After Heller, Chicago remains defiant

[KBCraig]

Chicago defies forgotten 2nd Amendment

Steve Chapman
November 27, 2008

Since the Supreme Court upheld the individual right to own guns last summer, one municipality with handgun bans after another has faced reality. Washington, which lost the case, changed its law. Morton Grove repealed its ban. So did Wilmette. Likewise for Evanston. Last week, Winnetka followed suit.

Then there is Chicago, which is being sued for violating the 2nd Amendment but refuses to confront the possibility that what the Supreme Court said may apply to this side of the Appalachians.

When it comes to firearms, Mayor Richard Daley is no slave to rationality. "Does this lead to everyone having a gun in our society?" he asked after the ruling came down. "Then why don't we do away with the court system and go back to the Old West, where you have a gun and I have a gun and we'll settle it in the streets?"

From listening to him, you might assume that the only places in North America that don't have firefights on a daily basis are cities that outlaw handguns. You might also assume that Chicago is an oasis of concord, rather than the site of 443 homicides last year.

So it's no surprise that Daley refuses to make the slightest change to the handgun ordinance, preferring to fight the lawsuits filed by the National Rifle Association. He is not impressed that 1) the law almost certainly violates the Constitution, which elected officials are supposed to uphold, and 2) it would cost taxpayers a lot of money to fight lawsuits the city is bound to lose.

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[jimlongley]

ALl you have to do is remember that Chicago is Daleyland, and that's where bambam comes from.

[seamusTX]

Mayor Daley is going to spend millions of dollars of the taxpayers' money to fight this lawsuit.

But like Judas, his actions will ultimately have a good outcome. This lawsuit will give the Supreme Court an opportunity to incorporate the second amendment.

- Jim

[BobCat]

From your lips to G-d's ears...

[seamusTX]

I'm an optimist, and I can't wait to see Da Mare's reaction to the decision. He has a unique way of turning red and blustering.

Heads will be exploding all over the northeast.

- Jim

[BobCat]

He ain't nothin' compared to his ol' daddy...

[seamusTX]

The younger may be smarter. He's certainly dealing with a much more complicated world. He works in a political environment where raw muscle isn't quite as effective as is used to be; and Illinois has Republican and/or honest attorney generals every once in a while, so he can't use some of the old tricks.

I suspect he got intensive speech coaching at some point. He doesn't come up with those zingers like "There's a mistletoe hangin' from my coattail," and "The police aren't here to create disorder. They're here to maintain disorder."

- Jim

[jimlongley]

The younger may be smarter. He's certainly dealing with a much more complicated world. He works in a political environment where raw muscle isn't quite as effective as is used to be; and Illinois has Republican and/or honest attorney generals every once in a while, so he can't use some of the old tricks.

I suspect he got intensive speech coaching at some point. He doesn't come up with those zingers like "There's a mistletoe hangin' from my coattail," and "The police aren't here to create disorder. They're here to maintain disorder."

- Jim

I knew one of those "honest" attorney generals a few years back, my stepson played on the same park district basketball team as his grandson. One thing I learned by that experience: Even the honest ones aren't.

[seamusTX]

That may be about the state attorney general. I wouldn't know.

But U.S. attorneys salivate at the thought of taking down a governor or big-city mayor. They got George Ryan.

- Jim

[jimlongley]

That may be about the state attorney general. I wouldn't know.

But U.S. attorneys salivate at the thought of taking down a governor or big-city mayor. They got George Ryan.

- Jim

Whose grandson my stepson used to play basketball with.

[BobCat]

Otto Kerner ring a bell? The list goes on... three kinds of politico in Il - those in office, those in prison, and those under indictment.

Charles, if this is too close to the line of being offensive (or over the line) - please delete the post, but reconsider deleting me - I try to be decent most of the time.

Regards,
Andrew

[seamusTX]

There's no question that Illinois has had plenty of crooked politicians, especially before the 1950s. It's mandatory at this point to quote Alderman Paddy Bauler: ''Chicago aint ready for reform!"

However, having grown up there, I have to say that Chicago's mayors have done a much better job of keeping the place on an even keel than those of other big, Northern cities. Areas that I remember as slums or abandoned industrial districts 40 years ago are now too expensive for me to live in if I wanted to.

Lost manufacturing jobs have been replaced with high-paying jobs in service industries like finance and medicine.

The place has its problems, but it isn't the cesspool it's sometimes made out to be.

- Jim

[BobCat]

Jim,

I agree - I grew up nearby, and recall the re-gentrification of the near North Side. Used to frequent a place called the North Branch Saloon in the early 80s, and the blues bars on Lincoln avenue and so forth. You are right that the city never spiraled down into despair and chaos, even in very bad economic times, and much of it's success is a consequence of strong leadership - but never discount the hard work of the general populace!

It is just that I recall the recurring scandals and the pride that people had in how corrupt their city government was. My colleague at work, who is from Louisiana, often teases me that *his* old state government is more corrupt than *mine* - there is a kind of revolutionary pride in being outside the law and getting away with it.

Maybe Houston's government is as crooked as Chicago's - I don't know - but nobody here brags about it, if it is.

Anyway I need to take some time to get my boot out of my mouth and remind myself to "engage brain before putting keyboard into gear". Have a great day.

Regards,
Andrew

[nitrogen]

I don't think the govenors have much to do with improvements like that; it's developers that buy up the land cheap, blow everything up, and rebuild nicer on top of it. Standard good investment; better stores/homes bring a bigger tax base, bigger tax base pays for better law enforcement, better law enforcement improves the crime situation, and the feedback loop begins.

[seamusTX]

Yeahbut the city government creates an environment that attracts developers and employers that pay well.

If the city government is corrupt and incompetent, developers will pass by the place and go to the suburbs.

And something has to happen to attract and keep residents. Chicago residents are not itching to desert the place, as they were 40 years ago, and middle-class people want to move there. The inner suburbs are becoming like the bad, old neighborhoods of the city (for example, Cicero, Berwyn, and Midlothian in the case of Chicago).

I can't say what it takes on a day-to-day basis to run a city like Chicago, but Richard M. Daley has done it better than most other mayors in similar positions.

The Daleys and all other Chicago politicians are anti-RKBA. I think they see it as a qualification for office. But if you have a smart, crafty opponent, it's necessary to recognize that situation.

- Jim