Giving Perspective

After my friend Tom read my entry today regarding the "crime wave" in Chicago, as well as numerous reports coming out of Chicago regarding the "trouble" the city is facing, he thought it would be a good idea to give some back story on the events. And because I love Chicago, I feel as though the information is important. After all, I know how the media can make something quite small seem extremely large (i.e. riots in Paris). In the words of Tom:

Gov. Blagojevich is an unpopular sitting governor with historically low (a la Bush) popularity ratings. Mayor Daley, although a fellow Democrat, has never been a supporter of the Governor. The Governor’s offer of assistance to “fight crime” is simply an attempt to embarrass the Mayor. Not to sound blasé, but to the average person, crime has certainly not noticeably increased, nor does one feel “unsafe” downtown or in Lincoln Park/Lakeview/Uptown/Ravenswood.