Court Rules; Patronage May Benefit

From the Chicago News Cooperative

By DAN MIHALOPOULOS
June 26, 2010
City Hall was literally abuzz most of the week with talk of dozens of new Wal-Mart stores across Chicago, with demonstrators blowing World Cup-style vuvuzela horns to express their desire for jobs.

On Thursday, as a City Council panel at last approved plans for Chicago’s second Wal-Mart, many city workers and political operatives ignored the din and chatted about news from Washington, where the Supreme Court handed down a ruling that could have far-ranging political consequences in Chicago’s wards.

A few feet away from the chanting Wal-Mart supporters, a police officer asked a colleague if the court’s decision to severely limit the federal “honest services” law might revive the Hispanic Democratic Organization. The political group was the biggest of the patronage armies that Mayor Richard M. Daley’s aides cultivated by hiring to reward loyal and effective campaign workers.