A little over a year ago a Chicago Tribune reporter was suckered into writing an overwrought article about Clublands of Antioch, describing it as a ghost town. You can watch my take on the article in the video above.
The Tribune’s seeing ghosts again, and this time around has become downright hysterical about them. “Chicago’s new ghost towns” headlines today’s online edition of the Trib.
One simple example illustrates how wildly off base the article is. The article says: “Census data show that from 2000 to 2007, the number of vacancies in Chicago jumped 82 percent to a record 165,679 housing units.” No one at the Trib appears to have been startled by a number that meant 1 of every 6 housing units in Chicago is vacant.
The accompanying graphic lists vacancies and vacancy rates by community area. Vacancies total 61,718, a more believable 6% rate. No one at the Trib appears to have noticed the discrepancy.
Read the Trib’s unhinged Jeremiad and draw your own conclusions. Mine: the editors, the fact checkers and everyone with any sense of proportion have all abandoned the Tower. It’s become a ghost town of responsible journalism.