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October 12, 2008 7:15:20 AM CDT

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Frank, Chicago Isn't Your Kind of Town Anymore

Posted Jun 28, 08 2:28 PM CDT in Arts & Living,  US 

(Newser) – The gritty home of the Bulls and Bears is turning soft, Radley Balko gripes in the Chicago Tribune. The Windy City has developed a nasty case of paternalism that’s trampling the rights of its people to smoke, drink, and eat trans fats freely—and even ranked last in a poll gauging the freedoms of America's most-populated cities.

“Chicagoans get hit from both sides: A City Council oriented toward blue state public health fanaticism, and a more reddish state legislature still prone to occasional bouts of moral prudery.” Yet he urges Chicagoans to hang tough: “Today's cities are large enough to afford most residents the anonymity to indulge forbidden pleasures in black and gray markets without much fear of getting caught.”

Source Chicago Tribune

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Chicago has America's worst case of suffocating paternalism, Radley Balko says.   (Index Stock)
A Chicago chef holds his pet duck after the city repealed its controversial two-year-old ban on foie gras, a delicacy made of duck and goose liver. The vote was led by Mayor Richard M. Daley, who called...   (AP Photo)
Chicago has one of the most restrictive city smoking bans in the country, Radley Balko says.   (Tim Boyle)
Chicagoans needn't despair over their paternalistic city, Radley Balko insists: "The information revolution has provided myriad ways for us to transcend old boundaries of home, family and neighborhood."   (Index Stock)
Old Blue Eyes might not be too happy with the restrictive policies of today's Chicago.   (Getty Images)
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