[richard m. daley] how to read the man

Mayor Richard M. Daley has just won a landslide victory over two relatively obscure challengers here Tuesday, putting him in a position to become the city’s longest serving mayor. With 87 percent of the precincts reporting, Mr. Daley had captured 72 percent of the vote, well over the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff.

“Thank you, Chicago, thank you again,” Mr. Daley told a boisterous crowd in a Hilton Hotel ballroom.

The battle rages as to whether he is a good man or a bad man and whether it even matters. Does Chicago, not particularly noted for a history of benign altruism, actually need such a man as Daley? One view:

Mayoral challenger Bill "Dock" Walls argued that Obama "just stepped into the cesspool of corruption by endorsing the most corrupt mayor" Chicago has ever had." Walls accused Obama of ignoring Daley's role as state's attorney during the torture of 192 African-American and Latino men by former Chicago Police Lt. Jon Burge, "hundreds of millions" lost to the Hired Truck scandal, a 50 percent drop-out rate in the Chicago Public Schools, and a 40 percent unemployment rate in many black neighborhoods.

Another view:

When I think of Daley, I do think of cronyism and I do question whether that is good for the city. On the whole, I support the Feds' efforts to route out corruption where it exists in the city government. However, when I think of Daley, I also think about the cooperation he has fostered between the different groups in the city, groups which in decades past bickered and stifled progress in the city.

I think about his beautification efforts and environmental initiatives and how they have made the city more livable. I think about his education reforms and how his administration has continually driven new initiatives to improve the quality of education in Chicago.

I think about his ability to partner city initiatives with local business and community groups (a la Millenium Park). I think about his grand vision for a Chicago Olympics and wonder what benefits to the city such dreams could bring.