Compare And Contrast Plunkitt And Richard Daley

1669 Words7 Pages
In analyzing George Washington Plunkitt and Richard Daley, via their portrayal in Riordon’s Plunkitt of Tammany Hall and Royko’s Boss, it is necessary to compare and contrast the ethical perspectives that both embodied. More importantly, one should provide a personal critical stance on the distinctions these leaders may have drawn between public and private ethics and morality. In doing so, the reader will draw a clear conclusion that both definitely utilized questionable ethics. Plunkitt’s ethical bearings stemmed from financial self gratification while Daly’s hinged more on a narcissistic approach to the preservation of his name, his political control, and perceived accomplishments through sometimes disrespectful and uncaring means.…show more content…
university parks, “affordable” housing projects (later to be unaffordable to those previous land owners that were displaced), airports, and Lake Front convention centers. As Royko states in Chapter V of Boss, when Daley became Chicago’s Mayor, “… “Boss” Daley was suddenly “Dick the Builder,” the man who was getting things going, revitalizing the city, pumping new life into the old town… with everybody cheering, his bond issue went through easily, and work was beginning. The biggest expenditures were for O’Hare Airport, bridges, and train crossings, street lights and lake docking facilities.” And what public improvement expenditures were slated with the least amount of dollars? Answer: slum land clearance and community conservation. Royko elaborates that “…in a one-month period, 13 black adults and children died in a series of slum fires.” Slums were not Daley’s priority. In fact, if he could, he would rather wipe these poor people off the face of Chicago (displace them indefinitely) in order to make room for a high rise housing complex for a wealthier class of constituents. Basically, as Royko suggests, “…his urban renewal program amounted to a stack full of charts and blueprints. Rats gnawed on black infants’ feet, while money was used to build new police stations around the corner. The Daley years were underway with the values that would never change: things, concrete, glass, steel, downtown, business profit. Then if there’s anything left, maybe something for the

More about Compare And Contrast Plunkitt And Richard Daley

Open Document