Chicago.......Bang Bang......
Bendintheriver
Member Posts: 6,165 
I love the food in Chicago. Have had some great times there but I thank my lucky stars I am not anchored there by family or business.
I knew the South side was bad but the city is far worse off than I even imagined.
Corruption, far left unqualified leadership, voting in their own pay and retirement packages, no city charter, no adults in charge, being led around by a far left wacko Teachers Union. It is really bad.
The nut job Mayor will continue to do his damage but I will hope that this bottom of the barrel situation they are in creates some sanity and they will get some adults back in charge and kick out the far left idiots. Chicago needs to be successful. The rest of that state is Conservative and Chicago is bringing it all down.
Is Chicago About to Hit Rock Bottom?
After decades of corruption and chronic mismanagement, chicago might be ready to admit it has a problem — and its far-left crony mayor pushing the city to the brink might trigger a revival
-Once America’s fastest-growing city, Chicago is now the slowest-growing major city in the U.S. since 2000, having lost 1 million residents since peaking at 3.6 million in the 1950s. Its population now hovers around 1920s levels.
-Nowhere is this more evident than in the city’s schools, one-third of which are less than half full. Frederick Douglass Academy High School on Chicago’s West Side was built to hold more than 900 students. Last year, it served just 35 students, nearly two-thirds of whom were chronically absent. Despite this, the school still employs 23 full-time staff members and spends more than $68,000 per student annually.
-For decades, Chicago politicians cut deals with government unions to boost pension benefits far beyond their willingness to hike taxes to fund those benefits. Those same leaders used money meant for pension contributions to juice pay raises for government workers and fund pet projects. Chicago now holds more pension debt than all but seven American states.
Over 80% of Chicago’s property tax levy goes to pensions. And of the overall city budget, pensions and debt service eat 40 cents of every dollar — a far higher share than any other big city in the country. In order to plug annual budget gaps, past administrations have taken to selling off city assets like the parking meters. Billions of dollars in federal aid during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed the city to avoid confronting its debt and inflate spending even further, with the city’s total budget ballooning to $16.6 billion in 2024 compared with $10.7 billion in 2019. The expiration of federal aid has blown a billion-dollar hole in next year’s budget.
-In a typical year, Chicago is home to more homicides than Los Angeles and New York combined. In 2023, the number of violent crimes in Chicago grew to its highest level in a decade, but just 10.8% of violent crimes resulted in an arrest, nearly half the rate in 2013.
Comments
Gioradonos is great though!
Chicago was once a must-see city. Lots of cool shit to do. World class eats and drink.
You couldn’t pay me enough to go there now.
Commie paradise! Look at all the good communism has brought to Shitcago.
I enjoyed a great big joint near the lake/downtown while walking near the fountain during an extended layover in the late 90s. It was a different place then.
Cousin who lives in Chicago sent me three frozen Giordano’s for the holidays. The one near the Magnificent Mile has been a must for two decades every visit to Chicago for work or fun.
I'VE been tempted... how is it frozen?
They literally gave a 75 year parking meter lease to the Saudis