rssPosts by Ben Joravsky
Obama’s Chicago Boys
In the days following his election, it has become clear that President-elect Barack Obama is bringing a little bit of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s City Hall to Washington.
The White House chief of staff will be Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), a former Daley fund-raiser. Emanuel is stepping down from More…
Chicago Machine Tips
Despite all the brouhaha about Sen. Barack Obama’s ties to Chicago’s legendary political machine, and how his campaign displayed the efficiency of machine politics, he played it wimpy in his primary race against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Just consider, he took her by surprise by out-organizing her in Iowa, grabbed More…
A National Media Product
CHICAGO — When it comes to politics in Chicago, Rev. Jeremiah A.Wright Jr. is a big fish in his small pond.
His parishioners at Trinity Church of Christ obviously revere him, and with their support he’s built a large and thriving South Side church whose 8,000 or so members include More…
The Man and The Machine
Geraldine A. Ferraro missed the point by concentrating on Sen. Barack Obama’s race to explain his rapid rise in politics. If you want to understand Obama, think Harry S. Truman.
On the surface, they don’t seem to have much in common. Truman was old and crusty when he came on More…
Spitzer Scandal: A New York Story
Every city has its own variation of political scandal.
In Los Angeles, it’s usually about complicated land grabs and water. Many people view “Chinatown” as a civic history lesson.
In Chicago, it involves basic machine corruption — fixing parking tickets, paying off building inspectors, or putting family or friends or More…
