Chicago Tribune (November 26)
“Chicago will not begin to heal until there is accountability and transparency. If there is to be a silver lining in the death of Laquan McDonald, let it be shown through the power of the people who seek change and justice for all.” The release of a one-year old video showing a Chicago police officer shooting a black man 16 times, despite a non-threatening situation, triggered wide spread protests.
Tags: Accountability, Change, Chicago, Justice, Laquan McDonald, Police, Protests, Shooting, Transparency, Video
Chicago Tribune (November 3)
The trailers for Spike Lee’s new movie “Chi-Raq” are embarrassing politicians by depicting Chicago’s bullet-ridden streets and comparing them with Iraq. “The politicians have a bigger problem than they anticipated. Yes, Spike Lee’s movie will embarrass Chicago. But it won’t embarrass Chicago as much as the slaying of Tyshawn Lee already has embarrassed Chicago in news accounts now appearing worldwide.” On November 2, 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee became “the latest young Chicagoan pronounced dead of gunshot wounds.”
Tags: Bullets, Chi-Raq, Chicago, Embarrass, Gunshot wounds, Politicians, Spike Lee, Tyshawn
The Economist (September 5)
“From Guangzhou to Brussels to Chicago, cities are shifting their attention from keeping cars moving to making it easier to walk, cycle and play on their streets. Some central roads are being converted into pedestrian promenades, others flanked with cycle lanes. Speed limits are being slashed.” Over 700 cities have bike-share programs and more than 100 cities “close some roads to cars on weekends.” These and other efforts are making cities “nicer—and healthier—to live in.”
Tags: Bike-share, Brussels, Cars, Chicago, Cycle lanes, Guangzhou, Pedestrians, Speed limits
Washington Post (July 8)
“Maybe Chicago’s death toll will help stop the madness on gun access.” Over the Fourth of July weekend, Chicago “was scarred by what tragically has become another American tradition: gun violence. In the course of 84 hours this past weekend, 82 people were shot in Chicago, 16 of them fatally. One person an hour, not in some far-flung war zone but on the streets of a major U.S. city.”
Chicago Tribune (March 31)
Ride share services like Lyft, Uber X and Sidecar are changing the way people get around urban environments like Chicago. “Consumers like ride shares. They like being able to find a nearby car, check out the driver and agree to a fare, all on their smartphones. They like the option of paying a premium for faster service in peak hours or bad weather. They like choices.” In contrast, taxi owners are unhappy with the new competition and pushing for tighter regulation or outright bans on ride sharing. Some prudent regulation is inevitable and desirable, but lawmakers should side with consumers rather than protecting “the people who got into the taxi business by paying $300,000 or more for a city medallion.”
Tags: Bans, Chicago, Consumers, Lyft, Premium, Regulation, Ride share, Sidecar, Smartphones, Taxis, Uber X
Chicago Tribune (December 9, 2013)
“The world’s biggest airline opens for business on Monday. Chicago has a huge stake in its success.” American Airlines Group Inc. will be formed from the merger of American Airlines and US Airways. The new group will complete against United-Continental and Delta-Northwest in what many see as a more stable competitive sphere. As “the only city in the country with three airline hubs” (American, United and Southwest), Chicago looks poised to benefit from this consolidation.
Tags: American, American Airlines, Chicago, Continental, Delta, Hubs, Merger, Northwest, Southwest, United, US Airways
Chicago Tribune (November 13, 2013)
“It used to be the tallest building in America. It used to be the tallest in the world. It used to be the Sears Tower. Now Chicago’s Willis Tower is second, um, banana to New York’s not-yet-completed One World Trade Center, which was declared tallest in the nation.” And it’s not just Chicago that has lost the skyscraper race. “The U.S. has all but conceded the skyscraper Olympics to cities like Dubai, Taipei, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Eight of the world’s 10 tallest buildings are in the Middle East and Asia. Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Tower, now under construction, will be 3,281 feet tall.”
Tags: Chicago, Dubai, Hong Kong, New York, One World Trade Center, Saudi Arabia, Sears Tower, Shanghai, Skyscraper, Taipei, Tallest, U.S., Willis Tower
Chicago Tribune (September 5)
“It will come as a consolation to some Chicagoans that when they struggle to shed weight, they are up against powerful forces beyond their control.” Research has shown that fans of losing teams consume 16% more saturated fat and 10% percent more calories following losses. “For Chicago, this is apocalyptically bad news…. We have not one but two baseball teams to influence our dietary habits — both of which, right now, are in last place.”
New York Times (September 12)
“Teachers’ strikes, because they hurt children and their families, are never a good idea. The strike that has roiled the civic climate in Chicago — and left 350,000 children without classes — seems particularly senseless.” Chicago had offered the teachers, who make an average annual salary of $75,000, a 16% pay raise over a 4-year period.
Chicago Tribune (July 19)
“The Chicago-based futures industry needs to better protect its clients.” Unlike banks (backed by the FDIC) or brokers (backed by the SIPC), the futures industry lacks a backstop to protect customer accounts. Last year MF Global went bankrupt, with customers losing up to $1.6 billion of their own supposedly safely segregated funds. More recently, Peregrine Financial Group went bankrupt. Customer funds are again missing. “There is no substitute for a well-capitalized insurance fund covering customer accounts…. The industry’s version of the FDIC and SIPC needs to be put in place soon — before the next firm goes belly up and takes its customers’ money with it.”
