“[I]ndependent-minded, urban middle classes are quintessential swing voters. They can create political trouble for an unsympathetic mayor—and that’s why leaders in Chicago, New York, and elsewhere aren’t going to lift a finger to try to halt their flight. Indeed, in Chicago, even the black middle class is bailing. The city’s leadership appears unconcerned.”
“To the extent that the middle class abandons Chicago and New York, the Democratic Party’s stranglehold in such places will only tighten. In this light, the dramatic changes in Chicago since 1970 shouldn’t be seen as merely an accident of fate, but rather as a political result directly tied to the interests of the Democrats running America’s third-largest city. Urban liberal politicians may see value in continuing to beat the “tale of two cities” drum. Just don’t expect any of these big-city mayors to reach out to the middle class any time soon.”
Aaron M. Renn, Chicago’s Vanishing Middle Class, City Journal, April 16, 2014. http://www.city-journal.org/2014/eon0416ar.html