Welcome to my weekly digest for July 15, 2022. For new subscribers, this contains a roundup of my recent writings and podcasts, as well as links to the best articles from around the web this week. You can control what emails you get from me by
"Both the city and state are bedeviled by poor leadership that seems in over its head and incapable of dealing with the serious problems facing both. Even its once vaunted business leadership has lost a step."
Not sure if you need to pull punches over at Governing, but this is putting it very mildly. The city and state governments appear to have transitioned from functional corruption to outright insanity. The Pritzker family is one of the main drivers of the trans insanity and Lori Lightfoot is a racial activist. As black crime spills over into trendier parts of the city you would think the lack of confidence in the political leadership would be a cause for concern among its wealthiest residents. Urban elites have always seemed highly confident they can manage these situations. Is their rootlessness part of what drives them to think this way? If Chicago gets too bad, they will simply sell out and head to another trendy spot.
From your piece on Chicago,
"Both the city and state are bedeviled by poor leadership that seems in over its head and incapable of dealing with the serious problems facing both. Even its once vaunted business leadership has lost a step."
Not sure if you need to pull punches over at Governing, but this is putting it very mildly. The city and state governments appear to have transitioned from functional corruption to outright insanity. The Pritzker family is one of the main drivers of the trans insanity and Lori Lightfoot is a racial activist. As black crime spills over into trendier parts of the city you would think the lack of confidence in the political leadership would be a cause for concern among its wealthiest residents. Urban elites have always seemed highly confident they can manage these situations. Is their rootlessness part of what drives them to think this way? If Chicago gets too bad, they will simply sell out and head to another trendy spot.