Chicago, city of broad strictures

except those traders and tech geeks are the ones whining about these 'vices' with their Old Navy clothes and yuppie SUVs polluting our city more than a billion cigarettes ever could.

give me back the chicago of 10 years ago.:D

Go King Daley and Toddy Stroger - keep up the great work of ruining this once fine city.

How many of these we instituted by Daley. He's the ultimate Nany\ny

Funny thing is Daley, the moral compass of the world and his 50 --- kissers write these laws and are the biggest crooks of them all. The best we can do is hope Daley and Stroger and all these long term alder-slime die real soon, since they'll never be voted out.

This seems like an extremely vague article to be making such sweeping negative statements about this town. What was the methodology used in this "study"? How did they count and weight the supposedly invasive laws and what didn't count as restrictive? Did Chicago get penalized, for instance, for its tax code or building code or laws regarding licensing political demonstrations? What exactly? Don't expect people to be outraged if you give one or two notorious popular examples and don't explain how Chicago "ranks last," world's yellowest newspaper.

What is Reason magazine?

"Chicago reigns supreme when it comes to treating its citizens like children (Las Vegas topped our rankings as America's freest city). Chicagoans pay the second-highest cigarette tax in the country, and the sixth-highest tax on alcohol. Chicago has more traffic-light cameras than any city in America (despite studies questioning their effectiveness), restricts cell phone use while driving, and it's quickly moving toward a creepy public surveillance system similar to London's."

Says you..... Without these taxes we would be just another big city on the lake... Like Milwaukee, Cleveland and Toledo...
Fun and free!!!!!

and.....

"In cities such as San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, Ore., this embrace of "for your own good" paternalism has at least been offset by a more tolerant attitude on issues such as gay rights, or taking an approach to drug use that's more oriented toward treatment than punishment. In many cities, it may soon be easier to smoke a joint than a cigarette."

I lived in Portland.... It is the most homophobic place on earth.... They have a slang word for the gay area (hahahaha - they are sooo funny) and God forbid you had a conversation with someone there.... You think they would be stoned, but no, they are just dull rude people..... Good luck asking anyone for directions in that dumb town..... Whoohoo.... Free...... Smae with fake San Fran.... Wow I love a city where it cost 3 mill for a house but not one space for a tree.... Pretty.....

and.....

Seattle.... Biggest susicide rate in the country.... Do you blame them?????? No one says hi to you and your cranked on bad coffee.....

Nope, bottom line.... Chicago is the best place in the country... I have lived all over the place... This City by the lake is the friendliest, cleanest and safest city in the USA!!!!

BTW... Crime has dropped 15% in London since the Cameras.... They are in other cities too, not just London... Glasgow, Leeds and even Oxford... Makes you think twice weeing in the alley when boozy.......

Think I will pay more for taxes and get more for my money....

The more dense cities get, the more rules that are needed to force, yes force, people to live together peacefully. Many people living in cities today grew up in the 'burbs where they were pretty much spoiled rotten. Uncouth, loud, self-centered, demanding, no sense of community, in other words, typical Americans. They graduate from college and rush here, hormones all a quiver, lots of beer money, thinking they can do anything they want without realizing everything they do affects other people.

The bright side of the housing bubble bursting may be that these people settle down, now that they can't use their condos as stepping stones any more, and start acting like good neighbors. Golden rule, people!

It's tough to see such a giant of a city go quietly into the night. I guess that's what we get for pu6tting up with all these heartbreaking liberal's. I have to agree with John on this one. It is a terrible, terrible shame , but we have no ones to blame but ourselves. Do something before you won't have a city left People.

I have lived here my entire life; the city has never looked so good or been so alive. I don't miss the decline of the neighborhoods, unsafe public transportation and rampant violence. I will gladly release some of my personal freedoms to drink, smoke and shoot my handgun for the quality of life I currently enjoy in Chicago. If this progress has undermined some of the vices that once defined this city we will just have to rely on the our memories of the good old days when in the early 1980's, this city was a cesspool - kung-fu movies running in the downtown theaters, graffiti on every corner and trash blowing down the streets.

Paternalism? This sounds more like fascism. Here's a clip from someone detailing so policies of the Third-Reich (even mentions the Olympics!):
Anti-Alcohol and Anti-Tobacco Campaigns
Germany was the first country ever to launch an important national anti-smoking compaign, culminating in 1944 with the total prohibition of smoking in public transport and government buildings.
Two very important organisms dedicated to the research of the effects of alcohol and nicotine upon human health were created during the Third Reich: in 1939, The Bureau Against Dangers of Alcohol and Tobacco and in 1942, The Institute For the Struggle Against Tobacco.
In 1937, new laws were approved against the sale of alcohol to minors, punishment for driving under the effects of alcohol and all this was actively reinforced and controlled through the application of blood tests to car drivers, and government-controlled production of mineral water whose drinking was encouraged to substitute alcohol.
The emphasis on daily exercise, health care programs in hospitals and always striving for excellence made the German people healthy as advertised during the 1936 World Olympic Games in which German played a very important role.

The headline to this article should be "Chicago Tribune headlines neocon propaganda on its web site." The restrictions on smoking in those taverns has allowed me and everyone else who likes health and clean air the "freedom" to frequent them.

Not to mention the fascist gun laws...

Whatever. It seems to work. Chicago is a great place to live (in the summer) and I love going into bars and not breathing in the toxic fumes left by others. The taxes is what I have a problem with. Stroger is an idiot.

This being a democracy, it would appear that this level of government regulation is what the citizens have asked for. I would prefer that to having the editors of some right-wing rag run my city.

Turns out Chicago liberals are just as intollerant, self-righteous, and smug as most conservatives - just in a more insidious manner.

This is the Chicago corrupt political machine at its finest. The sad part is that we are a part of Cook County which makes things worse for us, at least on the tax front.

http://crook-county.blogspot.com/

TOM wrote:

It's tough to see such a giant of a city go quietly into the night. I guess that's what we get for pu6tting up with all these heartbreaking liberal's. I have to agree with John on this one. It is a terrible, terrible shame , but we have no ones to blame but ourselves. Do something before you won't have a city left People.

Maybe you are too young to remember what Chicago was like in the 60's and 70's. A shit hole. This city was a dump! It's so beautiful now that tourist even come. We used to be known as the slaughterhouse capital of the world with gangsters at every corner. Now we are known for our culture, architecture and beautiful lakefront.

All of you idiots that think that this city is going down the drain; well, you obviously have not lived here very long.

Matt Was Here wrote:

The headline to this article should be "Chicago Tribune headlines neocon propaganda on its web site." The restrictions on smoking in those taverns has allowed me and everyone else who likes health and clean air the "freedom" to frequent them.

Thank you for supplying a perfect example of what a nanny state twerp would say.

The Dish wrote:

What is Reason magazine?

It's sort of a libertarian-conservative, Ayn Rand kind of magazine. In my view it's one of the best publications on the right in this country.