North Lawndale churches: Are they causing more harm than good?

The highest divorce rates are in the "Bible Belt".

Religion doesn't solve everything. People have to be who they need to be FIRST. Then, church can come after that. Trying to use a church as a crutch...well, it may work sometimes but it's not going to solve all the cases. Lawndale is a good example.

Just goes to show that America has TOO MANY CHURCHES

Does anything scream blight like a proliferation of storefront "churches"? North Lawndale will never rebound while its commercial district is misused this way.

The article doesn't address what the zoning codes are here. If these corridors aren't zoned for churches, then why are the churches allowed to operate there?

It's now time for CHURCH TAX REFORM. Churches are and always have been a good source of income. Those weekly donations and contributions support many Mercedes Benz payments and vacations in warm climates.

These Churches don't hold their members and their children accountable and so they FAIL.

Wow. I live in this ward. From many years of Neglect, I must say that it's depressing. We have almost "200" Churches in our ward and at least 90% of them are Powerless beyond their own front Door. It's depressing that many of these churches are constantly getting Grants, Tax- exempt Status without giving back to their community. How can you have this many churches and still have a ward that has to be almost one of the worst to live in? It's Deprived, Depressed and our entire make-up are Second Class Grocery Stores that hike Prices because most of their make-up are due to Link Aide, Mounds of Liquor Stores who's bottles are picked up by residents DAILY (Yea even the liquor stores have no respect for the community that they do business in. Mostly "Dollar General Stores" ... Forget Coffee Shops, Dry Cleaners, places to sit and eat. Those don't exist here but hey How about ALL OF THOSE CHURCHES ..It's unfortunate that our Political Members cant really address all of the problems with our churches because in this area, a lot of our Voting Base takes place here (in the churches ...thats 200 votes right there!. Our Ward Needs HELP!!!! And where do we begin ? You can't call them out on anything, knowing that they are wrong. there are 15 churches within 3 blocks on Pulaski and this is just how our entire North Lawndale area is Made up. I Could understand if our community made up the memberships in these churches however many of the residents who live here do not benifit from 75% of them. They have Programs for "After School" but it's only for "THEIR MEMBERS" the community doesn't hear about any of this stuff...Just free grant funds to aide those who walk through their doors ? Can't they all come together under one roof ? it sounds like BIG BLOOD SUCKING BUSINESS TO ME! This is insane!!!

All She could say is to keep it clean ?? Are you kidding me ?? Alderman Dixon should've responded with a way to Condense All of these churches. Just sitting on LAND that can be used for something else. Something a bit more Positive. I mean do we really need 25 Churches from 31 S. Pulaski to Roosevelt ?? "25 BAPTIST CHURCHES" ?????

This is the issue that concerns me! One would think that a community that has received the attention of so many "men of the cloth" would have no need of a police force. One would think that such a community would be a bastion of charitable work, community outreach and a spiritual beacon to surrounding communities...The fact of the matter is that these churches are powerless outside their own front doors; they race from their cars to the church, and back when the service is complete. I'll go a step further; most of the members and pastors of these churches DON'T LIVE IN THE COMMUNITY! That is why they could care less. They have found an area where they were allowed to set up shop, unchecked and untaxed, depriving the community of a viable tax base. I could go on and on...The fact is, most of these churches are not what they were meant to be; they are something else. Good game peeps all game!

Lawndale Alderman wrote:

All She could say is to keep it clean ?? Are you kidding me ?? Alderman Dixon should've responded with a way to Condense All of these churches. Just sitting on LAND that can be used for something else. Something a bit more Positive. I mean do we really need 25 Churches from 31 S. Pulaski to Roosevelt ?? "25 BAPTIST CHURCHES" ?????

There must be a whole lotta sinners to keep 25 churches busy from 31 S. Pulaski to Roosevelt.

Sounds like a tiddy little con business for some unqualified, unordained 'preacher' to fleece the few dollars that exist in these neighborhoods. These folks need SKILLS, not words.

I wouldn't be surprised if all these west and south side churches are actually drug fronts.

I want to invite all those that commented to join my NEW CHURCH! The Last M.B. Church of Greater Chicago.LOL!

The quickest way to move these "churches" out is to drop their tax-free status.

Maybe adding a few storefront police offices into the mix might help.

Maybe adding a few store front police offices to the mix might help.

Churches? Hardly. These are businesses masquerading as churches. All churches are nothing but businesses peddling a particular brand of snake oil called "religion."

"Come inside and hear what God said." Right. Funny how God always says "Give us your money." The parishioners ante up and the pastor buys a new Lexus. Contrary to popular belief, this is the world's oldest profession.

I would like to open the church of "No Ma'am" - ala Al Bundy.

yawn

Read the book "Block by Block: A history of the Westside of Chicago"

The problem goes back a long ways, a problem of disinvestment in the part of the city that didnt vote the way the lakfront wards wanted. The opening up of DuPage County, the people who left yet remained slumlord owners from afar. The luring away of the employers and the unmitigated loss of industry - all while the city continued to ignore the "backyard" of the city. Terible what we've done.

No mention of the criminal ponzi scheme that is the west side church.

Reverands take state and federal grant money for BS welfare-help programs that basically consist of the reverand telling people to stop doing drugs or the paid "former" gang member telling kids to stop the violence.

Then, the reverands bleed the life savings of African Americans in their 50's through their 80's, who despite real racist obstacles became the last generation of "working-class blacks" who actually worked. The reverands turn real estate con-men onto these people. These "ex-offenders" (AKA felons) then proceed to steal their homes and leave the neighborhood barren with foreclosures. Be sure that the reverand took his cut on the front end and then after the foreclosures demanded even more grant money to help "counsel" the people he helped rip off.

On top of this, the reverand drains his followers of the last bits of cash in their pockets at every 11:00 pm sermon, or any other BS gathering he can think of, to bleed dry the people looking for something in a miserable neighborhood the reverand himself helped create.

At the end, the reverand uses the political capital these lost followers give him to extort more grant money from the local politicians as well as extorting any business stupid enough to open shop anywhere near one of these cesspools.

No, no mention of the "real" church in this story. Just a little puff piece on the current tiff between the churches and the business community.

Goodbye Tribune.