How the Chicago Way Reveals the Bigger Picture

 

DaleyReading many fine posts on Ricochet regarding national issues ranging from Cuban relations to tax policy, I wonder if a discussion on how things go in Chicago might help fill in the big picture. As the largest city in this nation founded by actual Americans, as opposed to shifty Dutchmen (sorry, Rob) or dramatic but seductive Spaniards, Chicago has some quirks.

Normally, nonresidents, save the communists in town for the annual Conscious Capitalism Conference (mark your calendars for April 6, 2015, you can crash at Milt Rosenberg’s place…probably), need not care about these nuances. However, with so many Chicagoans running the show these days it’s important to understand some of these idiosyncrasies if you want to know why things are happening the way they are happening.

One area that I think is worth an education is how Chicagoans view their city government and how the mayor and city council view Chicagoans. This discussion can help shed some light on what is occurring in many national affairs.

  • You’re not supposed to care about policy as long as your garbage gets picked up on time. If the street lights work and the alleys are plowed, what do you care about the wider policy positions of those in charge? It’s really none of your business and, generally, does not impact your day to day life, so don’t question them!
  • Business does not happen without government. Whether you want to open up a deep dish joint or move in an international headquarters you do it with City Hall. There are so many regulations and regulations regulating the regulations that step one in business is working with the City. The interaction has become so cumbersome that we are at the point in the rabbit hole where the city offers workshops to help you navigate its own regulations. It’s like criminals offering classes on how to be an effective victim.
  • Politics is won via divide and conquer. Chicago is comprised of 50 wards, each with its own alderman. The way you win office is you find the 26 wards you need for election, give them some goodies, and play them against the remaining 24 wards. Goodie example, you say? How about Casimir Pulaski Day to garner the Polish vote? Do you know of any other county outside Cook that celebrates such a random figure of the Revolutionary War? And, I don’t want to hear about Evacuation Day which is, technically, only celebrated in Boston on March 17 but, in reality, we all celebrate with plenty of booze… at least, I think that is why we are boozing.

Essentially, Chicago is less a city of this republic than a fiefdom ruled by sometimes benevolent, and sometimes not, princes vying for power similar to how principalities did in medieval Europe. So, please don’t take what is going on nationally personally, it’s just the way things work in the city that works.

If protesting the ways of Chicago would bring you some comfort, for dinner tonight, I suggest you add some tomato product to your pig intestines or consume a slice of that oversized, disgusting, thin crust, fold-over garbage that our friends on Manhattan Island call “pizza.”

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  1. user_142044 Thatcher
    user_142044
    @AmericanAbroad

    Deep-dish pizza might actually be the best metaphor for Chicago politics.  Like baking the pizza, it takes a long time to get anything done when dealing with City Hall.  Like a pizza stuffed with cheese and patty sausage, government conceals and stuffs all city projects with pork for the alderman.  Just as you can’t get deep-dish pizza anywhere else besides Chicago, so too Chicago politics should remain in Chicago alone.

    • #1
  2. carlboraca@gmail.com Inactive
    carlboraca@gmail.com
    @PleatedPantsForever

    American Abroad:Deep-dish pizza might actually be the best metaphor for Chicago politics. Like baking the pizza, it takes a long time to get anything done when dealing with City Hall. Like a pizza stuffed with cheese and patty sausage, government conceals and stuffs all city projects with pork for the alderman.

    AA – thank you, you flatter us here in Chicago.  I think we are more like Italian beef (or what you might call Chicago Style Beef), in that it has nothing to due with what it claims is its original purpose and causes heartburn

    • #2
  3. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Might as well call it Chicago-style beef. Nobody outside of Chicago has ever heard of Italian beef – not even Italians.

    Forgot where I was a week ago and tried to order a Maxwell Street instead of just saying “Polish sausage.”

    They have big political fights in Chicago all the time – it’s just that both sides are made up of Democrats.

    • #3
  4. user_138562 Moderator
    user_138562
    @RandyWeivoda

    Yeah, Chicago is one of a kind.  I was shocked to read about Aldermanic Privilege a couple years ago.  It sounds like something from a feudal society.  If you haven’t heard of it, it means that a Chicago Alderman for any damn reason he wants can prevent a business from opening in his ward.  Doesn’t matter if it’s a legal business in compliance with all state and city regulations.  If it displeases the alderman, forget it.  I’m sure no alderman would ever dream of keeping businesses out that would compete with a business that he or a friend or relative owns.

    • #4
  5. carlboraca@gmail.com Inactive
    carlboraca@gmail.com
    @PleatedPantsForever

    Percival:Might as well call it Chicago-style beef.Nobody outside of Chicago has ever heard of Italian beef – not even Italians.

    I remember when I was in undergrad out of state and the dorm served “Chicago style beef”.  I was like, what could that be?…..only to find out it was some lame version of what we would call “Italian beef.”  It was only many years later after traveling to Italy that I learned the truth of where it was invented

    • #5
  6. carlboraca@gmail.com Inactive
    carlboraca@gmail.com
    @PleatedPantsForever

    Randy Weivoda:Yeah, Chicago is one of a kind. I was shocked to read about Aldermanic Privilege a couple years ago. It sounds like something from a feudal society. If you haven’t heard of it, it means that a Chicago Alderman for any damn reason he wants can prevent a business from opening in his ward. Doesn’t matter if it’s a legal business in compliance with all state and city regulations. If it displeases the alderman, forget it. I’m sure no alderman would ever dream of keeping businesses out that would compete with a business that he or a friend or relative owns.

    RW – look forward to meeting you in person in a few weeks in the city of broad shoulders.  Just don’t ask too many questions when you are in town!

    • #6
  7. user_138562 Moderator
    user_138562
    @RandyWeivoda

    Since this thread is likely to attract some folks from the Chicago area, I’m going to put in a plug for the Chicago Ricochet Meetup that I will be hosting in February, for those of you who didn’t already know about it.  You can read the details here.

    • #7
  8. carlboraca@gmail.com Inactive
    carlboraca@gmail.com
    @PleatedPantsForever

    Randy Weivoda:Since this thread is likely to attract some folks from the Chicago area, I’m going to put in a plug for the Chicago Ricochet Meetup that I will be hosting in February, for those of you who didn’t already know about it. You can read the details here.

    RW – thanks for organizing!  It takes a fine member from MN to organize a meetup in Chicago these days as we are all busy here hiding under rocks these days.

    • #8
  9. user_138562 Moderator
    user_138562
    @RandyWeivoda

    You’re very welcome, PPF.  I’ve caught meetup fever and I’m trying to infect as many people as I can.  I’ve already written to Amy Schley about how we should put together a Ricochet Meetup when I go to Kansas City and that’s not until August, 2016!

    • #9
  10. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Randy, you know.where you’ll be in August 2016? I’m impressed. I don’t know where I’ll be past next month.

    The problem with a Chicago meetup is that when I’m in the area, it is to see my folks in Joliet.

    • #10
  11. Olive Inactive
    Olive
    @Olive

    How do you gentlemen respond to this?

    • #11
  12. user_138562 Moderator
    user_138562
    @RandyWeivoda

    Percival:Randy, you know.where you’ll be in August 2016?I’m impressed.I don’t know where I’ll be past next month.

    The problem with a Chicago meetup is that when I’m in the area, it is to see my folks in Joliet.

    Yes, I do.  Kansas City is hosting the World Science Fiction Convention in 2016.  When the WorldCon is only a day’s drive from home, I really must go.  Besides that, there’s Burnt Ends.

    If it were possible for you to make the meetup Percival, we’d sure enjoy meeting you.

    • #12
  13. carlboraca@gmail.com Inactive
    carlboraca@gmail.com
    @PleatedPantsForever

    Olive:How do you gentlemen respond to this?

    Olive – my first reaction is to be a nit picky jerk and point out that no self respecting Chicagoan of Irish heritage would accept a Scotsman trying to play Southside Irish.

    Once I get past that :) I think this fits in well with the narrative.  When they come after you with all they have, it’s nothing personal, it’s just how things work in Chicago

    • #13
  14. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Olive:

    How do you gentlemen respond to this?

    David Mamet has probably written finer dialog.  I just can’t think of any at the moment.

    • #14
  15. Steve C. Member
    Steve C.
    @user_531302

    Who sent you?

    • #15
  16. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    If you haven’t watched BOSS yet, you’re missing out. I think it gives House of Cards a run for its money:

    • #16
  17. Ed G. Member
    Ed G.
    @EdG

    Pleated Pants Forever:

    ….no self respecting Chicagoan of Irish heritage ….

    Of course Chicagoans of Irish heritage are self-respecting. No one else would do it otherwise.

    (that’s for that cheap shot on Pulaski Day)

    • #17
  18. Red Feline Inactive
    Red Feline
    @RedFeline

    I thought Chicago a beautiful city when I visited it earlier this year. Didn’t even think about the politics, or the community organizers, or the Untouchables. Wish I could think that such a lovely city reflects upright citizens who are only concerned about the welfare of each other and their community. We can dream, can’t we?

    • #18
  19. Larry3435 Inactive
    Larry3435
    @Larry3435

    When I was a kid in Chicago, it was standard fare for the cop who pulled you over to say, “You’re going to need a pencil for this.  I have $5 pencils and $10 pencils.  I think what you need is a $10 pencil.  Don’t you?”  Which, I suppose, explains the origin of the Thatcher Level membership…

    • #19
  20. user_138562 Moderator
    user_138562
    @RandyWeivoda

    Red Feline:I thought Chicago a beautiful city when I visited it earlier this year. Didn’t even think about the politics, or the community organizers, or the Untouchables. Wish I could think that such a lovely city reflects upright citizens who are only concerned about the welfare of each other and their community. We can dream, can’t we?

    I wouldn’t want to live in Chicago, due to the politics (and gun control and taxes), but it is a terrific place to visit.  Great museums, terrific restaurants, and beautiful architecture.

    • #20
  21. carlboraca@gmail.com Inactive
    carlboraca@gmail.com
    @PleatedPantsForever

    Ed G.:

    Pleated Pants Forever:

    ….no self respecting Chicagoan of Irish heritage ….

    Of course Chicagoans of Irish heritage are self-respecting. No one else would do it otherwise.

    (that’s for that cheap shot on Pulaski Day)

    Ed – Polish on my father’s side and Irish (French too, but I think they just got drunk and lost on their way to Quebec) on my mother’s side…….so I love my Pulaski Day too!

    • #21
  22. user_137118 Member
    user_137118
    @DeanMurphy

    Randy Weivoda:

    I wouldn’t want to live in Chicago, due to the politics (and gun control and taxes), but it is a terrific place to visit. Great museums, terrific restaurants, and beautiful architecture.

    That brings up a question: can such a place with those great and beautiful things be had without the politics?

    • #22
  23. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Pleated Pants Forever: Ed – Polish on my father’s side and Irish (French too, but I think they just got drunk and lost on their way to Quebec) on my mother’s side…….so I love my Pulaski Day too!

    Apropos of nothing: I know a dude from Alberta of French ancestry. He’s rather proud that upon arrival from France his ancestors boarded the first available train to Western Canada and never once set foot in Quebec.

    ;-)

    • #23
  24. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Dean Murphy:

    Randy Weivoda:

    I wouldn’t want to live in Chicago, due to the politics (and gun control and taxes), but it is a terrific place to visit. Great museums, terrific restaurants, and beautiful architecture.

    That brings up a question: can such a place with those great and beautiful things be had without the politics?

    I’m pretty sure that Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, and Switzerland (the four most economically free countries according to the Fraser Institute) have museums, restaurants, and nice-looking buildings.

    ;-)

    • #24
  25. J. D. Fitzpatrick Member
    J. D. Fitzpatrick
    @JDFitzpatrick

    Larry3435:When I was a kid in Chicago, it was standard fare for the cop who pulled you over to say, “You’re going to need a pencil for this. I have $5 pencils and $10 pencils. I think what you need is a $10 pencil. Don’t you?” Which, I suppose, explains the origin of the Thatcher Level membership…

    When my instructor at the U of C told that story, the cops were trying to get out of the pencil game. They played it, though, when dealing with “hard cases.” His dialogue with the cop who pulled him over went like this:

    Cop: Hi there.

    Ivory Tower Naif: Hi, there; looks like I was speeding.

    Cop: Yeah. You know, I really don’t want to give you this ticket.

    Naif: Yeah, I know what you mean.

    Cop: No, I really, really don’t want to have to give you this ticket.

    Naif: Hey, well, I wish I didn’t have to take it.

    (Pause.)

    Cop: (Sigh.)

    Naif: ??

    Cop: Listen buddy, I got two pencils ….

    The high pencil was $20, though. Wonder what it is today.

    • #25
  26. Ed G. Member
    Ed G.
    @EdG

    J. D. Fitzpatrick:

    Larry3435:When I was a kid in Chicago, it was standard fare for the cop who pulled you over to say, “You’re going to need a pencil for this. I have $5 pencils and $10 pencils. I think what you need is a $10 pencil. Don’t you?” Which, I suppose, explains the origin of the Thatcher Level membership…

    When my instructor at the U of C told that story, the cops were trying to get out of the pencil game. They played it, though, when dealing with “hard cases.” His dialogue with the cop who pulled him over went like this:

    Cop: Hi there.

    Ivory Tower Naif: Hi, there; looks like I was speeding.

    Cop: Yeah. You know, I really don’t want to give you this ticket.

    Naif: Yeah, I know what you mean.

    Cop: No, I really, really don’t want to have to give you this ticket.

    Naif: Hey, well, I wish I didn’t have to take it.

    (Pause.)

    Cop: (Sigh.)

    Naif: ??

    Cop: Listen buddy, I got two pencils ….

    The high pencil was $20, though. Wonder what it is today.

    This is the first time I’ve ever heard of that. I’m not saying that there’s zero corruption in Chicago, but I’d figure that word of this scheme would have gotten around outside of Hyde Park. Or was it just a University of Chicago special?

    • #26
  27. user_91214 Member
    user_91214
    @ChrisGregerson

    I’d love a Kansas City Ricochet meet-up.

    • #27
  28. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    My great uncle showed me the proper way to paperclip a $20 to my driver’s license.

    • #28
  29. Sandy Member
    Sandy
    @Sandy

    I recall a carload of us being stopped in the early 60’s at a time when the cops were under pressure to clean it up (a recurrent problem) and could not take money but had no problem picking it up if the driver happened to drop it out the window.  As for aldermen, they had and I’m sure still have their uses, especially if you did get tickets and needed to get them “fixed.”

    I haven’t lived in Chicago for a long time, but Chicago politics have been rather contagious.  I now live in a small, blue, one-party city where the politicians sound more educated and have a bland ethnic background but have the same old corrupt alliances and have managed to entrench themselves and demoralize the citizenry.  It’s very, very familiar.

    Now when I go to Chicago it looks to me like a large false front. The beautiful lakefront–thank you, Daniel Burnham–and a thin line of wonderful city behind it, and then the lost city to the west of that line.  Miles and miles and miles of what were once beautiful neighborhoods and are now war zones.  It’s a crying shame.

    • #29
  30. J. D. Fitzpatrick Member
    J. D. Fitzpatrick
    @JDFitzpatrick

    Ed G.:

    J. D. Fitzpatrick:

    Larry3435:When I was a kid in Chicago, it was standard fare for the cop who pulled you over to say, “You’re going to need a pencil for this. I have $5 pencils and $10 pencils. I think what you need is a $10 pencil. Don’t you?” Which, I suppose, explains the origin of the Thatcher Level membership…

    When my instructor at the U of C told that story, the cops were trying to get out of the pencil game. They played it, though, when dealing with “hard cases.” His dialogue with the cop who pulled him over went like this:

    Cop: Hi there.

    Ivory Tower Naif: Hi, there; looks like I was speeding.

    Cop: Yeah. You know, I really don’t want to give you this ticket.

    Naif: Yeah, I know what you mean.

    Cop: No, I really, really don’t want to have to give you this ticket.

    Naif: Hey, well, I wish I didn’t have to take it.

    (Pause.)

    Cop: (Sigh.)

    Naif: ??

    Cop: Listen buddy, I got two pencils ….

    The high pencil was $20, though. Wonder what it is today.

    This is the first time I’ve ever heard of that. I’m not saying that there’s zero corruption in Chicago, but I’d figure that word of this scheme would have gotten around outside of Hyde Park. Or was it just a University of Chicago special?

    Well, it’s an anecdote for me, and perhaps my instructor was simply pretending to have experienced an urban legend. It would be interesting to have a Ricochet investigative journalism fund to test this pencil market on the city’s thoroughfares, but I doubt anyone wants to take the increased insurance rates if he gets pulled over by Elliot Ness, Jr.

    Unless, of course, there’s someone in Chicagoland with a blighted license and a burning desire to find THE TRUTH. Socrates + Letterman, perhaps?

    • #30
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