I attended earlier this week the People Powered Policy Panel, which was a Chicago Public Library event to explore a public options platform generally and specifically municipally-owned grocery stores and public banking initiatives.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson addressed the audience. Then local media maven Sylvia Ewing moderated a conversation among sociologist Ruha Benjamin, community activist Dorian Warren, and city policy chief Mayumi Grigsby.
This intriguing initiative was justified by Warren, who suggested that governments need to intervene when markets fail residents. Benjamin supplied data-drive support, and cautioned against uncritical approaches that can have unintended consequences, such as predatory inclusion. Grigsby encouraged everyone to reimagine such public-private partnerships in ways that include the communities these ostensibly serve.
The topic drew noticeable attendees, such as the Evanston mayor. At the same time, the discussion seemed so superficial as to provide little substance. It also seemed to ignore historical insights from previous efforts, such as Medicare or Social Security.
Any enthusiasm was dampened by Johnson’s oversimplified account of social relations in Chicago. He seemed unaware that where he was speaking on State Street is surrounded by empty buildings and storefronts that even stretch north of Madison Street.
A distraction was Grigsby’s cheerleading about her boss. Her comments seemed more confusing after her boss had just been criticized by the Chicago Sun-Times for wanting to replace his fiscally responsible Chicago Public Schools CEO.
Neither should interfere with the effort to explore such options, and to push Chicago as a leader as Grigsby suggested in such initiatives.
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