The South Side of Chicago Is the Nicest Part of Town
When Jim Croce sang about "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," he could not have imagined what the historically maligned South Side would look like with a proper investment in public goods. The Obama Presidential Center has brought just such an investment. Yes, there is a museum, whose tickets are sold out through the fall. There is also a home for the Obama Foundation and its various leadership-training initiatives. But for many Chicago residents, the Obama Center is, first and foremost, a superb outdoor playground (quite possibly the city's best), a beautiful public library, an NBA-quality basketball court, a sledding hill in a city with no hills, and much more. The Obamas have bequeathed to the South Side some of the city's best public amenities. What a beautiful gift.
