Chicago and Bossism--Nobody Does It Better

I don't know if the Daleys were ever officially anointed "Boss" of the state of Illinois but they have reigned in Chicago (with fingers of corruption extending to every sector of the state) for most of my lifetime and that's been awhile. Many big cities have had their king of cronies: Boss Tweed of NYC, Boss Crump of Memphis, Huey Long in New Orleans and the state of Louisiana, and Papa and Son Daley of Chicago. It seems no matter how many are sent to jail for a tiny "pimple" of their corruption, Chicago's political monolith spreads it corruption throughout the state. In case you haven't noticed, all these guys were Democrats. (Well, Long called himself a populist but he was a Democrat.)

If you weren't blinded by the hype, you probably noticed that Obama had an inordinately large campaign chest from the get-go. Like it or not, he was groomed and financed by high-ranking members of the powerful Chicago political machine.

It was hard not to laugh out loud when Jesse Jackson, Jr. denied vying for the senate job and willingly playing for the highest bidder stakes. After all, he knew how the game had always been played. His father has used that ploy for decades on corporate executives all over the country by playing the race card and shaking them down for large contributions to whatever he was pushing at the time.

You would think the citizens of Chicago would get tired of the game. But I suppose that's the only game they know. Jobs, appointments, elections, bridges, highways, buildings, officials and high stakes players in all walks of life owe their very existence to the machine.

Someone said that only one party could win in Chicago (Democrats) and the Republicans had, for all practical purposes, given up any hope and thus, the fight.

I remember it took a long time for the corruption started by Boss Crump in Tennessee to finally give up the ghost. When Governor Ray Blanton was convicted of selling prison pardons, the people of Tennessee finally had enough and elected a Republican governor (Winfield Dunn) for the first time in fifty years. This let some light shine on the political process in Tennessee and I remember it well.

There has always been corruption in politics. It's kind of like watching some fresh young talent do well in entertainment and then hoping against hope they will not fall prey to the drugs, greed and sex purveyors that flock around them. But the Daleys and the Chicago empire seem to withstand any long-lasting cleanup campaign that has been launched. I suppose too many people owe their livlihood to them.