CHICAGO | Politics and Current Events

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by ardecila

That was one of my problems with Vallas, setting the cops/crime issue aside - his campaign was pretty dour and gloomy, no optimism or fresh ideas. Just a siege mentality. I don't know how you actually grow the economy if you're thinking like that.

Even if he was elected, he would implicitly be pushing the narrative that the city is a lawless hellhole. That's gonna keep scaring businesses and new residents away, and push existing residents to leave.

It was a very suburban sort of campaign. Yeah, sometimes they have a point, but it’s very grating for a leader to see their constituents that way.

This election would not have been close at all if either candidate didn’t have a mountain of flaws and baggage. Probably for the best to end up in a virtual tie to deny any sort of mandate to the victor.

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

YES to all this.


And - If somebody can tell me why - with our officers per capita, $s on law enforcement per capita - our homocide clearance rate is so pitiful (structurally, no part of this is new), other than "the socialists are making them go on soft strike", please share. Other than major reform is needed and frankly there is a meaningful portion of the force that is just not efficacious at the line of work.

Chicago is very underpoliced for the number of convicted criminals who actually live in the city. But there is no budget or manpower to reach optimum levels.

Mass strict incarceration for illegal gun violations does work in the long run, and a certain percent of shootings clearly trend with the number of proactive stops made by police. It’s simply much easier to convict someone for gun possession than for drive-by murders with no witnesses or video.

Otherwise if a community can’t bear those sorts of measures, then they just have to go along with the generational peaks and ebbs of criminal behavior.

[SamInTheLoop]

^ So what you're saying is that Chicago has such a higher rate of convicted felons in the population than peer cities (do we have data on it?) and that somehow that is a satisfactory explanation for our pathetic clearance rates despite our 'premium' police/law enforcement spending per capita? That's quite a claim that would require compelling evidence.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by twister244

The only other Alderman race I was kinda looking at was the 46th ward, only because of the conversation about the Uptown Theater in the General thread.

Angela Clay is currently at 55%

As a refresher (if you care about the Uptown Theater):

https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/03...on-want-to-do/

Glad to see the Uptown will turn into a $78 million community center. Excellent use of space!

This building will be demolished unfortunately. Fate is sealed with this alder person and plan.

[SamInTheLoop]

Originally Posted by twister244

Can Johnson really be worse than LL though?......

And if he is, you will see him voted out just like LL was. My beef though is I wonder how many people voted on policies versus identity politics? Did people not vote for Vallas just because they saw him as a "White Male"? I ask this question because it's a narrative Johnson peddled the ENTIRE campaign. He literally accused Vallas of being a racist in multiple debates/forums. It was a gross tactic, but it probably worked for several "progressive" voters.

Well one thing we can be sure of is that all those folks in the 'collar wards' and places like 'old school' bridgeport among others did not vote for Vallas because of identity politics. We can rest easy on that one.

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by Kenmore

nice w, city finally heading the right direction

and lol @ all the raging conservatives

LOL @ the 49% of Chicago that is...wait for it...conservative? LOL

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

^ So what you're saying is that Chicago has such a higher rate of convicted felons in the population than peer cities (do we have data on it?) and that somehow that is a satisfactory explanation for our pathetic clearance rates despite our 'premium' police/law enforcement spending per capita? That's quite a claim that would require compelling evidence.

Chicago has what, 115k gang members and like 11,000 cops?

10 gang members per cop, and that doesn't count the nongang members causing havoc too.

[tjp]

Incredibly discouraged about Angela Clay winning in Uptown. She's a total NIMBY and sketchy as hell.

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

Well one thing we can be sure of is that all those folks in the 'collar wards' and places like 'old school' bridgeport among others did not vote for Vallas because of identity politics. We can rest easy on that one.

You don't think those wards (heavily populated with fire fighters and cops) voted for Vallas due to crime issues or because he is white? The black population in Chicago voted down the line for Johnson. Whites split the vote, mostly going to Vallas, and hispanics were down the middle.

Only one group voted in a monolith.

[SamInTheLoop]

^ Yikes, dude.

[moorhosj1]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

You don't think those wards (heavily populated with fire fighters and cops) voted for Vallas due to crime issues or because he is white?

Areas in Chicago heavily populated by cops and firefighters don't have much crime. A less generous view would be that they thought Vallas would increase their department's budgets. That's what people are saying about teachers who voted for Johnson, right?

[sentinel]

At this point, the die is cast, for better or worse. For me, the only redeeming quality for Johnson is his age (47), where hopefully he's more flexible than older, intransigent politicians tied to the Machine of Chicago politics. If he sticks with his confrontational nonsense, then the next four years are gonna suck for Chicago, no matter how some anarchists in this forum may think otherwise.

I and I'm certain many other people would be more than happy to be proven wrong by Johnson once he's in office, but I'm not optimistic...it's like the opposite of the political spectrum from late 2016 after the national election, when everyone was saying 'but just give Trump a CHAAAANCE!'. Yeah..

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by sentinel

I and I'm certain many other people would be more than happy to be proven wrong by Johnson once he's in office, but I'm not optimistic...it's like the opposite of the political spectrum from late 2016 after the national election, when everyone was saying 'but just give Trump a CHAAAANCE!'. Yeah..

Yeah, I have absolutely no idea where all of this optimism for "Moderate Brandon" is coming from.

Johnson is an extreme left-winger CTU moron who would joyfully tax the air we breath if he could find a way to meter it.

Like you, I'd LOVE to be proven wrong, as I dearly love this city and want to see it grow and prosper, but leopards usually don't change their spots, and I strongly suspect that the next four years will be more of the previous 4 years as the city suffers a "lost decade".

Hopefully Johnson follows in LL's footsteps as a one-termer and maybe then we can get someone with a functioning brain in the mayor's office.

Probably not.

Oh well, I guess I better start cancelling my family's summer vacation plans as that money will now be needed for Johnson's inevitable monstrous property tax increase next year. Our city absolutely needs to raise another billion or two to keep schools with less than 50 kids open!

Cuz, ya know, CTU priorities are the only priorities now!!




#fuckthectu

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by tjp

Incredibly discouraged about Angela Clay winning in Uptown. She's a total NIMBY and sketchy as hell.

She is a tax cheat like Johnson too.

[SamInTheLoop]

Originally Posted by sentinel

At this point, the die is cast, for better or worse. For me, the only redeeming quality for Johnson is his age (47), where hopefully he's more flexible than older, intransigent politicians tied to the Machine of Chicago politics. If he sticks with his confrontational nonsense, then the next four years are gonna suck for Chicago, no matter how some anarchists in this forum may think otherwise.

I and I'm certain many other people would be more than happy to be proven wrong by Johnson once he's in office, but I'm not optimistic...it's like the opposite of the political spectrum from late 2016 after the national election, when everyone was saying 'but just give Trump a CHAAAANCE!'. Yeah..

Yeah, I'm guessing there aren't a lot of anarchists here, on this skyscraper and urban development and design forum. Name one remotely anarchical thing someone has stated on this forum in response to the election or runup to it? Do you know what an anarchist is?

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

Glad to see the Uptown will turn into a $78 million community center. Excellent use of space!

This building will be demolished unfortunately. Fate is sealed with this alder person and plan.

OMG, "community center". I remember the Uptown's Helen Schiller days, was not pretty. She kept Uptown decrepit as long as she could.

[UPChicago]

I’m glad, despite fear mongering about crime, that the majority of Chicagoans understood that more cops is not the solution to public safety. People really need to realize there needs to be some sort of overhaul within CPD we are getting a very poor return on our investment.

[Kngkyle]

Originally Posted by UPChicago

I’m glad, despite fear mongering about crime, that the majority of Chicagoans understood that more cops is not the solution to public safety. People really need to realize there needs to be some sort of overhaul within CPD we are getting a very poor return on our investment.

Agreed. But the same can be said for CPS/CTU, and the candidate that won is likely to give them a blank check.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by UPChicago

I’m glad, despite fear mongering about crime, that the majority of Chicagoans understood that more cops is not the solution to public safety. People really need to realize there needs to be some sort of overhaul within CPD we are getting a very poor return on our investment.

Both candidates had different stances overall on this, but what is interesting and that many people probably missed is that they both had the same stance on increasing the quality of officers. I heard them both talk about how the quality of officers needs to go up. I mean it's really like any other worker in a business. More workers doesn't automatically mean better. Obviously you can't just gut it and lose tons of people but there are so many examples in the world of how 50 or 75 workers can do the same job as 100. But I'm sure many missed it but they both talked about it on a few different occasions.

What was also upsetting but hilarious was in the last debate when they asked Vallas what he'd do to bring "business back to Michigan Ave." He focused a lot on the safety aspect. Moderator kept telling him he's not answering the question but he was and he said he was answering it. Then they ask Johnson, and he actually says he agrees with Vallas about the safety aspect.


Until I see otherwise, I'm still thinking that Johnson said a lot of things to get votes and knows which of those things are pointless to even attempt (like a city income tax, commuter tax and financial transaction tax). He'll just focus on other things that are probably more attainable. Johnson wasn't my guy but if he can make progress to reduce segregation (along with bettering race relations) and do things to make people feel good about themselves in the city again, those will at least be wins to me that can go further than people realize in the long run.

[Handro]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Until I see otherwise, I'm still thinking that Johnson said a lot of things to get votes and knows which of those things are pointless to even attempt (like a city income tax, commuter tax and financial transaction tax). He'll just focus on other things that are probably more attainable. Johnson wasn't my guy but if he can make progress to reduce segregation (along with bettering race relations) and do things to make people feel good about themselves in the city again, those will at least be wins to me that can go further than people realize in the long run.

I'm not holding my breath. The guy claims to be this great collaborator with a big tent but he ran a pretty lousy campaign, attacking doddering old Vallas as if he was running against the love child of David Duke and Mussolini. He was really ham-fisted and oddly personal in a lot of his attacks throughout the run-off and he and the CTU leadership seem overly eager to fight any person or group that pushes back even a little on their priorities. How is he going to build healthy working relationships with all the stakeholders that he won the contest by denigrating?