I love the @acitythatworks comment section.

We have lead in the water and that makes us more violent

I remember one time back in 2019 the company I was with managed a large portfolio of low income housing across the southside that I was in charge of and the owner of the portfolio was trying to sell it. We had a group come to tour from NYC whose entire business plan was “buy in slums in LA and NYC and wait”. And it was working - most of the rough areas NYC and LA had dramatically improved over the previous years and they made a killing. The main guy at this group always said “Chicago is one good mayor and police chief away from improving their slums like NYC and LA”. But they ended up passing on the portfolio. I guess they thought we weren’t ready yet

Reminds me of how East Garfield Park and Bronzeville have been right around the corner for the past 20 years. They've improved in that time, but it's been a lot slower than people had hoped.

We are still (at least) one good Mayor from a reasonable south and west side. Current police chief seems like one of the best we have had in a while, but his hands are tied.

Over at @acitythatworks: In the 1990s, crime cratered in New York and LA, but only declined slightly in Chicago. We've been trying to replicate New York's success ever since, with mediocre results. What are we getting wrong? (1/3)

ShotSpotter is good. No, it's bad. Well, wait. What do these recent data points actually mean? I lean on @richsday to help make sense of a new study that all sides viewed very differently. Check it! @acitythatworks youtube.com/watch?v=MAP9PjxX…

Jail the thugs

Wherever you stand on the ShotSpotter debate, a worthwhile read on the latest data. I support ShotSpotter based on the lived exps & recos of Supt Snelling & Ald Chico, but read the article & come to your own conclusion. @CrainsChicago @acitythatworks chicagobusiness.com/opinion/…

I wrote about ShotSpotter over at @acitythatworks. Before we dig into the efficacy of the technology, it'd be helpful for everyone to be a little clearer about what whether they *want* police officers to rapidly respond to shootings in the first place. (1/6)

On the not so bright side American HS students are getting fully doctrinated in anti-American communism by the radical left public teachers unions.

Over at @acitythatworks: In 2024, CPS celebrated research that indicated the District's reading scores had rebounded quickly from the pandemic. Now we have better data - and the results are ugly. In reality, scores dropped more than almost any of our big city peers. (1/5)

Chicagoans want basic rules enforced. No smoking on the train. Clean cars. A safe trip.  San Francisco’s BART system installed new fare evasion gates and they’ve seen huge improvement - cleaning hours have plummeted, crime has dropped, and ridership/revenue has gone up.   This is a no brainer for Chicago. Find the funds.  @richsday @acitythatworks