In much of the 20th century, alas, that was true.  My profession does not have a spotless record, though we've tried really hard to improve it since the 1960s.

Municipal finance in Chicago — the real thing?  How would that not be riveting TV?

@paraclete_pizza:disqus , you're right that the "new" words are an attempt to mimic the words in Latin, but I'd say it's more accurate to call it a "closer literal translation" than a "better translation."  If it's all a long-range plan to gradually get us back to using Latin for those responses, then I can get behind…

@paraclete_pizza:disqus : you are quite perceptive.  I am Catholic, but my wife is Protestant (her father was born in Belfast, no less).  She usually eats the non-meat stuff with me during Lent, but I always have to remind her about it, since there's no fasting tradition at all in her denomination.  I think she views…

The Bronze-Age Ice Man found years ago frozen in the Alps had no evidence at all of tooth decay, apparently.

Well, as the only urban planner I know of on the AV Club, I suppose I should chime in here, because Chicago has a long and storied history of urban planning, beyond just its stunning architecture, and I think a show about urban planners in Chicago would be kick-ass!  You could show the hassles that front-line planners…

How 'bout Chicago Cabbies?  Kind of like Cash Cab, but they drive you everywhere in town except where you want to go, and then they expect you to pay them.

My father had to slip a cop 5 bucks (this was back in 1980, so the price may have gone up since then) because my brother and I were swimming in Lake Michigan.  We were on vacation in Chicago, in July.  Apparently, some cops charge an admission fee to the public beaches.  That's one of my favorite Chicago stories.

"What does 'write a letter' mean?" — our kids, being forced to do something ridiculously anachronistic in 2nd grade.

My God, I love you people!

"You gotta put mustard, onions, neon-green relish, tomatoes, pickle spears, sport peppers, and celery salt on dat dog, dere.  And you're under arrest."

LA is for movie cops, NYC is for TV cops.

*Urlacher*

"the Chicago PDs crime scene investigation techniques. Which are largely predicated on beating confessions out of the nearest black or hispanic teenagers and calling it a day."

@avclub-e3f5ab7f02122f95b801e13e2c586d6a:disqus , there are other times when he simply rips off a Samantha line from Sex in the City.

Back when I lived there, at least (a decade ago, now), the cop cruisers and the cabs from one or two of the companies always looked alike to me, especially at night.

But in the movies, cops are always in L.A.

H-D-Bag, you need to find a history book that will teach you how Texas is nowhere remotely close to the Midwest.

And no 9/11s have attacked you, now, have they? (Read that in Dennis Franz's voice.)

I think a mustache is required, or at least it was in the 1980s.