You have nothing coming into a major metropolitan area to relocate or locate your business and employees. And you can go across the country and you'll see that.
We're competing against other great cities: Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo. That's why it's important that we all join together on the final path to Copenhagen. Having the support of President Obama is key.
We are going to sign a treaty with Mexico. We are competing internationally. We need another international airport for international cargo, international travel, international businesses.
We also need people like social workers, volunteers, the Christian Industrial League, drug treatment programs to make sure you are getting them a job. That's what you have to do. Otherwise, we just keep stepping around these things.
They knew that Roosevelt and the Democratic party made a difference on them, on their quality of life issues, and they believed in that. But today it is completely different.
There has been loss of steel manufacturing. Those people need jobs. Where you have to build the third airport is where people are. So you're right; if his site isn't playable, then our site is right next to it.
That's an economic development program in the metropolitan area. If they don't see that, and you don't get these things done, then you're competing with Texas and California and Atlanta; then you really have problems.
So you keep raising these taxes, and all of a sudden the business community says, 'Why are we here? We can go someplace else and use their phones.' That's one of the problems that directly affects the business community.
People have to be confident about their sites. We're confident, number one, because under my administration we're managing our airports better than we've ever done before.
My dad came out of the Roosevelt era and the Depression. One person and one party made a difference in his life. That's what everybody forgot when they called my father and other people political bosses.
I've reached out to other mayors throughout the United States to form an Olympic Task Force of Mayors, and to community leaders, Congress, and businesspeople. As thousands of people around the country join the movement, it gets more and more exciting.
I'm the one who gets called up about a problem. I'm the one who gets called up about the street lighting and the abandoned car. I'm the one who gets blamed if the police don't arrive. I'm the one they blame if a city truck is broken down.
I think the state has some serious problems. Just look at the layoffs going on across the state, not just in Chicago. It affects the middle class. It pushes people down.
I've very proud to be mayor of our great city. It's a city with a heart and a soul. Chicago has a unique spirit. Our business community wants to give back.
That area environmentally is a waste. You can't do anything. I don't care if the Sierra Club goes out there. It is fully polluted! You're not only going to work to clean up the environment, but also you will put people to work.
In the coming days, I know there will be some reflecting on my time as mayor. Many of you will search to find what's behind my decision. It's simple. I have always believed that every person, especially public officials, must understand when it is time to move on. For me, that time is now.
