BOSS: Richard J. Daley of Chicago

by Mike Royko ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 1971

A sharper picture of the Mayor, his policies, and Iris methods than in Bill Gleason's Daley of Chicago (1970), and more in less space about Chicago. Royko, one of Chicago's best-known columnists, begins by describing the Mayor's daily routine and proceeds to a reconstruction of Daley's youth which captures the flavor of his rough Bridgeport neighborhood. The Boss Kelly days which gave way to expedient alliance with the Stevensonians, the dumping of predecessor Kennelley which -- to tire delight of Chicago businessmen -- produced not a return to wide-open squalor but a construction boom in the Loop, huge hikes in homeowners' taxes, and a flurry of bond issues . . . all this is described convincingly and energetically. Without sentimentality or moralism, Royko traces the integuments of machine politics: the way Daley has used his dual status as party chairman and mayor to consolidate one-man rule; and the way Dawson and Daley contained the South Side physically and politically (here Royko does wax indignant). One of his emphases falls on Daley's image as protector of working-class neighborhoods like the Bridgeport he still lives in, as contrasted with his record of neglecting and eradicating them. Good.

Pub Date: March 31, 1971

ISBN: 0452261678

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1971

Categories: NONFICTION