Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni. ✶ Thank you for your readership and contributions. ✶
Last Thursday's dedication ceremony for the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum brought five living US presidents together, along with a spate of articles assessing the polarizing former president's legacy.
But what often gets lost in the pages of recent political history are the legacies of men and women who serve just below the president, and subsequently impact the policies that shape the government and country in ways beyond what most Americans realize.
Tuesday, April 30, the University of Chicago Institute of Politics invites you to take a look at one such individual -- Edward Levi, the attorney general nominated by Gerald Ford to clean up the Justice Department in the wake of the Watergate scandal.
When he started writing First Son: The Biography of Richard M. Daley, Koeneman said he wanted to keep his opinions out of it and let the readers decide how to interpret the facts about the former mayor's life and legacy.
"I tried really, really hard to be very, very balanced about his accomplishments and his mistakes," Koeneman said, before he sat down with the Chicago Tribune's Rick Kogan for a public discussion of the book. "I tried to make it an interesting life story."
The book, Koeneman said, is the first biography of the 22-year mayor, though there are many about his father (and also former mayor) Richard J. Daley. He doesn't know why there hasn't been a biography about the younger Mayor Daley until now, though he thinks it could be because potential biographers may have been afraid to upset the mayor while he was still in office.
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a federal law, with numerous state-level counterparts, that makes government information more accessible to journalist and citizens. Often, one would fill out a FOIA (commonly pronounced "FOY-uh") request in order to obtain information made available by the act.
The city of Chicago tracks FOIA requests made to its various departments, and posts the information on the Chicago Data Portal. A look at which print media outlets submit the most FOIA's gives an interesting look into the size and focus of various publications.
Each week, we round up interesting tweets from Chicago politicians.
This week, the mayor announces a plan to expand internet access in low income neighborhoods and Chicago responds to the Boston bombing. Read more after the jump.
Today Sen. Mark Kirk sent out an email to constituents sharing a video about the Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act, the gun control bill he co-authored with senators Pat Toomey (R-PA), Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Charles Schumer (D-NY), with reference to the recent gang violence in Chicago.
Dear Friends,
Last week, I met with Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy who highlighted an unfortunate statistic: 40 percent of guns were purchased without a background check. I have made it one of my top priorities in Congress to end gun violence in cities like Chicago and to dry up dangerous criminals' access to illegal weapons. Drug gangs like the Gangster Disciples exploit the loopholes in our current system, and they commit senseless acts of violence leading to the death of innocent people, like 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, shot and killed in gang crossfire. I invite you to watch my new video that explains Senator Manchin (D-WV) and my bipartisan legislation, the Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act. This bill will reduce gun violence across the US and save lives while defending law-abiding citizens' Second Amendment rights.
It is an honor to represent you in the United States Senate.
David Axelrod joined a four member panel convened last Tuesday at the University of Chicago's International House in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Harold Washington's 1983 successful mayoral election. Journalist and political correspondent Laura Washington moderated the discussion between 4th Ward Alderman Will Burns, University of Chicago political science Professor Michael Dawson, Washington campaign advisor Jackie Grimshaw, who now serves in the department of policy, transportation and community development for Chicago's Center for Neighborhood Technology; and the aforementioned former Obama campaign strategist Axelrod.
After twice polling the plentiful and diverse audience as to our ages and cognizance of the historical election of Chicago's first African-American mayor, the event began with rousing clips of an effusive Mayor Washington speaking of the great responsibility of his office, love for his constituents and contempt for the tactics of Mayor Richard J. Daley.
The historic Julia C. Lathrop Homes are listed by Preservation Chicago as one of the city's seven most endangered developments and the Chicago Housing Authority will release its final proposal soon, according to a city council staffer.
The CHA will release their final proposal and hold a meeting sometime this month, according to Paul Sajovec, chief of staff to Alderman Scott Waguespack (32nd Ward). The agency's board will meet Tuesday, April 16.
"To say there is imminent danger [of demolition] is completely accurate," said Sajovec. "Now is the time if people are concerned with what's happening there."
Chicago Public Schools chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett is being called racist for school closings, but no one called other black politicians racist for ignoring the needs of their communities by engaging in corrupt activities for decades. We've seen the downfall of African-American communities from the direct result of the crack epidemic, street gangs, economic collapse, inadequate leadership and years of disinvestment. Evidently, accountability for previous leaders is the missing ingredient.
We are quick to bash her decision; however, where was the opposition when black leaders were becoming greedy off the expense of their citizens? Where was the opposition when black alderman and state representatives knew neighborhood schools lacked resources and were failing? Where was the outrage when parents become negligent? Most of all, where were protesters when residents repeatedly voted for corrupt leaders out of tradition and not for morality?
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is truly king of Chicago's rubber stamp City Council.
In his first two years in office, he enjoyed more support than Boss Richard J. Daley or his legacy, Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Mayor Emanuel has more control over the council than even Mayor Edward J. Kelly, a co-founder of the Cook County Democratic Machine.
This is counter to his claim a year and a half ago: "I said we were going form a new partnership between... the mayor and the city council — that voters didn't want Council Wars and they also didn't want a city council that would be a rubber stamp." But despite his claim, we got a rubber stamp council.
Sen. Mark Kirk joins the ranks of other Republican elected officials who have announced their support for same-sex marriage. His stance was the opposite during his 2010 Illinois senate race citing religious reasons.
He states, "Same-sex couples should have the right to a civil marriage. Our time on this earth is limited; I know that better than most. Life comes down to who you love and who loves you back--government has no place in the middle."
He is the fourth Republican congressman to split from his party's adamant stance on gay marriage along with Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY) Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH).
His unexpected stroke last year has truly humbled him and made him more open-minded to the demands of American citizens. I applaud Kirk for being bold in his party; however, the quote, "the government has no place in the middle," makes me think of other places the government has no place: a woman's body.
It's now been 11 days since the carbon monoxide leak which sent over 80 Prussing Elementary School students and staff to the hospital. While officials from Chicago Public Schools have partially answered some questions, and CPS CEO Forrest Claypool has informed that he will be visiting the school to field more questions on Nov. 16, many parents remain irate at the CPS response to date. More...
It's not surprising that some of Mayor Emanuel's sympathizers and supporters are confusing people's substantive disputes with the mayor as the effect of poor marketing on his part. It's exactly this insular worldview that has gotten the mayor in hot... More...
