Chicago in 25 Years: World Player or Flyover Rust Museum?

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by CarolinaBredChicagoan

Hey! You guys wanna talk about that other city? The one that isn't LA? It's big. On Lake Michigan. Not Milwaukee.

Name means "smelly onion".

Actually its an Algonquin word meaning "onion field" (Chigagou), but you were close.

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Actually its an Algonquin word meaning "onion field" (Chigagou), but you were close.

That's one variation of the etymology.

Another is that it's from the Miami word shikaakwa, which is very similar. I meant wild leek or skunk depending on the usage. The words were similar for the precise reason that the leek in question was pungent in odor.

And that's the 'nice' version. Other ideas about the etymology include words for "urine" and a "urinating animal". Those who hold with the 'urine' etymology must ride the Red Line often or hang out in Wrigleyville alleys after home games.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by CarolinaBredChicagoan

That's one variation of the etymology.

Another is that it's from the Miami word shikaakwa, which is very similar. I meant wild leek or skunk depending on the usage. The words were similar for the precise reason that the leek in question was pungent in odor.

And that's the 'nice' version. Other ideas about the etymology include words for "urine" and a "urinating animal". Those who hold with the 'urine' etymology must ride the Red Line often or hang out in Wrigleyville alleys after home games.

LMBO @ the comparison between the urine etymology and the Red Line/Wrigleyville. Good stuff.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by Nafster

And also you have a serious grudge against Chicago for some reason.

What did the city itself do to you while you were growing up?

I broke my arm skiing this weekend and can only type with one hand, so I'll make this one concise.

I don't like desertstudents' attitude and I'm totally cool with Chicago pride,

but I think its only fair to stop picking on L.A. by calling it "not a real city." One may not like it, but its just as urban as Chicago, just in a different way.

San Fran too. The Bay Area has almost as many people as Chicagoland and has climate and natural scenery that makes Chicago have to work harder to attract people.

And why do people refuse to think that a city in the south/Texas (Houston)can't be a world class city?

If Chicago complains about New York thinking their the center of the world, shouldn't Chicagoans not follow in those same footsteps?

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by desert student

Your post is very confusing. What are you trying to say?
a) Name one thing that I listed that most people don't have a problem with in Chicago.

b) Yes, I'm quite sure others love their repective cities as well. ????

c)Well most people on this forum from Chicago seem to be able to switch between the suburbs and the city as often as they like and whenever it is convienent for them. EX: (attacker) "Chicago has tons of crime!" (defender) "Oh, well our suburbs are some of the safest places in the country." Sound familiar? So if we are going to lump Chicagoland together, than I think it is safe to make the remarks I did. Chicago is sprawled out just as badly as anything in Atlanta or Phoenix. I lived in the western burbs, and can tell you first hand, that the cookie-cutter sprawl is just as bad, if not worse, than anything in Phoenix.

d) Again, we will just visit "la-la" land some more shall we? "Bleehhh. Won't even bother with that one." This speaks volumes!! YO! Snap out of it folks! Chicago was murder capitol USA a few years back!!! New York is almost three times the size of Chicago, and has a crime rating that is FAR below the Windy City. Even LA has less! What? Chicago wants to be compared to those cities and play with the "big boys" then it needs to step up and get a clue. Whenever crime is brought up, Chicago falls into the shadows of the conversation and says,"Well, we are doing better than Houston!" Ok, so now it is ok to compare Chicago to smaller cities, but any other time isn't??

e)I think you definition of good is far different than others. Let me remind you that Houston now is more of an economic leader than Chicago. Just because a city is "urban" does not make it a great city either. Just keep that in mind.

You dont exactually make people want to point out Houstons or Arizonas good points when just about all you do in here is rip on Chicago and cause arguements. Perhaps if you took a different approach you would get a more favorable response. I dont think Chicago has to send people to other citys forums to try to recruit residents, however it seems those out west must. Who is paying you? Jeez.

[Tex?Il?]

I think Chicago will have to work hard in the future, as it has in the past and is now to convince the nation/word community that it is a world class city, which includes more dazzling building projects, etc. I wonder if Chicago will ever be a city that can just rely on charm like Boston, D.C., or San Francisco.
I generally think not.

Whats great about Chicago is how well its done despite its traditional turnoffs:

flat landscape, severe weather (not only freezing winters, but even summer are pretty muggy), history of gang violence, industrial landscape, racial segregation, etc.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

Whats great about Chicago is how well its done despite its traditional turnoffs:

flat landscape, severe weather (not only freezing winters, but even summer are pretty muggy), history of gang violence, industrial landscape, racial segregation, etc.

See the other thread on racial tensions... Chicago is less segregated than New York City, but still catches more heat for it.

[Pebbs78]

I came across S&P's lineup for world's top 10 economic centers 2007, and Chicago was ranked in the top 10.

Concord Monitor - Top economic cities


"Bond insurers may be watching their ratings tank, but credit rating agency Standard & Poor's gave some of the world's biggest cities high fives in 2007.
S&P's "World's Top 10 Economic Centers," released Dec. 13, ranks cities on how economically vital they are in terms of gross domestic product per capita and unemployment; their creditworthiness; and by capital expenditures and as services providers. The cities must be regional commercial hubs and major population centers in their respective countries. The countries must also be among the world's largest economies.

The top 10, according to creditworthiness: Paris; London; Madrid; New York; Toronto; Los Angeles; Chicago; Yokohama, Japan; Milan, Italy and Moscow."



I don't think this will go away in the near future. Also, I think the writers of this article forgot to mention-

1. The Vienna dog/beef
2. Deep-dish pizza
3. Cubs baseball and riding the El afterwork with all of the drunk fans

Yes, we are truly a great city.

[misspetite]

Maybe public transportation will be better by then lol.

[Gtownoe]

Call me naive, biased, or whatever...but I think Chicago has definately taken the right steps to ensure its position in the next 25 years. I think that its population decreases (or re-distributions in the past may have pushed the city to become what it is in fact becoming today.

After moving away from the city I keep hearing more and more good things about the city. The first time my parents came and visited me this summer they were amazed at how the city had changed. My father used to travel to the city fairly often (he's a meat packer) about 20-15 years ago. He couldn't believe how some of the northside neighborhoods had changed and how different downtown looked.

My sister visited from LA and was damn suprised to see the tree lined streets, great restaraunts and the beach (atleast for the summer). It looked as if she was somewhat having to make an effort not to fall in love with the city (being that she just purchased a home in LA).

The economic stability of the city...well thats a given. I think the current recession could do more to attract business from other areas to Chicago as Chicago's economy is the most likely to hold strong.

I think the Spire, and an exponentially growing European tourist invasion will help it to get international attention.

And as a hip hop head (real hip hop...not the sh*t that's on tv today) Chi-Town seems to be undergoing a hip-hop revolution with artist like Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, The Cool Kids, Kidz in the Hall, etc.

My message of the day? By real estate while its cheap ha ha