CHICAGO | Politics and Current Events

[moorhosj1]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Same with CTU leadership. Membership votes for their leaders. Leaders send these measures out for votes, and over and over again a large majority of their union votes in favor of their asinine measures.

As long as this opinion holds for the FOP union, it's hard to disagree. They are both doing a great job of showing they hold too much power in this city (and others). Neither hesitates to use those they are supposed serve as pawns to extract demands.

[the urban politician]

^ It does, but they don't go on strike and hijack the very fabric of civilization (ie the expectation that our children will be going to school) every 6 months.

Also, at the end of the day cops are ACTUALLY AT RISK OF DYING or getting seriously injured from their jobs. Unlike the snowflakes in the CTU who ain't gonna be dyin' of friggin Omicron, no matter how much they — and moan.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by glowrock

Are you in favor of private schools having to accept ALL applicants? If not, then you are automatically putting those students who have disabilities of any kind or have any learning issues whatsoever at an extreme disadvantage. Private schools by definition have acceptance guidelines, which, also by definition, the vast majority of public schools do not.



Don't equate the teachers themselves with CTU "leadership", tup. That makes no sense whatsoever.

Again, while I believe that CTU needs a complete overhaul of its leadership (and yes, the Mayor and Governor need to be deeply involved here), I don't believe in throwing the baby out with the bath water. There are thousands of capable, caring teachers within CPS, there's no reason to denigrate them while attacking CTU leadership.

Aaron (Glowrock)

No many private schools have no guidelines to enter other than tuition. Catholic schools accept special ed kids and handle them better then CPS does.

The governor is an idiot. He and the Dem legislature have given the teachers unions more reasons they can legally strike when they should not be allowed to strike at all.

[moorhosj1]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ It does, but they don't go on strike and hijack the very nature of civilization (ie the expectation that our children will be going to school) every 6 months.

Also, at the end of the day cops are ACTUALLY AT RISK OF DYING or getting seriously injured from their jobs. Unlike the snowflakes in the CTU who ain't gonna be dyin' of friggin Omicron, no matter how much they — and moan.

Police don't go on strike because they are not legally allowed to go on strike. That didn't stop them from essentially threatening citizens earlier this year.

With 1,000 police vacancies already, Catanzara noted that 4,300 officers — roughly 38% of the force — have “20 years of service or more” and therefore, “can lock in a pension and walk away today.”

“If this mayor doesn’t stop vilifying the police and start focusing on public safety, you are going to have a rash number of retirements in the very immediate future here because officers just aren’t going to take it anymore. That is going to risk everybody’s safety, and that’s not going to be our fault,” he said.

Not to mention the "soft strike" those of us who live in the city have noticed the past few years.

And yes, teachers can die of Omicron. A CPS teacher died of COVID a few weeks ago.

[moorhosj1]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Catholic schools accept special ed kids and handle them better then CPS does.

I have never heard this argument. As someone who spent their entire school career in local catholic schools, it wasn't true in my school experience either.

In fact, our local catholic school tried to expel a friend's 3-year-old because he needed extra support. Ultimately, he was allowed to stay because the parents foot the bill for in-class assistance. The school itself had no support to offer and made that clear.

Catholic schools have long been know as good for kids in the middle part of the bell-curve. Once you get on either side of that curve (either gifted or needing support) the Catholic model falls apart because they just don't have the resources.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by moorhosj1

Police don't go on strike because they are not legally allowed to go on strike. That didn't stop them from essentially threatening citizens earlier this year.



Not to mention the "soft strike" those of us who live in the city have noticed the past few years.

And yes, teachers can die of Omicron. A CPS teacher died of COVID a few weeks ago.

Bolded for truth. There is little question in my mind that a good percentage of CPD officers have been doing far less than they normally would the last two years or so. Gee, I wonder if some of the large increases in crime can be attribute to useless police officers and even more useless police leadership?

[the urban politician]

^ Would YOU go to Englewood to go track down a guy, or perhaps a group of guys, with a — who has no respect for the law, has friends making cell phone videos of you, has neighbors who won't testify against him, and with a County attorney who will let him out 2 days after you've even made an arrest?

Just saying....

[the urban politician]

Lori Lightfoot tests positive for COVID:

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/government/lori-lightfoot-tests-positive-covid

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has tested positive for COVID-19, her office announced today. "I am experiencing cold-like symptoms but otherwise feel fine which I credit to being vaccinated and boosted."

OH NOES!!! WE DONE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!



Anyhow, she'll be fine and back in no time. Like almost everyone else.

[moorhosj1]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Would YOU go to Englewood to go track down a guy, or perhaps a group of guys, with a — who has no respect for the law, has friends making cell phone videos of you, has neighbors who won't testify against him, and with a County attorney who will let him out 2 days after you've even made an arrest?

Just saying....

I would not. That's why I never chose to be a cop.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Would YOU go to Englewood to go track down a guy, or perhaps a group of guys, with a — who has no respect for the law, has friends making cell phone videos of you, has neighbors who won't testify against him, and with a County attorney who will let him out 2 days after you've even made an arrest?

Just saying....

Last time I checked, police officers signed up for the job knowing the risks and rewards involved. If a cop is afraid to do their job they need to resign their position.

Yes, the district attorney's office needs a massive overhaul, no denying this.

Aaron (Glowrock)

[Steely Dan]

Remember folks, no national politics in this thread.

If you can't make a point without invoking words like "Trump" or "Biden", then you are in the wrong place.

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by moorhosj1

One of the parties has completely abandoned cities. I don't even have a second party option for most of my ballot. Is that somehow voters fault?

Edit: Clarifying that I mean state elections. I have not had a choice for state Senator or Representative since I can remember.

Yes. A good Republican ran against Kim Foxx and was destroyed in the polls. Chicago, unlike NYC, just will *not* vote for a Republican, they just wont.

So this obviously applies to state offices too. The Democratic base is so strong here a Republican literally has zero chance. If Foxx couldn't be defeated, no Republican could defeat your standard Chicago Democrat, no matter the office.

[moorhosj1]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

Yes. A good Republican ran against Kim Foxx and was destroyed in the polls. Chicago, unlike NYC, just will *not* vote for a Republican, they just wont.

So this obviously applies to state offices too. The Democratic base is so strong here a Republican literally has zero chance. If Foxx couldn't be defeated, no Republican could defeat your standard Chicago Democrat, no matter the office.

• The guy who ran against Foxx was a Democrat who ran as a Republican to try and unseat her.
• It was a Cook County election, not Chicago.
• It was also during the 2020 national election where the top of the ticket dragged down Republicans statewide.
• A Libertarian also ran and gathered 6% of the vote.
• We have Nicholas Sposato, a Republican, in the city council. So it is possible.

The point is that neither my current State Senator Jaime Andrade nor his predecessor Iris Martinez, have ever had a general election challenger. This goes back to 2002. Funny enough, the predecessor to Martinez was....Peter Roskam (a Republican). That is the definition of giving up on governing. Democrats are rightly criticized if they do this in rural areas, but we let Republicans abandon entire swaths of the state and then make excuses for it.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by moorhosj1

I have never heard this argument. As someone who spent their entire school career in local catholic schools, it wasn't true in my school experience either.

In fact, our local catholic school tried to expel a friend's 3-year-old because he needed extra support. Ultimately, he was allowed to stay because the parents foot the bill for in-class assistance. The school itself had no support to offer and made that clear.

Catholic schools have long been know as good for kids in the middle part of the bell-curve. Once you get on either side of that curve (either gifted or needing support) the Catholic model falls apart because they just don't have the resources.

Well, times have changed. My local Catholic school has a great special ed program. Much more accepting than our local cps school which does everything in its power to try to deny IEPs, etc.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

Yes. A good Republican ran against Kim Foxx and was destroyed in the polls. Chicago, unlike NYC, just will *not* vote for a Republican, they just wont.

So this obviously applies to state offices too. The Democratic base is so strong here a Republican literally has zero chance. If Foxx couldn't be defeated, no Republican could defeat your standard Chicago Democrat, no matter the office.

Yeah, I had hope of beating Foxx, but in retrospect I should have known better. At this point, I just vote against every democrat in the city, county and state or leave it blank if there is no one running against them.

[amfleisch]

CPD Sworn Members
May 2020: 13,023
January 2022: 11,900

https://informationportal.igchicago.org/chicago-police-department-active-sworn-officer-overview/

With the increase of violent crime, CPD is expected to do more with less officers. The number of CPD sworn members will only go down for the foreseeable future.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Yeah, I had hope of beating Foxx, but in retrospect I should have known better. At this point, I just vote against every democrat in the city, county and state or leave it blank if there is no one running against them.

For local elections, I always do the same.

Anyhow, at least up here in Lake County we don't have that hack running things. Criminals actually get in trouble for their wrongdoing

[moorhosj1]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Anyhow, at least up here in Lake County we don't have that hack running things. Criminals actually get in trouble for their wrongdoing

That doesn't seem to be actually stopping violence from happening, which should be the goal.

State’s Attorney Rinehart has been aggressively seeking this funding for months. He presented the board with statistics that showed a sustained increase in violence over the last several years, and we felt his office needed additional resources to deal with this recent surge within the pandemic

Two locations, two different State's Attorneys with different policies, and the same problem. Maybe its time to move past the "Blame Foxx" bluster and look for solutions?

Note: I voted against Foxx in the recent election. I just think the over-focus on her is a detriment to actually lowering violence. We end up arguing over small policies (like cash bail) and miss the larger picture around us (like national increases in crime, depression, and loneliness).

[the urban politician]

^ That's actually pretty interesting.....

[cityofneighborhoods]

Originally Posted by moorhosj1

We end up arguing over small policies (like cash bail) and miss the larger picture around us (like national increases in crime, depression, and loneliness).

I've donated to these organizations and am trying to get everyone I know to give what they can. Obviously, no one solution can completely reduce the surge in violence, but apathy and finger-pointing are getting us nowhere. It's a crisis and requires sustained all hands on deck.


Chicago CRED: https://www.chicagocred.org/get-involved

Communities Partnering 4 Peace: https://www.metrofamily.org/cp4p/

READI Chicago: https://www.heartlandalliance.org/readi-chicago-real-promise-for-a-safer-path-forward/

Project H.O.O.D.: https://www.projecthood.org/


Media Coverage:

WBEZ: https://www.wbez.org/stories/chicagos-an...ugh/6580a83a-93cb-47bf-95f3-641fa9839c0f

Crain's Chicago: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/opinion/chicago-crime-prevention-can-involve-businesses-editorial

Chicago Sun-Times: https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/1/6/22...violence-philanthropy-corey-brooks-op-ed