Chicago’s Modern Mayors: From Harold Washington to Lori Lightfoot
Chicago’s Modern Mayors: From Harold Washington to Lori Lightfoot
edited by Dick Simpson and Betty O'Shaughnessy contributions by Daniel Bliss, Marco Rosaire Rossi, Dick Simpson, Clinton Stockwell, Betty O'Shaughnessy, Xolela Mangeu, Gregory D Squires, Monroe Anderson, Costas Spirou, Dennis Judd and Kari Lydersen
University of Illinois Press, 2024 eISBN: 978-0-252-05526-3 | Paper: 978-0-252-08771-4 | Cloth: 978-0-252-04560-8 Library of Congress Classification F548.53.C55 2024 Dewey Decimal Classification 977.311043
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Political profiles of five mayors and their lasting impact on the city
Chicago’s transformation into a global city began at City Hall. Dick Simpson and Betty O’Shaughnessy edit in-depth analyses of the five mayors that guided the city through this transition beginning with Harold Washington’s 1983 election: Washington, Eugene Sawyer, Richard M. Daley, Rahm Emmanuel, and Lori Lightfoot. Though the respected political science, sociologist, and journalist contributors approach their subjects from distinct perspectives, each essay addresses three essential issues: how and why each mayor won the office; whether the City Council of their time acted as a rubber stamp or independent body; and the ways the unique qualities of each mayor’s administration and accomplishments influenced their legacy.
Filled with expert analysis and valuable insights, Chicago’s Modern Mayors illuminates a time of transition and change and considers the politicians who--for better and worse--shaped the Chicago of today.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Dick Simpson is professor emeritus, former head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a former Chicago alderman and congressional candidate. His books include Democracy’s Rebirth: The View from Chicago and Corrupt Illinois: Patronage, Cronyism, and Criminality. Betty O’Shaughnessy is retired visiting lecturer at the University of Illinois at Chicago and former adjunct professor at Oakton Community College. Simpson and O’Shaughnessy are coauthors of Winning Elections in the 21st Century.
REVIEWS
“An important, underemphasized history of persistent attempted settlement by Black migrants from the U.S. South to the rural and small city Midwest. The author mounts a challenge to received wisdom and even the received archive that combines the meticulous use of traditional sources with innovative research strategies. The result is a fascinating account of how terror and exclusion were cleansed from historical memory.”--David Roediger, author of The Sinking Middle Class: A Political History of Debt, Misery, and the Drift to the Right
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction--Chicago’s Turbulent Political History Betty O’Shaughnessy
1983-1987: Harold Washington--Cultural Transformation of City Government in Chicago and A Sense of PossibilityXolela Mangcu and Gregory D. Squires
1987-1989: The Sawyer InterregnumMonroe Anderson
1989-2011: Mayor Richard M. Daley and the City of SpectacleCostas Spirou and Dennis R. Judd
2011-2019: Rahm Emanuel--Chicago in Change and CrisisKari Lydersen and Daniel Bliss
2019-present: Lori Lightfoot’s Two CoalitionsMarco Rosaire Rossi and Dick Simpson
Conclusion: Modern Mayors of Chicago Dick Simpson
Epilogue: History Continues Dick Simpson
Appendix A: Historical List of Chicago Mayors
Appendix B: Corruption
Contemporary Chicago Bibliography Clinton Stockwell
