Saturday, January 29, 2011

Are You Aware Of The Chicago Political Role Of The 21st Ward Alderman?

With then Senator Obama ascending onto the national politic scene it seemed everyone became fascinated with the entire Chicago political scene. There of course is some truth to the many controversial and corrupt practices that come to light. Before we delve into the 21st ward alderman's importance a brief history lesson is probably needed.

A Brief History Of Chicago Politics
One of the most striking things about Chicago politics is the fact that it is for all intent and purposes a single party system. Most historians state the Chicago fire as being the real birthplace for the Chicago politics as we know it. The blame game for who started the fire and what area provided all of the fodder needed. Next up on the time-line was how 20th century politics led to organized crime elements surfacing and operating in the city. The Chicago police force was forever marked by this era as many officers received regular payoffs from organized crime elements. The next big thing to occur was the infamous black sox incident that occurred in Chicago in 1919. Turned out that eight players on the Chicago teamed were banned from the game as a result. This also led to Ed Kelley then mayor of the city being subsequently convicted for kickbacks, payoffs and bribery. Fast forward to the year 1955 when Richard Daley was elected. He was the face of the political machine. That was until the independents won with the election of Harold Washington in 1983. However, after his death the city was again under the control of the democratic machine led by Richard Daley the son of former Mayor Daley.

21st Ward Alderman Because this is the location where a large big box like Walmart will most likely set it's sights on this ward has risen in importance. The city of Chicago would like to get the tax revenue that having a big box in that ward would provide. However, opponents of the plan cite the known history of what happens to small businesses when a Walmart arrives in a community. There is also considerable debate about the strain having a store like that puts on the local health care system since they don't provide health insurance for their workers. These are just a few of the issues that will need to be dealt with by the 21st ward alderman. But because of their increasing role in providing tax revenue for the city of Chicago this is indeed an important position to fill.

We have taken a brief look at the reasons why the 21st ward alderman is an important role to fill in Chicago politics. These included being the steward for increased tax revenue to Chicago and increased jobs to the city as well. There are other reasons why this is an important position to fill of course that were not looked at here. We mentioned the ones we felt would allow you to be able to make a well informed decision.