Lunatics and Anarchists: Political Homicide in Chicago

Abstract

As a former member of the Chicago police department, a practicing Chicago attorney and longtime member of the Chicago City Council, I am intrigued by political homicide in Chicago. The colorful mayhem and peculiar prairie personality of Chicago provides us with no lack of curious cases and characters on which to focus our investigations. Over the past three decades I have had a front row seat from which to observe that home grown Chicago phenomenon known as "political suicide." I am sure you too can recall those fascinating episodes of local politics in which notable Chicago politicians have crashed and burned. Often we can identify the telltale wounds that have resulted as largely being self-inflicted. You might remember the surprise snowstorm in early 1979 during the tenure of Chicago Mayor Michael Bilandic. Many Chicagoans found themselves trapped by the blizzard-like conditions and were enraged at the weather. Chiding Mayor Bilandic for not being fast enough to remove the snow, the storm became the vehicle for the Mayor's ousting during the election that ironically followed on the heels of the storm.