Naperville, Illinois

I grew up in Aurora which is 20 minutes west of Naperville. It has gotten a little better as far as being considered a place where you’re not highly harassed by the police. In the 80s and early 90s, we were able to go into Naperville proper and hang out at the bowling alley or along the riverwalk on the weekends. You did hear stories about black and brown people being targeted if they were trying to move and live there, but it still didn’t have that notorious sundown town atmosphere like in southern Illinois. Not until the mid 90s did the police start turning up the volume on following cars and ticketing you for driving while black on your way back into Aurora or on your way to the highway. My last trip there, we stayed on the outskirts/shopping mall area and rarely saw any police other than having coffee at a known restaurant. I did notice that the area stores in Naperville proper are a little more ethnic (Korean, Indian, Mexican) so maybe the area has become a little more integrated.