CHICAGO | Politics and Current Events

[Steely Dan]

My point was that I don't think Buckner being head of the lL house black caucus will be a determining factor for too many city voters.

And for those voters that would be a significant issue for, they probably aren't terribly likely to vote for any black candidate anyway.

So, pretty much a non-factor in terms of the dynamics of the campaign.

[the urban politician]

Fucking mass shooting at State and Chicago last night, by…you guessed right….a bunch of poorly parented teens again.

Yay, just makes one yearn to come downtown and hang out!

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Fucking mass shooting at State and Chicago last night, by…you guessed right….a bunch of poorly parented teens again.

Yay, just makes one yearn to come downtown and hang out!

I used to live a block from that - always some characters hanging out there. Kind of surprised this is the first time I can remember some major event like that right there to be quite honest.

I'm not afraid of downtown unlike some, but the number of shootings committed in *any* crime this year compared to the previous decade is pretty alarming

This is for Near North Side + The Loop. Shooting victims (i.e. 1 shooting could have multiple victims) thru 5/18 each year. For 5/19 we can add multiple more for 2022 now:

2022: 29
2021: 10
2020: 6
2019: 9
2018: 12
2017: 11
2016: 10
2015: 1
2014: 6
2013: 9
2012: 5
2011: 4
2010: 8

Data from https://data.cityofchicago.org/Publi...gumc-mgzr/data

As I stated before, overall violent crime in downtown isn't necessarily any or much higher than it's been. But the amount of crimes with a gun is much higher which is alarming. It's interesting to look at the above data in some other parts of town.

Austin+North/South Lawndale+East/West Garfield Park+Humboldt Park shooting victims thru 5/18 for each year:

2022: 256
2021: 329
2020: 321
2019: 216
2018: 345
2017: 364
2016: 471
2015: 184
2014: 176
2013: 156
2012: 189
2011: 173
2010: 209

[thegoatman]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Fucking mass shooting at State and Chicago last night, by…you guessed right….a bunch of poorly parented teens again.

Yay, just makes one yearn to come downtown and hang out!

At that same mcdonalds by one chicago lmao. Tear that shithole down. Crime magnet

[BrinChi]

Yikes: https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-shoo...tate/11872407/

[Klippenstein]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Fucking mass shooting at State and Chicago last night, by…you guessed right….a bunch of poorly parented teens again.

There I fixed it for you. There's always been a correlation between poverty and violence in the US and probably always will be because we structured our society so you need money to meet basic human needs. When the government shuts down for 2 years this problem is obviously exacerbated.

[Investing In Chicago]

I used to have 2 tenants who lived together and were both Nurses at Lurie Children's Hospital, and both were robbed at gunpoint at that intersection within months of eachother.

My Mother In Law was visiting once, and had a guy rip her purse out of her hands at Chicago/Wabash.

The combination of a McDonalds and a Red Line station is a recipe for criminal activity in this city.

[Investing In Chicago]

Originally Posted by Klippenstein

There I fixed it for you. There's always been a correlation between poverty and violence in the US and probably always will be because we structured our society so you need money to meet basic human needs. When the government shuts down for 2 years this problem is obviously exacerbated.

I wish I could give those poor teens a hug, they are the real victims here.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Klippenstein

There I fixed it for you. There's always been a correlation between poverty and violence in the US and probably always will be because we structured our society so you need money to meet basic human needs. When the government shuts down for 2 years this problem is obviously exacerbated.

Ok

Poverty 10%
Bad parenting 90%

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Investing In Chicago

I used to have 2 tenants who lived together and were both Nurses at Lurie Children's Hospital, and both were robbed at gunpoint at that intersection within months of eachother.

My Mother In Law was visiting once, and had a guy rip her purse out of her hands at Chicago/Wabash.

The combination of a McDonalds and a Red Line station is a recipe for criminal activity in this city.

Red Line is not the reason nor is it because it's a McDonald's. There are McDonald's all over the city that don't attract that level of crime. And there's Red Line stations all over the city (especially north side) that aren't absolutely rampant with crime (though they have some from time to time). Don't conflate the 2. There's McDonald's locations all over the south and west sides too. People aren't traveling on the red line just for the sole reason to hang out at a regular McDonald's. Sorry but that's just ludicrous to think that people are traveling from 45 minutes away just to hang out at a McDonald's.

I lived a block away from that intersection from 2009 to 2016. I took the red line from that stop at all hours of the day almost everyday in that time period too whether late at night or early AM. There were always characters there mainly because of Lawson House nearby, but I hardly ever witnessed anything bad in my time there. I hardly ever felt unsafe either. Since COVID, many people have been coming downtown who otherwise didn't before, mixing, and starting shit whether amongst themselves or with innocent people. That's pretty obvious.


Though I think everyone here can agree about that particular McDonald's that it should be torn down - though everyone has their different reasons.

[the urban politician]

^ I would agree that McD’s has little to do with it.

And I don’t quite get why shootings are starting to happen downtown.

But that is just. Really. Bad. For Chicago’s image

[Investing In Chicago]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Red Line is not the reason nor is it because it's a McDonald's. There are McDonald's all over the city that don't attract that level of crime. And there's Red Line stations all over the city (especially north side) that aren't absolutely rampant with crime (though they have some from time to time). Don't conflate the 2. There's McDonald's locations all over the south and west sides too. People aren't traveling on the red line just for the sole reason to hang out at a regular McDonald's.

I lived a block away from that intersection from 2009 to 2016. I took the red line from that stop at all hours of the day almost everyday in that time period too whether late at night or early AM. There were always characters there mainly because of Lawson House nearby, but I hardly ever witnessed anything bad in my time there. I hardly ever felt unsafe either.

Since COVID, many people have been coming downtown who otherwise didn't before, mixing, and starting shit whether amongst themselves or with innocent people. That's pretty obvious.


Though I think everyone here can agree about that particular McDonald's that it should be torn down - though everyone has their different reasons.

Well that was sort of a tongue in cheek comment - but i'll be damned if I don't see the McDonald's across the north side become magnets for some of the cities worst people, or "characters" - and I would bet that the vast majority of violent crime on the north side happens within stones throw of the Red Line stations.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ I would agree that McD’s has little to do with it.

And I don’t quite get why shootings are starting to happen downtown.

But that is just. Really. Bad. For Chicago’s image

Yes, blaming a regular a McDonald's near a red line is a piss poor reason. Even when I lived a block away in 2009 to 2016, people were saying the same thing but the reality is that the intersection didn't actually have any more crime than other areas of downtown. People conflated having some shady characters walking around there with "there must be crime." I never got hassled there once in all those years of living there, taking the train there multiple times a day, etc. I witnessed in 2009 after moving there a guy choking a woman outside of the McDonald's but that was it.

I remember back in 2012 when "flash mobs" were a thing downtown. A lot of teens were meeting up, sometimes robbing folks or snatching their phones off of their tables while dining outdoors. I remember walking in between a group of about 150 teens gathered on that intersection one day in 2012 - yeah, nothing happened to me back then. Eventually that went away especially when some judges made an example out of a few of them who were caught. They weren't shooting people though. Times have changed - and as many people have pointed out, there's a violence wave in the US (not just Chicago).

You have to ask yourself first, why do young people from even a 45 minute train ride away feel the need to travel downtown? Probably for the same reasons that you go downtown - it has some energy and it's cool. Big shiny buildings and make you feel like you're part of something greater. You also have to ask yourself what they have in their neighborhoods to actually do. And yeah, let's be honest. If the options were hanging out on a commercial strip with a bunch of vacant storefronts and lots or coming downtown for energy, being around people of all sorts of backgrounds, and seeing big shiny nice buildings - most people would choose the latter.


But that's not a reason for why people are shooting each other all of a sudden more - everyone should be able to come to any part of the city, safely, and hang out. The real question is why are some people increasingly violent the last few years and why do people not know how to actually settle any bit of argument anymore without shooting?

I remember a lot of my friends who are right leaning were saying that lockdowns would screw with peoples' mental health. I have to say that they were 100% right about that and I believe we're seeing some of the repercussions of it still. That's something that needs to be actually addressed instead of tiptoeing around it. And unfortunately it's not just a Chicago thing - it's mostly a nationwide thing right now with all of this.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Investing In Chicago

Well that was sort of a tongue in cheek comment - but i'll be damned if I don't see the McDonald's across the north side become magnets for some of the cities worst people, or "characters" - and I would bet that the vast majority of violent crime on the north side happens within stones throw of the Red Line stations.

That is something I can actually research - what kind of block radius to look at? 2 block in each direction?

[Investing In Chicago]

Originally Posted by marothisu

That is something I can actually research - what kind of block radius to look at? 2 block in each direction?

That'd be interesting. I'd say 2 blocks is fair.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Investing In Chicago

That'd be interesting. I'd say 2 blocks is fair.

Actually looking at maps now determining - 1 block might be better in terms of direct impact. Otherwise running the risk for some stops of conflating with some heavy commercial areas with bars a few blocks away. Then we'd probably have to adjust for population after and also consider ridership, but that's further steps.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Investing In Chicago

and I would bet that the vast majority of violent crime on the north side happens within stones throw of the Red Line stations.

define "north side" and "stone's throw" first.

if you take the widest angle view of "north side", that's roughly 50 sq. miles, and there's absolutely no way that the "vast majority" of violent crime in an area that large occurs within very close proximity to the dozen and a half red line stops.

[dewbs]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Fucking mass shooting at State and Chicago last night, by…you guessed right….a bunch of poorly parented teens again.

Yay, just makes one yearn to come downtown and hang out!

If you're scared of coming into the city, I think it's a great idea that you don't.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by dewbs

If you're scared of coming into the city, I think it's a great idea that you don't.

Discounting the rise in violence downtown doesn't help the situation. The Mayor needs to do something. Actually, we need to get a new, tougher mayor. I am with Ray Lopez unless someone better declares. We also need to dump Kim Foxx asap.

[left of center]

^ I am in agreement that Kim Foxx has been pretty ineffective overall. I think Lightfoot could have honestly worked out as being a decent mayor, but she got dealt a terrible hand and had to walk a fine line trying to please everyone, which of course didn't work and pissed everyone off instead.