Every city has as an area or street where tourists go to shop.  For the city of Chicago, that location is the Magnificent Mile.  Having spent a fair amount of time in Chicago over the past twenty years, I can say the Magnificent Mile is a must see when visiting the city. Not only is there great shopping, there are beautiful hotels and great restaurants. It would be the equivalent of the Champs-Elysees in Paris or 5th Avenue in New York.  It’s a busy yet tranquil shopping area that is normally completely safe.  Unfortunately, that tranquility was disturbed by mobs of teenagers wreaking havoc and acting in a menacing fashion.  The police were called in to the area to break up the mob of teenagers.  In all, twenty-eight teens were arrested during the incident. According to News Affairs Officer Perkus, “the teens were charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct and battery and later released.”  Officers attempted to end the mob violence by escorting many of them to the Red Line but the violence continued.  It’s been reported that these flash mobs, as they are referred, were planned weeks ago on social media.  This story is significant because it clearly demonstrates what happens when the man in the mayor’s chair, Rahm Emmanuel is a community activist/staunch liberal.  There are areas in political arena where being liberal is preferred.  Crime is not one of them.  Mayor Bloomberg of New York City has taken much heat over his “stop and frisk” policy.  But whether one agrees or disagrees with it, the fact remains that New York City is experiencing the lowest crime rates since records were kept.  And yet Bloomberg is pro-choice, and strongly backed and was influential in the legalization of same-sex marriage in the State of New York.  The point here is that one can be liberal on some issues and conservative on others.  It’s actually preferable and means one has a mind and can think independently from public pressure.  Unfortunately, most people sit on one side of the fence or the other and rarely, if ever, attempt to climb over it.  Life From The Center; left on some issues right on others; socially liberal, but fiscally conservative.  Negative 5 plus positive 5=0 or the center.  If Chicago is going to end the ever-increasing crime rate, it’s going to take a tough leader who is willing to make tough decisions.  Emmanuel may not be that man.  But it’s time for the people of Chicago to demand a reverse in course before it’s too late.  If people shopping on the Magnificent Mile can be victimized, no one is safe.