KarenAnneMarie's Blog
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A City I Can Barely Be Proud Of
- Posted on 07.23.09
Chicago has seen its fair share of corruption for years and years. Growing up here, I've seen it myself firsthand. When former Governor Rod Blagojevich was impeached earlier this year (http://digg.com/d3hcEN), it felt that perhaps the political corruption would be of lesser notice. When Roland Burris, Blago's choice for Obama's senate seat replacement came forward and made mention that, despite fiercely denying it throughout his seating process, he was offered the Senate seat at a price by one of Blagojevich's campaign managers (http://digg.com/d3kwyI).
From impeached governors to clout lists of students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (http://tinyurl.com/mw9uqz), it's no wonder adults and youth alike are jaded by the politics of this state and particularly this city. Vying for the chance to host the Summer Olympics in 2016, it seems unlikely that Chicago will actually succeed in the endeavor. If the state budget crisis is any indicator of how financially stable we remain , it seems unlikely, as a city, we'd be able to find the resources needed to allow for such a large audience and intense population boom for two weeks of our summer some seven years down the line. It also did not help that Mayor Richard J. Daley decided to sign off on the insurance claims that stated if something were to happen during the construction and build-up leading to the Olympics (http://tinyurl.com/luuvj2), the city would take full financial responsibility and thus leaving the tax-payers, who are already stretching pockets to their thinnest with the country's highest sales tax of 10.25%, to foot the bill of whatever excess or mistake is created during the 2016 Olympic process.
Perhaps I've spent the last few years ignoring the political situation of this great city on the lake or perhaps it's only recently come to the attention of the surrounding public that there is much more going on behind closed doors than even we realized. There are clout lists for elite Chicago Public Schools that are being investigated (http://tinyurl.com/morb89) and Todd Stroger, Cook County Board President, who has repeatedly refused to repeal the sales tax hike implemented 2 years ago now has had his own personal run-ins with income tax evasion and was found to owe the IRS $12,000 in back income taxes (http://tinyurl.com/lr69kz).
Perhaps as a state and particularly a city, we've learned to turn a blind eye on the corruption of our politics but perhaps that blind eye has turned from ignorance to just plain rampant apathy. It seems from budget crisis of the CTA to state governmental payroll that has effected every person living in this state, to how well our Alderman's, Senator's, and County officials have handled scandal after scandal over the past 8 months now, there isn't anyone willing to take the stand and actually try to make a change. Though notorious as our city is for it's political corruption we seem to be becoming more notorious for our resident's general malaise and apathy for trying to create a more positive political and social atmosphere.
