rufus999
07-23-2008, 11:30 AM
from Wikipedia:
The modern era of politics is still dominated by machine politics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_politics) in many ways, and the Chicago Democratic Machine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Democratic_Machine) became a style honed and perfected by Richard J. Daley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_J._Daley) after his election in 1955. Further evidence of this is the fact that his son, Richard M. Daley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_M._Daley), is the current mayor.
Richard J. Daley's mastery of machine politics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_machine) preserved the Chicago Democratic Machine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Democratic_Machine) long after the demise of similar machines in other large American cities.[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_history_of_Chicago#cite_note-1) During much of that time, the city administration found opposition mainly from a liberal "independent" faction of the Democratic Party. The independents finally won control of city government in 1983 with the election of Harold Washington (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Washington). Since Washington's death, Chicago has returned to the leadership of the Democratic organization led by Richard M. Daley, although it may differ from the previous ward-based organization, as it relies on other groups, such as the Hispanic Democratic Organization.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_history_of_Chicago#cite_note-2)
A point of interest is the party leanings of the city. For much of the last century, Chicago has been considered one of the largest Democratic strongholds in the United States. For example, the citizens of Chicago have not elected a Republican (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_%28United_States%29) mayor since 1927, when William Thompson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hale_Thompson) was voted into office. Today, only one city council member is Republican.
The police corruption that came to the light from the Summerdale Scandal (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Summerdale_Scandal&action=edit&redlink=1) of 1960, where police officers kept stolen property or sold it and kept the cash, was another black eye on the local political scene of Chicago.
The Daley faction, with financial help from Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_P._Kennedy%2C_Sr.), helped elect John F. Kennedy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy) to the office of President of the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States) in the 1960 presidential election (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election%2C_1960#Result s). The electoral votes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Electoral_College) from the state of Illinois (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois), with nearly half its population located in Chicago-dominated Cook County (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_County%2C_Illinois), were a deciding factor in the win for Kennedy over Richard Nixon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon).
Chicago politics have also hosted some very publicized campaigns and conventions. The Democratic Party decided on Harry S. Truman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman) as the vice-presidential candidate at the 1944 Democratic National Convention (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1944_Democratic_National_Convention). The 1968 Democratic National Convention (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention) was the scene of mass political rallies and discontent, leading to the famous trial of the Chicago Seven (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Seven).
rufus
The modern era of politics is still dominated by machine politics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_politics) in many ways, and the Chicago Democratic Machine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Democratic_Machine) became a style honed and perfected by Richard J. Daley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_J._Daley) after his election in 1955. Further evidence of this is the fact that his son, Richard M. Daley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_M._Daley), is the current mayor.
Richard J. Daley's mastery of machine politics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_machine) preserved the Chicago Democratic Machine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Democratic_Machine) long after the demise of similar machines in other large American cities.[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_history_of_Chicago#cite_note-1) During much of that time, the city administration found opposition mainly from a liberal "independent" faction of the Democratic Party. The independents finally won control of city government in 1983 with the election of Harold Washington (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Washington). Since Washington's death, Chicago has returned to the leadership of the Democratic organization led by Richard M. Daley, although it may differ from the previous ward-based organization, as it relies on other groups, such as the Hispanic Democratic Organization.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_history_of_Chicago#cite_note-2)
A point of interest is the party leanings of the city. For much of the last century, Chicago has been considered one of the largest Democratic strongholds in the United States. For example, the citizens of Chicago have not elected a Republican (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_%28United_States%29) mayor since 1927, when William Thompson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hale_Thompson) was voted into office. Today, only one city council member is Republican.
The police corruption that came to the light from the Summerdale Scandal (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Summerdale_Scandal&action=edit&redlink=1) of 1960, where police officers kept stolen property or sold it and kept the cash, was another black eye on the local political scene of Chicago.
The Daley faction, with financial help from Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_P._Kennedy%2C_Sr.), helped elect John F. Kennedy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy) to the office of President of the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States) in the 1960 presidential election (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election%2C_1960#Result s). The electoral votes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Electoral_College) from the state of Illinois (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois), with nearly half its population located in Chicago-dominated Cook County (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_County%2C_Illinois), were a deciding factor in the win for Kennedy over Richard Nixon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon).
Chicago politics have also hosted some very publicized campaigns and conventions. The Democratic Party decided on Harry S. Truman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman) as the vice-presidential candidate at the 1944 Democratic National Convention (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1944_Democratic_National_Convention). The 1968 Democratic National Convention (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention) was the scene of mass political rallies and discontent, leading to the famous trial of the Chicago Seven (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Seven).
rufus