Chicago's Violent Flash Mobs

Stories about violent "flash mobs" roaming Chicago's North Side neighborhoods have been in the news the past 2 weeks. People are worried about the impact these mobs will have on tourism and the city's economy. Some are asking why this social unrest is happening, now, so soon after Mayor Daley left office. Kevin O'Neil writes in the CTA Tattler, "Chicago police and Streeterville universities are warning residents and passersby to be aware of traveling mobs of teenagers who use the CTA and cell phones to meet up in the Near North Side area and commit crimes..." According to Jack Marshall, "The Chicago media has adopted an odd policy in reporting the incidents: it has not reported the fact that the mobs were made up of African-American youths." Flash mobs of African-American youths are not the only reporting about race that is ignored in the Chicago media. For too long the media has ignored the hypersegregation in the city, as well.... The Chicago Democrats have controlled the city for more than fifty years. The mayors Daley instituted policies that not only segregated the city and the schools, but also insured the survival of the Democratic Party at the expense of many neighborhoods.