The Chicago Tribune has a very good article about how vacant properties (due to the foreclosure crisis) are decimating poor communities because of the increase in crime. This is something that I speak about at length when I teach my class on the relationship between law enforcement and code enforcement. These vacant buildings are crime magnets and can’t be torn down quickly enough. Vandals steal everything and anything from these buildings so people who might want to invest in and rehab them walk away in frustration. The remaining residents live in fear as the neighborhood gets even worse. It’s a pretty depressing tale but important to know about.