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IMO, Daley's not "kooky" or a "nut", but he has the same problem that his father did before him - he opens his mouth before thinking sometimes. The guy has actually done some great things for the city (the fact that people actually live downtown again speaks volumes), but his influence starts to wane pretty severely at the borders of the city. I doubt that he was serious with this statement since it would take him away from what he loves doing - running the city.
I think that he's frustrated about these terrible incidents, and he's been pretty consistent about getting upset when a kid is killed by random senseless violence, regardless of the neighborhood. Believe it or not, the gang problem here is actually declining because of some changes that the City and the Chicago Housing Authority have made. There are some former gang stronghold neighborhoods that are pretty much gang-free now - Uptown, Andersonville, Bowmanville and Bronzeville for instance. The city actually enforces the laws on the books and doesn't push for more. They've even gotten the state to cooperate against straw buyers and sellers, which was a huge problem in the suburbs that seems to be on the decline.
Outsiders need to realize that most people in Chicago have trained themselves to only take about half of what Daley says seriously. If we didn't, we'd be expecting Lakeshore Drive to extend all the way to Evanston, the O'Hare expansion would have already happened and every street would have a bike lane.
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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
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"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo
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