CHICAGO | Politics and Current Events

[thegoatman]

why are the black alderman always crying about losing power when they're part of the problem? Most of them are uber corrupt and useless, letting their wards rot and disintegrate into neighborhoods that are warzones and uneducated.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by thegoatman

why are the black alderman always crying about losing power when they're part of the problem? Most of them are uber corrupt and useless, letting their wards rot and disintegrate into neighborhoods that are warzones and uneducated.

You also just describe gubernatorial candidate and Ken Griffin proxy Richard Irvin

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Is that something you know how to do?

It would be interesting to get a ward map drawn of 50 roughly equal population rectangles, and then get it out on social media under the banner "chicago's new ward map, if the city wasn't governed by abject morons".

Looks like this problem has been studied: https://www.brown.edu/news/2017-11-07/redistricting (and the real paper: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1710.03358.pdf)

Their source is available, so should be straightforward to apply to Chicago. Now if only the baby was being less fussy tonight.

Snce population data is only available for census blocks, you would have to be composed of them. Still, you can represent each block by its centroid and demand convex regions on that dataset, even if the blocks will then make them a bit jagged. This appears to be what they did too, after reading it .The alternative would be to assume population is uniform within a block but that would cause all sorts of practical problems anyway.

One potential problem with this paper's approach (and any...) is that of course, the convexity of your region depends on the map projection, and they seem to just use an equirectangular projection, which means your "straight lines" are neither geodesics nor rhumb lines. Using Mercator at least would be a lot better, and it's easy to adapt their approach for that.

another edit:
Ok, their code is clunky but I figured out how to use it. Now I just need centroids and populations for every census block in the city lol. Anybody happen to have these? Seems like a bit of a pain to get it from the Census and Chicago's data web site only has it for 2010.

[Tom In Chicago]

Ward 2 shouldn't exist at all. . .

. . .

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by Kenmore

we need like 4 cops in this city, they don't do anything anyways

You obviously do not live in a bad neighborhood.

This reminds me of when all the schools voted to keep or get rid of their Resource Officers.

The majority of white and Hispanic schools mostly voted to get rid of the cops, majority-black schools overwhelmingly voted to *keep* officers.

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by urbanpln

This statement is spot on. I live in the Near South-South community and have worked in planning for a while now. It is so obvious that Bridgeport, like many other neighborhoods near the core, is being held back by racial politics. It has been evolving for the better for years but should be must further along in its transformation.

What do you mean by racial politics? Also, its been evolving for the better? What exactly does that mean?

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by Klippenstein

The reality is that we are losing police officers and it’s not going to change by throwing more money at the problem. We need to recognize the reality and address the poverty and change the culture that encourages so many young men to engage in violent behavior.

Violence is untenable in any amount, but the police have never addressed the root of the issue. They are simply a reactive force. I don’t believe the police will ever be completely abolished, but we need a much more diverse stratagem to change the zeitgeist. I am encouraged that the plan for mixed income housing throughout Chicago is finally being implemented in a significant amount and it needs to continue at this rate to have a lasting effect.

You could probably get rid of 50% of our violent crime by merely having a dad and mom marry and stick together.

But there isn't a government program for that, so no one even cares to point out the most glaring difference between the poor and non-poor.

Look up how much more likely a child of a single parent is to commit violent crime as a juvenile vs a child from a two-parent household.

[thegoatman]

Mask and vax mandate ending next week on February 28th, same as the state.

Fantastic news. This will be the first normal summer since 2019.

[moorhosj1]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

You could probably get rid of 50% of our violent crime by merely having a dad and mom marry and stick together.

But there isn't a government program for that, so no one even cares to point out the most glaring difference between the poor and non-poor.

Look up how much more likely a child of a single parent is to commit violent crime as a juvenile vs a child from a two-parent household.

This is one of the top areas studied by economists. Obama stood-up multiple programs to study and attack the problem.

Responsible Fatherhood Working Group

Fatherhood and Healthy Families

My Brother's Keeper Alliance

[Randomguy34]

I wasn't kidding when I said this is the best time to submit a zoning app in the 11th ward

It’s fascinating to watch the COZ do process-based zoning proposal work in the absence of Aldermanic Prerogative from the 11th Ward Alderman.

https://twitter.com/nzettelplanning/...65877766574085

Tunney says because there's currently no alderman to sign off on zoning proposals in the 11th Ward, he's asked applicants there to give extra detail on what kind of community outreach/support they've earned.

https://twitter.com/AlexNitkin/statu...64902628646917

[left of center]

^ I wish this was always the case.... *sigh*

The Committee on Zoning should always be in charge of such affairs. To hell with aldermanic prerogative.

[Randomguy34]

Arne Duncan rules out run for mayor
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/gove...-chicago-mayor

[thegoatman]

What are you guys thoughts on Alderman Raymond Lopez for mayor?

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by thegoatman

What are you guys thoughts on Alderman Raymond Lopez for mayor?

Like him a lot. Would likely vote for him over Lightfoot.

[the urban politician]

Mike Madigan indicted on racketeering charges: reports
U.S. Attorney John Lausch will announce an indictment of the former Illinois House speaker.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/gove...charges-report

Problem is, people like Madigan and Burke are so old, and this process seems to take so damn long, that will they ever do jail time?

[Randomguy34]

^ At this rate, Burke could probably run for another term

[moorhosj1]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Problem is, people like Madigan and Burke are so old, and this process seems to take so damn long, that will they ever do jail time?

Good call. Feels more symbolic at this point in their lives (or "careers"). Hopefully, anything that hurts these big fish helps bring down corruption on some level.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

^ At this rate, Burke could probably run for another term

Wonder if Madigan and Burke will be cell mates in Federal Prison?

[left of center]

They won't live to see a day in a cell. They will keep using legal delay tactics and be in and out of court for the remainder of their lives. Same strategy as the former POTUS.

[Randomguy34]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

Wonder if Madigan and Burke will be cell mates in Federal Prison?

They'll certainly be roommates in hell