Kudos To Mayor Daley

There is a lot to like about Chicago Mayor Richard Daley when compared to other leading Democrats in Illinois. Sure, I take some umbridge to his ceaseless efforts to promote gun-control and his seemingly zany past support for reparations to the descendents of slaves -- which I still insist was probably just a harmless verbal bone to throw to win some black support without actually doing anything. Every once in awhile though, the Mayor shows that he is at heart a pragmatist with an understanding of how the world really works.

The latest example is his apparently strident opposition to the "big box" wage ordinance passed by the city council. Da Mayor got his hackles up over the comments made by officials from other cities regarding their support for the efficacy of wage and benefit regulations for retailers.

Mayor Richard Daley, who has given strong indications that he will veto the ordinance, scoffed at any comparison between Chicago and the much smaller and more affluent western cities. "They should get back and help their own cities," Daley said of the out-of-town visitors. "I will compare my record to Santa Fe anytime, and San Francisco. You manage your city. We manage here."

The Mayor then demonstrated that he has a basic grasp of the real fundamental issue:

"Why should we raise the wage of some people but not others and make it depend on the size of the stores in which they work?" he said.

Well said, Mayor Daley. It's good to know that there are still a few adults left in the Illinois Democratic Party.