In July 1953, Richard J. Daley was elected Cook County Democratic Chairman. Leader of the Democratic Party. Kingmaker. The Chairman gets to handpick who will represent the Democratic Party for Governor, for US Congress, and, of course, for Mayor of Chicago.
Daley drafted himself to run for Mayor. First, in the 1955 Democratic Primary, the Chairman defeated the two-term incumbent, Martin Kennelly. Next, in the general election, Richard J. Daley defeated the Republican candidate by a ten-point margin to become the 48th Mayor of Chicago.
Sometimes it’s just that simple.
Just months earlier, in December 1954, Mayor Kennelly thought it would be an easy sell to convince Chairman Daley to allow him to run for a third term.
Here’s how Mike Royko describes the meeting between the short, squat Daley & the tall, handsome Kennelly:
On December 14, [1954] Kennelly walked over to party headquarters in the Morrison Hotel and went into the meeting room [to ask for a third term]. He was surprised to see Daley, who wasn’t on the [slate-making] committee, sitting on the end of the long table, his arms crossed, expressionless. Kennelly read a six-paragraph statement outlining the accomplishments of his administration and stating his desire to be endorsed for a third term. Then he put it in his coat pocket and sat back to answer questions and engage in the usual informal talk session. This was where he would get them.
Nobody said anything. Several seconds passed. Kennelly shifted around in his chair and finally had to ask, “Do you have any questions?” The heads shook. Some looked away. Then the committee chairman said, “Thank you, Mr. Mayor.” That was it. Three minutes and fifty-six seconds after he walked in, full of confidence, Kennelly was going down the hotel corridor, his face quite pale. (Boss 83).
A study in contrasts.
Be kind to each other.
Ari
P.S. A Federal indictment against Michael J. Madigan is imminent. The longest-serving House speaker in US history is referred to as “Public Official A” in ComEd’s $200 million deferred prosecution agreement with the Feds.
In preparation, I’ve been doing background research on the Speaker. He’s a member of Beverly Country Club (BCC), so, on Sunday morning, I drove to 8700 S Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60620.
Yes, I am that guy.
Oddly, the address listed for BCC is wrong. Dense ivy buffered the Club from Western Ave's four lanes of traffic, but there’s no entrance along Western. I double-checked the Club's official address, 8700 S. Western, with the internet, the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Sun-Times. Yet the same issue resulted.
I tried using Google Maps. Perhaps members use a navigation app to avoid traffic. Because hedge funds use Google's satellite imagery to get hyper-specific Chinese economic data, I figured it'd be a good bet I could use Google Maps to locate the entrance to BCC. Alas, no.
Contrast Beverly Country Club (above) with Bryn Mawr Country Club (below):
As you can see, Bryn Mawr Country Club is accurately labeled in Google Maps. Why isn’t Beverly accurately labeled too?
Notes: