Don't get me wrong, it's an entirely different situation when it's a fresh snowstorm that blew through town.....but I think a lot of "walkers" don't care that much about functionality, especially since you're usually wearing them all day at work as well.

Also, too, downtown Chicago is what.....a 15-20 minute walk from one side to the other? Most people aren't really doing all that much walking. In fact, most people that I see are walking in tennis shoes.

My walk is like 5 minutes from the train station to my building, tops.