Free Republic

Once a town of big shoulders and waistlines, Chicago looks increasingly like the nanny state of California. I FONDLY REMEMBER visiting the Sears Tower in Chicago almost 20 years ago. Before being allowed to enjoy the view from what was then the world's tallest building, visitors had to sit through a promotional film about how rough and tough and great and booming the Second City was. (Never mind that the proud hometown of baseball's sad-sack Cubs had already slipped to third place in population, behind Los Angeles.) At some point in the film, the narrator — possessed of a tooth-rattling...

Mayor Daley suggested Thursday that high school be extended for a fifth year to defray college education costs now squeezing working poor and middle-class families.

Two on Daley staff accused of doling out patronage jobs Feds say drunk, 'goofballs' hired; scandal moves closer to mayor July 20, 2005 CHICAGO (AP) -- One was a drunk. Some were laughed at as "goofballs." One was declared the best-qualified candidate for a job on the city payroll -- even though he was dead. All of them were recommended for city jobs or hired because they were politically connected and helped to get out the vote on Election Day, according to U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald. "That's the world we want to end," Fitzgerald said Monday in announcing charges...

Wachovia Corporation's ridiculous apology for its alleged ties to slavery has backfired.Chicago City Council aldermen are vowing to strip from Wachovia a $9.4 million loan to build affordable housing units as punishment for the bank's supposed failure to disclose that its predecessor banks were involved in slave-related business deals. This serves as a warning to other companies that believe they can buy peace with the slave reparations movement. Wachovia thought it would be good for business to cave in to the demands of reparations activists. Now, not only is the company out of a multi-million dollar contract, it has made...

Wants GA Aircraft Banned Over Cities, Says Incident Justifies Closure Of Meigs Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, the man General Aviation loves to hate, renewed his call for a ban on GA flight over major cities in the wake of Wednesday's light plane incursion deep into the Washington ADIZ. Daley also said the Washington incident proves he was right to destroy Meigs Field under the cover of darkness two years ago. "They should value the lives of people in large cities," he said during a City Hall news conference, quoted by the Chicago Tribune. "We need the same protection as Washington,...