Charles Durning Carroll

Find below some examples of why people choose the suburbs over the city. What can be done to change this? What would it take to provoke SUBURBIA DISGUST? How can we convince people of the evils of suburbia–the need for a car, the lifetime spent driving, the cookie-cutter houses, the malls.

SUBURBANITES RESPOND: Why do you choose to live in the suburbs over downtown Chicago?

Rich O’Brien, La Grange
“The parking is the whole issue. Here, there’s less congestion, shopping is a lot easier. In the city, it’s $25 to park your car in a garage, and if you want street parking, everything’s zoned and permit. Now, even the suburbs are building parking garages. But I’ve been here 25 years. I’m not going anywhere.”

Howard Stoller, Winfield
“When we had kids, (we decided) it was a better place to raise them. You’ve got the yard, better schools, more space. Plus we grew up here.”_

Nancy Harris, Huntley
“My husband and I just bought our house in Huntley. The biggest reason is the taxes. (In Kendall County) you can get a lot more building for less taxes than you can in Cook County.”

Kim Robbins, Clarendon Hills
“I lived in the city as a young child but moved to Tinley Park and so I had a suburban upbringing. Clarendon Hills is a centrally located area. (I like) this particular area as opposed to some others because it’s not a cookie cutter neighborhood. The schools are also a big thing.”

Jess Fidrocki, Elmhurst
“Some of the public schools in the city aren’t where they should be, so you have to pay a lot for private education. Here, the public schools are great. Coming here was such a godsend, there are a lot of great resources.”

San Mohammed, Rosemont
“Single family homes in Chicago cost about a million bucks.”

Jim Tettenhorst, Plainfield
“I work in the suburbs, and I don’t want to commute downtown. I actually calculated the train commute from Lisle, where I used to live, to Chicago. You multiply three hours a day by 20 days a month by 52 weeks a year, and that’s 30 days straight of the year spent on the train.”

Kristen Bernardini, Elmhurst
“The city is beautiful, don’t get me wrong. (But) Elmhurst is a wonderful town. It’s safe. It’s close to Oak Brook Mall, to downtown, to Brookfield Zoo.”