I have long wondered what a Chicago without Daley would be like, since for as long as I have been paying attention, Chicago has been existing under his "reign".
There is a lot of speculation that he may not run for reelection, and I would like to revisit this possibility. I'm not sure what effect a different mayor would have on the city, but all things considered, does Daley deserve to remain the mayor of Chicago, in light of the recent Federal corruption scandals?
I would like to break it down to my own view of the situation, in the form of pros and cons, and then open it up to whatever you guys think:
PROS:
1. His track record. Pretty impressive. He has turned this city around in a manner unfathomable by some measures and I really think this will go down in history no matter what happens now.
2. He truly is a man of action and he has a vision for the city. He seems to want for Chicago what anybody who truly loves a city wants, and he works hard to get it--I'm a huge supporter of that
3. Although there is room for improvement (see below), he hasn't been that typical white mayor (like his father, perhaps?) who promoted segregation and neglected black neighborhoods on the south side. He at least tries to address all communities equally and provide services for them--much of what is lacking in the south side can often be attributable to private disinvestment
4. This is a big one, and a bit controversial, but to me it makes up for many of his shortcomings, even his "machine corruption"--and I'm sure it will be a very unpopular one for some of you. His political connections. Yes--the guy celebrated a birthday with the President (whom I'm not a fan of) just last weekend. Either way, he has the ear of the president and a lot of other powerful people, and that can do a lot of good for our city.
CONS:
1. Obviously, the corruption and the machine. Although some of us (me iincluded) don't mind the machine if it works for a proponent of our own view of things, one can't deny that it's outright unethical. Although I sometimes question the merits of democracy in the current uninformed NIMBY-infused quagmire of urban revitalization, we nevertheless live in a democracy so we are expected to practice one.
2. The poorer neighborhoods and affordable housing. Although above I said he has been better than others at ignoring their plight, many would argue that Daley simply doesn't go far enough to improve access to resources and quality of life in Chicago's poorer neighborhoods. Also, Daley seems to have a sort of business-as-usual approach to the rapid decline in affordable housing in the city.
3. Sometimes he is too often on the side of big business, and I often wonder what "deals" he is making with them behind the scenes. It can be difficult to trust a public official who remains so tight-lipped about things. This correlates to the "political connection" Daley employs, which is generally a good thing but can rear its ugly head in many ways
Does anybody else have any thoughts?> |
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