West Side of Chicago (Random Thoughts)

As I was riding through the Westside on my way home from class last night, I notice a lot of people sitting on the curb. This has to be a cultural thing because, for me, the last place that I would want to hang out on a Wednesday night is on the curb. Also interesting was the number of people huddled outside of the corner liquor stores. It appears as though these corners are places to gather socially.

I lived in Minneapolis for serveral years and have travelled through North Minneapolis (MPLS's ghetto). North Minneapolis is a much nicer neighborhood compared to the Westside. After living next to the westside for several years, it is obvious that the people there do not have the same opportunities to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" as do the people in my current neighborhood or the neighborhood where I grew up.

I would conjecture that the quality of public education is a cause. Funding public education with property tax dollars, like it is done in Illinois, provides a fairly rigid social strata where the opportunity to pull oneself up is increasingly difficult.

School to Home: (Last Night)
Cannondale Road Bike
Total Distance: 7.3 miles
Time: 23min 45sec
Gallons of gas saved: 0.24 gallons

To Work:
Cannondale Road Bike
Total Distance: 8 miles
Time: 26min 30sec
Gallons of gas saved: 0.25 gallons