Can Illinois Survive?

[greg775]

This is not good. A band of thugs not only robbing people in Chicago but beating them first. It's not good when you can't walk around a big city at 10 p.m. It's like New York way back in the day. I read these type of crimes are now common in New Orleans as well.

Cops need to catch these thugs and put them in jail for 15 years. Again these types of crimes can ruin cities in a hurry. Who the hell wants to vacation in Chicago if there's a good chance you may lose some teeth or get a few ribs broken by thugs.

 

http://abc7chicago.com/group-of-thieves-be...5-days/2661203/

[RockRaines]

This is not good. A band of thugs not only robbing people in Chicago but beating them first. It's not good when you can't walk around a big city at 10 p.m. It's like New York way back in the day. I read these type of crimes are now common in New Orleans as well.

Cops need to catch these thugs and put them in jail for 15 years. Again these types of crimes can ruin cities in a hurry. Who the hell wants to vacation in Chicago if there's a good chance you may lose some teeth or get a few ribs broken by thugs.

 

http://abc7chicago.com/group-of-thieves-be...5-days/2661203/

What constitutes a "good chance" to you?

[greg775]

What constitutes a "good chance" to you?

The fact that it happened and has been reported on as happening. These types of crimes horrify me. Did you read the item?

[RockRaines]

The fact that it happened and has been reported on as happening. These types of crimes horrify me. Did you read the item?

so a 1% chance? a 50%? Whats a good chance? if any crime is committed anywhere there is a good chance it happens to you? I dont understand.

[greg775]

so a 1% chance? a 50%? Whats a good chance? if any crime is committed anywhere there is a good chance it happens to you? I dont understand.

If it happened once, this band of thugs will attack again. If it's not stopped there's indeed a fair to good chance you'll be mugged. It's a mindset. If people think it's dangerous to walk around Chicago after dark, that turns the city into a ghosttown.

[RockRaines]

If it happened once, this band of thugs will attack again. If it's not stopped there's indeed a fair to good chance you'll be mugged. It's a mindset. If people think it's dangerous to walk around Chicago after dark, that turns the city into a ghosttown.

#1, so any percentage is a "good chance?"

#2 (bolded) no

[greg775]

#1, so any percentage is a "good chance?"

#2 (bolded) no

All I know is, once the reputation of danger hits, your city is in trouble. I remember going to Detroit one year and being told simply DO NOT walk around in this neighborhood. You could be jumped. And it wasn't that bad a neighborhood. Same in Chicago. If gangs of thugs are jumping people, yes, there's a chance it can happen to you and that means a decline in tourism. The exact odds? I dunno. Perhaps a statnik can help figure the odds with the help of Alias.

[RockRaines]

All I know is, once the reputation of danger hits, your city is in trouble. I remember going to Detroit one year and being told simply DO NOT walk around in this neighborhood. You could be jumped. And it wasn't that bad a neighborhood. Same in Chicago. If gangs of thugs are jumping people, yes, there's a chance it can happen to you and that means a decline in tourism. The exact odds? I dunno. Perhaps a statnik can help figure the odds with the help of Alias.

Stop comparing Detroit and Chicago, it makes your point even worse and its already on life support.

[Harry Chappas]

Spent some time on the far South side this week and was not impressed. Hopefully we are not gonna become the new Detroit. Old old houses. What's up with construction on Cicero streets around 95th St this time of year? People that run cities need to realize upgrades are needed. Thought Mt. Greenwood/Oak Lawn area was very run down. It was kind of spooky seeing Brother Rice had the exact same dugouts as when I went there many moons ago. Their baseball field looked like a dump IMO. My old Q of M church was locked up on Monday what was up with that? Churches don't close.

The 115th St. Little League fields where I played as a kid classify as a dump. Some guy was working on them so they must still be in use.

And I found out Wonderburger has closed. I will say there was a nice new little shopping area with a nice new Mt. Greenwood sign over near 111th and Kedzie.

I wanted to grab a hot dog at Pop's on 103rd and Kedzie. Too crowded so I went to Portillos by Christ Hospital area. I will say the Oak Lawn Hilton has the right idea. it's a nice building and good hotel.

 

What are your takes on Chicago's south side. Kind of a dump I'm afraid.

 

You are complaining about construction and upgrades being needed???? Oak Lawn and EP are all dumping tons of money into rehabbing shopping districts.

 

Greg Brother Rice field has been completely redone twice since I went there in the late 80's . They also are not going to maintain it much in the winter months. You should have gone back by the football fields that is all new.

 

This past weekend the weather was miserable.

 

Marionette Park baseball is falling off becasue EP has done great things with their facilities. Again baseball fields in Chicago in November are all going to look bad. In May/June it is a different story.

 

MG and Beverly are rehabbing house left and right especially MG.

 

Wonderburger is closed but Fat Tommys and Barracos are open in new upgraded spaces. Wonderburger is closed because there was no parking and building is crap. Also there are much better options within a 5 minute drive.

 

The south side is fine. The crime is up but nothing crazy.

 

Chicago has over 60 tower cranes in operation currently so somebody is doing something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[greg775]

You are complaining about construction and upgrades being needed???? Oak Lawn and EP are all dumping tons of money into rehabbing shopping districts.

 

Greg Brother Rice field has been completely redone twice since I went there in the late 80's . They also are not going to maintain it much in the winter months. You should have gone back by the football fields that is all new.

 

This past weekend the weather was miserable.

 

Marionette Park baseball is falling off becasue EP has done great things with their facilities. Again baseball fields in Chicago in November are all going to look bad. In May/June it is a different story.

 

MG and Beverly are rehabbing house left and right especially MG.

 

Wonderburger is closed but Fat Tommys and Barracos are open in new upgraded spaces. Wonderburger is closed because there was no parking and building is crap. Also there are much better options within a 5 minute drive.

 

The south side is fine. The crime is up but nothing crazy.

 

Chicago has over 60 tower cranes in operation currently so somebody is doing something.

Thanks Harry. I'm thinking the days were so bleak it affected my vision of the South Side. I need to try Tommys and Baracos on my next trip down there. Glad to hear they are working on shopping districts. Anything in particular I should check out south side wise?

[caulfield12]

Keep in mind, the rate of bricks and mortar store closures is twice last year’s rate, and expected to be 3x worse in 2018, even with a pretty strong economy. The nature of in-store shopping experiences around the world has been completely upended by Amazon, Alibaba, TenCent and JD.

[bmags]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/b...1104-story.html

 

Sometimes good things happen. Chicago reduced the mortality disparity in breast cancer between black and white women from it's peak of 60% in the early 2000s.

 

The city worked with groups like the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer task force to reduce that disparity to 39%.

 

People and government are still capable of doing some amazing things.

[The Beast]

I’m not sure if this belongs here or in the Democrat thread but I historically split my ticket and am voting out an incumbent in Peter Roskam nationally. However, locally, I am looking for candidates who are more moderate or democratic that will go against Mike Madigan. Does anyone think any of them would go against the man who is dolling our support to their campaign? Is Rauner really doing a bad job as governor and is he somehow involved with Trump? What positions on the ballot actually have an impact on Illinois, given that the general assembly can’t get anything done?

[Jerksticks]

I’m not sure if this belongs here or in the Democrat thread but I historically split my ticket and am voting out an incumbent in Peter Roskam nationally. However, locally, I am looking for candidates who are more moderate or democratic that will go against Mike Madigan. Does anyone think any of them would go against the man who is dolling our support to their campaign? Is Rauner really doing a bad job as governor and is he somehow involved with Trump? What positions on the ballot actually have an impact on Illinois, given that the general assembly can’t get anything done?

I don’t live there but I say vote union, vote teachers, vote pensions. Just go down with the ship and vote D across the board. It’s too late for moderation, cutbacks or austerity of any kind. So f*** it- blaze of glory.

 

[The Beast]

I don’t live there but I say vote union, vote teachers, vote pensions. Just go down with the ship and vote D across the board. It’s too late for moderation, cutbacks or austerity of any kind. So f*** it- blaze of glory.

My wife is a teacher and isn’t banking on a pension. We are hopeful there can be some kind of reform and she is getting set up on a 403(b) to play some defense against the failure of the pension system to pay its obligations.

 

I feel that we owe it to the next generation be conscious with our vote which is why I generally split my ticket. That and because I don’t agree with the two party system or with the current administration’s policies.

[StrangeSox]

Rauner is not really friendly with Trump or pushing policies like that. He came in to office with the idea that he could just get his policy preferences done completely with little or no compromise, and that helped lead to that record period of no budget and all the associated problems. He's recently been trying to avoid any responsibility ("I'm not in charge!"), and his only political play seems to be too whine about madigan (though that's true of a lot of Illinois politicians). He could still win in November, but he's not particularly popular and turnout is expected to favor Democrats nationally, and races like the one against Roskam could get more motivated Dems that'd vote against Rauner too.

 

AG is important and there are eight Democrats running for the open spot. Two Republicans I think.

 

Democrat machine politics are heavily controlled by madigan, and Rauner essentially owns the state GOP with his personal wealth. It's a bad situation all around as far as that goes.

 

Make sure to vote both in the primaries next month and then the general!

[The Beast]

Rauner is not really friendly with Trump or pushing policies like that. He came in to office with the idea that he could just get his policy preferences done completely with little or no compromise, and that helped lead to that record period of no budget and all the associated problems. He's recently been trying to avoid any responsibility ("I'm not in charge!"), and his only political play seems to be too whine about madigan (though that's true of a lot of Illinois politicians). He could still win in November, but he's not particularly popular and turnout is expected to favor Democrats nationally, and races like the one against Roskam could get more motivated Dems that'd vote against Rauner too.

 

AG is important and there are eight Democrats running for the open spot. Two Republicans I think.

 

Democrat machine politics are heavily controlled by madigan, and Rauner essentially owns the state GOP with his personal wealth. It's a bad situation all around as far as that goes.

 

Make sure to vote both in the primaries next month and then the general!

Thanks for the post. I read somewhere that Scott Drury breaks with his party and is anti-Madigan so I’m thinking of voting with him. I figured Biss might be better to vote for than Pritzker or Rauner but I don’t know if Pritzker would break with Madigan on policy direction or not.

 

[RockRaines]

I don’t live there but I say vote union, vote teachers, vote pensions. Just go down with the ship and vote D across the board. It’s too late for moderation, cutbacks or austerity of any kind. So f*** it- blaze of glory.

Its to late for the pensions IMO. Madigan is basically Bill Wirtz, we need him to ride off into the graveyard sunset before anything can possibly get done.

[The Beast]

Its to late for the pensions IMO. Madigan is basically Bill Wirtz, we need him to ride off into the graveyard sunset before anything can possibly get done.

Well, he’s 75. Having Madigan in as the speaker is one factor, but the Illinois constitution also restricts doing anything as well. Hopefully that can get amended and there’s a way to ensure new employees, current employees and retirees of the teacher’s retirement system can get some sort of retirement benefit, but with age cutbacks and with a greater emphasis on 403(b)s while still contributing to the pension system.

[RockRaines]

Well, he’s 75. Having Madigan in as the speaker is one factor, but the Illinois constitution also restricts doing anything as well. Hopefully that can get amended and there’s a way to ensure new employees, current employees and retirees of the teacher’s retirement system can get some sort of retirement benefit, but with age cutbacks and with a greater emphasis on 403(b)s while still contributing to the pension system.

It will take a small miracle, but it would be nice. Illinois politics across the board are f***ing terrible. Chicago is corrupt down to the alderman level. I dont think there is a cure.

[StrangeSox]

Thanks for the post. I read somewhere that Scott Drury breaks with his party and is anti-Madigan so I’m thinking of voting with him. I figured Biss might be better to vote for than Pritzker or Rauner but I don’t know if Pritzker would break with Madigan on policy direction or not.

 

I'm not sure how much being pro- or anti-Madigan matters for the AG position since it's not really involved in the legislative process the way Reps, Senators and Governors are. Pritzker hasn't really been critical of Madigan so far. Biss has been slightly more critical, but he's running more of a "fight against the wealthy billionaire interests" campaign than an anti-Madigan one in the primaries.

 

Well, he’s 75. Having Madigan in as the speaker is one factor, but the Illinois constitution also restricts doing anything as well. Hopefully that can get amended and there’s a way to ensure new employees, current employees and retirees of the teacher’s retirement system can get some sort of retirement benefit, but with age cutbacks and with a greater emphasis on 403(b)s while still contributing to the pension system.

 

Honestly, probably need another constitutional convention so we can fix the possible tax structures as well.

[Harry Chappas]

The worst of the government bodies is the county.

 

I don't like Rahm but there seems to be a good amount of improvement in Chicago thus I can stomach the taxes.

 

Madigan, Ed Burke and the Dalys are the root of all the issues that there are with Chicago/Cook/Illinois as the machine (unions) run everything.

 

[GoSox05]

Unions run everything!

 

 

 

[StrangeSox]

National report shows inequity in Illinois’ education funding system deeper than previously known: Report updates widely circulated data on educational inequity

 

A new report shows that Illinois’ education funding system provides 78 cents to a low-income student for every dollar spent on a non-low-income student and remains the most regressive system in the nation. Funding Gaps 2018, released today by The Education Trust, is an update to a report that was widely circulated by Advance Illinois and other partners as part of the effort to fix Illinois’ school funding formula. The previous Funding Gaps report showed that Illinois spent 81 cents on a low-income student for every dollar spent on a non-low-income student.

 

“The Education Trust data has been instrumental in drawing attention to the inequity of Illinois’ funding system and galvanizing action toward a solution,” said Ginger Ostro, Executive Director of Advance Illinois. “Today’s report underscores why the school funding formula needed to be fixed.”

 

The report also features Advance Illinois and its campaign toward school funding reform, noting that the new formula went into effect for the 2017-2018 school year, after the education funding data reflected in this year’s analysis were collected. Data in the analysis is from 2013-2015.

 

“It will be a number of years before these reforms are evident in the school district financial data used in these analyses,” the report states. […]

 

In Illinois, the highest poverty districts receive 22 cents less in state and local funds per student than the highest poverty districts.

[Jack Parkman]

Maybe instead of b****ing about the fact that the teachers have a union and pensions, people should consider the fact that the problem isn't that public sector employees have one, it is that private sector employees DON'T have one. Labor has no rights or leverage outside of the public sector, that needs to change, whether it is organized or not. Members of our grandparents and great grandparents generation died for labor rights, and in the 80s and 90s we shot all of their work and sacrifice to the moon. There was an extreme overcorrection to deal with shady unions getting involved with the Mob, and now that the Mob isn't a thing anymore, we should correctly shift some of the power back to labor. Thanks Lucky Luciano and Tommy Lucchese for f***ing with workers rights everywhere.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Jack Parkman