Nevertheless...Chicago

 "Chicago is a city where the practical and the inspirational exist in harmony; where visionaries who made no small plans rebuilt after a great fire and taught the world to reach new heights. It's a bustling metropolis with the warmth of a small town; where the world already comes together every day to live and work and reach for a dream—a dream that no matter who we are, where we come from, no matter what we look like or what hand life has dealt us, with hard work, and discipline, and dedication, we can make it if we try." —Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States and longtime Chicago resident

"Chicago is a town, a city that doesn't ever have to measure itself against any other city. Other places have to measure themselves against it. It’s big, it’s outgoing, it’s tough, it’s opinionated, and everybody’s got a story." —Anthony Bourdain, celebrity chef and author 

Anthony Bourdain was human. He was also from New York. And New Yorkers love New York. It’s a city that prides itself on…well, itself. And it should. It’s been around, it’s grown, changed, and made history, good and bad. But it’s not Chicago. Bourdain, as all humans do, had a flaw. One of his, in his writing at least, was that he told it like it was, and he nailed his description of Chicago. It was a settlement that should have failed, built along the smelliest river in the state (its name comes from the Native American word meaning ‘stinky water’). It was the city that burned down and against all odds sprang back up…more than once, but we only remember the worst time. It was the city that should have been finished by the flow of the Chicago River…but then they reversed it. 

It has a loud history of corruption and dishonesty in politics and law enforcement, but it’s honest about it. It doesn’t sweep it under the rug. It happened. Sure, it tried for a while to hide it's violent history. But it’s really hard when people associate you with one of the most violent members of organized crime. 

They have one baseball team that could have shut down after the 1919 Black Sox Scandal and another that could have moved when it couldn’t win a World Series for over a hundred years. And yet, it doesn’t care. It does not care what you think. It doesn’t care what you say. It’s come this far and like hell is it going to let you make it something it’s not: the actual melting pot. The beating heart, right in the middle of the United States. A growing moving thing that protects it’s own, even if it doesn’t necessarily like them. It’ll say “yeah, I have crime. I’m a giant metropolis with a hundred different cultures, thousands of streets and alleys and sidewalks. But I’m safer than some of the rest of you. And yes, my politicians can be corrupt, but so are yours. At least I accepted that. I also gave you Barack Obama. You’re Welcome.” 

Chicago is the city that every other city wishes it could be, and the city that doesn’t want to be anything else.

"I am an organic Chicagoan. Living there has given me a multiplicity of characters to aspire for. I hope to live there the rest of my days." —Gwendolyn Brooks, lifelong Chicagoan and first Black author to win the Pulitzer Prize

Though I go to the city a lot, I don’t live there and I’m obviously not a native born Chicagoan but I’m not shunned. I’m not one of the true Chicagoans, but then it’s hard for anyone to be because Chicagoans will help you up and then move on with their day. You matter to them because they are good people, but then they have stuff to do. They are hardworking, usually with a dark sense of humor, a creative drive, and like Obama says, everyone here comes together. As we have seen, for the most part in regard to Trump’s threats to Chicago, it’s a united front of ‘this city will not bow to you. It’s ours and we like it.' Protests, peaceful but loud and boisterous, haven’t stopped, but neither has day to day life. Something that Trump doesn’t want you to know is that 99% of the population of any city, including Chicago, doesn’t want to kill anyone. It’d be nice for that number to be a hundred, but unfortunately, we’re humans and we have mostly good humans with a few bad humans in every civilization. 

Fun fact: I had a confrontation with someone in Chicago about a month ago. It’s not important why it happens. What matters is that even after it happened, I didn’t feel scared. I’m a 5’6’’ woman who normally doesn’t do arguments with anyone except people I trust. I’m also not from Chicago, but you know what? That guy (yes, I got in an argument with a guy who was most likely taller than me, and in case you are wondering, it was not politically caused) could have been intimidating. Anyone could have considered me a shrill Karen, or he could have gotten in my face or something. In the town I live in, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it happen. But in Chicago, even as I walked away, still angry, I wasn’t scared. Maybe that was naive, but I wasn’t looking over my shoulder because it was a person to person interaction that ended as soon as it began (in theory, I still was railing against the guy in my head days later, but that’s a me problem). So, to recap, just really quick: the majority of the people in Chicago? Not dangerous.

"Chicago's neighborhoods have always been the city’s greatest strength." —Jane Byrne, Chicago's first female mayor

Now, to elaborate on that point: sending federal agents into a city like Chicago is a horrible, not to mention stupid thing to do. It’s another step towards fascism, for one thing. Unless called in by a mayor or governor, the National Guard and agencies like ICE have no place in a city. In 1919, during the race riots, the National Guard was called in as a last resort. Let that sink in: during an actual riot, it took days for anyone to call in help. Should they have called it in earlier? Absolutely. However, they did eventually call for help. Only when help is needed should it be asked for. Oh, and also no one asked for this. Chicago was not experiencing a riot or dangerous period. In fact, crime is down in Chicago. And it has been for a long time. It has dangerous neighborhoods, sure. So does my town of less than 100,000 people. I was raised in a town with around 2,000 people, and even there, there are less than safe neighborhoods. And let’s not miss that the government is currently in The Loop. In front of Tribune Tower, for crying out loud. I’m sure all the business people there, in their suits and everything, are enjoying laughing at the ridiculousness of that. 

But Chicago’s diversity, one of the things that makes it so great, is under attack. Because they’re arresting people based purely on the color of their skin and the language they speak. It is 2025. We should have risen above this, but we haven’t. The federal government is allowing people to be arrested because they look different. If I need to point out the parallels to you regarding Nazi Germany or even the racist past of the United States and segregation, Jim Crow laws, and Japanese detainment camps, you either aren’t paying attention or have drunk too much of the kool-aid. This is how it started in Germany. It’s a step…no, it’s a drop off the cliff backwards in human rights. The people they are arresting, even if they are here illegally, aren’t criminals. They are people looking for a better life, people just like your grandparents or great-grandparents, some of whom would have snuck over through Ellis Island. If they had no immigration papers, they were often just sent in. All for the hope of making a better life for themselves and their families. Besides, let’s not act like all of those who are born here, myself included, could pass the citizenship test. Some of us have clearly forgotten the reason for the founding of our country (not wanting to be ruled by a king, for one) and the rights outlined in the Constitution and every amendment since. 

"Let me tell you something. I'm from Chicago. I don't break." —Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States and longtime Chicago resident

I love this quote by Barack Obama, because it perfectly encompasses what Chicago is. It’s a city that should have crumbled over and over and never did. It came back from the ashes, both literally and figuratively, like a phoenix. Chicago’s not perfect. It doesn’t try to be. But it’s strong, it’s fierce, it’s independent and it absolutely will not fall to tyranny or anyone who thinks that fascism and dictators have any place in this country. It will not allow a “wannabe dictator,” in the words of Governor Pritzker, to take away the foundation of this country and arrest people without cause with no consequences. Chicago will stand tall and proud against Trump and the MAGA cult, because Chicago protects it’s own and Chicagoans—both those born there and those who carry Chicago in their hearts and souls—don’t break.

Sources:

“21 Amazing Quotes about Chicago You Should Know.” Time out Chicago, 22 Oct. 2024, www.timeout.com/chicago/things-to-do/quotes-about-chicago.

Kotlowitz, Alex. Never a City so Real a Walk in Chicago. University Of Chicago Press, 2019.

Krist, Gary. City of Scoundrels : The Twelve Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago. New York, Broadway Books, 2013.

Reuters Staff. “Illinois Governor Says Trump Administration Seeking to Deploy 100 Troops to Illinois amid Immigration Blitz.” Reuters, 29 Sept. 2025, www.reuters.com/world/us/illinois-governor-says-trump-administration-seeking-deploy-100-troops-illinois-2025-09-29/.