"There are doubtlessly other recent examples and probably dozens every year that don't hit the newspapers. The two biggest unions in the city -- DFT for schools and the AFSCME group that runs the water dept -- are shot through with confessing Marxist agitators who see everything as an opportunity to highlight and exploit the class struggle.

"Just putting up a retail business is subject to the worst form of irrational politics rather than strictly business and law. That, I suspect, is not a problem that Chicago has to deal with. Indeed, few cities in America are this screwed up. And, of course, that dynamic feeds on itself as more rational people leave, concentrating the mix of rabble rousers and the politicians they influence.

"While Chicago's taxes may be just as bad, and its pols just as corrupt, the ethos is to welcome ANY business that is willing to come in and put up with the taxes, not hold star chamber hearings to determine whether their morals conform to the local standards."