Elgin has earned its bad reputation

We moved to Elgin with high hopes.

Living in the historic district, we qualified for a grant to rehab our house. With all the upgrades being done to the city we imagined Elgin was up and coming and on its way to becoming the great place it could be.

Sadly, after living here four years, nothing has improved. In fact, things seem worse. No amount of exterior improvements will raise Elgin up until the neighborhoods are cleaned up.

As much money as the casino brings in, why would they let it be surrounded by a hopelessly dilapidated area? Is this what we want visitors to see?

A person would be a fool to buy a condo near Festival Park. We no longer feel safe taking our kids there. We have found a switchblade under the playground equipment, seen parents and vagrants drinking liquor in brown bag-covered bottles, seen unsupervised kids push down our younger children.

I have never seen any security patrol the area and wonder what the city of Elgin is thinking. I am glad to see the crackdown on the west side, but the east side desperately needs help, too. The neighborhoods here are not safe.

We moved to the suburbs to give our kids a good life in a peaceful/family oriented setting. It is more like being in an inner city. We hear gunshots routinely, had a gang related shooting at our children's' elementary school, and have many known drug houses around. We feel things will only get worse due to mismanagement.

Our feeling now is to get out of Elgin while you can. It has earned its bad reputation.

Diane Keys

Elgin