Read the series on Illinois’ notorious political legacy
What makes Illinois so corrupt? In the weeks and months ahead, the Tribune will explore and attempt to explain why corruption continues to plague virtually every level of government in our state, draining taxpayer dollars and robbing public service of meaning.
The reasons are many, the Tribune says, starting with the ambition and greed brought here by many of Illinois’ early European settlers. But many other factors contribute to Illinois’ shameful record: poorly regulated election campaigns, authoritarian mayors who let shady city councilors run circles. Cozy interactions between lobbyists and public officials. A voting process that the powerful often use to exclude newcomers. The nation’s largest number of government agencies, offering endless opportunities for corruption amid little oversight.
Dishonest Politicians at All Levels of Illinois Government Make a Mockery of Public Service
Illinois is the birthplace of the nation’s greatest president, Abraham Lincoln. It is the birthplace of iconic Republican President Ronald Reagan and the state where Democrat Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president, developed his political skills.
But Illinois is far more famous for its notorious political legacy: persistent and ongoing corruption. Four of its last 11 governors have been imprisoned. Chicago, its largest city, is the scene of federal sting operations that put busloads of judges, aldermen, state legislators and other officials behind bars.
Even the state auditor, the financial watchdog of the Illinois government, was caught red-handed looting and wasting $2.5 million in public funds. One secretary of state amassed more than $750,000, including a shoebox full of cash that was found hidden in a hotel room after his death. Read part one of our series.
Illinois countryside awash with big money, with few rules and little enforcement
At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the importance of money in national politics was evident, from the appeals made at elaborate fundraisers to the relentless streams of video ads and text messages.
But in Illinois, money is flooding into politics at a rate that is practically putting government offices in the Land of Lincoln up for sale.
Few states invite politicians to raise money and spend as aggressively as Illinois, where massive cash injections led by billionaire Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his billionaire Republican foes are enabled by lax rules and weak enforcement standards that incentivize politicians to push the limits of campaign finance. Read part two of our series.
The law of silence and the prerogatives of municipal councilors fuel dozens of convictions for corruption
In the half-century since Mayor Richard J. Daley presided over Chicago’s infamous Democratic machine at the height of its power, nearly 40 aldermen from across the city have ended up behind bars.
The list of councilmen convicted of corruption includes a father and son indicted nearly 30 years apart, the two most powerful councilmen in the last five decades, and a self-proclaimed champion of good government known by some as the “conscience of the council.”
From 1976 to 2021, the Chicago metropolitan area had more than 1,800 federal corruption convictions, the most in the nation.
But in Chicago, it comes down to two main factors: a deeply ingrained culture where the prevailing attitude toward corrupt actions is “you didn’t see anything,” and an unwritten power-sharing agreement between the city’s mayor and council that has neutered the usual checks and balances on government actions at City Hall. Read part three of our series.
In Chicago, corruption is both a source of shame and perverse pride.
During his long career as alderman for the 43rd Ward, Mathias “Paddy” Bauler often held hearings in the North Avenue tavern that served as his headquarters from the 1930s to the 1960s. Often, beer in hand, he would loudly proclaim, “Chicago is not ready for reform.”
He might just as well have said or added: “Chicago is always ready to be corrupted.”
This city, and by extension the state, has long been what a University of Chicago political science professor—and many others, from writers to late-night TV hosts—have called “the only completely corrupt city in America.” As the late Studs Terkel famously put it in 1986: “Chicago is not the most corrupt city. New Jersey has a few. Need I mention Nevada? Chicago, on the other hand, is the Big Daddy. Not more corrupt, just more theatrical, more colorful in its dark intrigues.”
How did we get so “lucky”? Learn more.
The Dishonor Roll: The Public Officials Who Helped Build Illinois’ Culture of Corruption
The Tribune has compiled a list of about 200 convicted, indicted or otherwise notorious officials from Illinois’ long and infamous political history.
Meet the small-town official behind the largest municipal fraud in the nation’s history, the Chicago mayor with ties to gangster Al Capone, and more. See the full list.
