City of Chicago - City Hall — Local services in Chicago

I am personally offended at the non-neighborly, inhospitable, and unjust City of Chicago, namely it’s City Hall and it’s Department of Finance, for setting up money-making speed enforcement cameras throughout the city and subsequently creating economic hardships not only for me but for the thousands upon thousands of Chicagoans, tourists, and passer bys on a daily basis.

There are good , hard-working people in my life with children with disabilities in dire need of economic assistance that I have been privately supporting for nearly 8 years, and I have been giving my all to support them day by day who live in a paycheck to paycheck daily context.

I took one of these heroic individuals downtown for an affordable happy hour that was 1/5 of an actual dinner price at a recommended restaurant from a friend of a loved one. I saved an immense amount of money and was able to purchase a dinner for two for $35. Then I get a ticket in the mail for $35!

You see, a few weeks ago, I received an automated speed enforcement violation from the City of Chicago Department of Finance. It stated I was going was going 6 miles an hour over a speed limit in a “park zone,” and it was the evening when we went to the city for dinner. Does that mean I was going a whopping 31 miles an hour? Or was it 26 mph?

The speed camera notice was highly offensive and made me so sad, and it was like being hit in the gut when I’ve been trying to stay afloat by giving my all to care for my loved ones.

Every experienced driver knows when driving you that you occasionally may have to speed up a bit here or there in Chicago to avoid other wild driving cars and or to move out of other’s way.

Things like this led me to flee living in the city of Chicago in 2008. I lived in the city of Chicago for nearly 13 years, but it’s unchecked crime, it’s economic policies, it’s unjust actions (like red light cameras and now the speed enforcement cameras), its high prices to to shop, and it’s UNBEARABLE 11% tax burden on purchases helped me to decide to move out of Chicago and live somewhere more affordable.

I could honesrly say I did not vote for any of this.

It is my opinion that the automated speed enforcement violation cameras are nothing short of the City of Chicago wanting to make money at the expense of its residents, tourists, Illinois residents, and any passerbys driving through Chicago to a destination elsewhere.

This is how the City of Chicago wants to welcome and woo visitors and tourists to visit and frequent it’s restaurants, museums, historical landmarks, beaches, and venues?

I have told my loved ones that I am done going to Chicago, and now they have lost more “revenue“ because we will not be supporting their City no longer until they change their ways and get rid of these unjust moneymaking schemes that create economic disparity.

Chicago and its leadership doesn’t like to talk about taxes and it’s failed policies which have driven the largest businesses out of our state.

All they can talk about are things like changing the name from “tax “ to “revenue.”

Some ingenious think tanks were definitely convinced from the City of Chicago’s leadership to put these cameras up to make our lives even more miserable. They can tell us it’s about safety all day long and I will never believe them. They worship the Almighty dollar.

I give Chicago’s leadership zero stars; and the worst part about this is that you cannot go and put the accuracy of these cameras on trial and those who watch it video. If you could, I guess it would cost you thousands of dollars in high-end lawyers to somehow push back against these nullifiers of liberty.

ZERO STARS

I give the city of Chicago credit for one thing only: that I have the freedom to review them and rebuke them publicly.

There are other municipalities that will never never let you review their services.

I don’t know if this was by accident or by design, but if by design, I am grateful that the City of Chicago allows me to critique...

SAVE $$$ and travel safe on the trains in Chigaco, US and have some extra dollars for shopping and  extras.

If you can manage yr suitcases, then use the BLUE Line from O'Hare International Airport going to downtown Chigaco (Clark/Lake station). The final stop is Forest Gate. Get yr uber or pickup from the Clark/Lake station if you're  staying downtown. Y've saved $40-$120 in Uber ride. The train ride is about 30mins and costs just $3 one way and $5 for a rtn ticket. Yes!!! & its clean, safe and arrives every 15 -20mins ... The Elizabeth Line in London costs  £15 one way from Heathrow Airport to Central London. Ditto for Heathrow & Gatwick Express ...

From Downtown Clark/Lake, you can connect to other stations - green, red,yellow ...ask yr host for your best connection. Trump towers is here. Also you can get to the Magnificent Mile for all the "magnificent" shop.  There's Macys' and Zara Primark & Nordstrom Rack near the Metra millenium Station

For OPPOSITE travel towards the UNIVERSITY of Chigaco, use the METRA. IT IS SAFE & CLEAN with guards on board and you can also buy tickets on board.

From Millennium station near Macy's to say 83rd St, you pay a mere $2 each way. YES!!! you read that right. Check train times though as intervals can range from 20mi mins to 2hrs. Chk yr timetable b4 you travel. On a saturday, if you miss the 6:40pm, the next train is 8:40pm. Hmmm, it's a long wait  for a 30min journey home.

Finally from Chigaco Downtown, you can take the BLUE LINE from Clark/Lake to ROSEMONT SHOPPING OUTLET. This is the stop before the O'Hare airport. It's 30mins from downtown. At Rosemont, there's a FREE SHUTTLE BUS to the mall. It's about 5mins ride to the mall.  In cold weather dress warm as the bus can be slow in arriving. It's a bright ORANGE BUS.

ENJOY CHIGACO...

So the City Sticker late fee is based off of the date you signed your lease or contract for your new home. In our case, we flew to Chicago to sign our contract, and flew back to California. The original home owners were still living in our house. Our cars were still in California. We didn’t drive them over until several weeks later. We didn’t immediately go to the dmv either, we had to move in. I want to point this out, because this is an absurd concept. Additionally, the DMV told us incorrectly that it was based on the date you registered your car (the biggest city in the state doesn’t communicate at all with the state DMV on issues pertaining to vehicles? Obviously, their current rule is impossible for a lot of people, and I’m sure they know this. If Chicago wants to rebound, consider making an effort to reform rules/laws that strong arm citizens into paying extra fees. The economy right now isn’t just going to put a strain on the citizens of Chicago, but expect a strain on City Hall workers, as they will feel the pain when they confront angry residents, and particularly angry NEW residents who are ready to leave their...