Tate: Illini can't shy away from Chicago
ANTI-CHICAGO, Ill. — Every now and then a wild idea catches my fancy. How about downstate Illinois seceding from Chicago?
A Decatur legislator, Bill Mitchell, thought of it first. He introduced a bill last year emphasizing that the state's other 101 counties "hold different views" and don't like the dictates of Cook County.
Bill and I like to pretend.
Why not? Doesn't it bother you that Champaign-Urbana, an exemplary educational community with a world-renowned university, a strong junior college and a variety of good high schools, must rely on trustee leadership and direction from a city that is flat-out the "most corrupt federal district in the country"?
Chicago leads the nation's other districts with 1,531 convictions since 1976, according to research done by Jim Nowlan, senior fellow for the UI Institute of Government and Public Affairs.
Nowlan cites four governors, two U.S. congressmen, a state treasurer, an attorney general, the auditor, two state senators, five state representatives, two directors of state agencies, numerous judges, policemen, government employees, and aldermen too numerous to mention. Since 1973, 31 members of the Chicago City Council have been guilty of various crimes.
And that doesn't even begin to tell the story of the Chicago interscholastic system and some of those commuter "universities." Inner-city high schools are beyond awful, in some cases resembling war zones. CBS analyst Seth Davis uncovered the elephant in the room when he commented about UI basketball: "Connection to Chicago is foremost ... but keep in mind that recruiting in a big city like Chicago is never easy — mostly because it's difficult to do it successfully without cheating."
He spoke out loud what everyone else whispers. How is Bruce Weber supposed to succeed with Chicago preps if he doesn't fill hands that appear palms up? How do you keep track of which guys belong to which gangs? How do you find out about under-table drug involvement?
Then Davis misses the point completely. He said, "Illinois is one of a small handful of schools with a national brand that can draw recruits from coast to coast."
Really? Did I miss something in the last 80 years?
Stating their case
No school with a Top 40 basketball ranking has been as locked into homestate recruiting as the UI. Flyin' Illini stars (1989) Kendall Gill and Stephen Bardo revel in the fact that they were all from the state. It has been very much that way forever.
Sure, there are exceptions. Harv Schmidt's best player was Ohioan Nick Weatherspoon. Lou Henson knew James Griffin's coach in Texas and hauled him in. Illini recruiter Tony Yates practically lived on an airplane back and forth to Florida, and he got a break when Derek Harper's No. 1 choice, Michigan, lost coach Johnny Orr. Bill Self expanded UI horizons when he attracted Deron Williams from Texas. There were others. Mike Davis was snatched when nobody else was looking.
But over the decades, Illini success has been linked to Chicagoland, and that's been an off-and-on relationship. Henson's program was brought down by two Chicago-related recruiting scuffles: (1) Indiana coach Bob Knight cried foul when Lowell Hamilton signed on and (2) Iowa's Bruce Pearl influenced the NCAA to investigate when Deon Thomas rebuffed the Hawkeyes.
There are way too many shenanigans going on up there. Derrick Rose is the latest city hero, overlooking the fact that the Simeon product got Memphis in trouble because someone else took his entrance exam. High-scoring Aurora guard Ryan Boatright has served two suspensions since arriving at UConn this fall.
This doesn't mean UI basketball coaches should shun Chicago, but they need to develop other options. You don't find Top 25 teams that are restricted by a state line. Michigan State and Ohio State spread their wings, adding outsiders to their in-state mix. The Illini, meanwhile, haven't attracted a starter from nearby Indiana since Mike Price, an Indianapolis product who'll soon be retirement age. Athletes from Iowa and Wisconsin (like some trustees) would need a map to find where C-U is located. Henson and others have romanced the black stars from Greater St. Louis — LaPhonso Ellis, Kelly Thames, Jimmy McKinney, Jahidi White, Bradley Beal, etc. — and come up dry every time. Imagine, since Billy Morris left school early in 1972, the UI has gone through 40 years with only one standout, Alton's Larry Smith (1991 Illini MVP), from the strong black programs on both sides of the Mississippi River.
If Illinois has a national brand, it isn't working. Given time, Self might have changed it. Weber has tried but has met stiff resistance, most recently with new Florida standout Beal. Expanding into other states needs to be a point of emphasis.
City of hope
The Chicago media is pro-oriented and skeptical, if not confrontational, which is perhaps as it should be. As a group, whether it is radio, TV or print, they tend to view the UI in the same manner as the Tribune's Steve Rosenbloom, who spewed:
"I'm not advocating Weber's firing because I really don't care and I really don't think a new coach will matter the way Illini followers think.
"I've heard it said that Illinois is a basketball school. Actually, it's a bad-pig-farm-smell school, but as far as sports go, it's a basketball school by default, which doesn't mean it's a prime job.
"Sorry to break it to the fine burghers of Champaign and Urbana, but that's not a destination (point) for a coach. I mean, they teach history down there, don't they? Look, if you land a Self-type again, you'd better find a replacement at the same time because he won't stick around much longer than most good freshmen do. Truth is truth."
Mike Thomas talks of "winning Chicago." That's where the folks are ... and the money. And UI recruiters dream of putting a fence around the city. Good luck. It won't happen. The UI is battling a dozen or more other universities with similar intent and bucking an irreversible attitude, as cleverly expressed by Rosenbloom.
The lakeside metropolis is a bustling district with other interests, and it's on a different social, political, economical and educational wavelength. As Rosenbloom and others have made clear, they don't respect us (P.S., the hog farms have moved). And we don't care for them, either. It's a great place to visit, but I just closed my eyes and personally seceded. So there.
Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com.
As an Illini fan, that lives in Chicago (12 years and counting) and grew up 2 hours south of Champaign, with many family members currently residing there, I can say that many (most) Chicagoans do not share Steve Rosenbloom's opinion on the matter.
Consider that 50% or more of U of I's enrollment is FROM Chicago... (as is over 50% of SIU's), I sincerely doubt that those people (35,000+, annually) think he has a clue what he's talking about.
I grew up surrounded by those that spewed vitriol at Chicago... many in my family would do it still today (those that have never lived here). I too reviled Chicago, it's sports franchises, it's school districts (my dad was a teacher) and the like.
HOWEVER
I also sat a lunch (in Chicago) one day while a life-long city dweller lamented that there is no good reasons to still have farmers around, as he ate a wheat-bread sandwich. I promptly asked where he thought that bread came from, exactly?
My point is this. Rosenbloom is obviously ignorant. Not stupid, likely, more so just an adolescent adult with a narrowminded and uninformed view. ie, ignorant.
I will stop here, Loren by asking, have you ever lived in Chicago?
Myers--Mr. Moses Tate has never lived in Chicago and the mere thought likely makes him sick. He considers it a foreign country with unsavory people because they don't automatically agree with him or show up at The Esquire to wash his feet. He'd prefer that top players from Chicago choose Illini, buit their families and friends be prevented from attending games because obviosuly if they aren't from C-U and aren't narrow-minded like him, they can't be fans and are likely communists.
I have to agree and disagree with Mr. Tate on this column.
I will skip over the fantasy of seceding from Illinois but the thoughts involved are very valid which is a sad commentary on Illinois.
I think it would be great to pull the top players from the Chicago Public League but the corruption involved that has developed over time aided probably by the AAU issues must be avoided by Illinois regardless of the coach. If a player wants to come to Illinois and no envelopes are involved, take him but be careful as Bruce Pearl showed.
I disagree that Illinois can't be a national school in basketball because Self showed the beginnings of that happening. It depends on getting the right coach who can make the right impression and knows how to coach.
I never liked Weber's coaching methods even in the 2005 year and he never was able to recruit. Now we know he didn't want to recruit the type of players he would need at UI. He was able succed with the players he wanted at SIU where the competition was easier in the Missouri Valley Conference.
As a Chicago native and someone who has lived in Champaign-Urbana the majority of my life, I respectfully ask you to to shut up and retire. You've lost your mind.
After trashing Illini fans the past couple of months, now you are trashing Chicago over some mythical culture war. Yep, Pastor Tate, it is the evil, den o' sin Chicago vs. the pure, simple folk of downstate Illinois. And your basis for this war? Why it's Steve Rosenbloom of the Tribune, who trashes everyone and everything on a daily basis. He even trashed the Cubs for hiring Theo Epstein.
Contrary to Loren's view, most Chicago media organizations do not view the University of Illinois as "Hayseed U."..If they get a load of this negative Tate submission, however,they probably will do.
Steve Rosenboom? Really Loren? Do your Homework about a person before quoting them!
You gotta be kidding me.. we’re back on this after a game like yesterday’s.. dementia, senility or alzheimer’s can be the only explanation why we keep seeing this topic over and over again. I guess the game yesterday was so bad it didn’t stir enough debate.. there was nothing to debate, we sucked. So we re-hash the same old garbage to get the down staters and up staters fighting… well this out of stater thinks someone’s ready for the old folks home.
Having grown up in Chicago and being a UofI alum for 40+ years, reading this was like stepping into the wayback machine. This argument was going on back then when the great Cazzie Russell wouldn't evn consider Illinois. Dan was the same. He was qioted as saying that it wasn't considered "cool" for a Chicago area player to go to Illinois. So, Harry Combes, et.al. concentrated on places like Pekin and Collinsville and put together some fine teams. Even among non-athletes back then, it wasn't "fashionable " to go to Illinois. There was the connotation that it meant that your parents didn't have enough $$$ to send you out of state or to a private school. As for coverage by the Chicago media, there was almost none. Loyola, DePaul, ND and NW got tons of print. In 1964 when the Illini routed defending champion UCLA it was scarcely covered. There was (is?) a certain snobbishness in parts of Chicago regarding the UofI...."oh, it's the state school".
When career took me out of Illinois, I was struck by how well-regarded the UofI was, both academically and athletically. It seems that little has changed. Concentrating on Chicago maybe a fool's errand, but Chicago can't be ignored. However, Self, Henson and Schmidt (early on) showed that quality teams can be recruited outside of Chicago and outside of Illinois.
Make no mistake...I love the city of Chicago, and I continue to live and die (mainly) with the Bears, the Cubs, etc., but the City's lack of regard for the UofI continues to baffle me. Yes, C-U is in the middle of nowhere, but this city boy loved his time there and I get back to both Chicago and to C-U whenever I can.
More of the simply awful slime from Moses Saint Tate. My goodness! Does the intolerance ever stop flowing out of Sonny? His secession fantasy is no doubt similar to Rick Perry's Texas secession fantasy -- and I say I wish Texas would indeed secede and wither away and that Moses would finally retire. Decades of insulting fans and trotting his conservative views into sports columns are enough.
Moses, like Rick Nutcase Santorum and others just like him, fantasize about having their own little country where everyone is white and male and intolerant of everyone else or anything that disagrees with them.
And they rely on their surrogates to show up and try to shout down those who disagree. They'll be here any minute now.
The surrogates won't offer a compelling or even coherent argument -- they'll just call those who they disagree with traitors and socialists or communists or something else better-suited to recess in the fourth grade, which they probably flunked.
Hail the Titan Gasbag Moses Saint Tate.
nah, it has nothing to do with white or intolerant. It has to do with pulling your weight and paying your bills. I grew up in Illinois, but lets face it, it has become a financial mess. Their politicians have been corrupt, the state's debt rating is the lowest in the nation (along with Kalifornia), taxes are going up, and people and business are leaving. Better hope states like texas dont secede because if they do, they can just wait a decade and then buy back the other parts of the US at the bankrutpcy sale for pennies on the dollar, LOL.
Improve the local fanbase (embarassing fair weather support for Illini sports).
Improve facilities (see Univ Louisville's Yum Center - better than the United Center).
Let "Chicago" know the south farms have moved, because I'm sorry, it was bad.
Discontinue equating 3 million "Chicago" with 8 million "Chicagoland". The values of "Chicagoland" are a lot more in line with those in central Illinois than central Illinoisians realize.
Over the past 15 years there has been only one Illinois Mr Basketball from Chicago proper (Derrick Rose). There is a ton of talent in Chicagoland, right Jon Scheyer?
Political corruption doesn't end in Chicago (Paul Powell - Vienna, George Ryan - Kankakee, Lennington Small (Republican Illinois Governor in 1921 from Kankakee), Orville Hodge (State Auditor from Granite City). Maybe we just catch more crooks in Illinois than in other states.
If we build it (an attractive atmosphere around here, whether that means facilities, attitude, promotion, or all of the above) "they" will come as the saying goes.
Tough to do that with "from the middle of nowhere" writing affecting middle of nowhere thinking.
We are somewhere - make it happen. It's possible (Lawrence, KS. population 87,000).
Loren, if you're going to write about political corruption in Chicago, shouldn't you at least note that a governor from Kankakee County and a state treasurer from Vienna are included in your list?
Chicago may have a greater concentration of corruption than elsewhere in the state, though you don't put it in any kind of per capita perspective. But including non-Chicagoans in your diatribe is a bit over the top.
Well, Loren, you really hit some nails on the head. A lot of downstaters have felt that way for years, politically. No, it isn't right that a lot of state government is legislated from the Chicago area, when the lawmakers don't have a clue as to the lifestyles and livelihoods in and around Cairo. However, i must say, with this article, I do feel that it might have made the fences that keep Illini recruiters OUT of Chicago even further away, and made the jobs of tim Beckman, Mike thomas and whoever the basketball coach is / will be evenhmore difficult.
I would like to see Mr.Tate do a more balanced job of research and investigation before he writes articles that are so careless and hurtful to many people.There are thousands of us who are loyal University of Illinois graduates with family and friends in Chicago and the suburbs.This article does not show respect or concern for such dedicated Illini supporters.Please examine your perceptions Mr.Tate.There is tremendous love and loyalty for the UI in Chicagoland.Perhaps you should check with the University and ask them if you could examine the list of donors to University projects.Maybe you could look at a comprehensive list of the hometowns of Illinois athletes,past and present,and form a conclusion about the support given to the UI. I see great support for the university programs,both academic and athletic from all parts of the suburbs and Chicago.With all respect I ask you to open your eyes and be fair.This is a divisive and needless article.It is also untrue because Mr.Tate used isolated examples to make gross generalizations.Be wise enough to consider some veiwpoints other than the perceptions and information that you have manipulated.There is always a more complicated explanation for any situation,be it political corruption or college athletics.Examine the situation responsibily,don't inflame and attack.What if a Chicago columnist called everyone connected to the UI corrupt and criminal because Joe White and Richard Herman lost their integrity? How would you feel if CU was branded as lawless because of the violent crime,drug use and alcohol abuse that SOMETIMES happens on campus? If a story was printed in the Australian press describing Champaign as dangerous,violent and overrun with gangs because a visiting researcher was kidnapped,nearly beaten to death,stripped and left for dead on a street,would you be upset? Would you accept that characterization of the CU community? If all downstaters were compared to William Cellini,of Springfield,the king of corruption in Illinois for 40 years would you accept it as accurate? Two researchers are quoted as stating that Chicago and Illinois are tops in corruption.That is fair.Why not balance that by sharing the more comprehensive study by the Newsweek corporation that does not have Illinois in the top twenty states for corruption.It is a much larger,more impartial study than the one by the two very politically connected professors that were mentioned.It might also be worth reporting that the Federal Prosecutors in Chicago are the most aggressive and most determined corruption prosecutors in the nation and the historical record on that goes back decades.I don't see the purpose in attacking fellow UI supporters.The message is clear from Loren Tate. Only downstaters are the REAL Illini.Everyone north of Champaign County is a second class supporter,an inferior fan,a person of low morals living with gangsters in evil Chicago.This is really a sad and hurtful article.If that was the purpose,Mr.Tate has been very successful.
This was as provincial and ridiculous as Tate can get, and that's saying something. "You can't understand me unless you live a year in my shoes," eh? Tell me, which of the Illinois trustees is under indictment? Seriously, Tate just smeared the intellect and integrity of the whole of the nation's third largest city on account of a relative handful of crooked politicians.
Time to hang them up, Old Man.
Steve Rosenbloom picked up at the Trib where Jay Mariotti left off when he was belatedly dumped by the Sun-Times.
Those guys represent what is in the DNA of too many Chicago sportswriters: a deep resentment of the UofI, coupled with ignorance about the UofI.
I've lived and worked in downstate Illinois (C-U and Springfield) and in Chicago (the city... many people from the suburbs say they're from Chicago; they are not). I've been back numerous times, though admittedly not since last summer.
What Tate writes about in this column was true 50, 40, 30, 20 and 10 years ago and it appears to be true today. Many of the situations he described have become worse over the years.
What is most disturbing about so many of these blog postings is that they seem focused on being intolerant of other people's knowledgable opinions. Disagreement with anyone is fine, but saying hateful things about Loren Tate (or anyone else who has more knowledge of and access to Illini sports than the rest of us combined) tends to negate other things a blog writer says.
The whole point is that Illini basketball performance has fallen into a deep ditch, at the same time football did. Long-term recruiting failure is a big part. Among players the Ilini get, too many do not develop the physical and mental toughness necessary for success.
We've seen the new AD do right things for the coaches of Illini teams that are successful. We've seen him take decisive action about the football coaching staff. We'll probably see decisive action about the coaching staffs of men's and women's basketball soon.
Attacking Tate with foul, insulting comments does nothing to advance the dialog surrounding any of these matters, all of which matter deeply to each of us. I think people are capable of doing better than that.
Or, Orlandoillini, think of it this way: Tate could have been better than he has all these years and taken the high road, but he didn't. He still hates fans and belittles them every chance he gets. He still injects his intolerant political ideology into sports columns. He still writes and thinks like it's 1950. He still is mean to callers who disagree with him on his radio show.
Just saying.
Tend to agree, Orlando. I don't see the point of personal comments here. It's been apparent for many, many years that Mr. Tate has gripes against certain aspects of Chicago. I suspect it stems from many years ago when no one in the Chicago media had anything good to say about Illini athletics. In that era, I knew some of the Chicago sportwriters and they regarded Tate as a poor country cousin. The great (?) Brent Musburger once referred to him as "a dirt farmer with a typewriter". However, it's tate's fault that he continues to take the bait. But, even though I don't always agree with him and he can be over the top at times, he knows more about sports than I do.
So, call him out when you think he's wrong, but why insult him? That's no way to win an argument.
Orlando Illini: Advance what dialog? Tate's inane attack on Chicago? Dialog that is inane is not dialog. Ridiculous attacks on Illini fans, Chicago, etc., merits harsh rhetoric in response...Hard to be any intelligent person agreeing with Tate's culture war column...except Chicago-haters...of which you are clearly one...and people living in the Chicago suburbs are not Chicagoans ? That's a boobish comment I would expect from your good buddy Tate
"The whole point is that Illini basketball performance has fallen into a deep ditch"??? I moved to Tampa a while ago so excuse my ignorance… Please tell me what changed in Chicago since Bill Self left.. things were rocking in Assembly Hall when he was there.. seems like the press was good to him.
FYI… there is NO ONE!!!!!!! Jay Mariotti ripped on harder, and more consistently than Ozzie Guillen or Jerry Reinsdorf…no one, not even close.. does that make Chicago a city of Anti Semitic Venezuelan hating people?? I don’t think so… more likely Mariotti is a short Napoleonic complexed, girlfriend beating piece of sh#t..
Hi, walker -- as usual, you surrogates don't offer a compelling argument. Instead, sadly, it's the ame old, "get out of town" GOP shouting down anyone who disagrees. And name calling. How very sad. Do you ever think? Enjoy life in the bubble. I'll never suggest you go away -- don't want to sink to your level.
I love it how you criticize tate for insulting people, while you insult him and others, and done even notice that you are the biggest hypocrite.
And by the way, Tate has made a good name for himself writing about Illini sports for decades. You on the other hand, post hateful comments about him on their website. Wow, what a contribution to society.
Peter Borich,
I love Chicago and enjoyed living and working there. I'm a Cubbies fan which fits well with being an Illini... a life filled with despair. I'm also a Bears fan, which may be more fitting: a ray of hope every few decades.
Calling me a Chicago hater without any evidence of it is the kind of reflexive vitriol that makes an accuser look foolish.
My beef is, was, and ever shall be with sanctimonious, elitist sportswriters who compulsively condemn the Illini. Many are in Chicago, yet one writer here (Patrick?) correctly ID'd Brent Musberger amid that crowd.
The last time I checked, if you live in Downers Grove, Evanston, Skokie, Oak Park, Schaumburg or any of dozens of other suburbs, that's where you're from. You could correctly say you are from Chicagoland or the Chicago metro area... but you're not from Chicago, anymore than someone who lives in Hoboken is from New York City (about 2,500 feet away). Having lived and worked in Chicago is a point of personal pride as well as accuracy.
Keep in mind that very few Chicago area sportwriters had the intellect or the grades to even get into the U of I, and there's all sorts of hatred against the cooler, smarter kids in play here. Roger Ebert notwithstanding, it's difficult to take seriously anyone who ever worked at the Sun-Times.
We are plenty close to Indy, St.Lou, Chicago Suburbs ( forget inner city) Milwaukee, Memphis, and Kansas City..plenty close ,,just get off your butt and go dig up some kids that care. Now,,I cannot wait to see Henry and Bertrand together just like Mark Smith and Eddie Johnson played great ball.
These kids are smooth, can shoot the mid range,,and look them in their eyes,,they are true Illini and want to play the game. Stupid Weborn,,,you got the right kids, just blew it with your Stubborness.
Oh,,Abrams is also hungry like Bert and Henry and will be fine...once we clean out the coaches.,,and I mean all of them. Look, if you understand Howard, he really has not brought in anything currently , but he is good to communicate with the kids..he sees their needs and wants and I would pay him and keep him...but the rest can take their I pads, and charts, and go follow Weborn and teach kids that the zone is no longer a part of the game.
"How about downstate Illinois seceding from Chicago"? What a horribly stupid thing to say. And, how exactly will this help the recruiting situation at the U of I (or, fund-raising for that matter)?
With few exceptions, the stars of every successful football and basketball team in the last 50 years at Illinois has come from Chicago or its suburbs. There has always been a sprinkling of great talent from "downstate" and other states on these teams as well. But, Chicagoland is where the majority of the talent is within the state because that's where most of the people live (i.e., 2005 Finals team and Flyin'Illini).
Frankly, Its this type of attitude more than anything else that has been the biggest problem recruiting successfully from the Chicagoland area. People up there know the down-staters feel this way and it is not appreciated. Not every player is on the take. Most aren't. None of them has anything to do with politics. It's just that other schools get them because they view those other schools as a better opportunity for them and a better place to attend college (are you suggesting that all of the other Big 10 teams are paying players from Chicago?). I don't think so. By the way, I was here when the "slush fund" scandal rocked the school in the late '60s. That happened in Champaign, didn't it? Unfortunately, corruption is everywhere.
Illinois will never get most of the best players from the Chicagoland area because statements like the one Tate made to start this story have been around for as long as he has been around. and, that is a damn shame.
edward green55
You have submitted a very good comment.I completely agree with your reply to Loren Tate.I have heard from friends and family in Chicago and the northwest suburbs today,the article is being discussed by many loyal Illni in the area.People are angry and hurt by the tone and the thesis of the article.There is some confusion because not everyone is familiar with Loren Tate beyond a few columns that they read when in Champaign attending a game or visiting. Others are familiar with his mean-spirited outbursts so they were not surprised.Make no mistake,this article will damage the good work Mike Thomas is trying to do in Chicago because it is counter-productive to his efforts.It isn't difficult to understand.Mr.Thomas is sending a strong and well received message to fans in Chicagoland.Everyone that I have talked to is elated that the UI athletic director has made relations in Chicago and the suburbs a priority.Loren Tate has sent a different message.It is a fact that Loren Tate has power and influence regarding Illinois athletics.His opinion counts.He has damaged the UI athletic programs today.This article has damaged the university reputation. This article has truly hurt people totally loyal to the UI and all of the programs of the University.I'm not talking about any biased Chicago sportswriters who have no connection to the UI. I am not including loud,abrasive radio sports personalities who insult and bully everyone just to get listeners.Those types don't care about the UI,but they don't care about any school,or team.They attack because they sell insults and derogatory comments.They don't represent anyone.Chicago Illini know their game and they ignore them,laugh at them or argue with them to let off steam or even to have fun. Loren Tate is in a different position.Whether one likes Mr.Tate,or dislikes him he clearly is on the inside at the UI. When Mike Thomas says,'' We want to win Chicagoland'' but Loren Tate says '' You disgust us. Go join another state'',does it not seem reasonable that some very solid Illini will be confused,hurt,angry? Rest assured recruiters from other schools will use this article as a powerful tool for a long time.This has really hurt the University of Illinois. I am truly disheartened by this article and the carelessness and foolishness of the News-Gazette.
by any standard, some places in Chicago are very dangerous, and some schools in Chicago are in or near very dangerous places. Come on. You make it sound like all of Chicago is this peaceful place without crime that got a bad rap in the papers. Since when it is racist to suggest that parts of Chicago are notoriously dangerous, and that some schools are in those areas? Grow up and quit shooting the messenger. Shouting 'racist' at everyone wont prevent crime and wont educate children. Facing up to reality and admitting problems so they can be solved, might.
"He spoke out loud what everyone else whispers. How is Bruce Weber supposed to succeed with Chicago preps if he doesn't fill hands that appear palms up? How do you keep track of which guys belong to which gangs? How do you find out about under-table drug involvement?"
Are you kidding me? I mean really, how does this senile old coot still have a job after typing this racist garbage? Having this racist piece of filth represent my University in any way, shape, or form is pathetic.
Let's talk about Fighting Illini basketball recruiting rather than to go into a dissertation about the positives and negatives of the City of Chicago. Chicago produces some of the finest bastball talent in the country and Illinois should continue to recruit there. Chicago, however, is not the only place where top notch players are located. Illinois needs to expand its recruiting base substantially, especially into other areas of the midwest and beyond. To attract better players to come here, we need a program that is consistently successful. Typically, Illinois has a good team in football and basketball one or two years and then we are a non-factor in the Big Ten and nationally for two or more years. Where do the better players go all the time? They go to those programs that have success. Until Illinois can establish itself as a program that is always on the radar, then we will continue to attract middle level talent and we will continue to fire coaches on a regular basis.
It would be nice if both BW and LT are gone and we would not have to read the garbage that many of you put out.
The State of Illinois is a 4th class state - -out of 4 classes- and its flag ship university is 2nd tier at best.
No new coaches in either BB or FB will be able make the U of I a top rated program for the long haul. Sure there will a Rose bowl every 10 years and a top 10 BB program every 10 years. Illinois will never be an Ohio stae, MI, or Nortre Dame.
Regarding the GOP comment (s) - what makes it appropriate to attack the GOP and when someone fires back , they are arrogant, conceded, etc,etc
As stated by others , this (FB & BB) is just a game -- we have much bigger problems in this state
And I am certainly not a 1%er -------just living off(or trying) SS and a 401K ----both that I contributed to over the past 35 years.
I think that Mr. Tate article was demeaning an insulting to the city of Chicago the people who live here that are UofI alums and the Chicago Public Schools. Are all of the good heck now but the last time I looked the top high school in the state of Illinois was a CPS school. As a matter of fact out of the top ten ten high schools I beleieve there are 3 or 4 CPS schools. Memo to Mr. Tate not all kids who live here are in gangs. I found your article archaic and racist and misinformed.I am product of the Chicago Public schools and an educated BLACK MAN WHO WAS NOT IN A GANG.
Darrel
glad to hear it. But the exception doesnt disprove the rule. Are you suggesting there arent major issues with gangs in Chicago? Are you suggesting that Chicago schools are good overall? If not, then what exactly is your point? Tate wasnt suggesting that everyone in Chicago is illiterate gang members, he was simply pointing out real problems that the city faces.
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