As I visited the various neighborhoods in the campaign I learned fast that it's a mistake to think that all of the wisdom and possible solutions to our problems are available only in this building.

Chicago's neighborhoods have always been this city's greatest strength.

When you look at where the real problems are among minorities in our society particularly blacks it's at the bottom. It's the people who are in school systems that don't educate neighborhoods where there is a lot of crime drugs the whole bit.

Natural gas is hemispheric. I like to call it hemispheric in nature because it is a product that we can find in our neighborhoods.

The contrasts between what is spent today to educate a child in the poorest New York City neighborhoods where teacher salaries are often even lower than the city averages and spending levels in the wealthiest suburban areas are daunting challenges to any hope New Yorkers might retain that even semblances of fairness still prevail.

St. Louis has a lot of weird food customs that you don't see other places - and a lot of great ethnic neighborhoods. There's a German neighborhood. A great old school Italian neighborhood with toasted ravioli which seems to be a St. Louis tradition. And they love provolone cheese in St. Louis.

My dad was a homicide cop in the gay neighborhood in the city when gay neighborhoods were desperate depressing sad places run by the mob. The only gay people he'd met when I came out to him were corpses.

Violence is a problem we all want to solve. I want to make sure that kids learn to deal with anger by learning how to talk with people to solve problems. Here in the United States Senate I want to make sure we have safe schools safe neighborhoods and good things for kids to do after school!