Quote:
Originally Posted by ExNYer
Every state and every big city has some level of corruption.
But what the fuck is it with New Orleans and Chicago specifically and Louisiana and Illinois generally?
Those two pairs for cities/states seem to be in a class by themselves.
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Having lived in Chicago nearly fifty years, I'll tell you what their problem is in a nutshell: One party rule. There hasn't been a serious Republican challenger for mayor since Bernard Epton ran against Harold Washington in 1983, and the only reason Epton was a serious challenger was that half of the city's white population was terrified at the prospect of a black mayor. Before that, you have to go back to William Hale 'Big Bill' Thompson in 1931 to find a Republican Chicago mayor. Thompson is widely credited with the famous quote "It's Election Day in Chicago, vote early and often." He was also the handpicked favorite of one Alphonse Capone.
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When there's no balance in what is supposed to be a two party system, when one party becomes entrenched, it becomes too easy to justify taking advantage of little perks that you shouldn't be taking, because there's no one of consequence in the other party to call you out on it. Pretty soon those little perks escalate to bribes, payoffs, patronage jobs for family, friends, and neighbors, ghost payrolling, and worse. Where there is a strong two party presence, this type of thing is much harder to get away with.
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Now couple the fact of one party virtually ruling the city for eight decades with this: for forty three of fifty six years, 1955 to 2011, one
FAMILY had the power. Richard J. Daley, aka 'Boss' and 'Hizzoner' ruled Chicago with an iron fist from his election to Mayor in 1955 until he died in office in 1976. It was Daley who held back the vote totals from Chicago in 1960 until he was certain that Illinois' electoral votes would put Jack Kennedy over the top in his campaign against Richard Nixon. There has long been speculation among serious followers of Illinois politics that Daley did more than just hold back the totals, but nothing in the way of definitive proof has ever surfaced.
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From old man Daley's death we fast forward thirteen years, and now his son Richard M. Daley is elected mayor; Richie, as he comes to be known, rules Chicago just as strongly as his father did, having learned at the feet of a master. The difference is that Richie did it behind the scenes, most likely due to the changing attitudes surrounding the raw use of power. But make no mistake, Richie Daley wielded the power he had, sometimes vindictively; he just did it with a smile.
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For those of you who are most familiar only with nationial politics, the study of the Daleys of Illinois reveals a family more powerful even than the Kennedys or Bushes, because they never strayed from their power base. They didn't overreach. And even though there was corruption galore, and even though they were in bed with the Mob (and likely still are), it was this one family rule and the resulting hierarchy of old cronies who'd been working together for years that gave Chicago one of it's more famous nicknames. Never mind The City of Big Shoulders, or The Windy City, or any of the other monikers you've heard. Because of one-party rule and more accurately because of one
FAMILY rule, Chicago remains one of the few places in the country where a citizen can call his or her alderman about a problem and that problem will be addressed to the satisfaction of the citizen right now. Of course, there are two conditions. You have to be a registered Democrat. And you have to be seen at your polling place on Election Day, every Election Day. That's The City That Works. [/I][/I]
