“Chiraq”? We can do better

The Sunday Sun-Times gave Chicago an assignment: If you don’t like “Chiraq,” come up with something better.

“Why Chicago Isn’t ‘Chiraq,'” said the front-page headline. “So what should Spike Lee’s controversial movie be called?”

Good question. I don’t care much for the answer—a strained exercise in comparing homicide rates that resulted in neighborhoods with names like Sauganisia and Loghana Square.

But a good question. My suggestion is that we adopt a name our city has always aspired to but never had quite enough confidence to claim for itself. Now the case to be made for it is overwhelming. Our hearts can swell with pride—if that’s what’s important to us.

The American Athens.