AUTHOR'S NOTE: I first wrote and posted this column in January of 2009. Little did I know at the time my commentary about Chicago-style politics and its influence on the Obama administration would be so prophetic. From the Louisiana Purchase and the Nebraska Corn Husker Kickback, which helped to pass the Health Care Reform legislation, Washington, D.C. has seemingly become a mirror image of how things have been done in Chicago for nearly a century.
Some of the information in this piece came from a book titled "The Outfit: The Role of Chicago's Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America" by Gus Russo. Another great read regarding the misuse of unions and corruption is "Supermob: How Sidney Korshak and His Criminal Associates Became America's Hidden Power Brokers" also penned by Gus Russo.
