Study finds area around Bulls arena unsafest in the U.S.

There are two ways to take "news" like this. I'll get to both of them soon enough, and it won't cost you a penny!

First? The news. A study on Walletpop.com is now listing the area around Chicago's United Center to be the most dangerous place in -- wait for it -- the whole of the United States. The worst neighborhood in all of our 50 states. The place you're the most likely to lose your wallet, your class ring and your naiveté.

This is where the Chicago Bulls (and, to a far more successful extent, the Chicago Blackhawks) play their games. This is where quite a few of us go quite a few times every year.

The data? From NBC Chicago:

The results are based on exclusive data generated by NeighborhoodScout.com and FBI metrics culled from local law enforcement agencies. Drilling down to the neighborhood level allows for fewer generalizations, the report says. The site, however, does show a list of the most dangerous cities as well. No cities in Illinois make that top-100 list.

According to the info, anyone walking down Lake Street between Damen and Western has a 1 in 4 chance of being a victim of a crime. Those who choose to live there face the same odds with the chances of being robbed.

Apparently I'm just bucking odds left and right.

Because for years, I've worked in this area, and never once have I felt threatened. I lived in downtown Chicago for years, though I don't currently, and was always a bus rider in this area, clearly with a laptop in tow. Even now, all grown up and fishing for my keys on my way to the media parking lot, I still look all the part of the victim-to-be. And yet I've never felt threatened. Ever.

So while I appreciate the FBI data and mourn the loss of other people's wallets, understand that fractions (even if they top fractions in other scarier parts of the U.S.) are still fractions. This is still an area you can trust, even if it means waiting for that Damen bus hours after the game ends.

(The Damen bus being better than the Madison bus, which takes me nowhere I want to go.)

Be smart, keep your wallet in your front pocket, and stay active. It helps if you don't drink a cauldron of crummy and overpriced domestic beer as well. But understand, as someone who has been walking confidently into and out of media Gate 3½ for a decade now, that you'll more than likely be just fine.

Of course, I am going to Friday's Bulls/Wizards game. Better find an ankle holster for my shiv.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Study-finds-area-around-Bulls-arena-unsafest-in-?urn=nba-274955

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