An Icon Retires In Chicago

Yesterday, Mayor Richard Daley presided over his last city council meeting.  Columnist John Kass has some thoughts here.

The Chicago Democratic Machine has ruled Chicago for so long it would be very difficult to change.  I know a few people that idealistically would want to change it-but their idea is to institute a new crony capitalism machine that benefits them over the current crony capitalism machine that benefits someone else.

Daley is a likable guy.  There are a lot of things that he did to improve certain areas of Chicago.  The touristy areas are cleaner than any other major city.  Walk the streets of the Loop, the Lake, the near north side and it’s really a gem.  But, Daley made other neighborhoods a lot better.  In 1980, there were many parts of Lincoln Park that you wouldn’t want to be caught in.  Now, there are mansions there.  The South Loop was full of crack houses and degradation.  Now there are people carrying out lives there in nice new apartments and homes. Daley redid the museum campus, reconfigured Lake Shore Drive.

But, there were things that he totally missed on.  He missed on education.  But I don’t think that is necessarily a fault of being a Daley, but being a Democrat.   If he would have embraced school vouchers and kept the unions chaste the Chicago educational system would be a lot different.  He did slowly start charter schools, but they are few and far between.

At his core, Daley did love the city.  I don’t think there is any getting around that.  You couldn’t imagine Daley moving to another city and living out his life. Kass postulates that Daley would have lost the next election.  I don’t think so.  But, there are some huge holes to fill that rest on his shoulders.

City finances are a mess. You can point to two things that have put us there.  Defined benefit pensions for city workers, of which there are way too many, and unions.  Chicago is a union town.  Unions have caused costs to spiral out of control.  They have caused McCormick Place, arguably the world’s best convention center, to sit idle. The cost of doing business has chased many businesses out of the city.  More importantly, the costs have caused a lot of businesses to choose not to start up in the city.  Sure, we have Groupon but what really gets an economic engine going are thousands of little entrepreneurial businesses.  They provide the kindling that starts the big economic fire.  Walk down Chicago streets and many many storefronts in lots of neighborhoods are vacant.  Operating costs are too high.

Godspeed to the Mayor.  He also is stepping down to take care of his wife, who is battling cancer.  He is at his core, a family man.  If the mayor said he was stepping down to spend more time with his wife, he really means it-not like some athletes that we know of.

The next mayor, Rahm Emmanuel, needs to have a laser focus.  The budget and debt.  He has to get that under control. If he doesn’t, Chicago won’t become the next Detroit or Cleveland, there are just too many good assets here.  But, it will be a lot less vibrant and less livable.  People will move away.

The problem is, a Democrat can never cut.  They always raise taxes.  Chicago has some of the highest taxes in the United States already.  After Emanuel’s first term, I bet they aren’t lower.

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