Corrupt Illinois: Patronage, Cronyism, and Criminality (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780252078552)

Public funds spent on jets and horses. Shoeboxes stuffed with embezzled cash. Ghost payrolls and incarcerated ex-governors. Illinois' culture of "Where's mine?" and the public apathy it engenders has made our state and local politics a disgrace.

In Corrupt Illinois, veteran political observers Thomas J. Gradel and Dick Simpson take aim at business-as-usual. Naming names, the authors lead readers through a gallery of rogues and rotten apples to illustrate how generations of chicanery have undermined faith in, and hope for, honest government. From there, they lay out how to implement institutional reforms that provide accountability and eradicate the favoritism, sweetheart deals, and conflicts of interest corroding our civic life.

Corrupt Illinois lays out a blueprint to transform our politics from a pay-to-play-driven marketplace into what it should be: an instrument of public good.


Author: Thomas J. Gradel, Dick Simpson
ISBN-10: 0252078551
ISBN-13: 9780252078552
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Language: English
Published: 01/20/2015
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.80d