Ah. I see now. You described it exactly as it was. I believe Chris stated in the his thread on the end game & combat that the Monsters weren't working. This looks like that.
Also, How much did you mod crime in your save?
More importantly, I now know how to make new cities. You take an air cargo bay or teleporter (maybe) and stick it somewhere, follow up with a civi center and there you have it, a new city.
I'm not sure if I should ever make new cities though. Except for the enhanced building numbers, I'm not seeing an advantage.