The White Tornado

He is short. He acts tough. He presents himself as a smart fellow. He looks good on camera, but what the hell is he thinking? There he was plastered in front of the media, his chest all huffy and puffy like a rooster with his home boy Police Chief McCarthy talking tough on crime. Yes, his grand plan is to locate, isolate and abate the gang activity by tearing down vacant properties. This grand plan came right after a report indicated that Chicago may see a drop in tourism due to the high crime rate.

We need to clarify a few things here. The overall crime rate has actually been dropping. The murder rate has gone up, but in specific areas of the city, mainly the south and west sides. Last time I checked the Chicago tour guide, those were listed in the brochure as great sightseeing spots. In fact, when friends and relatives visit, I want to take them to the Bean, but they insist on going to the south or west side instead to get a taste of some real action.

I can tell you this, Rahm “aint from the hood”. Growing up, I remember hanging with some nefarious crowds. We were real killers, musical geeks looking for a place to play. We found an abandoned building. We took over the third floor. Secure the doors with locks. Set up a music room where all sorts of kids from the neighborhood came to play music with others. It was a great setup. We didn’t bother our parents. We were not too far from home. We could play late. Okay, we thought we could. Others started setting up rooms for thier unknown activities. Eventually, we got kicked out. The building boarded up. But guess what, we just found another place to set up shop. And it continued.

What brought all to an end? Two things interfered with that scheme - school and jobs. We either got bogged down with studies or some found jobs that took up their time. Given time, once in while we would still jam, but we would have to schedule a time and find a place, usually someone’s garage. You see Rahm doesn’t get it.

Certainly the gangs will have no place to hang out, if that is truly what is happening. We don’t know. We just took his word at it. But once those buildings are torn down, does he honestly think these gang members are so stupid that they will just stay at home and play video games. No, they will just migrate elsewhere or hang out in empty lots.  Here I thought Vietnam came back haunting us. Didn’t the strategic hamlet program fail miserably under this same concept?

I don’t get it. Most of the buildings were abandoned due to foreclosure. The banks, who own the title, did nothing to keep up the properties or make arrangements with previous owners to stay in their homes. So, why were the banks not forced to maintain their properties or renegotiate terms? If anyone failed to upkeep their property, we would have building inspectors knocking on our doors and handing out some hefty fines. Okay, so the banks got away once again.

So, why tear them down? I thought the city was so broke that all the public sector workers had to make big sacrifices. Somehow, Rahm pulled a magical 4,000,000 dollars out of his (fill in the blank) to demolish buildings. What could he have done with that money? Well, rather than demolish the buildings, why didn’t the city take ownership of the properties as a lien on delinquent property taxes or fines and rehab them. Think of all the people who could have been employed fixing up these buildings. Maybe, even some crime elements might have found a way out with a job.

Rather than blight the neighborhoods with empty lots, this could have been part of an effort to create affordable housing and stable communities, where gang activity would naturally die out. Now that these buildings have been demolished, what happens? Well, the banks get to write off losses based upon the value of the house. I can assure you that the properties will suddenly have gained much value. The lots will sit empty. More people will move out. The cycle continues with no real solution put forth by politicians.

I can’t help but feel that this is part of a strategy to intentionally defund public schools, destroy housing, be it public or private and starve these same communities of investment funds. In some countries, this is a strategic part of any war to create a displaced population. Force them out. Institute change for your benefactors. If you don’t believe it, see what happened to New Orleans now that it has been off the radar screen.

Meanwhile, this is a real win-win situation for the banks and for Rahm’s “get tough on crime” image. I just don’t really see how this at all benefits the neighborhood.

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First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. Then they fight you. And then you win.

Ghandi