If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Former Mayor Richard M. Daley helped transform Chicago from a place that had been beset by scandal and racial divisiveness to one of America's best-run cities. Here, Mayor Daley talks about the importance of building trust, maintaining relationships, and inspiring teams; all with an eye on moving the core agenda forward.
Boss is a classic, one of the great books of American literature. If you've never read it, I recommend it to you. Chicago is a much changed city since it was written, but Rokyo's words still carry insights into our city and politics.
The word "Food Desert" was coined to describe Chicago. Can the Emanuel administration truly make Chicago the city in a garden? Can they make the city that works, work for everyone?
Chicago's Walter H. Dyett High School was set up as a house of cards. Arne Duncan, served for years as the absentee landlord. And current CEO Jean-Claude Brizard was recently cast in the role of the evicting sheriff.
I know the word muse is an overused term for people who inspire creativity in others, but I find it appropriate to use when I remember the spirit of Maggie Daley and her commitment to the youth of Chicago.
I am a fan of the vigorous new mayor of Chicago, but the last five months have given me a certain sense of déjà vu.
Chicago's political establishment must shudder each time Jon Burge garners another headline. This past week was a bad one for politicians who would like to forget that Burge ever commanded an elite unit of police detectives.
ABC-7 anchorman Ravi Baichwal called Collins Academy one of the city's "exceptional public schools." But having an anchorman declare it one of the city's "exceptional public schools" does not make it so.
This week, Chicago experiences a new political era as the Daley years have ended. Enter Rahm Emanuel, who takes over from a legend and inherits serious debt.
Adding minutes of classroom time might be helpful, depending on how that extra time is used.
As the clock ticks down on Daley's 22-year tenure as mayor, almost nothing has been said about his lamentable role as an enabler of torture by Chicago police officers under the command of Jon Burge.
Last week's fatal coal train wreck in Iowa was a tragic reminder of the stunning human and environmental cost of coal burning in the Windy City. That could all change on Thursday, April 21st.
The energy economy is essential to Chicago staying competitive -- it is central to business productivity.
There will be no shortage of references to green roofs and bike lanes that stretch to the moon as Daley's departure comes ever-nearer. But frankly, that shortchanges his legacy.
Issues as diverse as a daunting budget deficit and a stringent collective bargaining agreement might conspire to block serious-minded school reform.
No retailer in American history has ever had to divert so far from its corporate mission to do damage control on its image.
