Are we sure about this "the West Side isn't nearly as decayed as the South Side" narrative?
Both are large areas with huge variability, and there are definitely bombed out parts of the West Side. In my (very anecdotal) experience, West Side is tougher and at least as bombed out.
This is the West Side I'm most familiar with. I don't know if there's a worse area in Chicago:
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8578...7i16384!8i8192