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I’m just ready to get the hell out of Louisville. So like I said, Louisville is extremely cliquish and nearly impossible to make friends in the city. What about Chicago? Like I said I’m more of an introvert but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to have friends!
Can you draw an upraised arm with a closed fist, with the thumb and fingers showing? If you can, you'll make plenty of friends here.
If you want to hang with me, though, you're going to have to learn to draw a big ol' John Thomas sticking out of the thumb-end of the fist, and a big pair of cajones hanging from behind the pinky. If you've got a spare black magic marker, I could use one, mine's almost out. Make sure to wear gym shoes.
Even in the fall during a pandemic, the "weekend numbers" still continue. Something to think about if moving here. Even though it doesn't affect many of the popular neighborhoods, it still gets a little exhausting hearing about it.
Many of the current issues in Chicago exist in every major city in the U.S. To rule out Chicago for those reasons would mean also ruling out urban life in general right now.
If you're looking for an urban lifestyle, Chicago is a good choice. It's been my adoptive home for most of the past 25 years.
As to current events, COVID-19 has messed up every city, including Chicago. How long things will continue in their current status no one knows. Hopefully by early next year there will be a credible vaccine and things can start to get back to something resembling normal. But it does mean the economy everywhere in the U.S. is going to be rough at least through next year. I'd say the recession will likely continue at least through "vaccine plus 6-12 months," and if there's no vaccine, it may last three years. COVID-19 is the single biggest issue but it's a big issue everywhere in the U.S. It also makes it harder for urban-minded people, since many of the benefits of a city like Chicago (density, restaurants, real, usable transit, etc) are hit hardest by the pandemic and currently there's not much insight into the future.
As far as protests go, Chicago has some (mostly weekend) protests, but nothing like Miineapolis or Portland or even, if press reports are accurate, New York.
There have only been two times since George Floyd was killed that things really got anywhere close to out of hand, the first time being the weekend of May 30th, especially the big Saturday night of riots, but after that things settled down. The looting that occurred a couple weekends ago was much smaller and not really affiliated with protests. Initially it was reported to be in reaction to a mistaken report of police shooting an unarmed man on the South Side, but it seems to mostly have been some sort of organized crime action coordinated on Social Media. At any rate, the second instance of downtown looting started super-early on a Monday morning (2am) and was mostly wrapped up by the police before Monday rush hour. I live downtown and didn't know it happened until friends who watch the news more than I do asked me if I'd noticed it. I didn't. The May 30th protests that collapsed into rioting and looting was far worse, but I don't see that sort of thing happening again. I also think it would be difficult for organized criminals to stage another looting event the way they did.
As to people who don't like our current Mayor, everyone has their own opinion, but she's getting a lot of blame for things that are not her doing and would challenge any mayor. She's also not especially disciplined in her speech, so sometimes says things that cause murmurs in the chattering class. But I think she has good goals, and I think she's making due with taking over during a very challenging time. She's only been Mayor about 18 months now - both Daleys were Mayor for over two decades each, and Rahm was mayor for eight years, and neither experienced the mix of both local and national challenges she inherited, at any time during their tenure. The original Daley did experience some similar events, but the way his police handled rioters has been viewed fairly badly in the light of history, so there's not much instructive advice to be gleaned from what he did.
Every city in America will have massive budget deficits this year and probably next year, entirely due to COVID. And the pension debt the City carries was only slightly addressed by Rahm and basically ignored by Daley, which is why it's such a huge issue now. Lightfoot can't be blamed for either of those situations. She could be blamed for her response, but there are no good options. There is the Illinois Constitution-protected pension debt, and there are only two ways to cover that: raise taxes or cut services. Or, as Rahm did, a mix of both. She'll likely have to make painful decisions about service cuts - there are no major budget items that don't have large interest groups supporting, so no matter what gets cut there will be screaming from some corner. And raising taxes is hard - our property taxes have already risen dramatically over the past decade, and realistically can't be raised much more without seriously endangering the ability, let alone the willingness, of current homeowners to pay them. And increasing taxes on the commercial property is tricky as Chicago is in constant competition with the suburbs for company offices - and COVID will make many companies reconsider downtown offices now. Raise taxes too much, and it's just another thing to make it harder to gain and keep offices in the City.
Her biggest political issue (in my opinion) is her propensity to make sarcastic quips about people (some of whom deserve it, but politically the sarcasm can needlessly offend groups she has to have good working relationships with. I think she's realizing how she needs to bite her tongue and be more diplomatic as the Mayor because of the additional weight it lends to anything she says, so I think she'll get her sarcasm under control. Her relationship with the police is complicated - one of her biggest public sector jobs before Mayor was to run oversight of the CPD, and we just got a new police chief after the previous one was fired essentially for drunk driving and using his official vehicle to step out on his wife with (he was found asleep at the wheel at a stop sign with said woman in his car police vehicle). He then lied about what happened to the Mayor and once it was clear what actually happened she fired him. The new chief is from Dallas, and has an excellent national reputation, but he's been on the job for less than six months, so was having a hard time even knowing the lay of the ground during the first riots. The last time the murder rate spiked in Chicago, it happened because the CPD basically slacked off and started working slow as a sort of protest, explained as a "morale problem," due to increased oversight after the shooting of an unarmed man. I suspect the same "morale problem" is happening now and at least partially the cause of the increase in homicides. So there are unique local reasons for police issues this year, and then there is the enormous larger, national discussion on what the role of police should be, and calls for fundamental change. Police don't like to change, though. But that's part of the reason I think the Dallas chief hiring was a good move. A large part of his positive reputation is due to being able to build trust between the Dallas department and Dallas residents. The challenge here is larger, but at least he has some experience in making it work elsewhere.
There’s only been 2 times the central business district has seen looting in 2 months...as if that’s not a big deal.
The Portland 100+ nonsense is confined to a small part of downtown with some sporadic protests at police stations (trying to burn one down and sealing cops inside of it).
You also forgot to mention the Ronald McDonald House was attacked the night you state you didn’t even know anything was going on. You must live far enough west in river north to not have heard the gunfire on the Mag Mile location r the cop-gangbanger shootout on state street outside the Chicago theater.
Criticize Daley I but downtown Chicago was not looted let alone twice in as many months. At the time, Daley may have been criticized by some but Chicago kept him in office and the destructive rioting wasn’t city wide.
Lighthfoot is emotionally immature which is surprising given her education and work experience. The current rise in homicides is rooted in the war on cops and Lightfoot doesn’t have their backs. Right or wrong the cost in lost black lives to gun violence will accelerate as the woke white radicals set the agenda.
The rise in homicides is a national trend as it’s currently quite popular to join the movement to defund and disband the cops. It’s not unique to Chicago.
Interesting you didn’t mention Kim Foxx.
The real question is whether Chicago is ready for the progressive politic embodied by Lightfoot and Foxx? Face it, both won by default and the November SA election will be a bell weather. Brown is from a Dallas and is a far cry from the reality of Chicago. Brown looking like he’s out of his league here so far.
Chicago’s losing population, as is the county and state. People need to feel safe: in Chicago,many do, many don’t. You must not live in a building that had ground floor retail looted twice in 2 months; hearing open gunfire on Michigan Avenue overnight.
Lightfoot let this happen and let it continue. Why? To play politics for the November election? How abou basing elections on policies of the respective parties or is it social unrest based on video clips of black people and white cop encounters going forward?
In the meantime, Lori has a lot of dead black kids on her hands this summer and playing politics for November as the city’s population declines. I know several people that have left and are leaving. The 2nd round of looting did it.
Will there be a third session of gun fights and looting up an down the Mag mile? If Trump loses, the a-holes go home? If Trump wins, the a-holes keep up these protests and create looting situations in the Gold Coast again?
Criminals and Marxists want the cops defunded and disbanded. There’s a reason lots of veteran cops are taking early retirement. Kim Foxx and Lori Lightfoot have the solutions though. Good luck Chicago.
With the ability to work remote and the events of this summer, I have 15 days left here.
There’s only been 2 times the central business district has seen looting in 2 months...as if that’s not a big deal.
The Portland 100+ nonsense is confined to a small part of downtown with some sporadic protests at police stations (trying to burn one down and sealing cops inside of it).
You also forgot to mention the Ronald McDonald House was attacked the night you state you didn’t even know anything was going on. You must live far enough west in river north to not have heard the gunfire on the Mag Mile location r the cop-gangbanger shootout on state street outside the Chicago theater.
Criticize Daley I but downtown Chicago was not looted let alone twice in as many months. At the time, Daley may have been criticized by some but Chicago kept him in office and the destructive rioting wasn’t city wide.
Lighthfoot is emotionally immature which is surprising given her education and work experience. The current rise in homicides is rooted in the war on cops and Lightfoot doesn’t have their backs. Right or wrong the cost in lost black lives to gun violence will accelerate as the woke white radicals set the agenda.
The rise in homicides is a national trend as it’s currently quite popular to join the movement to defund and disband the cops. It’s not unique to Chicago.
Interesting you didn’t mention Kim Foxx.
The real question is whether Chicago is ready for the progressive politic embodied by Lightfoot and Foxx? Face it, both won by default and the November SA election will be a bell weather. Brown is from a Dallas and is a far cry from the reality of Chicago. Brown looking like he’s out of his league here so far.
Chicago’s losing population, as is the county and state. People need to feel safe: in Chicago,many do, many don’t. You must not live in a building that had ground floor retail looted twice in 2 months; hearing open gunfire on Michigan Avenue overnight.
Lightfoot let this happen and let it continue. Why? To play politics for the November election? How abou basing elections on policies of the respective parties or is it social unrest based on video clips of black people and white cop encounters going forward?
In the meantime, Lori has a lot of dead black kids on her hands this summer and playing politics for November as the city’s population declines. I know several people that have left and are leaving. The 2nd round of looting did it.
Will there be a third session of gun fights and looting up an down the Mag mile? If Trump loses, the a-holes go home? If Trump wins, the a-holes keep up these protests and create looting situations in the Gold Coast again?
Criminals and Marxists want the cops defunded and disbanded. There’s a reason lots of veteran cops are taking early retirement. Kim Foxx and Lori Lightfoot have the solutions though. Good luck Chicago.
With the ability to work remote and the events of this summer, I have 15 days left here.
Much of your post we clearly see as true. Just some from the first Daley to defunding police ( is not a Chicago thing at this time as a threat), but the first Daley clearly had a CITY FILLED WITH ISSUES. White-Flight and de-manufacturing base it once had that employed many minorities in the 50s that then eroded with those good low-skilled good pay Union Jobs. That lead to the 60s MAJOR DECLINES FULL FORCE.
Union Companies originally used luring Black Southerners to migrate to Jobs up North as a UNION-BUSTING PLAN and were able to pay them less and of course seen as taking Jobs by those who were White etc. I also remember my first full-time Job in Chicago in Dec 1978 when I first turned 18 to work and the plant was virtually ALL OLDER ITALIAN MALE IMMIGRANTS. But the late 70s equal opportunity what was labled socialist FORCING companies to by a quota of sorts hire a % of minorities. I was the ONLY WHITE man hired by a family member getting me in. All others and not a big hiring period were minorities to meet the quota in time. I of course was among the first laid-off by 1982. They eventually I heard went to the suburbs and then China. Their headquarters and museum is still in the original building I worked in Chicago. Just no manufacturing in this country but used for offices.
As I always think.... those most pessimistic should be planning their way out like yesterday not hyping negatives in every post in forums.
As for looting. Clearly terrible. Still this will pass this damnable year as a whole including this election on extremism and clearly racial tones many won't admit. Looting was a planned the second time totally vile act and the socialist media with the mayor calling it that once it was clearly seen as planned to be for looting.
We also must remember. The First Daley certainly had his city turmoil if you lived though it or know the history. The 60s RIOTING left the city PERMANENTLY SCARED.....realize that. The burned out blocks and parts though many hoods were left LOOKING LIKE A WAR ZONE till the 90s and cleared out.
That legacy SCARED CHICAGO FOR DECADES TO COME. Also the FAILED Highrise Housing Projects and that was not just Chicago but Chicago certainly took the brunt.
Then you had the 68' Democratic Convention TARNISHING Chicago again FOR DECADES. the Police acting upon the protesters turned riot WENT AROUND THE WORLD....SOLEY CHICAGO THAT DAY not cities across the US. That EVEN AGAIN CHICAGO WAS HURT.
Still Downtown began its comeback and 1970 the first super-tall the Hancock building opened and they Sears Tower and what was originally Standard Oil headquarters. Since Downtown has been filling in nicely.
The 70s were far from kind to Chicago but even WORST FOR NYC. It was LITERALLY BANKRUPT just not officially declared it by Pres Ford finally giving in to pressure from even the GOP to help NYC after ALL CITY SERVICES WERE DRASTICALLY CUT and crime skyrocketed to 2000 a year and the city with more ghettos then any looking awful. IT DID PASS the Feds gave LOANS and investment again came ESPECIALLY INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT that saved NYC in a large part. Still Manhattan had its old glory then yet but clearly BIGLY TARNISHED as TIMES SQUARE was XXX Central and a fraction of his glory. Aspects of downtown Chicago had that too by the early 70s.
So BEING YOUNG Some do not realize how downtown did have MAJOR ISSUES Them eras. Even in the late 70s I remember theaters showing XXX and of course the rough R rated ones. As we should know the theaters as once Glorious movie Palaces were in disrepair. Some were lost and if not for Preservationist FIGHTING TO SAVE THEM.... we would not have had them saved till the 80s 90s turn around and they got restored for LIVE PLAYS and such. Even the Chicago Theater was almost lost. So this year especially was TERRIBLE for Chicago as we know it effected many of our Large cities. It was not merely a Chicago thing. Even this uptick in crime to looting.
Still if we do not think Chicago can survive? Or will begin a MAJOR Decline? Even Bankruptcy. NYC is close to that other cities are majorly effected too.
ALSO REALIZE not long ago the same people saying POLICE POLICE still did NOT WANT MORE FUNDING. ALSO DEMONIZED THEM FOR >>>> HUGE PENSIONS <<<< they received that are not funded and causing the huge debt in a large part. Now we HEAR NOTHING ON PENSIONS. Just yes fund them. At least Chicago has a mayor that IN NOW WAY WANTS THE POLICE UNFUNDED.
MAY BE ALL OFF TOPIC AND ERASED.... JUST THE HISTORY CANNOT BE. MANY POSTING TOO YOUNG TO KNOW MUCH IF ANYTHING ON THE 68 RIOTS AND HOW BAD MICHIGAN AVE WAS. JUST CENTERED On SOUTH MICHIGAN and GRANT PARK,
VIDEOS OF CHAOS and POLICE that is FIRST DALEY'S LEGACY TOO.
Make sure if you watch. You watch the whole thing.. not just the car scenes at the beginning...
The 1968 RIOTING DOWNTOWN not the HOOD here. VIDEOS OF CHAOS and POLICE that is FIRST DALEY'S LEGACY TOO. Make sure if you watch. You watch the whole thing.. not just the car scenes at the beginning....
HISTORY REPEATS SOMETIMES When we do not LEARN....
[/b]Make sure if you watch. You watch the whole thing.. not just the car scenes at the beginning....
HISTORY REPEATS SOMETIMES When we do not LEARN....
Just chiming in - yes, Daley was confronted by rioting, especially in 1968 (twice, once with the Democratic National Convention, and also with the MLK assassination riots). The difference was how the mayor responded. Daley had the cops restore order, largely with tear gas, batons, and mass arrests with the former, and the famous (infamous?) "Shoot to maim looters, and shoot to kill arsonists" order with the latter, after much of the west side was set on fire. My own father thought he was going to die that night, he was in a bowling alley being refinished with highly combustible (explosive, really) lacquer fumes filling the building, while fires in other buildings raged across the city.
In contrast, Mayor Lightfoot did pretty much nothing - allowing downtown to be looted and much destruction to occur - before she took so much bad press that she raised the bridges and called in the National Guard. Removing the Columbus statue in the middle of the night was simply another example of her bowing to the Mob. In fact, one could argue that she's PART of the Mob. She has completely lost the respect of the police, but is still admired, I guess, by those who would "burn it all down" if they could. Maybe the biggest difference is, I remember Richard J. and wish we could dig him up and put him back in office. Lightfoot? Not so much.
Just chiming in - yes, Daley was confronted by rioting, especially in 1968 (twice, once with the Democratic National Convention, and also with the MLK assassination riots). The difference was how the mayor responded. Daley had the cops restore order, largely with tear gas, batons, and mass arrests with the former, and the famous (infamous?) "Shoot to maim looters, and shoot to kill arsonists" order with the latter, after much of the west side was set on fire. My own father thought he was going to die that night, he was in a bowling alley being refinished with highly combustible (explosive, really) lacquer fumes filling the building, while fires in other buildings raged across the city.
In contrast, Mayor Lightfoot did pretty much nothing - allowing downtown to be looted and much destruction to occur - before she took so much bad press that she raised the bridges and called in the National Guard. Removing the Columbus statue in the middle of the night was simply another example of her bowing to the Mob. In fact, one could argue that she's PART of the Mob. She has completely lost the respect of the police, but is still admired, I guess, by those who would "burn it all down" if they could. Maybe the biggest difference is, I remember Richard J. and wish we could dig him up and put him back in office. Lightfoot? Not so much.
That was pretty much my point regarding Daley I...downtown Chicago wasn’t looted out..let alone twice in 2 months.
Lightfoot playing politics with peoples’ lives, and literally the lost black lives this summer, for the November election. An orchestrated attempt to foment social unrest and blame Trump’s racism. Destroying lives, businesses, property, and losing the respect of her police department.
It’s all backfired on her. Rightly so.
So tired of the ‘68 Convention story yet that crap went on for a few days and ended abruptly on Wednesday night of convention week
That was pretty much my point regarding Daley I...downtown Chicago wasn’t looted out..let alone twice in 2 months.
Lightfoot playing politics with peoples’ lives, and literally the lost black lives this summer, for the November election. An orchestrated attempt to foment social unrest and blame Trump’s racism. Destroying lives, businesses, property, and losing the respect of her police department.
It’s all backfired on her. Rightly so.
So tired of the ‘68 Convention story yet that crap went on for a few days and ended abruptly on Wednesday night of convention week
Quote:
Originally Posted by Curly Q. Bobalink
Just chiming in - yes, Daley was confronted by rioting, especially in 1968 (twice, once with the Democratic National Convention, and also with the MLK assassination riots). The difference was how the mayor responded. Daley had the cops restore order, largely with tear gas, batons, and mass arrests with the former, and the famous (infamous?) "Shoot to maim looters, and shoot to kill arsonists" order with the latter, after much of the west side was set on fire. My own father thought he was going to die that night, he was in a bowling alley being refinished with highly combustible (explosive, really) lacquer fumes filling the building, while fires in other buildings raged across the city.
In contrast, Mayor Lightfoot did pretty much nothing - allowing downtown to be looted and much destruction to occur - before she took so much bad press that she raised the bridges and called in the National Guard. Removing the Columbus statue in the middle of the night was simply another example of her bowing to the Mob. In fact, one could argue that she's PART of the Mob. She has completely lost the respect of the police, but is still admired, I guess, by those who would "burn it all down" if they could. Maybe the biggest difference is, I remember Richard J. and wish we could dig him up and put him back in office. Lightfoot? Not so much.
Back to your point about Kim Foxx; harsh punishments also deter this kind of behavior. 7 Lancaster looters/rioters (the ones causing trouble among the peaceful protesters) were held on $1 million bail, and since then there has been no looting/rioting/burning/etc. You need to let those causing trouble know that there are real consequences. That is another reason Chicago's crime numbers continue to be high year after year. Even when arrests are made, many times these individuals end up right back on the street. The arrest becomes meaningless, as it doesn't deter the bad behavior, if they know they will be released.
Back to your point about Kim Foxx; harsh punishments also deter this kind of behavior. 7 Lancaster looters/rioters (the ones causing trouble among the peaceful protesters) were held on $1 million bail, and since then there has been no looting/rioting/burning/etc. You need to let those causing trouble know that there are real consequences. That is another reason Chicago's crime numbers continue to be high year after year. Even when arrests are made, many times these individuals end up right back on the street. The arrest becomes meaningless, as it doesn't deter the bad behavior, if they know they will be released.
Absolutely true, especially when it comes to gun charges. A slap on the wrist, and they're right back on the streets, re-armed and ready for action. That's why Biden's talk about gun control is so disingenuous, if you're not going to enforce the gun laws already on the books, the only intent to adding more is meant to disarm law-abiding citizens, the ones the 2nd Amendment was written to protect. Voters of all stripes need to wake up to this.
JohnE's point about Richard J. and John F. are certainly not lost on me, and go to show how silly the argument is that "both the Republicans and Democrats have moved to the right in the past fifty years". While the concept is correct that both parties have moved in unison, it's been to the LEFT, not right. Probably the best example of this is Harry Truman, the man who ended WWII by making the decision to drop not one, but two (and going forward, "as many as it took") until Japan surrendered, to prevent Operation Downfall (the land invasion of Japan). Can you imagine Truman being elected to the Democratic ticket today? No way, nor would his boss, maybe the most revered Democrat ever, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Even the 1960's "leftist" Democrats (best example I can think of is Hubert Humphrey) would be booed off the stage by the SJW's today. To be honest, I have to wonder if Clinton himself could be nominated today by the D's. After all, he said that abortions should be "legal, accessible, and rare", didn't he? What's with that "rare" part, anyway, totally misogynistic.
And while Ronald Reagan, the standard bearer for conservatives, would be nominated for a Republican ticket, he would likely be rejected by today's "Independents" as being far too rigid in his contempt for communism, which is, mark my words, currently the biggest threat to our country than almost anything else. We are sliding down a slope built by our current crop of educators, who we've allowed to brainwash the last two or three generations (SJW's, Antifa, and BLM are the result). Time for those Bozo's to GO, Eisenhower's warning about the "Military Industrial Complex" is now the "Educational Industrial Complex". Time to dismantle it and get back to our colleges being places where dissention to mob thinking, free thought, examination of all opinions (no matter how unpopular), and debate are central to their existence. "Safe Spaces" need to be limited to tornado shelters.
Back to your point about Kim Foxx; harsh punishments also deter this kind of behavior.......
Too late to edit my post, Google "Sincere Williams" of Chicago, charged with killing the Walgreens worker several days ago. To add insult to injury, Cook County Dems recently refused to support the judge that ordered investigation into the Kim Foxx / Jusse Smolett case. EVERY single Dem politician in Cook County needs to be thrown out of office, this recent crime wave sits right on their doorstep. Will they be? I know which way I'll be instructing my new State's Senators when it comes time for the bailout IL is requesting. DENIED.
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This weekend (Sept 13): 54 shot, 12 killed
