Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders: Chicago, by Carl Sandberg (1914)
Well, maybe once upon a time, but the city of the big shoulders is now the city of the big table, according to its recently elected progressive Mayor, Brandon Johnson.
No sooner had I written part one of Chicago’s sanctuary city saga, than I saw a tweet by Elon Musk in regard to the illegal immigration issue:
Despite massive protests, especially by members of the Black community (which I discussed in my previous substack) against the continuation of Chicago as sanctuary city, Johnson insists that the sanctuary city status will not change. Formerly the city of the big shoulders, the Windy City, is now the city of the big table.
Despite his rejection of constituents’ pleas to deep six the table d'hôte and his assurance that there is “space at the table for all of us,” Johnson continues to blame Chicago’s illegal immigrant crisis on Texas Governor, Greg Abbott.
Chicago Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson invoked the Confederacy on Sunday when complaining about Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott sending migrants to the Windy City.
Migrants who are transported to Chicago do not get the same health services as they would at the border, Johnson said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” though he acknowledged the process at the U.S.-Mexico divide is “absolutely raggedy and reckless.”
“But we cannot have a governor who decides that he’s going to cling to the vestiges of [Confederate President] Jefferson Davis, when we should be pulling to the hopes and aspirations that were left by [black abolitionist] Frederick Douglass,” said Johnson. “We have to have a coordinated response to this humanitarian crisis. We cannot allow chaos to dictate and to divide this country.”
Mayor Johnson is unusually adept at turning any issue into a race issue. He deals that race card seamlessly from the bottom of the deck with almost no one noticing. But that invisible backpack of racism that every White carries without realizing it is everywhere to be seen by those blessed with the special ability to see what no one else sees.
It would seem obvious that since Johnson’s party rules the executive branch of the federal government as well as the Senate and virtually all elective offices in Chicago, Cook County and the state of Illinois, that responsibility might lie within his own party, especially its leader, Joe Biden.
Yet, Johnson has joined New York Mayor, Eric Adams, in pleading for federal funds to deal with the crisis that is overwhelming both cities’ budgets. Johnson, however, refuses to place any blame on President Biden for the Commander in Chief’s inattention to the chaos at the border. It would seem to be a no-brainer that the tide of illegals must be stemmed in order to ease the pressure on sanctuary cities, but no one seems to have the brain power or the will to do something about it.
Meanwhile, towns, especially in the Chicago suburbs, are taking it upon themselves to avoid becoming unwilling migrant safe havens and incurring the overwhelming attendant costs.
As Jonathan Turley writes after a visit to his family in Chicago, the opposition to Chicago as sanctuary city is growing and becoming harder for officials to ignore.
This puts liberal politicians in a bind. They do not want to take the heat by rescinding years of sanctuary city policies while not ticking off voters who are upset with the rising costs and impact on the city.
The solution was to block any effort to give the citizens a chance to voice their view of these policies in defeating the resolution of Alderman Anthony Beale (9th) and Raymond Lopez (15th).
Notably, much of the protests have come from traditionally black precincts where locals are fed up with the increasingly crowded conditions for schools and diversion of resources. Yet, eight alderman for those precincts voted to kill the proposal.
It appears that consulting the voters was not a good option for these politicians. Democracy is only useful for certain tasks, particularly when the outcome is likely to be a rejection of long-held policies. Polls indicate that the majority of Chicagoans oppose the sanctuary city policies. Nationally, some polls show 80 percent of voters oppose sanctuary city policies….
While Johnson opposed the measure, he has publicly decried the cost for caring for migrants. He wants to stay technically a sanctuary city without offering quite so much sanctuary.
Perhaps more troubling than the vocal protests against Governor Pritzker’s and Chicago Mayor Johnson’s unpopular policies is the large number of people who are not vocalizing or voting their discontent but are simply moving elsewhere. Illinois is the third-leading state in population loss after California and New York.
Illinois has also lost Congressional representation. It is tied with Michican for fourth-worst loss of House seats since 1980.
Illinois is not only losing population. It is losing businesses and is developing a repuation as one of the worst states in which to do business because of high taxation and excessive regulation.
Finally, the state’s school system has been in decline for a while. Test scores have yet to recover from school closures during Covid. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) have been bottom performers for a long time, but the poor test score virus is spreading even to once stellar Chicago suburban school districts.
While reported graduation rates appear to be high, much of that is illusion resulting from grade inflation. The number of students reading and doing math at grade level is abysmally low, with Blacks and Hispanics lagging well behind.
Of course, there is the crime for which Chicago has long been world famous. Things have become worse lately. With a cashless bail policy now in effect, things may not be much different from Carl Sandberg’s description of the situation in 1914:
And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.
With the latest criminal justice system reforms, it is likely that more gunmen will kill and go free to kill again. It is already happening.
Great article, well researched.
We mustn't ignore these ongoing dangers to our country.