“He’s a Democrat. People expect them to be crooks, but don’t care as long as they get their Free Stuff. In fact, being a crook is a resume enhancement.”
I hate to say this, but this is how Chicago worked (and rather well) for many years in the first half of the 20th century. As long as your taxes were reasonable, your street was clean and any pothole got called into the alderman and fixed in a week, and the trees on your street got trimmed, why would you care if the wheels got greased occasionally? You might even call your alderman up and get your kid a summer job, because he would know people. His representatives would remind you of this come election time. If you were just a working schlub, all he would want was your vote.
Where the system broke, was when the politicians started taking and then never giving anything back.
Well, it’s hard to say we approve of “greasing the wheels” of government. But, political machines such as Chicago, as you described, were responsive with delivering city services and helping constituents when they could. Summer jobs for your kid is a good example. Then when elections came around, you supported them because they had done some good things for you.
Maybe things are different now because of the welfare state? Democrats still want your vote, but, in cities such as Chicago, more and more they represent people on public assistance, as opposed to working class people. Now they urge people to continue to vote Democrat so evil Republicans don’t cut back their EBT benefit amounts.