Chicago’s Modern Mayors: From Harold Washington to Lori Lightfoot

Chicago’s Modern Mayors: From Harold Washington to Lori Lightfoot

Dick Simpson (Editor), Betty O'Shaughnessy (Editor), Betty O'Shaughnessy (Contributions by), Xolela Mangeu (Contributions by), Gregory D. Squires (Contributions by), Monroe Anderson (Contributions by), Costas Spirou (Contributions by), Dennis Judd (Contributions by), Kari Lydersen (Contributions by), Daniel Bliss (Contributions by), Marco Rosaire Rossi (Contributions by), Dick Simpson (Contributions by), Clinton Stockwell (Contributions by)
$24.95
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Publisher:
University of Illinois Press
ISBN:
9780252087714
Pages:
240
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Description

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.

About the Author

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.

Praise for Chicago’s Modern Mayors: From Harold Washington to Lori Lightfoot

“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