The Ugly Truth About Quincy -- Part I
-
4/12/2008
I request that a moderator please delete my first two reviews for Quincy and all replies to them. This review is intended to replace my first two.
Quincy's city government makes it look like a wonderful place to live and raise a family. They claim that it has a low crime rate, an easy lifestyle, good schools, and nice architecture. Unfortunately, Quincy is absolutely nothing like what the city government describes. So if you're planning on relocating to Quincy from crime-ridden Chicago or St. Louis, expecting Quincy to solve all of your problems, this review will make you think twice. And there are so many things wrong with Quincy that I had to divide the review into two parts!
Low crime? BIG LIE. According to 2006 statistics (the most recent available as of this writing) from the Illinois State Police, Quincy has a violent crime rate that exceeds the national average by more than 60%. In crime statistics, a "violent crime" is defined as non-negligent murder, forcible rape, robbery, or aggravated assault. Quincy has 757.9 violent crimes per 100,000 residents -- where 473.5 is the U.S. average and 720 is considered high. Probably worsening the crime rate is the fact that most Quincians feel safe in their hometown, so much that they don't take enough measures to protect themselves from crime and eventually end up becoming a victim. And for those of you who use the usual defense of "the crime just happens in certain parts of town", keep in mind that there are not many different places to eat and shop in Quincy, and most of them are centered along Broadway Street. Everyone in Quincy -- including the criminals from these bad parts of town -- can be in any of these restaurants or stores. Also take a look at the Illinois Sex Offender Registry -- you'll be surprised at how many sex offenders per capita there are in Quincy. It's definitely not a safe place to raise a family.
Quincy also has a bad public school system. Quincy High School, the only public high school in the city, only received a score of 6 out of 10 on greatschools.net based on standardized test scores, the most accurate measure of the quality of education kids are really receiving in public schools. In addition, use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs is rampant throughout the junior and senior high schools. Quincy Mayor John Spring even admitted that Quincy has huge problems with underage drinking and smoking, and I think it was the attorney general who said that cocaine was a huge problem in Quincy. Marijuana, heroin, and meth are also huge problems here (most of the meth comes from meth labs across the river in Missouri). Worsening drug use is the general lack of recreation in the Quincy area, maybe except for bowling and playing arcade games.
Clint | Liberty, IL