[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by emathias

Chicago can't sell itself primarily as cheaper. You don't attract quality that way. It needs to advertise itself as a better *city* than most places. We can't compete with New York in being a city, but every other City in America's we can make a case about. That's how we sell Chicago, not as a place to settle for, but as a place to aspire to. Even big Chicago fans may have a hard time seeing how we'd pitch it that way today, but I think it could be done with a little creative positioning. The growing backlots here help some, but attracting, retaining, and marketing new talent is how things grow. Places like Austin and Portland have cool reputations because they market their openness to out-of-the-box thinking. Is Portland really better than Chicago? As a city, no. Chicago just needs to showcase it's success stories better. We have a strong reputation in show business as a place to warm up before New York, and that's a start, but reaching a critical mass big enough to keep talent here can be done with determined effort. Colbert talks about Chicago, many other comedy types do, too. John Mulaney, one of the most talented new comics of his generation, grew up in Lincoln Park and constantly injects Chicago references into his bits, and not in a mocking way. And he talks like a city person, fast, observant, sophisticated.

Chicago needs to showcase it's arts better nationally. For every Cloud Gate or Picasso, there should be 50-100 neighborhood pieces that are bold and creative and provocative. Part of that is getting Aldermanic control reduced so that elderly locals can't block new art.

Totally agree