My Blog

Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • They Don’t Want You to Know

    I bet you have no idea how many shootings there have been in Chicago this year. Me either. And it’s not because I haven’t tried to find out. About two months ago, I started reporting on crime and public safety. In light of the on-again, off-again handgun ban and Supt. Jody Weis’ insistence that there…

  • People flee high-taxes

    Americans are fleeing high tax, union-dominated states and settling in states with lower taxes, right-to-work laws and lower government spending. (Full story here.) Chicago is burdened with not only high taxes but outrageous debt (more stories to follow on that issue shortly.)  We have to understand that we are not going to be able to…

  • Rahm’s Residency Issue

    Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel was twice purged from the city voter rolls in the last 13 months but was reinstated by election officials, who allowed him to vote absentee in the February primary even though he did not live at his North Side address. (Full story here.) This is not a comment, up or…

  • Chico’s Education Plan

    Just got back from Gery Chico’s presentation of his plan to revive CPS.  The 15 page plan handout can be found here if you’re interested. For those just looking for the bullet points: As the former head of the Chicago Public Schools Gery knows something about education.  Further, as the leader when the schools were…

  • December 04, 2008

    Just a bit of history: Posted at 10:55 a.m. Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) said the lease will help the city during a tough budget time. (Daley plans to spend much of the one-time windfall to shore up the city budget during the next few years.) “I think it is a good ordinance that is going…

  • IL High Schools Failing the College Bound

    Eight of 10 public high school juniors in Illinois weren’t considered ready for college classes in all subjects based on ACT testing last spring — and many students missed the mark even at posh suburban Chicago schools that graduate some of the state’s brightest kids. At Lake Forest, Deerfield, Northbrook and Hinsdale high schools, more…

  • From you the voter

    I was reading this story here at the Sun-Times about how Chicago compares to other cities (we rock by the way.)  And in the comments I found this observation by someone posting as nomoretears: Chicago is fine, and Chicago needs to worry about being Chicago. We just need new local and state leadership across the…

  • CPS is Broke, State not Helping

    Two months into the school year, Chicago Board of Education officials Tuesday were already estimating next school year’s deficit at $700 million. … Chicago Board of Education officials Tuesday were already estimating next school year’s deficit at $700 million. During the meeting, officials revealed the state still owes CPS $164 million from last school year…

  • Rahm Talks Trash

    An interesting bit, shows that Rahm’s not just another pretty face: (1) Establish a “benchmark” price per ton after comparing the cost of collecting Chicago’s 1 million tons of annual garbage to costs in 10 major cities. (2) Give the city’s 1,142-strong, $173.7 million-a-year refuse-collection army a chance to generate the savings necessary to meet…

  • Strong-arm Robbery

    At 12:30 a.m., a female Roosevelt University student was robbed of her iPhone in the 600 block of South Michigan Avenue, according to Central District police. (Full story here.) This is the kind of event that troubles me.  No camera is going to stop this.  And let’s be honest, it’s just not practicable to say…

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