MsRefusenik

This is where many of Chicago's "Who's Who" Live--among the tranquil forest preserves and golf courses in the peaceful and well-kept surroundings of "Chicago's Finest Community." But not too many, because only about 500 people reside here.

There are several Chicago communities that could pass for suburbs, but it's really difficult to believe that this area is part of the City of Big Shoulders. It is just too, well, too perfect.

It has beeen attracting the well-to-do since the 1940's and not much has changed. Many of the same homes are still standing and in good repair. The area if very community minded as evidenced by their active community organizations and clubs.

Housing styles are certainly not stamped out by a long shot. There are quaint cottages, brick bugalows, ranch houses, English Tudors, Georgians and even some rwo houses. All appear to keep landscaping services busy maintaining perfection. Side drives and attached garages are also common. Side streets often dead-end right into the forest preserves, giving residents even more land space that their large yards.

The average sales price for a three-bedroom single-family home in Forest Glen neighborhood is around $430,000, and the price for a four- or five-bedroom house ranges between $350,000 and $700,000.

Now here's a yard sale I would like to make: The Forest Glen Community Garage Sale (sponsored by the Forest Glen Community Club, 312-409-8618), usually held in June, It's a thrifty-minded person's ascent to Neimann Marcus for nickles and dimes. There are more than 50 simultaneous garage sales in one neighborhood, offering a dizzingly variety of treasures and must-haves. Put it on my calendar because I need a used diamond bracelet.

Whether you need to get downtown, to other parts of the city, O'Hare International Airport, or the northern suburbs, Forest Glen has a commuting option for you.

You know you're still in Chicago though because there is good public transportation, unlike many suburbs. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) offers regular bus service on Foster and Cicero avenues to other parts of the city. To get to O'Hare, just take the #92 Foster bus to the Jefferson Park terminal and catch the CTA's Blue Line train, which stops right inside the airport. Drivers can jump on the Edens Expressway.

Naturally there are many terrific public and private schools, emphasis on the private.

And, of course, there is culture for the well-bred. Here are some:

Symphony Center
5318 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL 60630
(312) 294-3000

Morgan Art Gallery
5350 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60630
(773) 631-0680

The Gift Theatre Company
4802 N Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL 60630
(773) 283-7071


Ukrainian National Museum
2249 W Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60612
(312) 421-8020

Have your chauffeur take you out there and have a look around for yourself.

This Chicago Community is home about 39,373 Hispanics. It is seven miles SW of the Loop and offers good transportation for getting around. It is surrounded by water on three sides. If it has a lot to offer to people who don't live there, it's keeping these things as secrets. It seems just an average sort of place, which is a lot to say today in the face of mounting crime and deterioration in other parts of the City.

The average household income is $38,625. Rents in 2008 were $656/month. Owner-occupied housing units are valued at an average of $132,400. The restaurants are mostly pizza places and Mexican restaurants.

This is an average place and there's not too much of interest to say about it if you don't live there. It once was home to Serbian and Croatian steelmill workers. The majority of its residents are Mexican now.

Most of the home styles are the bungalow. New development has been going on, however, and this makes some areas feel more suburban. There are new grocery chains like Aldi moving in and shopping malls are moving in. The big news for this area is that 140 acres of new parkland is coming which will include the expansion of the Calumet Park and Beach as well as the extension of existing lakefront bicycle and running paths. People here are really looking forward to this development and what it might do for their community.

Not only is it on Lake Michigan but is also has the Calumet River. Great place if you like to fish or just hang out by the water, maybe do some boating. There's also the Eggers Grove Forest Preserve.

Transportation is good with several major highways, the Metra train service, the Red Line elevated train and three bus routes all going through here.

The restaurants are mostly pizza joints and Mexican restaurants, as you might expect.

The median income per household is $38,625. The value of average owner-occupied housing units is $132,400.

Not a bad place to live.

This is a charming middle-class neighborhood full of homes built in the 1940's and 1950's and these residents have continued to maintain their beautiful neighborhoods. The Calumet Heights area includes the neighborhood of Pill Hill, so named not for any drug problems, but because so many medical professionals live there.

This is one of the few Chicago areas to continue to show an increase in appreciation. In reading the City-Data Forum ( http://www.city-data.com/forum/chicago), a number of people wanted suggestions for a safe, pleasant area not far from the Loop to move to and buy a single family home. The Calumet Heights/Pill Hill area was suggested in numerous instances with a warning that the price of houses could be steep.

In its 60617 Zip code, the median home price was $174,900 as of October 2007, a difference of 2.88 percent in appreciation from the previous year. In its 60619 Zip code, the median price was $190,000 as of October 2007, a difference of 5.59 percent in appreciation from the previous year. The percentage of married-couple families is 41.1 percent. The population is predominately Black.
City-data.com crime index for 2008, with higher meaning more crime, was 615.5, compared to a national average of 293.0.

Transportation is good. Most people are close enough to work that they drive, but there are trains, els and buses too.

The grade schools are operating well and Black school is a magnet school. There is also a private Catholic grade school, St. Ailbe's, which recently became one of only 15 archdiocesan elementary schools to begin a new reading and language-arts program called Superkids. Two well thought of higher education institutions are also right there--Olive-Harvey College and Chicago State University. There's plenty of shopping and restaurants along Stony Island and 87th and 95th Streets.

It sounds too good to be in the City. doesn't it? Calumet Heights/Pill Hill just may try to move out of Chicago and pass themselves off as a Southwest Suburbs.

This is the area where I spent my first years of life and attended kindergarten. That was over 60 years ago. We left because the neighborhood was changing rapidly, crime was rising and my parents thought our growing family would do better in a Chicago Suburb.

I have fond memories of tall, leafy trees; large parks, a school, still there, Burnside Elementary, that smelled totally like delicious chocolate milk; our apartment building's large sunken front lawn that once flooded, causing my Dad to run out and buy a group of baby ducklings to swim in it. My mother, naturally, didn't approve.

I'm afraid that Burnside today would shock me with the harsh realities of the changes it has weathered since then. I saw no rave reviews or glowing accounts from residents about their home community. But if you can't say something nice, you're not half trying.

Here are some good things I learned from investigating my childhood home:

*At least one parent defends Burnside Elementary as a good school where her child is getting a decent education.

*Kids like to go to the local skating rink which one reviewer termed "very ghetto" because it's inexpensive, with the warning to go only "if you can endure". She goes on to say, "Kids come here to show off and hook up."

Another skating rink reviewer wrote, "This place is off the chain! What if it is ghetto! You won't find Tonya Harding here, only the real skaters go here. You gotta know some tricks on wheels or else you'll look stupid. Don't bring a lot of cash with you--a twenty will do just fine. Don't ever go alone."

*Artis Lounge - for Jazz & Blues in Burnside is the only hint of nightlife I saw in all the resources I looked at. Apparently it is popular. One reviewer wrote, "I have stopped by here a couple of times, and both times were pleasurable experiences. Free blues music on Monday nights can't be beat. While it's not the best stuff I've heard, it certainly sounds a lot better with the generous pours and prices on their libations."

Another wrote, "Place was pretty packed on both Monday nights I went there. Also, this place isn't for the faint of heart. John Barleycorn or Delilah's this is not. So don't expect that out of this lounge. What you will find are real, decent people enjoying some liquid refreshments with some decent live blues music."

*This is definitely the an excellent place to live if you have children. You're not too far from Children's Memorial Hospital in Lincoln Park, and right in Burnside stands the renowned University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital at 1111 E. 87th Street.

*Another fine institution found right there is Chicago State University.

*Homes are fairly affordable. Real estate statistics for 2000 show 1,066 homes, of which 723 were classified as single family homes. The median home sale price in this area for 2005 was $146,250.

*One reviewer loved Burnside's Porter Grill and called the food "great." This reviewer wrote that the Teriyaki Chicken was the best they'd ever had.

So there's a few nice things about Burnside, Chicago. You'll notice I didn't mention crime. There's a few other categories missing as well.

This Chicago Community has everything and I mean everything. The people who guide and direct this neighborhood are on the ball, A person can be close to the Loop, accessible to real restaurants like Rio's D'Sudamerica, home of the $12 all you can eat Peruvian feast buffet on Sundays, legitimate, raise a little hell nightlife as well as enjoy cultural events and organizations, parks and attractions.

This green appreciating community has an annual Garden Walk complete with free trolley ride and guidebook with introduction to 100 gardens and 50 trees in a one-mile square neighborhood. It begins at Club Lucky, which you sort of have to love.

What's not to like about Bucktown? Not only does Rory Lake's Karakoke Dreams serve up hot rocking Karoke bar action, but this nearly fully gentrified Community has something more highbrow called Cafe Society, Cafe Society is a project designed by the Illinois Humanities Council "to foster a more robust civil society, more cohesive and interactive communities, greater media literacy and a more informed and engaged citizenry through weekly coffee shop conversations about contemporary social issues". Wow! You have to hand it to them for ignoring that Bucktown wasn't long ago a blue collar place set smack dab in the middle of the red faces, cold brewskis and "deeses" and "doses." Current media reports and jolting caffeine fixes serve as stimulants for the conversations. There's a published list of weekly topics you can check prior to a meetings at Cafe Luca.

Don't be bewitched by the sparkling doodads, the ritzy playthings, the arts, entertainment and culture for miles. Bucktown is not just some cherry on top. It also has high-buttercream content homemade ice cream underneath. It transportation alternatives would be sorely envied by many a Chicago suburbanite. Bucktown has two Blue Line el stops: 1588 N Damen and 1900 N Western. It is also served by several bus routes. Contact CTA with questions at: Chicago Transit Authority http://www.transitchicago.com/. Bucktown's Metra Train stop is located at 2001 N Ashland. This location is served by the Union Pacific North and the Union Pacific Northwest lines. Contact:
Metra http://www.metrarail.com/.

From what I looked up, crime there almost in the heart of the heart of the City is about as low as in my little "safe" suburban town. Police Clear Map report mostly low-violence type crimes. No recent homicides or rapes reported, just mostly marijuana busts, vandalism and petty theft except for one stolen car I saw listed. I admit i didn't exactly study the list. It looked good enough to me considering where it's located.

Organizations that are very active in this urban wonder tell a tale. They include: Community Relations, The Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS), which is a partnership between police and community; Bucktown Public Square--a message board updated by Bucktown residents and Bucktown Community Org. members, ChicagoBucktownPublicSquare, The Week Behind, a weekly E-zine published in Bucktown; Bucktown Arts Fest; Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) and the West Bucktown Neighborhood Association among others.

I know I can't afford my other Chicago Community paradise, Beverly. I better get literally moving if I am going to get into Bucktown before home prices are astronomical, and prices for home have been steadily going up for a while now.

A search of Google Maps under Bucktown for pay TV, Satellite and high-speed Internet revealed 23 free Satellite channels and a total of 2,026 results for the three searched items.

Now here's a big reason why I'm moving to Bucktown. It's not just the five-star Peruvian Restaurant that everyone raves about and Cafe Society and the active organizations that keep the place running. It the fact that gentrification has not taken away its downhome charm. I can tell because they have free "Movie In the Park" nights for the whole family. It must be free because there's no mention of money or tickets in the invitation which simply says, "Get a blanket and bring the family..." Last week's movie was Harrison Ford in The Fugutive. Hey, what do you want for free under the stars?

This low-income, working class community lies six miles Southwest of the Loop, and has a population today of 44,912, with 69 percent being of Mexican origin, according to the 2000 census. Its European roots still show in the community's support of such ethnic memorials as the Balzekas Lithuanian Museum of Culture and the Polish Highlander Alliance.

Property values were increased with the 1964 opening of the Stevenson Expressway, Interstate 55, and the 1993 opening of the Orange Line rapid transit (el) line and the revitalization of Chicago's Midway International Airport.

There is a very active Brighton Park Neighborhood Council with grassroots organization of block clubs, churches, schools and businesses. They are working to provide a safe and stable environment for their community. It was founded in 1997 when residents got together and decided that they were not going to tolerate the deterioration of their neighborhood.

Average listing price in Brighton Park went up to $168,082 from prior week with
67 foreclosures. Median sales price in Brighton Park went down to $105,000 from prior quarter.

This area has a long history of being Irish-American and it still mostly is. There are now Mexican-Americans and Chinese-Americans living here and very few Blacks, but there is no mistaking the fact that it is influenced by Old World Irish. There are also Polish, Italians and Lithiuanians.

It still is a working class neighborhood too. Many of the Irish immigrants who came to work on the Erie canal, later came to Chicago to work on the Illinois and Michigan Canal and settled here on the South Side.

Many of these received "Land Scrip" instead of payment and used it to purchase land in this area, which was once known as "Hardscrabble."

U.S. Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, is often thought to be geographically located in Bridgeport. This is a misconception. The stadium is actually located one block to the east, in the Armour Square community area.

What Bridgeport can claim for its fame is that it has been the home of five of Chicago's mayors. To Chicagoans past a certain age, it is practically synonoymous with the name of Daley, Richard J. or Richard M. There was a 46-year long stretch (1933-1979) in which a Bridgeport native held the city's highest office. The current mayor Daley no longer resides in Bridgeport, but is still near on the South Side.

Transportation is good with the CTA el Orange Line, a major expressway and the CTA buses. There are several noteworthy parks of distinction such as McGuane Park with its great tennis court, and Armour Square on Shields Avenue. This large green space offers some of Bridgeport's best recreational amenities including basketball courts, walking trails, baseball diamonds, a fitness center and a community meeting room.

Average-sized single-family homes here can range anywhere from $200,000 to $700,000.

President Obama put the Brainerd area on the national map when he was campaigning. He was a long-time member of Chicago's (in Brainerd) Trinity United Church run by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Obama claimed he had his epiphany in that very church, much to the criticism of those who saw the church's pastor as a divisive racist. But Brainerd had noteriety for its 15 minutes.

Brainerd is a mostly lower middle class neighborhood with some sections of very attractive bungalows. One such cluster is located near Brainerd Park in Washington Heights (just east of Beverly). The area is roughly Vincennes to the east, Bishop to the west, and 95th St. to the south.

The middle schools and high schools are highly rated by residents.

1. Lincoln Park High School
4.5 star rating. One reviewer writes:

"My alma mater, Lincoln Park High School stands as a testament to the quality of public education and gives its students a diverse education, an education diverse as the students themselves. From street smarts to choir, to orchestra band, advanced mathematics, French, Spanish, German, Theater, and a plethora of athletics teams Lincoln Park serves the needs and interests of students."

2. Lane Tech College Prep
4 star rating
26 reviews
Category: Middle Schools & High Schools

3. Gordon Technical High School
4.5 star rating
7 reviews

4.Northside College Preparatory High…
5 star rating
4 reviews

5.Von Steuben High School
4.5 star rating
6 reviews

It is close to the Rock Island Line Railroad for commuters who work in the Loop, and to the Dan Ryan Expressway for those who prefer the short drive.

According to the 2000 census data, 13 percent of its residents are below the poverty line. Most of its employed female residents are in sales and service occupations, males in transportation and material moving.

The crime index is reported as being 615.5 as compared with the U.S. average of 293.0.

The median age for females is 38.9 years, for males 33.8 years. The percentage of married couple families with children are 11 percent. The percentage of single-mother households is 19.9 percent.

It's hard to believe that Beverly is really part of Chicago, and not just because it is so far south and west or because it has hills. It is also breathtakingly beautiful, diverse but well-integrated, boasts a castle and has wonderful architecture. Yet it really is a Chicago neighborhood and is only 15 minutes by car from the Loop and a half-hour by train.

It is a quaint Irish village within the City. Singles may not care for its nightlife, since its east side is dry, and the remainder is scattered with Irish pubs. It is primarily a residential neighborhood. You won't find many retail outlets or Starbucks on multiple strip malls.

The neighborhoods haven't changed much with time. They are full of modest bungalows and brick Tudors lying between over-sized Spanish-style and sweeping Prairie Style houses. Beverly is a study in residential architecture from the 1860s to the 1940s. Few new houses have been built since then. Home Tours are very popular.

Beverly's grandest houses line "the ridge," as it is known, along Longwood Drive. This section was left behind by a glacier for wealthy Chicagoans to build their post- Great Chicago Fire houses in a rural area. The median price for a single-family home in Beverly is $269,000.


Century-old churches anchor the neighborhood and add to its architectural diversity. They include the Givens Castle (now a Unitarian church), built in 1886 to mimic an Irish castle.

Now, Beverly boasts three locally designated landmark districts: Longwood Drive District, Walter Burley Griffin Place District and the Beverly/Morgan Railroad District. The Ridge Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places. And five houses are Chicago landmarks, including two of Frank Lloyd Wright's American System-Built houses.

Beverly's public school scores reflect the high level of education of its families. Morgan Park High School ranks 102 in ACT scores among Chicago-area high schools , which is higher than most Chicago public high schools. Beverly has three Catholic schools and is near several other private schools including Morgan Park Academy (preschool-12) and P.L.A.I.D. Academy (K-8).

Beverly's lifeline is the Metra Rock Island, which has five stations here. Thousands of residents head into the Loop by train daily, including many city workers.

Beverly doesn't have the housing turnover that some other Chicago neighborhoods have. Crime is also much lower.

Until just this past year, it was for over 30 years the home of the South Side Irish Parade held every St. Patrick's Day. Many are disappointed about this cancellation, but the parade grew to be too popular with too many people in attendance.

After reading Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel The Jungle and Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, Back of the Yards seems like familiar territory. Alinsky famously organized life in this neighborhood in the 1930's. It was once known as the town of Lake until Chicago annexed it in 1889.

It was once the location for exactly where Chicago was "hog butcher to the world," as Carl Sandburg wrote. The Union Stock Yards Gate is all that remains of the city’s famous meatpacking past. The neighborhood that was once home to Eastern European Stockyard workers is now a thriving Hispanic residential and commercial community.

It was recently announced that the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council had started a newspaper which would be online. It wasn't today. But there other indications of a vibrant life full of fiestas and celebrations here.

The stretch of 47th Street between Damen and Ashland Avenues is an especially active commercial district that well serves its largely Hispanic community. This is one of the areas in the city where, though the surroundings are humble, and Western-wear stores sell high-end Stetsons and alligator boots.

Back of the Yards' reputation for stinking up the City of Chicago is gone, but now something else gets the notice of Chicagoans and suburbanites alike who travel for miles to get there. It's Swap-O-Rama, a huge flea market, held outdoors at 4200 S. Ashland Ave., (773) 376-6993. Hundreds of vendors set up to sell everything from underwear to tools.

Chiappetti LLC, 3810 S. Halsted St., (773) 927-6363, is one of the few remaining slaughterhouses in the city. It currently slaughters, packages, and distributes lamb. Admission free.

Saul Alinsky's Official Office, Historical Landmarks, 4430 S. Marshfield, commemorates the office of Saul Alinsky, the community organizer who taught poor communities in Back of the Yards to organize creatively for better jobs, housing, and government services.

Union Stock Yard Gate Union Stock Yard Gate, Historical Landmarks, W. Exchange Ave. & S. Peoria St.
Designed by Burnham & Root, the gate is the original limestone entrance-way to the former 475-acre Union Stock Yards. It is a Chicago Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Admission Free.

Public transportation is available via the Orange Line El to Western. CTA Bus: 44, 47. For more travel information, visit t www.transitchicago.com.


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Avalon Park was named to pay homage to the English Isle of Avalon, the supposed burial place of King Arthur. It has an interesting history, as you might guess from this fact. It was created in the 1920's in a South Side neighborhood (10 miles SE of the Loop). In 1889, Chicago annexed the Village of Hyde Park, which included an area with a city dump, swamps and "Mud Lake," a popular spot for fishing and hunting. What few houses were there had to be placed on stilts. This swampland area remained mostly unsettled except for mosquitoes until after the installation of a sewage system in 1900. In 1910 it became Avalon Park in deference to King Arthur.

The park district responded to a clamoring from civic groups for the creation of a park back in 1934. The park district built Avalon Park at 1215 E. 83rd St., and installed playfields, a running track, tennis and horseshoe courts, and a combination shelter and comfort station. They built a modern fieldhouse in 1958. It includes fitness centers, gyms, jogging/walking paths, swimming facilities and a water playground.

Avalon Park experienced a major demographic change in the Sixties like other Chicago communities, but the average educational level increased, the poverty level decreased and home ownership remained high. Sixty-five percent of the residents work in white-collar occupations according to the 2000 census. Owner-occupancy rates have consistently been over 70 percent in recent decades. The median sales price for homes earlier this year was $70,000 based on 15 sales. Crime rates are the same as for Cook County, and violent crime rates are very low.

It is a predominately residential community of modest bungalows. High-end retail clothing shops make their home here, and well-known celebrities Steve Harvey and Snoop Dogg come to do their shopping.

It is also home to the Bronzeville Children's Museum, the nation's first and only African-American children's museum.

It's neighbor, Calumet Heights, is known for its affluent section called "Pill Hill" for the many doctors and other medical professionals who own homes there.

There is good transportation with the CTA Buses 28, 87. For more travel information, visit www.transitchicago.com.

Austin is located on the West Side of Chicago and it is the largest by population (58,059 estimated zip code in 2008) and one of the largest in land areas. It is seven miles west of the Loop on Chicago's western border.

It evolved from a country village to a solidly populated urban neighborhood between 1870 and 1920. It remained a middle-class community for 50 years, but in the late Sixties it experienced heavy social and economic changes from which it couldn't recover.

It is today 90 percent Black, 5 percent Hispanic and 5 percent White. The crime rate, as given on the Chicago Police Department CLEARMAP Crime Summary (http://gis.chicagopolice.org/CLEARMap_crime_sums/startPage.htm#) is quite high.

People who live there recommend living in the areas around the Lake street el near Oak Park (Lake and Austin) as well as the surrounding blocks. This area is part of the Austin historical district with better maintained property as well as some new construction. Austin is gentrifying slowly, but it has a ways to go.

The median resident age is 29.2 years. The average household size is 3.2 people. The estimated median household income in 2008 was $32,707. Family households make up 72.7 percent of the population. Residents with income below the poverty level for this zip code are 31.3 percent.

It has excellent public transportation including the Lake Street elevated, the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and C.T.A. buses 66, 85. For more travel information, visit www.transitchicago.com.

Frank Lloyd Wright, whose studio still stands in nearby Oak Park, created homes for this neighborhood that still are amazing and inspirational. Midway Park, not really a park but a parkway, is in the heart of the Austin Historic District and listed on the National Register. On this street, as well as on Race Avenue a block north, are homes designed by top architects of the late 1890's and early 1900's. These include John Chubb, Robert Hyde, Holabird & Roche, John Krall and four houses by Frederick Schock.

This historically Eastern European Chicago community has always been predominately Polish with some Italians. Recently, Hispanics have been moving in as well. It's mix of commercial shops, mostly still catering to Polish customers, and residential dwellings hasn't lost its Old World Charm.

It is named for Archer Road which runs along its side just Northeast of Midway Airport. Manufacturing is the base of the economy of this working-class community of 12, 656, according to the 2000 census.

It boasts several parks including playgrounds and playlots. There are plenty of good restaurants and here are three that folks in the community enjoy:

1. Illinois Bar and Grill
Midway Airport 5700 South Cicero Avenue
Chicago, IL 60638-3831
(773) 838-8989‎

The Polish sausage is highly recommended. People also say there's a shortage of good places to eat around Midway, and that this is one of the best.

2. LaLo's (Midway)
5757 S. Cicero Ave.
Chicago, IL 60638-3831
(773) 838-1604

One of the best known and well-recommended Mexican restaurants around. Their margaritas are famous.

3. Szalas Restaurant
5214 S. Archer Ave.
Chicago, IL 60632-4702
(773) 582-0300

When in Rome... This is definitely an Old World Polish Restaurant. People claim it resembles a restaurant you would find in Poland. There's a live band too.

It must be mentioned that Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox, is right there too. So are 31 colleges, 101 hotels, 21 museums (see list) and 50 libraries. People in Poland have one of the lowest illiteracy rates in the world and very much value learning and culture. It is seen here too.

If you come to Ashburn, word is that you shouldn't miss the thin crust sausage pizza at Vito and Nicks located at 8433 S. Pulaski Road. Chicago Magazine wrote this on June 21, 2010. And, sure this is Chicago, but they didn't pay to have that put in here. Just thought you'd want to know.

Ashburn covers five square miles and is located on the Southwest Side of Chicago. Its boundaries are 75th Street on the North, Western Avenue on the East, 87th Street on the South, and Cicero Avenue is the Western boundary. The total population is reported as 39,584, according to the 2000 census.

Sixty-one percent of the residents have lived in the same home for more than five years. The area is so stable that many of the residents that moved there in the 1950's are still there.

The median household income, according to the 2000 census, is $53,120. Homes range from $75,000 to $250,000. It is known for its Cape Cod homes.

It offers convenience in its busy shopping areas, but its residential areas are set off enough to offer peace and quiet. It is good for family living with its good schools, nice public playlots--over 15 acres of open parkland--and attractive neighborhoods. It also has a community recreation building. It offers the city dweller a nearly suburban living experience without the long commute.

What do you feel like eating tonight? In Albany Park, in the North Park section alone, you could choose between the following types of restaurants: Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Latin American, International, Swedish, Thai, Asian, Italian or Chinese. Rest assured, you will find many more countries represented in this, one of the most ethically diverse communities in the country.

Albany Park has had its share of problems, and it continuing to work on them. There are many active community organizations. The Albany Park Neighborhood Council recently won the annual community organizing award work toward social, economic, and racial justice through its campaigns which are focused on increasing immigrant rights, preserving and creating affordable housing, improving the quality of education, and increasing access to affordable health care.

It does have some very real problems, however. One contributing factor is the 3,700 vacant buildings currently registered and another 11,000 to 12,000 vacant properties expected to spring up this year. Northwest Side Alderman Dick Mell is proposing that banks hire overnight guards to protect their properties. This hasn't been voted on as of this writing.

We are talking about one area of Albany Park here. It is a rectangle formed by Monticello, Kimball, Lawrence and Montrose avenues. There are still many lovely and well-kept homes elsewhere, especially near Drake Gardens.

I have lived in this neighborhood for over six years and I love it here. I swear the people are so warm and friendly that even though it's a fairly large city, as suburbs go, (population 15,608), it has a Mayberry quality about it. If you slip on the ice or fall off your bicycle, someone will be at your side to help you up and see how they can help before you fully realize you've fallen. I know that for sure.

It's a terrific place. And it's beautiful. Everyone who comes through remarks on that. It is full of restored Victorian homes with every detail perfectly replicated. Because it is an old, historic place, there are tall trees casting shade on nearly every street.

The Chicago Fire of 1871 caused many city dwellers to view it as safe retreat and a sanctuary. An influx of wealthy and middle-class Chicagoans made their way to LaGrange. By the end of the nineteenth century, the suburban trains reached the suburb and more found their way.

One of the reasons I choose to live here, besides the recently remodeled and well-stocked library, is the good public transportation system and the fact that everything is centrally located. There are not many places I need get to by walking or riding a bicycle. La Grange is only about 12 miles from downtown Chicago. You can hop on the train and be in the Loop in 15 minutes, which makes it a great place for business commuters.

It's a great place, but it's sure expensive to buy a home here. The median income is $67,670. If you make less, there are places to rent.

It feels safe here. There wasn't a murder nor a rape in 2008. People look out for each other.