I hope the pub crawl started on Facebook has good turnout. While it does not show how the families will miss this great tradition it will hopefully show the politicians how important this event was to the people of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Even though there is no parade, I am keeping up the tradition by hosting the same St Patricks Day party for my family and friends on the day of what would have been the 2010 South Side Irish Parade.

Let's bring it back for 2011!!!

The Parade committee has blamed the growing number of attendees and the City's inability to properly police the event. As with any large event, there are always a few disorderly folks in the crowd. There are a number of theories on why the event was really canceled. Chicago was in the midst of a bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The City did not want any press that would make people think that they could not handle a large scale event such as the Olympics. The South Side Parade was not an official City of Chicago event. The City sponsors a separate parade in downtown Chicago on the Saturday before St Patrick's Day. The South Side Parade was favored by Chicagoans much to the mayor's displeasure. The City of Chicago also said that they could not afford the police overtime required to secure the parade. It was a neighborhood event not a City event. There are numerous other "neighborhood" events such as the Gay Pride parade and the Bud Billikin parade that are held in city neighborhoods rather than downtown. The Chicago Police Department is detailed to police those events.

The reputation of this fine event has attracted parade attendees from all over the United States and the world. President Obama even told the Irish Prime Minister about this wonderful celebration when the PM visited the Oval Office last year.

It is a shame that the corrupt politics of Chicago has reared its ugly head once again and canceled the South Side Irish Parade. This event has been a long standing tradition for many American familes especially those with Irish ancestry. It was a neighborhood celebration that put the Beverly community on the map. My parents took me as a child and I had continued the tradition with my own children.

To some, the annual parade down Western Avenue was almost as big as Christmas. The east side of Western Avenue was known as the family side and since the west side of the street has all of the bars it traditionally catered to the more adult crowd. Throughout the Beverly neighborhood, residents continued the celebration with their own private parties. The neighborhood did get congested but it was tolerable because it was just one day a year.

This hasn't got anything to do with the parade, but hey you're from Chicago, you're getting married, and you love your man!

So here's wishing you some Irish luck, and have a great day!

Mick