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The Chicago Political Machine

The Chicago Political Machine. Jon Zurinskas Sika Abbey Sean Hilas Mike Marini Temitope Quadri. Introduction How Political Machines Work Background of Political Machines in Chicago Strength of Political Machines Today Barack Obama and the Chicago Political Machine. Chicago Introduction.

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The Chicago Political Machine

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  1. The Chicago Political Machine Jon Zurinskas Sika Abbey Sean Hilas Mike Marini Temitope Quadri

  2. Introduction • How Political Machines Work • Background of Political Machines in Chicago • Strength of Political Machines Today • Barack Obama and the Chicago Political Machine

  3. Chicago Introduction • Population (2012) – 2.7 Million (9.4 Million Metro) - Peak Population: 3.6 Million (1950) • Largest city in Illinois • 3rd Largest in the United States. • Nicknamed the Windy City http://www.gallagher.com/art_photos/chicago_skyline2.jpg

  4. Local Government. • Local Legislature is comprised of 50 wards represented by Aldermen. • An Alderman is popularly elected by their constituency to serve a four year term. • Sessions meet monthly , the presiding officer of the Council is the Mayor of Chicago who is currently Rahm Emanuel http://www.chicagoreader.com/binary/f770/1324497828-ward-map-2.jpg

  5. Chicago Demographics 2010 White: 45% Black: 32.9% American Indian & Alaska Native: 0.5% Asian: 5.5% Hispanic: 28.9 Reporting two or more races: 2.7%

  6. Ethnic & Racial Divides by color White: Red Black: Blue Asian: Green Hispanic: Orange Other: Gray Each Dot represents 25 People http://www.flickr.com/photos/hupajoob/5020309229/sizes/l/in/photostream/

  7. What a Political Machine is… • A political machine is a party organization that is headed by a single boss or a small autocratic group that commends enough votes to maintain political and administrative control of a city, county, or state.

  8. What Political Machines Do • A political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives: money, political jobs and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership control over member activity. • "Political machine" started as a grass-roots campaign to gain the patronage needed to win the modern election. Having strong patronage, these "clubs" were the main driving force in gaining and getting out the "straight party vote" in the election districts.

  9. Chicago Political Machines Background • The second half of the 19th century and the first thirty years of the 20th saw great ethic and class divides among political parties • Migration patterns of different groups further contributed to such division • Several mayors were implicated in illegal activities, but never convicted • Organized crime was allowed to flourish, giving way to figures such as Al Capone

  10. The Machine • The Democratic Machine came into being under the leadership of Anton Cermak • Bohemian immigrant with a working class background • Was elected mayor in 1931, defeating incumbent Republican William Hale “Big Bill” Thompson • Brought representatives in from the German, Jewish, Polish and Czech communities • Was assassinated in 1933

  11. Kelly-Nash • After Cermak’s death, Democratic party chairman Patrick A. Nash pushed for Edward J. Kelly • As mayor, Kelly was a staunch supporter of the New Deal and used federal funds to better the city • Acquired additional financial resources from organized crime for turning a blind eye • Worked to better the living situation for Chicago’s growing black community by favoring integrated schools and public housing • Helped set up the party’s alliance with ethnic and racial minorities

  12. Changes • In 1947, Kelly was forced to retire by his own party, because of his progressive views • His replacement was Martin H. Kennelly • Served two terms, but was ousted in 1955, because of being considered too independent • Replacement was Richard J. Daley, who ended up serving until his death in 1976

  13. Dynasty • Under Daley, the Cook County machine gained heavy control over Cook County • Used 35,000 city and county jobs to his advantage • Was able to have local/ward problems fixed effectively • Encouraged growth through construction of various buildings, including O’Hare International Airport • Created many construction jobs • Was more conservative in regards to racial matters

  14. Slight Shift • The late ‘70s and early ‘80s two different candidates emerged for mayor • Jane Margaret Byrne became the first female mayor in 1979 • Reform based, but did live up to campaign promises • Was defeated in 1983 via a three way election by Harold Washington, the city’s first black mayor • Was reelected in 1987, but died of a heart attack only months later

  15. Current Chicago Political Machine • Since 1972, 80 officials, including 4 governors, one mayor, and 27 aldermen have been convicted of a crime. • Governor Ryan- Received 6 years for Racketeering and Fraud. • Governor Blagojevich- 14 year sentence for corruption.

  16. Corruption under Mayor Daley (1989-2011) • Patronage shift from ethnic communities to interest groups, corporations, and unions. • Hired Truck Scandal • James Duff Scandal

  17. Corruption with the City Council • In the past 35 years, 30 aldermen have been convicted of federal crimes. • Use of “Pay to Play Schemes • Acting as a Rubber Stamp for the Mayor.

  18. Barack Obama and the Chicago Political Machine • • Factors for Success • - Mayor Richard M. Daley (1989- 2011) • •Financial connections • • Professional work connections • • Gave jobs to current Political Machine • members • • Started as a community organizer in Chicago http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:20081117_Barack_Obama_Streetlight_Banner.JPG

  19. Questions • Do you think current the current mayor, Rahm Emmanuel, will continue the same practices of previous mayors? • What tendencies/characteristics does President Obama have which show his Chicago background? • What may have allowed for the Byrne/Washington break in the Irish, white male political dominance over the mayor’s office?

  20. Sources • Allswang, J. M. (1971). A House for All Peoples: Ethnic Politics in Chicago, 1890–1936. • Biles, R. (1995). Richard J. Daley: Politics, Race, and the Governing of Chicago. • Chicago (city), Illinois . (2011, December 23). US Census. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/‌qfd/‌states/‌17/‌1714000.html • City Council, Your Ward & Alderman. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cityofchicago.org/‌city/‌en/‌about/‌council.html • Developing Government Accountability to the People. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.chicagodgap.org/‌aldermen • Engber, D. (2006, September 8). How did Chicago get to be so corrupt? Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/‌articles/‌news_and_politics/‌recycled/‌2008/‌12/‌why_is_chicago_so_corrupt.html • Erie, S. P. (1988). Rainbow’s End: Irish-Americans and the Dilemmas of Urban Machine Politics, 1840–1985.

  21. Continued • Gradel, T. J., Simpson, D., & Zimelis, A. (2009, February). Curing Corruption in Illinois: Anti-Corruption Report (Rep. No. 1). Chicago: University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Political Science. • Illinois has long legacy of public corruption . (2008, December 9). Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/‌id/‌28141995/‌ns/‌us_news-crime_and_courts/‌t/‌illinois-has-long-legacy-public-corruption/ • Lizza, R. (2008, July 21). Making It: How Chicago shaped Obama. The New Yorker. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/‌reporting/‌2008/‌07/‌21/‌080721fa_fact_lizza?currentPage=all • Novak, T., & Warmbir, S. (2005, September 1). Idle Trucks: Mob ties, kickbacks, official corruption tied to Chicago’s Hired Truck Program. The IRE Journal, 12-13. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/‌ehost/‌pdfviewer/‌pdfviewer?sid=e35b5e02-133c-44dd-a808-fd6a8b61f78b%40sessionmgr104&vid=2&hid=105 • O’Connor, M., & Gibson, R. (2005, January 11). Duff pleads guilty--for 3 hours. Chicago Tribune . Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/‌2005-01-11/‌news/‌0501110457_1_fraud-and-other-charges-guilty-prosecutors

  22. Continued • Schaper, D. (2007, November 6). Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan Heading to Prison. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/‌templates/‌story/‌story.php?storyId=16051850 • Simpson, R., Adeoye, O., Bliss, D., Navratil, D., & Raines, R. (2004). The New Daley Machine 1989-2004. Retrieved from http://www.uic.edu/‌depts/‌pols/‌ChicagoPolitics/‌newdaleymachine.pdf • Spielman, F. (2012, January 24). City watchdog accuses Emanuel administration of stymying probes . Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved from http://www.suntimes.com/‌news/‌politics/‌10189281-418/‌city-watchdog-accuses-emanuel-administration-of-stymying-probes.html • Taylor, Q. (1972, Spring). The Chicago Political Machine and Black-Ethnic Conflict and Accommodation. Polish American Studies, 29(1), 40-66. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/‌stable/‌20147848 • Top 50 Cities by Population and Rank. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/‌ipa/‌A0763098.html • Why is Chicago called the Windy City? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://wiki.answers.com/‌Q/‌Why_is_Chicago_called_the_Windy_City

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