Would a declining population create a stronger Chicago? (Warren, Bowen: college, to live)

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by Chicago South Sider

Happy New Year to you too, edsg25.

Thank you, CSS (me being a native South Sider myself....born at U of C, early years in South Shore.).

And just for you, I promise not to do my favorite activity in the world: Fighting hard to get the the CTA to extend the Howard el north and south.... since, y'know, I am such a big fan of redlining.

(I really do like to see populations drop. And I'll finally come clean to you on my prejudices. They definitely exist. There is one group I consider a big problem for others and, forgive me, arguably the worst group ou there: Homo sapiens. So may their their unsustainable and planet killing numbers drop in Chicago and worldwide. Peacefully, of course.)

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by Curly Q. Bobalink

To quote Mr. Dickens:

"God Bless Us, Everyone!"

I'm still laughing at myself, I just couldn't believe what I was reading (out of character for Ed), and shot back, a clear case of: "Ready, Fire, Aim".

God knows I've been hard on Chicago, but it's because of the Cook County politicians of the last forty years - as everyone who has been paying attention knows, they put a "poison pill" into the constitution that effectively killed the state. They set up great benefits for public service workers, but then deferred the taxes it would take to pay for them, and allowed the debt to balloon to almost unmanageable levels. They did so because raising the taxes at the time would have gotten them thrown out of office. So, they simply put us into hock to keep their power - great for them, horrible for the rest of us. I'm not advocating for stiffing the workers who have earned their benefits (not that it's even an option, I'm aware the state S.C. ruled on that already). I'm not even against giving workers an above-average pension - but the benefits should have been paid for as they were accrued, in order to give residents (voters) the chance to see what they were paying for. It was simply an underhanded trick, and I resent paying the high taxes it is going to take to balance the budget at this point. Even Pritzker's graduated tax proposal is half-hearted, setting brackets that go against the whole idea of a progressive system - it allows those with six-figure pensions to keep paying zero, caps the upper brackets at too low a rate, doesn't give low-income workers a break, and is too small to do what needs to be done at this point. My last rant for 2019! One of my resolutions for the New Year is to not let the idiot politicians to bother me (as much) going forward, life is too short. Happy New Year, all.

Back at you, Curly...and I hope you know I got a big kick out of you criticizing me (rightfully for sure.......your sentiments were spot on) and then check that see I was talking about myself. Hopefully you've forgiven me for the fast one.

[Curly Q. Bobalink]

Originally Posted by edsg25

Back at you, Curly...and I hope you know I got a big kick out of you criticizing me (rightfully for sure.......your sentiments were spot on) and then check that see I was talking about myself. Hopefully you've forgiven me for the fast one.

Respect, sincerely.

[Chicago South Sider]

Originally Posted by edsg25

Thank you, CSS (me being a native South Sider myself....born at U of C, early years in South Shore.).

And just for you, I promise not to do my favorite activity in the world: Fighting hard to get the the CTA to extend the Howard el north and south.... since, y'know, I am such a big fan of redlining.

Your altruism is the stuff of legends. BTW, how did your meeting with Father Pfleger go last week? I'm sure the two of you came up with some great ideas to help the black community.

Originally Posted by edsg25

(I really do like to see populations drop. And I'll finally come clean to you on my prejudices. They definitely exist. There is one group I consider a big problem for others and, forgive me, arguably the worst group ou there: Homo sapiens. So may their their unsustainable and planet killing numbers drop in Chicago and worldwide. Peacefully, of course.)

Well, you are definitely living in the right place. It will be interesting to see where Chicagoland bottoms out. With any luck it may drop all the way down to 9 million or so. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

[Master Jay]

Chicago South Sider, happy new year. I hope all is well. You mentioned Father Pfleger. And I have not heard his name mentioned in a while, now that I see YOU mentioned him. Has he been in the news of late? Perhaps I have just not come across any recent articles... also, forgive me if I'm being redundant in my question. I am familiar with some south side areas, and I do understand that the south side encompasses the most area. I'm curious where you hail from, on the south side? If you care not to share I understand... and I see our friend, edsg25 is a raised south sider. I believe Ed wants to see equality among all, and violence drop in the city he still loves. I have to agree with that way of thinking, myself.

[Chicago South Sider]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

Chicago South Sider, happy new year. I hope all is well. You mentioned Father Pfleger. And I have not heard his name mentioned in a while, now that I see YOU mentioned him. Has he been in the news of late? Perhaps I have just not come across any recent articles... also, forgive me if I'm being redundant in my question. I am familiar with some south side areas, and I do understand that the south side encompasses the most area. I'm curious where you hail from, on the south side? If you care not to share I understand... and I see our friend, edsg25 is a raised south sider. I believe Ed wants to see equality among all, and violence drop in the city he still loves. I have to agree with that way of thinking, myself.

Happy New Year, Master Jay. I haven't heard anything new about Father Pfleger. Last I heard he was still in the business of religion and based in Englewood. Anyway, I grew up in Calumet Heights, specifically Pill Hill. It's a quiet neighborhood on the far southeast side. Currently, I live in Woodlawn. Woodlawn is located directly south of Hyde Park, at least the eastern part is.

I'm sure there are much worse people out there than edsg25. To be honest, I just like giving him a hard time.

[Master Jay]

Chicago South Sider, I had to look up Calumet Heights in my The Chicago 77 book. I had heard of Pill Hill before. I hardly ever go south of 35th street, since the drive down is long enough I once took my grandfather to a Croatian monastery, years ago. Perhaps you know it? I feel it was in the Kenwood/Woodlawn area.... And yes, edsg25 seems like a good guy!

[Chicago South Sider]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

Chicago South Sider, I had to look up Calumet Heights in my The Chicago 77 book. I had heard of Pill Hill before. I hardly ever go south of 35th street, since the drive down is long enough I once took my grandfather to a Croatian monastery, years ago. Perhaps you know it? I feel it was in the Kenwood/Woodlawn area.... And yes, edsg25 seems like a good guy!

I don't know of any Croation monasteries, Master Jay. Maybe one day when you are feeling adventurous you'll venture south of 35th. You'll probably make it out alive.

[Master Jay]

Chicago South Sider, my friend. I just looked it up. The address is 4848 S. Ellis. It is a monastery of the Croatian Friars. I believe the map said it was part of Woodlawn. Does this now sound familiar? Is that address close to your area? It was a beautiful mansion. I should go there again!... and I stand a bit corrected. I did spend a day in Canaryville in 2019, so that's a bit south of 35th Street. And somewhere here on city-data.com I wrote about it.... Also, as mentioned in other posts, I've driven a couple of times to see Al Capones home on 72nd and Prairie. And once took the Red Line to 95th Street, just to take a ride

[Chicago South Sider]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

Chicago South Sider, my friend. I just looked it up. The address is 4848 S. Ellis. It is a monastery of the Croatian Friars. I believe the map said it was part of Woodlawn. Does this now sound familiar? Is that address close to your area? It was a beautiful mansion. I should go there again!... and I stand a bit corrected. I did spend a day in Canaryville in 2019, so that's a bit south of 35th Street. And somewhere here on city-data.com I wrote about it.... Also, as mentioned in other posts, I've driven a couple of times to see Al Capones home on 72nd and Prairie. And once took the Red Line to 95th Street, just to take a ride

I used to live on 47th and Ellis but don't remember any monastery. I've probably driven past it a thousand times though. Next time you are on the south side you should visit Hyde Park.