"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
It was right around the time of the LA riots. I would imagine the causes
were, in no particular order, hooliganism, racial injustice,
unemployment...

Guess they didn't make much of an impression on me as to specifics, at least
when compared with the LA riots. I do recall that about a year later,
Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne moved to a flat in Cabrini-Green to prove that she
wasn't afraid of that area, which was in the heart of the riot area. What
she wasn't telling, but the newspapers discovered, is that she had a
contingent of over 40 bodyguards and cops attending her flat and her person
at all times. The locals couldn't get anywhere near her, but they did
complain bitterly about traffic being snarled while Jane B. was leaving for,
and arriving home from, work. She stayed a few months and then quietly
slipped out, returning to her luxury home downtown. And Cabrini-Green is
still rife with gangs and street crime. I've driven through there a couple
of times during rush hour, and it doesn't appear to be as blighted as it
once was. But appearances can be deceiving. My personal bellwether for
urban improvement is when a Starbucks moves into an area. There isn't one
in Cabrini-Green, AFAIK.

Max