield Park Conservatory, which is presenting its Artist’s Garden Flower Show until Sept. 14. You might argue that the conservatory is technically across Hamlin Avenue from West Garfield Park. But that is to delve into the factual world. When you explain crime statistics to people, they do not go, “Oh, sorry, I was misinformed.” They take what I’m saying — “Chicago is not an especially violent city; there are dozens of cities more dangerous, many in red states where the National Guard will never set foot” and twist it. “Ohhh, you’re saying Chicago is not violent at all!”
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Thanks Neil
ReplyDeleteOutright fascists like the fat, demented, deranged, moronic fool, who is also dying right in front of our eyes always need an enemy to attack & blame for what is wrong with the place they want to rule with an iron hand. So Chicago, which hates his rotten to the core guts, has multitudes of people standing on Upper Wacker taking selfies of themselves giving his building & his overblown name on that building the finger all day long, is his current target.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet he's seen those selfies & that's the reason why he wants to send the military here. He'll order them stationed on Upper Wacker just to prevent anymore of those selfies!
I did not know that it was a popular thing. My wife and daughter sent me a pic of them doing that exact thing from the water taxi. Awesome!
Delete
ReplyDeleteNeil,
Attached is the CPDs one page summary of major crime statistics for 2024. it backs up what you the mayor and the governor are saying about crime decreasing in the city. Still its not a pretty picture with more than 2,000 shooting victims and 1,000 car jackings . there were over 12,000 guns seized . Another source - shot spotter- recorded over 20,000 incidents where a fire arm was discharged resulting in over 100,000 rounds fired.
Chicago is a big city and per capita not anywhere near the most violent in America. None the less we have a serious crime problem without even looking at other types of violent crime let alone petty crimes that make life in the city less than ideal.
We may not need the guard or increased levels of personel from federal agencies but increased law enforcement could help reduce levels of crime to the point where a soccer game in hermosa could be as safe as a boat ride along the river.
Of course other programs and policies to raise the standard of living amongst poor chicagoans could also go a long way toward addressing these issues.
https://www.chicagopolice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024-in-Review.pdf
"We may not need the guard" ... you're tipping your hand, Franco. You seem to be arguing that unless crime is eliminated, we need a police state. Blow away the fog of BS, and that's your argument. You can't feel THAT unsafe in Garfield Park. You live there.
DeleteHello, Neil (and Franco).
DeleteAs a long-time reader of the blog and comments section, I tend to feel that I “know” certain frequent posters, as is common with many online communities.
To qualify my statements, I know the area in which Franco lives (I believe he mentioned the general vicinity of Sacramento and Warren), as I drive. frequently up Sacramento from the Eisenhower to visit a friend who lives near California and Dickens. I was born, raised, and live in Cook County, and at 65 years of age, know my way around pretty well. When coming home from my friend’s, I generally like to be down Sacramento and on the Ike heading home no later than 10 pm. The area in which he lives has gentrified ever so slightly, as it pushes west along Madison and south down Sacramento, but nonetheless I feel I have to be careful. As an aside, there are some beautiful row houses along Warren, west of Madison, and given the proximity to public transportation, Franco made a wise choice buying there as it will someday be a destination.
I think what he may be referring to is that we don’t need the Nat’l Guard or any paramilitary group if CPD were allowed to perform their role without fear of being unsupported as they were by the overly progressive former States Attorney or in fear of COPA. As some posters have mentioned, there seems to be a bit of a blue flu with CPD reluctance to really come down hard on those perpetrating the crimes for fear of losing their jobs or risking future promotional opportunities, should repercussions occur. The CPD should also be at higher staff levels, but certainly the city isn’t awash in cash at the moment.
Yes, we do need greater investment in the neighborhoods suffering from crime, underinvestment, unemployment, and poverty in the form of education, mental health assistance and gang intervention. But we also need to allow CPD the ability to perform their roles without fear from those formerly defund the police activists, some of whom are present in City Hall.
That said, assuming we had all of the above, we’d still be subject to the deployment of the Guard as it has nothing to do with our safety and more so as a preemptive strike on potential Presidential candidate Pritzker, who has the network and money to challenge. Trump who in my opinion based upon what has transpired over the past 7 months has his eye, although not currently possible, on somehow settling in for a third term, supported by his lapdog GOP and paramilitary ICE force.
Trump will continue to operate in ways that are self-serving and it won’t matter what happens in the City when the Guard is deployed. In fact, for reasons of optics, he may indeed want to see protests and potential disruption of his attempts to enforce his authoritarianism to further condemn Chicago, a strongly Blue city run by a Black Mayor, a faction he also wants to demonize, and Pritzker, his foremost challenger.
Anyway, my two cents.
Jim
I didn't read anything about a police state. Here's what he said: "We may not need the guard or increased levels of personel from federal agencies but increased law enforcement could help reduce levels of crime to the point where a soccer game in hermosa could be as safe as a boat ride along the river." I don't know how anyone could argue with that.
DeleteJust wanted to tell you I appreciate the points you are trying to make in such a subtle way that I can almost picture you tiptoeing. I really enjoy this blog and the comments, but there is no room for any type of differing thoughts without, apparently, being some sort of fascist traitor. Reading the above comment, I didn't at all get the impression that he was saying the National Guard may be needed. It was just the opposite: we don't need the NG, but we do need some type of help. But Mr. Steinberg pounced immediately. So I appreciate a voice of reason thrown in every now and then.
DeleteAfter my grandfather died, my grandmother and my mother and my aunt moved from Lawndale to East Garfield Park. The 3400 block of W. Monroe St. Madison-Homan shopping district a block away. Garfield Park itself to the north and the west. A good and diverse neighborhood. Streetcars and "L" trains to the Loop, only four miles away.. My mother married in 1941 and my parents remained on that block after the war. I came along in '47, and we lived there until I was six.
DeleteFast forward almost 25 years. Our old building...boarded up. Our top-floor apartment...burned-out and open to the sky. Potholes on Monroe that almost swallowed my VW Bug. Did not linger there for long. As a native Chicgoan, I wasn't that nostalgic...or that naïve.
Push the button again. Another 45 years have whizzed by. Taking my Cleveland-born wife to show her the Conservatory, on Juneteenth, no less. And Father's Day. Smoke from the distant fires in the park. The smell of chicken and ribs in the air. A good day to be alive...and to be in Chicago.
W. Monroe newly resurfaced Much of the 3400 block...gone with the winds of time and change. The stores nearby? Torched in '68. Our old building became a grassy lot 40 years ago, but there are new townhouses across the street and many of the original 1890s graystones from my childhood have been grandly and lovingly restored. The feel of gentrification mingles with the BBQ smoke.
So do I walk down the sidewalk I last trod in 1954? No. A simple drive-by is sufficient.
East Garfield Park, and much of the West Side, is coming back. But I was there on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in June of ''22. It will never be like 1952 again...I know better than that...nor will I ever be five again. Nor will it ever feel like Skokie. But EGP' has probably bottomed out, and it is on the upswing, and I am happy about that.
Does it need military occupation? Maybe 30-40 years ago. Not today.
Stay the hell out of my old hood, Felonious. Don't be a shmuck.
Thanks Carol V
DeleteThis is also a helpful tool to understand the volume of crime that occurs and where :
ReplyDeletehttps://www.chicagopolice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024-in-Review.pdf
Its not that surprising that people have the impression its not very safe in the city because even though things have improved its still not good.
I haven't even got to the low level shitting in the doorway of your business types of things and smoking on the CTA trains while selling drugs stuff. Much of chicago is pretty dicey.
Still not call out the national guard level stuff but come on. You increase your chances of being a victim of crime when you come in from the suburbs and roam around Garfield park. Which is as I have said before where I live. You dont have to have great hearing to notice the nightly shooting, sirens and CPD helicopters . Stop by when your in the neighborhood next time. I'll show you around. I got an invite to a party at a friends Saturday night . She has an urban farm where my former goats live now. Starts at 8. Things will be jumping by 11. Catch the green line to the red line after. Quite a show!
A lie makes it around the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on.
ReplyDeleteHow can we hold people accountable for their lies? I don't think we can with Fox and News Max, YouTube and Facebook, PragerU and OAN, or the right in any form it takes.
As i've been calling for months, we need economic boycotts. We need flower power in the sense that we should peacefully sit in and grind every day life to a halt. No crimes, no violence, just a red light to the world.
For the time being there must be something we can say to the Texas National Guard when we see them in the city... "Go home and vote for a democrat" might work. But so might calling them a fascist.
Texas. Of all the states he wants to deploy troops from...Texas! Seriously?
DeleteJFC! There's no other response for it. My God! I am not a praying man, but if I were, I would be praying for what's coming to not take place at all.
Felonious despises Hispanic folks. That's a given. And now Pritzker's operatives are saying that the Guard...or even the Army...is not so much coming to Chicago for harassing Blacks, but to put the kibosh on the downtown shenanigans (complete with photo ops and live TV coverage) that happen every September during the Mexican Independence Day celebrations, if you can still call them that. Those "festivities" do sound a bit over the top to this native-Chicagoan-turned-rube-from-Cleveland. But, hey, that's just me, at 78. Street takeovers bother me.
But bringing good old boys and ranchers and farmers and cowboys to face down Mexican ethnics and possibly armed gangbangers from the barrios? A recipe for a Kent State 2.0, after which Chicago becomes hell with the lid off, and burns, and we get George Floyd 2020 on steroids, with blood and fire all over these Untied Snakes.
And it starts in Chicago. It's just a shot away.
Truly, a recipe for a historic catastrophe.
Worse than 1871? Worse than MLK?
Enough for a fifth star on the city flag.
Orange Julius never cracked a history book. Never heard of Stalingrad.
Chicago is to DJT as Stalingrad was to Adolf, who despised Communism.
Stalingrad's name meant "Russia" to Adolf. Had to be "taken"--at all costs.
Chicago symbolizes "the enemy" to Agolf. Has to be "taken"--at all costs."
Not cool, Jool. This is not going to end well. For anybody. For everybody.
Black September. Brown September. But mostly...a Red September.
As the old song goes...this could be the start of something big. And very bad.
Chicago is not L.A. Chicago is not D.C. Chicago is...CHICAGO. Nuff said.
He actually had never heard of what happened at Pearly Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was there just after being sworn in in 2017 & some poor admiral had the unenviable chore of telling that uneducated moron the facts!
Deletea truer prediction of what’s likely to come couldn’t be written, Grizz
DeleteThe only way to find out if a prediction has truth is to wait and see what actually happens if everyone remembers Neil was very concerned that Trump was going to win the election to his first term that was a prediction it turned out to be true .
Delete.
Grizz's prediction is yet to be determined.
And let's hope he's completely wrong
So do I. There's nothing I can really do.
DeleteDifferent story if he comes to Cleveland.
I spent the past week immersed in everything that makes Chicago extraordinary—riding Metra from Homewood to Millennium Station, catching Neil Young at Northerly Island on Wednesday, cheering on the White Sox vs. Yankees Friday night, marveling at the stunning Caillebotte exhibition at the Art Institute, and closing it out with the incomparable Jazz Fest at Millennium Park. Not once did I feel unsafe.
ReplyDeleteAs someone born and raised in South Shore, I wince when people sensationalize crime in Chicago. Yes, like any major city, it faces challenges—including crime, especially in neighborhoods struggling with poverty and gang activity. But painting the entire city as “crime-ridden” is a distortion. The truth is, most neighborhoods are vibrant, welcoming, and safe for residents and visitors alike.
Chicago is a city of culture, resilience, and character. It deserves to be seen in full color—not just through the lens of fear.
I understand ignoring statistics and showboating (we're getting unwanted and statistically unsupported expensive roundabouts throughout our county while ignoring failing bridges). But, I76 also understand that safety in monied neighborhoods is very different from their poorer counterparts. Have drug dealers move in next to you and you will see crime in a personal way. Not everyone has the resources to flee. The noise, profanity, filth, carnal and other physical acts were difficult, but the drive by shooting was the icing on the cake for us. Would we have welcomed the military? At that moment, with my mother and her grankids across the street, we would have wwlcomed BillyJack and Rambo, but apparently they're fantasies like effective police and judicial protection.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's true. But what's your point? Does bringing in the National Guard clean up Chicago's poorer neighborhoods? They probably won't even get there. Lots of people welcome fascism — that's why it succeeds. Although it isn't the supposed beneficiaries who are asking, but terrified outsiders, on their behalf.
DeleteOne of the reasons I think Fascism succeeds is because everyone views the bad things in their life as the other.
DeleteThen, when Fascism arrives and they are targeted, it becomes clear that it was never about the other.
There are proven ways to solve a lot of what effects our city (and the country) and not a single one of them has come from Republicans or their policies in the last 60 years.
But again, our problem is the truth. As is evedent by RFK Jr. and literally every other republican, their truth is lies. they cannot prove anything and yet the media believes everything they say.
Most of the poor know damn well tribalism, militarism, fascism and most isms will hit us first and the hardest. We know those in power from street to the white house don't give a shit about the poor unless their peace, proiles and profits are upset. But when bullets are flying...or you're raped, beaten, robbed...you take what breaks you can get until you can chisel at the BS anew.
DeleteOh, most of us know Trump and his tribe are full of BS and reject them too.
The constant barrage of outright lies, intentional exaggeration, overt dehumanization to generate fear and hate is a feature, not a bug, of the current administration. The segment of the GOP that has been refining this administrative coup for 50 years or more is succeeding in its mission. The people who make the statements (such as the young Black woman last week welcoming Guard presence and some you note today) and write the letters (in papers daily) thinking that Trump's aim is to "help" are so sadly mistaken. It boggles my mind that they don't look beyond and ask the age-old questions about root cause and potential for real resolution, don't wonder why they hear only about crime in blue cities, aren't curious enough to think hmmm, that doesn't sound right and then type a few words into an algorithm-neutral search engine (is there such a thing?) to learn.
ReplyDeletePeople who are underscoring the real crime problem in the face of Trump's sending the army are like people in the 1930s, contemplating the growing crimes of Nazi Germany, and saying, "You know ... there ARE a lot of Jewish bankers..." They're accepting the false premise, at least half-way.
DeleteIn my opinion people underscoring the real crime problem here in Chicago are saying we don't want Trumps minions here even if there's a preponderance of crime we just want the crime addressed by the people in charge of the city and the state. We don't want those people saying the reason that federal agencies shouldn't come here is because there isn't too much crime because that's just simply not true
DeleteYou are absolutely correct. The fact that there is some crime in Chicago does not justify a police state. The presence of federal troops in Chicago violates the law, and therefore a crime; one we will come to regret.
ReplyDeleteIf military intervention was the answer to urban crime, it would have been implemented long ago by someone much wiser than the current guy. Trump is all about the show. His military parade was a bust so he's doubling down with military occupation.
ReplyDeleteWhen the right wing propaganda machine spews about crime in Chicago it always leaves out the most critical piece of information...the location of said crime.
ReplyDeleteFinal Demonized Tally for Labor Day Weekend
Weekend = 12p Friday – 6a Tuesday
9 killed, 51 wounded
Friday 8/29
10:30p 7400 S Eberhart, Grand Crossing, M/43
11:55p 7700 S Essex, South Shore, F/23
11:55p 7700 S Essex, South Shore, F/25
Saturday 8/30
12:40a 200 W 112th, Roseland, M/27
1:05a 4400 W Fifth, Garfield Park, F/35
1:05a 4400 W Fifth, Garfield Park, M/35
1:20a 1400 S Trumbull, North Lawndale, M/17
DuSable Harbor drowning ruled homicide, only 3rd such case in Lake Michigan since 2015
3:00a 200 N Lakefront, Loop, M/63
11:00a 500 N Sawyer, Humboldt Park, M/29
11:00a 500 N Sawyer, North Lawndale, M/32
4:15p 3700 W Huron, Humboldt Park, M/28
4:15p 3700 W Huron, Humboldt Park, M/30
7:45p 900 E 131st, Riverdale, F/43
10:40p 1600 E 79th, South Shore, M/18
10:40p 1600 E 79th, South Shore, M/?
10:50p 6500 S Wolcott, Englewood, F/17
11:10p 3500 S State, Douglas, F/28
11:10p 3500 S State, Douglas, M/28
11:10p 3500 S State, Douglas, M/30
11:10p 3500 S State, Douglas, F/30
11:10p 3500 S State, Douglas, M/30
11:10p 3500 S State, Douglas, M/31
11:10p 3500 S State, Douglas, M/32
11:20p Walk-in @ Stitch-N-Go, M/22
11:40p 1200 S Christiana, North Lawndale, F/25
Sunday 8/31
12:20a 5100 S State, Washington Park, M/41
1:10a 2700 W Haddon, West Town, F/26
1:10a 2700 W Haddon, West Town, F/32
1:10a 2700 W Haddon, West Town, F/39
1:10a 2700 W Haddon, West Town, M/39
1:20a 7500 S Kingston, South Shore, M/30
1:40a 1900 W 17th, Lower West Side, M/41
1:40a 1900 W 17th, Lower West Side, M/43
1:40a 1900 W 17th, Lower West Side, M/46
2:50a 6300 S Elizabeth, Englewood, M/33
3:00a 8100 S Harper, Avalon Park, M/31
3:35a 7300 S Drexel, Grand Crossing, M/21
2:50p 5900 S Princeton, Englewood, M/35
2:50p 5900 S Princeton, Englewood, F/50
3:00p 700 S Cicero, Austin, M/37
With ShotSpotter gone, Roseland teen walks home for help because nobody called 911
4:20p 9500 S Wentworth, Roseland, M/16
4:40p 800 W 119th, West Pullman, M/40
5:05p 1500 S Christiana, North Lawndale, M/14
7:30p 13200 S Ellis, Riverdale, F/26
8:30p 2400 S Drake, Little Village, M/18
10:00p 1200 E 83rd, Avalon Park, M/29
Labor Day
1:00a 6100 N Kedzie, West Ridge, M/32
5 wounded after machine gun fire rips large gathering near South Side park
1:05a 3600 S Cottage Grove, Oakland, M/17
1:05a 3600 S Cottage Grove, Oakland, M/26
1:05a 3600 S Cottage Grove, Oakland, M/33
1:05a 3600 S Cottage Grove, Oakland, M/33
1:05a 3600 S Cottage Grove, Oakland, F/36
3:10a 8200 S St Louis, Ashburn, M/15
3:10a 8200 S St Louis, Ashburn, M/43
11:20a 2600 S Kolin, Little Village, M/48
5:20p 4800 N Simmonds, Uptown, M/27
10:40p 3100 W 64th, Chicago Lawn, M/29
11:15p 6000 S Indiana, Washington Park, M/26
Don’t Demonize Tuesday
12:00a 3700 W 55th, West Elsdon, M/35
12:35a 100 S Kilbourn, Garfield Park, F/41
Imagine a more practical angle: Chicago uses the free federal manpower how it is really needed. CPS just laid off 500 custodians, we could use some guardsmen there. How about assigning Marines to lifeguard duty for an extra month of open beaches. Would the CTA be open to some assistance on trains and EL stations? There might be some horse trading needed.
ReplyDeleteAfter a trial period the City offers them jobs...better to work for the city that needs help than a president that has no respect for them.
I was thinking along these lines, too, John. It's been estimated that it is costing tax payers $1 Million/day to 'host' the NG in Washington, DC. Think what Chicago could do with that $$ - we could restore some of the funding cuts that make crime worse! I would much rather see my taxes go toward something I believe in. If the troops want to help with beach clean-up, that would be much appreciated along the lakefront. They could join a volunteer work-day. (I liked all your suggestions, but wanted to add that idea to your list).
DeleteI'd like to believe there are NG folks who are uncomfortable with the orders they have been given, and would prefer to have roles that are not provocative or aggressive.
Jill , Chicago is facing a 1.4 billion dollar budget deficit for 2026. That's billion with a B. A billion is a thousand million. The money spent on NG in DC wouldn't plug the hole in our deficit if they were there for 3 years let alone fund programs that have been cut.
DeleteBeach cleanup?
Stan, if i were involved in the budget, I would want the million dollars a day to use toward fixing things instead of making things worse. That's all I'm saying. And I hope I never reach a point where a million dollars is too insignificant to worry about.
DeleteAs for beach cleanup, are you interested? The next event is at Montrose in the protected area on Sept 10.
Good one Grizz: It's just a shot away from the Stones Gimme Shelter
ReplyDeleteA few years ago on a beautiful summer day I was sitting in Grant Park when I got a frantic text from my daughter worried about my safety. She had heard about the mass shooting in the town where I live when not in my city apartment. The shooter aimed his gun at the spot I usually stood in to watch the parade. But I was wholly safe in the city. Violence can happen anywhere. I feel as safe in the city as when I’m in my, as you call it, leafy suburban paradise.
ReplyDeleteOn the local news CBSChicago Wed. eve, heard of this man who goes around punching women on the train or el stops, even in decent areas in the city. He hits them hard they fall on the ground and get badly hurt. He's been arrested 14 x yet is out quickly? Why is that? as one victim said does it have to be only murder that will put him away? no cash bail perhaps? Tell your wife to be careful, NS. No, Trump shouldn't send in the NG but maybe the Gov should have sent some guards in at places. And the Mayor is a joke when it comes to crime.
ReplyDelete