Data points from the Windy City ["THIS is the political culture that Obama comes from..."]

Pajamas Media ^ | October 4, 2008 | Roger Kimball

[yankeedame]

Data points from the Windy City

The U.S. Treasury is happy to commit $700 billion of taxpayer money to “fixing” the current credit crisis without basing the sum on any particular “data point.” (”We just wanted to choose a really large number,” one Treasury spokesman cheerily observed.)

Since there is an absence of data points in such exalted places, I thought readers might appreciate a few as they think about the upcoming presidential election. A friend who lives in Chicago sent me some arresting reflections on the Windy City, stomping ground of Barack Obama, former Community Organizer in Chicago, former Illinois State Senator, now first-term U.S. Senator from Illinois and Democratic nominee for President of the united States. In June, a newspaper carried this headline: “Obama Campaigns as Chicago Murder Rate Soars.”

The email my friend sent put the numbers in perspective:

In the last six months, 292 people were murdered in Chicago. In the same period, there were 183 Americans casualties in Iraq. Who leads Illinois, in Chicago?

Well, there are

• Senators Barack Obama and Dick Durbin, Democrats both.
• There is Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr., a Democrat.
• There is Governor Rod Blogojevich, a Democrat.
• There is house leader Mike Madigan, a Democrat.
• There is Attorney General Lisa Madigan, a Democrat.
• There is Mayor Richard Daley, a Democrat.

As my friend put it, they are all blaming each other for the combat zone that is contemporary Chicago: who else could they blame? There aren’t any Republicans there.

A couple more data points:

• The Illinois State pension fund is $44 billion in debt. That’s the worst in the country. Thanks, folks!
• Cook County, wherein Chicago sits, not only put JFK in the White House back in 1960 by encouraging everyone, dead or alive, to vote early and vote often, but it also has the highest sales tax in the United States: 10.25 percent.
• Meanwhile, the Chicago school system is one of the [7] worst in the country.

As my friend observes: “This is the political culture that Obama comes from in Illinois. He’s going to ‘fix’ Washington politics?”

That, a Latinist would say, is a “num” question, i.e., one expecting the answer No.

[NOBAMA in 08]

Brack Osama Obama Bin Ladin HUSSEIN! THE BRAIN TO NOWHERE!

[BornToBeAmerican]

I wonder if the NYT would put this on the front page and run with it......

SLAP!!!! Oh, I must be dreaming

[Thane_Banquo]

Something weird happened today. Dianne McGuire, running for State Senate in Naperville, came by my house. She talked about how she was collecting a petition to create a recall so we could vote Blagojevich out of office. Thing is, she’s a Democrat. So what gives?

Anyway she was a nice gal, even if I don’t agree with her politics.

[CanadianMusherinMI]

Send it to Hannity. to my suprise he covered the info from the burning down the house vid, obamas ties to freddie and fannie, ayers.... this is good for ads too.... Send to the mccain camp!

[yankeedame]

Goodness, I'll say! Now you just go lay down on the sofa and I'll bring you a cool towel for your forehead. Mercy me! Didn't I warn you about going out in the sun without your hat? (grin)

[donnab]

Because of his ties to Rezko and Obama he is being thrown under the bus. Go figure.

[arkady_renko]

As my friend put it, they are all blaming each other for the combat zone that is contemporary Chicago: who else could they blame? There aren’t any Republicans there.

I'd say this is only partially true. From Daley, to the school superintendent, they blame guns. Don't try blame gangs, the open air drug markets on the South Side. It's guns that are to blame.

I posted this one another thread, but this one is more Illinois centric: Daley controls this state. The Cook County line is no barrier to his grasp. The whole state is corrupt because, like they say, a fish rots from the head down, and Chicago, not Springfield, is the head of Illinois. We live downstate but it doesn't matter. All the power players in state government are from Chicago. Chicago controls Illinois from the north to the very Southern tip.

Vote Obama and this is the game he will bring to Washington. Daley, Durbin, Ayers, Todd Stroger, Jesse Jackson Jr. Illinois gutter politics. Hatred of gun ownership. A Mayor who plows up an airfield in the middle of the night - We'll be sharing the wealth with you.

One last factoid for the record. Republicans in Illinois have immunity from the charge of racism. It can't be said we are not voting for Obama because he is black. In the 2004 Senate race 1,390,690 of us voted for another black man to defeat him in the Senate race - Alan Keyes. It is not your color I am afraid of Barack, it is your empty soul.

[arkady_renko]

Forgot one more data point: Chicago is a ‘Sanctuary City’ for Illegals. Police are forbidden to ask about the citizenship status of people they might come in contact with. Paraphrasing Daley - It’s not relevant.

[arkady_renko]

The lovely 'X's in the photo below are the result of midnight bulldozers sent out by His Highness King Richard to destroy a beautiful air facility that generated over $50,000,000 per year for the community. City was sued and lost. Not a penny came out of Daley's pocket. Just like not a penny will come out of Barney Frank's pocket for the mess in Washington.

FAA slaps Chicago in final decision on AOPA complaint

City to pay $1.6 million for illegally destroying Meigs Field airport

Chicago will pay a $33,000 fine for illegally tearing up Meigs Field airport without proper notification. And the city will have to repay $1 million of airport funds that Mayor Richard M. Daley illegally diverted from O'Hare and Midway airports to give to the destruction contractors.

And with the more than $550,000 the city has already spent attempting to fight the fine and repayment, hapless Chicago taxpayers are out close to $1.6 million, and they've lost a world-class airport that generated $57 million a year in economic activity for the city.

The FAA announced the final settlement with the city Monday. The city admitted no wrongdoing.

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Online

[cookcounty]

Obama never fixed anything as a Chicago ACORN Organizer

Obama never fixed anything as a “reformer” at the Chicago Annenberg Challenge.

Obama never fixed anything at the Illinois State Senate.

Obama never fixed anything in the US Senate.

...But once he gets going in the White House, he’s gonna start fixing America, you just watch.

[Skid Marx]

As my friend put it, they are all blaming each other for the combat zone that is contemporary Chicago: who else could they blame? There aren’t any Republicans there.

Guns'N'Drugs, thats what they blame here. Damn near every week a march is organized to publicise the "scourge of Guns'N'Drugs", with speeches by Hizzoner,jr. and whatever community notables as might be handy to speak. The failure of Law Enforcement, the judicial system, social welfare agencies, etc, etc. don't get mentioned. Blame stuff, it's easier.

[Skid Marx]

I had to really resist the temptation to feel sorry for Blagojevich. I actually felt that way about clinton in '93 when the world seemed to be falling in on him. I nipped that in the bud real quick.

I think they're grooming Madigan(Lisa) for his job. The Madigan(Mike) faction of the party seems to be on fast forward. After the fiasco at the Cubs rally last tuesday, I thought,"Hey, this is just the guy to support. A klutz, a clown, a a monkey wrench in the party." The last thing I want to see is a consolidated dem. run Illinois.

[Skid Marx]

Vote Obama and this is the game he will bring to Washington. Daley, Durbin, Ayers, Todd Stroger, Jesse Jackson Jr. Illinois gutter politics. Hatred of gun ownership. A Mayor who plows up an airfield in the middle of the night - We'll be sharing the wealth with you.

This needs to be repeated over and over for the next four weeks. If the voting citizens in this great Nation would study, for just an hour or so, Chicago/Illinois politics and its effect on a great state, I think that they might think twice about "change" in the style of "obama".

[Ciexyz]

well said.

[Ciexyz]

btt

[Moiraine]

Most of my family lives in Illinois (both Republicans and Dems) and I get the feeling from them that Blago is considered a complete idiot by most everyone.