No demogorgon roams this netherworld, but a majority of its electorate did back the man who's been called the swamp monster: President Donald Trump.
- JAMIE RAMSAY
It's been said a trillion times: Chicago is a city of neighborhoods. With some 246 of them, it would stand to reason that the task of choosing the city's worst would be nigh impossible. After all, what makes a particular neighborhood worse than any other? Is it the crime rate? Underperforming schools? Undesirable housing stock? Lack of cultural amenities? As I chewed the question over, I kept landing on the same answer: Chicago's worst neighborhood is the one that is least representative of the city—demographically, politically, culturally. The neighborhood whose annexation to the nearest suburb would be
seen as a win for Chicago. On those terms there was one place that seemed to be actively campaigning for the dubious designation.
Located in the 19th Ward on the city's far southwest side, Mount Greenwood is Chicago's Upside Down. No demogorgon roams this parallel universe, but a majority of its electorate did back the man who's been called the swamp monster: President Donald Trump.
Trump won nearly 70 percent of the vote in three Mount Greenwood precincts, making the area the president's top stronghold in true blue Chicago.
In the days leading up to the election, Mount Greenwood had already become the focus of controversy. On November 5, 2016, according to news reports, a white off-duty police officer and a police sergeant fatally shot Joshua Beal, a 25-year-old black man from Indianapolis who was captured in eyewitness video pointing a gun during a traffic dispute before he was shot. (In July, Beal's fiancee filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department, alleging the off-duty officer didn't properly identify himself before shooting Beal.) Following the incident, Black Lives Matter staged protests in the neighborhood. The group was met by a pack of counterprotesters, most of them white locals, who held pro-police signs, spat racial slurs, and told the activists to leave the neighborhood.
The clash between the two groups spoke to the demographics of Mount Greenwood, which is nearly 90 percent white and has a high concentration of residents who work as police and firefighters. In a 1992 piece for the New York Times, Isabel Wilkerson, author of the Great Migration history The Warmth of Other Suns, juxtaposed Mount Greenwood with its opposite, mostly black Roseland: "They are separated by two miles, a highway and fear and suspicion so deep that many people in one community would not dare set foot in the other." She described Mount Greenwood as "an insular, Leave It to Beaver world where white people can live out entire lives without ever getting to know a black person, where people rarely venture beyond understood borders."
On Inauguration Day back in January, Reader staff writer Maya Dukmasova went barhopping in Mount Greenwood as Trump took the oath of the highest office in the land. Her report is filled with colorful characters offering colorful quotes. "In this area, Obama's like the fucking next coming of Satan, basically," said Mike, a paramedic who insisted he did not vote for Trump. "There's a percentage of people that hate him because he is African-American, unfortunately, yes."
But the guy who most embodied the Mount Greenwood id on steroids was Rich, "a Vietnam vet and a retired backhoe operator wearing brown ostrich-hide cowboy boots and a diamond stud in one ear. He described his political views as 'a little bit to the right of Attila the Hun.' " Unlike Mike, Rich did vote Trump, and he was damn proud to see his guy's hand on the Bible that day.
"The man, as far as I'm concerned, is a miracle worker," he told Dukmasova. "How can you go wrong with a guy that has a wife that looks like that?"
Which brings me back to my earlier point: If Mount Greenwood were suddenly made part of Oak Lawn, Rich would no longer be able call himself a Chicago resident. And we'd be better off for it. v
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WORST OF CHICAGO MOUNT GREENWOOD ISABEL WILKERSON GREAT MIGRATION NEW YORK TIMESCHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT JOSHUA BEAL WORST NEIGHBORHOOD
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I was raised here and left as soon as I could.
This is all true.
Mount Greenwood is the land that time forgot in Chicago, a place that has excessive pride in being Chicagoan (flags, t-shirts) but wants nothing to do with actually being a part of the city. The diversity and difference of Chicago is seen as negative here and everything is constructed to keep Chicago from seeping in. Beverly is across the street, but I would still suggest that people are living parallel racial lives there, too. It's just less pronounced and far less segregated. Overall though, these are city-wide problems.
On my yearly visits for Christmas, I always hope to see some signs of improvement. Sadly, everything seems fixed and Trump has only emboldened the worst elements of the neighborhood. The counter protests to the Black Livers Matter protests were like something out of a gut-wrenching, future eating nightmare. The worst part? People in their 20s and 30s were screaming racial obscenities. The 1950s and 60s in 2017.
I've no doubt you'll receive a lot of complaints about this article (that is if anyone actually reads The Reader in Mount Greenwood), as criticism isn't taken lightly.
This is all true.
Mount Greenwood is the land that time forgot in Chicago, a place that has excessive pride in being Chicagoan (flags, t-shirts) but wants nothing to do with actually being a part of the city. The diversity and difference of Chicago is seen as negative here and everything is constructed to keep Chicago from seeping in. Beverly is across the street, but I would still suggest that people are living parallel racial lives there, too. It's just less pronounced and far less segregated. Overall though, these are city-wide problems.
On my yearly visits for Christmas, I always hope to see some signs of improvement. Sadly, everything seems fixed and Trump has only emboldened the worst elements of the neighborhood. The counter protests to the Black Livers Matter protests were like something out of a gut-wrenching, future eating nightmare. The worst part? People in their 20s and 30s were screaming racial obscenities. The 1950s and 60s in 2017.
I've no doubt you'll receive a lot of complaints about this article (that is if anyone actually reads The Reader in Mount Greenwood), as criticism isn't taken lightly.
DISLIKE
LIKE
The most powerful Mafia in Chicago has always been the Irish mafia of politicians, city workers, police officers, firefighters, et cetera, who ensconced themselves in the far reaches of the city in neighborhoods such as Edison Park and Mount Greenwood and look down upon poor people of color who have been discriminated against in accessing these public jobs. The irony is these people don't see their own employment as a form of Public Welfare. The "niggers" they hate too closely resemble themselves: largely uneducated simpletons incapable of succeeding in the wealthier suburbs or Corporate America and prone to drug and alcohol abuse. It is Trump's social stigmatism which allows the most racist and ignorant to identify with him; he's just like them.
My favorite joke about this place goes like this: "A black guy walks into a bar in Beverly..."
My favorite joke about this place goes like this: "A black guy walks into a bar in Beverly..."
I went to highschool in mount greenwood and I would say that this post is overly simplistic and rather than attempting to draw parallels between neighborhoods that could foment understanding, it unfairly maligns an entire neighborhood. If everyone who voted for trump is evil, then that seems like its a personal issue for yourself. I'm not apologizing for the often-times blatant racism observed in Mount Greenwood. But I will say that it is fairly easy for yuppified northsiders to look down on white ethnic southsiders. Like it or not, everyone has a map of the city in their mind, of "nice" neighborhoods or "bad" neighborhoods. Whether you lives 6 miles from one, or it is just a mile away, the process of redlining occurs inside of ourselves. So next time you think "Oh I dont go to numbered streets" I hope you are high enough on your horse that the fall will knock you right out.
Worst neighborhood? Yeah Im sure people would much rather live in Englewood than Mt. Greenwood. One of the few remaining neighborhoods where people actually care about their neighborhood and property, but again its the worst. I think the only reason you believe it is the worst is because its mainly white. What a shame. Get over yourself.
They didnt blindly vote for a corporate, corrupt, big bank Democrat in Clinton so to hell with them! Theyre by far the worst neighborhood! Well ignore the part about the neighborhood having good schools, low crime, and performing public service as cops, teachers, firefighters, and city workers in some of the most violent, resource deplete neighborhoods.
I think Jaime Ramsey needs to do some proper investigating before writing a smear campaign against an entire community because of who many of the residents voted for...
Maybe Jaime would like to come with one of us to work: ride along in a squad or an ambulance, or how about work in an ER and resuscitate a 9 year old who was shot execution style by gang members? How about teach a classroom full of low income children and not have the resources (and also watch said children come to school with no coats in the winter, no supplies, unfed).
Maybe Jaime should look and see why the first responders and community helpers in this area are fed up with the Democratic machine. Heres a hint Jaime: we see the systematic oppression placed on the minorities by the Democratic Party that runs this city and we didnt want Hilary (whose buddies with Rahm Emmanuel) to win. Then the police are used as a scapegoat to the failing system put in place by the Democrats.
Come walk with us at work and see what we see. It would blow your mind.
Jaime should come stand around Kedzie and 115th when the gang funerals come in. Its a real treat.
Enjoy your cozy desk, inside as you type from a $2k Mac book. You have no idea what the real world is.
Maybe Jaime would like to come with one of us to work: ride along in a squad or an ambulance, or how about work in an ER and resuscitate a 9 year old who was shot execution style by gang members? How about teach a classroom full of low income children and not have the resources (and also watch said children come to school with no coats in the winter, no supplies, unfed).
Maybe Jaime should look and see why the first responders and community helpers in this area are fed up with the Democratic machine. Heres a hint Jaime: we see the systematic oppression placed on the minorities by the Democratic Party that runs this city and we didnt want Hilary (whose buddies with Rahm Emmanuel) to win. Then the police are used as a scapegoat to the failing system put in place by the Democrats.
Come walk with us at work and see what we see. It would blow your mind.
Jaime should come stand around Kedzie and 115th when the gang funerals come in. Its a real treat.
Enjoy your cozy desk, inside as you type from a $2k Mac book. You have no idea what the real world is.
Mr Malooley, Have you ever been to Mt. Greenwood??? I"ll bet you you haven"t. You make comments about MY neighborhood being 90% white and have a high concentration of residents that are police and firefighters. DAMM RIGHT!!! By the way, those same White police officers and First Responders service the ENTIRE City of Chicago with NO prejudice at all. I served the City for 34 years. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, Mr Malooley. You quote a Isabel Wilkenson about Mt. Greenwood being a "Leave it to Beaver World", and relating it to it"s opposite Roseland. So are you saying that Roseland is a "Leave it to Beaver World" where Blacks can live their entire lives without ever getting to know a White person? You then make comment about Rich, who you describe as "the guy that most embodied the Mt Greenwood id on steriods. Talk about stereotyping a whole community. I ASSUME you would be above this. Guess not!!! Whice leads me right back to my opening line, Mr Malooley, Have you ever been to Mt Greenwood? WELL???
This has got to be one of the MOST malignant, one-sided articles that I have ever read on ANY neighborhood in Chicago. This kind of biased journalism is a joke. Mt Greenwood is also the SAME neighborhood that rallied around a little girl who was dying from cancer. Until youve had to actually live in Mt Greenwood and deal with the gang violence and crime that seeps over from Roseland and the rest of Chicago, not being able to walk around after dark and fear that youll be another victim, maybe you should refrain from taking sides.
I live in Beverly and can honestly say that Mount Greenwood is a racist shithole. It's funny because all the cops, firefighters, Streets & San guys, all of them would bail out of Chicago in a second if residency requirements were lifted ... but still work for the City of Chicago because the pay is the highest for municipal workers. These assholes hate blacks, but they oh so love their City of Chicago paychecks.
I've lived in Morgan Park for over 40 years...the cemeteries divide my neighborhood from Mt. Greenwood. A lot of very fine people live in Mt. G., as well as some clods (as in every neighborhood). This article is tone-deaf to the point of being offensive. The writer already had an opinion of Mt. G. and sought out people who would reinforce that.
1. The neighborhood is largely (Irish) Catholic and Hillary's aggressively pro-abortion stance was a deal-breaker for a lot of people. You don't have to be a one-issue voter to think that abortion UP UNTIL THE BABY'S DUE DATE is wrong. You can even be somewhat pro-choice ( incest, etc) and find that creepy. So no: whether abortion was a factor or not, there were a lot of voters who backed Trump because we like his policies...on pro-life and in many other areas.
2. It's irritating to the reader, and evidence of the writer's poor investigative skills, that Beal's death has been so politicized without ever mentioning the off-duty cop who (justifiably) took down a WHITE man in Blackthorn Pub in 2014, because the guy was doing the same thing Beal did: he was waving a gun around and endangering a lot of bystanders. The Mt. G. residents were reacting to BLM trying to make a martyr of Beal while slandering Mt. G. The appropriate response--from the rest of the funeral party and ALL citizens of Chicago--should have been a resounding, "Thank you, Officer!!"
3. Why does no one complain about the "lack of diversity" in Englewood, etc.? When whites do try to invest in property in certain areas, the Welcome Wagon is not rolled out but instead there is a lot of pushback about gentrification.
Mmmm-hmmmm.
1. The neighborhood is largely (Irish) Catholic and Hillary's aggressively pro-abortion stance was a deal-breaker for a lot of people. You don't have to be a one-issue voter to think that abortion UP UNTIL THE BABY'S DUE DATE is wrong. You can even be somewhat pro-choice ( incest, etc) and find that creepy. So no: whether abortion was a factor or not, there were a lot of voters who backed Trump because we like his policies...on pro-life and in many other areas.
2. It's irritating to the reader, and evidence of the writer's poor investigative skills, that Beal's death has been so politicized without ever mentioning the off-duty cop who (justifiably) took down a WHITE man in Blackthorn Pub in 2014, because the guy was doing the same thing Beal did: he was waving a gun around and endangering a lot of bystanders. The Mt. G. residents were reacting to BLM trying to make a martyr of Beal while slandering Mt. G. The appropriate response--from the rest of the funeral party and ALL citizens of Chicago--should have been a resounding, "Thank you, Officer!!"
3. Why does no one complain about the "lack of diversity" in Englewood, etc.? When whites do try to invest in property in certain areas, the Welcome Wagon is not rolled out but instead there is a lot of pushback about gentrification.
Mmmm-hmmmm.
And here is your typical Marxist radical write-up of the day! Congrats showing that electing Trump was actually a brilliant idea! This author praises most neighborhoods while shunning an area that actually functions and takes care of themselves.. sad. Also, didnt your County Commisioner just call for UN troops to clean up the inner city? Yeah, he did, and that is also treason if ever to be attempted, you stooge.
You do not deserve the platform you currently have to divide, propagandize, and attempt to indoctrinate. Stand strong and united Mt. Greenwood..
As a former resident and Chicagoan, I cheer this neighborhood! To this so-called writer, you are actually trash and should be ashamed tearing down an entire part of Chicago you know little about, or are just pretending to be irate and offended!
Snowflakes like yourself are the real reason this nation is engulfed in chaos. Plus, you and your ilk will lose in the end.
You do not deserve the platform you currently have to divide, propagandize, and attempt to indoctrinate. Stand strong and united Mt. Greenwood..
As a former resident and Chicagoan, I cheer this neighborhood! To this so-called writer, you are actually trash and should be ashamed tearing down an entire part of Chicago you know little about, or are just pretending to be irate and offended!
Snowflakes like yourself are the real reason this nation is engulfed in chaos. Plus, you and your ilk will lose in the end.
Jake,
You call a neighborhood racist because it is predominantly one ethnicity? You call a neighborhood racist because you heard three racist comments at a local bar which is open to the public? You criticized a customer who wore cowboy boots? Then you assumed he was from Mount Greenwood. He could have very well been visiting from out of town, seeing that all the institutions in that neighborhood are open to the public. Last time I looked, I didnt see a sign in any storefront saying White Only. How dare you insult a decent, hard working and gorgeous neighborhood. Its a shame more neighborhoods arent more like it- providing safety, good schools, and a strong sense of community.
Based on your assumptions, all of the other neighborhoods in the city which are predominantly one race are also highly racist.
I dont believe it has anything to do with color in Mount Greenwood as it does the fact that people just want a safe and nice place to live. (That doesnt make them bad people. )
If you were born and raised in Chicago youd understand these so called borders are not against color, but as a way to provide protection in numbers. Crime is exceptionally high in many Chicago areas. Are you willing to move there? Are you planning on moving there to prove your point?
The people of Mount Greenwood are mostly Catholics or Christians who live like Christ, that are people who work and pay taxes and raise their families the best way they can. Most residents go to church, show signs of morality and have strong and admirable ethics. If only everyone could be more like the people of Mount Greenwood, then the citys robberies, homicides, and murders would decrease dramatically.
Dont ever talk propaganda about this neighborhood again, or Ill sue You for slander.
You call a neighborhood racist because it is predominantly one ethnicity? You call a neighborhood racist because you heard three racist comments at a local bar which is open to the public? You criticized a customer who wore cowboy boots? Then you assumed he was from Mount Greenwood. He could have very well been visiting from out of town, seeing that all the institutions in that neighborhood are open to the public. Last time I looked, I didnt see a sign in any storefront saying White Only. How dare you insult a decent, hard working and gorgeous neighborhood. Its a shame more neighborhoods arent more like it- providing safety, good schools, and a strong sense of community.
Based on your assumptions, all of the other neighborhoods in the city which are predominantly one race are also highly racist.
I dont believe it has anything to do with color in Mount Greenwood as it does the fact that people just want a safe and nice place to live. (That doesnt make them bad people. )
If you were born and raised in Chicago youd understand these so called borders are not against color, but as a way to provide protection in numbers. Crime is exceptionally high in many Chicago areas. Are you willing to move there? Are you planning on moving there to prove your point?
The people of Mount Greenwood are mostly Catholics or Christians who live like Christ, that are people who work and pay taxes and raise their families the best way they can. Most residents go to church, show signs of morality and have strong and admirable ethics. If only everyone could be more like the people of Mount Greenwood, then the citys robberies, homicides, and murders would decrease dramatically.
Dont ever talk propaganda about this neighborhood again, or Ill sue You for slander.
This is an incredibly insulting story.
ReplyDeletethis north side bastard has just tarred and feathered the entire neighborhood.
DeleteMalooley is a coward.
DeleteWe like to drink and call people names. No big deal.
DeleteArticles like this fail to take into consideration the history of Chicago ethnic enclaves. Malooley either forgets or completely ignores that immigrants coming to the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900's were looked down upon by the established ethnicities in the US. He needn't look any further than Googling the Chicago Tribune's depiction of the Irish in the early part of the 20th Century. He pre-supposes that "No Irish Need Apply" was a myth. The fact of the matter is that this ethnic group could only aspire to jobs that nobody else would take, digging ditches and slaughtering cattle in the stock yards. The same held true with all ethnic groups in Chicago. We stayed with our own, in neighborhoods we established.
ReplyDeleteI say Malooley is a coward. He quotes other writers to insult and disrespect our neighborhood and our neighbors.
Its a certainty that a white Chicagoans, outside of the Chicago Police and Fire would be welcomed in Englewood, Austin, Grand Crossing or any other ethnic enclave in the city. Perhaps he should take a walking tour of those neighborhoods, view the upkeep, and the general conditions regarding health and safety.
Like any other neighborhood, in any other part of the country, we built, maintain and pay for what we have, which is a lot more than most neighborhoods, which by the way, we also subsidize through our property taxes.
But lets simplify this for Malooley and his readers. We don't care if you like or dislike us. Last time I looked this is a free country and you can live where you like. There are no laws that say you have to like or dislike your neighbors. But since you want to exploit us for your own personal observations, let me extend a hearty fuck you to you. And if you're passing through our neighborhood, keep driving, maybe to Oak Lawn, or some other area where snotty snide remarks are better appreciated. Asshole!
My best memory's of Mount Greenwood was Eric the Reds, Willies Wienie Wagon on 111th and my cousins on Kedzie.
DeleteAnd don't forget Vic's, home of the fried onion
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI loved growing up in Mt. Greenwood. 1950 to 1968. This is where the WWII vets could get a decent house. I had Irish, German, Italian, Cuban and Polish friends and classmates. I went to both the public school and the Catholic school. My father worked for the city as an electrician. The park had so many activities for us, we were outside all summer all day. It was safe and fun to live there. I have been back over the years. I know it has changed in some ways. I do remember when I was in high school people from Beverly thought they were better than us. Some of the 'parishes' just a little north and east of us did too. That makes me laugh now. I personally am sorry to hear the majority went with Trump. It was their choice. I hope they can live with the racist monster they put in the white house. For the life of me, I'd sure like to know what they think he has in common with them. Let's all pray for peace and love to win out.
ReplyDeleteThere was a racist monster in the White House from 2009 to 2017.
DeleteI voted for Trump as opposed to that lying, thieving, arrogant grifter who sold our country's security, and made deals to enrich herself, her husband, her money laundering "foundation". I didn't want Obama's 3rd term, his assault on law enforcement, his false narrative of BLM and hands up don't shoot.
DeleteWere you out of the country for the last 8 years?
If the rest of Chicago had Mt. Greenwood's murder rate, Chicago would be the safest city in America.
ReplyDeleteGood Democrat Malooley.Every one of you who votes Democrat, read this , then continue to piss on yur brethern.
ReplyDeleteI left a comment yesterday and don't see it here.
ReplyDeleteWas it profane?
DeleteHere is some interesting reading about our Mayor for you Murph. Call it our October Surprise.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's very telling about the Mayor - again - for various reasons. The levels of hypocrisy here are disgusting, and it pretty much typifies who he really is. It's worth its own post, in this reader's humble opinion.
"Today, the brothers argue just as passionately about the role that environment and genetics played in the life of their sister, who in recent years has been on and off the welfare rolls that Rahm worked so hard to cut."
Yes, you read that right. Just like he encouraged Clinton to crack down on illegals, he pushed to end welfare. But wait, there's more:
"Intellectually, Shoshana developed normally - like her brothers, she graduated from New Trier, one of the most competitive high schools in the country - but she needed four operations and years of physical therapy to give her 85 percent use of her left side. She had a difficult adolescence, and today Marsha Emanuel, at the age of 63, is raising Shoshana's two illegitimate children. (None of the Emanuels will talk about Shoshana in detail, and she declined to be interviewed for this article.)"
Here is the link right here:
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/15/magazine/the-brothers-emanuel.html
I have to feel for the daughter, and I am not in any way making light of her situation. But I'll be damned, the Emanuel Brother's really do have their own little Jewish Kennedy thing going, along with their own Rosemary Kennedy. I feel sorry for her for not only what she endured as a child, but also for being part of those brothers.
Now, this is where it gets very interesting, an 18 year old named Tuvia Emanuel:
http://www.rrstar.com/article/20110815/News/308159880
Now see here:
http://mugshots.com/US-Counties/Illinois/Winnebago-County-IL/Tuvia-Emanuel.68908425.html
And now, to tie it all together, and what makes it truly interesting is this:
https://www.whitepages.com/name/Tuvia-Emanuel
Read the names associated with this man, who is now 24 years-old. Yes, that is Shoshana (Rahm's adopted sister) and Benjamin (Rahm's father). Which all ties back to the 1997 NYT article that says Shoshana's adopted parents (Benjamin and Marsha) were raising Shoshana's "illegitimate children."
So where is Uncle Rahm in this lost youth's life? Where is Rahm in his sister's life? Clearly, he can't be bothered, because he is busy, out courting voters. My hope is that this goes wider and gets into the brains of inner-city people of Black and Hispanic descent, because it should be at least one part of a pretty significant case for sinking this disgusting man.
They are coming for Mt.Greenwood.
ReplyDelete