Chicago - "Meanest city in the US"? (Skokie: renters, credit)

[Huckleberry3911948]

Originally Posted by southwest1230

Chicago is a tough nut to figure out....indeed, the best way to describe it is 'What you see is what you get"....social airs or southern manners and mores matter not there. On the bright side, there is no social mask, facile and ultimately fake, as well. If a Chicagoan smiles, he genuinely likes you, if he scowls or gives a blank stare, perhaps he/she just hasn't decided to get to know you yet. I find it very similar to Moscow, and for some of the same reasons. Both cities have brutal winter weather, and a slavic base. Both tilt towards the workers, Moscow so much so that it was the world hotbed of workers rights in the communist era. Both also have a very political job core. I had a Chicago city job in the 80's, and the Daley machines ran things same as the Soviet Politburo(not a mistake that the original old man Daley looked more like a Soviet Premier than a US politician). Chicago also was always a very hard city. Try working 6-7 days a week at the stockyards, steel mills, and such, and try to figure out how you could be ANYTHING but hard..........along with the traditional rough neighborhoods, high crime black and hispanic wards, and general corruption, it is no wonder you find Chicago a angry, hostile city. Put it this way, Chicagoans really do have plenty to appear angry and hostile about, but deep inside are as good as anyone anywhere else......its just a collective and protective survival mechanism engendered by a city with such a harsh past and rough present.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

oh yeah, i forgot, "God Bless Mayor Daley(the old man, the original "Maredaleey" AKA "Da mare")



BTW, I was watching the St.Patrick's day parade one year, seeing the hundreds of union workers floats, proudly bearing the local number and name(Teamster's 12th, Electricians local #1002), and realizing it was no more different than the Soviet
parading the workers down red square in the May day parade, along with the military. In many ways, Daley indeed looked
and acted like a Soviet Premier, and prob had as much actual power as some with his power to annoint pols up to the White
House(Kennedy). So, Chicago was essentially run like Moscow from '55- '75, in the guise of the Honorable Mayor
Richard J. Daley) Something to think about, isn't it?

that is not true san diego is the meanest city.
but its ok because they all wear hawaiian shirts.

[M TYPE X]

Originally Posted by Bunky39

that is not true san diego is the meanest city.
but its ok because they all wear hawaiian shirts.

"Beware of meanies with Hawaiian shirts"

... I'm not sure that will sell as a bumper sticker.

[blondandfun]

I would like to say that I was not impressed with the bus network in chicago during my vacation. Believe it or not, i think LA has the most efficient and well timed bus systems i've ever seen when I went there, of course maybe that was the area I was in. In Santa monica, west hollywood, and hollywood, there was more bus ridership and more buses it seemed. Several major streets in downtown Chicago (Grand Ave for example) have 20-30 minute waits and only one or two buses, and I thought that that was very lame for such a big city.

my 2 cents.

[southwest1230]

Originally Posted by blondandfun

I would like to say that I was not impressed with the bus network in chicago during my vacation. Believe it or not, i think LA has the most efficient and well timed bus systems i've ever seen when I went there, of course maybe that was the area I was in. In Santa monica, west hollywood, and hollywood, there was more bus ridership and more buses it seemed. Several major streets in downtown Chicago (Grand Ave for example) have 20-30 minute waits and only one or two buses, and I thought that that was very lame for such a big city.

my 2 cents.

OK mayor daley, time to fix up the CTA. Now we even have LA folks knocking
it.........

[Drover]

Originally Posted by southwest1230

OK mayor daley, time to fix up the CTA. Now we even have LA folks knocking
it.........

And what would you like Daley to do about it?

[nanannie]

This poster (SW) is a troll, new name/same attention seeking pot stirring. .... banned AGAIN.

[Judy C.]

I think that there is a streak of meanness in all of us. So let's not go pointing fingers or suffer under the delusion that any locale is free from this disease of the heart.

For the record, I am a Chicagoan -- and have met the good, bad and ugly in this location -- and other places as well.

[summer22]

Originally Posted by southwest1230

Per Chicago and sports, Chicago is one of the top 4 spectator sports cities, along with NYC, Philly, and Boston. Notice the others are all on the east coast, so its not really a midwest thing. Why is Chicago so sports crazy? Well, its a great release valve, and Chicagoans are stressed, always have, from just living in the city with all you deal with, plus the past had the rough industrial jobs. When you got out of the steel mill, you wanted to burn off steam, and sports, whether at the bar, home, or in person, was the ultimate stress valve. That's why Pittsburgh is sorta an honorary rabid sports town.
Interesting...

Chicago is a "spectator" sports town because the city doesn't nurture its kids to PLAY sports instead.

In the smaller places I've lived, suburbs, towns, and small cities, the community seems to encourage and provide youth programs, quality sports programs from elementary school onward, either through the schools, parks, or non-profits. The facilities are safe and the programs connect through the ages so that kids have a goal, they can meet and have a mentor relationship with the players from the high school they will be attending, for instance.

Chicago, in the city, has none of that. The services in the city aren't designed to nurture young people. Alot of kids fall through the cracks because the systems aren't integrated enough to even notice.

Even though Chicago has excellent and amazing cultural institutions, the city has never made its children a priority. It makes a lot of work for a parent to constantly dig for programs and events that are good for their children, and that takes time and costs money. Communities like Indianapolis have done a much better job. You can turn on the TV news in Indy and see media coverage that celebrates kids and their accomplishments. You almost never see that in Chicago.

[socrates1234]

Originally Posted by summer22

Chicago is a "spectator" sports town because the city doesn't nurture its kids to PLAY sports instead.

In the smaller places I've lived, suburbs, towns, and small cities, the community seems to encourage and provide youth programs, quality sports programs from elementary school onward, either through the schools, parks, or non-profits. The facilities are safe and the programs connect through the ages so that kids have a goal, they can meet and have a mentor relationship with the players from the high school they will be attending, for instance.

Chicago, in the city, has none of that. The services in the city aren't designed to nurture young people. Alot of kids fall through the cracks because the systems aren't integrated enough to even notice.

Even though Chicago has excellent and amazing cultural institutions, the city has never made its children a priority. It makes a lot of work for a parent to constantly dig for programs and events that are good for their children, and that takes time and costs money. Communities like Indianapolis have done a much better job. You can turn on the TV news in Indy and see media coverage that celebrates kids and their accomplishments. You almost never see that in Chicago.

Well, it depends if you are speaking of Chicago proper or Naperville, Homer Glen, Winnetka, Arlington Heights, what have you. In many suburbs of Chicago, particularly Naperville, people live for their kids, only too much so. In the city it is so dangerous that minority parents do all they can just to keep their kids in one piece each day. Not many soccer moms in city neighborhoods. Two very different worlds, one might almost say universes, per city and suburbs in Chicago. As for Indianapolis, most of the soccer moms and kid-focused areas are in Hamilton County(Carmel, Fishers, etc.), or in the far north sides of the city, north of 75th st. or so. The bad parts have the same worries about the kids and main focus on just keeping the kids in one piece. There is a nice focus, however, on amateur sports in Indy, which they have been working on for some time, which is all ages focused. Something very much to be said for that.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by summer22

Chicago is a "spectator" sports town because the city doesn't nurture its kids to PLAY sports instead . . .

Is this a joke?