Chicago Tour - South Side

Steven Johnson is a captivating storyteller with an impressive grasp of history. He made the tour exceptionally enjoyable, balancing information with engagement without ever feeling rushed. His genuine passion for the subject truly shone through, which enhanced the overall experience. This was one of the best tours I have ever had the pleasure of attending.

There are a lot of stops. If like me have bad knees you will not like this tour. The driver didn't park in every safe place he could and he ran two lights.

My recent experience with the Chicago Personal Neighborhood Tour's South Side offering on April 25, 2025, led by Mr. Steve Johnson, was profoundly unsatisfactory and fell far short of expectations. We paid $375.00 for what was explicitly sold as a private tour for our group of three, yet the reality was considerably different. The first indication that this would not be the personalized experience promised came with the unexpected presence of two additional individuals upon pickup at 11:30 am. While these fellow participants were amiable, their inclusion directly contradicted the agreement for a private tour. This was compounded by Mr. Johnson's insistence on switching to a less comfortable van, lacking the amenities of the original, despite our expressed preference to remain in the first vehicle. The tour, advertised as a four-and-a-half-hour personalized exploration, was hampered by Mr. Johnson's apparent difficulty hearing. This created a constant communication barrier, requiring repeated questions and resulting in numerous unanswered inquiries. The notion of a "personalized" tour proved to be inaccurate. Our preferences regarding specific locations were consistently ignored, leading to unnecessary and lengthy stops at places we had no interest in seeing, such as an extended visit to Union Station during the rain. On multiple occasions, Mr. Johnson stopped at locations we explicitly stated we did not want to visit, creating awkward standoffs. Furthermore, despite initially agreeing to show us the childhood homes of prominent figures like Jennifer Hudson, Michelle Obama, and Kanye West, Mr. Johnson later reneged on this promise, citing a lack of time. This was particularly frustrating as time was allocated to a visit to the location of the Obamas' first kiss, a site we had indicated held no interest for us. In fact, the rude and dismissive behavior exhibited by Mr. Johnson became so intolerable that two members of the tour group ultimately chose to abandon the tour altogether, opting to take an Uber back to their hotels rather than endure further unprofessionalism. Mr. Johnson's demeanor was often dismissive and, at times, outright rude. Our requests for a lunch break after several hours were met with resistance, and a simple plea to stop for a snack due to hunger was denied with an inflexible adherence to his schedule, directly contradicting the idea of a flexible, personalized tour. Most concerning was Mr. Johnson's unsolicited and inappropriate commentary involving negative stereotypes of African Americans. As African American women who booked this tour to celebrate the rich heritage and achievements within the South Side community, his disparaging remarks were deeply offensive and entirely counter to the tour's intended purpose. In conclusion, the South Side Tour with Mr. Steve Johnson was a significant disappointment. The experience was characterized by a failure to deliver a private or personalized tour, communication barriers, unprofessional conduct so egregious that it caused other paying customers to leave, and the dissemination of harmful stereotypes. I would strongly advise others against booking this tour with Mr. Johnson.