It Really Was a Beautiful City

A one-time resident of Chicago, Benjamin Blair explains why he and his family left, and what might entice him to return. Rebuilding Chicago: An Exit Analysis Provides Clues to Fixing Things | Chicago Contrarian

Mr. Blair doesn't foresee any of these changes happening in his lifetime, but here are the topics he discusses.

Decline of the lakefront

Once a draw for everyone, from the city and the suburbs alike, has been turned over to the homeless, and become unsafe, and not beautiful. It really was beautiful with some beaches, a bike path, and more.

Crime and punishment

I have written about the issue of crime in Chicago at length. I won't repeat anything here. You should look at what he documented in the immediate neighborhood of his apartment on The Gold Coast. It is a wonder anyone stays if one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city (the country?) is not safe.

Educational standards and excellence

No, the fundamental issue is cratering academic standards, across the state in fact. Test scores and proficiency in math and reading are dropping even as educators and schools negotiate for more authority over our children’s lives. We saw this as our youngest child was behind grade level in Chicago in reading (which we only learned moving out of the state), but was caught up after a year of 2-hours of homework a night for his new school.

This is an article about Chicago, that I found, because in some ways Chicago is still home, though I will never live there again. I believe you could write a similar article about other cities that have the same problems. Someone could, but not me.

I could add to list of course, but this is enough to be going on with. I share the conviction with Mr. Blair that none of these things will be fixed in my lifetime, in part because the Democrats won't even admit that these are problems. And make no mistake, Chicago is run by Democrats, and has been for (nearly?) 100 years. They also don't have the money to fix things that need fixing, because of financial mistakes (I'm being kind) made by Daley the Younger, Rahm the Dancer, and Lightfoot, and probably more before them.