The area they’re describing wasn’t that bad - somewhere between Rogers Park (basically okay, but with some low-life element) and Uptown (pretty much a dump). So it’s a bit surprising to me that they ran into the trouble they did.
What was clear is that these kids were incredibly naive, and if you’re dealing with the dregs in a big city, those sorts can smell out a mark a mile away. Anybody who has lived in the city for a reasonable length of time knows you’ve got to be careful with whom you strike up random conversations . These bozos not only started chatting with some random goofball on the El platform, they (well the guy anyway) actually voluntarily reinitiated contact with him several times. Whatever the problem was with the jerkoff who cold-cocked the kid, that guy knew he was dealing with babes in the woods.
My guess is they’re better off in Arizona (although they might want to avoid some of the bigger cities there as well).
A few days ago I was at a bus stop, late afternoon, and two "youths" I'd never seen before asked, "Hey, are you voting for Bernie Sanders?" Tall kids. Neither one had a clipboard. I mumbled something and stepped out into the street to search for the bus that (thank God) was there in just a minute. We all boarded (I took care to sit well away from them) and made sure they were headed off somewhere else when I disembarked.