I cut my political teeth growing up in Chicagoland during the 50’s and 60’s, when Richard the First held sway over the city. I was 13 before I realized that Mayor Daley was two words, which is why I, like many, felt a certain nostalgic comfort when his son, Richard M. Daley, assumed the 5th floor office in City Hall.  Trust me, after 41 years, for most Chicagoans, it’s hard to say “Mayor” without “Daley.”  It just rolls off the tongue.

While the fabled Democratic Machine of yore, with it’s “Vote early and vote often” ethic, cigar chomping, saloon keeping ward heelers, and hordes of loyal campaign “volunteers”(city workers) has had its wings clipped over the years, some things never change. Bridgeport precinct captains continue to loudly defend the right of the life impaired to vote and the unofficial aldermanic motto is still “Qua est mei?” (Where’s mine?).  For all of that, though, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I learned that long time Cook County Board President George Dunne contributed $10,000 to the re-election campaign of Richard M. Daley (Richard the Younger).

Why my surprise at such an ordinary political transaction? Because George Dunne is not just merely dead, he’s really most sincerely dead.  Some nine month’s after Mr. Dunne bade farewell to this earthly plane, the Daley campaign reported receiving the ten grand.  Here at Public Campaign Action Fund, we often ask “What did it buy” when we spot a suspicious contribution.  I find that a troubling question under the circumstances and am not all that keen to know the answer.  Does this mean there’s clout in the hereafter?