The government of the City of Chicago is divided into executive and legislative branches. The mayor is the chief executive, elected by general election for a term of four years. The mayor appoints commissioners and other officials who oversee the various departments. The current mayor is Richard M. Daley. In addition to the mayor, Chicago's two other citywide elected officials are the clerk and the treasurer.
The City Council is the legislative branch and is made up of 50 aldermen, one elected from each ward in the city. The council enacts local ordinances and approves the city budget. Government priorities and activities are established in a budget ordinance usually adopted each November. The council takes official action through the passage of ordinances and resolutions.
One stereotype about Chicago is certainly true: Its citizens love politics. A high number of people know not only who controls their ward but who represents them in Congress and how they were elected to office. This can't be said for most U.S. citizens save for those in a few other major metropolitan areas such as Boston and New York City. This deeply ingrained political culture creates an environment where elections could be described more as spectator sport than anything else.
During the Civil War, Chicago was a major supplier of goods and manpower to the Union Army, but in southern Illinois there was an unsuccessful movement toward secession from the Union and alliance with the Confederacy. Even today there are prevailing attitudes of disdain between Chicagoans and those from downstate Illinois. This helped to foster a political atmosphere of us vs. them, meaning Chicagoans and Downstaters, that still plagues the political and social life of both the city and the state.
The modern era of politics is still in many ways dominated by machine politics, a style honed and perfected by Richard J. Daley after his election in 1955. Further evidence of this is the fact that his son, Richard M. Daley, is the current mayor.
Another point of interest is the party leanings of the city. For much of the last century, Chicago has been considered one of the largest Democratic strongholds in the United States. For example, the citizens of Chicago have not elected a Republican mayor since 1927, when William Thompson was voted into office. Today only one city council member is Republican. It is often joked within the city that Republicans are an endangered species.
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