Even the folks at Forbes magazine who say that Lincoln’s hometown is the third most-dangerous city in America profess themselves puzzled.
“The Illinois state capital confounds analysts who try to interpret its relatively high crime rate,” say the folks at Forbes, who this week posted online a 10-most-dangerous-cities list that is purportedly based on FBI crime statistics.
Springfield’s unemployment rate is relatively low, Forbes notes, and meth use is down. Must be the high number of young folks and poor neighborhoods, the magazine concludes.
“Are you kidding me?” exclaims Victoria Ringer, director of Downtown Springfield, Inc., when told of the city’s high ranking. “That’s terrible. That blows my mind.”
Deputy chief Cliff Buscher of the Springfield Police Department chuckles.
“Outstanding – job security,” says the chief with tongue firmly in cheek. “I don’t know how they come up with these things. I can’t see how Springfield could compare to New York City or Pittsburgh or Detroit. I think I’d feel safer in Springfield than Chicago.”
But what about Rockford, which Forbes says is the 10th most dangerous town in the nation? Chicago didn’t make the list, nor did Pittsburgh, nor did New York. Detroit, however, is number one.
“The Illinois state capital confounds analysts who try to interpret its relatively high crime rate,” say the folks at Forbes, who this week posted online a 10-most-dangerous-cities list that is purportedly based on FBI crime statistics.
Springfield’s unemployment rate is relatively low, Forbes notes, and meth use is down. Must be the high number of young folks and poor neighborhoods, the magazine concludes.
“Are you kidding me?” exclaims Victoria Ringer, director of Downtown Springfield, Inc., when told of the city’s high ranking. “That’s terrible. That blows my mind.”
Deputy chief Cliff Buscher of the Springfield Police Department chuckles.
“Outstanding – job security,” says the chief with tongue firmly in cheek. “I don’t know how they come up with these things. I can’t see how Springfield could compare to New York City or Pittsburgh or Detroit. I think I’d feel safer in Springfield than Chicago.”
But what about Rockford, which Forbes says is the 10th most dangerous town in the nation? Chicago didn’t make the list, nor did Pittsburgh, nor did New York. Detroit, however, is number one.
