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
• 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
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
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%
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/
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Corruption under Mayor Daley
(1989-2011)
 Patronage shift from ethnic communities to interest
groups, corporations, and unions.
 Hired Truck Scandal
 James Duff Scandal
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.
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
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?
Sources
 Allswang, J. M. (1971). A House for All Peoples: Ethnic Politics in
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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/w
hy_is_chicago_so_corrupt.html
Erie, S. P. (1988). Rainbow’s End: Irish-Americans and the Dilemmas of
Urban Machine Politics, 1840–1985.
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_newscrime_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?current
Page=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, 1213. Retrieved from
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e35b5e02-133c44dd-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/2005-0111/news/0501110457_1_fraud-and-other-charges-guilty-prosecutors
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-accusesemanuel-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