It's easy to assume this is happening in another world. But I have clients on the south side, and I'm down there myself sometimes. I meet many nice people, church musicians, families, and so on. But the number of bodies aimlessly walking the streets is more than a curiosity. Not sure if I'm at risk or if the violence is more targeted. The lack of commercial development is pronounced, meaning no jobs. There are no FedEx/Kinko's to conduct business in for miles. No coffee shops. The city is building new libraries and subsidizing new low-income housing, but it's not enough. Imagine going from a comfortable corporate job to standing in vacant lots or obsolete homes in Englewood.
What can you as an individual do to make things better, or do you just stay home and stay safe? Well, my odds of being run over at my mailbox by an elderly or teenage driver on the North Shore are pretty high as well.
