It was the most notorious accidental political discovery since the days of Watergate. A busboy at what was then Counsellors Row, a restaurant located across from City Hall, found an electronic bug used by federal investigators to tap into conversations involving leading 1st Ward political officials. John D`Arco Jr., the area`s state senator, has already been found guilty of attempted extortion and tax evasion. Former Ald. Fred Roti and reputed 1st Ward power broker Pat Marcy face criminal charges.
The Counsellors Row bugging serves as a reminder that, while some say City Hall is where the action is in Chicago politics, our city has seen political action at many sites. Most of the events, of course, were local in nature, but some carried national implications.
Hold onto your hats and your pocketbooks. In honor of next week`s Democratic National Convention in New York City (there hasn`t been a national convention here since 1968), we`re taking a whirlwind tour of some of Chicago`s most famous (and infamous) political sites. This is by no means a complete list, but it should give an appetite-whetting taste of Chicago politics.
Unconventional
From the early years of the Republican Party in the 19th Century to the 1968 Democratic debacle, Chicago hosted national political conventions 25 times, more than any other city. Some, such as the 1960 ratification of Richard Nixon, have been relatively mild affairs. Others have left their mark on the nation`s political lore.
Former site of the Wigwam, Wacker and Lake: Chicago hosted its first national political convention at this site in 1860. A favorite son, Springfield lawyer Abraham Lincoln, received the Republican Party`s nod for president.
Chicago Coliseum, 15th and Wabash: Little remains of this onetime Civil War prison camp, later a major convention center. But a young Nebraska newspaper editor named William Jennings Bryan brought Democrats to their feet with his rousing ”Cross of Gold” keynote speech in 1896. Republican William McKinley, however, crucified Bryan in that year`s presidential election.
Blackstone Hotel, 636 S. Michigan Ave.: You`ve heard of the proverbial smoke-filled room. The original smoke-filled room was a suite in Chicago`s Blackstone Hotel. There Republican party bosses united behind an obscure Ohio senator named Warren Harding for the Republican presidential nomination in 1920.
Chicago Stadium, 1840 W. Madison St.: Nowadays it`s the Bulls and Blackhawks that bring out Stadium cheers. But in 1940, a sewer superintendent named Thomas Garry played cheerleader. Garry`s ”spontaneous” shouts of ”We want Roosevelt,” carried over the Stadium`s loudspeaker, led to similar cries of support and ultimately a third presidential term for FDR.
Conrad Hilton (now Chicago Hilton and Towers) Hotel, 720 S. Michigan Ave.: ”The whole world is watching,” anti-war demonstrators shouted as police clubbed and arrested hundreds of them near the hotel during the 1968 Democratic convention. The nation watched-and later that year voted for Republican Richard Nixon.
International Amphitheatre, 4220 S. Halsted St.: While cops battled protesters downtown, Democratic convention delegates held their own civil war at the 1968 convention site, including Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, who allegedly swore at and made anti-Semitic remarks about Sen. Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut.
Wining and dining
Oh, if the walls of these establishments could talk. . . .
Former site of Counsellors Row, 100 N. LaSalle St.: Once the place where then-1st Ward Ald. Fred Roti held court almost daily, Counsellors Row closed not long after the bugging was announced-a coincidence, according to the restaurant`s owner.
Former site of Army & Lou`s Restaurant, 422 E. 75th St.: From Harold Washington to Eugene Sawyer and beyond, South Side politicians used this dining spot as a formal and informal meeting place.
Schaller`s Pump, 37th and Halsted Streets: On Election Night, this Bridgeport landmark takes on the atmosphere of a political sports bar. The 11th Ward Democratic office is located across the street.
3600 Club, 3600 S. Damen Ave.: Another bit of living history, this corner tavern was once owned by John Fary (uncle of current 12th Ward Ald. Mark Fary), who later went to Congress. A huge and aging mural of Fary as a congressman adorns one wall.
Former site of Paddy Bauler`s saloon, 403 W. North Ave.: Colorful longtime 43rd Ward Ald. Paddy Bauler held court here, donning his top hat to celebrate Election Night victories. Famed commentator Len O`Connor often stopped by for a tall cool one and a quote or two. Bauler passed in 1977.
Former site of Town and Country restaurant, North Avenue at the Kennedy Expressway: This onetime restaurant (which now is occupied by a video store)
gets a footnote in Chicago history, but not because of its food. Aldermen Richard Mell and Robert Shaw met in its parking lot in the middle of the night soon after Harold Washington`s death, compared lists and determined that Eugene Sawyer had the votes to become acting mayor of Chicago.
Where they lived
By law, mayors and aldermen must live in the city (although some aldermen have been accused of claiming simple city residences while actually dwelling in fancy suburban homes). Here are a few of the notable political dwellings.
Richard J. Daley`s home, 3536 S. Lowe St.: Chicago`s most powerful mayor lived in a simple but comfortable bungalow in his native Bridgeport, a block from where he was born. His widow, Eleanor ”Sis” Daley, has lived a quiet life there since the mayor`s death in 1976. Police ”No parking” signs still stand in front of the house.
Ed Vrdolyak`s home, 115th Street and Avenue J: There`s no doubt who in this neighborhood was the alderman. A basketball court, large satellite dish, and blocked-off alley distinguish this elaborate home from its neighbors.
Martin Luther King Jr.`s apartment, 1550 S. Hamlin Ave.: The civil rights crusader set up a residence here during his Chicago campaign of the mid-1960s. The building was a victim of the West Side riots that followed King`s 1968 assassination.
Jane Byrne`s temporary home, Apt. 402, 1160 N. Sedgwick St.: The mayor set up residence at Cabrini-Green in 1981 in a well-publicized attempt to control drugs and violence at the housing project.
Frank Stemberk`s home, 4100 W. 31st St.: After charges arose in 1985 that this obscure 22nd Ward alderman lived in suburban North Riverside instead of a Little Village apartment, Stemberk responded with a memorable press conference. Yes, his wife lived in the nearby burb, but he lived in the city apartment with her 18-year-old son from a previous marriage, the alderman said. Stemberk justified this arrangement by referring to ”alternative residential lifestyles”-hardly a way to gain support among the family-oriented Mexicans and eastern Europeans of his ward. Stemberk didn`t seek re-election.
Fred Roti`s home, 25th Street and Princeton Avenue: The former 1st Ward alderman enjoys his privacy, so much that he engineered a zoning change to erect a curb at the eastern end of the block, thus cutting off access from Wentworth.
Dead and buried
Which five Chicago mayors are not buried in or near the city? Michael Bilandic, Byrne, David Orr, Eugene Sawyer and Richard M. Daley, of course.
Benjamin Lewis` murder site, 3604 W. Roosevelt Rd.: The high-living 24th Ward alderman was killed here, days after his 1963 election. Was his death for political reasons, his attempts to muscle in on the local numbers racket, a love dispute? The murder was never solved because there were ”too many motives.”
Fred Hampton`s home, 2337 W. Monroe St.: Black Panther leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were shot down here in late 1969, a controversial incident that later led to the election defeat of State`s Atty. Ed Hanrahan. Another Panther left earlier and missed the shootout-Bobby Rush, who later became 2nd Ward alderman and Democratic nominee for Congress.
Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Superior and Fairbanks: Chicago`s two political giants of modern times, Richard J. Daley and Harold Washington, were both pronounced dead here after suffering sudden heart attacks. Daley died at the hospital after being stricken at his doctor`s office in 1976; Washington`s body was brought here, although he probably died at City Hall, in late 1987.
Richard J. Daley`s grave, Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, 6001 115th St., Alsip: Ironically, the elder Daley, who served the longest tenure of any Chicago mayor, is buried in the suburbs.
Harold Washington`s grave, Oak Woods Cemetery, 67th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue: Chicago`s first black mayor is buried near one of the main pathways of the cemetery. His 1983 mayoral opponent, Bernard Epton, is also buried in Oak Woods.
Where they`re honored
Chicago never has been stingy when it comes to honoring its political types. If you live on a named street in the city, for example, there`s a good chance that it`s named after a former mayor or alderman. Here are a few of the more notable sites.
Harold Washington monument, 85th Street and Vernon Avenue: The huge new public library at State and Van Buren is a larger memorial, but this one is much more personal. The residents of this block chipped in to erect a simple yet tasteful monument to the late mayor.
Rudy Lozano branch library, 18th Street and Blue Island Avenue: Possessor of the largest Spanish-language collection of any branch library, this branch was named for a union organizer who was shot to death at his home in 1983, shortly after a close loss in a hotly contested 22nd Ward aldermanic race.
Cermak Road, 2200 South: Blacks, Chinese, Mexicans, and Slavs live along this South Side thoroughfare-exactly the kind of multiethnic coalition Mayor Anton Cermak, who served 1931 to `33, brought together when he was alive.
Daley Plaza, Dearborn, Washington and Randolph Streets: Jane Byrne, especially during her 1983 election campaign against the late mayor`s son, Richard, never referred to it as Daley Plaza. In fact, one year she moved the city`s official Christmas tree to another site, lest Chicagoans be reminded of her mayoral rival. Yet it stands as the best-known of many tributes to the former ”mare.”
Et cetera
Humboldt Park Field House, Humboldt Drive near Division: This is the polling place for one of Chicago`s most unusual elections. Every two years, Chicago`s Puerto Rican community selects the Puerto Rican Parade Committee president. Every adult Puerto Rican may vote, and only adult Puerto Ricans may vote.
Bismarck Hotel, Randolph and LaSalle Streets: At the end of odd-numbered years, Cook County Democrats hold their biennial slating session. Some independent candidates, actually thinking that the results have not been determined beforehand, go before the party bosses and hope for their approval. Pulaski elevated train stop, Pulaski Road and Lake Street: You might pause a moment and contemplate this ”L” stop. That`s more than the CTA`s drivers did after the 1979 blizzard. Trains sped by Pulaski and other West Side stops, fueling anger among African Americans that led to the defeat of incumbent Mayor Bilandic in 1979.
Lar Daly`s ”headquarters,” State and Madison Streets: Finally, what tour of Chicago politics would be complete without Lar ”America First” Daly, our most famous perennial candidate? An election time staple was Daly, clad in an Uncle Sam costume, gathering nominating petition signatures at the
”world`s busiest intersection.” They did him little good. Daly ran in more than 40 elections, losing all of them. Daly died in 1978.
