Rahm Emanuel: Mayor of Chicago?

[Y2HH]

I don't think the crime rate is about to get a whole lot worse. I'd guess its near a level at this point.

 

Interesting related topic - have you seen the recent debate about what to do about the rising crime (which I agree is a serious problem)? You've got some state reps wanting to bring in the National Guard. Then Daley wants more gun laws. I think they're both stupid ideas that will only cause more problems.

 

Being that we are now 1100 police officers short of what is considered "fully staffed", and that number is growing -- it's about to get a LOT worse.

 

Oh, and they're not hiring more in 2010 or 2011, either.

Edited April 27, 2010 by Y2HH

[LittleHurt05]

I don't think the crime rate is about to get a whole lot worse. I'd guess its near a level at this point.

 

Interesting related topic - have you seen the recent debate about what to do about the rising crime (which I agree is a serious problem)? You've got some state reps wanting to bring in the National Guard. Then Daley wants more gun laws. I think they're both stupid ideas that will only cause more problems.

 

I don't completely understand how the Natural Guard would help. Are they gonna be marching every single street 24-7? A lot of the killings going on aren't fierce firefights in the street. A kid runs up to someone's car, shoots some bullets at him, then runs away. How are soldiers in the street gonna stop that?

[Y2HH]

I don't completely understand how the Natural Guard would help. Are they gonna be marching every single street 24-7? A lot of the killings going on aren't fierce firefights in the street. A kid runs up to someone's car, shoots some bullets at him, then runs away. How are soldiers in the street gonna stop that?

 

He's right when he said it's a bad idea. And Daley can forget his gun laws...the supreme court is going to kill those. Besides, criminals tend to not follow the law anyway, so they don't work.

 

The problem I'd see with the national guard here is it would look like a police/military state -- it'd spread fear, if anything. People would feel a lot less "free" if the NG was walking around the streets.

Edited April 27, 2010 by Y2HH

[NorthSideSox72]

The whole Chicago public school system is still a gigantic mess, and it doesn't seem as Daley has helped it very much. He has helped lower the urban flight, but it still is a problem due to the lack of quality education in the city.

Agreed on the schools, though I think that is more about the county and state than the city. Its a major problem every major city is wrestling with (as Balta pointed out).

 

But, I predict a new dynamic occurring very soon in Chicago's city schools. Previously, there was a very typical situation in the city where married couples live in the city, had a kid or two, and then moved to the suburbs when the kids reached school age. Now, those same couples are having a hard time moving out of the city, because of the housing market. So, they are now much more likely to stay in the city. I see this all the time in my neighborhood, many more people are staying. The result will be, the city schools will start to have a mini-boom of enrollment. Eventually, this will mean more money. But short term, it means much more strain on the system.

 

[LittleHurt05]

Unfortunately...this is a problem in basically every urban area. There just isn't the money in those systems to fix them.

 

Definitely. Just seems like in the city, the "top" schools get better & better, while the other schools just keep falling apart. I do realize that its not all the city's fault either, the parents or lack there of tend to affect it largely as well.

[NorthSideSox72]

Being that we are now 1100 police officers short of what is considered "fully staffed", and that number is growing -- it's about to get a LOT worse.

 

Oh, and they're not hiring more in 2010 or 2011, either.

 

That is a definite problem, but here is the thing... having more cops will only have a small effect on crime. The tactics the police use, is more effectual. Furthermore, neither of those things has nearly as much effect on crime as do factors beyond the influence of the police entirely: education, poverty, and societal factors.

 

 

He's right when he said it's a bad idea. And Daley can forget his gun laws...the supreme court is going to kill those. Besides, criminals tend to not follow the law anyway, so they don't work.

 

The problem I'd see with the national guard here is it would look like a police/military state -- it'd spread fear, if anything. People would feel a lot less "free" if the NG was walking around the streets.

That worries me less than the bigger problem - the National Guard don't work for the police, don't answer to the judicial system in the same way, and work under entirely different rules than the police due. There are serious dangers there.

 

[Y2HH]

What's happening to our public school system in the City is just scary.

 

Even schools me and my friends grew up attending are already ruined.

 

I went to Bogan -- at the time it was one of the most advanced computer tech schools in the City. They had a multi room network and internet access before just about any other public school in the City.

 

I went back there a few years ago to check it out...and it's just amazing how bad things have become from where they were. The computers are often broken, there is no money to fix them, there is nobody with the know how to fix them even if they had the money.

 

I really don't know what to think of the people raising these kids these days. And I know not all kids are like this...but the majority of these kids are becoming a cancer in our schools, ruining them, making them less safe, destroying public property for who knows what reason...and our solution will end up being "throw money at it", only it won't fix anything.

 

Teachers need to take their jobs more seriously.

 

Parents need to start being parents and STOP trying to be friends.

 

Administrators need to make sure their teachers are doing their jobs properly.

 

The government needs to step in and review everything top to bottom at EACH individual school and begin fixing the problems instead of applying a blanket "fix up" plan to every school, despite every school having different problems.

[HuskyCaucasian]

I'd liek the next mayor to break the union strong hold on the city, but i doubt that happens.

[southsider2k5]

Unfortunately...this is a problem in basically every urban area. There just isn't the money in those systems to fix them.

 

It doesn't help when you hire a career beaurcrat from the CTA to run the CPS who runs off all of the people who have any classroom experience... All though Michigan City now owes Huberman some thanks for that.

[Balta1701]

It doesn't help when you hire a career beaurcrat from the CTA to run the CPS who runs off all of the people who have any classroom experience... All though Michigan City now owes Huberman some thanks for that.

Running off all the people with classroom experience can be an effective cost-cutting measure.

[southsider2k5]

Definitely. Just seems like in the city, the "top" schools get better & better, while the other schools just keep falling apart. I do realize that its not all the city's fault either, the parents or lack there of tend to affect it largely as well.

 

One of the biggest problems at many urban school systems is a complete lack of any sort of Pre-K readiness being given to kids by their parents. One in five kids is getting to K in our school system without understanding how a book actually works... I am not talking about reading either. I mean know which way was up, you read from right to left, etc.

[Balta1701]

One of the biggest problems at many urban school systems is a complete lack of any sort of Pre-K readiness being given to kids by their parents. One in five kids is getting to K in our school system without understanding how a book actually works... I am not talking about reading either. I mean know which way was up, you read from right to left, etc.

So, what would you offer up as a solution to that problem?

 

I'd argue that its an endemic problem and it's not going to just fix itself, that's how the parents grew up as well...thus, the only way you're going to fix that is to legitimately educate some percentage of the parents while they're having kids. Which, I might wind up thinking...is a role for government. On that, I'm sure you'd disagree, so I'd like to hear your suggestions.

[NorthSideSox72]

One of the biggest problems at many urban school systems is a complete lack of any sort of Pre-K readiness being given to kids by their parents. One in five kids is getting to K in our school system without understanding how a book actually works... I am not talking about reading either. I mean know which way was up, you read from right to left, etc.

You read from right to left?

 

Joking aside, I agree this is one of the major problems. I've said many times before, one way to help with this is make the child care tax deduction more useful than the current $4k cap. You are basically encouraging people to find the cheapest, and least educational, child care experience possible.

 

[southsider2k5]

So, what would you offer up as a solution to that problem?

 

I'd argue that its an endemic problem and it's not going to just fix itself, that's how the parents grew up as well...thus, the only way you're going to fix that is to legitimately educate some percentage of the parents while they're having kids. Which, I might wind up thinking...is a role for government. On that, I'm sure you'd disagree, so I'd like to hear your suggestions.

 

You are essentially saying that the government should make a judgment on who is an unfit parent and take over their kids education, or forcing parents to learn what their government feels should be good parenting. No, I don't agree with that at all.