The Daley Show (Hardcover)

Forrest Claypool

ISBN 10: 0252046196 / ISBN 13: 9780252046193

Published by University of Illinois Press, Baltimore, 2024

About this Item

Hardcover. You have to have passion. You have to have honesty in office. You have to love the people. Those words summed up the outlook, if not always the actions, of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. Elected to govern a city roiled by racial and economic crises, Daley adroitly wielded the tools of power in the rough-and-tumble world of Chicago politics. Under his rule, Chicago rebuilt a dying downtown, becoming a cultural and tourism mecca punctuated by construction of the iconic Millenium Park. To drive growth, he engineered a massive expansion of OHare Airport. To correct a historical injustice, he razed the citys notorious public housing high rises as part of a sweeping plan to transform the lives of the citys poorest residents. Yet corruption and graft, City Halls role in calamities like the 1995 heat wave, and Daleys inaction in the face of evidence of police torture, tarnished his many accomplishments. A two-time Daley chief-of-staff, Forrest Claypool draws on his long career in local government to examine the lasting successes, ongoing dramas, and disastrous failures that defined Daleys twenty-two years in City Hall. Throughout, Claypool uses Daleys career to illustrate how effectual political leadership relies on an adept and unapologetic use of power--and how wielding that power without challenge inevitably pulls government toward corruption. A warts-and-all account of a pivotal figure in Chicago history, The Daley Show tells the story of how Richard M. Daley became the quintessential big city mayor. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780252046193

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Daley Show (Hardcover)
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press, Baltimore
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0252046196
• ISBN 13: 9780252046193
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

American cities once had mayors who actually governed.

For twenty-two years, Richard M. Daley ran Chicago with the type of authority that is unthinkable today. He reshaped downtown, triggered a jobs boom, delivered the iconic Millennium Park, turned around troubled public schools, and slashed violent crime to 40-year lows.  He outfoxed Republican legislators to retain control of O’Hare Airport and expand it into the nation’s premier international aviation hub. Leveraging carefully built national political ties, he sidelined a powerful nemesis to tear down Chicago’s infamous public housing projects. 

Rebuilding parts of his father’s legendary political machine through brazen (and illegal) patronage deals, he centralized power to a remarkable degree, cut deals behind closed doors, racked up piles of debt, and made long-term bets whose consequences are still unfolding.

This is not simply a biography. It is a challenge to contemporary urban orthodoxy:

Do cities thrive because of strong, decisive leaders―or despite them?

Through vivid storytelling, this book exposes how Daley consolidated power, aligned business and labor, navigated crises, survived damaging scandals, and imposed discipline on a sprawling city. It dares readers to reconsider what kind of leadership modern American cities truly need.

About the Author

Forrest Claypool has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Park District (1993–1998), the Chicago Transit Authority (2011–2015), and the Chicago Public Schools (2015–2017). He was the chief-of-staff to Mayor Richard M. Daley in his first and third terms.