We Don't Want Nobody Nobody Sent: An Oral History of the Daley Years

by Indiana University Press and Milton L. Rakove

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0253179157
• ISBN13: 9780253179159
• Release Date: January 1979
• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Length: 404 Pages
• Weight: 1.87 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Interesting look at Chicago Politics

Professor Milton Rakove (1918-1993) interviewed dozens of Chicago politicians, ward heelers, opponents, and reformers in this solid oral history of Mayor Richard J. Daley (1902-1976) and the political machine he headed but didn't create. These interviews show that as mayor from 1955-1976, Daley was a talented administrator who knew urban finances and loved his city, but was also suspicious, power-hungry, and racially insensitive. I enjoyed the views of former party chairman Jacob Arvey, reformer-opponents like Bill Singer, certain precinct captains, etc. Readers learn the inner workings of Chicago's political machine. We also see the value of precinct captains - often dismissed as hacks by professors and reformers, but appreciated by ordinary Chicagoans for helping them obtain city services, permits, even employment. That help often translates into votes, usually for lower-profile candidates. Thus does personal contact maintain machine politics. The city and machine were declining when this book went to press in 1979. At this writing, Chicago has since had a woman and two black mayors, the even-weaker machine still exists, and the city's slide has basically halted. Also, Daley's son has proven an effective mayor since 1989, getting re-elected five times by landslides with support from many (but not all) reformers that once opposed his father. This informative oral history is probably best with prior knowledge of Chicago politics. Consider BOSS (by Mike Royko) or CLOUT (By Len O'Connor) to gain that knowledge in nicely readable fashion.