Chicago is doing just fine

Now Trump wants to send military troops into Chicago because he thinks the Windy City is overrun with crime that only he can control. He ought to know about crime, convicted felon that he is.

I just spent four days in Chicago and the only crimes I witnessed were the swarms of tourists blocking sidewalks along Michigan Avenue while taking pictures of all the tall buildings.

If Chicagoans are terrified of crime, they certainly didn’t show it. There were more people strolling along the Magnificent Mile last Saturday and Sunday than have ever gathered on any day in history in Des Moines or Omaha. There were two hour waits to get into restaurants, while department stores were packed with shoppers.

There were lines a half block long to get into Starbucks, Nutella (that’s right, the sandwich spread) and Harry Potter stores in the Loop. Hotels were booked solid. People from around the world streamed through O’Hare and Midway airports and Millenium and Union train stations. The El was packed with baseball fans to and from Wrigley Field, who witnessed the Cubs rally in extra innings to snatch a 7-6 win over the Atlanta Braves.

Street performers provided entertainment and weirdness too. A snake lady at the corner of Michigan and Lake handled what looked like a six-foot long python across her shoulders as crowds walked by nonchalantly.

People were having fun — lots of fun — in a Democratic-run city, and Trump can’t stand it.

Like other big cities — and a lot of small ones — Chicago has challenges, but the City of the Big Shoulders seems to be dealing with crime. Overall violent crime is down 22% in the first six months of this year, with shootings down 38% and homicides down 33%.

Chicago’s checker-capped cops were visible, capable and plentiful, patrolling the streets on foot, in cars and on bikes.

And in Iowa’s bucolic Des Moines over the weekend? You could shoot a cannon down Locust Street and not hit anything.

Compare Chicago’s vibrancy to Washington, DC, where restaurants report business sagging as much as 50% since Trump brought in military to take over the streets. Tourists don’t want their photo memories of the Lincoln Memorial blocked by camo soldiers and Humvees.

By the way, why didn’t Trump call out the National Guard when his rioters were desecrating the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021?

If Trump was serious about crime, he’d do something to prevent psychopaths from getting their hands on guns. Enact sensible gun control laws and you’d wipe out almost all violent crime. Every other country in the world has shown that.

It’s a lot more dangerous to be a child in school in Perry, Iowa, or Uvalde, Texas, or in church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, than it is to walk the streets of Chicago or New York or Washington, DC.

I figure it’s best if we not tell other people how to run their cities. We Iowans have enough to take care of right here at home. Chicago can take care of itself, thank you very much.