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Pleaseeeeee. Page after page after page after page of a couple people going back and fourth about utter nonsense that has nothing to do with this thread. Please guys, message each other and you can debate Chicago Vs LA until Jesus comes back.
What is your problem with Chicago? Try googling Chicago as the greatest city in this country and you will find a number of sources ( Time Out, Conde Nast, etc.) that have agreed. The second most popular tour in the world is the Chicago architectural boat tour after the Vatican tour
I love Chicago a lot. It is easily one of my favorite cities in America.
My problem, such as it is, with Chicago, is the obscene and undeserved boosterism of the place. Chicago may be a wonderful, beautiful nightmare, but at least we should be honest enough to admit that it's a nightmare. Its murder rate really is bad. Not only is it bad, it's also quite a lot worse than other major cities. Is it worse than St. Louis or Baltimore? No, but I would expect that a city so apparently majestic and indeed "the greatest city in America" would be a bit safer than "hey at least we're not Baltimore."
A lot of that is because insular Chicago is one of the most grossly segregated cities in America. People always say that Chicago is only really awful in certain neighborhoods, which is true, of course. But the implication is that "don't worry because we white people are perfectly safe because we don't ever go to poor and Mexican/Black neighborhoods--all the bad stuff might as well be happening in Gary because it never touches us." That's not what a healthy city, let alone a "great" one, is like.
That doesn't even go to the overall economic health of the city and state, of course, which is in crisis. Your town is atrophying both in population and in revenues, which means that Chicago's future "greatness" is very much in doubt (just as St. Louis and Detroit how "great" midwestern cities fall to pieces).
But, hey, at least you've got a really popular architectural boat tour, right? There may be random kids getting gunned down in your streets, but you've got a boat tour almost as popular as the Vatican tour.
I love Chicago a lot. It is easily one of my favorite cities in America.
My problem, such as it is, with Chicago, is the obscene and undeserved boosterism of the place. Chicago may be a wonderful, beautiful nightmare, but at least we should be honest enough to admit that it's a nightmare. Its murder rate really is bad. Not only is it bad, it's also quite a lot worse than other major cities. Is it worse than St. Louis or Baltimore? No, but I would expect that a city so apparently majestic and indeed "the greatest city in America" would be a bit safer than "hey at least we're not Baltimore."
A lot of that is because insular Chicago is one of the most grossly segregated cities in America. People always say that Chicago is only really awful in certain neighborhoods, which is true, of course. But the implication is that "don't worry because we white people are perfectly safe because we don't ever go to poor and Mexican/Black neighborhoods--all the bad stuff might as well be happening in Gary because it never touches us." That's not what a healthy city, let alone a "great" one, is like.
That doesn't even go to the overall economic health of the city and state, of course, which is in crisis. Your town is atrophying both in population and in revenues, which means that Chicago's future "greatness" is very much in doubt (just as St. Louis and Detroit how "great" midwestern cities fall to pieces).
But, hey, at least you've got a really popular architectural boat tour, right? There may be random kids getting gunned down in your streets, but you've got a boat tour almost as popular as the Vatican tour.
Real talk man. I think you just described Chicago quite well.
I love Chicago a lot. It is easily one of my favorite cities in America.
My problem, such as it is, with Chicago, is the obscene and undeserved boosterism of the place. Chicago may be a wonderful, beautiful nightmare, but at least we should be honest enough to admit that it's a nightmare. Its murder rate really is bad. Not only is it bad, it's also quite a lot worse than other major cities. Is it worse than St. Louis or Baltimore? No, but I would expect that a city so apparently majestic and indeed "the greatest city in America" would be a bit safer than "hey at least we're not Baltimore."
A lot of that is because insular Chicago is one of the most grossly segregated cities in America. People always say that Chicago is only really awful in certain neighborhoods, which is true, of course. But the implication is that "don't worry because we white people are perfectly safe because we don't ever go to poor and Mexican/Black neighborhoods--all the bad stuff might as well be happening in Gary because it never touches us." That's not what a healthy city, let alone a "great" one, is like.
That doesn't even go to the overall economic health of the city and state, of course, which is in crisis. Your town is atrophying both in population and in revenues, which means that Chicago's future "greatness" is very much in doubt (just as St. Louis and Detroit how "great" midwestern cities fall to pieces).
But, hey, at least you've got a really popular architectural boat tour, right? There may be random kids getting gunned down in your streets, but you've got a boat tour almost as popular as the Vatican tour.
Very few pretend to say that there is no segregation or crime. I volunteer in the Austin neighborhood every month in a free lunch program, and am well aware of the crime on the west side of the city. However, you now have a mayor who is invested in solving the root of the problem, and a crime rate that has fallen precipitously the last couple of years. Our governor, who many poo poo as just another dem who is corruptible, just got a B+ grade from conservative and pro-business Crains Chicago Business on his efforts to improve the state of the State.
As far as random kids getting gunned down, that has more to do with our proximity to Indiana and its liberal gun laws than anything else. El Paso, Dayton, Orlando, Las Vegas, all have those who have been "gunned down". It is a sickness that is pervasive in our country.
Chicago a nightmare? I travel frequently and every single time I come back I am amazed at how nice, bustling, outwardly prosperous this place is. Illinois had a governor, Rauner, who was unable to govern and as a result there was a stalemate on a state level which made things worse. New ways to raise revenue and eat at the pension debt are being explored. I am not an undeserved "booster"; My eyes, and my senses as a transplant from the west coast tell me that Chicago is definitely not on the road to second tier city status.
#169
02-22-2019, 08:02 PM
marothisu
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
14,851 posts, read 19,178,267 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jayo2k View Post
Even though it is a lot, those number are very encouraging. Keep it up Chicago and maybe we will stop calling it Chiraq
Dude, they were calling it Chiraq when the numbers were about what they are right now. Even when Chicago recorded the lowest number of homicides since the 1960s (I think that was 2014), people still called it that - even when other cities that were smaller had higher total homicides. So no, people just don't have any idea of what's what at the end of the day. They were calling it Chiraq when 15 other cities had worse rates.
The total for 2019 so far is the 5th lowest in the last 19 years, and the difference between 2nd lowest and 5th lowest is only 4 homicides. They were writing about "Chiraq" even when the city was at a 50 year low for homicides. It's not going to stop no matter what happens. The actual number (not rate) could dip below other cities and they'd still be writing the same stuff.
^This
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