The article references a particular Aldi’s store at 76th and South Ashland Ave which was abruptly closed recently.
Our editor grew up a few blocks from there at 7628 S. Paulina but thankfully his family moved out of there way back in 1970.
Even then, over a half century ago the “hood” had issues spawned when MLK was shot in early April 1968. And to the best of our knowledge, this Auburn Gresham “hood” is worse than it was in 1970 now.
We would NEVER go there TODAY.
And the reason Aldi bolted in the middle of the night…literally. CRIME!! Rampant theft and break ins. The losses incurred to stabilize a rising tide of malfeasance quickly became unsustainable.
The story was the same at the Whole Foods closing farther East at 832 W 63rd St. We know for a fact white management employees were petrified to travel there, even with the store right on the Dan Ryan expressway.
As a lifelong resident of the Chicago Metro area, our editor, now a juvenile senior citizen, is living proof that some “hoods” in Chicago appear doomed to second class or lower status FOREVER. In his life he has seen it with his own eyes in Auburn Gresham as in over fifty years the “hood” is worse, not better and prospects for bettering it seem impossible short of massive urban investment which given the current state of affairs MAKES NO FISCAL SENSE.
The defunding of police and revolving door lame duck justice system has a direct impact on the recalcitrance of business to operate in certain areas. And on September 19th the no cash bail kicks in here in illinois, the ONLY state dumb enough to impose such a crime lax law inviting criminals to escalate an already out of control crime reality here.
Here in Chicago, like in other Democrat run urban hell holes across our crumbling democracy even the prime shopping areas are not immune to blatant flash mob attacks that overwhelm a given storefront and loot it clean usually with multiple offenders and the arrests are rare. The risk/reward ratio to be a career criminal in Chicago looks pretty inviting when you assess the odds of getting caught vs the LOOT.
And soon unless you kill someone in the commission of whatever you may get caught for, odds are you can walk out and do it again the next day.
And you say elections don’t matter?