Chicago Voters Do Not Care Who Wins The 2023 Mayoral Race
Chicagoans care about politics. That's evident by the complaints I hear of poor test scores, rising crime rates, seesawing gas prices, exorbitant taxation, shockingly-high electric bills, increasing food prices, and roads with more holes than swiss cheese. Yet, Chicagoans do not care to be involved in politics. That's evident by the abysmal voter participation numbers. The baseline of political involvement is voting.
During my 20-plus years living in the city's limits, I've heard too many complaints about Chicago's deteriorating conditions to count. Conversely, I rarely hear any productive conversations about rectifying the issues. When the word "politics" is mentioned, people shoo it like it is taboo. At that point, their complaints start sounding like the adults from the Charlie Brown cartoons.
If it's not a Presidential election year, Chicago does not care. Patrons seemingly have better things to do than vote in state and local elections that determine the course of the city they live in. That's why the 2023 Chicago Mayoral race is meaningless.
Primary elections are some of the most important elections. They determine who will be running for a particular seat: Mayor, House Rep, Governor, Senator, etc. In the 2022 Illinois primary election, 20% of registered Chicago voters cast a ballot. In the 2019 Chicago Mayoral race, voter turnout percentage was in the low 30s. Ditto for the 2018 Illinois primaries. 2014 was historically terrible, with primary turnout hovering in the single digits.
Chicago is the third most populous city (over 2.7 million residents) and the third largest media market in the country. What happens in Chicago can have ripple effects across the United States. Mayor Lori Lightfoot's "Defund The Police" rhetoric is still a hotly-contested topic nationwide. Just think of the shockwaves a fresh face with a radically different view of contemporary politics elected to become Chicago's Mayor could send through our binary political system. We saw it on the national stage with Trump. Instead, Chicago gets the same tired-ass retreads spewing the same tired-ass talking points.
The Mayoral debate a couple weeks ago was a complete clown show. Lightfoot, "Chuy" Garcia, Willie Wilson, Sophia King, Rod Sawyer, Kam Buckner, Ja'Mal Green, Brandon Johnson, and Paul Vallas regurgitated the same talking points: "Chicago needs change", "Chicago is too dangerous", "Chicago's schools are bad", "Chicago needs more money from the federal government".
Vallas is the top candidate of the group, which is reflected by his lead in the polls. He accomplished quite a bit as school chief in Philadelphia and post-Katrina New Orleans. He embraced school choice and a free-market education system. However, his approach to crime and other issues remains to be determined.
In all the debates, the candidates harped on and on about money. Kam Buckner says there needs to be more money in public housing. Sophia King said there needs to be more money invested in the community around Soldier Field to keep the Bears from moving. The BLM activist Ja'Mal Green says there needs to be more money for youth programs. And Willie Wilson mumbled something about being a businessman a few times. I guess they didn't listen to Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri when they said money ain't a thang. Their constant attention-calling to money reflects Chicagoan's (and America's) obsession with materialism.
Since The Industrial Revolution, America has slowly and steadily traded freedom for material comfort. We sold the independence of farm life for the convenience of city life. Rather than owning a house and acres of land, we rented a condo on the lakefront. Today's modern amenities are nice. I certainly take advantage of them, but our dependence on monetary wealth has gone overboard. Money has become the center of our existence. The truly-informed members of society understand money is a tool to help us live better. Not a deity to be worshipped. Currently, society stubbornly believes pills can cure obesity and depression, Birkin bags and Jordans are keys to happiness, and owning an iPhone or a Tesla somehow makes one superior.
Our political leaders reflect us because we elect them. When a group of Democrat robots get on stage and talk about money for an hour, what does that say about Chicago voters?
It says they are more consumed with short-term, monetary solutions than long-term cultural ones.
Sure, the city can dump hundreds of millions of dollars into affordable housing. But, if the residents in these homes foster a culture that does not value property and it becomes like all the other "projects", you'd have been better off taking a flamethrower to that money. Having dated a woman who lived in the "projects", I can attest the hallways smelled of urine and marijuana, and the walls were covered in graffiti gang symbols.
America has been cultivated to cherish entertainment and escapism above all else. It's why talking about politics has become taboo for many families, especially during the holidays. Materialism spawned the "my vote doesn't count" and "politics don't do nothing" crowds. While people were concerned with the latest Air Jordan releases, a class of idiot and corrupt bureaucrats took over.
Plato once said, "One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."
“One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”
James Madison, when debating the efficacy of the Bill of Rights, said, "Wherever the real power in a Government lies, there is a danger of oppression. In our Governments the real power lies in the majority of the Community, and the invasion of private rights is chiefly [sic] to be apprehended, not from acts of Government contrary to the sense of its constituents, but from acts in which the Government is the mere instrument of the major number of the constituents."
To summarize, the government, whether local or federal, adapts to the whims of the majority. If the majority is politically vigilant, the government will be kept in check. If the majority remains apolitical, the government will do as it pleases without regard for the republic.
Chicago can change leadership as much as it wants. The Windy City has been rotating Democrats since 1931. Things will only worsen until Chicago residents get serious about participating in politics. It starts with the simple task of voting.
We live in a free country (theoretically), so Chicagoans don't have to vote. Fine. We live and die by our decisions. I hope the city enjoys its next robot Mayor.
