Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila
He could turn it around, but he won't. He's lost the support of City Council permanently (outside of a few loyalists) and he will be stonewalled for the remainder of his term. He could mend those relationships with a lot of effort, but he has shown himself to be too proud and stubborn for something like that. It will be the 80s Council Wars all over again, except this time you can't point to racism as the underlying cause.
This election will probably lock in a group of officials (school board, state's attorney, etc) who will refuse to work with him at all.
That's a shame, because the problems our city is facing will only get worse over the next few years without an effective mayor on the 5th floor. Failing public transit, businesses closing, record homelessness. The only thing we can look forward to is maybe the state lege reforming public transit and yoinking CTA out of the mayor's control.
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Good post. But like I said, it's not over till it's over though. Uphill climb though it may be, it is still not impossible for him to do it. For me, the biggest thing that I personally felt Chicago was facing was crime -- and the perception thereof, and that it had gotten out of control.
The Trib is no fan of BJ, but even it recently published an article showing that homicides are down:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/...revious-years/
The man has done a few things right. That said, if I had to cast my vote today, that vote would be a strong "NO" to a second term for him... and I speak for many friends and family in feeling that way. It has clearly been a bumpy ride... the ride of a novice. That said, there are a small few who still support him -- siting the long-range vision that he has, the fact that they wanted him to shake things up, and that they hoped he would lower crime - which has managed to do.
My sister, however, hates the guy.
Like, truly hates him. I am not at that point yet. At this point I would not vote for him but, for the good of Chicago, I am still hoping that he can manage to pull his head out of his arse and pull it together.
One thing he does have a bit of - charm. Unlike someone with the personality of a ham sandwich, if you can get someone with charm and charisma humbled and properly focused, they can manage to turn it around.
Thats a big "if" though....
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