Since recently moving from Chicago to Southern California, and especially in my recent work as an Uber and Lyft driver, I am frequently asked by folks who have never been there whether "Chicago is a dangerous place?". I know instantly what they are thinking. Media reports about violence in my home city have become common in national news. Sadly, these reports are more often than not sensationalized and do little to offer insight into the challenges faced by the city. Recently, many of these media reports have been a product of the use of Chicago as political dog whistle for certain politicians on the national stage. As a Chicagoan of 47 years who deeply loves the city of my birth, my immediate tendency is to laugh at the fear and ignorance of the question and argue fervently that they should not see Chicago through the lens of violence. I want to say that these notions are as silly as the way my city was still associated with Hollywood images of Al Capone when I was a kid. But such a reaction is not really enlightening or sincere. The truth is that the problem of violence in Chicago is quite real and has definitely worsened in recent years. As a former Chicago High School teacher I know this all to well.
At the school at which I taught last year 4 students lost their lives to gang related gun violence. What makes this statistic truly stunning is that the school population was a mere 120 students. Even more revealing is that only 1 other student was lost in similar circumstances in the previous decade of the school's history. So far in 2018 gun violence incidents have dropped by over 25%. But the two previous years were some of the worst ever. In 2016, the worst year for violent crime in two decades there were over 700 homicides. The communities most effected are ones like the community in which I lived on Chicago's Southwest side, Pilsen. The victims are most often young people like those I taught. I loved living in Pilsen. I have not found another community anywhere in the country as beautiful, historic, vibrant and full of life. It is the sort of front stoop, immigrant, working class community that is sadly a dying breed. I never felt unsafe in the nearly 20 years I lived there. But it would be a lie to say that many members of my community, especially young people of color, did not faced serious dangers in the neighborhood. My long time girlfriend who grew up in Pilsen often told me she was surprised she had lived past 18. It is a sentiment I heard expressed often by neighbors, friends a family members.
If your a tourist in Chicago you have little to fear; especially if your plans only include downtown. Your as safe in Chicago as you would be in any major U.S. city, perhaps more so. However, I would hope that you would want to experience more than just downtown. To come to Chicago and not visit a neighborhood like Pilsen would be to miss what truly makes Chicago great. Similarly if your an adult and white, even in so called "rough" neighborhoods you really have little to fear. However plenty of your fellow, less privileged citizens face a much more dangerous reality. It is incumbent on all of us to challenge the social and economic conditions behind this violence.
JML
2022
