Tale of two cities

The news out of Seattle and Chicago

IT WAS the worst of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of foolishness, it was the age of madness. It was the epoch of disbelief, it was the epoch of incredulity. It was the season of idiocy, it was the season of ignorance.

Let’s the rest of us hope that in another few years, major cities in the United States aren’t even more Dickensian than today. But several seem on their way.

And not just Portland.

The police chief of Seattle resigned this week. Carmen Best stepped down after the city council decided not only to cut the department’s budget but her own salary. She opposed calls by several city council members to cut the Seattle Police Department budget by 50 percent, attended a meeting with them to describe her vision for the department in the coming years, and was rewarded with a significant pay cut the next day.

More significantly, the city council decided to cut nearly $4 million from the police budget, which would result in the loss of about 100 police officers on the streets. Or rather off the streets. And limit the budget for training and recruitment. For a department of 1,400 police, a cut of 100 officers is not nothing.

When people tell you they want to Defund The Police, believe them. So far, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, top law-enforcement officers have “cut short their tenures” in Portland, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Louisville. Other reports say cops by the thousands are moving on to other jobs. Which would suit looters just fine.

Speaking of looters . . . . Chicago seems to be going in a different direction. That is, businesses there have asked for more cops.

Last weekend, looters tore into what’s called the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, breaking down doors and smashing windows to get at the goods inside those 600plus businesses. They’re still cleaning up. But instead of defunding the police, or firing their police chief, business owners in that area want more police on the beat.

According to The Journal, the president of the Magnificent Mile Association said her members are looking for a bigger police presence in the neighborhood. Along with “investment” in poorer parts of town.

There is an old Asian curse: May you live in interesting times. The times might get very interesting in Seattle in the coming years as fewer police walk the beat and fewer police supporters hold power at City Hall. We’re interested to see how things go in Chicago, too.

These two cities are taking different approaches, for certain. Any takers on a bet about which one will have more problems in the coming years?