Da Mayor: benvolent dictator, always good for a quote
Mayor Daley is one of the things I love about Chicago. In theory, I think he’s a bit of a dictator. But, some of the decisions he makes, I kind of agree with.
Plus, he’s always good for an absolutely brilliant quote.
Yesterday, police shot a cougar that was wandering around Roscoe Village (a residential neighborhood on the north side). Cougars are not “normal” there. At all. I’m not usually for shooting animals, but the thing was wandering around a day care center, cruising the sidewalks, etc.
Some people are upset about the shooting. Not Daley. Speaking what might actually be common sense, he said the following (and, please, to get the full effect, imagine a thick Chicago accent):
Now, I just want to tell you, if the cougar attacked a child, they’d sue the city because the police officer didn’t do their job. So everybody second guesses, you know. So let the cougar run around and attack children. Everybody would be filing lawsuits, and yelling at the police and all the local officials. . . . Too bad that we didn’t have an animal care and control personnel. [They] were en route to the scene. But again you have to make individual decisions. I didn’t see a neighbor run out and grab it and say, ‘Oh I love you’ and bring it in the house. This is unbelievable. I mean, I just, I just. . . . Don’t worry about it.
This is brilliant. He does make a good point.
21 April 2008 at 10:49 pm