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Forbes rates Chicago Third most Miserable City
Citing harsh weather, high sales taxes, and public corruption, Forbes Magazine named Chicago the third most miserable city in the country in its 2009 survey. Forbes list ranked Chicago more miserable than Buffalo, Detroit, and even Flint, Mich., the former auto manufacturing town whose gloom was immortalized in Michael Moore's "Roger and Me."The city boasts being the hometown of President Barack Obama, a leading contender for the 2016 Summer Olympics and an impressive record for the Cubs last year, Forbes points out. Nonetheless, Forbes complains: "Lousy weather, long commutes, rising unemployment and the highest sales tax rate in the country are to blame for the Windy City being near the top of our list. High rates of corruption by public officials didn't help either." Forbes cites "a little corruption problem" as the major cause for their poor ranking of Chicago. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois has convicted 385 public officials of crimes in the past 10 years, and five of the past nine Illinois governors have been charged with crimes, Forbes points out. Meanwhile, unemployment is expected to rise to 9.2 percent in Chicago, the Tribune Company has filed for bankruptcy, and major layoffs have hit local powerhouse employers including Midway Games, Motorola and the University of Chicago Medical Center, Forbes said. "Residents have been showing their dissatisfaction with Chicago with their feet, perhaps fed up by the average low temperature of 17 degrees in January," Forbes' Kurt Badenhausen wrote. "There has been a net migration of people out of Chicago for seven straight years, a trend that is expected to continue." On top of that, Forbes highlighted the fact that last year marked 100 years since the Cubs had won a World Series. Forbes' most miserable city of all for 2009 Stockton, Calif., which was hit hard by the housing bust. Following Stockton is Memphis, Tenn., which suffers from a high crime rate and sales tax. Chicago comes third, followed by Cleveland; Modesto, Calif.; Flint, Mich.; Detroit; Buffalo, N.Y.; Miami; and St. Louis. Posted by: Helmuth, Speaking for Thromong2805 2009-02-10 |
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