The Ward System

One very noticeable aspect of Chicago's government is the ward system. The system creates areas of a municipality to be used as voting districts.  Additionally the districts are used as a way to dispense services to sections of the city, and to provide representation on the city council. Most cities in America do not use this system of governance, instead they elect their city councils through at large voting.  This means that the whole city votes for the representatives of the whole city.  The obvious result is that an at large system can result in city council members who have the entire city as a constituency, not just a smaller ward like the aldermen of Chicago. There are obvious advantages to each method.  In the ward system the voter is closer to their representative.  They have more access than if they were to petition a representative in an at large system.  The ward is the ultimate in local politics.
As we have seen with many scandals involving aldermen, the ward system can also allow a representative to treat their ward like a fiefdom.  Chicago has 50 wards, thus that means you have 50 aldermen running their wards like their own state. This decentralized form of government can make city wide policy maddeningly ineffective, and often times very effective in issues that purely affect one ward.
The system of course is not just composed of aldermen.  There is also the mayor to consider.  Traditionally the mayor of Chicago was "weak." Over the last 150 years the mayor's powers have grown, adding veto power and budgetary powers.  The real shift happened when Richard Daley mastered machine politics, and was able to strengthen his position.  By leveraging aldermen against one another and controlling the campaign coffers Daley was able to build an unshakable tenure over the city of Chicago. Over the years he was able to add more power to the mayor's arsenal, to the point that today the mayor is a much stronger figure than originally envisioned. The power of the mayor is dependent upon the cooperation of aldermen. It was shown when the elder Daley left the scene: Harold Washington was stifled by aldermen who completely disregarded any of his policy goals. Washington didn't have any leverage to use when he was attempting to control the city's aldermen who had mostly gained their positions due to Daley's influence.  Washington's term showed just how weak the position of mayor can be when not in control of the purse strings funding aldermen's campaigns. 
Today Chicago is in an era of another "strong" mayor.  The current Daley has used many of the same tactics that his father used to establish dominance of the mayor's office.  The administration picks and chooses aldermen to work with and help with fund raisers.  Most of these aldermen vote in collaboration with the mayor. The relationship is a symbiotic one, but can easily become nasty when an alderman doesn't side with the mayor.
Today Chicago's politics are akin to the machine politics of the early 1900's. We see the same problems that we saw back then: corruption, back room deals, and ethnic politics. If Chicago is to move forward and start to reform itself it is imperative that part of the government structure is altered.  My first suggestion would be term limits for the mayor.  Second would be for a reformation of the ward system.  This would not completely scrap the neighborhood representation that wards provide, but would also add some aldermen elected at large.  Half the wards would be eliminated, creating 25 wards.  These wards would essentially annex their neighboring ward. Then the next step is to create 25 aldermen to be elected at large.  This system would balance neighborhood politics with city wide politics. 

From Taiwan to Chicago

I've made the move, I've left Asia and settled in Chicago-land.  The blog will now be focusing on the issues of America's second city.  The move from crowded, tropical, and mountainous Taiwan to flat, continental, and spacious Illinois has been quite a change of scenery. I've experienced culture shock of a different magnitude. Where once I was constantly frustrated by a language and culture that I was not fluent in, I now find life to be much easier. But, that is not to say that I have found life in Chicago to be paradise.  The culture here is different from my native Portland, Oregon.  The politics are horrible, Blagojevich is just the latest in a long line of corrupt politicians whose names have been making headlines. Corruption in Illinois has many similarities to the corruption present in Taiwan.  Both have the problem of family first schemes.  Political dynasties such as the Daleys have had a retarding effect on governance of the city.  Alderman and county commissioners also attempt to establish dynasties, and award contracts to friends.  The corruption runs so deep that its almost impossible to escape it.  I will be continuing to research the seeds of corruption, but at first glance I assume it stems from the structure of government, and tribal politics.