-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
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Will Johnson, of The Harris Poll: "In a poll that we at The Harris Poll conducted in mid-September, 40% of city residents and 54% of adults in suburban Cook County said they don’t feel safe in downtown Chicago...But for Chicago to regain its footing, (Mayor Brandon) Johnson must do all he can to revitalize the city’s majority Black and Hispanic wards and Michigan Avenue and the rest of greater downtown. In fact, revitalized neighborhoods and a vibrant downtown are complementary, each sustaining and energizing the other."
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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Really need to stop calling it that. There is nothing Magnificent about that avenue any more. Same with Oak Street. And the disease is spreading, stores are leaving Oak Brook.
Folks, if you want to read ahead in the script ask anyone from Detroit about shopping in downtown Detroit or the retail sector there.
Joe, while there are exceptions, the typical Illinois resident is not capable of connecting the dots or learning from history. They simply accept what the loudest voices are telling them. If the loudest voices don’t tell the truth, they will accept the lies, especially if the truth means they have to make changes, like moving. In other words, you can’t fix stupid.
Yup, Old Joe, remember the sad saga of the J L Hudson department store, once a jewel of downtown Detroit; back in the 20’s they were so flush with cash that they installed the first – ever air conditioning system in a retail store: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._L._Hudson_Department_Store_and_Addition Records: Tallest department store / retail building in the world. Second largest department store building in the United States, exceeded by Macy’s Herald Square in New York City. The store closed January 17, 1983, at the nadir of downtown Detroit’s decline,,, Hudson’s was demolished by Controlled Demolition, Inc. at exactly 5:47 p.m. ET on October… Read more »
GM, I do remember going to Hudsons in downtown Detroit as a kid. One of my favorite vintage family pics is me and my sister circa 1962 on Santa’s lap. They even had elevator operators back then. How far we’ve fallen is sad.
Johnson Likely To Dump Lightfoot’s Half-Assed Plan — To Turn Abandoned LaSalle Street Office Buildings Into Cabrini-Green Style High-Rise Low Income Housing — A Plan That Would Drive A Stake Through The Heart Of An Already Dying Downtown – Crain’s Chicago Business
Feelings? My eyes say Michigan Avenue retail corridor is undergoing major decline.
Decline or just an evolutionary transition? I’m confident that once the current businesses on the Mag Mile are completely replaced by nail salons, hub cap shops and 2nd hand furniture stores revenue from sales tax will stabilize.
Not worth the risk of going there any longer. If you are a victim of a crime no one cares or will do anything about it.
You can get the Mag Mile shopping experience in Oak Brook and Skokie. And Oak Brook offers a much lower sales tax.
Unless you stick to a one/two block stretch of Rush Street, there isn’t much of a point for suburbanites to head downtown to shop.
Downtown ‘Doom Loop’ Accelerates, As Landmark Buildings (Including The Civic Opera Building On Wacker Drive, And The Chicago Board Of Trade On LaSalle Street) Default On Their Loans, And Businesses Look To Leave – Second City Cop; Are Phony ‘Chicago Is Number 1’ News Stories Planted Propaganda — A Desperate Attempt To Pump Up The Numbers For The 2024 Convention Visitors – Second City Cop
The south and west sides don’t see Chicago as ‘their’ Chicago. It’s the rich, northsider’s Chicago, and the suburbanites Chicago. They’d rather burn it all down.
Wish we had the good old days, when they burned down their own neighborhoods,
Mayor Johnson governs ALL of Chicago, but his interest seems focused on his black constituency.
Elections have consequences.
Racists do that.