Editorials & Other Articles

lees1975

(6,432 posts) Thu Apr 10, 2025, 12:03 PM Apr 10

Life in one of America's Blue Cities

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2025/04/life-in-one-of-americas-blue-cities.html

It was a dream I had, from the very first time I ever visited this city, which didn't happen until I was well past 50 years of age. This is a place that pulses with life, a huge, densely populated, culturally diverse, center of culture and economic life of the American Midwest, Chicago. It's the place political conservatives love to hate, with a long history of Democratic party dominance, due in part to its base of organized labor and more recently, because it was the place where former President Barack Obama got his political start.

It's political history has been colorful, to say the least, and often criticized. But let's remember, America is still a democracy, and Democrats are popular here because they are a grass roots political movement that relies heavily on popular support and on getting things done for the people. It's not easy getting elected in Chicago, and it is even more difficult after election, especially for high profile office holders, partly because expectations are so high.

I choose to live here, and am planning on retiring here, or at least, close enough to visit regularly.

It is a working class, union-based political stronghold of the Democratic party. The municipal government operates off of a tax base provided by almost 3 million residents, and one of the largest corporate business communities in the country. Taxes, which we all love to complain about, run 1.52% for households, less than the fourth largest city in the country, Houston, and about average of other big cities. I've lived in Houston, too, and for the tax dollars I pay in Chicago, we get a while heck of a lot more. Our schools are better, for one thing, our crime rate is lower, and if I don't want to fight the traffic here, which is, I will admit, worse than Houston was, I can use public transportation, combination of the bus and the "L", and get to where I'm going in a half hour or less.