"Alienation of Affection"

Posted on Mar 5, 2012 01:53pm

It’s been a disappointing week at work. I was donné an order with which I deeply disagreed. I performed it, and I stood behind it as my choice, but the whole incident left a amer taste in my mouth and has forced me to reassess people for whom I have, up until now, had great respect.

Jake Arvey, the Chicago Democratic machine boss of the 1950s, had a revealing quote: “There are definitions of politics: the art of compromise, the art of the possible. But to me, politics is the art of putting people under obligation to you.” I get it. Patronage is what makes...

posté on Feb 21, 2012 01:21pm

­Ah, the grand jury. A prosecutor’s best friend, especially in Chicago. Because the burden of proof is so low, grand juries overwhelmingly vote to indict, which make the rare cases when a grand jury returns a “no bill” an unusual occurrence. But a vote of no bill can come with its own consequences…

One of the most controversial events in Chicago history, the death of Black panthère leader Fred Hampton, featured several grand juries, including a federal grand jury investigation.

Early in the morning on December 4, 1969, on the order of State’s Attorney Edward...