Theresa Carter: Mugged In Chicago - A Love Letter (of sorts) to the Windy City

Update: I wondered if anyone was going to comment this post is out-of-scope for Illinoize. I wondered myself. I posted on Englewood and commenters said security wasn't even an issue for government.

I sometimes wonder though if much of what we chat about isn't the politician's ruse for keeping us from talking about how we can't manage to keep a city safe.

Theresa writes,

I was mugged/attacked on April 15 in Chicago and have been chronicling my experience in my blog. I’m trying to get the word out to help others avoid this painful experience. Would you be willing to post an excerpt and a link? Here are two potential excerpts, but please use whatever you think is appropriate for your readers:

I left shortly after 2am to catch a cab back home. Alone. Yes, I know, that was my first mistake. My second was that I'm impatient. I don't like standing around waiting for a cab. So instead of going back into the bar and calling for one, or waiting in front of the bar, I started walking down Diversey. Now don't for one second think that I am blaming myself in any way, shape, or form for what happened that evening. The fact that I was a woman walking alone on a Chicago street late at night did not justify the brutality that ensued."

Writing about my experience is, admittedly, an exercise for the internal. It may not be bringing those memories to the surface, but it is providing an outlet for my frustration, fear, anger, hope, and thankfulness. This afternoon a friend of mine told me he'd called his 24-year-old sister in Princeton, NJ. He told her to read my blog. She called him back and said she would never, ever leave a bar alone again.

The blog is located at http://www.thelocaltourist.com/blog.htm.

cross posted at Bill Baar's West Side