Honorary Street Signs in Chicago

The battle continues in Chicago over the practice of granting honorary street names. The practice gained national attention when Chicago planned to honor Hugh Hefner. This year, a sign honoring the former leader of the Black Panthers created a similar uproar. Now, Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune examines this and makes the statement that our street signs are "symbols we leave to history of our values and priorities." His post also has a lot of great comments from readers about Chicago street names.

This has gotten a lot of play in Chicago press. Here's a sampling:

• A day, a street, whatever: Hampton equals controversy - Chicago Sun-Times
• Curb on honorary street names urged - Chicago Sun-Times
• Fred Hampton’s family speak on loss of some 37 years later - Chicago Defender
• A Fascist hides in plain sight downtown - Chicago Tribune
• Family: Keep violent words in context
• Council Members React to Black Panther Street Name Proposal
• Mayor Avoids Fray on Black Panther Street Name
• Street Name Sparks Outrage
  

From Pittsburgh, the view is that "Chicago, obviously, has lost its mind."

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