Tuesday's election is having unexpected but positive aftershocks here in the Chicagoland area. Congressmen Luis Guitierez and Jesse Jackson, Jr., have both decided not to challenge Richard M. Daley for the Democratic nomination for mayor. Washington DC is suddenly a far more attractive place for ambitious young Democrats, now that the House of Representatives is decidedly blue.
I spend at least half my life in the Loop, I have for decades, and have come to love Richard M. as much as I loathed Richard J. The City is, for the most part, cleaner and safer than ever. Architecture and culture are flourishing under this plain spoken, red faced mayor. Business isn't just concentrated in a few neighborhoods anymore. The projects have made way for scattered site housing.
Most important, there is no one, NO ONE, I want at the helm more than King Richard II. Not after 9/11. Not after Katrina. I trust Richard M. Daley with my life. And make no mistake about it, when you're in a major American city, you are trusting your life to the mayor.
The Federal government is currently conducting "The War on Terror" overseas. That means there is precious little money or oversight left for locals. I was downtown on 9/11, in Illinois Center, in the shadow of both the AON building and Sears Tower, and experienced first hand the solemnity and speed with which the City was emptied. Today, when there are rumors of terrorism, it's the Chicago Police with dogs at the el stops, Chicago Police boats patrolling the river, not the National Guard. If there was a natural disaster here in Chicago, it would be Richard Daley, not FEMA, looking out for us. And I'm 100% fine with that. Mayor Daley offered New Orleans the use of CTA buses before Katrina hit. He was refused. He understood, better than Nagin or FEMA, what it would take to evacuate a city filled with people who don't have cars.
Ok, Ok. Yes, I know. There are city payrollers who have never shown up for work and still enjoy direct deposit. Some people are in jobs that aren't qualified for because their uncle was an alderman. I realize all this. I'm not stupid.
But as long as the image of those planes hitting the Twin Towers is seared into my soul, as long as I remember the horrified faces of the displaced in the Super Dome, I'm more than willing to put up with Cook County shenanigans. Because whatever else you want to say about Daley (and I've lived here all my life so I believe I've heard it all), he loves this city. While I admit corruption has undoubtedly gone on during his tenure, he hasn't personally/financially benefited from it, and that's important to me. And he's tough and smart and quick to act, and act accordingly. The world is too perilous a place to let someone learn on the job. We need The Mayor.
Long live King Richard II!
PS I have included this photo because I think he would like it. I still hate, loathe, despise and abominate the White Sox with every fiber of my being.
One of my neighbors smokes … constantly. I can always tell where she just was because it reeks of smoke. She's very nice, very chatty, and very smelly.