I like a lot of things about Chicago.
And I can even, barely, understand why someone might be a Bears fan if they live there.
But, for the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would have voted for any Chicago politician since, well, since some generations before Daley.
Daley (pick any of them)...Byrne ... Obamoids.... Jackson .... the guy with the name who I could care less about spelling....etc etc etc.
I mean, if you want a case study of why anarchy would be no worse than government, just look at the history of Chicago politics.
"Wade" wrote:
It is simple. Jobs.
When my father-in-law came up from Tennessee as a young man he could not get a good paying job due to his back. He had Scoliosis- curved spine. He was a big strong kid but every time they did a pre employment physical they did an xray too. I failed.
He mentioned it to a casual acquaintance how frustrating it was to get work. He wasn't looking for public aid or a way to cheat the system. He was willing to work. He had never had any problems with his back at all. He grew up on a farm and put long hours in the field every day.
The guy suggested he go to a certain Dr for his examination to be a CTA bus driver. My F-I-L said he would but didn't know how that would change anything. Low and behold he passed the exam. Exrays and all. He was hired by CTA.
When he ran into his friend again. He thanked him for helping out. The guy said he was glad to help him put food on the table. He only asked one for favor. Vote for ****** in the up coming election.
Now my F-I-L could not remember the name of the guy running for office. It wasn't old Mayor Daley. It was a Councilman or a ward boss or someone down the ladder. Looking back over 40 years he could not remember if he voted for the man out of gratitude or not but he did say no one asked him to vote a certain way again.
But for years and years The Machine has brought benefits of one kind or another to the people of the city. It may be a job. It could be problems with garbage pick up. It could be another issue. People ask for help and they get it.
As for me I grew up in the country a 100 miles from there. I am not a Democrat. I am not a supporter of the Machine that runs the City but I do understand why it gets on going for all these years.