Illinois government enjoys less confidence from its citizens than any other state. Why this is so remains a puzzle, since it's something of a progressive Utopia. It abolished the death penalty three years ago; is actively considering legalizing pot; its leading city has among the most rigorous gun control laws in the country; and that city's mayor told gay marriage opponents that they and their views can get out of town. Indeed, Chicago is so forward-looking that accused criminals don't even have to wait for the jury to hand down an acquittal from overly zealous charges; for the right price, they can book one in advance.
What with all the respect for the "fairness and compassion" this stuff must be building, you'd think the country would be able to see, in Chicago, a vision of our progressive future. And you'd be right. Here it is.
Yes, that is bulletproof glass in a hoagie shop.
Maybe all those assurances that if we just showed more compassion, people would
respect the law were, uhhhh, a bit overdrawn.
The story, which ends by noting that there is also bulletproof glass in Subway shops
other progressive meccas like Oakland and Detroit, is here.
And also not-so-progressive mecca, Texas, which executes more people than any other state, has no chance of legalizing marijuana, criminalized gay sex until the Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional, and has some of the least restrictive gun laws in the country.
Perhaps this demonstrates that bulletproof glass in Subways isn't a good measure of policy effectiveness?
If you want to go to Chicago -- which effectively outlawed guns "until the Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional" -- feel free. But first you might want to read the article below, in which that ultra-right wing Rush Limbaugh clone, Rahm Emanuel, backs -- ready now? -- stiffer mandatory minimum sentencing in an attempt to do something about the city's sky-high murder rate.
Perhaps this demonstrates that liberal posturing isn't a good measure of policy effectiveness.
P.S. Do you really think that, when ordinary people feel like they've got to put bullet-proof glass in a lunch stand, this says nothing about their fear of rampant crime in this "progressive" mecca?
http://www.suntimes.com/photos/galleries/18108089-417/emanuel-cops-prosecutors-aim-for-stiffer-sentences-for-gun-possession.html#.U3lsAspOXMM