Chicago mulls future without Daley power at helm

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Breitbart:

CHICAGO (AP) - The last time Chicago was left without a Daley at the helm, the next mayor was thrown out of office by voters angry because he couldn't keep snow off the streets.

The "City that Works" then became known as "Beirut on the Lake," its council dissolved into a racially divided stalemate as remnants of the once-mighty Chicago Machine stonewalled reforms pushed by the city's first black leader.

Within a few years of his election in 1989, Mayor Richard M. Daley brought that to an end by building his own machine—not with the patronage army his father used to amass and keep political power, but by sharing the spoils of city government, selectively doling out contracts and forcing factions to work together.

Daley's startling announcement that he won't run for re-election next year has Chicagoans wondering what the next era could bring.

If he didn't have the same kind of clout as his father—Richard J. Daley who was widely regarded as the 20th century's most powerful American mayor before he died in 1976—the younger Daley was willing to flex his political muscles. He once ended debate about turning a small airport into a park by sending bulldozers in the dead of night to carve huge Xs into the runway.

"He had the political clout, the backbone to do that," said Dominic Pacyga, a Columbia College history professor and author of 'Chicago: A Biography.' "You're not going to have that kind of autocratic power with the next mayor."

On Wednesday, aldermen openly mulled their prospects, turning the hallways outside the City Council chambers into something of a job fair. Chicagoans contemplated that whomever is elected in February will not have Daley's power, even as his successor tackles the many challenges he is leaving behind, such as the city's financial straits and perceptions that the streets have become more dangerous.

At the same time, both aldermen and residents said they pined for a mayor who would consult more with constituents and champion improvements in all corners of the city, not just favored spots.

"I think a little dose of democracy will be very healthy for the city," said Alderman Joe Moore, who made a rare stand against Daley in pushing for a ban on use of foie gras in the city's restaurants.

Even the one possible candidate who is seen as perhaps a street fighter like Daley—White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel—isn't likely to walk in and have his way with the council.

"Rahm won't have that kind of clout," Pacyga said.

Chicago is more gleaming than when Daley took office 21 years ago, dotted with flower planters and boasting a new Millennium Park that won raves around the nation. But amid dwindling tax revenue, Daley also has privatized a major toll road and talked of doing the same with everything from Midway Airport to the annual Taste of Chicago festival. And there are a wide range of political agendas stifled by Daley's dominance that will surface once he leaves.
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It's wrangling over the throne time in the Windy City...