(08-03-2018 04:17 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  Rahm and the rest of the Chicago pols are truly despised by the people. There's no such thing as an open election there (current holders always resign and then appoint their successors) and there's retribution for not backing the winner, especially in Aldermanic districts.

Here's how it should be reformed

1) Dramatically curtail the Aldermen's power. Currently, they basically can shut down any business or delay any developent, for basically no reason. Establish a city wide, professional - non patronage, permits office, and an elected zoning commission. Have the requirements be set by broad zones, not by aldermanic districts to remove the power from the Aldermen.

2) End the process of appointments to elected office. In the event of a vacancy, the seat shall remain vacant until a special election is held.

3) Serious police reform. The cops on one hand are brutal in some areas, but permit open crime zones in others. The though process is that if they shut down crime in area A, it will just move to area B. So they let crime occur in area A. I own a condo in Chicago. For about a decade, there was a group of drug dealers openly peddling smack on the corner of my block, directly in front of an elementary school and a block from the El. Daytime, nightime, all the time. And my neighborhood is not that bad of an area (Blogovich lived two blocks away and Loyola of Chicago is 4 blocks away). Very few, rich or poor, black or white, have much confidence or trust in CPD.

4) Serious prosecutorial reform. Another problem is that the DA frequently refuses to prosecute people. There was a vagrant who was arrested over 300 times in my neighborhood up there. In a 5 year period. Never charged with anything. Then she got violent.

Chicago though requires nuance to fix. Trump doesn't do nuance. So you've got one person asking for Trump's help basically to go after Rahm. The second Trump gets involved, all hell will break loose. No one trusts him, and why should they - Trump has shown nothing but contempt for the people of Chicago for years.

And no, Illinois has zero chance of going red. What you're seeing is a local politician looking to embarrass Rahm. The Dems wil romp in Illinois this year, Rauner will be replaced by a Dem, and Roskam will lose his suburban CD.

Chicago's political problems (and Illinois') aren't a Republican or Democratic issue. The same problems happened under GOP Administrations too. Its really a corruption issue.

Chicago's biggest problem is that many areas have been turned into war zones.

Change starts at the neighborhood level.

The people can't on one hand "march" against violence then refuse to cooperate with the police to apprehend the criminals. The people can't complain about "lack of police" then turn around and complain when the cops start policing their neighborhoods.

Until the crime and killing goes down, NO ONE will open businesses or create "opportunities" in those neighborhoods. It starts with WORKING WITH law enforcement and not against them. Until THAT happens, nothing will change.