Boystown, Chicago

It isn't the same Boystown as it was from circa 2005-2012

OP was someone in the video DISRESPECTED?

[quote] Boystown, Chicago

Looks more like Mogadishu.

And they do it in River North, The Loop, and Millennium Park. Bored ghetto people out to harass the city.

[quote]And they do it in River North, The Loop, and Millennium Park.

That same night in Millennium Park:

To be clear this is every night. This is not an isolated incident. My condo is on the market right now. I can’t wait to move out of this hell hole formerly know as Chicago.

Please someone educate me. This is a fun activity, How??Because??

No being snarky. This is type of thing is not in my wheel house, in my realm of experience. I'm just uninformed, looking for info.on the appeal of this.

Looks like they should just call it boytown.

[quote] Looks like they should just call it boytown.

They should call it Rwanda.

Oh puleeze. No doubt, crime is totally spiking. But if you were in that city in the 70’s/80’s, you would get to see some truly horrific stuff. I am not minimizing what’s happening, I know how it is to live in rough urban areas (the toughest I lived in Chi-town was Humboldt Park in 2000).

But it will change again, and I don’t think it will take too long for that to happen, and I think everyone’s emotions about it are magnified because we all survived Trump, a coup, and a pandemic — people are (understandably) fried. But a lot of those kids have parents who lost everything in the pandemic, so they are acting out too. It is very very sad, but we do need LEO to hold them accountable.

Where is Boystown located, OP? Is it in rough area?

It’s a wealthy area, but extremely unsafe . A lot of car jacking , physical attacks , shootings …

[quote] Where is Boystown located, OP? Is it in rough area?

It's by Wrigley Field.

It’s adjacent to Lake View and East Lake View , the latter is especially affluent. But they are crime infected too. South side influences

Always the blacks.

Why do they act this way?

1-800-Safelight auto glass

Thank you for not calling it that extremely idiotic "Northalsted". Boystown will always be Boystown, though not the Boystown it used to be

R15, it’s ghetto peeps using the rapid transit system to go to affluent areas to create trouble. This is why many suburban areas do not want the CTA to expand into their towns. I don’t blame them. Who wants these useless people harassing them? This has been going on since at least 2012.

Thanks to centuries of terrible racism and then tax cuts for the rich and you’re surprised by this? Go round up a bunch of rural white trash and put hundreds of thousands of them concentrated in a city and you’ll see justice much crime trust me on that.

Maybe we shouldn’t have burned down thousands of Black Tulsas where black people were prosperous and thriving, stole their land, terrorized them, murdered them? Yea fuck off with this racist post, bitch.

*just as much violence

That video is ironic because Progress bar (in the background) was under fire for being racist because they had a no rap policy (linked).

That’s because they didn’t want to attract more of this shit.

7-11 had to install a giant fence around the parking lot. Can’t street park anymore at night. Basically it’s everyone’s fault except these honor students.

Glad I am moving into my married eldergay years as the idea of being on Halsted at 10pm - let alone 3am or whenever this godawful shit happened - pains me.

Things will never change. Too many people in Chicago think like R19.

Just as long as they don't block my entry to Steamworks...

R7 "This is type of thing is not in my wheel house, in my realm of experience"

You need to learn English as well.

The apologists have arrived. . Always the same till you or yours get jacked, mugged or some of these folks want to move next door. Limo Liberals always the same. Sure I'm all for it, as long as its not in my neighborhood.

I don’t understand how this happens. If someone, much less multiple people, got up on my hood I would have immediately driven away, injuries be damned. No court in America would convict you for running over someone who had climbed up on your car to dance.

I wonder how many of the crybaby white bitches on here voted for that mutant black cunt you have as mayor. Yep, you dumb bitches are learning you can only vote communist for so long before what they’re proposing actually touches you. Bbbbbbut Trump.

[quote] No court in America would convict you for running over someone who had climbed up on your car to dance.

It's the carjackers and violent crime that goes unpunished in Boystown. Bumping into one of these kids would cause citywide protests.

And R19 sounds like many of the judges.

THIS piece of shit is one of the many trouble makers. This story shows how insane it is. .

Gay bashings are up too

I'm too lazy to read r29s linked article. Can any police official overrule a DA? I thought the cops were just sanitation workers with guns. Doesn't sound right.

Someone send Jane Goodall to Chicago.

Maybe she can fix the problem.

Chicago white bitches, what have you done?! Look what you allowed to happen to your city, you dumb cunts! Well, at least you voted for our first black President, lol! You can feel soooo superior holding to this while one of these savages beats you to death with a hammer.

R23 = Jussie Smollett

R31, CBWChicago is a blog, it stands for "Crime in Wrigleyville Blog." They claim they have a source that says Gregory Stamps wasn't going to get prosecuted because he claimed self-defense, so the police had to file charges because prosecutors wouldn't.

I see absolutely nothing to back that claim up. Nothing.

No one's grandmother in that video raised them right?

You couldn't pay me to go in to that 7-11 in Boystown after 10pm. Sketch City, USA. Yikes.

During the meeting the Mayor, several City department commissioners, and Northside [sic] police district commanders shared the work they are doing to combat rising violence levels across Chicago,” Tunney wrote.

The veteran alderman, whom Lori Lightfoot appointed vice mayor after her election, ran down a list of the city’s anti-violence initiatives and provided a link to a colorful graphic, titled “Recent Public Safety Investments,” that shows how the city will invest $1.9 billion this year.

Here are two words you won’t find in Tunney’s email or the graphic: arrest and prosecution.

There are violence disrupters, police cameras, “equitable growth and job creation,” “climate mitigation,” and “environmental justice priorities.” The city will also fight violence through by expanding “place-based arts and events opportunities,” supporting small businesses, and expanding resources to fight homelessness.

R10, you forgot to tell everyone who thinks this was a bad thing, that they're just a bunch of racists.

We've heard all of this from you before, such as crime is still lower than it was in the 1970s (so that makes this okay), that this is just a little bit of crime, and that little bits of crime are actually good for the city. What else? murderers should be released without any bail.

save it

They was jus’ fun in’. They dindu nuffin’!

OP- In the last few years ghetto types from places like Brooklyn have discovered Manhattan. On a Saturday night walking in Chelsea - pre covid on 20th street near the former Limelight Church- it was a TOTAL ghetto scene.

The GOOD old days.

Yes, because white people can take a shit on Nancy Pelosi’s desk and be deemed peaceful protestors.

Black people are the violent ones in America 🙄

A lot of violent crimes are caused by both black and white people. What should be done about it? R43. What sage words of wisdom do you have to share?

Lori Lightfoot has really fucked up the city

Here come the, Oh Yeah, well white people do it too," as if that makes everything okay.

Chicago? Who cares. Life is good up here in Lake Forest.

Beth never would have RETIRED to Lake Forest.

R43 black people ARE the violent ones in America, and anywhere else they are. Denying that fact won't change reality.

Chicago used to be a marvelous city

I think this website has truly morphed into a white nationalist KKK hate-site at this point. Unashamedly so. Fucking losers.

R51, all I can figure is the site's anonymity must have attracted them as other platforms were shut down or started moderating content more vigorously. Even three or four years ago it wasn’t this bad.

So Lori Lightfoot is Chicago’a Bill de Blasio. Good luck, you will need it!

Black people are sort of primitive and base, aren’t they.

CAB stands for Crime in Wrigleyville and Boystown, R35. It all started because of garbage like in OP.

My spidey sense tells me it’s run by a fellow homo.

My hunch for YEARS is that Kevin Dujan is behind CWB… he used to run “Hillbuzz” and then went full PUMA Sarah Palinista and was black listed from the scene. But I have no idea who runs it. The timeline just fit.

So you liberal gays don't want crime in Chicago to be talked about. The fact is that young blacks are making the city extremely unsafe and it's not just black neighborhoods, it's downtown and north side too. You don't want to call it out because of what exactly? Because you're in some safe neighborhood where you don't have to deal with it?

[quote] Black people are the violent ones in America

Racist.

R56- Same thing is happening in NYC.

[quote]Even three or four years ago it wasn’t this bad.

There was still some rudimentary moderation back then.

The other day there was some guy calling blacks the n-word on multiple threads who also started one of those Israel-Palestine troll threads. A few years ago, the n-word was filtered and you couldn't post it, and all of the Israel-Palestine threads were deleted quickly. At one point, you couldn't type either "Israel" or "Palestine." It wasn't much but it really kept the trolls at bay.

[quote]Where is Boystown located, OP? Is it in rough area?

North Halsted Street is the main drag, and it wasn't a rough area before all of this bullshit started happening. My friend group would go there fairly regularly from 1997-2006ish, and it never seemed unsafe. Maybe the police station lulled us into a false sense of security. Or the alcohol.

Most robberies happening in LA are committed by blacks

No, R56 let’s talk about it. If you’ve got a solid plan perhaps the twinks of Boystown will be happy to vote you for mayor.

R44, I didn’t offer any. But neither did any of the posters lamenting the ratchet negroes blocking their entrance to Whites Only Roscoe’s & Steamworks.

Violent crime is a problem in America that no president, mayor, or governor will be able to solve. We’ve seen every campaign platform. Which one would you like to try again this time? Broken windows? 3-strikes sentencing? Cash bail for all crimes? Foot patrols at night? Stop and frisk?

Give me something other than “Ugh, why do we have to deal with the blacks that our ancestors brought to this country!!”

R51 r52 people like you two are what's now wrong with liberalism. You can't accept the truth, so you call people Nazi's, racists, and TERFS in a juvenile attempt to stop others from listening to facts.

When the ball swings the other way, we"re all (minorities) gonna be in camps because of idiots like you all wanting everyone else to come live in your made up fantasyland of make believe without explaining how/why it makes sense. Liberals will be called a threat to national security. A threat to our reality. And let's face it, they'll be right.

Whites have zero responsibility for our “ancestors”. Christ, blacks don’t even take responsibility for themselves and their kids NOW. Fuck this backwards racist shit.

Looks like fun. Like a balmy evening on the Croisette in Cannes.

R62 when does it end? Why do Black people get to blame everything on the past? The past will always be the same. There's no changing it. So Black people get to terrorize everyone forever because of slavery? What about after reparations? Will they have to change or still get to blame everything on 400 years ago? Also I'm a black man.(I've said so in many posts. Go check) Im just wondering if I am responsible for any of my own life or not.

I hope the Wrigleyville Cumdump is safe. In these troubled times we need his inspiration.

Many queer non-binary folx are neither boys and girls should it be rename as Queertown for inclusivity?

I am not defending the behavior of these people but this has nothing to do with very real inequalities in America.

R66, you talk about 400 years ago but don’t mention recent and current mistreatment that hasn’t been remediated. The things I speak of are: unequal funding of minority-majority schools, discrimination in FHA loans, and unequal sentencing in nonviolent and violent criminal cases.

A illustrative example is a Department of Agriculture farm loan program which was found, by the Feds themselves, to have been racially-biased. They were ordered to change their ways and right previous wrongs and they were found recently to have not done a thing!

You may argue bootstraps all you’d like but I’ve often found that people that have supposedly bootstrapped themselves were just lucky but fall back to the bootstrap argument as a way to spin their history of luck into a self-congratulatory story of hard work and quality.

More Money Tunney is fully to blame here . He is the one who brought the Center in Halsted to the community . COH harbors these flaming thugz until 10 PM and then they wander Halsted turning tricks and conducting lewd criminal acts in the alleys . They are usually under 21 so they can’t go in the bars . It’s not safe to be on Halsted after 10 PM. The CPD can’t do anything even though they are two blocks away because Lori Lunkhead and The Cook County Court system stands up for these punk asz turds. People get mugged at the Red Line stations and city officials don’t do anything. What the area needs is for someone to defeat Tunney and run in a law and order platform.

Exactly, R70.

I remember the SELVN (Southeast Lakeview Neighbors) being against the Broadway Youth Center ("youth" being as old as 24) moving into the church at Wellington/Broadway was a big to-do. HBHC had a letter leak saying any opposition was rooted in racism, xenophobia, homophobia (lol), and transphobia. Tunney folded like a chair and they moved in despite huge neighborhood opposition.

Politicians, like today's Queer Activists, use gay rights as a shield for some really toxic behavior. Same with the Center on Halsted, which pre-dated the BYC moving but had the same phenomenon. It's for gays! Then it becomes not about that. The public housing at Addison/Halsted was another. "It's for LGBTQ seniors!" they said to make people go "oh that's wonderful!" When reality set in and people noted that that can't be true because limitations based on sexual orientation would be illegal, they had to admit it was regular ol' subsidized housing all along.

But Tunney will always win because the only people who oppose him are the Ricketts and they cannot win the Lakefront Liberal sect (nor necessarily should they).

Vandalism = I am hopeless. I want what you have yet I will never have what you have, therefore I break what you have.

R67 and R68 Thank you for providing the needed comic relief in this highly charged discussion, 😜

[quote]Many queer non-binary folx are neither boys and girls should it be rename as Queertown for inclusivity?

It's already been renamed Northalsted to be more inclusive. But most people still refer to it as Boystown.

R72 may be the only thing that makes sense here. Simplifying this as race is stupid. It’s poverty - multi generational absence of hope. God and religion used to be an opiate but no one believes in that crap anymore.

Yes, you are minimizing it, R10.

Honest question: is it safe to walk out of Steppenwolf Theater (on N. Halstead St I think?) at night alone? I'm not big or muscular.

I'm from out of state and thinking of watching a famed Steppenwolf Theater show when I visit, thanks!

[quote] I'm not big or muscular.

I don't think these thugs are preying on princess tinymeats. You should be fine.

White Cocklettes Matter!

Buying Lesbians Mansions wasn't the answer bitch.

R69, what the fuck does that have to do with black kids terrorizing the city. A black bus driver was beaten almost to death tending to his bus on Mich Ave, last time the punks decided to come downtown en masse. Dumb liberal idiots like you keep defending this shit, like black people can't make the choices to be decent citizens or ratchet fucks. You actually infantilize black people when you do this and in addition have nothing useful to add.

R43, you contribute nothing useful, I'm sure you let the city burn down with a thumb up your ass.

They are ratchet because parents and teachers don't care and then rachetness is easily consumed in 24/7 popular culture, if a kid finds it appealing.

Simply another echo-chamber in the rudderless American culture. Like the white deeeeplorables who stormed the capital and attempted a coup d'etat with the SLIGHTEST consideration that is was treasonous AND criminal.

This is how stupid, immoral and self-centered people are, nowadays.

R39 — please, have a nice, cool glass of refreshing gasoline — my treat.

I stand by everything I said. Too bad you can’t handle it Snowball. Crime is a very complex issue, the answers are multi-faceted, as are the causes too. I work in a jail dealing with these “thugs” you hate so much. Until you admit that this country has systemic racism, we can’t really carry on our debate, can we? Black children are dramatically impacted by shitty schools, single mothers without fathers, addiction, and gangs. You know why people join gangs? They’re looking for love & family. How do we fix that? I think the answers are again, complex.

Just looking at the modern American black experience, they have been affected by redlining, bad schools/no access to higher education, violence, poor healthcare, and no right to vote until the 60’s!!!!! During WW2, 1.2 million black men fought and bled for our flag, and our government promised them the GI bill, like all their fellow white soldiers were getting to access housing and higher education. Well, guess what? Our government broke that fucking promise. I wonder how you would feel, asshole, watching your government lie to your people over and over again? Would that put a ding in your sense of hope and justice, maybe make you turn to the bottle or drugs? It would definitely damage me to life through something like that.

So r39, before you make assumptions about me, my values, my beliefs, why don’t you learn some history *first* mother fucker? Go read about redlining you pathetic, arrogant, sniveling piece of a used tampon. I would rather hang out with the homies in the jail any day over an ignorant fuck like you. Black people don’t want ANY special treatment at all! They just want to be given the same access and opportunity and be part of a safe community like any other people. In my jail class today, an elderly black man talked all about blacks taking responsibility for their individual problems, and the other 10 black men in the room agreed. This is a class of 20, all races, all men.

Sorry, I just can’t pretend you’re not an asshole. And I think you know it too, deep down.

R74 The chamber of commerce changed it to Northalsted with a minority vote. Apparently the missing H stood for homo because they removed that to encourage gentrification. They didn’t have these crime problems until they tried to make it more family friendly. I say let the Dykes on bikes police the place and start fucking vandals up. Throw in some leather daddies to scare the hell out of people and call Boystown what it is, Boystown

[quote] Honest question: is it safe to walk out of Steppenwolf Theater (on N. Halstead St I think?) at night alone?

Be careful if you take the Red Line. The CTA is no longer safe.

[quote] Until you admit that this country has systemic racism, we can’t really carry on our debate, can we?

Most people don't view everything from a racist POV.

I am so glad I am moving to LA.

Wrong r86. First, that’s not racist if it’s true. Just one out example off the top of my head, why are there so few blacks in executive level business? Or NFL coaches? Why do blacks receive harsher sentences in our criminal justice system? Why are Republicans suppressing their vote in the majority of our state right at this moment? Our systems are broken, still have blind spots and biases. Acknowledging blind spots and biases doesn’t make me racist nitwit, it means that I am following an evidence-based approach to my values and politics. Show us receipts if you want to be taken seriously.

Second, who are these “most people”? Ohhhh, you mean *white* people. If that’s what you meant, then we agree! Most white people don’t think about or talk about race a lot. But people of color do talk about it a lot. Why do you think that is? Could it be that there are people out there who have an experience in their life that you don’t know anything about, but it’s still the truth, even though you know nothing about it? Are you trying to say that you KNOW what it feels like to be black in America? Last time I checked, you are white. Black people and other POC do talk about it a lot because they need to navigate through a white-dominant culture. So your experience is different dumbass.

R85, if you can’t talk about it without calling the other person a racist, then you are a pussy. You are not a man. I believe our country still has much much work to do around racial justice. You don’t agree, but what are you basing that opinion on? Cite your sources whore. I base my opinions off of both my experience, having a set of very diverse friends who teach me about their culture and who they are, and of course, I base it off research and data too.

It's not even called Boystown anymore because it was inclusive.....T Rex got run outta town even though her shows were very diverse....I lived at Belmont and Sheffield...That red line stop was the best place to be robbed

[quote] OP- In the last few years ghetto types from places like Brooklyn have discovered Manhattan. On a Saturday night walking in Chelsea - pre covid on 20th street near the former Limelight Church- it was a TOTAL ghetto scene.

They’re not from Brooklyn. They come from Jersey City. They’ve been on the Christopher Street pier for years. Hundreds of them sit there blasting ghetto music.

[R15] [R61] Why do the whites love serial killing, mass murder, genocide, war crimes, and insurrection?

The apologists on this thread can fuck off. Once beautiful, world class, world-renowned Chicago is an absolute shit hole because of these fucking savages.

Crime is out of control in Chicago precisely because of Leftist soft-on-crime policies and the media/Left continuing to propagate the false narrative around victimless blacks and evil, racist police.

As someone who grew up in the North Shore in the 1990’s, I do not recognize the city of Chicago today. It has been transformed into a extremely dangerous, violent, and ghetto cesspool.

The ghetto trash used to be confined to the south and west sides, and now it is EVERYWHERE. In the ‘90’s the thugs knew that if they pulled this shit in the formlerly-nice north side neighborhoods, their black asses would be shot.

Now, they’re emboldened because if one of these apes gets shot and killed, because they are robbing someone or trying to car jack someone, there will be “racial justice” protests. 🙄

On the north side, there are car jackings, muggings, and shootings in formerly-safe affluent neighborhoods like River North, Printers Row, and Gold Coast.

Once-grand Mag Mile is now frequently a target of thieves smash and grabbing high-end stores.

And guess what group is causing 95% of this carnage? That’s right. Black people. But these savages aren’t black, they are just nigs.

I do not blame white people or any other race for being racist against these ratchet ass thugs.

R89 Exactly. PATH train.

78% of people are terrible these days.

lol you'll be fine R77 unless you're leaving at like, 1am.

R89- They were hanging out in front of their cars which had New York plates NOT New Jersey.

Yeah, so reading these posts and an older one on "Market Days" from last year, I think I might cancel my stay. I'm an elder gay, and the packed sardines along with all the potential random attacks makes it an unattractive prospect. Sounds like I'd be ok, probably, by day, but would have to seclude myself in my hotel room at night.

Some 60yo lesbian friends of mine are probably cancelling too as they stop and review the actual surroundings. Is there any nice place for lesbians to go, I'm wondering on their behalf?

I'm still confused, I got to Boystown almost every single weekend and never had an issue. Halsted is a very long street so I just don't see this drama happening in the main gay center, Steamworks to Charlies/I-Hop. Again, I actually live in Chicago and don't know of anyone in my social circle have been attacked or accosted on Halsted. I know the Queens in Side Track where it would have spread like wildfire if someone we knew was attacked.

I think the news and OP are really overstating what it is like. 99% of visitors will be absolutely fine wandering in and around gentrified Lakeview. There are usually cops already posted around the areas i mentioned above. But if you are unsure, like r96, then just Uber to Sidetrack and go from there.

You will have a blast, as do boys from all over the nation that visit. I could easily make a similar thread about violence in NYC or LA to strike fear in tourists. Girls, just get your ass out there and live a little.

*I go to....

Dallas's Deep Ellum is now a similar sea of people, almost like Mardi Gras, especially on weekends. Many are to be too young to get into the bars but old enough to carry weapons.

^...too young to be getting into bars but old enough to carry weapons.

R99 Former Dallasite here, I’m sorry to hear that. Loved Deep Ellum. But Dallas, like most major cities, suffers from voting communist. I know that 2015 onward our beloved gay ghetto was no longer so safe and that the Kroger on Cedar Springs was held up by gunpoint back in 2017.

Yes, Miss R101, the members of the Comintern are reassembling and seizing power everywhere these days. Assert your Second Amendment rights!

R102 That’s not the way it working, it’s been gradual. Joking about it doesn’t diminish anything I’ve said.

R97, it’s often specifically the post-closing hours time it gets bad. Usually the worst is around Belmont Red Line (wonder why) and Berlin.

OPs video is clearly right at Roscoe/Halsted and on the first hot/warm night of the year. They don’t do this shit while cold. There’s also a reason Nookies Tree stopped pm hours AND now closed and hasn’t reopened.

So it’s clearly not “If you go you’ll get shot!” but by the same token I used to live right by Charlie’s and there’s no WAY you’d get me to go near that ghetto ass 7/11 after 1am unless I was wrecked.

To wit: Halsted parking ban exists because ghetto people be ghetto.

Its like the 50s all over again. All the teens on the strip. This time with guns and video.

Before it just used to be confined to the Dunkin Donuts at Belmont/Clark. Long history of this here. It’s just now they loiter publicly on Halsted and it’s waaaaay less integrated than before.

People were thrilled when DD was razed and replaced with the new Target mixed-dev. building which curbed this. Still a fascinating look into 90s Boystown for those of us with rose-colored glasses.

This was last night. Executed for a phone. This is disgusting and it’s EVERY DAY HERE.

R108 I wonder if it was a black man that did the shooting. Maybe it was an Asian man or someone from south Asia or perhaps it was someone white from the suburbs or maybe it was a Brazilian. Obviously none of this was true it was a stupid ass ghetto mf

Why in the hell would anyone live in Chicago?

R110- I would say Chicago is worse than NYC nowadays

I can't tell you how disappointed I am in myself that I let some scared relatives, a few posts on DL and a general note of alarm regarding Chicago safety, convince me to cancel my Market Days stay. I know there were a few posts indicating that it's generally safe, but, damn, random means random, and there are far too many stories about the crime.

R108, victim was shot at 3:05 am? Dumb victim. I'm indoors by 10 pm every night.

And America wants to get rid of abortion.

Ouchh...I shouldn't have fonted that out loud. I'm black too. Oh well I'm a comedian sometimes.

Planet of the Apes.

R115, That's just outright racist. No pussy footing huh. Fuck you. Go to Harlem and say that shit.

[quote]I can't tell you how disappointed I am in myself that I let some scared relatives, a few posts on DL and a general note of alarm regarding Chicago safety, convince me to cancel my Market Days stay. I know there were a few posts indicating that it's generally safe, but, damn, random means random, and there are far too many stories about the crime.

So you're disappointed in yourself for letting others convince you to cancel, but you are glad you canceled?

Yup, that's about it, R117.

You can't be serious r112?

Market Days is great time. You are literally letting bored internet trolls affect your life. That's...pathetic.

To the poster in Lake Forest, don’t make the mistake of thinking these thugs won’t eventually start moving north.

I wrote about this in another thread but late last year there was a car jacking attempt in Wilmette. Beautiful, safe, prestigious Wilmette, which is also where I grew up.

Early in 2021 there was a carjacking attempt at a Glencoe country club. These fuckers are emboldened precisely because of Chicago’s soft on crime Leftist government. These apes will continue to terrorize until Chicago gets serious about apprehending, prosecuting, and locking these worthless pieces of shit behind bars where they belong.

Chicagoans need to start arming themselves and fighting back. I will never live in Chicagoland again, not will I ever visit it again. A complete and total shit show of a city.

R120 I’m also a black millennial. I grew up middle class in Evanston. Talk about a total shit show that’s become omg. Multiple carjackings and violent crime. 4 people in my sister’s neighborhood right behind Trader Joe’s were robbed.

R108 the victim is alive? Amazing. He must be destroyed from shots in the back and head. How stunning that someone will kill for a phone.

Boystown all right. The confessionals have a very special character.

Thanks, R117, but it's truly not JUST the trolls. That's why I should have said I was a little embarrassed that I landed on the same side as their sometimes hysterical comments. The rest of my story is, that, upon reflection, I probably am too old to hang out in the streets, people within every pore. There was a time that appealed, but I guess I'm too old. Also, the apps are wherever I happen to be.

I do plan to visit this summer or fall, downtown, on a different weekend.

I’m NOT a troll. I live here in Boystown. This violence is every day. It not here and there. I’m leaving this summer when my lease ends. It’s changed for the worse slowly and then it just went into overdrive. I wouldn’t want to come here for a visit. The violence is random and for the cruelty of it all. Who the fuck goes out murdering every day and night? When did these hard men turn into such blasé murderers with zero regard for life.

Ps, I am OP @ r125

East Lake View is high crime area now

This JUST Friday night.

“on the 2900 block of North Clark at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday. Three men stepped out of a silver four-door sedan and confronted two men, ages 23 and 33, who were walking nearby. Two of the offenders displayed guns while the third took items from the victims’ pockets, including a set of car keys, said Bartoli, the CPD spokesperson. The younger victim reported that the crew also stole his white BMW sedan, which was parked on the 2900 block of North Halsted.

the North Bosworth robbery described above at 10:50 p.m. Wednesday.

on the 1100 block of West Wellington at 11 p.m. Wednesday.

on the 3000 block of North Racine at 10 p.m. Thursday. A 22-year-old woman told police she was walking when a man wearing a yellow hoodie and surgical mask approached her from behind, according to Bartoli. He displayed a gun, took her property, and fled west on Barry Avenue in a white sedan that was waiting with two other people inside, Bartoli said. Police have determined that the getaway car is the white 2018 BMW robbers took the night before, a source said.

on the 2600 block of North Racine at 10:26 p.m. Thursday. A 23-year-old man told police that a robber confronted him at gunpoint as he walked down the street.

on the 700 block of West Aldine at 12:30 a.m. Friday. A 30-year-old man said two masked men stepped out of a black sedan and demanded his property at gunpoint as he was walking. One offender punched him in the face when he started screaming, Bartoli said. He ran away, and the offenders escaped without getting anything.

on the 1100 block of West Fullerton at 3 a.m. Friday. A DePaul University student was walking when a white sedan pulled up and a gunman emerged from the passenger seat to demand his property, according to a safety bulletin from the school. the robbery and shooting of Earley on the 1300 block of West Webster at 3:05 a.m. Friday.

The suspects are Black males between 16- and 30-years-old who wear ski masks, the alert said

They are usually always black males

[quote]The suspects are Black males between 16- and 30-years-old who wear ski masks, the alert said

At least they’re now being honest about it. Usually the media leaves out a physical description when the suspects are black… which is always.

People in the area are beyond fed up. This is an affluent neighborhood.

Good Times !

I have lived in Chicago all my life and am scared and disgusted at how it is not safe in areas that used to be. I voted for Lightfoot but never again. She has been a huge disappointment. The Loop and the Mag Mile are no longer safe as thugs come in on the CTA from the south and west sides to commit crimes downtown and the police can’t control it. The thugs are in groups and they know they can get away with it. Ever since the riots and looting in 2020 which criminals took advantage of. It wasn’t about Black Lives Matter. These were criminals who destroyed Loop and Mag Mile stores and blatantly looted Macy’s right in from of news cameras because they knew they’d get away with it. The only way sadly to control this is to lockdown the Loop and Mag Mile after dark with police as they did after the riots. Sorry for those businesses who will lose evening business but it’s the only way. The thugs have taken over.

The far left hates law and order

The far left hates everything except power.

The far left loves Black Criminals Matter!

10:45 in the morning.. omg! That’s insane. They’re robbing people all day long. Where the hell are the police?

[quote]Where the hell are the police?

They’ve been defunded. You’re welcome.

Shit happens. You giys are whiners. Move farther north.

^guys/gays

When is Lightfoot up for re-election?

This summer will be off the hook

This have gotten out of control, which is why the pendulum is swinging right. It seems we can’t have our freedoms and law+order at the same time. If the dems would just prosecute criminals, they’d win elections.

You can't carry a gun in Chicago, R120.

I spent a week on the south-side of Chicago last year for a work adjacent thing and the poverty is truly shocking. You gals only care about it when it infiltrates your spaces, but you’ve been happy to leave people living in total poverty and squalor for decades and not given a fuck. Calling people ghetto trash, while you’ve allowed that to continue, is very ironic. The poverty needs to be dealt with in order to improve these social conditions, more prisons or police or whatever is not going to cut it. Free third level education, better social housing programs, lower taxes on low income people, more support for single parent families, free healthcare, that’s what’s needed. The lack of empathy and total disregard for your fellow citizens lives is the real social problem, that a lot of you are unashamed of showing. How gross. If you can imagine the future that is offered to a child growing up in those conditions, and you’re fine with it as long as it’s contained to “those neighborhoods” then you’re the problem. Oh and can the “MY PERSONAL SAFETY IS AT RISK!!!!!1!!” trolls get a grip of themselves please it’s embarrassing.

Do the crime, do the time, lazy black men.

Let's open a school and housing complex on R146's block and see how sanctimonious he is then.

Always the same demographics....always....

R147-It's- Don't Do The Crime If You Can't Do The Time.

Tired of these ~*excuses*~ R146.

There are plenty of poor communities in this world - let alone this COUNTRY - that take pride in their neighborhoods and communities. Not just meaning low to no violent crime, but low property crime and high level of maintenance and pride in their surroundings.

We have one of the HIGHEST per pupil expenses in the nation (9th if you include DC). The highest in the Midwest. We bleed money "teaching" these kids. Kids in the Philippines learn with a lot fucking less and without any of the behavioral issues and they have TRUE crippling poverty and no social safety net.

With credits, Chicago's poor don't even pay income tax (refunded). I will grant you the City and State's onerous sales and other taxes are regressive on the poor. Would love to see THOSE lessened.

It's behavioral and cultural. You can't fucking fix it, and bleeding hearts like you wishing it away won't do a damn lick of good.

Linked is an article with a beautiful person lifted out of poverty with an "Opportunity Voucher." Given he had "mobility issues," CTA will give 250% market value and he was able to move into Alta at K Station in Fulton Market - a sparkly, new high rise building. A protected class given his race, disability, and "source of income" (being on the taxpayer's fucking tit). CHA doesn't even post their payment standards (maximum allowance) anymore because it's fucking obscene, which is why this victim of society could live in a building where 1 bedroom rents start at $2700.

He shot a man working out in the building's gym.

R148 dickhead I’ve lived next to low income housing, facilities for homeless people and sites where homeless people lived, and I’ve also lived next to a school (wtf?) and my opinion remains.

I used to like in one of those luxury buildings where they started to let welfare and homeless creeps move in. I was paying $1,900. They were paying $200. They bring the ghetto with them when they are given a free apartment in a great building. Also, the building let in immigrants. All of them Russian. All of them fucking assholes who bring their shit with them as well. How the fu I do they move across the world and land safely in a free apartment? Curiously, no Mexicans or any Latinos let in the building. Odd. The only whites let in were older white guys who were living at a disgusting shelter downtown. Wtf did druggie bums get a free ride... again odd. I have to say living amongst these people makes you hate them. They always start weird shit in the elevators. They would not wear masks during Covid. I moved out. Chicago is nuts to think people paying high rents want to live with ex homeless and baby mamas. Halsted street is a shadow of its former self. Little Jim’s was closed down. Most of the gay businesses are gone. What remains is vandalized regularly. Broken windows were/are just a fact of doing business at the Beatnix shop. Their windows are broken regularly. A few bars doesn’t make a fun gay destination vacation. The violence is every night. It will get worse when they finish the Howard brown health center that they are building. Catering to a trans population with mental illness. Methadine maintenace programs. It will be HOPPING with insanity.

The Center on Halsted is a bad neighbor with psycho blacks from the west side who sit in the air conditioning or heat all day and smoke cigarettes. They steal from Walgreens and the while foods right there. They stand outside and scream and yell threatening everyone. Again. Fuck Chicago and all of this weird fuckery. I’d say in two years you won’t even be able to recognize Halsted Street.

They all darkies.

I'm supposed to go to a trade show in Chicago the first part of June. Reading this thread has terrified me but I can't back out. The show is at the Merchant Mart (horrible name but it's a design center), should I stick to the hotels near it?

This all started to happen when the Center on Halsted opened in 2007. They started to provide services for young black gays and young black trannies.

They all started to come to Boystown and as many of them are homeless, started to hang there 24/7. The black trannies turned the place into a sex work center, and overall they just rob, harass and torment people.

[quote] The show is at the Merchant Mart (horrible name but it's a design center), should I stick to the hotels near it?

Merchandise Mart.

That area is fine. If you stay near that area or take a cab/uber/lyft into West Town, the West Loop, or even Andersonville (a longer ride) you'll be fine. The only place I'd stay away from during your visit is the "Magnificent Mile" section of Michigan Avenue in the evenings. (This would conceivably be within walking distance.) Sometimes big groups of youths gather there too. A rule of thumb is to stay away from where the tourists go.

Even where this video is taken is pretty safe during the day. These young black kids come out in the evening and are looking for money and a fight, but generally they are not gang members or fighting with guns as they are in most south side neighborhoods.

Hotels may be a bit tricky but if you post some prices/options here would be happy to recommend. Again, I tend to stay away from the hotels on/near the Magnificent Mile (and there are a lot) but I can suggest other options.

R158 wow thanks ! That's very helpful and i will take you up on your offer for recommendations after I narrow down the list.

I was really hoping to go to Boystown on my first night (Saturday) -- live Sidetrax (?) and Roscoe's but it's been 20 years! Sounds like it's not worth the risk to wait for an Uber on the street up there.

^^sorry meant I love Sidetrack and Roscoe's. Damn iPhone.

r155, Coawrds like you will always hide behind the internet. You are coward, nothing more nothing less. And you would get your shit rocked in public.

R159 You might be OK on a Saturday if you know your way around. A lot of those kinds of scenes happen later on, after midnight. You just have to be able to know how to get away from it and navigate north or east. I'm more intimidated by the straight Cubs fans on Clark Street, but I've seen videos from Boystown that get pretty insane.

Personally I'd rather hit Sidetrack on Showtunes Sunday but obviously your mileage may vary!

This happened at 4 am - it's usually much later, when the cops go into overload (in other words, unless you're in a shooting or bleeding they ain't coming) before this shit happens.

No. The violence is at ALL HOURS. It’s NOT ok to use the gay community as a fish tank to rob and murder.

Our town is spending over $500,000.00 to facilitate a 12 month Truth and Reconciliation Commission to discuss issues of race and discrimination. Last evening 12 blacks started shooting it out in one of our city parks.

Why the fuck would you stop your car like that when there’s a large group of negroes nearby? When there's a group of blacks around, you get away if you don't want to die. If there's a red light, you run it. Most people in America have learned this by the age of 5.

I think the cops hate Lightfoot and are sitting on their hands to get her out of office. If they think Chicago is ready to elect a Republican, they've got a big surprise.

The pandemic has exacerbated crime and spread it all over the city and into the subways and elevated cars. There are small groups of teens who mug people for their phones, larger groups of teens and young adults who jump on cars and try to fuck people up, and organized crime, which was behind the lootings and more serious thefts. The car jackings were supposed to be a gang initiation stunt but many are deadly.

In most instances, you are safe during the day and early evening if you're in a wealthy lakefront or lake-adjacent neightborhood. There are many neighborhoods on the North side where you'll have no trouble at all but those aren't tourist destination spots.

Maybe the next Covid wave will take out all the Chicago thugs.

Dakotah Earley moved to Chicago six months ago to study culinary arts and figure out what to do with his life. He was robbed and shot early Friday by two people wanted in at least seven similar robberies on the North Side this month.

Surveillance video captured him struggling with the gunman who took his phone and demanded the passcode. The gunman then opened fire at close range and shot him three times in the head and back.

He remains on life-support and will have one of his feet amputated to save the rest of his leg.

R167 Rogers Park is one of those safer neighborhoods... for now. Who knows when the crime will trickle that far north.

I am moving to Chicago in July. It is the last of the affordable big cities.

[quote]Rogers Park is one of those safer neighborhoods..

Oh, hunny. You are delusional. This horrific crime happened 4 years ago and its gotten no better.

Chicago has become a ghetto city.

R171 I wonder why that is....

[quote]It is the last of the affordable big cities.

Property taxes and their cascading effect on rents will son take care of that!

R166, Well if you watch the whole video. The person who got out of the car was black.

This thread has turned into a vector for racism.

Rogers Park is safe in comparison to, say, Englewood or Lawndale. But it is one of the unsafe spots of the North side, mostly because the terminus for the Red Line is there, and gangs are in RP as well as in Uptown.

The rule of thumb is to mostly go where the Brown Line goes once you're farther north than Belmont.

Unfortunately the Belmont el station has become unsafe in recent years at night, as has that whole edge of Lincoln Park. I don't think I'd do well stumbling out of Berlin at 3 am as I did in 1997.

Really^ I thought it was a race for Vectorism.

Facts are now racist

^ Only certain facts. Facts or quasi fact can be utilized. You can fill in the blanks as to what thye are. Looking at your media.

[quote] This thread has turned into a vector for racism.

Saying that blacks are violent when there's statistics to back it up is not racism.

[quote]Rogers Park is one of those safer neighborhoods

Are you brand new, R170? RP has been a crime ridden shitshow for decades. It's only recently gentrified in the past 10 years or so.

I remember when the Chipotle north of the Loyola stop was an exciting sign. Loyola stop is unrecognizable now with development (Morse too). Just a few years ago some poor lady was shot by Morse station.

Where's Obama and Oprah and Gayle and Tyler Perry and Spike Lee and Jordan Peele and Chris Rock and (insert dozens of black sports figures) to inspire these kids?

Until there are black movie stars, TV stars, writers, sports stars, doctors, mayors, governors, Supreme Court justices, and maybe someday even a President, I'm afraid those poor kids will have no one to look up to, R185. Can you blame them?

[quote] This thread has turned into a vector for racism.

I am not racist, and I get that many of the issues and criminal activity is the work of desperate people who are in poverty, and they aren't committed because of the color of their skin. I know that gangs rose up partly because of the refusal of the mainstream economy to hire people of color, especially men of color.

But it's very hard to explain that or justify what happens when 90 percent plus of anything anyone sees on websites or TV news in Chicago shows crime committed by people of color, particularly men of color. And unfortunately, the well-intentioned changes by Kim Foxx, which were originally meant to help avoid long criminal sentences for the sales of small amounts of drugs (amounts that often did not result in long sentences for white people) have ended up making things WAY too lax in terms of law enforcement.

Add in the fact that drugs and intense poverty (living in homes with asbestos, lead pipes and lead contaminated water, etc.) leads to brain damage and mental health issues and it's just such a vicious cycle....I don't think anyone knows where to begin.

I mean, this is someone's 76th arrest......

"Coawrds like you will always hide behind the internet. You are coward, nothing more nothing less. And you would get your shit rocked in public."

R161 You are so eloquent! LOL

Most violent crimes are not committed due to poverty.

Could someone explain just what the process of having one's shit rocked looks like?

That guy must have an excellent attorney. He’s been arrested 76 times in the last 8 years, and he’s still walking the streets.

This article in the Chicago Tribune from today shows some of our more enterprising fellow gays are choosing to open businesses in less expensive gentrifying areas of the city rather than in Boystown.

(pics) Chicago-Elder gay retail shop bottom gets tired of selling clothes for upscale stores on Michigan Avenue and opens his own men's shop in Humboldt Park

R193, THIS how I picture a DLer.

R192 I don't know if that's any response to crime. It's more that Humboldt Park is probably a good middle ground for affordability in terms of shop space.

Commercial rents have gone up as much as residential ones. But since he's been in his shop for 8 years, he probably got in on ground level. Certainly Boystown wasn't as bad as it is now when he opened this.

Nothing new opens on Halsted anymore. Just closures. The Howard Brown clinic that’s being build wiped out that whole street of small gay businesses.

A lot of what was in Boystown got priced out a while back, and then moved to Andersonville.

Sadly, in the last 5 years the process has repeated itself and small businesses keep getting pushed out. There was a great record store there, Borderline, that started in Boystown then moved to Andersonville. Without notice the landlord pushed him out so a pet store could go there (never mind two other ones were on the street already).

This happened in the West Loop, too. It's just lather/rinse/repeat

(a) Cool local businesses open up, drawing people and money into the neighborhood (b) Those businesses get popular and draw even more customers (c) Commercial landlords raise rents, often double or tripling them, shutting down the cool places and letting them sit empty, or leasing to big chains, the only entities that can afford that rent (d) So you have the West Loop, which used to have fantastic innovative restaurants, and now is home to McDonald's HQ, Sweetgreen, and a growing number of chains.

Commercial rents are no where near as high as they were 20 years ago or so. They're pretty reasonable. It's all the other shit that goes with business ownership that's onerous (insurance, permits, wages) and has been increasing to crazy degrees.

The problem with Lakeview is a lot of the existing commercial is small and old, making build-out prohibitive and not worth it. This is why things are gentrifying where spaces are bigger and less expensive. What exists in old, industrial Fulton Market could never have come to Roscoe and Halsted.

Borderline not surviving is no surprise (and I LOVED it! I'd get my Kylie CDs there) in an age of digital music and Youtubing concerts. His rent could be $1,000/mo and they probably wouldn't make it. He's store is exclusively online now and not in Andersonville.

What's the area like around Union station? I hate flying and am considering getting a private room on Amtrak so I can do some work and sleep; my hotel will be near Merchandise Mart. Would be arriving around 10am.

R193- Thank you for the compliment

Sorry, I meant to write R192

[quote]The rule of thumb is to mostly go where the Brown Line goes once you're farther north than Belmont.

Are you kidding? Drunk affluent partiers turn any corner off Southport at midnight to get to their cars and are held up en masse. Thugs view Southport like an ATM at night.

R187 you seem vaguely reasonable so I’ll add to what you wrote and ask you a couple of questions based on it. You’ve said that 90% of crime that’s shown in media is related to black people (black men specifically), you’ve also addressed economics earlier. Funny you chose that number because your average black family in the USA earns 10% that of your average white family. Do those numbers carry any additional weight in your allowance?

Secondly you’ve acknowledged that it’s mainly men that commit violent crime. The rate of violent crime between men and women is greater than that between any racial group in the USA but funnily enough (on here at least) only one of the draws focus. What do you suppose is the reason for that? What about datalounge commenters means they’ll ignore sex / gender in as a comparison and invoke race as the only significant factor.

Now since everyone on here assumes and accepts as fair that any random black person is representative of the entire black population, then I would pose the question to you and any other man on here, what is it about you that makes you prone to violent crime? Why do you not apologize for the crimes of all these men committing murder / rape / assault / stealing etc etc. And remember you’re a singular monolithic group with no nuance or differentials because you have to apply the rules fairly!

You fucked up your black-to-white income ratio r202.

Oh I’m sorry R203 you’re right, I meant net worth. A black family’s net worth, or wealth, is 10% that of your average white family.

R197 Borderline had no issues - they weren't behind on rent or anything. He was paying solid rent, but the owner pushed him out for a corporation that wanted the space.

Northalsted is the name now. It's fitting that the name has changed, because the neighborhood has changed as well. Women felt so uncomfortable that there was a place named after boys. Where do the cool gay guys who just wanna have fun go now that their spaces have been invaded by woke bodies???

That’s just not true R205. There are no corporate stores on that stretch of Broadway except the Starbucks across the street.

The Pet Boutique (Wigglyville) isn’t a chain and isn’t even in the old Borderline space.

R207 's link is from 2013

To whoever upthread has to go to the Merchandise Mart, here's a few ideas for hotels:

The closest, and largest, would be the Westin at 320 N Dearborn. It's a short walk to the doors of Merchandise Mart.

Some other options: The Moxy at 530 N Lasalle would be a bit more of a young, party vibe.

LaQuinta at 1 S Franklin: Okay, this sounds weird. And I have no idea how nice or not nice it might be inside. But it's a few blocks from the Mart, and is in a very quiet area that is 100 percent business during the day. There isn't much around it, but it should be safe AND you are near buses, the elevated train, and are an easy, quick pickup for cabs or rideshare.

There are some other places closer to or in the West Loop that are nice, new and would be a short el ride/cab/rideshare away.

The key is to stay away from Michigan Ave, for the most part, and State Street farther south than Lake. Anywhere near subway or el train stations can also be places where some of the attempts at robbery or violence happens. Best to rideshare if you can, though if you are staying in the West Loop (near Halsted) the 8 Halsted bus will take you directly to Boystown.

(Wish I could suggest staying closer to Boystown or on the North Side and commuting down to the Mart, but there are so few hotels outside of the loop.)

Stay in Lake Forest. I do!

So what was up with all the million black teenagers at Oak Street Beach?

North Avenue beach.

And it’s our annual Memorial Day festival to celebrate the outstanding excellence of our world class black youth.

Remember when Rahm was mayor and they had the lugenpresse put out they closed the beach because they were worried about “Heat Exhaustion”? lol

They arrested 1 person [r212]. We are fucked this summer.

R198 I am at Union Station frequently. I would say it’s relatively safe. It’s in the loop near where a lot of people will be commuting. A lot of begging and people coming up to you so just ignore them and don’t make eye contact. You can take the brown line to merchandise mart or just Uber if you want to feel even more safe.

Not where you want to go this summer. Stay away from Boystown.

We need some Dexters and Purge Nights to get rid of the human garbage on this planet.

Thug chaos spreading to Chicago close neighbor, Milwaukee.

R153- Chicago sounds FAR worse than NYC nowadays.

What are the odds the FBI has R217 on a watchlist? I'd say 55%.

Who would want to live in either Chicago or New York? Yuck

People are fed up and leaving Chicago in droves, just as Boeing announced it will later this year.

Chicago has a major image problem now. The first thing that most people associate the city with is violence and crime, and yet the corrupt woke, Leftist government that Chicagoans keep electing refuse to acknowledge or fix this problem.

Anyone using words like "woke" and "leftist" is borderline retarded and not to be taken seriously.

And Boeing was never really IN Chicago. They changed their HQ in name only to Chicago to take advantage of some tax credits, which were given to them under either Daley or Rahm, but very little of their workforce was there outside of the executive suite, so they can't really "leave" when they weren't in Chicago to start with.......

I am moving there this summer. Will I be murdered?

I got none of these problems in Oak Park.

Columbus Ohio is so bad now we have our own PD Video Channel showing off our local hillbilly trash..

[quote]I am moving there this summer. Will I be murdered?

Yes.

I’m on Halsted street. This morning they were shooting and fighting with cops since 4:30 am in front of the bars at Roscoe and Halsted. The crowd then pelted the police with bottles.

That’s nuts R228. Just saw this on CWB too.

This was after the shooting right at the fucking BEAN of course.

Mayhem.

I move mid July. This is just too much. All the time.

"After the teen was shot Saturday evening, Chicago police leaders followed the same playbook that has failed to contain similar groups in the past: They closed Millennium Park at 8 p.m., which forced the group into the streets of the Loop, where street cops zigged and zagged in a futile effort to keep the situation contained.

As usual, mobs overran local businesses, particularly convenience stores, where — putting it nicely — merchandise was not always paid for.

Countless fights broke out. Bottles were thrown. Cars were jumped and danced upon.

Guns were found and shots were fired, some hit people, some did not. Ambulances stayed busy. Police response to calls for help in other parts of the city was delayed, sometimes for hours, as the Loop mayhem soaked up resources."

I remember visiting Chicago many summer weekends in the 90s and 2000s and never feeling unsafe. I used to walk from Boystown to my hotel downtown after the bars closed, with no incident except for the occasional hooker asking if I wanted a good time. I wouldn't dream of doing that now.

[R218] I am in Milwaukee and can attest that the shootings this weekend are nothing new. Folks move north to this state because of access to state aid and insurance that they cannot access in Illinois. Milwaukee has had a huge issue with segregation and economic disparities since forever. We have lots of shiny new buildings, restaurants and a popular new stadium/nightlife complex but people here are less excited to invest in education and offer people a fair wage, so we keep reaping what we sow here. I see great things happening in this city and on other days feel like it's going to be the next Detroit. I also visited Boystown more frequently in the late 90's through 2015 and never felt unsafe, but was probably not as aware as I should have been and was lucky.

This is not a black/white issue; it’s a poor/middle class issue. Race is irrelevant.

When people ask: Why do black people commit so much crime?? They should be asking why do poor people commit so much crime?

Poverty is a societal choice and it indicts us all. It’s lazy and easy to blame a race when we should be looking deeper.

raci$t le$bian troll alert!!!

With Juneteenth coming up it will get even wilder in boystown -- folks blowing off steam.

No one but no one goes to or lives in Boystown any longer.

[QUOTE] I am moving there this summer. Will I be murdered?

Just be aware that many apartments in Chicago are cold water flats with no AC. So that means more people out on the streets in the summer doing things like this, to escape the heat.

R233 It seems we are beyond that position now.

[quote]I am moving there this summer. Will I be murdered?

Ask the Pope if you can borrow his Popemobile. 🚐

They need to shut down the Center on Halsted and some of the places that let youth stay there....well meaning as they are they just unleash this filth on the neighborhood.

They also need to start having police cordon off Halsted between Belmont and Addison, if not farther north, and only allow people with ID's or people who have proof of residency in.

This morning there was a meth head mess wearing a wig laying on the ground in front of the doors of the Center on Halsted. He was smoking the ever present cigarette. The place has. Cigarette butts everywhere around the entrance. Vomit is ever present on the sidewalk. The COH makes a LOT OF MONEY from all of their donations. A LOT of money. FUCK THESE SHITTY BAD NEIGHBORS.

Why are these bars like Progress ( they stay open until 5am) allowed to stay open? Payola?

There were no mob riots in Chicago last night. There was a hoax police scanner and video from the George Floyd riots splashed all over twitter saying one occurred. Chicago absolutely has its problems but people on the right need to create an image that Chicago is under siege.

CWBChicago is a cop outfit with an agenda.

R244 is associated with a bar. There’s always a jerk here to say “oh this isn’t really happening” yeah, IT IS HAPPENING. I fucking live here and see it asshole.

Sorry I meant r243.

[quote]There were no mob riots in Chicago last night. ... CWBChicago is a cop outfit with an agenda.

Guess the Sun Times is in on it, too.

and to think chi-town used to be a nice place, before lightfoot stepped up

Trump created a ficitonal Chociago that gives MAGAS a hard-on.

Chicago, corrected.

Chicago is in shithole status from their own stupidity, has nothing to do with Trump. Trump offered Lightfoot federal resources to fight crime and she turned them down.

Wrong, R236. If you have no knowledge on a subject, why post?

That's funny R250 as she's now begging for federal help:

[quote] “Cities individually cannot tackle this problem. We just cannot. In Chicago, we’ve done absolutely everything possible, and we need help from the federal government,” the mayor added.

[quote]Just be aware that many apartments in Chicago are cold water flats with no AC.

I'm not sure that means what you think it means. I assure you all Chicago flats are required to have access to hot water.

Brutal beating by a group of fucking 12 & 14 year old scumbags.

Chicago blacks are something else

Blacks AND gays? Windows smashed to bits? Gunshot victims in the parks? A mayor who looks like Beetlejuice?

Can you believe all this? It gets worse every year!

This is why I shop at Marshall Fields in Lake Forest.

For those asking how Lightfoot was elected - the voters really had no choice.

Her opponent positioned herself as even more woke than Lightfoot and actually believed Jussie.

It was voter apathy. Paul Vallas was running and that dude from Beverly, both would been vastly better than Lightfoot.

There is a difference between race and class. But don't tell blacks this -- or idiot whites -- who fell in line behind the "black lives matter" movement, which literally made it all about race not class. Just a country of profoundly stupid people.

I don't see how I'm gonna make it through the summah.

R260, I see what you did there

Please, this isn't Lightfoot's fault--It's the COVID economy and the fact that guns are freely available in all the states surrounding Illinois.

Poor people commit the crimes. When economies improve, crime goes down. When economies worsen, crime goes up. Europe has far less crime because it has a strong safetynet. If the US had one, we'd have less crime too.

Lightfoot and Billionaire Chubs Gov caused the “COVID Economy.”

Also there are billions of people in this world that are way poorer than our blacks that don’t do shit like this. Why? Because they would be ROTTING IN FUCKING JAIL which makes people think twice.

R263, We have the highest rate of imprisonment in the world already. Feel safe?

The US has 4% of the world’s population and 20% of the world’s imprisoned population.

[quote] Also there are billions of people in this world that are way poorer than our blacks that don’t do shit like this.

It's really about the differences in wealth. Societies that have large difference experience greater crime throughout the world and throughout history.

Our high imprisonment rate shows that "sticking them in jail" doesn't particularly prevent crime.

Giving people an education and jobs prevents crime.

[quote]Poor people commit the crimes. When economies improve, crime goes down.

Poor people commit street crimes.

White-collar crime, which affects a whole lot more people, often increases with economic prosperity.

R263- Lightfoot?

We should refer to her as LightWEIGHT

Illinois has one of the lowest per capita prison populations in the country, despite having one of the highest murder rates.

Prison absolutely works. Pro-active policing works. Chicago did not re-gentrify due to lax policing, light sentencing, or being soft on crime. Hyde Park wouldn't exist without its huge police presence. And Bridgeport and Beverly (copland) surrounded on all sides by ghetto? lol.

Last night there were multiple gunshots at Fullerton and Lincoln Park West (!!!!). That's not some entertainment district like Boystown, or the hood. I haven't heard of such a thing in the past 20+ years by the Zoo of all places.

Pride is around the corner and Monkeypox will be on the menu for a lot of the Boystown whores!

The zoo area is a spot for violence for a while now.

In what universe, R272? Not gunshots. I have a girlfriend who's lived near there for 5 years and heard gunshots last night at 2am, then confirmed by Citizen app.

Recreation Drive, sure. Lincoln Park West? Absolutely not.

ThIs IS nTt hApPenInG!!!!!!!!!! Re r273

The cruelty is the point. The violence. The rage.

Where's Mayor Daley when you need him?

Where's Dexter?

It's lovely, I had a mother who lived there once.

R263, criminals are put through a revolving door and back out on the street. Lock these fuckers up and you can get a reduction in crime. PRISON WORKS, stop being a dumbass libtard. You can't have a city with no consequences for violent crime. Poor whites are not doing these vile shit these blacks in Chicago are doing.

[quote] Prison absolutely works.

Like with the war on drugs?

[quote] Lock these fuckers up and you can get a reduction in crime. PRISON WORKS, stop being a dumbass libtard.

Again, we have the highest incarceration rate in the world yet have some of the highest violent crime rates in the world.

That would show that prison, in fact, does not work.

[quote] Chicago did not re-gentrify due to lax policing, light sentencing, or being soft on crime. Hyde Park wouldn't exist without its huge police presence.

Chicago, like every other major American city, regentrified starting in the 1990's because of the economic boom of the Clinton Presidency.

Money and jobs in the city led to Chicago regentrifying. Certainly police were part of it but not the cause of it.

[quote]That would show that prison, in fact, does not work.

Who the fuck cares - the point is to PUNISH THEM. I'm sick of feeling like a fucking patsy for always following the rules, when horrific crimes like these go unpunished.

[quote]Again, we have the highest incarceration rate in the world yet have some of the highest violent crime rates in the world. That would show that prison, in fact, does not work.

It could also show that America is uniquely violent and needs to have even more people in prison. Or that we're locking up the wrong people.

If you're not a Chicagoan, your opinion is of no interest. And if you're a Republican in Chicago, your opinion is of no interest.

We need Republicans in Chicago bad, Democrats are going to destroy the city. And yes prisons DO work, we have a DA that won't put these shits in prison! Lock them up and throw away the key.

Do not come to Chicago this year for Pride. Do Not.

Sun Times: Shootings have been spiking downtown all year. They are up 225% in the 18th District, which includes the McDonald’s (from the post above). In the 1st District which covers parts of downtown and the Loop, shootings are up 100%.

No one wants Republicans in Chicago.

R287 that's way south of Boystown. I wonder how Pride will be this year... I will definitely have my eyes and ears open. I may not even drink during the parade, you never know.

Black crap

Last year at Sidetrack and Progress bars during Pride, there were huge groups of pick pockets that stole dozens and dozens of wallets and phones. Yeah, sounds fun.

There wasn't an actual Pride last year, just unofficial partying.

People still went to the bars and celebrated.

"I may not even drink during the parade"

OMG, gurl! I hope you don't get the DTs.

What is a DT?

David, hold me.

delerium tremens, R297

That Chicago Ave McDonald's has been ghetto as fuck since for-EV-er. I was always surprised they even bothered to remodel it recently. Guess they felt they had to since Chick-fil-a a block away was sucking in people like crazy.

The McDonald's on Wilson (public housing central, north of Boystown) is similarly ghetto as all hell.

[quote]Europe has far less crime because it has a strong safetynet. If the US had one, we'd have less crime too.

Europe has far less crime because it has far less blacks.

So true.

R301, yes

Here's the video from the 2021 Pride festivities. Book your tickets now!

[quote] I wonder how Pride will be this year..

The Pridefest lineup is below. There are usually very popular artists, but this year seems scaled back.

Hot! This one will be off the hook.

Those people at R304 are literal animals. They don’t belong in civilized countries.

R307, That’s racist !

Come for Pride, sure!

Blood on the sidewalks is a normal sight in Chicago.

I live in Chicago and I never see any of this stuff ! It’s like an alternative universe these people describe.

I think thread is deliberate hyperbole.

Breeze blowing through an open window, neighbors on deck drinking coffee. Just another quiet morning and heading out with the dog for a walk.

You won’t during the day R311 and in most areas. I love Sunday mornings here with my dog too. 11pm is another story.

Last summer saw two black girls running out of the boystown Gap with clothing into a getaway car on Melrose. No consequence. And then that lady was shot in the middle of the day at Broadway and Briar not long ago.

It’s not Syria, but it sure as hell ain’t Lake Forest.

R311 a leftist who is in denial about blacks in Chicago

R311 is a liar or a moron. This link is to a man today who found a little girl chained up with handcuffs in an abandoned house. Un Fucking Believable. No not Boystown here in this link. but CHICAGO. Jesus Christ!!!!!

R311, dude pay fucking attention and listen to the news. Chicago is exploding with violence all fucking OVER. Lori, Kim, Tim Evans, Toni Preckwinkle are destroying this city, but you are clueless as you sit on your deck on Sunday morning?

There will always be people like R311 who are in denial. They probably never leave their apartment and get all their food and groceries delivered… until she has to leave one day and get mugged. Then she be screaming on here about it.

Boystown - Hydrate club last night.

[quote]a crime scene on the dance floor.

At Hydrate?

7 more robberies at gunpoint today, in R167's "safe" neighborhood.

19th district is screwed

No one in their right mind would describe Rogers Park as low crime. That hasn't been true for 60 years. It's mostly apartments so it hosts different migration waves from Appalachians in the 60s to Afghan refugees right now. It also have a drug dealing and gang banging contingent on the Evanston border. Nothing new there.

Quoting John Kass, the king of local right wing radio, is a hoot. He was booted off the Trib's editorial page because people who are not white down-market suburban Magats hate him.

Yes, Chicago and every major city has crime. Only Magats use CWB and John Kass as their primary news source so they can rail against the Democrats.

Enjoy your crabgrass bunker in Lyons, OP

I grew up in Albany Park in the 70s and 80s. We left mid 90s and moved away. It was actually safer in Chicago then because you didn't have all these young POS out like this in mobs. The gangs for the most part frowned on younger members assaulting random people just minding their own business. Boystown was really fun in that era, the 80s and 90s. This trash ruins everything. I don't even feel safe visiting now.

Walked by Hydrate yesterday afternoon at 5 and it was already loud and obnoxious. Completely illegal sound volume from the music blasting out onto Halsted and screaming, drunk idiots yelling out the open windows at passersby. In true DL'er fashion, my eyeroll was pronounced and pointed.

My parents told me when they were growing up in Chicago in the 60s and 70s, Mayor Daly ordered police to “shoot to kill” criminals and thugs, which were mostly black.

That policy was evidently very effective, because violent crime was largely confined to the south and west sides of the city.

Today, if the city implemented a “shoot to kill” policy, the Dems and biased mainstream media would be talking about how these dead thugs were “just turning their life around”, and were victims of a racist, white supremacist system that devalues their precious, innocent, valuable black lives. 😂🙄

And you guys are mad about abortion? As far as I’m concerned, this is the group we need to encourage to get abortions. They are beyond repute and do not belong in civilized society.

Your parents got that wrong. "After the Chicago riots following the murder of Martin Luther King Jr, Mayor Daley told reporters that he had ordered police "to shoot to kill any arsonist or anyone with a Molotov cocktail in his hand . . . and . . . to shoot to maim or cripple anyone looting any stores in our city." Same dictate at Democratic convention where the States Attorney was rendered paraplegic after a protester attacked him with a lead pipe.

Correction- the injured pol was the County Sheriff.

Once they tore down all the projects, violent crime became more prevalent in formerly safe neighborhoods.

where is the lie in the John Kass article? Can someone tell me?

R312, those stolen goods are then sold on ebay

Hydrate was a crime scene this weekend when they had bottle throwing INSIDE the club.

r330, that is BRAND NEW information!

This is new.

Yes, Boystown certainly isn't what it used to be!

You could go pick up boys there with no trouble. And no one would miss them ... I mean mess with you.

MARY!

Why was a straight man (and his girlfriend) even at Hydrate? This sounds like a clear hate crime.

Dogwalkers, beware:

[quote] About five minutes later, a 25-year-old man was walking his dog on the 300 block of West Briar when a heavily damaged silver car pulled up. A male exited from the rear passenger side and pointed a gun at the victim,

The Chicago prosecutor is gonna get Chesa'd soon. They are also de-prioritizing victimful crimes. You use a gun, you go away and do not get bail. Period.

No, she won't. Lori will get booted but there's a large constituency in favor of reform, Illinois has abolished cash bail for nonviolent crime. If the cops hate Kim Fox, that works to her favor because everyone, except for knuckledraggers, hates the police union. 'Despite what you may have heard, this is not MAGA country.

You may be right, R337:

^If you want respect & privacy for your brawls, don't 911 PoPo..thought everyone knew that!

Has the Wrigleyville Cum Dump weighed in?

189. But I'm 5lbs lighter on non cum dump days!

Enlightened justice at work in River North: 19-year old facing a gun possession felony is given the opportunity to expunge the violation "through restorative conferences and peace circles."

One month after his case was referred to restorative justice court, he fired 17 shots into a minivan, paralyzing an 18-year-old woman.

Shot in both legs outside of Roscoe’s on Halsted Street last night. Your life isn’t worth a nickel in Boystown anymore.

"They're just here to work."

R344 I read the article. It say’s the assailant is known to the victim. He was shot in his legs and is ok. Now, tell us the story. How do you know this man? Why would he shoot you? Hoping there’s a follow-up to this article.

R332 R335 Another story I’d like to know more about. Here’s my take, the dumb bitch girlfriend had heard of Boystown and upon visiting Chicago demanded that the boyfriend take her there. While there, this older gay man hits on the hot Italian, not gay-friendly, boyfriend. The Italian boyfriend, straight out of The Sopranos or Jersey Shore (that hair), hits him with a beer bottle.

That’s all I got. If anyone more familiar with Chicago and Connecticut have a better or more accurate version, please share. I don’t like straight people in gay bars, but based on my experience with older gay white men, I have a feeling he could’ve put himself in this position

Looks like things are are already getting heated during Pride Week. I bet this group will be in Boystown this weekend to celebrate Pride.

That brawl is in South Shore across the street from Jeffery Pub, a gay bar.

Two Chicago police officers were injured overnight when a large fight broke out on the Halsted Street bar strip in Boystown. Officers at the scene repeatedly called for more help as dispatchers tried to secure resources from other police districts during a 20-minute melee that one cop said involved about 75 people.

The fights broke out hours after the annual Pride Fest street party wrapped up. Similar altercations have been reported following previous Pride Fests and the Chicago Pride Parade.

I was hoping there'd be video. I was scouring the twitters but nothing.

Chimpcago

The Pride fest is usually safe and fun. I'd use extreme caution next weekend though if you plan to visit Boystown.

Told ya so, told ya so, told ya so! This is why I never go to Cook County!

The violence is accepted. Chicago doesn’t care that you get executed after their parties.

What is Lincoln Park like these days?

[quote]What is Lincoln Park like these days?

Last year, not long after I moved away, someone was carjacked in Lincoln Park, in the middle of the day, while in line at a carwash.

There have been riots since Sunday night. That’s how it is. Three shit, people stabbed, windows broken...