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So, what has been priced into 2024? How about tumult and trepidation? The world is buffeted by two major wars, with no end in sight. New hot spots loom.
There’s plenty right here at home that could bring down the house. The 2024 Democratic National Convention will put Chicago on the national stage and could revive its 1968 political infamy in new and dangerous ways.
Migrants from Venezuela and other Latin American countries are coming in droves to our city, while some longtime Chicagoans are looking for the exits.
This is a time for new beginnings, but to this prognosticator, those beginnings look dicey.
The United States is busy being the watchdog for the world. America is distracted by the conflicts and strife in Ukraine, Israel, the Red Sea and the Panama Canal. The China regime is sure to notice. The superpower has been hankering to invade Taiwan — shades of the saga of Quemoy and Matsu, two islands at the center of a battle in 1958.
Here’s the history, via Wikipedia:
“In this conflict, (China) shelled the islands of Kinmen (Quemoy) and the Matsu Islands along the east coast of mainland China (in the Taiwan Strait) in an attempt to take control of Taiwan from the ... Kuomintang (a political party that once ruled China and relocated to Taiwan), and to probe the extent of the United States defense of Taiwan’s territory. A naval battle also took place around Dongding Island when (Taiwan’s navy) repelled an attempted amphibious landing by (China).”
The U.S. secretary of state was said to describe it as “the first serious nuclear crisis.”
This time, with our attention elsewhere, China may be encouraged to act.
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In politics, 2024 will be a year of consequence. Recent national polls indicate that, if former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden stand as their parties’ presidential nominees, Trump would beat Biden in a November rematch.
Then again, Trump might end up indicted. Or in jail. Or, some experts say, all of the above. If Trump is elected president in November, there is a good chance that moment could be the end of democracy in the United States.
Meanwhile, back in Chicago, the migrant crisis was the story of 2023. There’s plenty of bad news ahead for 2024.
In December, the Border Patrol processed more migrants who entered the U.S. illegally than in any other month in the agency’s history, CBS News reported, based on federal statistics.
“U.S. Border Patrol agents took into custody more than 225,000 migrants who crossed the southern border — in between official crossings — during the first 27 days of December,” CBS News said.
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other border officials have sent thousands of those migrants to Chicago and other cities. Expect that trend to seriously ramp up in 2024.
Mayor Brandon Johnson has fallen short on skill and savvy in his handling of the crisis. As the new year arrives, the city and the state of Illinois still lack a comprehensive, workable plan to manage the continuing arrivals.
[ Mayor Brandon Johnson joins New York and Denver mayors in call for federal help with migrants ]
Abbott does have a plan — that is, doubling down on sending the refugees to Democrat-run cities in the run-up to the Democratic National Convention, scheduled for August at Chicago’s United Center.
The GOP will again label Chicago as the crime capital of America. In fact, as of Dec. 24, the city saw a 13% drop in homicides in comparison with the same period the previous year, according to Chicago Police Department data.
The homicide rate is headed in the right direction but is still in nosebleed territory.
As I walk out at night, anywhere in the city, I look over my shoulder for a fast-appearing sedan and a terrifying street robbery that can happen in a flash. Like many other things, the city’s powers that be seem hapless in finding solutions.
In the business arena, let’s hope that in 2024, we can stop referring to the social media platform X as “formerly known as Twitter.” One thing is for sure: Elon Musk is on a path to destroying Twitter and making the mistake of a lifetime.
Personally, day one of 2024 will be the moment when, for the first time, I embark on a year without my mother. I lost Mama last spring. Today, I won’t be able to pick up the phone and hear her bustling about the kitchen as she cooks up her New Year’s “good luck” black-eyed peas.
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Time will heal, people tell me. So far, the test of time is failing.
This year rings in a milestone birthday for my husband, who is turning a juicy round number. Age is just a number, they say, but in this case, it’s an uncomfortably large one.
Hubby is getting nervous, and that is getting on my nerves. Chill out, I keep telling him, and keep your nose hairs in check.
Get a grip and bring it on!
Laura Washington is a political commentator and longtime Chicago journalist. Her columns appear in the Tribune each Monday. Write to her at LauraLauraWashington@gmail.com.
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