It was a pleasure reading the article by Phil Ponce (“A Cinderella spin on Indiana,” Op-Ed, Oct. 14) in which he acknowledges the often-overlooked benefits of living in northwest Indiana.
Whereas Cleveland is recognized as the comeback city and Detroit as a city on the move, northwest Indiana has yet to effectively present the nation with a picture that redraws its image from that of a crime-and-grime locale to one of stable communities offering quality housing and education.
People who closely examine how the aforementioned cities turned the tide will find that their rebirths began not with opening of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame or the purchase of an office tower but with the rebuilding of its neighborhoods. Such a movement is currently underway in Gary, Hammond and East Chicago, Ind., as the private sector has invested more than $8 million through community development corporations in the past few years. By the end of 1996, these grass-roots organizations will have 465 homes either completed or under construction.
So when the consensus becomes “Northwest Indiana is back!” don’t forget where it started.
