When Chicagoans travel around the world, people from other countries utter certain clichés to greet us. Decades ago, they bellowed “Al Capone! Bang, bang!” In the 1980s and 1990s, the names “Oprah” and “Michael Jordan” jumped out of their mouths. After that, we heard “Obama.”
Today, those of us visiting abroad are likely to hear the unfortunate moniker “Chiraq,” as shorthand for the city’s gun violence.
None of these stereotypes and hackneyed references describe Chicago as a global city. But citizens around the world know our city.
Chicago is my love, my home base, a place I critique as much as I fawn over.