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Gray Wolves (Chicago)
The Gray Wolves were corrupt Chicago aldermen who held office from the 1890s to the 1930s. The Gray Wolves were led by First Ward aldermen "Bathhouse" John Coughlin, "Hinky Dink" Mike Kenna, and Johnny Powers of the Nineteenth Ward. The Chicago City Council frequently gave franchises to private businesses to maintain public services. Many businesses bribed the aldermen to be awarded such contracts, a practice known as "boodling". The Ogden Gas Company Scandal In 1895 the Gray Wolves awarded a franchise to the non-existent Ogden Gas Company to force the existing franchise holder to buy up the rights of Ogden Gas. This and similar schemes resulted in the formation of the Municipal Voters League in 1896 to throw the Gray Wolves aldermen off the council. Lincoln Steffens, a muck-raking reporter from ''McClure's Magazine'', was the first to describe these aldermen as gray wolves "for the color of their hair and the rapacious cunning and greed of their natures."{{cite web, url=htt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lords Of The Levee
''Lords of the Levee'' is a 1943 non-fiction book by longtime ''Chicago Tribune'' reporters Lloyd Wendt and Herman Kogan in one of three collaborations about the city of Chicago, focusing on its politicians "Bathhouse" John Coughlin and "Hinky Dink" Kenna, notorious alderman for the City of Chicago's lakeside First Ward. The book was reprinted in 1967 by Indiana University Press. In 1974, Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes 140 ... published the book again under the title ''Bosses in Lusty Chicago'', along with a new introduction by Illinois Senator Paul Douglas. The book appeared under its original title in 2005 when it was reprinted by Northwestern University Press. Further reading *Abbott, Karen (2007) ''Sin in the Second City: Madams, Minis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_type2 = Counties , subdivision_name1 = Illinois , subdivision_name2 = Cook and DuPage , established_title = Settled , established_date = , established_title2 = Incorporated (city) , established_date2 = , founder = Jean Baptiste Point du Sable , government_type = Mayor–council , governing_body = Chicago City Council , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Lori Lightfoot ( D) , leader_title1 = City Clerk , leader_name1 = Anna Valencia ( D) , unit_pref = Imperial , area_footnotes = , area_tot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Coughlin (alderman)
John Joseph Coughlin (August 15, 1860 – November 11, 1938), known as "Bathhouse John" or "the Bath", was an American politician who served as alderman of Chicago's 1st ward from 1892 until his death. Representing the Chicago Loop and in later years its environs, he represented what was often called the "world's richest ward". Alongside his partner, fellow 1st ward alderman Michael "Hinky Dink" Kenna, he controlled the ward for most of the first half of the 20th century. A part of 1st ward politics for about 50 years, he was a charismatic and eccentric figure who was well-known across the city and adored by his constituents; he and Kenna constructed a machine that would last the better part of the 20th century. He was the longest serving alderman in Chicago history until November 2014 when his record was surpassed by Edward M. Burke of the 14th ward. Notoriously corrupt, he and Kenna led the "Gray Wolves", a group that attracted much scorn from reformers; he and Kenna in par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Kenna (politician)
Michael Kenna (August 20, 1857 – October 9, 1946), also known as "Hinky Dink", was an American politician who served as alderman of Chicago's 1st Ward from 1897 to 1923 and again from 1939 to 1943. In addition to his position as alderman he was committeeman of the 1st Ward for the Democratic Party from 1893 to 1944. Representing the Chicago Loop and later its environs in such capacities, he led what was often called the "world's richest ward". He and his partner, fellow 1st Ward alderman "Bathhouse John" Coughlin, controlled the ward for most of the first half of the 20th century. A part of 1st Ward politics for more than 60 years, Kenna possessed great influence on the municipal affairs of Chicago, being able to make or break the prospects of Democratic candidates for the mayoralty. In large part with Kenna's help Coughlin would serve as alderman of the ward for 46 years. Possessing such influence despite his short stature and unassuming presence, he and Coughlin constructed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Powers (alderman)
John Powers (February 15, 1852 – May 19, 1930) served as an alderman in Chicago, Illinois (1888-1903, 1904–1927) for the Democratic Party. He was known as Johnny De Pow by his constituents. Along with Bathhouse John Coughlin and Hinky Dink Kenna, Powers was considered one of the leaders of the "Gray Wolves" of Chicago politics. Early career Powers arrived in Chicago in 1872 and began working as an apprentice to a grocer. After opening his own grocery store, he added a tavern next to it and used his exposure there to begin a political career as a ward captain. In 1888, Powers ran for alderman of Chicago's 19th ward and won, after which he closed his grocery, but continued to run his saloon, eventually going into business with fellow alderman, William O'Brian. They opened a larger saloon which included gambling. Jane Addams Powers introduced the practice of distributing free turkeys, ducks, and geese to voters at Christmas, but his inability to keep his ward clean of garba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago City Council
The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually monthly, to consider ordinances, orders, and resolutions whose subject matter includes code changes, utilities, taxes, and many other issues. The Chicago City Council Chambers are located in Chicago City Hall, as are the downtown offices of the individual alderpersons and staff. The presiding officer of the council is the Mayor of Chicago. The secretary is the City Clerk of Chicago. Both positions are city-wide elected offices. In the absence of the mayor, an alderperson elected to the position of President Pro Tempore serves as the presiding officer. Originally established as the Common Council in 1837, it was renamed City Council in 1876. The Council assumed its modern form of 50 wards electing one alderperson each in 1923. Composition T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lincoln Steffens
Lincoln Austin Steffens (April 6, 1866 – August 9, 1936) was an American investigative journalist and one of the leading muckrakers of the Progressive Era in the early 20th century. He launched a series of articles in ''McClure's'', called "Tweed Days in St. Louis", that would later be published together in a book titled ''The Shame of the Cities''. He is remembered for investigating corruption in municipal government in American cities and for his leftist values. Early life Steffens was born in San Francisco, California, the only son and eldest of four children of Elizabeth Louisa (Symes) Steffens and Joseph Steffens. He was raised largely in Sacramento, the state capital; the Steffens family mansion, a Victorian house on H Street bought from merchant Albert Gallatin in 1887, would become the California Governor's Mansion in 1903. Steffens attended the Saint Matthew's Episcopal Day School, where he frequently clashed with the school's founder and director, stern disciplinaria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
McClure's Magazine
''McClure's'' or ''McClure's Magazine'' (1893–1929) was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism ( investigative, watchdog, or reform journalism), and helped direct the moral compass of the day. The publishing company briefly got into the film business with McClure Pictures. History Founded by S. S. McClure (1857–1949) and John Sanborn Phillips (1861–1949), who had been classmates at Knox College, in June 1893. Phillips put up the $7,300 needed to launch the magazine. The magazine featured both political and literary content, publishing serialized novels-in-progress, a chapter at a time. In this way, ''McClure's'' published writers including Willa Cather, Arthur Conan Doyle, Herminie T. Kavanagh, Rudyard Kipling, Jack London, Lincoln Steffens, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Mark Twain. At the beginning of the 20th century, its major competitors inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lords Of The Levee
''Lords of the Levee'' is a 1943 non-fiction book by longtime ''Chicago Tribune'' reporters Lloyd Wendt and Herman Kogan in one of three collaborations about the city of Chicago, focusing on its politicians "Bathhouse" John Coughlin and "Hinky Dink" Kenna, notorious alderman for the City of Chicago's lakeside First Ward. The book was reprinted in 1967 by Indiana University Press. In 1974, Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes 140 ... published the book again under the title ''Bosses in Lusty Chicago'', along with a new introduction by Illinois Senator Paul Douglas. The book appeared under its original title in 2005 when it was reprinted by Northwestern University Press. Further reading *Abbott, Karen (2007) ''Sin in the Second City: Madams, Minis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Horse Cavalry
The Black Horse Cavalry was a corrupt bipartisan group in the New York New York Legislature, state legislature. During the last quarter of the 19th century, it preyed particularly on corporations and usually blackmailed by introducing bill (proposed law), bills against the corporations (strike bills) that would be killed if sufficient money were forthcoming. The group included around thirty state legislators whose votes could be purchased from the highest bidder. The Black Horse Cavalry is presumed to have been frequent visitors of William M. Tweed at his Delevan House lodgings in Albany while he served as a state senator. References *''Dictionary of American History'' by James Truslow Adams, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940 Political history of New York (state) THE ORIGIN OF THE "BLACK HORSE CAVALRY"; How the Sinister Name Came to be Applied to Certain of the Legislators at Albany. The New York Times, June 26, 1910 {{crime-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
