When I was young, our family enjoyed traveling in our sturdy station wagon every summer. Each year my parents made a decision about where our final destination would be. Then, my father pored over the maps deciding which route we should take while my mother would get the AAA guides that would give information about key places to visit along the way. Once the day’s plan was set, my father would meticulously fold the marked map and give it to his favorite co-pilot—my mother.
Dad knew you had to have a plan otherwise you’d spin your wheels. Today, GPS has ruined our ability to read maps making us dependent on a pleasant voice that has often led drivers astray.
Similarly, Chicagoans lacking attention are perilously close to driving off a bridge as yet another aimless Chicago mayoral election season is upon us. We have been subjected to the ramblings of politicians who barely know the destination let alone the route.
Chicago’s mayoral race is tedious. I just watched a forum of the numerous mayoral candidates who were each given questions that they had thirty seconds in which to respond. Our problems in Chicago require more than thirty second sound bites from each candidate. Beyond that, they need to be substantive.
It’s annoying and unproductive hearing the same things said over and over again. We need to have more community policing. We need our schools to function better. We need to invest in the areas hardest hit by poverty. We need to talk with people in the community to see what they want. We need our public services to be more dependable. We need to utilize more social workers. We need to incentivize businesses to come to our city.
You get the drift. What’s missing in all of this repetitive rhetoric are solutions to the problems.
Chicago politicking is a hungry beast that’s never satiated. Every citizen has their own self-interests, surely, but there are interests that are universal: safety, opportunity, well-run city services, and a strong economy. Yet, over the decades, the voices of the average Chicagoans have been drowned out by those with the most money and the most to gain.
Though there are laws that govern “pay to play” and limiting political contributions to a mere $1,500, there are loopholes regarding political action committees (PACs).
WTTW, for example, just ran a piece called “Political Fund Created by Lightfoot’s Allies Used Cash from City Contractors to Attack Johnson” by Heather Crane. It told about the independently run 77 Committee, which has been receiving contributions from property developers, landscapers, and construction firms with contribution amounts far exceeding the $1,500 limit. Not shockingly, when each firm was contacted, they had no comment.
Let’s get real. Chicago’s mayoral past and present are corrupt. In the late 1920s, “Big Bill” Thompson, the last Republican mayor of Chicago, stated, “Our new Superintendent of Police has my positive instructions to drive the crooks and thieves and lawbreakers out of Chicago in ninety days, so that the people, their homes and their property may again be secure.” And, all the while, Mayor Thompson was collecting bribes and allowing Al Capone to run the streets.
Have the Democrats done better? Mayors Richard J. Daley and his son Richard M. Daley both were surrounded by corruption and backroom deals. Mayor Jane Byrne worked alongside recently indicted Alderman Ed Burke. Mayor Rahm Emanuel lied about the Laquan McDonald case. Now we have Mayor Lightfoot. Interestingly, all of these mayors have been involved in, at the very least, malfeasance. Many of their subordinates have received indictments but never the mayors. Seems odd. But then again, they may have squealed on others to remain unscathed.
Chicago has been dirty and in debt my entire life, but the debt was made worse by those promising pensions that can’t be sustained. It’s the gigantic elephant in the room along with the baby elephants the candidates focus on. They know there’s trouble in the Windy City.
Now what?
I’m looking for a new type of politician to match our 21st century sensibilities. We don’t need a mayor dancing in the streets, providing karaoke contests, or kissing babies at parades while Chicagoans are getting carjacked. Instead, we need a serious leader who will look at the problems and have serious solutions—even if that means that they may hurt someone’s feelings. After all, equity, inclusion, and diversity mean nothing if you wind up shot.
Here’s the question: With all the grand proposals each candidate is providing, where is the revenue going to come from?
So far, all we’ve got is that we’ll return to the days of “Big Bill” Thompson and Al Capone through the legalization of drugs and gambling. But even after combining monies made from casinos, off track betting, marijuana, and ever rising taxes, our revenues will still fall short. There’s only so much a government can tax. And taxes have been driving Chicagoans and businesses to the suburbs or out of the state altogether.
Voters prioritized the immediate desire to get things for “free” without worrying about the future and believed the lies candidates told in order to win elections. It is time to expect less from government and more from ourselves.
Want to balance Chicago’s budget? Well, each taxpayer could generously pay the $42,000 burden themselves. Or, we could try a different direction. Here are some suggestions:
Vote for the person who is truthful about Chicago's budget and what cuts to the budget will be made. Additionally, it is imperative to streamline the government by firing workers whose jobs are redundant/unnecessary and to freeze every remaining government worker’s salary. In other words, cut the fat in our city’s budget and stop spending.
Get our city crime under control by keeping criminals in jail. This will mean keeping George Soros’ monies and influence out of our State’s Attorney’s office.
Reform the criminal justice system by releasing offenders whose crimes are no longer considered criminal. For example, if you were put away years ago for marijuana possession but today would not be put away for the same infraction, you should be released.
Attract new and newly retired police officers to the force with an understanding that only the bad apples will be prosecuted while all others will be supported. Defund the police mentalities will not be tolerated. Our city’s safety, in turn, will attract more residents, visitors, and businesses to Chicago.
Build bridges between aldermen—especially in poverty ridden neighborhoods—and businesses to create outreach programs to give those with high school diplomas, GEDs, and those with non-violent prison records skills for future employment. Incentivize businesses to pay for these programs via tax breaks.
End the hold unions have on our schools and expect high standards for our students. School choice is a must.
Close schools with low enrollment and consolidate with other schools in the area. Sell the newly closed schools and properties.
Provide GED programs for those who dropped out of high school. Idle minds lead to destructive behaviors. With at least a high school education, employment options open up in the military, trades, and other blue collar jobs. Or, further your education at a community college.
Anyone receiving government housing and/or food stamps has to have a job and take mandatory drug tests. Failure to do so means a loss of these government programs.
There is no reason Chicagoans can’t turn the city around. There is no reason to allow the status quo of one hundred years to continue. We need to demand more of our representatives and of ourselves.
When “Big Bill” Thompson lost his bid for reelection in 1931, the Chicago Tribune rejoiced and wrote, "For Chicago Thompson has meant filth, corruption, obscenity, idiocy and bankruptcy. ... He has given the city an international reputation for moronic buffoonery, barbaric crime, triumphant hoodlumism, unchecked graft, and a dejected citizenship. He nearly ruined the property and completely destroyed the pride of the city. He made Chicago a byword for the collapse of American civilization” (chicagotribune.com).
This could be said of even our most recent mayor. Enough of the razzle dazzle.
Good stuff, Erin.
Campaigns rely on political platitudes: "We need to have more community policing. We need our schools to function better. We need to invest in the areas hardest hit by poverty ..." is just a whole lot of blah, blah, blah. It' the nature of campaigning and politics in general ... stating the obvious while offering no policy solutions. Unfortunately, it also may be endemic to the populace in general which has a short attention span, is deeply entrenched in their ideology, and has little time for debate. So platitudes stick. And, of course, there's the problem of money, which you pointed out.
I'd like to add one thing to your list of solutions. Recently, Pennsylvania Gov. John Shapiro signed an executive order that drops the requirement of a college degree 92 percent of state jobs. Maryland adopted this policy last year, and Utah later followed suit. This policy opens up opportunity to larger segments of the population(s). In Pennsylvania, for example, 70 percent of the populace do not have college degrees. Instead, they're adopting a policy based on measuring skills based abilities.
Anyway, really good piece. -- Jim (Jim's Gems)