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Corrupt Illinois: Patronage, Cronyism, and Criminality. By Thomas J. Gradel and Dick Simpson. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2015. Pp. xii, 210, appendices, notes, index. Paper, $19.95.)
Teaching about American government and democracy is a balancing act: how does one promote essential values such as civility, compromise and justice, in a culture of cynicism and apathy? Such was the situation in early 2009 in my Advanced Placement Government class, where I helped my young students navigate Governor Blagojevich's arrest and impeachment. As each new day brought a fresh revelation from the federal prosecutors or the governor's own colorful mouth, my often bewildered and jaded students and I would grapple with questions ranging from "can this really be true?" and "did he really say that?" to "is Illinois really this corrupt?" While we could not help but laugh some days, most felt moral outrage and recognized how the scandal was weakening their respect for their own government.
It was thus with great interest and such memories in mind that I read Thomas Gradel's and Dick Simpsons exhaustive review of the history of political corruption in Illinois, Corrupt Illinois: Patronage,...