By Barry Curtis
“fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action , cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness”…. Carl Sandburg’s poem entitled Chicago.
Mr. President your hometown is burning, and I don’t mean from Ms. O’Leary’s barn. Chicago is indicative of the big liberal mess that big liberalism can make of cities.
Here for your consideration, Chicago has the most restrictive gun laws of any U.S. city. In 2012 the murder rate in Chicago outpaced the death of US service men in Afghanistan, making Chicago effectively a war zone. There were over 500 murders in Chicago in 2012. Get this figure: since 2001 some 2000 US troops have been killed in Afghanistan while during the same period some 5,000 have been killed by gun fire in Chicago (per WBEZreports).
Any death by gunfire is regrettable; however in Chicago if you are killed by gun fire, you are likely young and black. In one weekend in August of 2012, 46 people were shot in Chicago with eight dying. Perhaps the only thing worse than the level of shootings and murders on this scale are the fact that due to volume of homicides Chicago, the police are not able to solve most murders. The sad fact is that if you commit a street murder in Chicago, you are not likely to be charged with murder. That fact alone will be a catalyst for it to continue. Unlike other big city crime stats that are trending down such as New York City, Chicago’s murder rate is on a steady climb.
The liberal city of Chicago is strapped with political infighting among the Democrats, corruption on a Biblical scale and unions that run the city. So, political favors, opportunistic politicians and cronyism drive policy.
Take note Mr. President Chicago is burning and it’s not the fire in the homes that are making the walls tumble but the home’s value. Standard and poor’s as reported by the Chicago tribune indicates that Chicago housing market is lagging far behind most other major cities, in fact all other major cities but New York. Last November housing values fell 1.3 percent from the previous month and Chicago experienced the smallest positive increase of any city on a year-to-year basis. Mr. President, Chicago is burning and at the hands of instructors. Chicago teachers went on strike last year, interrupting the student’s school year. They went on strike over pay. The average school teacher in Chicago makes 76 thousand dollars a year and a 16% increase in their yearly pay wasn’t enough to keep them in the class rooms. Sad very sad in addition to all the ranting and raving about their love for “public education” 40% of all Chicago teachers send their own kids to private schools. Mr President Chicago is burning and it’s not the fires of industry. Unemployment rate among Chicagoan’s is 9.1 percent. This is amongst the highest in the nation. The unemployment rate per the Illinois employment security direct Jay Rowel, rose 4 percent in one month!
Mr. President this is your state, your city, and your former chief of staff is the mayor. With all Democrats running the city, with all the money and resources at the president’s disposal and your city continues to burn.
Let’s recap, in Chicago I am likely to die on the streets if I am a black youngster, lose my home because I have lost my job and my kids public education is not worthy of competent teachers. Take a closer look at Chicago Mr. President.
It’s visible from some distance because of the flames.
