A Good Reason Why I Left
Violence
I was perusing Twitter and saw my acquaintance Brian Bernardoni post this.
Here is another view of the same scene.
You can hear the gunshots. It sounds like an old Hollywood western. Except, it’s not. It’s real life and it is in the West Loop of Chicago. This is Milwaukie/Grand/Halsted. I used to drive or bike around here quite often. As a matter of fact, next week I am going to dinner at Piccolo Sogno which is right there. If you know Bari subs and grocery, it’s not too far from there.
I left Chicago in 2020.
There are a lot of reasons. I blogged about one here. I blogged about it here.
I blogged about Chicago a lot in the past. I knew a lot of people from all walks of life there. I watched the Black middle class move out as violence overran their neighborhoods. It was sad. I watched the White middle class continue to move out too. There was some violence in their neighborhoods but the core reason was it wasn’t economically affordable, nor could they rely on the public school system to educate their children.
This isn’t conjecture or speculation or drama. It’s data. See Wirepoints or Illinois Policy.
When I used to go to functions in Chicago among the elite, some would talk in hushed tones about what was happening to the city. Culturally, to come out against the establishment in the closed network of Chicago was career and social suicide. Paddy Bauler’s sentiment of “we don’t want nobody nobody sent” still exists.
Personally, I didn’t care about my career and the people that decided to disassociate themselves from me because I decided to be an “out of the closet” Republican and speak out against “the Combine” were people I didn’t want to hang with anyway.
I was interacting with a friend the other day and he said that I should be given the credit I am due with regards to the entrepreneurial community in Chicago. I told him there was no way that could happen because I bucked the Paddy Bauler dictum.
What I heard from people I interacted with at functions was exactly what I was thinking.
Wealthy people will tolerate a lot of crap to live in a city. The dynamic life that comes with a city and access to culture, sports, clubs, and interesting people is great. There is randomness that happens in a city that cannot possibly happen anywhere else, even virtually. You are having coffee at a coffee shop or a drink at a bar and all of a sudden you randomly meet someone that you might make a business or social connection. Or, your conversation might spark an idea in your own mind that you can act on.
In a city like Chicago that has a very closed network, you can navigate the synapses really quickly. People you bump into might be able to get things done fast and with the right people.
However, there are costs and opportunity costs that wealthy people assess to decide where they have their home base.
They can rise above a lot of corruption. Or, in some cases, they can leverage the crony capitalism for themselves. They can pay the taxes, the costs, and they know that there is probably no top limit for them. Their home isn’t really an integral part of their personal balance sheet. They don’t need to sell it to walk away. They know how to do math, and can easily calculate the cost differences of living in Chicago and living in Florida. They are willing to make the trade-offs and pay for it.
However, when it comes to violence, they aren’t willing to make the trade-off. You can have a doorman to protect your building and property. But, if you decide to go out for a walk, take a cab to a restaurant, or get in your car and get carjacked when you are at a stoplight, the opportunity costs of that trade-off are too high. Who wants to be a prisoner in their million-dollar apartment.
After the riots of last summer, you can’t go to Michigan Avenue and do the Michigan Avenue thing. I don’t know what is a bigger risk on public transportation, getting Covid or getting hurt via violence?
Now that shootings are happening all over Chicago, people are waking up and leaving. You go into a store, and no one stops the shoplifters and no one cares. What would happen to you if someone broke into your home and you used any weapon, let alone a gun, to stop them? What happens when you are walking your dog in the park and you hear gunfire? What happens if it hits you?
Chicago is a fundamentally changed city.
If you want to pin blame, there is plenty to go around. It’s not just the current people but it’s also the past. Emanuel was no friend to the middle class. Mayor Daley was no fiscal conservative and planted a million gardens full of crony capitalism. Kim Foxx, is not a friend to anyone who respects law, order, and comity. Tony Preckwinkle isn’t either.
Chicago is rotten to its core. There are few reasons to stay. They are getting fewer. It was a lucky thing that Joe Biden was elected because he was able to funnel billions in cash to keep the city and state afloat. Chicagoans ought to thank the taxpayers from Indiana and similar states for sending them some money.
Former newscaster Jay Levine opined today on John Kass’ website. The short answer to his question is there is no one in the abyss. NYC is culturally and socially very different from Chicago. It’s not a closed network. No one can overcome the woke and the communist/socialist unions.
The Barbarians are at the gate. That’s not a reference to RJR Nabisco. I suggest you delve deeper into history and look at what happened to Rome. It’s only a question of time before people climb the Coliseum and rip the iron off.
With all the shootings that have occurred on the highways which are not counted in the city of Chicago statistics the crime numbers are even more frightening than what are presented publicly. Until the issue of organized crimes' involvement, i. e., Street gangs in particular, and the bribe money they pay to Kim Foxx's office and others to allow their enforcers out of jails and prisons with just a slap on the wrist, this will continue. Until you remove handcuffs from law enforcement and allow law enforcement to place handcuffs on the criminals, this will continue. A once truly great city has fallen into disrepair and if responsibility for addressing that disrepair is not taken in the next few months or year, Chicago will go the way of Detroit. As the Baby Boomers continue to retire and move away, fewer of them will keep a primary or secondary residence in Chicago.
Ds are funny. They destroy the places they take over. At some deep level they are actually malevolent, not just mistaken, or stupid.