Chicago’s black flight problem
Tuesday, Jan 29, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Pete Saunders at the Reader…
Chicago’s black population, the city’s largest demographic in 2000, has dropped by 24 percent through 2017, going from more than one million in 2000 to just under 800,000 in 2017. The number of whites in Chicago surpassed blacks in 2017, and Latinos will almost certainly pass blacks by the time of the 2020 census.
Chicago’s population would be increasing if not for the black exodus. How can it be explained?
Well, there’s the lack-of-a-dynamic-economy theory and the slowed-immigration theory, already noted. And there’s the rust-belt-restructuring theory, which suggests that Chicago’s transition from a manufacturing-dominant economy to a service- or tech-based one creates new winners and losers—and that we’re shedding those who are unable to contribute in the new economic environment. Also partly true, but pretty Darwinistic.
There’s also the “crime and schools” theory. Chicago’s violent crime rate has been a national story for some years now, and while crime is down significantly from the “crack era” 90s, it hasn’t fallen as much as it has in other major cities. The closure of more than 50 schools in 2013, mostly in black communities on the south and west sides, meant the loss of key local anchor institutions. Without a doubt there are many blacks who feel they are being pushed out of Chicago by its crime challenges, and that the school closures were an indication of a lack of investment in critical local institutions. […]
(B)lack Chicagoans aren’t flocking to the suburbs so much as leaving the region altogether. The number of blacks in the metro area but outside of Chicago has been relatively stagnant since 2000, an indication that people are leaving. The cities gaining at Chicago’s expense? Sunbelt hot spots like Atlanta, Dallas, and Houston. The draw is the perception of greater opportunity, and perhaps the chance to restore old southern networks with family and friends who stuck around.
Go read the whole thing.
* Other stuff…
* McQueary: Why the Illinois exodus? The rich get bashed, and off they go
- Wumpus - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 11:30 am:
Jobs, less crime and better weather in Atlanta and southern cities. A lot of blacks came to chicago for similar opportunities
- Wumpus - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 11:30 am:
Liam’s reason many blacks moved north, opportunity. But now, the weather will be better.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 11:31 am:
Elsewhere in Saunder’s article it says that 60% of blacks leaving the area are unemployed. With job finding websites common there is no reason to stick around one area if you can find a job in another area. Especially if you have some relatives who can put you up and help with the transition.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 11:41 am:
Against some of their statistics, in this time frame, the Black population has grown in the South Suburbs considerably. Better housing stock, less crime and slightly better schools. On the streets, it isn’t particularly visible that the Southside of Chicago is depopulating, with the exception of the Engelwood neighborhood.
- Almost the weekend - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 11:42 am:
This number would have doubled if Chicago won the Olympics in 2016. I agree with the theory of transition from manufacturing to service and tech industry. Many African Americans moved to downstate manufacturing hubs for these same opportunities that no longer exist. It’s a shame and another reason why free trade isn’t free.
- RNUG - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 11:43 am:
Maybe I missed something, but I never did get a clear picture if the author thought racial issues caused flight in search if economic opportunity or if economic issues are causing the racial flight, but only / primarily in the black community. The issues are obviously intertwined; kind of like the chicken and egg puzzle. I don’t think you can address it unless you better identify the cause.
- DuPage Saint - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 11:43 am:
Will make the new aldermanic maps interesting
- 62656 - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 11:45 am:
One factor is likely touched on in last week’s downstate segregation article:
“When it comes to land use — what gets built where — governments use zoning restrictions to keep out rental housing, which attracts blacks and other minorities, from predominantly white areas. They approve new residential subdivisions with strict deed restrictions that make large swaths of communities unaffordable to low-income residents and often explicitly bar any use other than single-family homes. As they restrict where apartments can be built, local governments also play a big role in deciding where public housing and other taxpayer-supported affordable housing projects are located. That often leads to concentrated areas of low-income housing in black neighborhoods. Those changes almost inevitably become permanent, because the income restrictions and other rules that come with public subsidies last for decades.” https://capitolfax.com/2019/01/24/segregation-in-downstate-illinois/
Real estate prices (zoning/deed restrictions) keeping people out is a much bigger influence on who lives in Chicagoland than downstate.
- Perrid - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 11:57 am:
RNUG, Mr. Saunders gave lots of possible reasons, but between “displacement by decline” and “black avoidance”, I think he was making the point that racial issues caused economic issues which caused flight in search of economic opportunity, and just better lifestyle/neighborhoods.
That was my interpretation.
- Not a Billionaire - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:02 pm:
I think it’s an all of the above. I didn’t bother to read the comedy link.
- Streamwood Retiree - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:04 pm:
Don’t Republicans say that people are fleeing Illinois because of high income taxes?
Perhaps those 600,000 black Chicagoans were fleeing onerus income taxes for low tax states. /snark
On Wednesday you can look at the thermometer and know why I plan to flee Illinois. My daughter tells me that schools are closing in Alabama too. Two inches of snow predicted and a bone chilling low ow 20 degrees. High will be near 60, though.
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:10 pm:
It was just on the TV news, accurately told, of how the appellate court ruled in the union’s favor, and it’s affected the newest workers.
The bottom line is this: The newest state workers were deliberately ripped off by someone whose personal wealth is thousands of times more than theirs, and who’s taxed at the same state rate as them.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:10 pm:
===Black population has grown in the South Suburbs considerably.===
There is a vibrant community of business leaders, many of whom are black, in the south suburbs. It’s a struggle to compete there with the unbalanced tax situation in south Cook County, with lower-tax neighbors in Will County and across the state line, but at least local and regional leaders are aware of the situation and bringing it to the attention of the new administration and GA to try and fix it. Overall population is pretty flat but trending down(2000-2017)- Bloom Township down 3,000, Thornton Township down 13,000, Rich Township up 9,000, Bremen Township flat, Worth Township down 2,000.
- Not a Billionaire - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:11 pm:
The climate report said we might get climate refugees or reverse ones. But studies from Katrina it’s more a move from the interstate 10 to 20 corridor meaning Chicago may end up being surpassed by Dallas and Atlanta.
- NeverPoliticallyCorrect - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:11 pm:
Perhaps the real question is why are so many staying.
- James Brown - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:11 pm:
Please, please, please,please
Please, please don’t go
Please, please please
Please, please dont go
Honey, please don’t go
Yeah, oh yeah, I love you so
Please, please don’t go…
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:13 pm:
Oops, I posted in the wrong thread. Sorry about that. Doing too many things at once.
To this post:
Pritzker wants to address big, tough probelms, high property taxes, the rich paying low state income taxes and the state paying a low share toward education. It’s a very tough problem, but it would get the money from those who could afford to pay more.
- Shemp - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:15 pm:
Would be curious about the shift to the downstate. Demographics have become more diverse in many downstate areas.
- Montrose - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:22 pm:
McQuery’s piece is a classic “answer in search of a question” column.
- Chicagonk - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:24 pm:
Property taxes (especially in poorer suburbs in southern Cook County), crime, job losses, and better opportunities elsewhere.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:28 pm:
Wumpus, Atlanta has a higher crime rate than Chicago.
- lake county democrat - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:28 pm:
An inconvenient truth: many illegal immigrants or children of illegal immigrants who came here after the 1986 reform have taken jobs that were cliche entry-level African-American jobs. See the research cited in the 2008 US Civil Rights Commission report on the subject. For a microcosm of this, last year the Sun-Times did a story about how following an immigration raid a local factory filled jobs with African-Americans and that led to racial tensions with the prior workers.
It’s not the only cause by any means:obviously there were problems in many AA neighborhoods prior to 1986. But it’s contributed. Coretta Scott King didn’t call the effect of immigration “devastating” (in a letter to Orin Hatch) for nothing.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:31 pm:
Almost the weekend, you clearly don’t understand what free trade means.
- City Zen - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:35 pm:
==The closure of more than 50 schools in 2013, mostly in black communities on the south and west sides, meant the loss of key local anchor institutions.==
So what’s the solution then for severely under-enrolled schools? Keep them open for decades waiting for the neighborhood to magically rebound while the school system bleeds red and denies limited resources to thriving schools? Or close the school and hope families will move back to a neighborhood with no school? Seems like Chicago chose the latter route.
- City Guy - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:40 pm:
Another issue is the City has been raising income through a number of fees and related non-payment/late payment penalties. These include not having city sticker, emissions sticker, parking fines, red light cameras, speed cameras, etc.
Pro-publica did an article on this in Feb. 2018. Here are two quotes to put the issue in perspective “In 2007, an estimated 1,000 Chapter 13 bankruptcies included debts to the city, usually for unpaid tickets, with the median amount claimed around $1,500 per case. By last year, the number of cases surpassed 10,000, with the typical debt to the city around $3,900.” and “Eight of the 10 ZIP codes with the most accumulated ticket debt per adult are majority black.”
I think we are chasing people out of town with these type of fines.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:43 pm:
–Coretta Scott King didn’t call the effect of immigration “devastating” (in a letter to Orin Hatch) for nothing.–
Geez, you wear that out.
So you’re anti-immigrant because they allegedly throw black people out of work? Aren’t you noble.
The unemployment rate in Cook County is 3.6%, dude. Toss immigrants out of work and the economy would collapse.
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:52 pm:
There obviously needs to be more investment in African-American communities. Investment has been made in Chicago’s downtown and nearby. Tourism and development are great but not very helpful where help is needed most.
Rauner’s plan was to strip rights away from workers so rich investors could have a permanent upper hand in low-income communities, before any investment is made. That kind of investment strategy is exploitation. African-American voters rejected it by huge margins.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:54 pm:
Investment occura where there is money to be made. Englewood just doesn’t have what it takes right now.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 12:56 pm:
I’m pretty sure public union rights has little to do with real estate development in South Shore.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 1:01 pm:
==An inconvenient truth==
Immigrants were part of the mix when Chicago was growing (they were a big part of why Chicago grew) and when Chicago was at it’s peak.
In a science experiment the constant variable (immigration)is the control. You are looking for the independent variable.
- lake county democrat - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 1:07 pm:
Wordslinger - spoken like somebody whose job will never be threatened by an illegal immigrant but who earns enough that they personally benefit from it. I’m not anti-immigrant at all, nor do I want to throw out any unauthorized immigrants here now. I want Canada’s immigration system: generous, multicultural, and controlled. As for “allegedly” I cited evidence (and there’s been studies since then). As for that 3.7% unemployment rate, what’s the statistic for young African-American unemployment in Chicago?
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 1:26 pm:
==Investment occurs where there is money to be made.==
Or where the city counsel chooses to gift you a billion or so. See Sterling Yards.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 1:30 pm:
–Wordslinger - spoken like somebody whose job will never be threatened by an illegal immigrant but who earns enough that they personally benefit from it.–
And your attempts to blame black youth unemployment on immigrants is a classic example of “how about you and him fight.”
It presumes a rigid, zero-sum economy that’s never existed.
Old as the Know-Nothings.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 1:35 pm:
Please explain the gift for Lincoln Yards. Also, notice the site isn’t in Englewood?
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 1:36 pm:
Wordalinger is absolutely right. Chicago needs immigrants. It is what has always supported it’s economy and population
- lake county democrat - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 1:39 pm:
Worslinger - and your name calling is beneath you. I doubt you reviewed the research I cited (which Paul Krugman endorsed) let alone concluded they assumed a zero-sum economy. And given that I’m not in favor of any action against people here now, who am I making fight? I think there should be some sort of e-verify like system banning employers from hiring unauthorized immigrants who arrive after some predetermined date in the future. I have no idea how you’d want to enforce our immigration laws, if you do at all.
- City Zen - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 1:54 pm:
==Chicago needs immigrants. It is what has always supported it’s economy and population==
Chad and Trixie wholeheartedly disagree.
Remove the young, childless professionals from Chicago and its finances sink like a stone in Lake Michigan…when it’s not frozen.
- Nonbeleiver - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 2:07 pm:
As to whether Chicago needs immigrants, and by that I assume most are talking about foreign immigrants, the answer is probably a yes.
Immigrants can be a tremendous boon for any nation or they can be a negative force.
It all depends on the type of immigration and the skills and financial resources that they bring.
The nation does not need unskilled labor in an age when automation and technology are making rapid advancements.
- anon2 - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 2:20 pm:
Because Illinois has one of the most regressive state and local tax systems, the tax burden is very high on lower-income residents. That could account for some black out-migration. A graduated income tax would make the tax system less regressive, but the GOP is completely opposed, preferring the highly regressive status quo.
- Blue Dogs are Blind, Deaf, and Dumb - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 2:27 pm:
McQueary does an exceptional amount of bashing herself and in much of the same manner as ex-Governor Rauner and other Illinois Republicans. HINT: Our state’s challenges will not get solved by screaming people are fleeing Illinois. Next time try pointing out the many positives Illinois enjoys and you might not come off sounding like an ex-Governor that deservedly lost after trashing our great state.
- Josh - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 2:29 pm:
It’s not fair to compare Lincoln Yards to Englewood.
LY is creating a TIF district designated for infrastructure. The increase in property values is paying for these improvements due to the incremental property taxes captured by the TIF.
This structure wouldn’t work in Englewood because the property values are so low. You can buy a single family home for $40,000. A TIF would not work here.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 2:29 pm:
My bad. I meant Sterling Bay or Lincoln Yards, not Sterling Yards, sheesh.
No it’s not in Englewood.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 2:40 pm:
==Investment occurs where there is money to be made.==
I was reacting to this observation in general. Lincoln Yards was just an example, probably because I live near there.
Anywhere the city council drops a bunch of money with a TIF there is money to be made, and thus “investment”. That was the purpose of TIFs in the first place.
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 3:04 pm:
This has been happening for over twenty years.
The crack/drug epidemic that started out-migration, may have ended - but what it did permanently was relocate families out of Chicago. So the rest of the families are moving out too. It was a tipping point that has caused a trend.
Section 8 housing in the South Suburbs created opportunities to leave. Crime and gangs drove single moms and their kids out. But, gangs often followed them. So, these moms fled further.
Multi-generational families left. The instability made it even easier to move again, even cross-country. The Jim Crow South ended since 1990 at state levels, African Americans came home.
Lower costs, less taxes, better economies, more jobs and better schools are in the South - not in Chicago.
- Nonbeleiver - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 3:18 pm:
@ VanillaMan
Good comments and the best analysis I have seen.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 3:21 pm:
==Chicago needs immigrants. It is what has always supported it’s economy and population==
Chad and Trixie wholeheartedly disagree.–
Really? They don’t go out to eat? Clean their own homes? Do all the yard work and home repairs? Fix the car under the shade tree? Operate the gas stations and convenience stores?
I didn’t know yuppies were so self-sufficient. They’re like old-timey farmers, doing everything themselves.
- TheAwfulTruth - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 3:32 pm:
I’m sorry but just reading this and my rolling eyes over and over…How is the fact that Chicago and the region are pretty racist and segregated cultures ignored by you all??? Yes, better economies, crime, weather are relatable points but you are talking about all of the symptoms but not the disease. I’m live in Chicago and it’s obvious - why are we lying to ourselves? Sorry for the rant but these responses are laughable for their ignorance.
- City Zen - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 3:33 pm:
==Really? They don’t go out to eat? Clean their own homes?==
Debating chicken and egg?
Let me know the staffing requirements at Big Star for brunch when Chad and Trixie are Thanosed from the Chicago scene.
- supplied_demand - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 4:01 pm:
@VanillaMan
==The crack/drug epidemic that started out-migration==
I think de-industrialization sparked unemployment, which set-off the crack epidemic. It all traces back to people losing jobs and becoming hopeless. The same pattern has happened more recently in rural areas with joblessness leading to the opioid epidemic.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 4:01 pm:
Completely agree that the legacy effect of racism is a major cause of the current black flight. It’s probably the number one reason that crime and economic decay are occurring in those neighborhoods.
But the silly, if only we invest there, as a cure to the problem is not that simple. Investment in what? Vacant neighborhoods? Who is going to invest in that?
- City Zen - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 4:19 pm:
==Investment in what? Vacant neighborhoods? Who is going to invest in that?==
I thought CTU had a good opportunity to make such an investment when they built their new HQ, maybe re-purpose a closed CPS school. Instead, they chose a loft in hipster West Town a half mile away from the nearest L stop.
Perhaps a wise choice financially on their part, but a bit tone deaf considering their rhetoric.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 4:41 pm:
==Vacant neighborhoods? Who is going to invest in that?==
Related Midwest is someone who is investing in 62 acres of vacant land.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/ori/ct-biz-south-loop-megadevelopment-ryan-ori-20180510-story.html
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 4:46 pm:
the 78 and Roseland have a lot in common, right?
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 4:48 pm:
CTU obviously could care less about education or the students. But to be fair, it’s sole purpose is to increase pay and benefits of its members.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 4:50 pm:
Wolfie, how much have you invested in Austin or West Garfield Park?
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 4:50 pm:
A half a mile from the nearest L stop? That’s a 10 minute stroll. What rhetoric are you referring to? CTU has rhetoric against walking? Or against West town, or hipsters?
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 4:55 pm:
=So what’s the solution then for severely under-enrolled schools=
Rebuild the neighborhoods.
Bring back beat cops.
Train the (handy) unemployed in the building trades. Hire them to rehab foreclosed homes and give the neighbors Section 8 vouchers.
Fully fund the neighborhood schools: art, music, reading specialist, social worker, nurse, preschool, etc.
Build a library.
Open a grocery store.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 4:55 pm:
Some anonymous person mentioned vacant neighborhoods. The area Related Midwest is investing in is as about as vacant as you can get. And has been vacant for as long as I can remember. Isn’t that your basic argument, that investing in vacant property is something no one wants to do?
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 5:00 pm:
And if the vacant 62 acres were in Washington Park?
You clearly don’t understand Real Estate.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 5:03 pm:
==the 78 and Roseland have a lot in common, right?==
Why mention that specific corner? Your trying to sell it to me?
==Wolfie, how much have you invested in Austin or West Garfield Park?==
None. I stupidly invested in Apple and Nvidia. I probably should have invested in Austin or Garfield park.
- A 400lb. Guy on a bed - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 5:05 pm:
McQuery is wondering where Tribune subscribers went.
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 5:12 pm:
Some of this is still fall-out from the closure of public housing projects and the resultant dispersal of public housing residents (including gang members) throughout the city, including stable black neighborhoods.
So, traumatize the population, close the neighborhood school, defund the remaining schools, close all the mental health clinics - hey, I’d leave, too.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 5:17 pm:
–Let me know the staffing requirements at Big Star for brunch when Chad and Trixie are Thanosed from the Chicago scene.–
I have no idea what you’re trying to say.
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 5:18 pm:
America owes African-Americans more than it can ever repay. The least we should do is prioritize and fund economic assistance at different political levels, especially at the national level.
We lavished billionaires with permanent and massive tax cuts (corporations are people too, my friend). That money is better spent on investing in minority communities, from a moral and economic standpoint.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 5:23 pm:
Tiny, how long should a school that is 50% or less occupied be left to operate? School closing and consolidation is a rational move.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 5:32 pm:
And what does a mental health clinic, whatever that is, have to do with investment?
- Sue - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 5:38 pm:
Grandson- beginning with the war on poverty- we have invested trillions on minorities without much changing their economic status. Rather then handouts why haven’t we focused more on skill improvements. To that end while charter schools are viewed by many minorities as the ticket out of poverty your Dem friends always look to kill charter school programs to appease the teacher unions. Want to improve the plight of minorities- let more minorities access charter schools
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 6:00 pm:
–Grandson- beginning with the war on poverty- we have invested trillions on minorities without much changing their economic status. –
Yeah, why don’t you back all that up just a little bit.
- 47th Ward - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 6:14 pm:
===why don’t you back all that up just a little bit.===
Or any of it.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 6:21 pm:
Does anyone seriously think someone is leaving Chicago because a “mental health clinic” closed?
- Blue Dog Dem - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 6:41 pm:
Rich frequently suggests I use this Google thing. Maybe a couple of you above should too.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 6:49 pm:
–Rich frequently suggests I use this Google thing. Maybe a couple of you above should too.–
For what, exactly? Use your words.
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 7:10 pm:
=Tiny, how long should a school that is 50% or less occupied be left to operate?=
An empty school is not the problem.
An empty school is a symptom of the problem.
The neighborhoods (and the people) are devastated.
Rebuild the neighborhood and the school will fill up.
It’s not, of course, that simple (got to include a fix for generational poverty caused by institutional racism) but, basically that’s it.
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 7:13 pm:
@Annonymous:
=Does anyone seriously think someone is leaving Chicago because a “mental health clinic” closed?=
If I wrote stuff like that, I wouldn’t identify myself either.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 7:55 pm:
–But the silly, if only we invest there, as a cure to the problem is not that simple. Investment in what? Vacant neighborhoods? Who is going to invest in that?–
Actually, that’s exactly how strategic gentrification works (props to Chris Kennedy). The investment comes after the poor people are gone.
See the expansion of the Greater Loop, and in the areas where the CHA towers came down.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 8:02 pm:
Please explain how to rebuild a neighborhood. It’s a cool soundbite, but how do you rebuild Englewood?
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 8:06 pm:
That’s probably right wordslinger. Unfortunately it’s probably the only way to rebuild theae neighborhoods. What would it take to get you to invest there? I certainly wouldn’t put my capital on the line with the current situation.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 8:07 pm:
So your name is Tiny?
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 8:23 pm:
“But the silly, if only we invest there, as a cure to the problem is not that simple. Investment in what? Vacant neighborhoods? Who is going to invest in that?”
There are plenty of African-American neighborhoods that are not vacant. That’s just another excuse to not spend more money on jobs, education, infrastructure, etc. There are no excuses made by those who shovel billions of tax dollars more to the richest, no worrying about debt, deficits, extreme income disparity, loss of workers’ rights and healthcare, etc.
I stand by my support of prioritizing low-income communities for economic investment: jobs, schools, infrastructure, etc. A city or country is like a ship, and the anchor of poverty and racism slows us all down.
- RNUG - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 8:39 pm:
== Want to improve the plight of minorities- let more minorities access charter schools ==
Sue, charter schools won’t solve the problem; it goes deeper than that. Speaking from when Mrs RNUG worked for the school district, it has to go back to parental involvement. And parental involvement is a problem that is hard to achieve in single parent / broken / low income homes. Even great teachers can’t fix the home dynamics; it takes a whole expensive social network.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 29, 19 @ 9:27 pm:
What does “spend money on jobs” mean?
And no one said every African American neighborhood is vacant. And there are plenty of CPS schools in African American neighborhoods. Have you ever been in some of these areas?
What infrastructure are we not spending money on? Plenty of roads, buses, trains go through the city.
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Wednesday, Jan 30, 19 @ 8:30 am:
…and offer free childcare (staffed by early childhood specialists, nurses, etc. and focused on literacy skills/vocabulary, numeracy, nutrition, etc.) while parents get their GEDs, job-training, jr. college, substance abuse counseling, etc., etc.
Intervene..big time.
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Wednesday, Jan 30, 19 @ 8:44 am:
Keep the “empty” schools open for after school programs - art club, chess club, drama club, book club, gymnastics, band, orchestra, chorus, counseling, child-parent centers, community meetings.
Too expensive? You can pay me now or you can pay me later. Nothing is more expensive than what’s happening now.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Wednesday, Jan 30, 19 @ 8:55 am:
Some of those schools are huge. Three floor on two blocks. We could have locked off the top floor. That would have been better than a giant decaying husk in the middle of the neighborhood, bringing everyone’s housing value down.
- City Zen - Wednesday, Jan 30, 19 @ 9:05 am:
Opening Soon: FKASue’s Fresh Market
8 locations across Chicago’s under-served south and west sides.
$15/hr. Full healthcare benefits.
Now accepting applications.
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Wednesday, Jan 30, 19 @ 9:48 am:
Illinois cost of incarceration: $22,000 per inmate, per year (including marginal costs: $36,000 per inmate, per year)
1,000 new Chicago cops: $134 million
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Wednesday, Jan 30, 19 @ 10:19 am:
==Opening Soon: FKASue’s Fresh Market==
Some jobs are too big for one person. That’s why people came out of their caves and worked together to hunt the woolly mammoth, so everyone could eat.
That is why people form governments. To tackle the jobs that are too big for one person.