Who Gets Stuck with Chicago?

[Fife]

From the editorial page in today's Chicago Tribune:

What to do with a broken Illinois: Dissolve the Land of Lincoln

Illinois is like Venezuela now, a fiscally broken state that has lost its will to live, although for the moment, we still have enough toilet paper.

But before we run out of the essentials, let's finally admit that after decade upon decade of taxing and spending and borrowing, Illinois has finally run out of other people's money.

Those "other people" include taxpayers who've abandoned the state. And now Illinois faces doomsday.

Many a truth is said in jest.

The federal bailout of Illinois, California, Detroit, &c., isn't going to go the way the last few federal strong-arm robberies have gone.

[Speaker to Animals]

There will be no bail out in the way these people imagine.

I think Trump could very well try to federalize the cities, cancel the pensions, and basically reset the finances.

Oh.. and fuck this guy for thinking he can just appropriate eastern Kentucky into the "Midwest".


A better solution is to cut Kentucky in half, add Michigan, and then make it all one state.

The ideal solution would be to make it all one regional government, but with cities like Chicago and St. Louis separated as city states, with their own budgets and laws.

[brewster]

Oh.. and fuck this guy for thinking he can just appropriate eastern Kentucky into the "Midwest".

Why, would you dispute Ohio is in the Midwest? The easternmost part of KY is well west of eastern OH. What region is KY, Appalachia?

[Speaker to Animals]

Oh.. and fuck this guy for thinking he can just appropriate eastern Kentucky into the "Midwest".

Why, would you dispute Ohio is in the Midwest? The easternmost part of KY is well west of eastern OH. What region is KY, Appalachia?

Appalachia.

Also, the big problem with this idea is that the region they are drawing is really two regions. Yankeedom cuts straight across through it, containing Chicago and Detroit. But just south of Chicago is Midlands. Then, a bit in the southern portion of their map is Appalachian culture.

Borders should be drawn by national identities, not fiscal concerns. That's what got us into this mess. I'd consolidate most of it into a Midlander state, but separate the cities -- which are now thoroughly Yankee -- into their own city states.

Appalachia is divided up on purpose. This is why states that contain Appalachia have two portions. North Carolina has a deep south/tidewater culture in the east. Tennessee has their southern culture in the west. Kentucky is divided between Midlander and Appalachian cultures. This was done by design to nullify Appalachia's potential political influence. Appalachia wasn't even allowed delegates to the Constitutional Convention because of this.

[Ph64]

Pretty sure it would be easier to just make a new state, or maybe territory, called Shitcongo... Break it off, responsible for its own services/pensions/debt and the rest of the state would be just fine on its own.

Shitcongo, of course, would turn into a 3rd word type shithole war zone. Oh, wait, yeah "worse than it already is".

[brewster]

Pretty sure it would be easier to just make a new state, or maybe territory, called Shitcongo... Break it off, responsible for its own services/pensions/debt and the rest of the state would be just fine on its own.

Shitcongo, of course, would turn into a 3rd word type shithole war zone. Oh, wait, yeah "worse than it already is".

Your faith in the economy of rural IL is quaint.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... d-illinois

Illinois is surrounded by what some tout as financial role models, states with sterling credit ratings, healthy pension systems and expenditures pretty much in line with revenue. Each also passes a budget—and on time.

None of those conditions describe present-day Illinois, and the deficiencies are at the heart of its nearly two-year-old budget stalemate.

Even so, when it comes to the daunting economic trends that define the Midwest and defy easy political solution or accommodation, Illinois is very much in sync with its neighbors. Across the region, there is a slow and relentless withering of mostly rural counties as jobs and economic wealth gravitate to metropolitan centers like Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Columbus and, especially, Chicago.

Federal data show that just 20 counties nationwide accounted for half of new businesses created in the U.S. between 2010 and 2014 as it emerged from recession. And Cook was the only county in the Midwest to land on that top 20 list.

[TheReal_ND]

Not Chiraq or Chicongo

It's like they aren't even trying to meme anymore

[SuburbanFarmer]

Only the south side is a shithole. It's nicely separated already. North side joins Wisconsin.

[Viktorthepirate]

Just wall it off an call it the Illinois Correctional Zone.

Full Escape from New York style.

[Speaker to Animals]

Just wall it off an call it the Illinois Correctional Zone.

Full Escape from New York style.

Convince Putin to nuke it. A fake war. The Very Fake War in which Putin lights up the blue columns on the electoral map and we sweep Chechnya, Georgia, etc. Then we make up. Declare it all a terrible mistake based on some false alarm. "Never again", lol.