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Old 10-04-2011, 10:27 AM
 
Location: Wicker Park/East Village area
2,474 posts, read 4,136,177 times
Reputation: 1939

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I came across this very interesting read... it's a 1976 article by Chicago journalist Mike Royko. It has me wondering about the similarities/differences between the town now as compared to 1976, what do you think?

__________________________________________________ __________

Mike Royko – Daley Embodied Chicago – Chicago Sun Times – 12/21/76

If a man ever reflected a city, it was Richard J. Daley of Chicago.

In some ways, he was this town at its best—strong, hard-driving, working feverishly, pushing, building, driven by ambitions so big they seemed Texas-boastful. In other ways, he was this city at its worst—arrogant, crude, conniving, ruthless, suspicious, intolerant.

MOD CUT. Where is the link?

Last edited by linicx; 10-09-2011 at 02:27 PM.. Reason: TOS Copyright Violation
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Old 10-04-2011, 11:35 AM
 
8,276 posts, read 11,837,014 times
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Excellent column by Royko; I remember reading this years ago; his unofficial biographies of Daley are great reading, esp about the way the "Organization" worked in the 50s and 60s...

In Daley's day, many Chicagoans were only a generation or two from the immigration boats, so they probably benefited from his largesse, as did he, in the form of votes. I'm sure that this patronage continues today, in somewhat muted form..
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Old 10-04-2011, 11:53 AM
 
Location: River North, Chicago, Illinois
4,620 posts, read 8,113,751 times
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I grew up in the state of Oregon, but through the magic of syndication, I still grew up reading Royko, and loved every column.
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Old 10-04-2011, 03:41 PM
 
Location: Nort Seid
5,288 posts, read 8,826,215 times
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Used copies of the books which compiled old Royko columns are the best "Chicago education" you'll ever find!

Amazon.com: mike royko
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Old 10-04-2011, 06:50 PM
 
11,973 posts, read 31,629,116 times
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It's still a town that starts with "C", ends with "o", and has "hicag" in the middle.
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Old 10-04-2011, 07:36 PM
 
2,299 posts, read 6,152,124 times
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The staggering corruption is still the same.
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Old 10-04-2011, 08:33 PM
 
8,438 posts, read 12,118,068 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by prairiestate View Post
The staggering corruption is still the same.
Actually it is very different.

In 1976 if you got arrested and knew someone, it would cost you but you could skate. Some kids of prominent politicians avoided drug convictions. Judges and clerks got paid off. There was a 'toll' on Lake Shore Drive for speeders who looked like they could pay. The police, on catching a drunk driving, would lock the drunk's keys in his car and tell him or her to take a cab home. One would wrap a twenty around a driver's license before giving it to an officer on a traffic stop.

If two black males wanted to be admitted to a north side singles bar, it was no dice. If your name ended in "ski" you could forget about heading a bank or insurance company in the city.

On the other hand, if you got a parking ticket, you could ignore it. By the time the city caught up with you, five or ten years would have passed.

The machine was strongly in control in 1976, Metcalfe or no Metcalfe. The sole Republican on the city council lost re-election and a Daley compatriot beat the sitting governor in the Democratic primary. The only reason there was a Republican state's attorney was because he beat a candidate who led the assassination raid against Fred Hampton in 1969. The whole county was under control.
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Old 10-04-2011, 09:13 PM
 
2,299 posts, read 6,152,124 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Manigault View Post
...The whole county was under control.
Well that certainly hasn't changed. It may be more hidden today, but the level of corruption is still staggering.
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Old 10-04-2011, 10:19 PM
 
Location: Wheaton, Illinois
10,261 posts, read 21,648,605 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Manigault View Post
Actually it is very different.
Indeed it was. Back then a little guy could get a favor and the money was spread around so a lot of people got a taste, now the corruption is hidden and most favors go to the well connected. My father, who was just a regular guy but a dedicated Democrat received a few favors such as having a city crew remove a tree from the back yard and having a city crew run a new gas line from the alley to the house, both at no cost to him save his family's votes and his talking up the Democratic party in the neighborhood, things he'd have done anyway. I don't think a fella like him would get favors like that today.

Paying off a copper when you were pulled over was beneficial to the offender; the bribe was cheaper than the fine and you didn't have to take a day off (and most working class people didn't get time off with pay) to go to court.

When an Irish Catholic in Chicago does a friend a favor it's corruption but when a Wasp does another Wasp a favor it's "good government". I like a little personal low level corruption, it's good democracy. Often so called reform just strengthens the control of a professional governing class that seeks to isolate itself from the people's will as spoken in the result of elections. I also find it interesting that the reformers changed the rules just as Blacks were positioned to start getting a good cut of the action.

I feel better now.

Last edited by Irishtom29; 10-04-2011 at 10:36 PM..
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Old 10-05-2011, 07:05 AM
 
28,455 posts, read 84,936,054 times
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Part of me agress with IrishTom -- the current environment is such that "non-connected" employees at every level of City and State government are spending more time "indictment proofing" their files than actually doing work. Meanwhile the professional crooks that head up firms that pave roads or run pension funds are still padding out their fees and contracts under the ridiculous premise that they provide some "unique service" to skirt normal bidding practices. It is disgusting and wasteful.

On the other hand the "efficiency" in slipping a traffic cop a $20 was a gateway to the slippery slope that eventually saw high ranking police allied with professional jewel thieves and hit men for stakes much higher. The minor ethical oversights rather quickly escalated into scams that cost insurers millions and even saw a few people lose their lives. Hard to say there is no harm in such cases...
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