The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center Chicago — Attraction in Lake Township

The security is lacking; Cars are constantly stolen and broken into, security is lazy and unprofessional (most not all). I witness several security guards flirt with younger girls and other employees.

Most of the staff is arrogantly ignorant and unprofessional. The arts department that is ran by Tasha Gibson and Dina Rutledge is the worse. They seem to be OK with canceling classes and are always giving out incorrect information. I was insure by Tasha there would be a replacement teacher for the piano classes that I was taking for a year only to find out that the class was cancelled as I tried to sign up for it. There are no art classes and the director Dina seems old and out of touch. The environment also seem competetive and hostile as I witness parents and employees constantly arguing and gossiping. This is definitely not a kid friendly environment or a church environment.

I was unhappy with the basketball program for kids. I signed my 5 year old son up for basketball and some of the coaches were bias and only seem to care about the older kids who already knew how to play. There was no true structure to the program and whenever I had a question or concern such as "how come my child has a different coach every week"?, I was given excuse after excuse but was definitely assured that I could not get a refund.

I've been to the pool several times and the pool and locker rooms are always dirty and crowded. Due to the constant locker break ins I would bring my things on the pool deck with me. But I stopped going to the pool since summer of 2015 when I witness a swimmer drowning and the lifeguard just sat and looked at her while her friends jumped in and saved her. I voiced several concerns with upper management only to still see the same lifeguard still working.

The icing on the cake was the horrible unorganized noisy day camp. Anyone whose been to the Kroc long enough knows exactly what I'm talking about. It seems as if the Kroc only cares about money and not the value or purpose of the center for the community. Overall, the Kroc center is a nice thought but I'm taking my business...

It is nice to have a beautiful establishment in our community. However, I can’t help but feel a tinge of irritation at the level of surveillance in this facility. I don’t know why we as Black and Brown people tolerate institutional racism. Perhaps the racism is so internalized we think it’s necessary in order for us to do the right thing.

Perhaps, it is because the Salvation Army’s does a variety of outreach programs and the security measures are necessary. I’m not sure but it makes me feel uneasy to have security guards around every corner.

With that said, the people are friendly and helpful for the most part. Just be sure not break the code of conduct because they will get you together.

The facility is clean with modern equipment and ample resources. The facility seem to take great pride and responsibility for the upkeep.The outside is kept up and offers nice outdoor amenities like pristine basketball courts, an outdoor track, and playgrounds.

The pool was a major selling point for me. So many options for all levels of swimmers. Please be mindful that there is a swimsuit dress code (one piece only) and there is a family dressing room that gets unlocked by the security guard.

If it weren’t for the heavy surveillance, I would have given this center an additional star. But because I believe heavy surveillance on Black bodies is unnecessary and communicates a negative message, the Kroc Center gets three stars:

Facility: Beautiful, kept up, and clean

Customer Service: friendly but under-staffed at the check in.

Community: Wonderful. It’s beautiful to see families come together to build healthy lifestyles. You feel like you are part of the village. Our elders, our youth, our mothers and fathers are coming together to take care of ourselves physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

Black Accountability Rating: Does this facility do right by our community and deserve our...

I will start off with a positive in saying that the facility is very clean and spacious however I must say that the customer service through the events department is mediocre at best. Prior to booking a pool party through the events department I was informed I would have an hour to set up the room for decorations. In the weeks leading to the party, I was given conflicting information by different staff members that we would only have either 30 min or 15min to set up. I contacted the director of operations who stated I had valid concerns due to the misinformation I was given and connected me with the director of events.She did not contact me until the afternoon before the party (through email by the way) that we would only have 30 min to set up due to the tight party schedules that they have to maintain. This would be understandable if there were another party prior to ours but we were the first party scheduled for that day. On top of that, the director informed me if we wanted to pay an additional fee we could access the room at an earlier time. I find it very telling how they claimed the room wouldn't be available but suddenly it became available when money is involved.

We paid for a total of 8 pizzas but ended up only getting 5. Our party host was nice, although some of her coworkers asked for leftovers which we had no problem giving but it was very unprofessional. All paper products and utensils were supposed to have been provided, but they did not even have forks for for the cake so instead our guests were given spoons. Given the amount of money that we paid for the party, I would have expected better customer service and professionalism. The silver lining in this is that the children enjoyed the pool but I will not return again nor would I recommend booking a pool party at the...