[VIDEO] If you follow us on instagram (@thesixthward) you might see stores from Wirepoints.org whom you see it's President Ted Dabrowski discuss some of the issues that affects Chicagoans with Public Affairs host Jeff Berkowitz. I'd say let's open the door to you, what issues do you think Mayoral Candidates in the city need to address?
They do discuss crime and a lot of the data Wirepoints does address is the issue of crime. I'd say economic issues are a factor though there is only so much a city can do about the national economic environment. Another issue is certainly insuring our young people are adequately educated and they do mention the power of the teachers union over public education in the city.
[VIDEO] I suppose this is a quick meme about Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the state of Chicago. The Mayor says the business climate of the city is great, yet we hear about the city losing businesses.
The most recent news is the Old Navy on State & Randolph is closing. I remember that it was home to a Borders Books up until the company went bankrupt in the early 2010s. And Old Navy used the have the store one block south on State & Washington which was briefly a Gap and now is home to another retailer Primark.
And now Old Navy is leaving State Street entirely. Worse still there are a number of empty storefronts along State Street. Just look further south beyond Monroe Street at least. I was shocked to see after the riots downtown in 2020 - after George Floyd's death - that a Foot Locker store closer to the DePaul University Campus near Adams & State had closed down.
The issue is crime. It's shocking to see police with their flashing blue lights sitting on the streets in and near downtown Chicago basically there as a presence. It was true during the unrest of 2020 and it's true even now just go up and down Michigan Avenue at night.
You know I must say I wanted Rahm Emanuel to go in 2019, well he stands down and is replaced by Mayor Lightfoot. Right now, he looks like a better mayor compared to Lightfoot as he is now Ambassador Emanuel in Japan. While it's a bit early to say, how many people could say that about Mayor Lightfoot?
BTW, with the above video I like the Marvel Comics Antman references.
Crossposted from The Sixth Ward [VIDEO] One of the main reasons why I started The Sixth Ward was to in some way highlight the middle-class aspects of the 6th Ward as it was drawn between 2002 to roughly 2015. Chatham isn't the only community with a solidly Black middle-class population, but it has often been considered a bastion of the Black middle-class.
It's a great history Blacks came from sharecroppers and then reached some form of a middle-class through entrepreneurship, trades, manufacturing, even as government workers. Although as I've learned overtime with this blog having taken an interest in the issues of the middle-class being white middle-class is often different than being Black middle-class. One difference is certainly the wealth gap:
Nearly 40 percent of black children are poor, and for every dollar of wealth in the hands of the average white family, the typical black family has only a little more than a nickel.
Also mentions which is also part of this wealth gap is the great recession and how many Black families are still digging out of it. Just think as Barack Obama took the reigns as President of the United States many Black neighborhoods here in Chicago were feeling the crisis of foreclosure.
Also noted how if one bought a home in a solidly Black populated area the values of the home would be devalued compared to a home in a white populated area. If both areas are considered solidly middle-class where people generally take care of their property there would still be a difference as far as value based upon the majority race.
With that being said is the path different for those people who seek to join the ranks of America's middle-class? What held an earlier generation back at least 50-60 years ago may not be a major factor at the start of the 21st century.
Rich Miller of the Capitol Fax talks about the increase of students in our high schools and increase the number of high schools. In addition he makes these comments as far as the policy over neighborhood schools and retaining the middle class in our city:
Neighborhood schools weren’t working in many neighborhoods at the bottom of the economic ladder. So, Chicago embraced public school choice. But that isn’t working either for kids on the lowest economic rungs. Charters can kick kids out for low performance, behavioral problems, etc. and they do that a lot.
I happen to think charters can be a great thing. But, man, the costs sure are high to run all those new schools. And innovators like Kansas City are also having some very real problems.
I wonder if some of these issues involved with the neighborhood schools include Harlan. I'm very sure that they might and it also have some undeserved reputation for violence. I say it's undeserved because over the years they attempt to emphasize the students who got something going for themselves with college and the scholarships for example.
BTW, I would suggest you read the full post at Capitol Fax and read The Atlantic article he quotes from. It deserves a read from me regardless.