I had lunch with my friend Dan Proft while in Florida. If you don’t listen to Dan’s show, you should. Dan dug up a couple of my posts from years ago. I am going to repost them here and see if everyone still thinks they are relevant. The dates on these posts are from November 2018.
The problem is that same type of "network" thinking is found in a lot of other places and businesses: "we always done it that way." or "that's the way we do things here." The US Air Force has trouble keeping pilots. You want to fly you have to be an officer. Durning WWII Warrant Officers could fly for the Army Air Corp. Chuck Yeager was a Warrant Officer. When the Air Force was spun off it became officers only. Warrant Officers can fly for the Army but not the Air Force. Some people just want to fly and don't want to become non flying Generals or other officers. Can't. You have to be promoted within a certain time period or you are out. So they lose pilots. Change the rules? No, we've always done it that way. IBM vs. Microsoft early on. IBM was "we always done it that way". See that time and time again in both business and a lot of other places. Education especially.
90% of Chicago's issues would be fixed with some tolerable law enforcement.
You are never going to fix the fixers. Contracts are rigged, The CFO of financial mega-criminal Tony Rezko's company is the President and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. Really corrupt people get all kinds of government money, until they don't, then they get pushed out and indicted. These people are just awful, but somehow Chicago has thrived for 200 years or so with a similar group of crooks being a general nuisance.
It's the violent crime, car-jacking, murders, sexual assaults that are throttling Chicago. Pritzker/Lightfoot/Johnson/Preckwinkles solution has been to import more lawless migrants to have a constant crisis that only they can solve. The political class promotes these sort of things as they want the chaos to consolidate their own power. The haven't the least concern for the victims of crime.
Need the general population to demand some law enforcement and vote out out the problem-causers.
Another great article Jeff, and having lived in NYC for 13 years, travelled all over the country and now residing in the Southeast, I absolutely agree with your assessment of Chicago. I also agree it is a wonderful city that should have more start ups and the like there but won't because of what you laid out. The south for along time also had this issue, but over the last 40 years has learned to deal with those "damn yankees." Even my beautiful southern bride once commented to me, a boy raised in Spokane, Washington, that while I might not be a yankee per say, I sounded like one. I loved NYC for its willingness to let everyone compete, for the most part. NYC, like Chicago, LA, San Fran and other big cities of course also now come with their issues, which is a very sad history of marriage to the Democratic party and all that it has become over the last 120 years.
I love seeing areas/cities/states being willing to understand what actually drives growth, and not to spoil the plot, but it is not more regulations/taxes, closed markets, or good ol' boy networks and that term does not just apply to the south. I am competitive by nature and by virtue of what I spent the first 23 years of my life doing as a means to a free education, but it does not take much to stifle that and turn that away when you present yourself as a closed shop to so speak. NYC is getting to a point, however, that their taxes, fielty to marxist unions and unwillingness to uphold the most basic of laws might just yet doing them in.
I could probably write half a book on this subject, but I'll keep it to a few simple points.
1) Chicago has a big, collective insecurity complex about itself. All of the "civic boosters" (the same people Mr. Carter mentions in the Club) are constantly pushing the "world class city" nomer. The local media frets constantly about our status as a "world class city." It's as if everyone knows that we're not quite "it" and we'll just collectively keep faking it until we make it.
2) The politicians are straight up hostile, unless you are a money bundler or a big donor. If you are a small donor you will get the "neutral" treatment. If they don't know you, you are the enemy. I know several aldermen (where the real stuff gets approved) and I generally have good relationships. But this was only due to my relationship with a big state level politico. One alderman is a downright asshole whenever I talk to him, so I just stopped. They really believe they are kings of their wards. Respect is shown through fealty and money. If you don't bring those, expect lots of "civic" oriented problems.
3) They say they like new ideas, but they don't. Most of the Chicago liberals think the city has these "quaint" neighborhoods and such, but they will viciously vote and complain about anything and everything that makes a noise or a peep after 9pm. These people belong in the suburbs, but they imagine themselves as the avant garde sophisticates. They are nothing of the sort.
4) I get the feeling that this new city government under Brandon Johnson doesn't really know how it all works. They are CTU union stooges, who've never worked outside of government or teaching. They see this big city and think they have arrived, and that it will always be the same. They don't understand that a big, thriving city requires constant attention, capital and maintenance. It doesn't just work by itself. They are dedicating almost all their time on social justice initiatives, rather than the economic livelihood and the business community. This will take a little time, but the core is getting hollowed out. Every day we see more investors giving up and selling their commercial real estate at absolutely HUGE discounts from what they paid. None of these people/institutions will buy here again.
You can't see it by looking at the skyline, but there are very dark clouds here, and all it will take is a national macroeconomic slide for this city to become a real wasteland. it's already underway, but just happening in slow motion.
I won't even get into the crime, which everyone knows about.
great post.
The problem is that same type of "network" thinking is found in a lot of other places and businesses: "we always done it that way." or "that's the way we do things here." The US Air Force has trouble keeping pilots. You want to fly you have to be an officer. Durning WWII Warrant Officers could fly for the Army Air Corp. Chuck Yeager was a Warrant Officer. When the Air Force was spun off it became officers only. Warrant Officers can fly for the Army but not the Air Force. Some people just want to fly and don't want to become non flying Generals or other officers. Can't. You have to be promoted within a certain time period or you are out. So they lose pilots. Change the rules? No, we've always done it that way. IBM vs. Microsoft early on. IBM was "we always done it that way". See that time and time again in both business and a lot of other places. Education especially.
90% of Chicago's issues would be fixed with some tolerable law enforcement.
You are never going to fix the fixers. Contracts are rigged, The CFO of financial mega-criminal Tony Rezko's company is the President and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. Really corrupt people get all kinds of government money, until they don't, then they get pushed out and indicted. These people are just awful, but somehow Chicago has thrived for 200 years or so with a similar group of crooks being a general nuisance.
It's the violent crime, car-jacking, murders, sexual assaults that are throttling Chicago. Pritzker/Lightfoot/Johnson/Preckwinkles solution has been to import more lawless migrants to have a constant crisis that only they can solve. The political class promotes these sort of things as they want the chaos to consolidate their own power. The haven't the least concern for the victims of crime.
Need the general population to demand some law enforcement and vote out out the problem-causers.
Another great article Jeff, and having lived in NYC for 13 years, travelled all over the country and now residing in the Southeast, I absolutely agree with your assessment of Chicago. I also agree it is a wonderful city that should have more start ups and the like there but won't because of what you laid out. The south for along time also had this issue, but over the last 40 years has learned to deal with those "damn yankees." Even my beautiful southern bride once commented to me, a boy raised in Spokane, Washington, that while I might not be a yankee per say, I sounded like one. I loved NYC for its willingness to let everyone compete, for the most part. NYC, like Chicago, LA, San Fran and other big cities of course also now come with their issues, which is a very sad history of marriage to the Democratic party and all that it has become over the last 120 years.
I love seeing areas/cities/states being willing to understand what actually drives growth, and not to spoil the plot, but it is not more regulations/taxes, closed markets, or good ol' boy networks and that term does not just apply to the south. I am competitive by nature and by virtue of what I spent the first 23 years of my life doing as a means to a free education, but it does not take much to stifle that and turn that away when you present yourself as a closed shop to so speak. NYC is getting to a point, however, that their taxes, fielty to marxist unions and unwillingness to uphold the most basic of laws might just yet doing them in.
I am a business owner in Chicago.
I could probably write half a book on this subject, but I'll keep it to a few simple points.
1) Chicago has a big, collective insecurity complex about itself. All of the "civic boosters" (the same people Mr. Carter mentions in the Club) are constantly pushing the "world class city" nomer. The local media frets constantly about our status as a "world class city." It's as if everyone knows that we're not quite "it" and we'll just collectively keep faking it until we make it.
2) The politicians are straight up hostile, unless you are a money bundler or a big donor. If you are a small donor you will get the "neutral" treatment. If they don't know you, you are the enemy. I know several aldermen (where the real stuff gets approved) and I generally have good relationships. But this was only due to my relationship with a big state level politico. One alderman is a downright asshole whenever I talk to him, so I just stopped. They really believe they are kings of their wards. Respect is shown through fealty and money. If you don't bring those, expect lots of "civic" oriented problems.
3) They say they like new ideas, but they don't. Most of the Chicago liberals think the city has these "quaint" neighborhoods and such, but they will viciously vote and complain about anything and everything that makes a noise or a peep after 9pm. These people belong in the suburbs, but they imagine themselves as the avant garde sophisticates. They are nothing of the sort.
4) I get the feeling that this new city government under Brandon Johnson doesn't really know how it all works. They are CTU union stooges, who've never worked outside of government or teaching. They see this big city and think they have arrived, and that it will always be the same. They don't understand that a big, thriving city requires constant attention, capital and maintenance. It doesn't just work by itself. They are dedicating almost all their time on social justice initiatives, rather than the economic livelihood and the business community. This will take a little time, but the core is getting hollowed out. Every day we see more investors giving up and selling their commercial real estate at absolutely HUGE discounts from what they paid. None of these people/institutions will buy here again.
You can't see it by looking at the skyline, but there are very dark clouds here, and all it will take is a national macroeconomic slide for this city to become a real wasteland. it's already underway, but just happening in slow motion.
I won't even get into the crime, which everyone knows about.