In Naples, Among the Nablidani

By John Kass

March 20, 2024

What do the good Nablidani—slang for the people of Naples—want to hear about their homeland in that once-great city by the lake, in the Land of Lincoln, otherwise known as Chumbolonia?

They are Chicago refugees living in Florida, a land known for beautiful weather, palm trees and low crime.

What can I tell them on my upcoming visit there?

The venue is sold out. I’m honored. I can’t wait to meet them through the fine work of the Illinois and Florida Club. Yes, that Naples, where the woke goes to die.

Not that other Naples ruined by corrupt local politicians and organized crime.

I’m talking about the Naples where you  can get a grouper sandwich without getting carjacked by teenagers or shot to death by gangsters on the way home from a White Sox game. The Naples where civilized refugee flee barbarism. Where there are fly fishermen. That Naples.

Nothing like Chicago.

“Just tell them the truth,” said the Neapolitan barber Raffaele Raia, my friend and expert on all things Naples.

The truth for the Nablidani of Florida about the city they once loved?

Chicago will not improve. It can’t. The city of Johnny Rocco, the city that taught America how to steal votes, will continue. Chicago Democrats don’t waste absentee ballots. It won’t change until it hits bottom.

And the Democratic National Convention might be a disaster, though even Republicans going to Milwaukee might be well advised to  carry in their own food.

And the truth is that if Danny “The Weasel” Solis ever testifies against Mike Madigan, will the feds give us the back-story on what infamous Chicago Democrat encouraged his fantasies for the Asian girls at the massage parlor?

Could it be some Heroic Taxpayer?

Florida has a good governor, unlike the fat boy in Illinois. I would have wanted him to be president, but I’ll happily settle for Donald Trump.

It was Gov. Ron De Santis who said if Haitian illegals arrive in the Florida Keys, “their next stop very well could be Martha’s Vineyard.”

Perfect.

I just love it when the woke propagandists at CNN and MSNBC begin to scream.

“I know all about Naples,” said Raffaele. “Just take me with you and I’ll stand up to make objections at your talk when I need to.”

No, Raffaele. That won’t be necessary my noble and valiant friend.

Raffaele has previously and meticulously explained the origins of the word “Chumbolone” which is sort of an idiot clown with Bozo feet or a people who keep voting the same way election after election and wonder why things never change.

Those who refuse to be Chumbolones leave if they can. And that’s why President Biden opened the Southern border to some 10.5 million illegal aliens and sent another 350,000 to blue cities via air, to replace lost population.

The White House doesn’t care about the refugees who are gone to places like Naples. The Democrats don’t want to lose political power, which is why the U.S. Census Bureau counts illegal aliens in Illinois, California, everywhere the Democrats want to hold onto absolute political power.

And you thought the Chicago Way was the only way for Chicago?

What doesn’t change in Naples, Florida? The sun. It beats down upon the people, especially those who are foolishly golfing or playing tennis, and it also beats down mercilessly upon civilized fishermen.

All are in need of head appropriate head covering.

A while back I jotted Mr. Raia’s thoughts down in a column for johnkassnews.com that I link to here.

Raffaele Raia who is not a chumbolone and wears the hat to prove it.

So, let’s get down to it: Is there any hope for Chicago, the once-great city by the lake?

No.

There is no hope. Not in our lifetimes. In order to improve, the city must first bottom out.

Lori Lightfoot is gone, yes, but Chicago has another moron, Mayor Brandon “Panic Attacks” Johnson who takes orders from Lady MacGates (CTU President Stacy Davis Gates) and Boss Toni Preckwinkle.

Preckwinkle doesn’t want to jail violent criminals, which is why she and her protégé Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx orchestrated political funding from uber leftist billionaire George Soros.

I called him out, and my former colleagues at the Tribune objected to this and the leftist newsroom union defamed me as some kind of religious bigot.

I moved on and started johnkassnews.com and though the lefty yap dogs are are still barking, I love Green Acres. And starting johnkassnews.com was the best financial decision I’ve ever made. The Jackobins can have the Libune.

In Green Acres, there are no restaurants to speak of, but then I don’t need a gun to go to the Walgreen’s to pick up a prescription.

But what of all the people left behind?

The Democrats continued shrinking the population of the Cook County Jail. Chicago is still beset by street crime and the political forces that unleashed the furies upon Chicago still exist. They’re in charge. They got what they wanted. Soros got what he wanted. Chaos and pain.

Chicago media doesn’t call them out because they’re on the same team now that I’ve left “the paper.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has billions to subsidize the Illinois Democrat Party. He bought the party. Fat boy was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple. He thinks he can be president of the United States, God help us.

The Illinois schools are in rotten shape and getting worse. Taxpayers are squeezed to pay $28,000 per pupil per year.

According to the indispensable web site wirepoints.com only 2 in every 10 students can read at grade level.

Only 16 percent can do math at grade level. But they and their parents and all Illinois taxpayers have been assaulted by Democrat race baiting—in which they’ve been given a sense of political excuses for their academic  failure.

And now after a K-12 public education, the Illinois kids are fit for two things: unemployment and prison.

Congratulations Illinois Democrats. You wanted to run things and push people around and force them to be woke.  So run things, but without us, and without our money.

Why is Illinois like this?

You can point out the ridiculousness of the Illinois Republican Party. There is no Republican Party. There is a Combine, though. Rather than

You can point to the corruption of Illinois Democrats and the Chicago media that has and will enable them.

But I think it is the Chumbolones who permit it, year after year, election after election.

Betty and I love it in Green Acres, but if I lived in Naples—either Florida Naples or Italy Naples—I’d never come home.

I’d have a nice dish of pasta Limone and enjoy life.

But Chicago isn’t coming back. For all the media lickspittles seeking tips from commercial real estate investors, for all the Combine journalists hoping to win points from Mayor Panic Attacks, the thing about Chicago and Illinois is that they aren’t coming back.

Chicago isn’t a place for fairy tales. And like my friend Dan Proft says, Illinois isn’t broken, it’s fixed.

The Cook County State’s Attorney campaign in the Democrat Party Primary smells like a Johnny Rocco race with the race card being played again and again. Remember Johnny Rocco? A Chicago guy who spent time in “Key Largo.” He told Humphrey Bogart you count the votes again and again and again until they come out right.

Will Boss Toni let her candidate for State’s Attorney, Clayton Harris III lose to someone named Eileen O’Neill Burke? How pink can you be? Burke could have won big if she made the campaign a referendum on the catch-and-release prosecutors o George Soros. But she didn’t. My friend Thom Serafin, doing analysis on Fox Chicago, said Burke tried to play it too cute. Voters wanted a law-and-order candidate and Burke didn’t want to play it that way, for fear of angering the Democrats.

“She tried to split the atom,” said Thom Serafin. “But cutting it too fine didn’t help.”

In a low-turnout election with a 20 percent turn-out, with Boss Toni backing him, and the SEIU and other left wing government worker’s unions, Harris should have walked away with this one. But he didn’t and late Tuesday night Burke had a slight lead. But they’ll count the votes again and again until they come out right.  Right Boss Toni? A lot of “absentee” and mail-in ballots out there to count.

Who believes in fairy tales?

Boss Toni wanted Iris Martinez out as Clerk of the Circuit Court. So the Boss Toni Machine ran Boss Toni’s obedient Greek Mariyana Spyropoulos and took Martinez out. Spyropoulos will give out payroll jobs to Toni’s political soldiers.

Mayor Johnson was handed a defeat by the real estate interests. His “Mansion Tax” was a loser but then so was Johnson. Downtown Chicago is a ghost-town, and commercial building vacancy rates will keep growing as leases come due. In a low-turnout election the mayor screwed this up with confusing messaging. He’s good at taking orders, plays well with Gates and Boss Toni. But otherwise, a moron.

I don’t like saying it. Chicago was once the most wonderful and beautiful city in the world. There are still good people and a few decent restaurants, but raise children and build a life there?

No thanks. It’s not going to happen.

There are other fine places where you can live a life. Where the woke–their political thugs and their journos–don’t tell you what to do or how to think. A place where the Chumbolone army doesn’t laugh maniacally at their jokes.

And someday, perhaps soon, perhaps by November, America will begin cleansing herself and become a No Chumbolone zone once again.

-30-

About the author: John Kass spent decades as a political writer and news columnist in Chicago working at a major metropolitan newspaper. He is co-host of The Chicago Way podcast. And he just loves his “No Chumbolone” hat, because johnkassnews.com is a “No Chumbolone” Zone where you can always get a cup of common sense.

Comments 56

  1. The hyphenated Harp O’Neil-Burke will not outlast a vigorous laundering of votes by Boss Toni. Well stated, John Kass!

    The comfortable bastions(19th Ward , n’cest pas?) ofChumbalones throughout Chicago will fie in fealty to their Marxists masters in control of the Democrat Party and too many of the skilled trades unions. These Chumbalone’s will migrate to happier pastures and mansions on Longwood will house the homeless and the illegal.

    Chicago is toasted and done.

    1. What Pat said. Too early, only on first bullet-proof coffee. But yes, toasted and DONE! As I glance out my patio and watch the sun rise, I am grateful not to reside in Ill-Annoy any more.

    2. I am a former Chicagoan (5 generations, including my kids). Fled in 1990, and to aforementioned “Greener Pastures” in 2003. Every word above is gloriously understated.
      Just saw my new favorite Indiana vanity plate in Crown Point: BY BY IL.

      1. hi neighbor. love “Green Acres” but I’m still looking for a decent restaurant. find any? Pat Hickey introduced us to Fish Camp but I can’t find decent aglio et olio.

        1. Stop in Ft. Myers. A place called the Compound. A bunch of retired CFD and CPD along with various other Chicago people. Chumbalone-free zone. Can show you a couple good eating establishments and our pool, where we solve all the world’s problems every day and lament the destruction of our once great City. Say hi to Thom Serafin for me. Good man.

        2. Gamba’s in Merrillville is one fine restaurant. There are others also. I can name a few more. We left the city, county, and state ten years ago…

  2. Just having my 70th birthday, I read living in the Chicagoland area that life expectancy is 72.3 and in Sarasota Florida it is 79.7! Bye Bye Chicago. Great article, Thank you…

  5. Chicago was such a beautiful place. I lived in Streeterville, and everything was within walking distance- great bars, restaurants, the parks, the museums. Then, the leftists moved in with their idiotic ideas. Once I saw the crazed reaction to covid, with all the judgmental virtue-signaling, face diaper wearing cowards, I had had enough.
    I’m not in Naples, but I mived to Beaufort South Carolina. It’s as close to heaven as any place I know- safe, quiet and so much beautiful nature.
    I can’t imagine going back to Chicago, not even for a visit. The friends and family still there look like fools, paralyzed to leave but knowing that they have to.
    Chicago is done. Escape (which is an accurate word) is the only sane option.

  6. Keep an eye on where the absentee ballots come from in the States Attorney’s race and you will know if Precwinkle has stole the election.

    See you in Naples John.

    1. Right you are George…those mail in ballots are the key to the big steal, well planned & well executed. I hope I’m wrong…hard not to be a cynic around here.

  7. I’m torn about this column. On the one hand I enjoy your columns, including this one. But on the other “hand” (the one we call the “mitten” here in Michigan), I escaped long ago from Illinoistan and very much enjoy not knowing how fast Chicago is swirling the bowl. As long as I’m here in Florida for a few more weeks and do not have to return to the hell hole by the lake when I leave, I guess I can take thinking about the those poor kids who can’t read or count on occasion. Good article John, even though it made me shiver, and not from the cold.

  9. So sad that I missed the news that you were coming to Naples. I moved here for the weather but most certainly do not miss the Political mess in Illinois. Here I get to enjoy not only warm weather but, for the most part, a lack of WOKE. The majority of the people I have met since moving here have not been rabid when it comes to their beliefs. That is comforting and as you pointed out, I can go to Walgreens without fear. I hope your visit to Naples is or was good, and that you come again to enjoy all that there is here in this beautifully peaceful place. Love your columns and wish you good health and peace. Maybe someday, although I do not expect to see that day, the people of Chicago and Illinois will realize that they should possibly wake up from being WOKE. Empty promises unfulfilled are just lies by another name.

  10. Enjoying a 4 month break from Chumbalonia here in Bonita Springs and wearing my No Chumbolone hat with pride. Sorry to miss your talk but I do hope you have time to visit Seed to Table as part of your visit. file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/97/07/B1EB4ABD-BAE6-4DA3-B045-17EF4A025060/IMG_7940.HEIC

  12. John, excellent description of the state if things in Chicago! You’re correct, it will not turn around in our lifetimes barring a revolution. Glad You’re enjoying Green Acres! I hope on your trip to Naples you can get in some fishing on the Gulf! Sea trout, snook and grouper – fun and delicious! What of this Naples Kass club? Can we have a Florida wide one? We moved to Bradenton, FL from Chicagoland in 2016 – go back only when required. Florida has its own political machinations, but they are not woke related for sure. I hope you find the visit refreshing! One final point, I feel sad for those in downstate Illinois, where many hate the woke ways also, but it is forced on them by Chicago!

  13. You characteristically provided some excellent Kassian laughs here, on the subject that can make a Chicago nostalgist like me cry.

    I’ve been wondering whether I can work up the nerve to drive down from Cheeseland this year to see a game played by The Remains Of The White Sox. Any recommendations from those of you still living in The Remains Of Chicago? I don’t have a bulletproof car.

    1. Well, if you really have to see the Sux play, you could always head over to the Twin Cities or Milwaukee when they’re in town. I’d suggest Detroit, Cleveland or Cincy, but you’d have to go thru Chiraq to get there, which kind of defeats the purpose. St. Louis or Kansas City might be OK for a multi-day trip too – if you do KC, make sure to have a look at the Negro Leagues museum.

  14. Truer words were never spoken, which makes me sad. I long for the days of old where our beautiful city bustled with people. Allow me to dream.

  15. I’m a Florida resident who can’t quite make the “break” from Illinois, still have children/grandchildren who live in the burbs! All of us Floridians now can only hope those moving here from the mid-west or east coast leave their voting records behind and realize they are now entering a “free” state and vote Republican!

  16. Excellent as always! We too fled, just a bit north to green hills instead of Green Acres. So don’t forget: while Pritzker was buying the Illinois Supreme Court, he also bought the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Which state will his tentacles reach next?

  17. I am sure glad you started johnkassnews.com, John! With the city where I was born and raised plunging deeper and deeper into chaos, I just can’t imagine how an election can be “low-turnout.”

  18. I retired and accepted the fact that we were outnumbered by the Stupid in Chicago and in Illinois. I know, I know, by moving out I’ve only enabled the furthur stranglehold by the Stupid on that city and state. You have to know when you’re down at the card table and when its time to go home and call it a night. I moved to a Free State that is booming. A law and order state. One that doesn’t steal your money with taxes, fees and fines. I recently visited Chicago and picked up a rental car at O’ Hare. The cost of the car was double what it would have cost had I rented it in Indiana. Thanks to the tolls and taxes I was out at least 400 bucks before I reached my destination. New York is flirting with a 15 dollar toll to drive into the city. Of course, its suburb living school teachers would be exempt. Every Blue State has been hollowed out by public sector unions and are now feeding on its residents for money. Constantly picking your pocket for revenue. Like a cannibal sawing off its own arm to eat for dinner they prey on its dwindling middle class. It doesn’t occur to the Chumbalones of Chicago that the people pushing these policies don’t have to pay the fines and have bodyguard details so they avoid the benefit of being a crime victim. If you took away their police details and forced them to live on their own you would see a massive crackdown on crime. You know what they say about Chicago. Those that can leave DO.

  19. By the way John, if you want to get rid of the trolls and bots, you should make the reply section open to paid subscribers only. It worked for Elon Musk. After he started charging ten bucks for a check mark, the DNC and all of these propagandists fled Twitter. Imagine the hundreds of millions of dollars it would have cost them to pay for all the bullshit they were posting everyday…

    1. Twitter may be a bad example – I don’t have a check mark but AFAIK I can post.
      Maybe you meant Townhall/Hot Air/Twitchy, where you can’t even see the comments unless you subscribe.

  20. Ok so I’m an idiot! I lived in Fort Myers Florida for fourteen years. Then after the passing of my husband I loaded up the truck and moved back to the suburbs outside of Chicago. What was I thinking?
    I missed the place where I grew up. I missed the family and friends who still lived here. I missed the seasons. Especially the fall colors.
    Do I regret it? No. It was great coming back to my support group of friends. They were my soft place to fall. They pulled me through a dark and rough time of my life.
    Would I wish to leave the hell whole Illinois is? Yes. There is so much to dislike here. In the end I stay for the friends. Note my children are not citizens of the once great city. They are the smart ones. One still resides in Florida.
    So for now as the years continue to fly by I’ll remain here.
    On another note when we moved to Florida our children were schooled aged. To this day I’m still shocked as I registered them for school and inquired about the school supply list. I was asked what list? I said in Illinois we would get a supply list which required a small loan being taken out. The lady laughed and winked at me and said they would only need pen, pencil and one of those composition notebooks. Huh? Yes it was all they needed. The schools and students were vastly different from here. There wasn’t the rich entitled little shits with their designer shoes, shirts, and jeans.
    Thanks for a great column and enjoy the beauty which is Naples Florida.

  22. I would pay $50 a month to post here and probably should anyway. Great column for my send off to a long weekend in Boston. Where it all began, all the wrong began. Will walk the freedom trail in its entirety and see how ordinary people react to my idea of amending the constitution and kick out the coasts since we outnumber them 3-1, out GDP them 3-1, an 4-1 in enlisted personnel.

    Boston, the headwaters of Samuel Clemens’ great quote (and I think he was talking about new England) Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience. Once the Coasts are kicked out, Chicago’s fall to hit bottom will be hastened, collapse, like a cheap pup tent. One must dream

  23. John, spot on as always! My wife and I are lifelong Chicagoans but moved to the burbs for the schools. We made it point, however, to take our kids to the Loop and downtown areas so they could experience a truly great city. Alas, no more. The Chumbolone’s have to go! BTW have you tried perch Limone?

  24. Excellent. You as always hit the problems straight on. I’m sure the bags of “uncounted” absentee (cemetery etc)will show up with just enough numbers to make the Preckwinkle nominee for SA come out for a win.
    I’d love to be in the audience in Naples. Record it for a podcast??

  25. Yianni,
    I’m so torn. I’d be out of here in a flash if it weren’t for son and grandchildren here. But there’s hope, my son in law had the brains and guts to bid farewell to New York and move my daughter and her 3 kids to the east coast of Florida, near Stuart, which we have visited frequently, as we regain our senses! Watching the ocean and inhaling the salt air under the watchful eye of the sun is food for the soul. I’m stuck here in chumbolonia, praying I can make the ultimate move south, to grow old surrounded by grandchildren and the sea. After all, as a licensed boat captain, and genes from the island of Icaria surrounded by the Aegean, I just gotta be near the sea! Our lake is nice, but the city on the shore has been diliberately turned into a s–thole by the leftists and socialists that rule with an iron hand. We’ll never again see the Chicago we once knew, it’s gone, it’s toast. Better you go to Florida. (As I just renewed my CCL license, I keep asking – what am I doing here?) When my Dad had a heart attack at age 75, he finally decided to leave Chicago’s winter and go to Florida surrounded by his countrymen that retired from Chicago. He lived to be 90! So go now Yianni, enjoy the life that you’ve recently discovered is SO precious. You won’t miss this place one second, as you watch its demise from afar. Say hello to fellow Nablidani! Kalo Taxidi!

  26. Nice article, but a little harsh on Green Acres restaurant and food options. Granted you can’t walk to them, like in Chicago – though for safety’s sake, you can’t walk to them there any longer either.

  27. “In Green Acres, there are no restaurants to speak of”? Pshaw, I say! The last time we visited Coco Pazzo in River North, the manager asked where we were from. Munster, Indiana. “Oh, so then you know Cafe Borgia. Cafe Borgia is one of three restaurants from which we select our waiters. We hire from Cafe Borgia because the waiters there are properly trained.” The food is right up there with Coco Pazzo, too. If you haven’t been, go immediately!

  29. John:
    I like your jackhammer approach.
    No luscious meandering walks down Memory Lane; oh no. It’s more like a walk through a dog park where you must avoid ample piles of poo; those smelly slippery torpedo turds that can ruin a perfect day. And I can smell Chicago from here.
    So, how do we get to “low voter turn-out”?
    Why do voters feel that going to the polls is a waste of time?
    Is it apathy? Is it a feeling of hopelessness? Is it because there is the notion that the system is rigged?
    One thing is sure; Republicans in this state of Illinois don’t or won’t fight like the Democrats, because “we are better than that”! Uh, no we are not. If we were, Democrats wouldn’t have the governorship, the IL Supreme Court, attorney general, secretary of state and a super majority in the state legislature. And let’s not forget that the Leftist Liberals-through the teachers unions-are raising the next generation of activists and NGOs who will struggle to read their union contracts or to understand their paycheck deductions.
    While us Lincoln Republicans deliver speeches extolling the virtues of our sacred rights to vote, Democrats see voting as a means to an end-strictly a numbers game. And we are getting our butts handed to us.
    March 19th was our Primary election day.
    I’m a Republican election judge. We dutifully opened the polls at 6:00 am and promptly closed the polls at 7:00 pm. That’s 13 hours that our polls were open to voting.
    We had 53 voters the entire day. 53! Granted; we are a small precinct in Henry County. In Henry County, there are 52 precincts and about 36,000 registered voters.
    Again; is this apathy, indifference or hopelessness?
    Or is voting in an election no longer an important priority in our lives?
    We have seen that there is plenty of dissatisfaction and lots of criticism of the way things are going in this country. High gas prices, food prices, housing costs and taxes that continue to go up are killing us. I work though I am retired so I can afford to be retired! Think about that!
    And don’t think that, because I don’t live in Chicago that we don’t see any crime here. The local police blotters are filled with all kinds of property crimes and domestic violence calls.
    Elections DO have consequences.
    But, many don’t seem to care.
    Deterioration of communities isn’t just occurring in Chicago and its burbs.
    It’s happening here too, but on a smaller scale.
    November can’t come soon enough.
    Republicans need to ditch the speeches and train for the street fights that are coming from the Left.

    1. People don’t vote in primaries in Illinois because there’s no point. In Crook County the Republicans don’t bother to run more than one candidate for ANY office, and frequently (VERY frequently) run NO candidates. The communists, er Democrats, run one candidate for most offices. If more than one runs, the mopes who run the party have NUMEROUS ways to cheat to make sure their endorsed candidate wins. Voters don’t want to waste their time with this crap. Who could blame them?

  30. You mentioned fly fishing down there and my mind derailed. The same rod you use for fly fishing the rivers up north is best for down there. Tossing streamers under the mangrove trees from a boat for tarpon, sea trout and snook is a blast. Walk the beach, sight fish and cast to them in the troughs and then listen to your reel sing. Do poppers on the ponds for giant bass – but keep one eye open for gators. And when you need a rest, go talk about politics.

    1. Fuggedaboutit. Burke will lose as the “mail-in” ballots are counted. If the communists, er Democrats, REALLY cared about “open and honest” elections as they claim, they’d join with Republicans and pass legislation at the national level requiring mail-in ballots to arrive at and be counted by election officials by election day. NOT postmarked by election day, but actually at election HQ by election day. They have 30 days. If they can’t be bothered to get their votes in with that amount of lead time, perhaps we’d be better off not counting their votes at all.

  32. John: I live in Ft Myers, about 25 miles north of Naples. Moved here from the burbs in 85 and never regretted it. Between beautiful weather…..yes I love the summer…..low crime and taxes, good schools and not a whole lot of political nonsense it is hard not to enjoy it. What I saved on taxes alone over 40 years helps out the retirement fund immensely. Unfortunately so many people have discovered our little paradise here and it has gotten busier and busier but still beats the Hell out of Illinois. My partner has a house in McHenry so I do come visit during the year but the only time I go into the city is to see the Blackhawks. Years ago we would stay downtown but I don’t feel safe there anymore. Keep up the good work and come visit often, after hurricane Ian we need those northern $$$.

  33. I was flabbergasted when on WGN channel 9 Tuesday morning, former Illinois Republican chairman Pat Brady was encouraging voters to vote for Joe Biden to save democracy. This is a main Democrat talking point. The Republican Party in Illinois is dead.

  34. Democrats do their best work counting votes under the cover of darkness. Letting them have two weeks to count mail in ballots is just asking for trouble. The deadline for mail in ballots should be by noon on Election Day.

    1. Pat is a Democrat. Always was a Democrat but worked in Republican Party circles not to spy, but to get power. He didn’t want to play the Daley game.

  36. Tried Florida (Miami), it’s not for me, I like to walk places. My wife and I thought about NYC which has all kinds of problems, but much less crime. Violent crime in Chicago is 850% higher than NYC per capita, but the taxes are insane. Our next stop is Aspen, Colorado. Hopefully we like our life in a bubble. I miss pre Covid Chicago, but isn’t coming back anytime soon. Unreal we have a mayor that openly backs marxism, hamas, and closing incredible high schools like Payton for “equity”.

  37. Damn.

    Good column, Kass.

    I miss the Chicago in which I grew up.

    Husband and I crossed the Mississippi River to a free state 15 years ago, and haven’t looked back.

    But we, too, live in a gastronomic desert. It is a small price to pay for freedom, but like the Israelites following God through the desert, I long for the cuisine of Egypt.

    But we have no plans to return to the slavery.

  41. Great article. So grateful you left the Tribune and I can just pay for your content directly – I was having a hard time finding your articles online after I cancelled my subscription because the paper was so woke and worthless – now your articles arrive right in my inbox! Love it!

  42. I’m a little bit of an outlier amongst this group of Kass subscribers: I live in Chicago and am under 70 years old (though only for a few more months). I agree with the anti-woke sentiments expressed by many here, but am far from ready to leave. I represent the fifth generation of my family to live on the great North Side.
    I’m enjoying life on a great block with fun neighbors. I enjoy my parish, neighborhood restaurants, and several neighborhood bars. I’ll make it to Wrigley this year and am already looking forward to tailgating in the Soldier Field parking lots and watching the resurgent Bears. I enjoy my 3 mile walks and 20 mile bike rides starting at my back door. I still enjoy Lake Shore Drive, heading into town.
    This city is still strong, Brandon and the CTU won’t be able to totally screw it up in four years. Kim Foxx will soon be gone. Chicago still features major sports teams: Bears (for now at least) Cubs, and Blackhawks. More esoteric sports interests are represented by a soccer team, women’s sports, and the south side baseball club. A variety of colleges and universities are available to suit a complete range of interests and abilities. We continue to draw young people to live in the city, work in our many fine hospitals and tech businesses, and frequent the bars and music venues.
    Chicago and city living in general is not for everyone. Some crave the stability and order provided by the HOA of a retirement community. I prefer a good city block with neighbors of varying ages and interests.
    Who knows, I might join the exodus at some point, but if I do, I hope I can find a place that is interesting enough that I don’t spend time writing to Kass to bitch about a place I used to live in/ might have lived near/drove around on the way to Indiana.
    33-1/3

  43. Moe Kelly
    March 23, 2024

    Born and raised in Austin during the fifties and sixties. Still live in the same, Lincoln Park, house for 46 years. Last year my wife and I bought a second house in Englewood. Still consider myself a West Sider. This Englewood is in “Sunny” Florida, North of Naples and South of Venice

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