@royalpratt When they closed the bars in our neighborhood, it destroyed the economy. I believe this happened in the late seventies and early eighties, around the time I was born.
@royalpratt That, in combination with systemic racism in a commodified housing market and disinvestment from the city, forced Brighton Park into a devastating economic quagmire that it struggles with to this day.
@royalpratt If @LoriLightfoot is making it more difficult for mom and pop liquor shops to survive, it's because she wants to replace them with Binny's, or nothing at all.
@royalpratt @LoriLightfoot When real estate investors want to scoop up large swaths of property, they pay their politician friends to destroy the economy there. In a generation, the properties are undervalued and ripe for the taking.
@royalpratt @LoriLightfoot If you want to thwart people in positions of authority, grow roots. Stay in one place your whole life and build something there. Capital has been interrupting this natural process for centuries for a reason.
@royalpratt @LoriLightfoot Staying in one place is not enough. You must also instruct those who come after you to build in your stead. That's the key.
@royalpratt @LoriLightfoot @LoriLightfoot wouldn't know about any of this, of course, because she's not from here.
@royalpratt @LoriLightfoot @threadreaderapp unroll please. Thank you!
@royalpratt @LoriLightfoot I'm tempted to run against @LoriLightfoot, if only because it would be good advertising for Optimist Press But tell you what, my first and only action as mayor would be a referendum: A) The current system, or B) Every resident of Chicago is now a legislator and we vote as one.
@royalpratt @LoriLightfoot I don't care if it's me who does it, but someone should. Everyone should, for that matter.
@royalpratt @LoriLightfoot Vote into office candidates who run on mandates to issue referenda initiatives that institute actual rule by the people, which is MORE than plausible given today's engineering possibilities.
@royalpratt @LoriLightfoot CUT OUT THE MIDDLE MEN.
@royalpratt @LoriLightfoot Political parties? Who needs em. Give me real democracy.
@royalpratt @LoriLightfoot Mayors? Obsolete. Give me real democracy.
@royalpratt @LoriLightfoot Let's free ourselves.
@royalpratt @LoriLightfoot I was about to short-change myself, but then I said, "No. To Hell with that." No more half-measures.
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