What has happened to Chicago? (Phoenix, Atlanta: transplants, 2014, crimes)

[Master Jay]

Robert9, our Italian Fest was already canceled from July! As of yet the Italian Fest in June by 24th and Oakley has NOT. I can only hope. But rest assured, as soon as I'm able to come back down, I shall! In the meantime, please be happy, healthy, and safe all you city-data.commers!

[Robert9]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

Robert9, our Italian Fest was already canceled from July! As of yet the Italian Fest in June by 24th and Oakley has NOT. I can only hope. But rest assured, as soon as I'm able to come back down, I shall! In the meantime, please be happy, healthy, and safe all you city-data.commers!

Hope you can come down soon and yes please be safe, happy and healthy

[Master Jay]

When this is over, anyone want to meet for a cup, to celebrate life again, let me know!

[Robert9]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

When this is over, anyone want to meet for a cup, to celebrate life again, let me know!

Sounds good to me

[Master Jay]

Robert9, that's a plan! In the meantime, you and everyone be thankful for what you DO have, at this time. Keep your heads up! We are going to make it through this. And we shall celebrate as soon as we can!

[Robert9]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

Robert9, that's a plan! In the meantime, you and everyone be thankful for what you DO have, at this time. Keep your heads up! We are going to make it through this. And we shall celebrate as soon as we can!

Agreed. Things will get back to normal before we know it!

[Avondalist]

Chicago was located in a good place to manage the industrial economy. Iron from Minnesota, copper from Michigan, timber from Wisconsin, coal from Pennsylvania, etc. Chicago linked the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, first by canal and then by rail. It has always functioned mostly as a hub for transporting raw materials and turning them into finished goods.

If the industrial economy is about managing physical capital, the post-industrial economy is about managing human capital.

Chicago has been in relative decline since the 1930s when Los Angeles began to steal its thunder. LA was a new kind of city, a desirable location that was made liveable by massive public works. This was a harbinger of the coming post-industrial economy, in that industry was following people rather than people following industry.

The markers of prestige described in the OP were all built off the momentum Chicago had from the 1870s through the 1920s. In reality, people have been choosing to leave Chicago for greener pastures for almost 100 years.

[CCrest182]

Originally Posted by Avondalist

The markers of prestige described in the OP were all built off the momentum Chicago had from the 1870s through the 1920s. In reality, people have been choosing to leave Chicago for greener pastures for almost 100 years.

The Sears Tower was built in the 60's and 70's and O'Hare was built in the 50's and expanded later on. Both of these are well after Chicago's massive boom.

And Chicago has been losing population (like most other rust belt/northeast cities) to the suburbs primarily starting in the 50's and 60's. The population of Chicago peaked in the 40's and early 50's.

We definitely live in a new world now, even different than 20 years ago. People are now starting to leave ALL major cities who can't afford to stay. The problem with Chicago, is the in-migration has slowed a lot over the past couple decades, and ever increasing taxes has forced out much of the working class. These thing began relatively recently, mostly in the 2000's. NYC and LA (and SF) have lost locally born population too, however those numbers have mostly been made up from in-migration.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Robert9

For many years we had the worlds tallest tower. Now we are from having even just the tallest tower in just America let alone the world as New York is destroying us with that. In fact NYC is growing beyond belief! 59th street alone blows away our skyline as great as it is.

Ohare is no longer the biggest or busiest airport like it was when I was a kid. We have only the 3rd biggest transit system. We fell to 3rd most populated city soon to be 4th behind Houston! We dont have a famous train terminal or anything else.

Marshal Fields used to be well known, but now Macys has ruined it where the holiday window displays are dull compared to what they used to be and compared to the Macys in NYC and the store here is falling apart so bad and you cant even view the tree in the Walnut room anymore. Escalators and elevators are always down.

I mean my god the fact that people on here I noticed recently are comparing Chicago far more to Milwaukee than to New York like they used to do speaks volumes!

We have lost the few things we used to brag about and be proud of. All we are known for is crime and embarrassing politicians. What happened to this city? Will this continue? Or will something happen that we can brag about again or be proud of soon? Or will the city keep going in the opposite direction even more?

Nobody cares about tallest buildings and things like that. Half the things you brought up are nothingburgers, and of course if people like you are just whining and complaining that *somebody else* didn't build something big instead of making it a goal to do it themselves. People live in the world they make. So if you're only complaining and not making things you've got nothing to complain about than your own slack.

What are the biggest buildings now? Building built by *countries* not by cities. As great as Chicago is, it's tallest building were built by great companies, not showcases created on the backs of taxpayers or at the expense of their own national resources. Today's American companies don't want to play a rigged game against entire countries when they build things, they build what they need, which is better business sense. And even New York, it's new World Trade Center was only bigger than Sears by virtue of a spire, it's highest floors were lower than the Sears Tower. And the recent supertall residential towers there are most owned by non-residents - if they're owned at all. Many are half empty now that New York is ending a tax policy that essentially gave owners of multi-million dollar condos a huge tax subsidy.

O'Hare has gone back and forth recently as the busiest by multiple measures. Long term it can't be the world's busiest because China is just too populous. Even Atlanta will fall the Beijing eventually. But even then, in 2018, Chicago had the most aircraft movements (takeoffs and landings) in the world, more than Atlanta or Beijing. Part of why it was died for a while was building better runways, which will service the airlines well for decades. And with it's terminal expansions, it will be able to handle more people, too.

Chicago's transit system is very good. It could be better, sure, but it if that is an American reluctance to build density that transit works well for, and a reluctance to subsidize construction like European and Asian countries do. Chicago has one of the most efficient systems in the country, from a subsidy vs fare revenue aspect, that's a feather.

And Houston is nearly THREE times the land area of Chicago. If you counted all the edge suburbs as part of Chicago, it would be faster ahead of Houston. That's why most people use metro areas and not City population to compare, and Chicago is far ahead of Houston in that regard and until the last census, that was growing, too. It will likely return to growth eventually, as the population movement and economy get more in line with each other. We're losing our status as a blue collar City, but grossing as a professional services, technology, and finance center. As those industries expand here and people move here for those, it will balance out.

But first, stop complaining. Start doing.

[Robert9]

Originally Posted by emathias

Nobody cares about tallest buildings and things like that. Half the things you brought up are nothingburgers, and of course if people like you are just whining and complaining that *somebody else* didn't build something big instead of making it a goal to do it themselves. People live in the world they make. So if you're only complaining and not making things you've got nothing to complain about than your own slack.

What are the biggest buildings now? Building built by *countries* not by cities. As great as Chicago is, it's tallest building were built by great companies, not showcases created on the backs of taxpayers or at the expense of their own national resources. Today's American companies don't want to play a rigged game against entire countries when they build things, they build what they need, which is better business sense. And even New York, it's new World Trade Center was only bigger than Sears by virtue of a spire, it's highest floors were lower than the Sears Tower. And the recent supertall residential towers there are most owned by non-residents - if they're owned at all. Many are half empty now that New York is ending a tax policy that essentially gave owners of multi-million dollar condos a huge tax subsidy.

O'Hare has gone back and forth recently as the busiest by multiple measures. Long term it can't be the world's busiest because China is just too populous. Even Atlanta will fall the Beijing eventually. But even then, in 2018, Chicago had the most aircraft movements (takeoffs and landings) in the world, more than Atlanta or Beijing. Part of why it was died for a while was building better runways, which will service the airlines well for decades. And with it's terminal expansions, it will be able to handle more people, too.

Chicago's transit system is very good. It could be better, sure, but it if that is an American reluctance to build density that transit works well for, and a reluctance to subsidize construction like European and Asian countries do. Chicago has one of the most efficient systems in the country, from a subsidy vs fare revenue aspect, that's a feather.

And Houston is nearly THREE times the land area of Chicago. If you counted all the edge suburbs as part of Chicago, it would be faster ahead of Houston. That's why most people use metro areas and not City population to compare, and Chicago is far ahead of Houston in that regard and until the last census, that was growing, too. It will likely return to growth eventually, as the population movement and economy get more in line with each other. We're losing our status as a blue collar City, but grossing as a professional services, technology, and finance center. As those industries expand here and people move here for those, it will balance out.

But first, stop complaining. Start doing.

I am not complaining I am bringing up facts.